| The Belgian Army had approximately 200 AFVs on 10th May
1940 (the date of the German invasion) assigned in "penny packets" to various
infantry and cavalry divisions for use as support weapons. The Belgians looked upon their
AFVs as defensive weapons. |
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In August 1914 a soldier named Lt. Henkart gave 2 improvised armored cars to the Belgian army. They were commercial Minerva cars with armored plates added. The Cockerill factory at Hoboken (near Antwerp) made these plates. In 1914, Dutch forces captured one of them when Belgian forces crossed the border when they were retreating from the German invasion. The Dutch army used this vehicle during World War I as a border patrol vehicle. It was returned to the Belgian army in 1919.
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The difference is that the FT-18 was equipped with the 37 mm cannon vice the machine gun of the FT-17. The FT-18 was a bit faster (about 1 mph) and a bit heavier armored. Belgium considered the FT-17/18 to be infantry tanks. 75 of this French AFV remained in service with the Belgian army in 1939. A note about the FT-18: This model designator has been disputed. However, There were differences between the models produced in 1917 and 1918. |
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The Belgian Army employed several tanks built by the British firm of Vickers-Armstrong. The Vickers-Carden-Loyd 6 ton light tank model 1934 (designated T15 by the Belgians) was similar to the British Mks III and IV light tanks, but delivered as a Mark VIc. The T-15 had a two-man crew, a French Hotchkiss 13.2mm MG. Forty-two T-15s were delivered. Their assignments are below:
In the left photo above (taken on pre war maneuvers), King Leopold is seen with his War Minister General Denys. On May 28, King Leopold ordered a cease fire. The Belgian Cabinet and Parliament refused to accept the Kings decision. Belgian troops fought on bravely. In early June the whole country was finally occupied. This heroic defense brought back memories of WW1 on onlookers throughout the world. King Leopold would eventually be captured by the Germans and sent to a camp in Germany until freed in early 1945 by victorious Allied troops. The right photo is courtesy of Stefan "Panzermeyer" De Meyer |
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Very simular to the T-15 except that the unit was armed with a cannon. The unit was considered a tank destroyer and mounted a 47mm cannon. All models had a fully rotating turret with the following exception, models B1 and B2 had to lower the side panels first in order to fully rotate.
Photo on the second row left is a B1, center* is a B2, and right, a B3 - courtesy of Stefan De Meyer * The center photo's tank was found in the cellar of the army museum in Vienna in the 1980s and brought home to Belgium, still showing the original paint! The machine is now fully restored and on display. Note the mudguards on this unit. They are of the 75 degree tilt (although one is bent slightly). The B2 can be seen at the Brussels Tank Museum. Stefan De Meyer writes... "Of the first two types there were 56 examples in all and they consisted partly of modified, non-armed Vickers-Carden-Loyd T-13 artillery tractors on which a turret was placed. This means that the B2 type had license numbers which were in the 1100-series while the B.1's were in the 0500-series. Of the B-3 we had some 150 ex (ranging from 33.. to 35..). Exact figures are not yet known and will be hard to define as production went on till the works fell into German hands during the campaign. Some turretless examples (either not finished or driving school examples) escaped as far south as Bordeaux in Southern France. All the T-13s were armed with a Belgian C.47 gun and a 7.65mm F.N.30 MG. These guns were quite good for their time and veterans certified me that they entered the German Pz.Kpfw.IV of 1940 on one side and "left" it on the other side. T-13 B1 were not only found in de Chasseurs Ardennais Rgts but also in the C.C. Rgt.'s and in the 1st Rgt. of Cyclistes Frontière (Border Cycl. Rgt.). |
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The Belgians used these tractors to tow the C.47 anti-tank gun Mod.1931. Two types were made, an infantry version and a cavalry version. Shown above are cavalry versions. The infantry version did not have a rearward facing seat and were much slower (based on an infantryman's marching pace). Another infantry version had a larger track base. All these vehicles were built under license by the " Familleureux works" at Familleheureux. Ca. 30 miles south of Brussels. The bottom two photos by Olaf Schiltmans and Stefan De Meyer show the greater produced cavalry model. The photo by Stefan De Meyer shows that This example probably served with the Germans after its capture. The "Notek" and the protection for the transmission are German made.Top Row: Center photo courtesy of Olaf Schiltmans. Right photo courtesy of Stefan De Meyer Bottom Row: Left - infantry version. Center - cavalry version. Right - Utility B with wide tracks. All courtesy of Stefan De Meyer. Stefan De Meyer writes about the Infantry Version: "The infantry vehicle on the photo was photographed in the open-air museum near Trieste (N.E. Italy) during the seventies. The collection belonged to a man named "Henriquez" who preserved a number of axis guns and AFV's in 1945 and formed a museum with them. After his death, at least part of the collection was taken over by the city of Trieste. A ZgKw 8t Sd.Kfz.7 was restored during the nineties. The restoration even formed the subject of an article in "Wheels and Tracks". No one knows exactly what happened to the other vehicles in the collection. Unfortunately I have never seen a trace of this Utility again. I hope it still survives either in Trieste or in one or other private collection as this is, to my knowledge, the only remaining example of the Utility type Infantry." Do you know what happened to the vehicles? Please email me if you have any information. |
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(no photo) Used by the cavalry to tow the 47mm anti-tank gun. These were built by General Motors of Antwerp. |
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90 Ford chassis built by Ford Antwerp and the armored bodies by "Rageno" at Mechelen (halfway Brussels and Antwerp). They were used by the cavalry to tow the 47mm Anti-Tank gun. |
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This Belgian police AFV was never used in combat. |
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Officially called the C.47 F.R.C. Mod.31 or (Canon anti-char Fonderie Royale de Canons Modèle 1931). This picture of the Belgian main anti-tank weapon stands in the Brussels Army Museum. At least 750 units were in service in 1940. This is the infantry model with rubber rimmed wheels. The cavalry model had pneumatic rubber tires to allow higher speed and better cross-country performance. |
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The Auto Mitrailleuse de Combat Renault type A.C.G.1 Modèle 1935 or abbreviated, the A.M.C. Renault type A.C.G.1 Mle. 35, was armed with a 47mm canon and a coaxial MG. Twenty-five units were ordered by the Belgians from Renault. Delays in production of the chassis due to technical problems caused slow delivery. Out of the 25, only 12 were accepted for Belgian service due to this delay. Rather than wait for the remaining hulls, Belgium developed the V.C.L. T-13 B3 with the same armament. The V.C.L. T-13 B3 was preferred because of the Belgian neutrality policy that preferred the self-propelled anti-tank gun above a real combat tank. The chassis' and turrets were assembled in Belgium. The last being a French APX-2 turret (APX = Ateliers de Puteaux), slightly modified as ordered by the Belgians and officially called: APX-2B (B = Belgian). During the 1940 campaign eight vehicles formed an independent squadron of two platoons and fought some fierce and successful combats. Four vehicles fell victim to German 3.7cm PAK 35/36, two were abandoned after being bogged down and two finished the campaign more or less intact. This was the only "true" tank in the Belgian army. "True", meaning that this vehicle mounted a cannon as it's main weapon. |
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This armored car served with heavy troop sections of Belgian Armored Car Regiments, each had a total of 8 AEC.
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Ralph D. Norton |
Tim Keennon |
Alain Conradi |
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Mark Holloway |
| Laurent Touchard |
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| Jon Bantick |
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Last Update: Thursday, February 13, 2003 |
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