Belgian combat vehicles of World War II

Knocked-out A.C.G.1

FT-17 at Brussels Royal Army Museum

The Belgian Army had approximately 200 combat vehicles at the time of the German invasion in May 1940. They were assigned in "penny packets" to various infantry and cavalry divisions for use as support weapons. The Belgian army looked upon their AFVs as defensive weapons.

The Minerva

In August 1914 a soldier named Lt. Henkart gave two improvised armoured cars to the Belgian army. They were commercial Minerva cars with added armoured plates. In 1914, Dutch Forces captured one of these armoured cars when Belgian forces retreated into the Netherlands during the German invasion. It was used for border patrol duties during the war and was returned to Belgium in 1919.

The T15

The T15 was a version of the British "Commercial Light Tank Vickers Carden-Loyd 4 ton" (designated T15 by the Belgians). They had a two-man crew and was armed with a 13.2 mm French Hotchkiss machine gun mounted in the turret. A total of 42 of these tanks were assigned to Belgian units.

The T-13 Models B1, B2, and B3

These tanks were very similar to the T15; the only major difference was the use of a cannon instead of machine gun. They were regarded as tank destroyers and were equipped with a 47 mm gun. All models except the first B1s had fully rotating turrets.

Total production for the T-13:

• T-13 B1 - 35 produced.
• T-13 B2 - 14 produced. These started their life as unarmed Carden Loyd tankettes which were modified and equipped with a C.47 turret in 1936.
• T-13 B3 150 produced. Entered service in 1937.

The Wehrmacht operated some captured units during the first years of the war, considering the weakness of the Panzer I and Panzer II's main armaments.

There is a T-13 B2 on display at Brussels Tank Museum.

The ACG-1

The Renault AMC 35, also designated A.C.G.1, was armed with a 47 mm cannon and a coaxial MG. 25 of these tanks were ordered although only 12 were accepted into the Belgian army due to supply problems. The Belgian ACG1 and the AMC35 had different turrets. The Belgian Army disliked the layout of the AMC35 turret, and so designed their own. Instead of waiting for the other tanks to arrive the Belgian army created the V.C.L. T-13 B3. Due to Belgium's policy of neutrality they preferred self-propelled anti-tank gun instead of a real combat tank. Eight of the ACG1 were in frontline units at the start of the 1940 campaign, in one tank company of a 2 tank headquarters and two platoons of 3 tanks each. The ACG1 had a reputation for mechanical difficulties which caused a dispute with the French manufacturer, and slowed deliveries until problems were resolved. The 47mm main gun in the ACG1 was the same as the anti tank gun then in service with the Belgian Army.

FT-17/18

The Belgian army had 75 of these tanks at the start of World War II. Like the almost identical FT-17, the FT-18 was equipped with a short 37 mm Puteaux SA-18 gun; the main difference between the FT-17 and the FT-18 was that the FT-18 was a bit faster (by about 1 mph) and a bit heavier armoured with a cast steel turret. Unlike the French Army, the Belgian Army had withdrawn all FT17/18 tanks from frontline service before World War II. They remained in storage depots during the 1940 campaign.

After liberation

After Belgium's liberation, the Belgian army began using American and British equipment till the end of the war.

See also

• Order of battle of major belgian armoured sub-units, as of 10th of may 1940
• List of World War II military vehicles by country

External links

• Page about Belgium Armor. (select Belgium from the menu on the side)
• wwiivehicles.com page Belgium