World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseThe Automitrailleuse de Reconnaissance Renault Modèle 1933, or AMR 33, was a design completed in 1932 and entered production in the following year; Renault's internal designation for the design was Renault VM. The AMR 33 light tanks were ordered by the French cavalry, thus they were lightly armed, lightly armored, and fast. By 1934, there were 115 vehicles in operation, assigned to the cavalry as intended to replace several horse-mounted units. In 1935, the year that the production would cease due to the more modern AMR 35 superceding the production of AMR 33 design after a total 123 units were built, some of these light tanks went into service with armored divisions as their parent units were converted from the cavalry to the armored forces. When the European War began for France on 2 Sep 1939, the French Army operated 92 AMR 33 light tanks. During the German invasion in 1940, AMR 33 light tanks saw combat; in fact, at 1000 hours on 10 May 1940, the first French tank to be destroyed in the German invasion was a AMR 33 light tank. Although they were faster than German tanks, a characteristic useful for delay action campaigns, it was found that this very characteristic caused the suspension systems to fail prematurely. Mechanical failures and combat losses together destroyed about 70 AMR 33 light tanks during the German invasion. The remaining units were pressed into service by Germans under the designation Panzerspähwagen VM 701 (f) and served in rear areas.

AMR 33 Timeline

SPECIFICATIONS

AMR 33

Machinery	One Renault Nervasport 24 CV 8-cyl 4,241cc gasoline engine rated at 84hp
Suspension	Oil dampened horizontal springs
Armament	1x7.5mm Reibel Mitrailleuse mle 1931 machine gun, optional second machine gun of same type in reserve
Armor	13mm front and sides, 9mm inclined plates, 6mm top, 5mm bottom
Crew	2
Length	3.50 m
Width	1.64 m
Height	1.73 m
Weight	5.5 t
Speed	54 km/h
Range	200 km

Photographs