Renault FT

Renault FT
FT with Girod turret at Royal Museum of the Armed Forces, Belgium
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1917–1949
Used by	See Operators
Wars	World War I Russian Civil War Estonian War of Independence Turkish War of Independence Polish-Soviet War Warlord Era Rif War São Paulo Revolt of 1924[1] Great Syrian Revolt Brazilian Revolution of 1930 Brazilian Constitutionalist War Chinese Civil War Spanish Civil War Winter War World War II Franco-Thai War Soviet-Afghan War
Production history
Designer	Louis Renault and Rodolphe Ernst-Metzmaier
Designed	1916
Manufacturer	Renault Berliet Somua Delaunay-Belleville
Produced	1917-1919
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
Specifications
Mass	6.5 tonnes (6.4 long tons; 7.2 short tons)
Length	5.00 m (16 ft 5 in)
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 1500rpm
Power/weight	5 hp/t (3.7 kW/t)
Transmission	sliding gear; four speeds forward, one reverse. One main clutch plus two subsidiary clutches (one for each of the two tracks) used for steering the tank.
Suspension	vertical springs
Fuel capacity	95 litres (about 8 hours)
Operational range	60 km (37 mi)
Maximum speed	7 km/h (4.3 mph)

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 have its armament within a fully rotating turret.^{[note 1]} 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.^[2]

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.

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