French Renault FT Light Tank

[SvenDansk7]

I really appreciate the period music. Thanks for the vid!

[uzickimajmunac]

abrams destroyer

[SMGJohn]

French made the best tanks of WWI and 2! French tanks where the only reason the Germans slowed down in 1940 occupation of France. Their tanks where so feared by the Germans they used airforce and heavy artillery to take them out.

[webb20k]

@SMGJohn LOL really? you REALLY believe that?

[SMGJohn]

@webb20k What's to believe? It's a fact.

[deusirae76]

@SMGJohn The Russians had already developed the T-34 in 1940, which was far superior to everything at the time, including French tanks.

[SMGJohn]

@deusirae76 French tanks where still better in terms of technology and advanced designs. The T-34 was simply a simple tanks with sloped armor and Soviet know-how armor technique which makes the armor strong yet light and this allows the tanks to move faster. However T-34 was the first tanks to balance all the three main abilities of tanks. Mobility, firepower and protection

[93BobMarley]

Talvisodassa suomi käytti samoja tankkeja ! : D

[Polykov1]

Снимаю шлемофон перед мастерством и мужеством первых танкистов!

[Vifnis]

nice, light-weight but not heavy artillery.

[duncanauk1]

moving mg bunker

[ichmalealsobinich]

It looks like a childrens toy car but the design of the FT-17 was that one which still makes the basic structure of any modern tank including the german Leopard 2A-7 .

[skeilak]

Despite some of the more silly comments here, it's good to remember that the Renault FT, was "the" outstanding tank of WW1, as well as the progenitor of all modern tanks. That's why, unlike the British Mk1, this humble little infantry killer, actually "looks" like a tank.

And the truest testament to it's fine design, is that it was still serving in dozens of armies, around the world, until replaced by surplus WW2 vehicles.

[DrinkMyGin]

cool footage

[Biess133]

Where does it run on? Olive oil?

[nosvaructu]

Little known interesting fact but this French tank has a higher top speed going in reverse, obviously for tactical and army wide strategic reasons XD.

[Kamfrenchie]

@nosvaructu

Actualy french tanks were the slowest in WW2, thaks you and come again.

[Camarale]

@nosvaructu

You will be able to talk about wars, when you will experience a real one in your backyards,not watching Hollywood craps,your obese ass on the sofa.Try to catch only 10% of French history. France was the major power in Euriope for centuries, when your mongrel inbreed was still in the balls of your European ancestors, and your fake place without history called USA, a desert populated by Indian nations. The true Americans. Try to experience a battle as VERDUN, before to talk. Loser.

[nosvaructu]

@Camarale United States Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, OIF VI 2006 baghdad, 2nd of the 506th INF. Purple Heart recipient. Thank you and come again. PS, combat arms, not some technical skill guy, infantry, real combat, aka, a tank hunter company to boot, so thank you for your assumptions. I can show you my DD-214 if you need proof ;)

[Camarale]

@nosvaructu

So, if you are a military, you should try to avoid to insult the 100000 French soldiers killed in May/June 1940, for instance. The French destroyed 50 % of Nazi forces during the battle of France in 1940, and inflicted 45000 fatalities and 111000 woundeds to Germans,before to give up. All Europe was crushed by the new tactic of Blietzkrieg in 1940. Included Russians, who lost more than 4 million prisoners. US troops would have been pulverized like others by the 1940 Blietzkrieg.

[nosvaructu]

@Camarale It was a light hearted joke, I wouldn't take it personally if someone insulted the American Sherman's which took 4 to take out one Tiger tank. The only thing is the Germans are remembered for their accomplishments, up to France to speak of their virtues because when you say France, Germany, and WWII all I think of is Maginot Line.

[Camarale]

@nosvaructu

The last defenders of Maginot line surrendered only on orders, after the armitice,because Germans failed to seize these fortifications. They received a storm of dozens thousands shells and were slaughtered, when they frontly attacked these forts.So, they by-passed Maginot line, and pushed in the center of France, where they encountered bad prepared units commanded by old generals with outdated tactics. Heavy WW1 losses were still present, too, as this war mostly fought in France.

