The Laffly S20TL is a softskin personal
carrier, developed during 1934-1937, also known as "VDP" for
"voiture de Dragons Portés", Dragons Portes's car. Each Laffly S20TL
was equipped with two AA mounts which could possibly be fitted on each aft
corner, on each side, and on the centre the first row of rear seats and the
rest of the hull. The devices could accommodate either a FM 24/29 or a 8 mm
Hotchkiss MG. However for combat, both LMGs were supposed to be used by the
squad (only during transport would the LMGs be used in an AA role. 630 S20TL
vehicles had been delivered in 1940 to the French army for a total of 1175
ordered. The troop carriers were usually issued to the DLMs and DCRs. There
were also other variants of the Laffly S20 : a fuel tank version (39 vehicles),
a command / radio truck (69 vehicles) and a tank destroyer version of the S20
TL carrying a 25mm L/72 AT gun (40 vehicles) used for example in the 4th DCR.
The characteristics of the Laffly S20 TL are:
Weight: 3.9t (live load 1.75t)
Length: 5.35m
Width: 2.00m
Height: 1.67m (2.45m covered)
Crew: 10 men for the carrier (6 men for the
tank destroyer)
Maximum speed: 65 km/h (6 cylinders, 3016
cm3, 68 hp at 3200 rpm)
Autonomy: 138 km
Armament: none for the carrier except an
AAMG during travel, a 25mm SA-L Mle34 L/72 AT gun for the tank destroyer
version
Interesting wheel arrangement with the small wheels in front of and behind the front main wheels - were they used to stop the Laffly "bottoming out" when it crossed obstacles?
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