11/14/2023 0 Comments Modern french light tank![]() ![]() The Renault FT-17 – the WW1 tank that pioneered the classic tank configuration which has remained the basis of tank design up to today ![]() The FT would have the largest production run of any tank of WW1, with over 3,700 built, more numerous than all British tanks combined. Previous tank models had been “box tanks” a single crowded space combining the engine room, fighting compartment, ammunition stock and driver’s cabin. The Renault FT-17 was the first tank to incorporate a top-mounted turret with full 360º traverse capability and was designed with a layout that has been followed by almost all designs ever since: driver at the front main armament in a fully rotating turret on top engine at the rear. The last of the three, the Renault-FT, pioneered the classic tank configuration which has remained the basis of tank design up to today. The two original French tank designs, the St-Chamond and the Schneider-CA, proved to be flawed. In France, on the other hand, there were multiple and conflicting lines of development which resulted in three quite disparate production types. Almost all production effort was thus concentrated into the Mark I and its direct successors, all very similar in shape. ![]() In Britain a single committee had coordinated design, and had to overcome the initial resistance of the Army, while the major industries remained passive. The French Tanks of World War Oneĭuring World War One, France too developed its own tracked Armoured Fighting Vehicles at about the same time as Britain, but the situation there was rather different to Britain’s. Also, I’ve left out French tank models that were only produced in small numbers or as prototypes. Any mention of French tanks in use in Finland is fictional, although the remainder of the content is historically accurate. Please note: here and there within this post are snippets of alternative history related to Finland. ![]() In this Post, we’ll walk through French Tanks as of the end of World War One, and then take a look at the French Tanks of the Interwar Decades. Nevertheless, the French Tanks of the Interwar Decades were as good as any designed and built elsewhere in the world, and one in particular, the Souma S35, was perhaps the best tank available anywhere in 1939. As with Britian, French tank design entered a period of hiatus through the 1920’s. ![]()
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