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FT FRENCH

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FT at the Belgrade Military Museum, Serbia Although it has sometimes been stated that the letters FT stand for the French terms faible tonnage low tonnage , faible taille small size , franchisseur de tranchées trench crosser , or force terrestre land force , 6 none of these names are correct. Neither was it named the FT 17 or FT-17. The name is derived from the two-letter production code that all new Renault projects were given for internal use: the one available was 'FT'. The prototype was at first referred to as the automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917. Automitrailleuse à chenilles means "armoured car lit: motorized machine gun with tracks." By this stage of the war, automitrailleuse was the standard word for an armoured car, but by the time the FT was designed there were two other types of French tank in existence, and the term char d'assaut from the French char – a cart or wagon, and assaut; attack or assault , soon shortened to char, had at the insistence of Colonel Estienne, already been adopted by the French and was in common use. Once orders for the vehicle had been secured it was the practice at Renault to refer to it as the "FT". The vehicle was originally intended to carry a machine-gun, and was therefore described as a char mitrailleur – mitrailleur from mitraille; grapeshot had by this time come to mean "machine-gunner". Many sources, predominantly English language accounts, refer to the FT as the "FT 17" or "FT-17." This term is not contemporary and appears to have arisen post World War One. In Estienne's biography, 7 his granddaughter states, "It is also referred to as the FT 17: the number 17 was added after the war in history books, since it was always referred to at Renault as the FT." Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Malmassari French tank officer and Doctor of History states, "The Renault tank never carried the name FT 17 during the First World War, although the initials F.T. seem to appear in August 1917." 8 Some confusion might also have been caused by the fact that the American version of the vehicle, produced in the US under licence from Renault, was designated the M1917. When it was decided to equip the FTs with either cannon or machine-guns, the cannon version was designated char canon cannon tank , and the latter, in accordance with French grammar, renamed char mitrailleuse machine-gun tank . It is frequently claimed that some of these tanks were designated FT 18. Reasons given for the claim include: it distinguished tanks produced in 1918 from those of 1917; it was applied to FTs armed with cannon as opposed to those with machine-guns; it distinguished FTs with a cast, rounded turret from those with a hexagonal one; it referred to the 18 horsepower engine; it indicated a version to which various modifications had been made. Renault records make no distinction between 1917 and 1918 output; the decision to arm FTs with a 37mm gun was made in April 1917, before any tanks had been manufactured; because of various production difficulties and design requirements, a range of turret types were produced by several manufacturers, but they were all fitted to the basic FT body without any distinguishing reference; all FTs had the same model 18 hp engine. The Renault manual of April 1918 is entitled RENAULT CHAR D'ASSAUT 18 HP, and the illustrations are of the machine-gun version. The official designation was not changed until the 1930s when the FT was fitted with a 1931 Reibel machine gun and renamed the FT modifié 31. By this time, the French Army was equipped with several other Renault models and it had become necessary to distinguish between the various types. 9 10 11 12 13

