FT-17 4-wheel Road Transporter
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The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French
light tank A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of ...
that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...
to have its armament within a fully rotating turret.Although a rotating turret had been a feature of some earlier tank designs or prototypes, and had been incorporated in armoured cars for several years, no tank with a turret had entered service. The Renault FT's configuration (crew compartment at the front, engine compartment at the back, and main armament in a revolving turret) became and remains the standard tank layout. Consequently, some
armoured warfare Armoured warfare or armored warfare (mechanized forces, armoured forces or armored forces) (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences), is the use of armoured fighting vehicle, armo ...
historians have called the Renault FT the world's first modern tank. Over 3,000 Renault FT tanks were manufactured by French industry, most of them in 1918. After
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, FT tanks were exported in large numbers. Copies and derivative designs were manufactured in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
(
M1917 light tank The M1917 was the United States' first mass-produced tank, entering production shortly before the end of World War I.Zaloga (Armored Thunderbolt) p. 2 It was a license-built near-copy of the French Renault FT, and was intended to arm the America ...
), in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
(
Fiat 3000 The Fiat 3000 was the first tank to be produced in series in Italy. It became the standard tank of the emerging Italian armored units after World War I. The 3000 was based on the French Renault FT. History Although 1,400 units were ordered, with ...
) and in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
(
T-18 tank The T-18 light tank (also called MS-1, rus, малый сопровождения, первый, r=maliy soprovozhdeniya, perviy, "Small ehicle forSupport, First ype/example) was the first Soviet-designed tank. Produced from 1928 to 1931, ...
). The Renault FT saw combat during the
interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...
conflicts around the world, but was considered obsolete at the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.


Development

The FT was designed and produced by the Société des Automobiles Renault (Renault Automobile Company), one of France's major manufacturers of motor vehicles then and now. It is thought possible that Louis Renault began working on the idea as early as 21 December 1915, after a visit from Colonel J. B. E. Estienne. Estienne had drawn up plans for a tracked armoured vehicle based on the Holt caterpillar tractor, and, with permission from
General Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regroup ...
, approached Renault as a possible manufacturer. Renault declined, saying that his company was operating at full capacity producing war materiel and that he had no experience of tracked vehicles. Estienne later discovered that the Schneider company, were working on a tracked armoured vehicle, which became France's first operational tank, the Schneider CA. At a later, chance meeting with Renault on 16 July 1916, Estienne asked him to reconsider, which he did. The speed with which the project then progressed to the mock-up stage has led to the theory that Renault had been working on the idea for some time. Louis Renault himself conceived the new tank's overall design and set its basic specifications. He imposed a realistic limit to the FT's projected weight, which could not exceed 7 tons. Louis Renault was unconvinced that a sufficient
power-to-weight ratio Power-to-weight ratio (PWR, also called specific power, or power-to-mass ratio) is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measuremen ...
could be achieved with the production engines available at the time to give sufficient mobility to the heavy tank types requested by the military. Renault's most talented industrial designer, Rodolphe Ernst-Metzmaier, generated the FT's detailed execution plans. Charles-Edmond Serre, a long time associate of Louis Renault, organized and supervised the new tank's mass production. The FT's tracks were kept automatically under tension to prevent derailments, while a rounded tail piece facilitated the crossing of trenches. Because the engine had been designed to function normally under any slant, very steep slopes could be negotiated by the Renault FT without loss of power. Effective internal ventilation was provided by the engine's radiator fan, which drew its air through the front crew compartment of the tank and forced it out through the rear engine's compartment. Renault's design was technically far more advanced than the other two French tanks at the time, namely the
Schneider CA1 The Schneider CA 1 (originally named the Schneider CA) was the first French tank, developed during the First World War. The Schneider was inspired by the need to overcome the stalemate of trench warfare which on the Western Front prevailed durin ...
(1916) and the heavy
Saint-Chamond St Chamond may refer to: * Saint Chamond otherwise Annemund, bishop of Lyon * Saint-Chamond, Loire, a French town named after him * Saint-Chamond (manufacturer), informal name for the ''Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la marine et d'Homécour ...
(1917). Nevertheless, Renault encountered some early difficulties in getting his proposal fully supported by Estienne. After the first British use of heavy tanks on 15 September 1916 during the
Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
, the French military still pondered whether a large number of light tanks would be preferable to a smaller number of superheavy tanks (the later Char 2C). On 27 November 1916, Estienne had sent to the French Commander in Chief a personal memorandum proposing the immediate adoption and mass manufacture of a light tank based on the specifications of the Renault prototype. After receiving two large government orders for the FT tank, one in April 1917 and the other in June 1917, Renault was at last able to proceed. His design remained in competition with the superheavy Char 2C until the end of the war. The prototype was refined during the second half of 1917, but the Renault FT remained plagued by radiator fan belt problems throughout the war. Only 84 were produced in 1917, but 2,697 were delivered to the French army before the Armistice.


