FCM.36

FCM.36

FCM.36

France

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Light tank

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

Description

The Char léger d'accompagnement FCM.36 (Light support tank FCM.36) is a Rank I French light tank with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". The FCM.36 was removed as a researchable vehicle from the main tech tree during Update 1.85 "Supersonic" after the ammo update, though it is still unlockable after reaching rank II French ground vehicles.

Generally speaking, the main reason you'd play the FCM.36 is so it can unlock better vehicles like the AMR.35 ZT3 to have better firepower at the rank. Bearing the awful SA18 L/21 cannon as main armament with 40 mm of armour all around and bad mobility, this tank resembles the H.35 in many ways. However, the FCM.36 does have good sloped armour for the rank to be a tad useful during long range engagements, but the underperforming gun makes the FCM.36 act more like a shield rather than a spear.

Compared to the reserve H.35, the FCM.36 features a design with "better" armour and a more powerful engine, bringing the power ratio to a more manegeable 12.4 HP/ton. With wider tracks than the H.35, this tank feels faster than other BR 1.0 French tanks. It turns quite smoothly and reaches its top speed fairly easily on road. 40 mm all around is enough to survive incoming rounds at long distances (~ 500+ m) but its bad angling makes it unreliable at close range, whereas your gun enters its actual combat ranges. Keeping the awful SA18 L/21 canon as main armament, this gun is what makes an otherwise good tank so bad as it is. As the Devblog claims: "Wait Until You See The Whites of Their Eyes!", you will have to get up close and personal with this tank in order to score a kill. With -17° of gun depression, this is actually a depressing gun.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	40 mm (24-37°) Front plate 40 mm (70°) Front glacis 40 mm (26°) Lower glacis	8-20 mm (44°) Top left 20 (8°) + 20 mm (40-44°) Bottom left 8-20 mm (46°) Top right 20 (9°) + 20 mm (42-46°) Bottom right	20 mm (50-65°) Top 8 mm (65°) Engine grille 20 mm (30-65°) Bottom	15 mm
Turret	40 mm (24-70°) Turret front 45 mm (33°) Left side 20 mm (4-45°) Gun mantlet 40 mm (18°) Cupola	40 mm (12-28°)	40 mm (37°)	15 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick while tracks are all 30 mm thick.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armor weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
12.4	N/A	26.6 (AB)
		24.0 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	163	___
Realistic/Simulator	93	105
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	13.14	__.__
Realistic/Simulator	7.50	8.47

Armaments

Main armament

37 mm SA18 L/21
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
102			-17°/+20°	±180°	Vertical
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	13.30	18.45	_.__	_.__	26.35
Realistic	8.30	9.80	_.__	_.__	14.00
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
4.03	_.__	_.__	3.10

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
Mle1937	APCR	36	33	24	16	8	5

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
Mle1937	APCR	600	0.5	N/A	N/A	N/A	°	66°	70°	72°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the FCM.36.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
102	43 (+59)	1 (+101)	Yes

Machine guns

7.5 mm MAC 31
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
3,000 (150)				1,350	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

Bullet magnet:

Sit down in an open field, angle yourself and stay at a good distance (500+ m) from any threat. Watch enemy shells ricochet of your armour, spot enemies for the team. Whenever a potent gun comes your way, flee and hope not to get shot at. Blind such big guns with your good MAC 31 coaxial machine gun and attempt a few shots on the move (big guns generally means poor armour at this BR).

"Brawler":

Never engage an enemy upfront: assist your allies in flanking manœuvres and don't bother stealing a kill since it's all you can get with such a poor cannon. Feel free to turn you back anytime and flee when allies are lacking, go find friends and act as a bullet magnet for them as they attempt to flank enemies.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent frontal armour with good sloping
• Relatively small
• -17° of depression
• 40 mm all-around
• Primitive "LOCK" stabiliser makes stop-and-shoot tactic easier.

Cons:

• Very bad penetration
• As the same gun as the H.35 (worst main armament in War Thunder)
• Puny 102 HP engine
• Max speed is 24 km/h
• Cannot angle properly without exposing a flat surface (driver's port)
• Only 2 crew members are cramped and lined-up makes one-shot easy
• Bad reverse speed : -3 km/h

History

In 1934, the FCM company received an order from the French army to design a modern tank for their light tank regiments. FCM was an experienced tank manufacturer, having proved themselves with work on previous projects (such as the Char 2C and Char B1), and quickly developed a new light tank design. Just over a year after the initial wooden mockup was presented and approved by the Army, the first prototype was tested in April 1935. During the one year testing period, multiple changes were made to make the vehicle more reliable, lighter, and better protected.

In July 1936, the FCM 36 was declared the best of three competing vehicles (which included the Hotchkiss H35 and Renault R35), although all three vehicles were still produced. But due to the Rhineland crisis in May 1936, the FCM company received orders for 100 of the FCM 36 tanks before it was even proclaimed the winner of the competition. Production of the FCM 36 did not begin until 1937, after tests of an improved version failed to produce the desired results. The first FCM 36 tanks left the factory floor in May 1938, and joined the ranks of the Army the following year. After the initial order of 100 vehicles was fulfilled, production was discontinued in favour of the Char B1, (also manufactured by FCM).

During the Invasion of France in 1940, the 100 FCM 36s in service with the French army saw limited success against the latest German armour—most notably the Panzer III. Although both vehicles offered similar overall performance, long tank battles against the Panzer III often resulted with neither vehicle able to achieve a fatal blow against the other. Unfortunately, the welds of the FCM 36’s heavily angled and complex armour would eventually break from extensive and repeated battle damage, which left the Panzer III as the victor in the long run. During the German occupation, the FCM 36 was initially used by the German army as a training or reserve vehicle. In 1943/44, 37 captured FCM 36s were converted into tank destroyers or self-propelled artillery pieces.

- From Devblog

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] FCM 36 - Wait Until You See The Whites of Their Eyes!
• Char-francais page on FCM.36