Manufacturer: Renault, Billancourt (Seine), France

Production Year: 1935

Engine: Renault 85 10CV, side-valve, 2.1-liter, 35-hp, liquid-cooled, four-cylinder, gasoline

Transmission: Three-speed: three forward, one reverse

Length: 9-feet

Width: 5-feet, 7-1/2-inches

Height: 3-feet, 5-1/2-inches

Weight: Approximately 2-tons

Armor: Front and sides: 7-mm; Top, rear and bottom: 4-mm

Armament: NONE on this example - (some, in German service, were converted to 3.7-cm Pak 36 self-propelled anti-tank mounts)

Maximum Road Speed: Approximately 18-mph

Crew: Two

Markings: French Army olive drab, Armored Supply Unit

The Renault UE, designated Chenillette de Ravitaillement d’infanterie M1931R (Armored Infantry Supply Carrier), was introduced in 1931. Most of the nearly 6,000 produced were built by Renault, with AMX taking over production from 1936 to 1939. Since it was only capable of carrying about a 1/4-ton of supplies; generally ammunition, most Renault UEs were supplied with a 1/2-ton capacity trailer (not included with this example). The trailer was designed to be used with or without tracks. Although a version of the Renault UE with a mounted machine-gun for the co-driver was built, the great majority were unarmed, such as this example. It was designed to be able to provide supplies, under fire, to front-line fighting units. Both the UE tractor and the trailer were derived from British Carden-Loyd carrier designs, specifically, the Carden-Loyd Mark VI. The Carden-Loyd Mark VI served the British Army during most of the 1930s before being withdrawn from front-line service just prior to the beginning of World War II. The Renault UE, however, was still in wide spread service with the French Army when the German Army invaded and occupied France in 1940. The Germans converted many of the UE tractors to self-propelled mounts for anti-tank guns and rocket launchers.