Naming

Although it has sometimes been stated that the letters FT stand for the French terms ''faible tonnage'' (low tonnage), ''faible taille'' (small size), ''franchisseur de tranchées'' (trench crosser), o
''force terrestre'' (land force)
none of these names are correct. Neither was it named the FT 17 or FT-17; nor was there an FT18. The name is derived from the two-letter production code that all new Renault projects were given for internal use: the one available was 'FT'. The prototype was at first referred to as the ''automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917''. ''Automitrailleuse à chenilles'' means " armoured car it: motorized machine gunwith tracks." By this stage of the war, ''automitrailleuse'' was the standard word for an armoured car, but by the time the FT was designed there were two other types of French tank in existence and the term ''char d'assaut'' (from the French ''char'' - a cart or wagon, and ''assaut''; attack or assault), soon shortened to ''char'', had at the insistence of Colonel Estienne, already been adopted by the French and was in common use. Once orders for the vehicle had been secured it was the practice at Renault to refer to it as the "FT". The vehicle was originally intended to carry a machine-gun, and was therefore described as a ''char mitrailleur'' - ''mitrailleur'' (from ''mitraille''; grapeshot) had by this time come to mean "machine-gunner". Many sources, predominantly English language accounts, refer to the FT as the "FT 17" or "FT-17." This term is not contemporary, and appears to have arisen post World War One. In Estienne's biography, his granddaughter states, "It is also referred to as the FT 17: the number 17 was added after the war in history books, since it was always referred to at Renault as the FT." Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Malmassari (French tank officer and Doctor of History) states, "The Renault tank never carried the name FT 17 during the First World War, although the initials F.T. seem to appear in August 1917." Some confusion might also have been caused by the fact that the American version of the vehicle, produced in the US under licence from Renault, was designated the M1917. When it was decided to equip the FTs with either cannon or machine-guns, the cannon version was designated ''char canon'' (cannon tank) and the latter, in accordance with French grammar, renamed ''char mitrailleuse'' (machine-gun tank). It is frequently claimed that some of these tanks were designated FT 18. Reasons given for the claim include: it distinguished tanks produced in 1918 from those of 1917; it was applied to FTs armed with cannon as opposed to those with machine-guns; it distinguished FTs with a cast, rounded turret from those with a hexagonal one; it referred to the 18 horsepower engine; it indicated a version to which various modifications had been made. Renault records make no distinction between 1917 and 1918 output; the decision to arm FTs with a 37mm gun was made in April 1917, before any tanks had been manufactured; because of various production difficulties and design requirements, a range of turret types were produced by several manufacturers, but they were all fitted to the basic FT body without any distinguishing reference; all FTs had the same model 18 hp engine. The Renault manual of April 1918 is entitled ''RENAULT CHAR D'ASSAUT 18 HP'', and the illustrations are of the machine-gun version. The official designation was not changed until the 1930s, when the FT was fitted with a 1931
Reibel machine gun The MAC mle 1931 machine gun (official French designation ''Mitrailleuse'' ''modèle'' ''1931'' - machine gun, model of 1931), was a machine gun used in French tanks of the World War II era, as well as in fortifications such as the Maginot line. ...
and renamed the ''FT modifié 31''. By this time, the French Army was equipped with several other Renault models and it had become necessary to distinguish between the various types.


Production


France

About half of all FTs were manufactured in Renault's factory at
Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...
near Paris, with the remainder subcontracted to other companies. Of the original order for 3,530, Renault accounted for 1,850 (52%), Berliet 800 (23%), SOMUA (a subsidiary of
Schneider & Cie Schneider et Cie, also known as Schneider-Creusot for its birthplace in the French town of Le Creusot, was a historic French iron and steel-mill company which became a major arms manufacturer. In the 1960s, it was taken over by the Belgian Empain ...
) 600 (17%), and
Delaunay-Belleville Automobiles Delaunay-Belleville was a French luxury automobile manufacturer at Saint-Denis, France, north of Paris. At the beginning of the 20th century they were among the most prestigious cars produced in the world, and perhaps the most de ...
280 (8%). When the order was increased to 7,820 in 1918, production was distributed in roughly the same proportion. Louis Renault agreed to waive
royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...
for all French manufacturers of the FT.


