French Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank

French Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank.

The Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank was originally designed in the early 30s as a machine gun carrier Automitreilleuse de Combat AMC SOMUA AC-3. Due to its improved armament, the vehicle was later re-designated as a cavalry tank. The Somua S-35 is considered the best French tank of World War Two. From 1936 to 1940, nearly 500 Somua S-35 were produced, of which only 20 percent were equipped with radios at the start of the war. In the course of the 1940 campaign against France, the German army captured nearly 300 Somua S-35, many of which were then used by the Wehrmacht. These vehicles received new radios, an upgraded turret with the commander’s cupola of the Panzer II Ausf. F, and the new Wehrmacht designation Panzerkampfwagen 35S 739(f). Captured Somua S-35 tanks served in Finland in 1941 and in Normandy in 1944. On 16 August 1944 the French 13ème Régiment de Dragons, re-established at Orléans, was equipped with captured Somua S-35 and Char B1 tanks.

Available Scale Model Kits

  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 1:35 Heller 2134
  • Panzerkampfwagen 35S 739(f), 1:35 Gunze Sangyo
    • Etched Brass Parts, 1:35 Eduard 35313
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 1:50 Solido
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 1:72 Heller 79876
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 20 mm BP Cast FR101
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 1:76 Alby
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 1:76 Hinchliffe 20/212
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 1:76 Ostmodels F5
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 1:87 Trident 00760
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 1:87 Wespe Models 87094
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 1:87 WTD 31
  • Somua S-35B Cavalry Tank, 1:87 Trident 00761
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 15 mm Quality Castings Q-7000
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 15 mm Forged in Battle F-04
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 12 mm Minifigs FV-04
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 1:285 GHQ FR2
  • Somua S-35 Cavalry Tank, 1:300 Heroics & Ros F02

Technical Specifications

  • Somua S-35
  • Type: Char de Cavalerie
  • Length: 5380 mm
  • Width: 2120 mm
  • Height: 2620 mm
  • Weight: 19.500 kg
  • Motor: Somua 8-Cylinder Petrol Enginge with 190 HP at 2000 rpm
  • Tracks: 360 mm wide
  • Ground Pressure: 0.85 kb/cm²
  • Schrägfahrt: 40°
  • Ground Clearance: 0.42 m
  • Vertical Obstacle: 0.50 m
  • Wading Depth: 1.00 m
  • Ditching: 2.35 m
  • Speed: 40.7 km/h
  • Fuel Capacity: 420 l
  • Fuel Consumption per 100 km: 170 l on Roads, 300 l Cross-Country
  • Range: 230 km
  • Armour: up to 47 mm
  • Armament: APX4 Turret with 47 mm L/34 Gun SA 35, and 7.5 mm MG
  • Munitions: 118 Shells 47 mm, and 3750 Machine Gun Rounds
  • Turret Traverse: 360°
  • Traverse Speed: 360° in 30 Seconds
  • Gun Elevation: -18° to +18°
  • Radio: ER 26bis or ER 29
  • Crew: Commander, Driver, Radio Operator
  • Production: 400 to 500 Vehicles from 1936–1940

Historical Employment

  • 18ème Régiment de Dragons, 1940
  • 29ème Régiment de Dragons, 1940
  • 1er Régiment de Cuirassiers, 1940
  • 2ème Régiment de Cuirassiers, 1940
  • 3ème Régiment de Cuirassiers, 1940
  • 4ème Régiment de Cuirassiers, 1940
  • 7ème Régiment de Cuirassiers, 1940
  • 12ème Régiment de Chasseurs d’Afrique, Morocco 1941
  • 211. Panzer Abteilung, Finland 1941
  • Norway, 1942
  • 12ème Régiment de Chasseurs d’Afrique, Tunesia 1943
  • Italy, 1944
  • 202. Panzer Abteilung, Balkans 1944
  • 21. Panzerdivision, Normandy 1944
  • 13ème Régiment de Dragons, 1944–1945

Possible Conversions

  • German Wehrmacht Panzerkampfwagen 35S 739(f)

Somua S-35 cavalry tanks served on different fronts from 1940 to 1945. Captured vehicles were converted and used by the Wehrmacht. Some of these vehicles were captured again in 1944 and used by the French army.

French Miniatuers of World War Two