Batchat 25t RL photos

Warning: Post is VERY picture heavy

Hello everyone,

today, I have something quite interesting for you. Now, we all know Batignolles-Châtillon 25t, AKA Batchat 25t, right? You probably even known this photograph:

batchat

But… that photo is 10 years old and there are few new photos of the Batchat 25t prototype, sitting quietly at Saumur. Why? Well… because it’s not on the exhibition. Batchat 25t prototype sits within the space, that is normally not accessible to visitors. You either have to have a special permit, or you have to fulfill certain… other conditions. Wargaming themselves got basically told to sod off (not the first time either, the same story happened with Munster), they didn’t get to photograph or measure the prototype and constructed the vehicle in game based on freely available photos.

But of course, this is not the end of the world. Meet French player DrPikouz. DrPikouz has many things and access is amongst them – so, in this case, he agreed to share with us new photographs of the Batchat 25t prototype – and it’s not a pretty sight. He however intends to write some articles, so you can look forward to more French goodness!

This is how it looks now – a damn shame really to let it rust like that:

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61 thoughts on “Batchat 25t RL photos

  1. First off, nice post =)
    Secondly, this is a real shame… such a brilliant piece of history and engineering going to waste like this :(
    I guess that’s why it’s not on exhibition anymore…

    • indeed a total waste of historical tanks, even if it was “just” a prototype.

      and i think that maybe the batchat will get reworked with these new available pics from DrPikouz. bless his tankist heart for making the pics

  2. I’m sure with all the new interest in tanks (largely thanks to World of Tanks) there would people out there who would be interested in restoring it.

    I real shame to see it rusting like that.

        • Wait is green or blue base player WR?

          Because if Green is base then it is wicked OP across the board

          Also in Pubs it is very OP since it has 5 390 DMG shells and T57+50b have 4 and are both huge and lumbering, while it is tiny has huge camo and massive speed….Also 57 and 50b arent well armored either.

          High Alpha/Burst DMG is godly in Pubs. There is a reason why Wn8 needs 2400 for a E5 and 3600 for a T57, both are very similiar except for gun and E5 has much more Armor.

          Anyways nothing in game is like the Bat, Leo is closest thing and it isnt close.

          • Have you played these tanks? BatChat used to be hugely OP, now its probably one of the best balanced tanks in tier x. In the right situation its lethal,but elsewhere, particularly early game, its a liability. DPM is not everything. The aim time and accuracy are pretty poor for the bat, and that matters. I’ve not played the 50b still can’t comment, but the T57 armour is surprisingly bouncy, unlike the bat.

  3. Hmm, maybe you could get some sort of foundation started to get it cleaned up.

    Get small donations by individuals, government subsidies for the big money (convinced because it’s good “made in France” advertising)…
    It could work.

    • We have a saying: “A shirt is closer to body than a coat” – as you probably know, I am Czech and we have our own issues here, that need adressing (like the veterans a few months back), so this one is on the French I am afraid. I am willing to give it publicity of course, but I think the real problem here is to make some arrangement with the museum itself, they seem very tied by French laws.

      • Yeah, if they dont even allow WG to measure it or take photos of it, i doubt they will allow foreigners to buy it to restore it.

      • Well I’m French myself, so….

        I really want to give it a try. It’s good marketing for the museum, and good press for the French defense ministry, and a chance to get a remarkable little tank fueled by the madness of the early 50′s back in presentable condition.

        • Hey, I’m also French and reside less than 100km from the museum. Maybe our community could gather a bit for this good cause (yea it is hard to imagine this instead of everyone throwing spikes at each other), and send them a nice collective letter ?
          The success of WoT and the work of people like Silentstalker has greatly contributed into popularising the tank culture, I’m pretty sure they felt an increase in visitors in Saumur. Maybe some kickstarter or such could finance a part of the restoration ?
          It’s unlikely to ever be in working state again with all its extinct specific parts, but maybe they could at least find him some roof and give it a proper cleaning ! A few motivated people would do that in an afternoon, then it could get more seriously restored.

          What do y’all think ? Chiche ?

