The P107 was a
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 ...
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
half-track
A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels at the front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. The purpose of this combination is to produce a vehicle with the cro ...
.
History
In the 1920s and 1930s
Citroën
Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...
developed a long line of half-tracks based on the
Kégresse patent. In 1934, the company introduced its newest and more powerful P107 model as a successor to the
Citroën-Kégresse P17. But before mass production could take place, Citroën went bankrupt and its new owner,
Michelin
Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...
, chose to focus on the civilian markets.
Unic
Unic was a French manufacturer founded in 1905, and active as an automobile producer until July 1938. After this the company continued to produce commercial vehicles, retaining its independence for a further fourteen years before being purcha ...
was therefore able to acquire a license for the Kégresse patent, and took over the production of the P107. From 1937, the vehicles built by Unic received various designations, such as P 107 B, P 107 BU or P 107 U1.
Th first order was made in 1935. Two main variants of the P107 were accepted in French military service: a light
prime mover
Prime mover may refer to:
Philosophy
*Unmoved mover, a concept in Aristotle's writings
Engineering
* Prime mover (engine), motor, a machine that converts various other forms of energy (chemical, electrical, fluid pressure/flow, etc) into energy o ...
for the
75 mm,
short 105 mm Bourges and
short 105 mm Schneider guns, and a platform cargo transport for
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
units. A third version was also delivered to transmission units. 1,274 examples were delivered before the war and 1,896 more were delivered until June 1940.
Foreign use
60 P 107s were ordered by
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
on 27 August 1939 but on 22 September they were recalled to France while en route to Poland.
During World War II, the Germans used these captured half-tracks extensively under the name ''leichter Zugkraftwagen 37 U304(f)'' to tow various anti-tank guns.
With German half-tracks in short supply, Major
Alfred Becker
Alfred Becker (20 August 1899 – 26 December 1981) was a German engineer and artillery officer who served during the First and Second World Wars. During the Second World War he took captured British and French vehicles and refurbished and reb ...
of the 21. Panzerdivision (which in 1944 was stationed near Caen in Normandy) suggested converting captured French vehicles. He ordered the conversion of available Unic half-tracks into ''leichter Schützenpanzerwagen'' (light armoured personnel carriers).
References
Sources
*
External links
* http://www.autogallery.org.ru/m/unicp107.htm
{{Commons category, Unic P107
World War II vehicles of France
Half-tracks of the interwar period
Half-tracks of France
Artillery tractors