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Hotchkiss M201 "Jeep"

Light All-Terrain Vehicle

Specifications

Country of Origin/Used by:	France
First Produced/Service Dates:	1955
Manufactured by:	Automobiles Hotchkiss
Crew:	1+3
Armament:	When Armed: (1) .30 cal/7.5mm/7.62mm Machine Gun(s).  Also, there were many efforts to uparm them, including the fitting of extra machine guns and even the creation of official heavy weapon carrier variants.
Engine:	4-Cylinder Gasoline
Miscellaneous Info:	During the post-World War Two period, the French military continued to use the ubiquitous American Ford GP/Willys MB Jeep 1/4-Ton 4x4 Utility Vehicle. However, they understood that a replacement vehicle would be needed sooner, rather than later. Development commenced, on what would become the Delahaye VLR-Véhicule de Liaison et de Reconnaissance (Liaison & Reconnaissance Vehicle). In the interim period, the French continued to use the wartime Jeep. However, to do so, their Etablissement de Réserve Générale du Matériel Automobile (ERGM) refurbished and rebuilt them, using spare and rebuilt parts.  The stock of useable parts soon became exhausted and as a result, Automobiles Hotchkiss commenced manufacturing new parts built under license from Willys-Overland Motors. In the meantime, the production of the Delahaye VLR commenced as the Jeep's replacement.  Although the Delahaye performed well, it was relatively expensive, difficult to operate and fairly complicated mechanically.  Thusly, the French reversed course and decided the Jeep was still a very good option and chose to continue using them, but as a newly produced vehicle by Hotchkiss.  In that way, the M201 Véhicule Léger Tout Terrain-VLTT (Light All-Terrain Vehicle) was born. The M201 is sometimes also referred to as the Véhicule de Liaison Tout-Terrain (All- Terrain Liaison Vehicle). Incredibly, newly produced Hotchkiss M201 Jeeps were built as late as 1967.  In some cases, newly refurbished and converted specialist variants were built until 1978. After an unusually long and successful career, it was finally replaced by Peugeot P4 Light All-Terrain Vehicle starting in the 1980's, although some even served into the new millennium! The Hotchkiss M201 was produced in two (2) basic configurations: the standard and the Sahara models. The Saharan model was originally built to serve in North Africa, specifically Algeria.  As such, it was fitted with many features that would improve performance in a desert environment. Most notably for our purposes, it had a strengthened chassis and suspension. However, soon after the start of production of the Saharan model, its need in Algeria was mooted as the French ended their military intervention there.  The Saharan model would live on though because its uprated configuration was subsequently used for some of the M201's specialist variants; Most notably the weapons carriers. These included vehicles mounting a multitude of machine gun types/configurations, the M40 106mm Recoilless Rifle and the SS-10, ENTAC (Engin Téléguidé Anti-Char) and MILAN Anti-Tank Guided Missile systems.  In addition, the M201 was used as Radio/Command vehicles and even carried the Rasura Battlefield Surveillance Radar later in its career.
Data Sheet Available:	None Available

Photos

Reference	Source/Provider
Hotchkiss M201 Jeep Photos	French Établissement de Communication et de Production Audiovisuelle de la Défense (ECPAD)
Hotchkiss M201 Jeep Photos	"HornM201" via Wikipedia Commons
Hotchkiss M201 Jeep Photos	"Llann We" via Wikipedia Commons
Hotchkiss M201 "Sahara" Jeep Photos	"Llann We" via Wikipedia Commons
Hotchkiss M201 Jeep Ambulance Photo	ECPAD
Hotchkiss M201 Jeep With M40 106mm Recoilless Rifle Photos	ECPAD
Hotchkiss M201 Jeep With MGM-32A ENTAC ATGM System Photo	The Massimo Foti Collection
Hotchkiss M201 Jeep With MGM-32A ENTAC ATGM System Photos	Christophe Jacquemont
Hotchkiss M201 Jeep With MILAN Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) System Photos	ECPAD

References Available

Online

Printed

Hobby Modeling

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Model Photos