The Patriot Files Forums - Charron Armoured Car

The worlds first Armoured Car was the French Charron, and it was rolled out in 1905. (That very same year the Austrian Austro-Daimler - a rather small vehicle, characterized by a large, dome-shaped MG-equipped turret, sited at the rear - also saw the light of day, but as the Charron made it's debut in the newyear of 1905, it is safe to say that the French vehicle was first.) But while the AFV was built and engineered by a French firm, the basic design came from a Russian officer, M.A. Nakasjidze, based on his experiences from the then on-going Russo-Japanese war.

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It was basically an ordinary automobile, including large windows, equipped with a steel plate body, and shutters for the windows. On the roof was mounted a turret with a Hotchkiss MG. (It also carried a spare MG.) It had a crew of four, and could be driven in a maximum roadspeed of 45 km/h. It had a number of interesting features, including tyres filled with liquid, that made them semi-selfhealing in case of a hit. Only a small number of vehicles were produced. Some (perhaps only one) was used during the unrest in Russia, as a urban-pacification vehicle. The German Army tried at least two, used them in maneuvers, but were obviously not impressed. The French Army used a number of Charrons during WW1, but obviously mainly as a sort of AA or baloon-buster vehicle.

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