French Hotchkiss SA 34 25mm anti-tank gun ** Revised June 2022 **

** This file has been reworked (June 2022), with a thicker gun barrel and thicker wheel rims, which improve model strength and improve the paintability of the model. As well, two  60mm optional gun bases have been added, one with a recess for a 25mm based figure and a second without the recess. Both have recesses for the wheels, to ensure an effective gluing surface to secure the gun to the base **

After the Great War, the French Army recognized that armoured vehicles would continue to be part of warfare in the future and started exploring manner of countering that threat.

In the mid-1930s the French introduced the Hotchkiss SA-34 25mm anti-tank gun into service. These were employed not just in field mounts, but also in many AFVs, including the Panhard 178 A/C.

The BEF were actually equipped with the SA 34 when they first deployed to France, and the SA 34 saw use not just in the  Battle of France, but afterwards by both sides of the conflict – by Free French in North Africa, as well as by Finland ( who ironically received them from both France and then Germany), by Germans themselves, who mounted them on a multitude of platforms, and even after the war by the Viet Minh.

This .stl pack is designed only for resin printing. The model is a two-part assembly; some may wish to use the gun on a vehicle; it will fit on a 2mm round post.

The model is small, because the gun was – it stood just slightly over 1 meter high and was as wide with the trails closed. The top of the gun shield was “scalloped” to break the outline when hiding in tree lines, and post-action accounts reflect its effectiveness when employed from concealed positions.