Foto de stock - World War II - FRANCE. Tanks, B1 bis, Char B1 bis tank side view. The Char B1 bis was a French heavy tank used in World War II. It was built in 1936 and entered service in 1938. It was used extensively by French forces during the Battle of France. The Char B1 bis was one of the most heavily armed tanks of its time, with a 47mm cannon in the turret and two machine guns in the hull. It had two engines and weighed over 25 tons. It was the heaviest tank used by the French military during World War II. It was difficult to maneuver, slow, and extremely expensive to build and maintain, but its armor made it difficult to disable and its armament allowed it to destroy enemy armor with relative ease.