[Camarale]

@nosvaructu

This "the French surrendered without firing a single shot in 1940" myth, is a total crap widely spreaded in the US. British were saved by the Channel. They were overcrushed in Belgium and France in 1940. They escaped in stampede from the northern French city of Dunkirk, with a lot of other French units, too, while the rest of French troops covered their flanks during this evacuation.A lot of people ignore that after 1942, French regular troops fought on most of this war theaters.

[Camarale]

@nosvaructu

The Free French forces were 1,3 million involved in Europe in 1945,with 7 infantry divisions and 3 armored divisions.They mostly liberated all south of France in the DRAGOON operation in August 1944,with the help of US logistic.They also broke the German defenses in Monte Cassino,Italy,and fought until Germany.French fighters were not only Hollywood beret resistance clichés.And most of the French population was indifferent and above all interested in looking for something to eat.

[sean050483]

Exterminate! Exterminate!

[PrototypeU41]

french didnt have an armored doctrine, they handed tanks out like piecemeal bahhahaha major failure

[romanlegions]

@PrototypeU41 Actually, the French did do that and so did pretty much all other countries during that era (with the exception of the Germans), however, the French were the first to employ a fully fledged tank division in the world. However, this made it too cumbersome to be used in battle as well as lacking any integrated organic infantry components or artillery. This made them outpace the infantry and lacked fire support as well as air cover.

[GeneralCalculus]

@philthydirtyanimal "yes, i can understand that. but these vehicles were very much seen as just infantry support vehicles, with a top speed equivalent to a walking infantryman. 'armour doctrine' or using armour by itself or as an independent arm hadnt been invented yet." Actually these were so called "cavalry tanks" ie they were intented to use to exploit the gaps in enemy lines to target the supply convoys and rear units.

[sietepeo1]

RPG SNAKS

[builder802]

it looks like the body of an old plane mixed with a tractor and a cannon duct taped on it.... only the french could construct such a terrifying device!

[r8wing]

@builder802

You couldn't be more wrong. Back in 1917 this was cutting-edge technology, the first practical tank. Today's MBT's are still based on its layout.

[mashersmasher]

canada bought a ton of those as scrap and used them in our military!

[1rcp]

the FT-17 was also the 1st tank to use a port-fired weapon

[SittingMooseShaman]

Jeeze, these things were 'man squishers' way back then... Check out the film, "Lion Of The Desert" Starring Anthony Quinn... During WW1 and subsequent military engagements: The tankers would simply run over machine-gun emplacements; machine-gun, soldiers and all. Back then, soldiers- on either side- had about a 90% chance of facing execution if they deserted their positions. So-oo. Granted this film takes place in the Sahara Desert- Italian tankers just luved to smoosh...

[6pwner]

how fast can those things go?

[MakeNine42]

@6pwner only about 7km/h

[Fridomfry]

Thanks a lot for offering us these rare movies ! A convincing demo...

[FIAT4]

char de la victorie!

[DragonMyxa]

ahahahaah noobs tank

[fp470]

@DragonMyxa ahahahahah noob fag

[TheIronTapir]

@DragonMyxa true

[c9ari]

I really like the idea of this tank. It is a great size. Sort of one of the first ORVs with armor and a gun. If tank makers of today would learn from this weapon, and make something that really moves and is small and handy. Nice rig!

[romanlegions]

@c9ari Well they do have armored cars for that sort of role.

[K3nt3tsu]

took a pic near this tank 2 days ago in Belgrade military museum :)

[kknich]

The last time this tank saw actual combat was in 1944 when Romania used several dozens against retreating german units. Until then, these tanks were used for training and police action.

[ruttsy42]

the patton museum in kentucky now has one. they found 3 in a scrap year in afghanistan

[MrNathari]

Trop mimi ce char!!!!Vive mon pays!!Vive la France!!!!!A mort les cons!!!!!!!!

[heisenfeis]

Its super sonic fast... at that time. Btw wouldn't you be scared see that coming today and driving after you .... you would get tierd running at some point :P

[Kagetora2010]

@heisenfeis Assuming the Frenchman in the turret doesn't just cut you down with a clip or two of 8mm Hotchkiss, or turn you into cat food with a canister shell from the 37mm 18SA... >;D

Interesting that the poster chose to include the classic Great War jazz of the band of the "Harlem Hellfighters" (369th U.S. Infantry),,,

George Patton Jr. got his tanker's spurs leading these little nasties in the Argonne Offensive BTW... the FT-17 is truly the granddaddy of the modern battle tank.

