Archive › France › Batignolles-Châtillon VB-100 Bison
Batignolles-Châtillon VB-100 Bison
France · Light utility vehicle · built by Batignolles-Châtillon / Creusot-Loire
| Also known as | Bison, VB-100, VB-120, Bouffort Bison |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Batignolles-Châtillon / Creusot-Loire |
| Country | France |
| Built | 1965– |
| Type | Light utility vehicle |
| Status | Prototype |
| Use | Military |
| Propulsion | |
| Land drive | 4x4 |
| In water | Propeller |
| Engine | Chabay air-cooled flat-four petrol, rear-mounted, 90 hp |
| Power | 90 hp |
| Dimensions & performance | |
| Length | 3.62 m |
| Weight | 1,500 kg |
| Speed on land | 80 km/h |
| Speed on water | 7.5 km/h |
Specifications need checking. Some figures here were taken from the archive and have not been confirmed against a source.
The VB-100 Bison was a French amphibious, air-portable one-ton 4x4 designed by the engineer Victor Bouffort and built by the locomotive firm Batignolles-Châtillon and the Creusot-Loire group.
Design
The Bison had a monocoque body and independent suspension on all four wheels. It was meant to carry various weapons or four to seven people, with the driver sitting ahead of the centre on the vehicle's centreline. An air-cooled four-cylinder boxer petrol engine of 90 hp designed by Chabay was mounted at the rear with a four-speed gearbox. Wheelbase was 2.33 m, length 3.62 m and height just 1.10 m. The amphibious VB-100 had a propeller for use in the water.
One source gives a curb weight of 1,500 kg, a road speed of 80 km/h and a water speed of 7.5 km/h. Another quotes an empty weight of 1,300 kg, a 2-tonne payload and a speed of 120 km/h.
History
Accounts of the dates differ. One says the first version, the VB-120, was built at Batignolles-Châtillon in 1961-63 and the amphibious VB-100 in 1965-66. Another says the first VB-120 prototype dates from 1955 and was tested from 1956 to 1960, that five of the larger VB-100 were built in 1968, and that the project was dropped in 1975. A modernised VB-80 was also produced for the French Air Force, but only four prototypes were made. Chrysler acquired a licence, but the design was not developed further in the United States.
A fire-fighting VB-100 was photographed at the Saumur tank museum in 2006.
3 Photographs
14 photographs in the archive folder. Click any image to view it full size.
4 Related vehicles
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