French Archives?

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ChaseR83
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Posts: 17
Joined: 13 Jul 2022, 02:33
Location: Houston, Tx.

French Archives?

#1

Post by ChaseR83 » 21 Sep 2022, 06:35

Hello,

Does anybody have experience requesting and purchasing information from French Archives? I am looking to purchase copies of technical/maintenance manuals and engineering drawings of pre-WW2 tanks (Renault FT, Char D1, Char B1 Bis, etc.).

Judging by the scattered amounts of info available online... I believe there is a good chance this information survived the war.

Can anybody point me in the right direction? Can anybody recommend anyone in France that can be hired to research/scan documents?

Thank you.

Mori
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Joined: 25 Oct 2014, 12:04
Location: Europe

Re: French Archives?

#2

Post by Mori » 21 Sep 2022, 09:54

Check https://www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr/en

You can order copies through the dedicate form, although I never tried myself. They say it takes 6-12 weeks to get a reply.

Besides, the relevant archives may not be accessible anymore. Regulations changed recently, with a new law in 2021. Among other things, all documents about "technical design of weapons" can now be classified forever. Documents of pre-WW2 tanks may or may not fall in this category. The archives staff are checking boxes one by one to assess their status.

And yes, that law means that a lot of documents which had been freely available for decades, and which were reproduced in various publications, became classified overnight...

If you are just into tank-porn, you can also buy militaria magazines, such as GBM (https://histoireetcollections.com/en/47-gbm). It's plenty of photographs and other documents, focusing on data. It's written by amateurs with no training in history or journalism, so that editorial content is just paraphrasing previous publications or (in the best case) old documents. Sources are deliberately concealed and they never disclose where information come from.


ChaseR83
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Posts: 17
Joined: 13 Jul 2022, 02:33
Location: Houston, Tx.

Re: French Archives?

#3

Post by ChaseR83 » 26 Sep 2022, 08:13

It would appear that at least a portion of what I am looking for is available:

https://www.tonyshop.fr/minitracks-254/ ... 34346.html

They do not appear to ship to the USA however...

OlliePSD
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Posts: 27
Joined: 22 Jul 2022, 10:55
Location: France

Re: French Archives?

#4

Post by OlliePSD » 02 Oct 2022, 15:16

Hello ChaseR83,
If I can help I'd be happy to do so.
You just need to have all the documentation sent to me and I'll forward the package to you (you just pay the shipping to your home)
If you're interested send me a PM
Jean
France

ChaseR83
Member
Posts: 17
Joined: 13 Jul 2022, 02:33
Location: Houston, Tx.

Re: French Archives?

#5

Post by ChaseR83 » 19 Oct 2022, 03:34

OlliePSD wrote:
02 Oct 2022, 15:16
Hello ChaseR83,
If I can help I'd be happy to do so.
You just need to have all the documentation sent to me and I'll forward the package to you (you just pay the shipping to your home)
If you're interested send me a PM
Jean
France
Hello Jean,

Thank you for the kind offer but Mori has already assisted me in getting a copy. You wouldn't happen to know of researcher for hire in France that is familiar with the Archives? Obtaining the Technitracks DVD has made me even more determined to find out what other information is available for the B1 Bis.

OlliePSD
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Posts: 27
Joined: 22 Jul 2022, 10:55
Location: France

Re: French Archives?

#6

Post by OlliePSD » 19 Oct 2022, 09:16

Hello,
No worries.
Unfortunately I don't know any researcher around for I leave next to the sea, and the best option is to find one living in or around Paris.

archiveruk
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Posts: 57
Joined: 16 Mar 2013, 12:49

Re: French Archives?

#7

Post by archiveruk » 10 Nov 2022, 23:13

I've just returned from the French archives and can confirm that the new law has taken effect. Its not as bad as I feared as whole sub series of documents have been subject to a blanket declassification. Where this is not the case, random documents have been stamped declassified even though they are eighty years out of date!

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