United States

When the US entered the war in April 1917, its army was short of heavy
matériel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specific ...
, and had no tanks at all. Because of the wartime demands on French industry, it was decided that the quickest way to supply the American forces with sufficient armour was to manufacture the FT in the US. A requirement of 4,400 of a modified version, the M1917, was decided on, with delivery expected to begin in April, 1918. By June 1918, US manufacturers had failed to produce any, and delivery dates were put back until September. France therefore agreed to lend 144 FTs, enough to equip two battalions. No M1917s reached the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) until the war was over.


Turret

The first turret designed for the FT was a circular, cast steel version almost identical to that of the prototype. It was designed to carry a Hotchkiss 8mm machine gun. In April 1917 Estienne decided for tactical reasons that some vehicles should be capable of carrying a small cannon. The 37mm Puteaux gun was chosen, and attempts were made to produce a cast steel turret capable of accommodating it, but they were unsuccessful. The first 150 FTs were for training only, and made of non-hardened steel plus the first model of turret. Meanwhile, the Berliet Company had produced a new design, a polygonal turret of riveted plate, which was simpler to produce than the early cast steel turret. It was given the name "omnibus", since it could easily be adapted to mount either the Hotchkiss machine gun or the Puteaux 37mm with its telescopic sight. This turret was fitted to production models in large numbers. In 1918 ''Forges et aciéries Paul Girod'' produced a successful circular turret which was mostly cast with some rolled parts. The Girod turret was also an "omnibus" design. Girod supplied it to all the companies producing the FT, and in the later stages of the war it became more commonplace than the Berliet turret. The turret sat on a circular ball-bearing race, and could easily be rotated by the gunner/commander or be locked in position with a handbrake.


Service history


World War I

The Renault FT was widely used by French forces in 1918 and by the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front in the later stages of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Its battlefield debut occurred on 31 May 1918, east of the
Forest of Retz The Forest of Retz (French ''Forêt de Retz'', ) is one of the largest forests of France, covering some 13,000 hectares in the Aisne about 80 km northeast of Paris. It is a national forest (''forêt domaniale'') in the former Picardy regio ...
, east of
Chaudun Chaudun () is a commune in the department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 Communes of France, communes in the French Departments of ...
, between
Ploisy Ploisy () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 communes in the French department of Aisne. The commune ...
and Chazelles, during the
Third Battle of the Aisne The Third Battle of the Aisne (french: 3e Bataille de l'Aisne) was a battle of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in ...
. This engagement, with 30 tanks, successfully broke up a German advance, but in the absence of infantry support, the vehicles later withdrew. From then on, gradually increasing numbers of FTs were deployed, together with smaller numbers of the older
Schneider CA1 The Schneider CA 1 (originally named the Schneider CA) was the first French tank, developed during the First World War. The Schneider was inspired by the need to overcome the stalemate of trench warfare which on the Western Front prevailed durin ...
and
Saint-Chamond St Chamond may refer to: * Saint Chamond otherwise Annemund, bishop of Lyon * Saint-Chamond, Loire, a French town named after him * Saint-Chamond (manufacturer), informal name for the ''Compagnie des forges et aciéries de la marine et d'Homécour ...
tanks. As the war had become a war of movement during mid-1918, during the
Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...
, the lighter FTs were often transported on heavy trucks and special trailers rather than by rail on flat cars. Estienne had initially proposed to overwhelm the enemy defences using a "swarm" of light tanks, a tactic that was eventually successfully implemented. Beginning in late 1917, the Entente allies were attempting to outproduce the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
in all respects, including artillery, tanks, and chemical weapons. Consequently, a goal was set of manufacturing 12,260 FT tanks (7,820 in France and 4,440 in the United States) before the end of 1919.It played a leading role in the offensives of 1918, when it received the popular name of "Victory Tank". The
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
used 24 FTs for command and liaison duties, usually with the gun removed.
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
received 3 FTs in June 1918, but they did not see action and no other tanks were received until the end of the war.


