Char B1 Bis

Description

Combining a hull-mounted 75mm gun with a turret-mounted 47mm anti-tank gun, the Char B1 bis carried more firepower and thicker armour than any tank the Germans fielded in 1940. It fought its most famous action at Stonne, where a single B1 bis reportedly destroyed 13 German tanks in one engagement. Its real weakness wasn’t the tank itself but the demanding workload placed on its small crew – the driver alone had to manage both driving and aiming the hull gun, a genuinely difficult combination in the heat of battle.