Char St. Chamond

Lt Col. Robert J. Icks, Tanks and Armoured Vehicles.  Phillip Andrews Pub. 1945

French tank of WW1 built in 1917-1918 with Crochat-Colardeau drive- an unusual but advanced powertrain configuration. A 90 hp gasoline engine powered a generator and separate electric motors controlled by rheostats, powered each track. It was hampered by an extended and overhanging front hull coupled with too-short tracks. This feature had resulted from the fittting of a politically motivated 75 mm gun. As a result the machine had trouble negotiating rough ground and crossing trenches. 
The tank had a crew of 9, operating four Hotchkiss machine guns as well as the main gun. A 90 hp gasoline engine powered a generator which controlled two electric motors, one for each track. 
Out of four hundred built, only one remains, located in a French museum, a gift of the American government who had retained one for testing at the Aberdeen Test facility in Maryland.