I am working now on a b1 bis, "Rhone". I want to show it in a dio with a wrecked building, and the tank being gassed out of small gas containers found there, since gas was so important to these tanks.

Big question is, where is the gas cap on this tank? Also, with 10-20 gallon containers, how would they be drained into the main tank? By lifting the containers, or by pumping them out? Any ideas?

Hi Arthur,

Someone else might be able to chime in here, but I believe that the Char B1 bis was fueled by the crew from the inside.

That is, there was a corridor leading from the forward crew compartment into the engine compartment with a large door located to the rear of the 75mm hull cannon.

The fuel tanks were located in the hull sponsons on the right side (opposite of the large radiator grate on the left hull side). There were two tanks on the right side, a forward main tank that held 200 liters and rearward tank that held 100 liters. There was a third tank located to the rear of the radiator in the left rear hull sponson.

Internal plans show that there were fuel filler tubes with caps that just sort of stuck out from each tank. The plans don't show these leading to any place on the hull roof where there could be external filler caps.

It appears to me that some poor sod had to schlep gas cans in through the side crew access door, past the rear of the hull 75mm cannon, and then through the firewall door, into a short corridor besides the engine. He then had to lfft these up inside a space with very little head (or any other kind of) room and pour it into the fuel fillers. I can only imagine how unpleasent this was with a hot (hopefully shut down) engine and little ventilation.

(Imagine the photos that you've seen of the engine room of a submarine, only smaller, to get an idea...)

If this isn't strange enough, there were also 75mm ammo stowage racks down this same corridor next to the fuel tanks.

I might be interpreting the cut away drawings wrong, but this is what it looks like to me. I suppose that a system of hoses and funnels with a couple of guys on the hull holding the funnel and pouring fuel into it with a third crewman inside the engine "room" holding the opposite end of the hose into one of the fuel filler tubes on one of the gas tanks could have been possible.

The only other possiblity that I can see would be the access hatch on the hull top to the rear of the exhausts (square horizontal door). I guess it would be possible to pass the fuel cans in through this hatch to a guy in the engine "room" while getting a bit of fresh air. This hatch would give a crewman an emergency exit from the engine compartment, though.

I couldn't find a single photo of any sort of re-fueling operation on a Char B1 bis, so all of this is just trying to figure it out from the drawings and plans.

Sorry I couldn't be more definitive, but hope this helps.

Just to complete Mike's reply, here are the cutaway drawings he's talking about (from Chars-français B1 Bis article) :

Here the fuel tanks are on the right ("réservoirs essence") partially hidden behind the engine and the transmission, but you can notice their L-shaped fillers :



Here the fuel tank is on the left :



Top view :



HTH

Frenchy

Wow! Thanks a lot Mike and Frenchy. A big tank like that with a big powerful engine having only a fuel load of less than 120 gallons of gas! AND with the tanks fuel consumption! If you find some 50 gallon drums, how do you get it into the tank? Buckets? If I were a crewman on one of these, I would have a big funnel and a long hose and refuel through the top hatch. At least you would get some ventilation too. AND I wonder how the tank would do on regular gas, as aviation fuel is called for. Incredible. Again, thanks.

The short range of the B1 Bis was one of its main weak points : it was only 130 km...A special trailer had been designed to carry 800 liters of gas and a few were used in 1940 to make up for the lack of dedicated resupply vehicles.

Frenchy

hello, refueling was by the door above via a pipe. tractor tanker tank TRC Lorraine 37 L stands by side of the tank, it passes through the trap tube and pump in the tank to refuel the B1bis
link on the TRC LORRAINE

http://www.chars-francais.net/new/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1481
STEPH

Like Stephane says, the Lorraine TRC 37L had been designed for tank resupply. The pump it was fitted with enabled the crew to fill up the 3 B1 Bis fuel tanks in 40-60mn...(a long, stressing time if you do that on the front line ! )

Frenchy

Thanks to everybody. I have ordered the Blitz kit "Lot carburant France 40 n°2", with gas drums and a hand pump. Hose will be run into the hatch in the back of the Char b1 bis. Scene will be set in Miniart's Street with Ruined House #36001.