FT-17M1917 WWI Tanks

Description

Introduced in 1917, the Renault FT-17 and its American-built copy, the M1917, revolutionized tank design. The vehicles rotating turret, rear-engine, driver-forward design are characteristics of the most advanced tanks even today. This volume presents a careful study of the details and variations of this innovative vehicle, inside and out. Two-hundred thirty-seven photographs reveal the intimacies of no fewer than 14 of the finest surviving examples of these machines, preserved on three different continents. Examples feature a variety of paint schemes and camouflage patterns, the rounded and flat-plate castings for the rear of the vehicle and the tail skid and turret variations between the Renault FT-17 and U.S.-made M1917. The driver s compartment in the interior of the tank is revealed, and close ups record the configuration of the engine. Nine detailed line drawings supplement the photos and comprehensive captions.