          • The idea is very interesting.
            However, there is a little problem.
            As you probably noticed, the tank is “stored” in a narrow alleyway, filled with many other tanks.
            In fact, before even getting it out in he open, you would need to move at least the 4 tanks behind it, IIRC. All of them being in an even worse condition BTW. Now, the very basic thing that could be done would be to put it under a protective canvas, to try and prevent further degradations due to the weather. At least, the “good” news is that the floor is so rusted that water does not stagnate in the tank.
            Now, I agree that protecting it, and maybe giving it a good new coat of paint would already be awesome. And I’m pretty sure that the Museum has some towing vehicle to move the tanks.
            It definitively needs some help, because in 10 years, the big bush that you see in the background has already eaten at least 3 tanks, including a rare prototype of an ELC Even.
            10 more years and Batman will be playing Indiana Jones in the jungle :/

            And for a more complete restoration, nothing is impossible. Heck, they manage to obtain parts for WW2 German tanks. It’s horribly expensive (producing on demand single pieces and all), but not impossible. The Batignolles-Chatillon company still exists, with a bit luck they still have all the very specific technical data. Then, it’s just a case of finding a company able to produce them again. Engine, dashboard, everything can be recreated.

      • I wish with the 300 mil WG made they would restore tanks like this…..

        Seriously they make MEGA bucks and could put back a few million to create a WOT Museum with Tanks like Batchat-T95 and other cool proto`s no one else has

  4. Perhaps the real reason they don’t allow most people to see it is because they don’t want people to see their negligence?

    To have a tank in as good a condition as the one in the original photo and then let it degrade to that level in only 10 years, can only be described as neglect, incompetence, indeed negligent. Most people can keep a simple car looking good for 10 years…

    • Yeah all you need is a wharehouse thats dry and a 1 time a year paint coat.

      If the French and others wont keep there historical artifacts clean they need to donate them, Patton Museum or any other one would be thrilled to have it.

      But TBH WG owes it to themselves to buy these ingame tanks and use the massive profits to keep them up.

      WG should take 1% of its annual profit and put it towards tanks.

      If I was a rich guy I would have these Chassis completely re-done or better yet make Pilot/Proto vehicles based on the tanks with only 1/2inch steel to get the same look but without huge weight

  5. That is the issue we have in France. Army get no sufficient funds to even refresh the equipment of their active troops. So regarding the maintenance of old tanks….
    Regarding funding restoration campaign, as you highlighted in the begining of this post, it is very unlikely because french army sanctuaries are quite impenetrable. I don’t think we ever had or will have a tank museum like bovington for exemple. All we have is mostly pre-WWI stuff in museum.

      • Sure we have stuff but nobody can see a fourth of it…
        Was obviously talking about easily recheable material, a normal museum…

      • As far as I know, Saumur gets its own funds. This problem isn’t related to the french army lack of fundings: every tank museum has to let some tanks rot outside. Just look at Jingles’ video of Bovington.

        In the end, it comes down to the available funds, and to what will attract visitors. Up until recently, people visited museums to see King Tigers, Jadgtigers, T-34 and IS, FT-17 and what not. The well known WWI and II tanks.

        Nowadays, mostly thanks to WoT, people also want to see other beasts, even tanks that were only produced a couple times. Last time I went to Saumur, I saw some guys being crazy around the AMX50. None would have cared five years ago, even though the tanks looked freaking awesome already.

        So, let’s hope Saumur will somehow get enough money to restore this beautiful Batchat. If there’s another piece of french post-war tank engineering that needs to be saved, it’s this one.

        That being said, France is full of rotting tanks. I’ve seen an abandonned AMX13 chaffee near Marseille, and there are two B1bis left to rot in northern France. And I’ve been told by a fellow urbexer/tank passionate, that there’s at least one surviving A1 1917 tank. http://www.cnc-aff.fr/internet_cnc/Internet/ARemplir/parcours/EFG1914/pages_FR/215638.html

        • Problem is that Museums haven’t discovered a power of crowdfunding yet. I’m quite certain that if any of them would go on Kickstarter and wanted to gather money for a restoration of one of these tanks – they’d get their money.

          There’s plenty of people that really do care about preserving history, even from a younger generation. Finding them was a real problem 10 years ago, but now? Now everything is possible.

