Renault armoured car

Renault armoured cars were a number of armoured car variants produced in France during the First World War.

Like most of the armoured cars of the period they were developed from armoured bodies fitted to commercially available large car or truck chassis, in this case those from Renault, and armed with a machine gun or relatively small calibre gun.

Variants

Renault 1914 armoured car (automitrailleuse).

• Renault modele 1914 automitrailleuse

Renault 18hp chassis with 95/160 engine. The first 100 were extemporised but a standard armoured body form followed with a machine gun at the rear. Together with twin rear tyres this formed the Modele 1915 variant.

Renault Mle 1915 armoured car (automitrailleuse).

• Renault autocanon

The same Renault chassis and armoured body as the Mle 1915 but with a 37mm gun protected by a shield.

• Renault autoblindee

Renault AM with guns removed and used as unarmed transports. Some early AM had been fitted with single 8 mm Lebel St Étienne 1907 light machine gun for use as mobile anti-aircraft weapons. They had proved not to be effective in this role and were disarmed.

References

• Bartholomew, E., Early Armoured Cars, Osprey Publishing. 1988 ISBN 978-0-85263-908-5
• Bishop, Chris, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War I, Amber Books p. 23, London 2014 ISBN 978-1-78274-141-1
• Bradford, George, 1914-1938 Armored Fighting Vehicles (Afv Plans), Stackpole Books 2010 ISBN 978-0811705684
• Crow, Duncan, Armoured Fighting Vehicles of the World: A.F.V.'s of World War One v. 1, Profile 1970 ISBN 978-0853830009
• Forty, George,; Livesey, Jack, The World Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles, Anness Publishing Ltd. p. 364. London 2006 ISBN 978-0754833512
• Gougaud, Alain, L'aube de la gloire: les autos mitrailleuses et les chars français pendant la Grande Guerre, histoire technique et militaire, arme blindée, cavalerie, chars, Musée des blindés. Société OCEBUR 1987 ISBN 9782904255021
• Hogg, Ian V.; Weeks, John, The illustrated encyclopedia of military vehicles, New Burlington Books. p. 182, London 1980 ISBN 0-90628-675-1
• Trewhitt, Philip, Armored Fighting Vehicles, Dempsey Parr 1999 ISBN 9781840843286
• Zaloga, Steven, French Tanks of World War II (2): cavalry tanks and AFVs, Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 69, London 2014 ISBN 9781782003946

External links

• Kempft, P Renault mle 1914 Armoured Car Landships II
• Renault Armoured Car mle 1914