This is the story of a small and not very successful tank named HOTCHKISS which served briefly in each of the armies that operated it. It was born in France in 1935 by the Hotchkiss company under the name Hotchkiss H-35. Many tanks of its type, models H-35 and H-39, fell into the hands of the Nazi army who put them into use under the designation PzKpfw 39-H 735(f)
https://yadlashiryon.com/armored/h39-%D7%98%D7%A0%D7%A7-%D7%94%D7%95%D7%A6%D7%A7%D7%99%D7%A1/
During the War of Independence, 10 tanks that were originally “H35 Hotchkiss” were upgraded to H39 Hotchkiss, and participated in the War of Independence in the “Dani” Operation in the 8th (armored) Brigade under the command of Yitzhak Sadeh, which included the 82nd Tank Battalion.
82.
The War of Independence and in IDF service
Yehuda Arazi managed to purchase 10 Hotchkiss 39-H light tanks in France at a price of $41,000 per tank. The tanks arrived in Israel on June 15, 1948. A professional technical inspection revealed that their technical condition was poor. During the three weeks leading up to Operation “Dani”, the 8th Brigade’s brigade workshop managed to operationally train five tanks
The first major operation was to be the attack on Iraq al-Manshiyya as part of Operation Yoav. As a result of poor operational capability that caused some of them to fall into the ditch, together with incorrect operation and stubborn resistance from the Egyptians, four were left on the battlefield. Disappointments with the Hotchkiss tanks led to their complete withdrawal from service and the use of only their guns in the White armored personnel carrier.
.
At least one of these tanks was used by the Reich army. This was discovered when a Nazi seal was discovered on the Hotchkiss tank displayed at the Yad LeShiron Museum in Latrun. In contrast, another tank from the same shipment, whose turret was placed in the Beit Jobrin area as a training target (number 2415 stamped on the turret), was not captured and did not serve in the German army like the one in Latrun.
The Hotchkiss in the War of Independence
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.