The Laffly S15 was a family of all-terrain military vehicles from French manufacturer

Laffly Laffly was a French manufacturer of trucks and utility vehicles. Founded in 1849, the Laffly company began manufacturing utility vehicles in Billancourt in 1912. From the mid-1930s and until World War II, the company also manufactured a range of ...

that shared the same six-wheel drive chassis. They were used by French forces during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Variants

* The Laffly S15T was a light

artillery tractor An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be 6x6, wheeled, continuous track, tracked, or half-tracked. Trac ...

that was used to tow light field artillery pieces such as modernized variants of the 75 mm mle 1897 field gun and

Canon de 105 court mle 1935 B Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

howitzer. * A personnel carrier and reconnaissance vehicle based on the same chassis was designated as Laffly S15R. It had a different, lighter rear cab and a different transmission that allowed for higher road speed. * The Laffly S15TOE (''théâtre d'opérations extérieures'': "overseas theatre of operations") was a

scout car A scout car is a light wheeled armored military vehicle, purpose-built and used for passive reconnaissance. Scout cars are either unarmed or lightly armed for self-defense, and do not carry large caliber weapons systems. This differentiates them ...

designed and built for service in

French Africa French Africa includes all the historic holdings of France on the African continent. Françafrique French North Africa * Egypt (1798-1801) * French Algeria (1830–1962) * Protectorate of Tunisia (1881–1956) * Protectorate in Morocco (1 ...

n colonies. The S15 chassis was preserved, but an armoured cabin protected the engine and crew, with a small turret that was armed with one single

Reibel machine gun The MAC mle 1931 machine gun (official French designation ''Mitrailleuse'' ''modèle'' ''1931'' - machine gun, model of 1931), was a machine gun used in French tanks of the World War II era, as well as in fortifications such as the Maginot line. ...

. * The Laffly W15T was a low-profile version of the S15T. It was made by Hotchkiss and was used to tow the 47 mm Model 1931 anti-tank gun. * The ambulance version was named S15C. *W-15 TCC (''Chasseur de char'', "tank hunter") - 47mm SA mle 1937 anti-tank gun produced in haste in mid-1940.

Foreign use

When

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

delivered 41

Renault R-35 The Renault R35, an abbreviation of ''Char léger Modèle 1935 R'' or R 35, was a French light infantry tank of the Second World War. Designed from 1933 onwards and produced from 1936, the type was intended as an infantry support light tank, eq ...

tanks to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in 1939, a number of Laffly S15T artillery tractors were also delivered. These gun tractors were used by the 2nd Armoured Regiment's support services.Axworthy, p.37

Gallery

File:Fort de Fermont and its museum - Laffly S 15 T.JPG, Laffly S15T in a museum File:Laffly S 15R, pic-5.jpg, Laffly S15R front File:Laffly S 15R, pic-2.jpg, Laffly S15R back File:Laffly 15toe.JPG, Laffly S15 TOE File:Laffly-Hotchkiss W15T 4632235411 2082c198db o.jpg, Laffly W15T

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * G.N. Georgano, ''World War Two Military Vehicles: Transport & Halftracks'', Osprey Publishing, 2004, * Scafes, Cornel I; Scafes, Ioan I; Serbanescu, Horia Vl (2005). ''Trupele Blindate din Armata Romana 1919-1947''. Bucuresti: Editura Oscar Print. * Vauvillier, F. & Touraine, J.-M. ''L'automobile sous l'uniforme 1939-40'', Massin, 1992, {{Commons, Laffly S15 Artillery tractors World War II vehicles of France