          • Crowd Funding is purely an internet phenomenon. While many young, web-savvy people will pay some money, I’m pretty sure such a sum would barely cover half the restoration costs of a single tank. We are talking about a team of three or four skilled mechanical engineers & metal workers, and a rusted out hulk that needs comprehensive work just to appear presentable (and forget about getting it to run).

            Plus many crowd-funders would like to go and see what they paid for, so people without much cash that live further away have little opportunity or motivation to part with cash for Saumur / Kubinka / Bovington / Muenster.

      • SS how much did WG make last year? It was 2nd or 3rd largest games in world right?

        I thought it was like 300 mil Gross. Anyways if thats the truth my idea for a WG funded Museum is a great one IMO.

  6. Really, how hard /costly would it be to at least cover it up with a ordinary canvas so it is not exposed to the elements? Morons. Is it the same batchat on the current pics in the museum as it is from the 10 year old photo?

  7. DEM FEELS ;__;

    So the ARL 44 and AMX50B are all in shiny condition at Saumur while Bat. Chat. is eaten alive by rust and the interior is just in terrible condition… God, why ? It’s the only prototype!

    • Museum management. Not bothered to gather money for preservation so here you have – the results. If you want to do something – send them an e-mail or gather like-minded people on the forums or somewhere and keep harassing museum managers or give them ideas what they can do to get cash and show them that there ARE people who care.

  8. Damn shame to see such a mighty prototype get neglected like that.
    The frenchies should man up, get it to shine and show it off proudly.

  9. Why would you not just cover it with tarpaulin? I can understand that storage inside proper warehouses is pretty limited, but letting these simply rust away is criminal.

    What I find even more damning is that they didn’t even bother to close the hatches / cover them so that the interior doesn’t get fucked up by the weather.

  10. This is why I consider Bovington to be the best of the three tank museums, they have a huge respect for the vehicles and their history, the only vehicles kept outside in less than perfect condition (not weatherproofed) are a couple of type 59′s and a cent, the rest are wrecks. Saumur shows little respect for many vehicles, and displays a huge level of arrogance to both enthusiasts and even other museums!

  11. Such a machine left out to rust is really a shame and the only prototype that was build this even more shame
    anyway thx to DrPikouz for the colection of photos on an intristing piece of engineering :)

  12. Hi guys !

    I read the comments, and I am happy to see how that people feel like me, that is too say disheartened by the condition of the vehicle. Being on top of this vehicle, knowing its history and what it means to millions of players across the world was purely depressing. I crid evri tiem. Nah, just kidding, you simply don’t cry on the Batchat ;)
    Now, don’t be too hard on the museum. As I said to SS, the Musée des Blindés has stopped being funded by the Frech Government quite a bit of time ago. They only live from entry fees (50.000 required in 2014, just to cover their expenditures and break even), donations, and people joining the museum’s association.

    http://www.unabcc.org/mus%C3%A9es/

    This page is from the site of the French National Association of Armoured Corps, Cavalry and Tanks. Basically, the General presiding the association launches an “alert” about the needs of the museum. He mentions the AMX-13 collection, and, indeed, the museum’s AMX-13 collection is left to rust (too) on a parking lot, due to the lack of funds. He concludes saying that “We don’t have the moral right to let let die such places of tradition”.
    Now, a few things : maintenance of tanks is horribly expensive. They have some unique models, that are also more widely known that a B-C 25t. In fact, 3 years ago, nobody knew or cared about the B-C 25t, but about Tigers II, Panthers, etc, as pointed out by Meneldil. WoT has an amazing effect, making a wide portion of people feel interested about tanks, and not only WW2 tanks, but Cold War prototypes.

    So, the museum is not exactly super-rich, and the maintenance of tanks is horribly expensive. Ask the French govt, and how they try to save expenses by letting a large portion of our AMX-56 Leclerc sit in hangar, with minimal maintenance, or repairing those in active service by cannibalizing parts from those in storage.
    Anyways, the museum has the last functioning Tiger II in the world, and this thing costs an arm to maintain. They are also currently restoring a Panther, from what I saw. They lack direly of space to store properly the tanks, and some of them can’t be as well maintained a they should.
    Someone mentioned their AMX-50 and their ARL-44. I don’t want to add insult to injury, but I managed to look inside the turret of the AMX-50. And even though the exterior appears relatively clean, the interior is not. It’s rusted, some parts appear missing, etc … And the ARL, while closed tight, is not in pristine condition either. If you have the occasion to see it, go look behind, and inspect the exhaust pipes. They rusted to the point that just touching them makes them crumble. Because, due to a questionable design of the time, we don’t have nice big pipes, but rather dozens of small (and very thin) pipes. Easy prey for rust !! And the Maine-et-Loire is not exactly the driest region of France …

