The Char 2C had a loaded weight of 69 tonnes, partly because of its armour - 45 mm at the front, 22 mm at the sides, but much of it just because of its huge size. The armour was among the thickest of World War I-era tanks, though by modern standards this would be considered thin. It is still easily the largest tank ever taken into production. With the tail fitted, the hull was over twelve metres long. Within its ample frame there was room for two fighting compartments. The first at the front, crowned by a three-man turret (the first in history) with a long 75 mm gun, and the second at the back, topped by a machine gun turret. Both turrets had stroboscopic cupolas. The three independent 8 mm machine gun positions at the front gave protection against infantry assault.
| Char 2C | |
|---|---|
| Type | Super-heavy tank |
| Place of origin |  France |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1921–1940 |
| Used by | France |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1917 |
| Produced | 1921 |
| Number built | 10 |
| Variants | Char 2C bis |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 69 tonnes (68 long tons; 76 short tons) |
| Length | 10.27 m (33 ft 8 in) |
| Width | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Height | 4.09 m (13 ft 5 in) |
| Crew | 12 |
| | |
| Armour | 45 mm (1.8 in) max. |
| Main armament | 75 mm gun |
| Secondary armament | Four 8 mm machine guns (front, sides, and rear turrets) |
| Engine | Two engines 2 x 250 hp |
| Operational range | 150 km (93 mi) |
| Speed | 15 km/h (9.3 mph) |
The Char 2C is the only super-heavy tank ever to attain operational status — a super-heavy tank is not simply a tank that is very heavy but one that is much heavier than regular tanks of its period. The next operational tank to weigh about the same would be the Tiger II heavy tank of World War II.
The fighting compartments were connected by the engine room. Each track was powered by its own 200 or 250 hp engine, via an electrical transmission. Top speed was 15 km/h. Seven fuel tanks, containing 1,260 litres, gave it a range of 150 kilometres.
To man the tank required a crew of twelve: driver, commander, gunner, loader, four machine gunners, mechanic, electrician, assistant-electrician/mechanic and a radio operator. Some sources report thirteen, probably due to pictures of the crews that included the company commander.
Its suspension contains 39 interleaving road wheels on each side, making for a total of 90 wheels on the tank.
