The Lorraine 37L or , ("tank supply tractor 1937 L") is a light tracked armoured vehicle developed by the Lorraine company during the interwar period or interbellum, before the Second World War, to an April 1936 French Army requirement for a fully armoured munition and fuel supply carrier to be used by tank units for front line resupply. A prototype was built in 1937 and production started in 1939. In this period, two armoured personnel carriers and a tank destroyer project were also based on its chassis. Mainly equipping the larger mechanised units of the French Infantry arm, the type was extensively employed during the Battle of France in 1940. After the defeat of France, clandestine manufacture was continued in Vichy France, culminating in a small AFV production after the liberation and bringing the total production to about 630 in 1945. Germany used captured vehicles in their original role of carrier and later, finding the suspension system to be particularly reliable, rebuilt many into tank destroyers () of the Marder I type or into self-propelled artillery.
Development
In 1934, the order was given to design a munition supply vehicle to increase the operational range of independent tank units. The same year, the Renault 36R was selected for further development; three hundred were ordered from 1938. However, this tractor was only partially armoured; on 17 April 1936, a new set of specifications was drafted for a fully armoured vehicle to deliver fuel and munitions to tanks fighting on the frontline.
Early in 1937, the company finished a prototype. It was a lengthened version of a proposed replacement type for the 1931 model Renault UE Chenillette tracked infantry supply tractor. In February 1937, the matériel commission, the , was ordered to test the prototype and to complete an evaluation before 1 November 1937, even if testing had not been finished. The prototype was only presented on 9 July and tested until 4 August. It was equipped with a 2371 cc Delahaye four cylinder 124 F engine. Although the vehicle attained a maximum speed of , this dropped to an unacceptably low when an intended fuel trailer was attached. It was therefore returned to the factory and a more powerful Delahaye 135 engine and stronger clutch were fitted. This vehicle was tested between 22 September and 29 October and achieved the desired .
Production
The commission approved the type during late 1937, being especially impressed by the rugged suspension system. It was decided in September 1939 to reserve the total production capacity of the suspension elements for the larger tractor. This implied that the shorter Lorraine replacement for the Renault UE, though also favoured over other candidates, would not be taken into production: an order of hundred made early 1939 was that month shifted towards the longer version.
In 1938, three orders were made: of 78, 100 and another 100 vehicles of the (TRC 37L); in 1939, before the war, a fourth order of 100 followed, and then a fifth of 74, to which was added the replacement order of 100 for a total of 552. The first vehicle was delivered by Lorraine on 11 January 1939; 212 had been delivered on 1 September 1939.
The ambitious plans made after the outbreak of war for the expansion of the number of armoured divisions meant that the Lorraine 37L orders had to be enlarged accordingly, bringing the total to 1012. The intended initial production rate was fifty per month, to be expanded to seventy. To assist in the manufacture, a second assembly hall was erected by Fouga at Béziers, where it was hoped that it could produce at first twenty and later thirty vehicles per month. In reality, this number was never attained; e.g. 20 were made in January, 32 by both companies in May 1940. On 26 May 1940, 432 vehicles had been delivered to the army by Lorraine and Fouga out of 440 produced. Production continued after that date and an estimated total of about 480 to 490 had been reached by 25 June 1940, the end of the Battle of France.
Description
Being derived from a project, the Lorraine 37 L was a rather small vehicle, just 1.57 metres wide. Space had been found by lengthening the chassis to 4.22 metres, making it rather oblong. Lacking a turret or superstructure its height was also not excessive at just 1.215 metres. The small dimensions combined with a light armour — nine millimetres for the vertical riveted plates, six for the top and bottom and twelve for the cast rounded nose section — ensured a low weight: the basic TRC 37L weighs just 5.24 metric tonnes empty, the trailer adding 1.2 tonnes.