Ford 3-Ton M1918
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Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
3-Ton M1918 was one of the first tank designs by the U.S. It was a small two-man, one-gun tank. Essentially the very first
tankette A tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car. It is mainly intended for light infantry support and scouting.
, it was armed with an M1917 Marlin machine gun, later an
M1919 Browning machine gun The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and ...
, and could reach a maximum speed of . The 3-Ton had a tank that gave it a maximum range of .


History

Design on the 3-ton tank started in mid-1917, before which American tank forces had been largely equipped with British or French examples. The 3-Ton was a two-man tank designed so that American forces could use another tank besides the
Renault FT The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to ...
in battle, and was designed around the FT but as a cheaper alternative. Its two
Ford Model T engine The Ford Model T used a sidevalve, reverse-flow cylinder head inline 4-cylinder engine. It was primarily a gasoline engine. It produced for a top speed of . It was built in-unit with the Model T's novel transmission (a planetary design), s ...
s were controlled by the driver, seated at the front with a gunner beside him who had control of a .30-06 (7.62×63mm) machine gun (either a M1917 Marlin machine gun or
M1919 Browning machine gun The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and ...
) on a limited-traverse mount with approximately 550 rounds of ammunition. The initial production run of the 3-ton was of fifteen vehicles; one of these was sent to France for testing. A contract for 15,000 of these vehicles was awarded; however, the U.S tank corps felt it did not meet the requirements they wanted. The contract for the 15,000 tanks was ended by the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
, leaving only the fifteen original vehicles produced. The French Army evaluated the Ford 3-Ton tank and thought it inferior to the native
Renault FT The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to ...
. However, the 3-Ton Tank was seen to have potential as a cheap, light, all-terrain artillery tractor especially for batteries of the
Canon de 75 modèle 1897 The French 75 mm field gun was a quick-firing field artillery piece adopted in March 1898. Its official French designation was: Matériel de 75mm Mle 1897. It was commonly known as the French 75, simply the 75 and Soixante-Quinze (Frenc ...
. One thousand five hundred 3-Ton tanks were ordered from Ford but the Armistice intervened before any were delivered and the order was cancelled.


Survivors

* There are two known survivors; one is at the U.S. Army Armor & Cavalry Collection at Fort Benning,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
; the other is with the Ordnance Collection at Fort Lee, Virginia.


See also

*
Renault FT The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to ...
*
Tank Mark VIII The Mark VIII tank also known as the Liberty or The International was a British-American tank design of the First World War intended to overcome the limitations of the earlier British designs and be a collaborative effort to equip France, the U ...
*
Tanks of the United States The United States has produced tanks since their inception in World War I, up until the present day. While there were several American experiments in tank design, the first American tanks to see service were copies of French light tanks and a j ...
*
History of the tank The history of the tank begins with World War I, when armoured all-terrain fighting vehicles were introduced as a response to the problems of trench warfare, ushering in a new era of mechanized warfare. Though initially crude and unreliable, ta ...
*
History of Ford Motor Company History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as wel ...
* List of Ford vehicles


References

*


External links


Ford 3-Ton tank(1918)
* * Light tanks of the United States World War I tanks of the United States Ford Motor Company 3-Ton M1918 History of the tank Trial and research tanks of the United States Tankettes {{mil-vehicle-stub