![]() The general idea behind the M4 was to produce a tank that brought together all of the outstanding qualities of the proven wartime tanks - including those on the German and Soviet sides. French authorities commissioned AMX for two M4 prototypes for evaluation. The French heavy industry concern of AMX (Atelier de Construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux) delivered their "Project 141" study that proposed a 90mm-armed, heavy-class tank under the "M4" pilot designation - its hull design externally mimicking (on a somewhat smaller scale) the German Army wartime "King Tiger" Heavy Tank. A heavy tank venture, the "ARL 44", became a wasted attempt at designing and producing a modern French heavy tank - the design incorporating both old and new approaches to produce a very basic - yet outmoded - end product. At the end of the war, however, the French Army lacked anything remotely modern in its inventory and made due with reconstituted German Panther and Tiger tanks for the interim. France, in an effort to reassert its global position as a world military power, took to design of new tanks almost immediately after Paris was liberated by the Allies of its German occupation. The AMX-50 was a promising French heavy tank venture appearing shortly after World War 2.
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