[rabadasho]

Si vous voulez veder autres videos de la Guerre, je l'ai !!!! A plus tard, en mon channel :D

[TheCommando444]

Ft-17 maximum velocit 8Km/ per hour....

[KosmoAntoninus]

@INDICADAVE- most FT 17 were equipped with machine guns and the commander and driver were very close. The problems you mention are true for some french ww2 tanks with a 1 man turret.

[KosmoAntoninus]

Amazing climbing abilities thanks to the tracks running over the sides. In WW2 only Churchill tanks had that feature.

[Gracz87]

First real tank in history

[natureman494]

long live the ft 17 WW1-WW2

[indicadave]

Ah yes, the tonka toy of tanks. The two man tank is a really dumb idea. The stress on the commander was enormous. Imagine having to give the driver directions, scan for threats and targets, and load and fire the weapon by yourself all at the same time. I cringed every time I saw it crest a hill or ridge. The belly was exposed for at least five seconds. It is hopelessly underpowered. A tank this small and this light should not be this slow.

[Fridomfry]

You are judging by modern standards. As it was, the Renault FT was the best light tank of its time, and was decisive in defeating Germany in 1918.

[indicadave]

No, actually I'm not. I still think the two man tank is a really dumb idea for the reasons I laid out earlier.

[Fridomfry]

This makes sense, yet we should check your opinion with what Renault FT tank crews wrote about their experience. If I find the time, I'll look in a few diaries and books written by such men.

[Freakbrain1]

But when it was developed it was the best tank at his time. Much better than AV7 or MK6, every modern tank is his descentes

[MrEdobob]

yeah it should be a three man crew in there, but it was pretty fast in that time you couldnt go faster than that

[adybarbarian]

wish we had that in our last paintball tournament,

[granskare]

vive la Quebec libre! :)

[megatwingo]

5*****

[nino71]

I am not an expert but this is possibly the worst thank of the second WW after the Italian M11. You must have guts to fight in such a thin armour, respect for those who did!!

[Fridomfry]

It may have been the worst tank of the second WW after the Italian M11... but in was the best of WW1 ! It played a decisive role in defeating the German army in 1918. In 1940, it had become a museum piece, at least in France.

It was not the first tank ever made (the British and French developed bigger armoured monsters as soon as 1916), but it was structurally the first tank in the modern sense, i.e. with a rotating turret and its main weapon in the turret.

[paintslinger2009]

u know ur historty i see

[TeHDeStrOyER101]

isnt this the first tank ever made ?

[polishkilla94]

definitely not the 1st was a british prototype

[DimentioMaster]

the first tank was made in 1916. they had serious problems because the crew would get burns and pass out from the fumes of the engine, wich was in the same area as the crew. the ft-17 was made in 1917.

[ArmyMen333]

?what was the music at the start called?

[philthydirtyanimal]

Right at the start? That is the French national anthem, 'La Marseillaise'.

It is followed by some Harlem Hellfighters jazz; 'On Patrol In No Man's Land' and 'All Of No Man's Land Is Ours'.

[MJLittleboy]

@philthydirtyanimal Be my friend!

[readmedottext]

@philthydirtyanimal

Thanks for the information about the Hellfighters Band. I looked up Lt Europe. What an amazing (and sad) story. "On Patrol in No Man's Land" has to be one of the starkest war songs I've ever heard. I never knew about it till now.

[natureman494]

@ArmyMen333 the french national anthem viva la france

[druisten3]

@ArmyMen333

frenchh national anthem

who are you to do not know it ?

[ArmyMen333]

pretty small that tank,but still effective

[WarheroWW2]

in ww2 late in the war when the allies invaded france the germans used these tanks that they had captured when they conquered france in 1940 against the allies. i doubt they were very affective

[philthydirtyanimal]

Thanks, WarheroWW2. I knew that they had used them throughout the war for internal 'policing' duties, and airfield patrol etc. But I didnt know that they had used them against the allies in the late war.

