Logo derived from Scott Cunningham.
Logo derived from Scott Cunningham.
This page provides an index to the data tables for French weapons followed by some items pertinent to French weapons which cannot be easily included in the tables. The Introduction page provides further information on the difficulties of determining accurate source data. The contents of this page are:
I have no information on the French definition of penetration. If you have such information, or if you know of a good book which can provide it, please send an e-mail to GvA@wargamer.org so that I may complete the French Gun Target Hardness table.
Only the French 37mm mle.1892 and the 75mm mle.1910 AP projectiles had an explosive filler in the warhead. To avoid unnecessary repetition the suffix ‘/HE’ is not used in the data tables. No other French projectiles had any explosive filler in the warhead.
Face hardened (FH) armour was not used by the French.
Cast armour was used by the French but I have no data on its quality.
I have no information on French armour specifications for tanks. If you have such information, or if you know of a good book which can provide it, please send an e-mail to GvA@wargamer.org so that I may complete the French Vehicle Armour Hardness table.
The French used several different terms for ammunition. Similar ammunition types may have different names with (seemingly) little consistency. Several abbreviations are obscure and I have made some assumptions as to their meanings. I am grateful to Nowfel Leulliot, owner of the France 1940 web site, for his help with the translation of phrases. Any errors are my own and if you have any corrections or further information please send an e-mail to GvA@wargamer.org.
The different ammunition names and their uses are:
Boulet de rupture - armour piercing shot. This seems to be used for solid shot AP projectiles with no HE within them (boulet means literally roundshot).
Projectile de rupture - armour piercing projectile. This seems to be used for AP/HE projectiles.
Obus de rupture - armour piercing shell. The use of obus (shell) should imply a cavity within the projectile, i.e. AP/HE, however nearly all OR projectiles are solid shot AP with no HE. Only the 37mm mle.1892 m.24 projectile is AP/HE.
Obus explosif - high explosive shell.
Cartouche - cartridge or round. Used for smaller calibres up to 25mm.
Further phrases or suffixes may be appended to French ammunition names:
non coiffé - without cap. Used for AP projectiles. I assume the cap referred to here is a penetrating cap, rather than a ballistic cap.
coiffé sans f. ogive - capped without frangible(?) nose cone. Used for APC projectiles. The meaning of the “f.” is unknown. I have speculated that it is an abbreviation for either frangible or figurant (extra) to indicate the abscence of a ballistic cap, and that coiffé (cap) refers to a penetrating cap.
coiffé avec f. ogive - capped with frangible(?) nose cone. Used for APCBC(?) projectiles. The meaning of the “f.” is unknown. I have speculated that it is an abbreviation for either frangible or figurant (extra) to indicate the prescence of a ballistic cap, and that coiffé (cap) refers to a penetrating cap. However it is possible that the entire phrase is a description of the penetrating cap and that the projectile is therefore only APC instead of APCBC. Only one projectile type has this designation, the 37mm OR mle.1935, so this confusion could be cleared up if I could find out more about this projectile.
Perforante - armour piercing. Used for smaller calibres up to 25mm.
Perforante, Traçeuse - armour piercing, tracer. Used for smaller calibres up to 25mm.
The difference between modèle and modifié is best illustrated with an example. The 37mm mle.1892 m.24 projectile is model 1892, indicating the year of its design or introduction to service, further modified in 1924.
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