The FT-17 Tank, the precurser of the modern Tank.

 I remembered seeing a story when I was little and I would read the comic "combat", it usually had stories of Sgt Rock, there was a story about the French resistance using these little WWI tanks to attack "La Boche" in support of the D-Day Landings.  I thought it was a made up story, perhaps it was but the tank was actually real.  I saw one while I was in Germany and visited a museum I think in Sinsheim Germany.

The tank is a resilient and devastating war machine, and a key element in many conflicts throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. To break the deadlock of trench warfare in the western front during the WWI, the concept of tank battle was developed. Britain and France simultaneously and separately developed the first tanks during the WWI.
The name ‘tank’ was adopted for the British ‘land ships’ in 1915 to maintain the secrecy of the armored vehicles. In an effort to fool the enemy spies, British army propagated the myth that they had been building ‘mobile water tanks’.
The world saw tanks in battle for the first time on September 15, 1916, when British Army deployed these armored land ships during the Battle of the Somme. Throughout 20^th century, tanks have played a dynamic role for the army and it has seen fierce and devastating action.

It is a strong mobile weapon platform with a large caliber rotating cannon capable of preventing enemy vehicles from advancing. From the the Battle of the Bulge in WWII to the 1981 Battle of Dezful during the eight year long Iran-Iraq war, tanks performed as the most significant offensive weapons around the world.
Following the fall of France in 1940, the country’s development of armored vehicles was suspended for a period that lasted throughout WWII.
France probably had the best tank designs in Europe before the War, but it was reduced to the puppet state of Vichy France after occupation by the Germans.

The French Renault FT was among the most influential and revolutionary tanks in history. Following the very poor performance of the French Schneider CA-1 tank at General Neville’s April 1917 offensive at Berry Au Bac, Colonel Estienne, the designer of the CA-1 tank gave his full support for the development of a technically more advanced tank, a task which was borne by the Renault Automobile Company.
The Renault was also called FT-17 as a factory code for tank projects run by the Renault Automobile Company. Louis Renault, the famous car maker and owner of the Renault Automobile Company, had begun designing a tank that had a realistic power-to-weight ratio, better agility, speed and trench crossing ability. The tank was also to be cheaper to produce, and easier to maintain.

Abandoned FT-17 somewhere in France 1940

Before then, he had declined involvement in any tank-making project, but after meeting with his friend, Col. Estienne, he would later take interest in the challenge and began his design. Although his design offered much more promise than the heavy, Schneider CA-1 and Saint-Chammond tanks, it faced some challenges with production.

At that time, the French were undecided about whether to use a large number of small tanks or a small number of large tanks such as the Char 2C—just like the British who had performed well with heavy tanks at the Battle of Somme.

Abandoned Renault FT-17 Light tanks 1940

With the intervention of Colonel Estienne, the French government made two large orders in April and June 1917, for tanks based on the specifications of the Renault prototype. Renault was now able to proceed with production of the Renault FT. Only 84 tanks were produced initially, but before the Armistice, about 2,697 tanks were manufactured.
The Renault FT weighed 6.5 tons and had a power-to-weight ratio of 5 hp/ton. Its main armament comprised a Puteaux SA 1918 37mm gun or a Hotchkiss machine gun within a fully rotating turret. It was the first tank ever to use a fully rotating turret.

In 1920, Brazil received a total of 12 brand new FTs from the Delaunay-Belleville factory in France. Six were fitted with a Berliet tower and armed with a 37mm Puteaux cannon. Five were fitted with an octogonal tower and armed with a 7mm Hotchkiss machine-gun and one model without a rotary turret for communications only. One of these surviving tanks with a 7mm Hotchkiss is now on display at Museu Militar Conde de Linhares (Count Linhares Military Museum) at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Renault FT had a speed of 5 mph and used a rear engine configuration. It had space for only a crew of 2 – the driver and commander who also served as the turret operator. It had a modified Holt chassis which enabled it to have a good grip of any terrain. To deal with trenches a rear tail was fixed to the Renault FT which gave balance. Although lightly armed, the Renault FT’s turret made it quite versatile and efficient in many conditions.
There were no means of communication between the turret operator and driver because of the very noisy interior, so a kind of “kicking code” in the back, shoulder or head was used by the turret operator to command the driver.

Captured FT tanks in German service in Serbia (World War II)

The small FT, without doubt, was a success during its first missions in the World War irrespective of its initial flaws such as radiator fan belt and cooling system problems. Several Renault FTs were involved in all major offenses of the Western front units, with about 4356 engagements featuring the FTs. About 746 FTs were lost in all.
The first operational unit to use the Renault FTs was the 1st Battalion De Chars Legers, on February 1918.
The Americans, soon after the war also developed their own version of the FT-17.

Crew locations shown with panels open

Diagram of internal Layout of French Renault FT-17 Char Mitrailleur “Mosquito” Tank, 1918.

FT 17 Panzerkampfwagen 17R 730(f)

Renault FT-17 color photo, somewhere in France 1940

RENAULT FT17 tank (1918), in front of the entrance of the Armistice museum in Rethondes Compiègne, Oise, France.

Two German soldiers posing with a tank FT-17 1940

US Army operating FTs on the Western Front, 1918