Interwar period

After the end of World War I, Renault FTs were exported to many countries (Belgium, Brazil,
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
, Estonia,
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, Iran, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and Yugoslavia). Renault FT tanks were used by most nations having armoured forces, generally as their prominent tank type. They were used in anti-Soviet conflicts such as the
Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
, Polish-Soviet War and
Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik westwa ...
. On 5 February 1920 Estonia purchased nine vehicles from France. French tanks deployed in
Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...
were given to the Chinese
Fengtian Army The Fengtian clique () was one of several opposing military factions that constituted the early Republic of China during its Warlord Era. It was named after Fengtian Province (now Liaoning), and operated from a territorial base comprising the t ...
of Zhang Zuolin in 1919. 14 more Renaults were bought in 1924 and 1925. These tanks saw action to protect the border from the Soviets in the 1920s and against the
warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
Wu Peifu in 1926. After the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, nearly all were handed over to the Manchukuo Imperial Army. Renault tanks were also used in colonial conflicts, for instance crushing a revolt in Italian Libya in 1919. The French Army sent a company of FT tanks to
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
during the Great Druze Revolt. In Brazil, the FT tanks were used by the Old Republic to crush various revolts between 1924 and 1927 and by Vargas forces against the Constitutionalist Revolution. During the Rif War, after the Annual disaster, the Spanish Army ordered 10 FT armed with Hotchkiss machine guns and 1 ''char TSF'' to supplement a first Renault bought in 1919. These tanks formed a company deployed from 1921. After a first failure, they proved to be very effective and six more were delivered in 1925. The Spanish FT were the first tanks in history to take part in an
amphibious assault Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted ...
, the Alhucemas landing. The French Army deployed two battalions of FT during the war, including one company of tanks with Kégresse tracks. After the end of the war, the French tanks remained in North Africa to finish the "pacification" of Morocco in the
Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...
. When the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
broke, half of the Renault crews remained loyal to the
Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
while the others joined the
rebels Rebels may refer to: * Participants in a rebellion * Rebel groups, people who refuse obedience or order * Rebels (American Revolution), patriots who rejected British rule in 1776 Film and television * ''Rebels'' (film) or ''Rebelles'', a 2019 ...
. France later sent 32 FTs to the Republicans; the number of FTs sold to the Republicans by Poland is unclear; estimates vary between 16 and 94.


World War II and after

Renault FT tanks were also fielded in limited numbers during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, in Poland, Finland, France, Greece, Romania and the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
, although they were already obsolete. In May 1940, the French Army still had seven front-line battalions, each equipped with 63 FTs, one under-strength battalion as well as three independent companies, each with 10, for a total organic strength of 504. 105 more were in service in the colonies of Morocco and Algeria and 58 in French Levant, Madagascar and
Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
. Some FT tanks had also been buried within the ground and encased in concrete to supplement the
Maginot Line The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force the ...
. The fact that several units used the Renault FT gave rise to the popular myth that the French had no modern equipment at all; actually, they had as many modern tanks as the Germans; however, the majority had one-man turrets and were less efficient than German tanks such as the
Panzer III The ''Panzerkampfwagen III'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight oth ...
and IV. The French suffered from strategic and tactical weaknesses rather than from equipment deficiencies, although many of the French tanks were also markedly slow (unlike the German tanks of the time). When the best French units were cut off by the German drive to the English Channel, around 390 FTs, previously used for training or stored in depots, joined the 184 to 192 FTs in service with internal security units. The
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
captured 1,704 FTs. They used about 100 for airfield defence and about 650 for patrolling occupied Europe. Some were used by the Germans in 1944 for street-fighting in Paris, but by this time they were hopelessly out of date.
Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...
used Renault FTs against Allied invasion forces during
Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
in Morocco and Algeria. The French tanks were no match for the newly arrived American
M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the Military history of the United States during World War II, United States and Allies of World War II, Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman prove ...
and
M3 Stuart The M3 Stuart/Light Tank M3, was an American light tank of World War II. An improved version of the tank entered service as the M5 in 1942 to be supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. ...
tanks. The last combat of the French Army FTs was during the Japanese invasion of French Indochina, when a section defended the Hue fortress. The last "combat" use may have been in the 1980s during the
Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
, when some FTs were reportedly used as pillboxes or roadblocks.


Derivatives

The FT was the ancestor of a long line of French tanks: the FT Kégresse, the NC1, the NC2, the Char D1, and the Char D2. The Italians produced the
FIAT 3000 The Fiat 3000 was the first tank to be produced in series in Italy. It became the standard tank of the emerging Italian armored units after World War I. The 3000 was based on the French Renault FT. History Although 1,400 units were ordered, with ...
, a moderately close copy of the FT, as their standard tank. The Soviet
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
captured 14 burnt-out Renaults from White Russian forces and rebuilt them at the
Krasnoye Sormovo Factory Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard No. 112 named after Andrei Zhdanov (russian: Судостроительное предприятие "Кра́сное Со́рмово" имени А. А. Жданова) is one of the oldest shipbuilding factories ...
in 1920. Nearly 15 exact copies, called "Russki Renoe", were produced in 1920–1922, but they were never used in battle because of many technical problems. In 1928–1931, the first completely Soviet-designed tank was the T-18, a derivative of the Renault with sprung suspension.


