French ARL44 Heavy Tank

By Crusader1307

France's ARL 44 was a Heavy Tank designed for use by The French (Free) Army, just prior to the end of World War II. While designs began in 1943, due to German Occupation of France, actual production never started until 1949. (60) Models were made, but deemed unsatisfactory against the ever changing Cold War development of weapons. By 1951, all ARL 44 were phased out of any service. The initial design patterns of 1943, saw The ARL 44 as a possible counter to various German Panzer Models then in service. The ARL 44 weighed 55-tons and was 35-feet in length with a width of 12-feet. The 44s height was 11-feet. Crewed by (5), The ARL 44 was a dual tracked armored vehicle which was powered by a single Maybach HL320 V-12 gasoline Engine. It could produce 575-HP with a rated flat terrain speed of 22-mph. Armor plating was 120mm thick. Armament was varied with regards to the variety of Machine Guns used. Typically only a single Heavy Machine Gun was envisioned. The same went for the Main Gun, which was initially designed for a modified 76mm Naval Gun.