French Anti-Tank Gun 25mm S.A 34 Type I Deluxe

Plastic model kit of the French 25 mm anti-tank gun Modèle 1934 Type I
   Deluxe edition      new molds  

• Scale 1:35
• Can be built in transport or firing position
• metal barrel
• 3D printed wheels and resin parts
• 4 figures with optional heads
• Decals come from Cartograf
• unbuilt, unpainted
• Paint and glue not included

The Canon de 25 mm SA-L Modèle 1934 was the French Army's main light anti-tank gun in the years before World War II. Developed and manufactured by the French company Hotchkiss, it was introduced in 1934 to provide the infantry with a modern weapon to combat enemy tanks. With its caliber of 25 millimeters, a high muzzle velocity of around 918 meters per second and its comparatively low mass of around 500 kilograms, it combined good penetration performance with high mobility. This meant that the gun could be quickly positioned by its operating crew and used even in difficult terrain.

At the outbreak of war, the cannon was part of the standard equipment of numerous French infantry and cavalry units. In the French campaign of 1940 it proved to be quite dangerous against the light and medium German tanks of the early years of the war. At typical combat distances, it could reliably penetrate the armor of vehicles such as the Panzer I and Panzer II. However, it increasingly reached its limits against more heavily armored vehicles, which reflected the general technical progress in tank construction.

The Canon de 25 mm SA-L Modèle 1934 was available in large numbers and formed the backbone of French anti-tank defense. Their operational concept was based on well-camouflaged positions and precise fire at short to medium distances. Although the weapon was already considered to have a relatively small calibre in 1940, when it was introduced it represented a modern and powerful solution and was well suited to the requirements of the French army at the time.

After France was defeated, numerous guns fell into German hands. The Wehrmacht took over these captured weapons under the designation 2.5 cm Pak 112(f) and continued to use them primarily in security, training and crew units as well as in fortifications. However, their military importance remained limited there as the advancing development of tanks increasingly reduced their effectiveness. Regardless, the Canon de 25 mm SA-L Modèle 1934 is best remembered as the characteristic standard anti-tank gun of the French Army in the 1930s and during the French campaign of 1940.