Operators

Tanque Renault F-17 español Rif.jpg, Spanish FT tank in Morocco, 1922 Renault FT-17 in ROC.jpg, Chinese FT tanks Tankai Renault-FT-17.jpg, Lithuanian FT tanks in 1925 Francouzské tanky Renault vz. 17 čs. armády.gif, Czechoslovak FT tank in 1928 * (some tanks, four discovered by US forces in 2003) * (54 tanks bought in 1919, used until 1934 in a tank regiment and then used by the
Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...
before being scrapped in 1938) * (12 ''Carros de assalto'', six with 37mm gun, five with 7mm Hotchkiss MGs and one TSF, bought in 1921, later joined by approximatively 28 others, in active service until 1938 and in training service until 1942) * (~20 FTs, used by the Fengtian clique and then by the
Northeastern Army The Northeastern Army (), was the Chinese army of the Fengtien clique until the unification of China in 1928. From 1931 to 1933 it faced the Japanese forces in northeast China, Jehol and Hebei, in the early years of the Second Sino-Japanese War. ...
) * (12 former Yugoslav tanks used by the Ustaše Militia and 12 others by the
Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
against the partisans) * (seven tanks, bought in 1921-1923 and used until 1933) * (four FTs with gun and eight FT with machine guns, bought in 1924 and used until 1940) * (34 tanks, used since 1919) * * (captured) * (some tanks received from France in 1924, actual delivery disputed) * (13 tanks, some used alongside Renault NC1s in Manchuria in 1932) * (seven FTs in 1919 and many more
Fiat 3000 The Fiat 3000 was the first tank to be produced in series in Italy. It became the standard tank of the emerging Italian armored units after World War I. The 3000 was based on the French Renault FT. History Although 1,400 units were ordered, with ...
s) * (12 FTs with
Maxim machine guns The Maxim gun is a recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most associated with imperial conquest" by historian M ...
, bought in 1923) * (ex-Chinese tanks from 1931, with some Japanese or French tanks later supplied) * (one FT with
Schwarzlose machine gun The Maschinengewehr (Schwarzlose) M. 7, also known as the Schwarzlose MG, is a medium machine-gun, used as a standard issue firearm in the Austro-Hungarian Army throughout World War I. It was utilized by the Dutch, Greek and Hungarian armies duri ...
, used for trials) * (one ex-American tank, used 1936-1940) * * (74-76 Renault FTs, including 40 tanks with 37mm guns, bought in 1919, used by the ''Regiment 1 Care de Lupta'' and during WW2 by an internal security battalion) * Russian White movement * * (18 FTs delivered from France between 1919 and 1925 and 48 others delivered from France and Poland to the
Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
) * (one tank bought for trials in 1923) * (two tanks bought in 1921 and three others in 1939 for training the infantry to the tanks) * (one company of Renault FT, received from France in 1921 or 1928) * (24 on loan in 1918, for command and reconnaissance. Returned after War.) * *


