Char D2
In service 1936 - 1940
De Gaulle's tank - the infantry medium that equipped his 4th Armoured Division in 1940.
Built byRenault
Development history
The D2 was Renault's cast-hull infantry tank, better armoured than the D1 and fitted with the APX cast turret. Production was slow and only a hundred were built, split between a 1936 batch and a 1940 batch with the better SA35 gun. Most ended up in the 19th Bataillon de Chars de Combat and in Colonel de Gaulle's improvised 4th Cuirassed Division, fighting at Montcornet and Abbeville. Mechanical unreliability and the one-man turret hurt them as badly as German guns.
Notable actions
- Battle of Montcornet (1940)
- Battle of Abbeville (1940)