Char 2C - The World's Biggest Operational Tank 

Somewhere there is a universe where the British and the French settled their deputes with knights fighting each other in Tog II's vs Char 2C's.

How? How do you keep finding these stories? It's 80 years later and still seemingly endless knowledge to be had.

"We are being reinforced by a behemoth."

*So when the Germans found them, it was a case of "tanks but no tanks".*

This is what happens when you give an FT-17 a mushroom from super mario.

"Friendly behemoth coming our way"

A tank 20 years out of date in the wrong war

Char 2C: I'm gigantic Maus: *Hold my fuel*

Now we need a short video on Britain’s Flying Elephant.

I see the Germans weren't the only big tank lovers... Even the French wanted a big beefy tank.

That's no tank, that's a damn village on tracks.

"peace had broken out" Was that a covert monty python reference?

You are amazing Mr Felton.

The French always loved the concept of huge, multi turret tanks. This was probably a result of having naval architects also working on land tanks. The concept of a land dreadnought seemed perfectly reasonable to them. In addition to this WWI monstrosity, the French designed the WWII version, an even more useless FCM F1, a 140 ton tank that thankfully never got beyond the wooden mockup stage.

French gouvernement : so what's the weight of this beast ? Constructor: 69 tonnes monsieur French gouvernement : *PARFAIT*

tank designed and built in a ship yard. That should tell you all you need to know.

"Char 2c left base 5 minutes ago! It will be here by the end of the Vietnam war!!😄😄"

The German Maybach engines used in the Char were the ones used by Zeppelins, the Char was a true behemoth

apparently 2 of the tanks received experimental modifications. Before the War Champagne received a new turrent with a 150mm howitzer but was later converted back to the original configuration. Another one was apparently uparmored in 1939 to 90mm at the front and 65mm on the sides, which is pretty damn impressive for something in 1939! Though this made both of them weigh over 70 tonnes.

The special railroad cars used to transport them were not railroad cars in the traditional sense but simply a pair of specialized trucks (bogies) that the tank was attached to with the tank acting as the frame of the car. This is a common practice today to transport very large/heavy loads.

Why I don't watch Discovery, History and National Geographic anymore, Mark Felton Productions! 👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻

Char 2c: I'm huuuuuuge!!! Maus: Aww, you're so cute!

6:47 Mark's insight coupled with dry wit makes him the best history commentarian on youube, hands down.

Been on a BF1-Char 2C binge. You, my good sir, have made my day.

It should be noted that there were a couple of modifications to individual Char 2Cs. One of them, Champagne, was experimentally fitted with a new turret and a 155 mm howitzer and dubbed the Char 2C bis. However, it was converted back to standard configuration in 1934 and the experimental turret and gun were repurposed as a static defensive gun in Tunisia. The ‘command tank’ of the Char 2Cs, Lorraine, was also modified during World War II, with its frontal armor increased to 90 mm and the side to 65 mm, increasing the weight to 75 tons. This made Lorraine immune to all German anti-tank guns with the sole exception of the 88 mm Flak 36 AA gun, which was sometimes pressed into service against tanks in a pinch during the invasion of France (usually against Char B1s and Matilda IIs). As for the fate of the last Char 2C, it’s entirely possible that it was lost in battle. With Berlin on the verge of being overrun by the Soviets, the Germans pressed their captured trophy tanks into service in a scratch armored division out of desperation, and this likely included said Char 2C. It probably met its end at the business end of a T-34’s main gun, or a strafing run from an IL-2.

When u need a shipyard for your tank production.

9:03 that bright green paint is revolting, sweet jesus.

Imagine what an amazing adventure it would be if tank number 99 was to be found somewhere still intact but long long forgotten!

we had one, abandonned, in our small village, the 92 Picardie. Could find out some old photos about it.

Imagine that tank being pushed into service as a last ditch effort.

“...desire to make money...French industry actively used senior officers...” Nice to see somethings haven’t changed. :)

Omg mark I have been here many years now I cant believe how much your channel has grown you deserve it mate keep up the good work

Yes I’ve been waiting since January for you to do the CHAR 2C

Great channel, Mark. Always a winner.

Unbelievable information and amazing naration!!! You Mr Felton are making my evenings thrilling and exciting! Greetings from Greece :)

2:38 "I'm helping!"

Perfect for Rupture or Soissons :3 Thanks Mark for covering the 2C and it's unfortunate story!

the extreme and and possible chance that there might just be a forgotten germany-captured french behemoth in storage in a former soviet warehouse somewhere in the world and that at any point somebody with history knowledge could stumble upon it, excites me to no end.