[willychong8921]

They had infact equipped them with Stuka rockets as artillery assault tank(in theaory). A few of of them was sent to Russia by Germans for recon used but end up being captured by the Red Army.

[EulHollandais]

You may be mistaking : the tanks that were captured by the germans were mostly Hotchkiss H39 and Renault R35...which were designed in the 30s

[whitelegion666]

ft 17 were employed by german's all long of 2° war for training or order maintenance in france

[Wolfogre]

@EulHollandais

The captured FT-17 were designated FT-17/18 730(f) in German service.and apparently deployed on armoured trains to help fight partisans and for internal police and security duties.

[romanlegions]

@Wolfogre Did they just used the components or the entire tank?

[Wolfogre]

@romanlegions

As far as I can tell the entire tank was used.

However, several FT-17 turrets were also used in static positions as well.

[romanlegions]

@Wolfogre Must be an inefficient design because its basically an armored machine gun position on a swivel turret design. Unless they also have the fewer 37mm cannons.

[Wolfogre]

@romanlegions

Well, the Germans used what was available. It's not like they could afford being picky. :D

I guess the presence of a tank, any tank, had great psychological value when fighting irregular troops and such. Especially if the latter had few if any anti-armour assets.

[romanlegions]

@Wolfogre That is true, but i seemed to recall the earlier tanks were still vulnerable to even German 7.92 rounds, at least for the pre-historic Mk 1s

[Wolfogre]

@romanlegions

That is probably true.

But for partisans or such armed with mere pistols or at best submachineguns the FT-17 could possibly be a daunting foe none the less.

But as I Guderian allegedly said: The concept of the tank is more powerful than the tank itself.

:)

[romanlegions]

@Wolfogre Hahah, hence the use of combined arms doctrines around the tank, rather than throwing them en masse. It's the promise of the tank as a mobile fire point as well as a spear head aimed straight at the flanks supported by all the branches of the army at lightning speed that appealed so much to Guderian.

[Wolfogre]

@romanlegions

He was a clever chap. :)

[panzersherk12]

@WarheroWW2 Really? I mean, I heard that Poland and France were still using these tank during the Blitz, but I never knew the Germans use them during the Normandy invasion.

[fabizio]

@panzersherk12 the Germans used French tanks to maintain order in France, or for training troops. They also modified French tanks, for example they have invented a version of char B1 bis equipped with a flamethrower, which was used on the eastern front. French tank turrets were also used in the bunkers of the Atlantic Wall.

Vichy regime had also some FT-17 and used it during the landing in North Africa, which surprised the Americans who did not expect to fight these antiquities ;)

[Wiktormotra]

Ever saw Polish variation of this tank? Instead of cannon, it had two gas tank that could be used to make smoke screen or attack with chemical warfare. You may find it by searching for "czołg gazowy" (gas tank) in Google Images.

[philthydirtyanimal]

I have only seen a photo, no video. Please take a look at my flickr pages and there I have a lot of photos of the Polish Renaults.

[MarcelPichault]

When french created this one they were concerned about not reapeting the problems encoutered on the british and german tanks. They made a much faster one, that could be used by only 2 men, using a fully rotative turret...but the most important is that you could actually see the enemy :p

These were cheaper and more efficient, sometime France can produce nice things.

[philthydirtyanimal]

France produces a lot of nice things! Good films, fine boulevards, Cyrano de Bergerac, jolies filles!

[Fridomfry]

You may add good tanks and bad generals.

[boonw]

this may have been the most revolutionary tank and was superior to any other tank at the time.... but I still prefer the Tiger.

[philthydirtyanimal]

Well, there's no accounting for taste, is there! Glad you like the vid, anyway, and thanks for commenting.

[cumbas]

Have You photographs where we see together our light tank F17 Light that you present here and our French giant (undoubtedly even largest tanks of the WW1) the "FCM 2C" ?

it would be amusing and funny to be able to compare their size together ^^

[cumbas]

in its time of course ^^

We give less and less money for our army in France but not at the point to use tanks of the WW1 lol ;-)

[cumbas]

this french light tank of the WW1 is also the father of all moderns tanks

for example it was the first tank with an armament in a fully rotating turret

if it dont existed, the modern tanks dont exist

don't forget it ^^

[philthydirtyanimal]

Yes. It was certainly a very good tank (in its time).