Variants

RenaultTSF.jpg, Renault FT TSF P003069 Renault FT mod 31 n°66187 near Lisieux, June 1940.jpg, ''FT modifié 31'' destroyed near
Lisieux Lisieux () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pays d'Auge area, which is characterised by valleys and hedged farmland. Name The name of the town derives from the l ...
(Normandy) in June 1940 Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1973-035-12, Jugoslawien, zerstörter jugosl. Panzer.jpg, A Yugoslavian M26/27 tank destroyed in the 1941
invasion of Yugoslavia The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, or ''Projekt 25'' was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was p ...
*''Char canon'': an FT with a 37 mm Puteaux SA18 short-barreled gun: about 3/5 of tanks ordered, about 1/3 of tanks actually produced *''Char mitrailleuse'': an FT with an 8 mm
Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun The Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun chambered for the 8mm Lebel cartridge became the standard machine gun of the French Army during the latter half of World War I. It was manufactured by the French arms company Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been es ...
: about 2/5 of tanks ordered, about 3/5 of tanks produced *FT 75 BS: a
self propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...
with a short barreled ''Blockhaus
Schneider Schneider may refer to: Hospital * Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel People * Schneider (surname) Companies and organizations * G. Schneider & Sohn, a Bavarian brewery company * Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, the former owner of th ...
'' 75mm gun: 40 were produced. *Char signal or TSF: a command tank with a radio. "TSF" stands for ''télégraphie sans fil'' ("wireless"). No armament, three-men crew, 300 ordered, 100 produced. *FT ''modifié'' 31: upgraded tanks with 7.5 mm
Reibel machine gun The MAC mle 1931 machine gun (official French designation ''Mitrailleuse'' ''modèle'' ''1931'' - machine gun, model of 1931), was a machine gun used in French tanks of the World War II era, as well as in fortifications such as the Maginot line. ...
. After trials from 1929 to 1931, this modification was made in 1933–1934 on 1000 ''chars mitrailleurs'' still in French stocks. This version was sometimes referred to as the "FT 31", though this was not the official name. * FT ''désarmé'' : French ''char canon'' whose 37mm gun has been removed in the 1930s to arm modern tanks, and used for various purposes: ** ''Pont Bourguignon sur char FT'': FT without turret carrying a light bridge, from an idea of General Louis Ferdinand Bourguignon. ** some were rearmed with an
FM 24/29 The Fusil-mitrailleur Modèle 1924 M29 (or MAC 24/29), designed in 1924 by the Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault, was the standard light machine gun of the French Army from 1925 until the 1960s and was in use until 2000-2006 with the National ...
light machine gun *FT-''Ko'': Thirteen modified units imported by the
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
in 1919, armed with either the 37mm SA18 cannon or machine guns; used in combat in the
Manchurian Incident The Mukden Incident, or Manchurian Incident, known in Chinese as the 9.18 Incident (九・一八), was a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for the 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria. On September 18, 1931, L ...
and subsequently for training * M1917: US-built copy. 950 built, 374 of which were gun tanks and fifty of which were radio tanks. During World War II the Canadian Army purchased 236 redundant M1917s for training purposes. *''Russkiy Reno'': the "Russian Renault", the first Soviet tank, produced at
Krasnoye Sormovo Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard No. 112 named after Andrei Zhdanov (russian: Судостроительное предприятие "Кра́сное Со́рмово" имени А. А. Жданова) is one of the oldest shipbuilding factories ...
. A close copy. 17 units were produced. Also known as "Tank M" or "KS tank". *Renault FT CWS: the Renault FT CWS or ''Zelazny'' ("iron") tanks were built in Poland for use as training vehicles only (Polish combat tanks were French manufactured). These tanks used spare French engines and components. The hulls and turrets were manufactured to French specifications in all other respects. Around 27 CWS FT tanks were built. CWS is the abbreviation for ''Centralne Warsztaty Samochodowe'' (translated as "Central Workshops for Motor vehicles" or "Central Truck Workshop"), a plant in Warsaw which performed maintenance and depot level repair. *Renault M26/27: a development of the FT with a different suspension and Kégresse rubber tracks; a number were used in Yugoslavia and five in Poland. *
FIAT 3000 The Fiat 3000 was the first tank to be produced in series in Italy. It became the standard tank of the emerging Italian armored units after World War I. The 3000 was based on the French Renault FT. History Although 1,400 units were ordered, with ...
: an Italian derivation. * T-18: A Soviet derivation with sprung suspension and Fiat engines. * Polish gas tank: A Polish modification built in the ''Wojskowy Instytut Gazowy'' ("Military Gas Institute") and tested on the
Rembertów Rembertów () is a district of the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Between 1939 and 1957 Rembertów was a separate town, after which it was incorporated as part of the borough of Praga-Południe. Between 1994 and 2002 it formed a separate ...
proving ground on 5 July 1926. Instead of a turret, the tank had twin gas cylinders. It was designed to create smoke screens, but could also be used for chemical attacks. Only one was produced. * Renault FT AC: A December 1939 plan to convert France's obsolete FTs into
tank destroyer A tank destroyer, tank hunter, tank killer, or self-propelled anti-tank gun is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often wi ...
s. The tank never left the drawing board. It was designed to have a 47mm APX anti-tank gun instead of the turret.