Thank you for great content

fantastic,thanks a lot,Mark!

Great video!

Love your videos mark

The fact that you keep making good quality videos daily , surprises me always

Another great video. I hadn't even heard of stroboscopic cupolas and just read all about those. Some great minds were at work. Amazing. Thanks again and I'm going to use Patreon(?) to contribute from now on. One of (if not) the best channels on You Tube.

Mark, your work is always impressive. Thank you for keeping alive this historical period. Though many are unaware, the impact of WWII is still having repercussions to this day. Thank you!

Thanks for that Mark, as a follower of AFV here's one I've neither heard of or seen.

As always I'm clicking like before even watching... new upload from Mr Felton and the Tank Museum.... heaven

Love to see you still posting keep up the vids

Simply Awesome video!

Good Morning! Great Video! There is a fellow on the RCTankwarfare forum who has printed up one of these in 1/16 scale. It is fully RC and is an impressive sight for sure.

Char 2c: Expensive failure USS Gerald Ford: Watch my budget

I built a LEGO scale model of this, I’m actually really pleased with the results

Notification squad! Love your videos Mark. They are the best thing to watch and listen to on the train ride home. Thank you

3:43 "even though peace had broken out". humor so dry it withered my house plants .

Germans: what do we have here? Target practice.

I like your channel for the calm but intellectual voice and just like, who doesn't want to know more about war stuff.

I love your opening music..

I'm a simple man, I see Mark has a new video, I watch it.

I actually have a photo of one of these tanks after they were found by the Germans. You can even see the railway car it was on in the photo. Very neat video!

"Sacré nom de dieu! There's no more champagne in ze tank minibar! Let's split from thez place!"

great vid 😊👏👏

Was that guy at 2:40 trying to give the tank a helping hand!? LOL :-D

4:52 me and the boys going to get croissant

Fun fact. This tank had more reverse gears than forward ones.

Officer: we have a Char coming to help us. Soldier: when is ut gonna be here. Officer: in two days. Lolol

Tank breaks through wall *Battlefield 1 noises intensify* Soldiers in the trenches "why do I hear boss music?"

WOW !! Super Duper Thank you Mark Felton Productions :-)

-How large do you want it to be? -*YES*

Another fine video .Tank you.....

I could use this on my daily commute.

The British may have invented the tank but the french were the first to come up with the idea of a tank with a rotating turret so they set the standard for tank design after that.

It's amazing, it breaks every design principle extravagantly.

Very good episode there Mark, glad to hear someone covering this fairly unknown tank.

I can honestly say that you showed me a tank I did not know about!

Yay a new video : *hits like, then play* :)

Its was hard to keep the Hun Down...At one point in History....Many thanks Doc. From Kentucky..

rereading Frieser's The Blitzkrieg Legend, it continuously points out the problems the Heer had w/the Char Bs...just thinking of meeting these Char Cs must have been a gut buster for those panzer crews (especially the Mk1 & IIs)

Amazing video, I'd love to have a model of that tank

Another fantastic Video by Dr Felton on this French monster. After seeing this am I the only one hoping he might cover the Soviet 5 turreted behemoth, the T-35 heavy tank in another video.

Love all your videos!

Love the channel man, I've been watching you for quite awhile. It's nice to have a nice glass of liquor while laying back and watching your videos

Another excellent video Dr. Felton. Many thanks for the wonderful content!

I haven't watched the video but I know it is going to be good

"...industry actively used senior officers and high officials to obtain juicy defense contracts.." Good thing we don't have that problem any more !

This was one of the tanks in the Halloween event for WOT a couple of years ago.

Great channel, friend! From Italy.

A few brass pipes on the outside with some very large cogs and and we are set for Steampunk.

My favorite prewar tank of all time. So dumb so big yet so cool looking

An innovative design. Char 2C debuted the world's first three man turret on a tank; a standard to which superior designs were held until the 1950s.

char 2c: the trophy wife of the french army char B1: the hard working,competent,long suffering misstress.

The Maginot - Line on chains ? French Humor.

Good one.

"oi oi oi oi oi, we surly can defend France with this beast..." "Guys Germany just sacked the Netherlands and Belgium as well as Luxemburg" "OH BOI!"

2:40 damn that guy pushes that gun around like it weighs nothing

another great video, thanks very much.

Wow! What a nice big target

What a cool piece of history

Where id this music come from at the beginning? I love it!

What a pity that we never got to see a Char 2C - K-Wagen combat in WW1.

Just love watching your film mark, Thank you 👍