File:FT_17.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Type
- Light tank
- Place of origin
- French Third Republic
- In service
- 1917–c. 1989
- Used by
- See Operators
- Designer
- Louis Renault and Rodolphe Ernst-Metzmaier
- Manufacturer
- Renault Berliet Somua Delaunay-Belleville
- Produced
- 1917–1919
- Number span no built
- +3,000, 2,622 by France
- Variants
- Char canon Char mitrailleuse FT 75 BS Char signal FT modifié 31 US M1917 Russkiy Reno Anti Char
- Mass
- 6.5 tonnes (6.4 long tons ; 7.2 short tons )
- Length
- 4.10 m (13 ft 5 in) or 5.00 m (16 ft 5 in) with tail
- Width
- 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
- Height
- 2.14 m (7 ft 0 in)
- Crew
- 2 (commander, driver)
- Armor
- 8 to 22 mm (0.31 to 0.87 in)
- Main armament
- Puteaux SA 1918 37 mm gun or 8 mm Hotchkiss machine gun , Reibel machine gun (FT 31)
- Engine
- Renault 4-cyl, 4.5 litre, thermo-siphon water-cooled; Gasoline ( petrol ) pump; Engine oil pump; Zenith preset carburettor; Magneto ignition, 39 hp (29 kW) at 1500 rpm
- Power weight
- 5 hp/t (3.7 kW/t)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Mass
- 6.5
- Image
- Bovington 179 FT-17 1.jpg
- Height
- 2.14
- Width
- 1.74
- Length
- 5
- Speed
- 7
Show 6 more facts
- Commons category
- Renault FT
- service entry
- 1917-01-01
- service retirement
- 1949-01-01
- total produced
- 3814
- Commons gallery
- Renault FT
- native label
- Renault FT-17
via Wikidata · CC0
~29 min read
Article
The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) is a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to have its armament within a fully rotating turret. 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 historians have called the Renault FT the world's first modern tank.
Over 3,000 Renault FT tanks were manufactured by France, most of them in 1918. After World War I, FT tanks were exported in large numbers. Copies and derivative designs were manufactured in the United States (M1917 light tank), in Italy (Fiat 3000), and in the Soviet Union (T-18 tank). The Renault FT saw combat during the interwar conflicts around the world but was considered obsolete at the outbreak of World War II.