Surviving vehicles

Char Renault FT17 at the Invalides.jpg, Char Renault FT at the Musée de l'Armée Bovington 179 FT-17 1.jpg, FT at Bovington Tank Museum BrazilianFT-17-FView.JPG, A Brazilian army FT received in 1921 Renault FT-17 w Muzeum Wojska Polskiego.jpg, Renault FT in
Polish Army Museum Museum of the Polish Army ( pl, Muzeum Wojska Polskiego) is a museum in Warsaw documenting the military history of Poland. Established in 1920 under the Second Polish Republic, it occupies a wing of the building of the Polish National Museum as w ...
Renault FT17 National Military Museum Bucharest.JPG, Romanian-used FT at the National Military Museum,
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
Renault FT-17 at Overloon War Museum.jpg, German-captured FT at the Overloon War Museum,
Overloon Overloon is a village with 3,626 inhabitants on the outskirts of the Peel region, in the former municipality of Boxmeer, North Brabant. Since 2022 it has been part of the new municipality of Land van Cuijk. Located on the outskirts is the Nati ...
Renault FT in Parola Tank Museum procured by Finland in 1919. In service until 1942 Approximately 41 FTs, two ''Russkiy Reno''s, and three FT TSF survive in various museums around the world. Twenty M1917s also survive. Europe: *
Musée des Blindés The ''Musée des Blindés'' ("Museum of Armoured Vehicles") or ''Musée Général Estienne'' is a tank museum located in the Loire Valley of France, in the town of Saumur. It is now one of the world's largest tank museums. It began in 1977 un ...
, Saumur, France. The museum owns three FTs, with two in running order. The inoperable one came from Afghanistan, and is in a static display. Two other tanks from Afghanistan were given to the Patton Museum of Cavalry & Armor at
Fort Knox, Kentucky Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...
. Another one was given to Poland, where it has been renovated and is in running order. The Musée des Blindés also owns an FT TSF. * Musée de la Grande Guerre, Meaux, Seine-et-Marne, France. One FT ''canon''. * Musee de l'Armee, Paris, France. One FT *
Glade of the Armistice The Glade of the Armistice (french: Clairière de l'Armistice) is a French national and war memorial in the Forest of Compiègne in Picardy, France, near the city of Compiègne approximately north of Paris. It was built at the location where ...
, near Compiègne, France. One FT * Bovington Tank Museum, United Kingdom. One FT, an unarmoured training model. * The Weald Foundation, U.K., has an FT and a TSF. Both restorations finished 2018. * Royal Military Museum, Belgium. One FT is on permanent display. * National Military Museum, Bucharest, Romania. An FT is on permanent outdoor display. * Military Museum (Belgrade), Belgrade, Serbia. An FT is on permanent outdoor display. *
Parola Tank Museum Parola Tank Museum, officially ''Armoured Vehicle Museum'' (Finnish ''Panssarimuseo'') is a military museum located 110 kilometres north of Helsinki in Parola, near Hämeenlinna, Finland, a few kilometres from the Finnish Army Armoured Brigade t ...
, Parola, Finland. An FT is on display in the tank hall. * Musée de l'armée Suisse, Burgdorf, Switzerland. An FT is displayed as the first tank of the Swiss Army, adopted in 1922. * Museo de Medios Acorazados, El Goloso (Spain). An FT model 1917 under repair. * Rogaland Krigshistoriske Museum, Stavanger, Norway () *
Polish Army Museum Museum of the Polish Army ( pl, Muzeum Wojska Polskiego) is a museum in Warsaw documenting the military history of Poland. Established in 1920 under the Second Polish Republic, it occupies a wing of the building of the Polish National Museum as w ...
,
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Poland. Acquired from Afghanistan in 2012, renovated to running order. * Overloon War Museum,
Overloon Overloon is a village with 3,626 inhabitants on the outskirts of the Peel region, in the former municipality of Boxmeer, North Brabant. Since 2022 it has been part of the new municipality of Land van Cuijk. Located on the outskirts is the Nati ...
, Netherlands has a Renault FT bearing German markings. This vehicle was captured in France and subsequently used by the German army to patrol and guard the
Volkel Volkel (Brabantian: ''Vollekul'') is a village in the Netherlands. It is situated in the north-east corner of the province of North Brabant, south-east of the town of Uden. On 1 January 2021, Volkel had 3,435 inhabitants. It used to be part of th ...
airbase during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. * Two full-scale, working replicas of Renault FTs were built from scratch by an enthusiast, the late Robert Tirczakowski for
Jerzy Hoffman Jerzy Julian Hoffman (; born 15 March 1932) is a Polish director, screenwriter, and producer. He received the Polish Academy Life Achievement Award in February 2006. Hoffman is best known for his works in ''The Deluge'' (1974) and ''With Fire and ...
's 2011 film ''
Battle of Warsaw 1920 ''Battle of Warsaw 1920'' (''pol. Bitwa warszawska 1920'') is a Polish historical film directed by Jerzy Hoffman depicting the events of the Battle of Warsaw (1920) of the Polish–Soviet War. It was released in September 2011. It was filmed in ...
''. North America: * U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection, Fort Benning, Georgia in the United States. In 2003, two FT tanks, one would have mounted a 37mm cannon and the other an 8mm mg, were discovered in Kabul by Major Robert Redding. With permission from the Afghan government, the two tanks were transferred to the United States, where one of them, a machine gun tank, was restored and originally put on display in the Patton Museum of Cavalry & Armor, until the Armor Branch collection was transferred to Fort Benning. This FT is currently on display in the Armor Gallery of the NIM. The Armor Collection currently is restoring the other FT, 37mm gun tank. A previous FT at Fort Knox was transferred to US Army Heritage & Education Center at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. * Louisiana State Military Museum at
Jackson Barracks Jackson Barracks is the headquarters of the Louisiana National Guard. It is located in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana. The base was established in 1834 and was originally known as New Orleans Barracks. On July 7, 1866, it was renam ...
in New Orleans, Louisiana. An FT was inundated by floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It was restored by the Museum of the American G.I. and has been returned to display. *
National World War I Museum The National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri was opened in 1926 as the Liberty Memorial. In 2004, it was designated by the United States Congress as the country's official war memorial and museum dedicated to World War ...
, located at Liberty Memorial, Kansas City, Missouri. An FT, damaged by German artillery. * An FT is on static display at the US Army Heritage and Education Center at
Carlisle Barracks Carlisle Barracks is a United States Army facility located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The site of the U.S. Army War College, it is the nation's second-oldest active military base. The first structures were built in 1757, during the French and In ...
, Pennsylvania. * A hybrid FT/M-1917 is displayed in a life-sized diorama at Fort George G. Meade Museum, Maryland. * The Museum of the American G.I. in College Station, Texas has a completely original, fully functional, fully operational FT with functional 37mm main gun. The tank saw service during the war and exhibits minor battle damage on some track segments. South America: * Museu Militar Conde de Linhares in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. One FT. * Museu Eduardo André Matarazzo, Bebedouro, Brazil. One FT is on permanent display Australia: *
Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...
,
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
. One FT at the Treloar storage and conservation annexe in Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory


