French Lorraine 38L VBCP Infantry Carrier

Above: The Lorraine Carrier on my work table. Only the tarp has been painted at this point. To give an idea of the size, the base is 1" x 2".

This is a Battlefront (Crusader) mini. It came in three pieces -- a cast resin hull and two metal tracks with running gear. It is 15mm (1:100 scale), according to the box description. Most French material in 1939-40 was painted “Army green,” and there are many examples on the web, with suggestions for mixing paints to achieve the dark olive green color. (Apparently, the exact color is not known.) Two-color camouflage schemes for armored vehicles that employed Army green and a chocolate brown color are also shown. There is a complete discussion of French paint schemes on the authoritative France 1940 page here http://france1940.free.fr/armee/colours.html

VBCP stands for Voiture blindée de chasseurs portés or, in my loose translation, “armored infantry carrier.” Two units that were completely equipped with the VBCP were the 5th BCP (Battaillon chausseurs portés) of the 1st DCR (Division cuirassée – armored division) and the 17th BCP of the 2d DCR.


Some statistics:

Max. armor: 9mm (front, sides, rear); 6mm (top). Note: The passenger compartment had an open top that was covered by a tarp.

Max. speed: 35 km/hr

Armament: Unarmed, but a FM 24/29 LMG could be fitted to a side mount for AA fire.

Capacity: The tractor carried six men – two abreast in the narrow driver’s compartment and four in the box-like passenger compartment at rear. A boxy trailer seating six men could be towed.

The best source for the vehicle itself and its many variants is the comprehensive, highly-detailed article by Steve Zaloga titled “Lorraine 38L Infantry Tractor,” at the Military Modelling site online. See http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article.asp?a=4082