AMR 35 Light Tank

The Automitrailleuse de Reconnaissance Renault Modèle 35 Type ZT (AMR 35 or Renault ZT) was developed during the Interbellum. It was a French light tank that was used during World War II mostly as a support tank for the mechanised infantry.

The AMR 35 was an improved version of the earlier AMR 33. The modification was done by moving the engine from the front to the back. It was manufactured by the Renault Company and production was from 1936 to 1939. A total of 167 units were built including the variants. The tank weighed 6.5 tonnes and measured at 3.84 metres long, 1.76 metres wide and 1.88 metres high. It had a crew of two people and was equipped with either a 7.5 millimetre Reibel machine gun or a 13.2 millimetre Hotchkiss machine gun. The armour was 13 millimetres thick. It had a four cylinder petrol engine capable of 82 horsepower. The suspensions were rubber reinforced horizontal springs. Its fuel capacity of 130 litres allowed a maximum speed of 55 kilometres per hour and an operational range of about 200 kilometres.

The light tanks were part of the armoured and motorised divisions in the Battle of France. A majority of the units were lost during their first weeks in combat. The Germans used a few captured AMR 35s during the last years of World War II.

The AMR 35 had several variants; namely the ZT 2, ZT 3, ZT 4, ADF 1, YS, YS 2 and ZB.