See also

* G-numbers, part of former US cataloging system for military vehicles * Tanks of France


Notes


References


Further reading

* Ayres, Leonard P. (1919), ''The War with Germany. A Statistical Summary'', Washington, Government Printing Office. p. 80 (Tanks) * * Crowell, Benedict (1919) ''America's Munitions 1917-1918'', Chapter 8 : ''Tanks'', Washington Government Printing Office. * * Dingli, Laurent ( 2000 ), ''Louis Renault '', Grandes Biographies, Flammarion. * Estienne Mondet, Arlette, ( 2010 ),'' Le general J.B.E. Estienne . Pere des Chars '', L'Harmattan, Paris, * * * Gougaud, Alain, (1987) ''L'Aube de la Gloire: Les auto mitrailleuses et les chars francais pendant la Grande Guerre, Histoire technique et militaire'', Societe Ocebur (Guides Muller), . * Hatry, Gilbert, ( 1978 ), '' Renault Usine de Guerre '', Eds. Lafourcade, Paris, -. A full chapter is dedicated to the industrial production history of the Renault FT * * Jurkiewiecz, Bruno, (2008) ''Les Chars Francais au Combat 1917–1918'', (over 150 illustrations) ECPAD/YSEC, BP 405 27405 Louviers Cedex France. A compatible DVD of period films demonstrating the French WW I tanks, including the Renault FT, is attached to this book. * Malmassari, Paul (2009) ''Les Chars de la Grande Guerre''. "14-18 Le Magazine de la Grande Guerre" . * Ortholan, Henri, ( 2008 ),'' La Guerre des Chars''. Bernard Giovangeli Editeur, Paris, * Perre, J. (1940) ''Batailles et Combats des Chars Francais: La bataille defensive Avril-Juillet 1918''. Second Tome. Charles Lavauzelle & Cie. * * * * ''Renault Char d'Assaut 18 HP, Notice descriptive et Reglement de Manoeuvre et d'Entretien''( Avril 1918 ). A.Omeyer, 26 Boulevard Beaumarchais, Paris 11eme. 68 pages and 15 plates. This is the original Renault factory complete user's manual for the "FT tank". It can be consulted on line at "scribd.com" (World Digital Library)


External links


Chars-francais.net

FT tanks in Czechoslovak Army

Musée des blindés de Saumur



French Renault FT tank

Description and pictures at World War II Vehicles

Char Léger Renault FT Modèle 1917 (video)

Replica Renault FT Tank (video)

Walkaround Renault FT swiss army

FT-17 - The WW1 Tank Used Until the 1980s
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renault FT World War I light tanks World War I tanks of France World War II tanks of France FT Light tanks of the interwar period History of the tank Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1917 World War II light tanks Military vehicles introduced in the 1910s Light tanks of France