AUTOMOTEUR Garnier-Renault (ACL 75 G-R)

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caid’s suggestion #76

i would like to suggest a perfect low-rank SPG for the French tree, the ACL 75 G-R (often mistaken as ACL 135)

The ACL 75 G-R was a development that answered the interest of the French army to develop a self-propelled gun capable of repelling tank assaults in the fortified area (the Maginot line mainly). the tank was a development of the General Garnier with the collaboration of Renault (the tank and car builder) who based the tank on the Char D3 which was intended to be a colonial version of the Char D1 but failed to be ordered. the tank was developed with the specification of 1933 and tested in Mai 1935 where his performance failed to impress the French army

  • difficulty to manoeuvre (due to the track and suspension)
  • no close defence armament (against infantry)
  • no radio
  • underpowered engine (and not diesel)
  • short autonomy
  • not enough protection (even if the protection was decent for the time)
  • too costly

The French army went in favour of developing a SPG that would be more suited for the defence and assault while this one was only suited for defence. a design from Puteaux was proposed instant which showed much promise to correct most of the flaws the ACL 75 G-R showed. at the end it was the model presented by Somua and Ruiel who got ordered to production with the 1940 modernization. the SAu.40 and particularly the ARL V.39 was the spg that was to enter services.

Firepower
this tank will not lack of firepower, the main armament been a 75mm APX 1929 is the same gun as found in the SAu.40. the gun is a quit decent gun for the low rank which is capable to punch 60-70mm of armour at combat distance. the round been an APHE will also deal a lot of post penetration damage. the gun elevation is comfortable enough with -10° to +30° and the horizontal transverse is limited to 12° on both side which is not bad. the reload will reach a speed of 5 to 7 sec which is pretty competitive. while the lack of a turret makes it more vulnerable to flanking, it’s the absence of a machine gun that would be a real plague. but this tank hides a secret. it has a Coincidence rangefinder in the observation cupola. this range finder will allow the crew to aim at a decent distance quite well but I presume this range finder will only be accurate at a rather short range such as 800m.

  • rangefinder

Mobility
this tank is nothing fast but it will still be capable of moving around. the top speed of 25 km/h is nothing to get crazy about. it would fall behind most vehicles during the assault. this will also plague it when you see a foe trying to flank you, you will have difficulty to turn and face it. still this tank is not a tank that need much mobility. as this tank is more suited for medium-range engagement, it would not need to move that much. this is a tank that is perfect for controlling the enemy movement from the 2nd line. as long you can manage to find a good spot to fight you will feel this tank is excellent. weighting 20 tonnes it is powered by a 180 engine. on paper, this is not that bad but in practice, the gearbox is not great, the traction is bad and the reverse is a bit slow. but this is nothing very different from many French tanks found at this time.

Protection
the protection of this tank is pretty decent for the rank I suspect it to fall. while each side is fairly flat, the steel is fairly thick but not thick to the point it can go unpunished. the armour reaching 45mm at the front and 35 mm on all other sides, some enemy would have no choice but to flank and get close to penetrating you. any auto-cannon or heavy machine gun of the WW2 era will have almost no chance of penetrating it even at a short distance. the roof too is well armoured with 20mm of armour. with the fact the crew is all protected, the aircraft would be unable to deal with this tank using only their offensive armament. or at least will have a hard time doing it. the crew of 4 men is decent. it includes a driver, a gunner, a loader and a commander.

Source

direct Primary





indirect Primary







Secondary

Source for ammo

7 Likes
2

This looks so goofy I love it

1 Like
3

This would be a nice complement to the French low tier area, where guns like the 75mm APX come in handy for heavier targets. +1!

1 Like
4

Reminds me of the Churchill Gun Carrier. +1

1 Like
5

Event vehicle perhaps

1 Like
6

Very good +1 at br 1.3. I personally would uptier it to 2.0 with the SaU40 and the Bofors truck.

1 Like
7

Another French embarrassment. I like it.

2 Likes
8

Horrific. I advise premium only so that French players are not forced to use it, as it may discourage them even more than the current selection.

The rangefinder is a nice touch.

1 Like
9

according to the documents, the SAu.40 also have a rangefinder

1 Like
10

Worth doing a Bug Report, then.

1 Like
11

Horrific, it depend the BR, at realease the SAU 40 was at 2.7 and was horrible to play, it’s now at 1.7 and it’s awesome (you can one shot most thing you shot at)

1 Like
12

Will be great to see this in warthunder

1 Like
13

The olympics opening ceremony 2024 is the biggest french embarrassment and disgrace

1 Like
14

A mix between the Alecto Mk.1 and Gun Carrier 3-inch made in France ? We need this ugly bastard in our tech tree.

+1

1 Like