| Full Name | Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié 39 |
| Class | Heavy Vehicle |
| Movement | 4 |
| Armor Value | 2 |
| Vs Infantry (RNG / FPR) | 5/5 |
| Vs Vehicle (RNG / FPR) | 5/4 |
| Traits | |
| Period | 1936-1942 |
| Theaters of Service |
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The Hotchkiss company first designed this family of vehicles in the early 1930s as a rather slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank. The original H35 proved difficult to steer while driving cross-country, so the French Infantry initially rejected it. The French Cavalry, however, adopted the H35/39, a slightly improved version, which featured a stronger engine and longer, more powerful, L/35 37 mm SA 38 gun with a much-improved anti-tank capability. The fully-rotating turret also featured a coaxial 7.5 mm MAC31 Reibel machine gun. The H35 and H35/39 carried a crew of two and had a top speed of 17 mph. Hotchkiss produced about 1,200 units between September 1936 and June 1940. The Germans captured about 550 units after the French surrender in June 1940. They used them for occupation duty in France, Finland, and the Balkans under the names Panzerkampfwagen 35H 734(f) or Panzerkampfwagen 38H 735(f), for the earlier and later variants, respectively. This unit represents the improved version of the tank (the H35/39) with the more effective longer 37 mm main gun.