[iron1111]

this tank is so cute it looks harmless :)

[philthydirtyanimal]

They are a little more fearsome up close. But only slightly!

I wonder if any of its enemies ever made that mistake too?

[smilingburrito]

Yeah. Show that street sign who's boss. :)

[Octantehuit]

merci pour la vidéo

[philthydirtyanimal]

De rien mon ami. J'ai une autre vidéo de ce char. Il emploie le film rare et je pense que vous l'aimerez.

Le souhait I était en France en ce moment !

[Messerchmitt11B]

when france fell, the germans used these tanks only for street battles instead of in an open field. still, u know any reasons how could the AV7 strumpanzerwagen lose to other tanks?

[philthydirtyanimal]

by WW2 these tanks were very outdated; even by other French tanks (which were very good). So they were only used for policing duties.

The A7V 'lost' due to one very serious drawback; production! The French and the British produced thousands of tanks compared with Germany's 20 (plus a handful of prototypes).

A similar thing happened with the Panther versus the T34.

"Quantity has a quality all of its own"

[odious34]

The German chain of command just didn't buy into the concept of the tank in WW1. By the time they got around to building some, only because soldiers kept complaining so much, it was too late. Remember the Germans had few resources at the end of WW1. They saw tanks as consuming too many resources and being unreliable.

[philthydirtyanimal]

Also, the Tank is a weapon of offense and, after trench warfare had set in, the Germans were fighting a war of defense. You don't need a 'breakthrough' weapon if you don't need to break through anywhere.

[Fridomfry]

The tank is an offensive weapon, precisely the weapon the Germans needed in the grand offensives of March-June 1918, when they broke the British, then the French front. They 'only' had assault infantry, otherwise they would have reached the Channel and Paris. And it would have taken 6 more months to beat them.

[philthydirtyanimal]

Well, that is an interesting opinion. It might not have happened that way, though. The German shock troops made a very fast advance during Kaiserschlact, but their logistical support and artillery could not keep up. These are not fast tanks and they are not heavily armed, so they could not have served as mobile artillery, if the Germans had had them.

The Germans had some promising prototype light tanks, though.

I feel a new vid coming on!

[Fridomfry]

AFAIK, beside the lack of resources in Germany, due to the blockade, German commanders had a military reason against developing tanks: From what they had seen in 1916 and even early 1917, the 1st tank attacks by the French and British had failed. Thus, the tank could be considered another of many failures in the attempts to brak the front.

[philthydirtyanimal]

yep. i am sure that was a factor too. why would you divert scarce resources into production of a weapon system that you thought was not very effective?

[Fridomfry]

Actually, a similar reasoning led French generals around 1933 to decide that independant armoured divisions would be inefficient. They experimented the idea in maneuvres, and saw that the majority of tanks ended up broken down, lacking fuel or destroyed by artillery. So they stuck to the proven 1918 use of tanks. Yet, what was true in 1933 became wrong in 1936...

[romanlegions]

@Fridomfry The Soviets thought the same thing and limited tank development to infantry support, that's why they had thousands of sub-standard light tankettes compared to heavier t-34s and kv1s.

[heliarche]

These are the greatest vids on here, thanks!

[philthydirtyanimal]

thank you. a little encouragement is good!

[SSKaizer]

Being a driver of these machines would get me rather frustrated because of the lack of speed, especially if a soldier would just walk by as if he hadn't noticed anything, lol.

Cheers for the upload.

[philthydirtyanimal]

yes, i can understand that. but these vehicles were very much seen as just infantry support vehicles, with a top speed equivalent to a walking infantryman. 'armour doctrine' or using armour by itself or as an independent arm hadnt been invented yet.

[Morris1962]

If I am not mistaken, one of these was found in Afghanistan and brought to the Patton Museum in Ft. Know, Ky (USA). Thanks for Posting.

[philthydirtyanimal]

sorry Morris, but you are mistaken; they found TWO in Afghanistan!

[BlackWidowPilot]

Most excellent presentation!! And kudos for the 369th "Harlem Hellfighters" jazz tunes!!

Leland R. Erickson

[philthydirtyanimal]

thanks very much. i'm still learning! the harlem hellfighters are extremely interesting for me.