    Anyways, I am also happy to see some people mentioning the idea of a private initiative to help restore the tank. And this, my friends, would be amazing indeed. There is definitively something worth of trying here. However, what you must note is that the museum lacks mostly of manpower, because the guys restoring and maintaining the tanks are volunteers. The only paid personnel are the cashiers, who also double as administration. But, yes, showing them that WoT community is of help would be great, and maybe then it would make the museum be less “picky” about access to their vehicles.

    And, no, even though the vehicle is in such a bad condition, it would be heartbreaking to see it leave the museum and maybe France. It’s part of our national patrimony, and it must be accessible for everyone to see it, in a museum. Problem is when the museum lacks the funds to maintain the huge collection they have. A very French problem, btw, great ideas, great potential, but not enough means to do things, or lack of will to do them.

    Anyways, stay tuned, there is definitively something that could be done here.

    • EDIT : I have left out a confusion.
      The page I had give the link of is from the UNABCC, which is an association of (former and current) French tankers. They are the guys to be thanked for trying to promote the interests of French tanks in France, namely preventing too many tank regiments from being dissolved by the Govt. They only deal with the military side of things, but only try to raise awareness in the general public.

      The museum’s association is the AAMB (Association des Amis du MdB). They are the guys who give money to the museum, and some of them are volunteering to restore and maintain the tanks.

      Just to be clear.

      • Merci pour ces photos – les miennes sont moins jolies….. J’y suis allé l’année dernière et j’ai été surpris de l’état de certains chars – accessibles sur le parking – pourtant intéressants (grace à ton post, je sais pourquoi….). Et je suis d’accord avec certains : si WG peut aider Bovington et d’autres musées, alors pourquoi pas Saumur ???

        For the “Non French” – Majority of you :-) , I said to Dr Pikouz, a thanks for his photos, mines are less – how to say….. – beautifuls ;-) . I went to Saumur last year and I was surprised of the -bad- state of some tanks on the parking lot of the museum – some of these tanks are interesting pieces (now with this post, I know why….) . I also agree with other post that if WG could help/fund other museums like Bovington – why not Saumur ???

        Thanks to SS for this blog :-)

        • Bonne question. Peut-être une question de statuts. Mais je pense surtout qu’ils (WG) n’ont peut-être pas proposé. Se faire renvoyer comme des malpropres n’a pas dû tellement les inciter non plus.

          Good question. Maybe a regulation’s matter. But I mainly think that they (WG) did not suggest to help them. And they were surely not motivated to do so when they were told to f*** off.

          • I am a British student living in the USA.

            While not a massive an of French engineering, its a shame to see this rust.
            I agree that it needs to stay in France, but a fundraiser would be great, and maybe Bovington could help with the restoration if enough interest is generated?

            at least the Chieftain prototype is under cover in Bovington… can someone donate a plastic sheet to cover up the B.25t?

  13. Poor museum can’t even afford a tarp. Let’s take up a collection.

  14. It sucks to see the cool looking UNIQUE protobat rusting to death. where’s the shroud…

    • Hey, now, when you are killed by one IG, you can always take comfort in thinking that the RL model will be pathetically killed by a giant bush !

  15. Someone needs to put this up on the Wikipedia page for the BatChat. I don’t mean WoT wiki, I mean legit Wikipedia. This is an embarrassment to humanity.

  16. I am no big fan of the BatChat in-game but seeing this…..my Tanker self will not take this! This is like seeing what you love so much being reduced to mere pile of junk in front of you! It’s like a…..forget it. I can’t say it. This is too much for me.

  17. I suggest all the people who care copy paste this and post it anywhere you could think of where people would help. The poor Bat is left to die in the cold French season… this is just… Bovington please take it from them… what a shame… The French are so sissies (no offense)