BT-7 SOVIET

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The first prototypes of the BT-7 had a distinctive canted-ellipse shaped turret mounting both the main gun and a coaxial machine-gun. The specification also called for the project to allow for the installation of new guns without any significant change to the framework: the 76 mm KT-26 or PS-3 main gun a short-barreled howitzer and the 45 mm 20K model 1932/38, a long-barreled, high-velocity gun useful against tanks, but less effective than the 76 mm gun against infantry. In the rear of the turret, there was a rotating drum-type magazine for 18 45 mm shells or a radio station. The prototype underwent an extensive testing program in the summer and autumn of 1934. As a result of this testing, it was felt that a machine-gun was unnecessary on a tank with a 3-man crew, especially as it made the assembly of the turret more complicated. Therefore, in early 1935, the tank went into production with a simpler design, incorporating the turret from the BT-5. However, the idea of a wheeled/tracked vehicle with a 76 mm cannon was not abandoned and the plant was commissioned to develop a new BT-7 turret from the turret of the T-26-4. In the production model, a cylindrical turret housed a 45 mm 20K gun with a DT machine gun. On some of the tanks, a model 71-TC radio with frame antenna was installed. The crew consisted of three men: the commander who also served as the gunner ; the loader and the driver. In 1937, the company launched production of the BT-7 with a conical turret. The main armament remained the same, but the ammunition was increased to 44 rounds. All serving tanks now installed the DT machine gun in the rear niche. For the firing of the gun and coaxial machine gun at night, the tank was equipped with two special projector-type headlamps, and a mask placed on the gun. Subsequently, these lights were retrofitted to earlier models of the tank. Improvements were also made to the drive wheels, caterpillar tracks and gearbox by 1938. In parallel with the main modification, 153 BT-7 Artillery tanks were produced between 1936 and 1938. These were fitted with a larger turret and a 76 mm KT-type gun with 50 rounds of ammunition 40 in a tank with a portable radio . In 1938, four experimental BT-8 tanks mounted with V-2 diesel engines were produced. After comparative tests of the BT-7 and BT-8, the diesel tanks were put into production in 1940 under the designation BT-7M with the powerplants being produced in a separate plant of the Voroshilovets factory to ensure supply. The diesel tanks were more fuel efficient, and the petrol-powered tanks were soon placed into reserve. Several experimental tanks were conceived based on the BT series, for example the wheeled BT-IS, designed by N.F. Tsyganov, a platoon commander in the 4th Armoured Regiment of the Ukraine Military District and self-taught designer. The type successfully passed field tests, but was not ordered in bulk. Another Tsyganov design was the SV-2 "Cherepakha" turtle, черепаха , with a new design of hull and turret. There was also the command tank KBT-7 with a fixed superstructure, the OT-7 mounting a flamethrower, the KhBT-7 designed to protect from toxic contamination and lay smokescreens, the SBT bridgelayer and the TTBT-7 and Thubten-7 radio-controlled tanks known at the time as Teletanks . Finland converted 18 captured tanks into BT-42 assault guns. 3 Shortly before Operation Barbarossa the German invasion of the Soviet Union , the BT-7 underwent an up-armoring program. In 1940, the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol produced 50 sets of hinged homogeneous armor for the BT-7M, which increased the weight of the test tank to 18 tons. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the installation of these kits to military units. Between 1935 and 1940, 5753 BT-7 tanks of all modifications were built.

CHI-HA JAPAN

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The Type 97 hull was of riveted construction with the engine in the rear compartment. The tank had a four-man crew including a driver, bow machine-gunner, and two men in the turret. 10 In the forward compartment, the driver sat on the right, and bow gunner on the left. 11 The commander's cupola was placed atop the turret. Internal communications were by 12 push buttons in the turret, connected to 12 lights and a buzzer near the driver. 11 The Type 97 was equipped with a Type 97 57 mm main gun, the same caliber as that used for the earlier Type 89 I-Go tank. The cannon was a short-barreled weapon with a relatively low muzzle velocity, but sufficient as the tank was intended primarily for infantry support. 12 The main gun had no elevation gear, therefore, the gunner used his shoulder to elevate it. 13 The tank carried two 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns, one on the front left of the hull and the other in a ball mount on the rear of the turret. 14 The turret was capable of full 360-degree traverse, but the main gun was in a "semi-flexible mount" allowing a maximum 10-degree traverse independently of the turret. 15 The thickest armor used was 25 mm on the gun mantlet and 15–25 mm on the hull front. 6 Power was provided by an air-cooled V-12 21.7 liter diesel Mitsubishi SA12200VD engine, which provided 170 hp 127 kW . 6

BT-42 FINNISH

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As the Second World War progressed, the Red Army were fielding better and better tanks. The Finnish Army, on the other hand, had to make do with a large number of captured tanks, which were for the most part lightly armored and armed. 5 The Finns decided to redesign the BT-7 Model 1937 tank. They constructed a new turret fitted with 76 K/02 gun sights and armed it with British-made 114.3 mm howitzers that had been supplied by the British during the Winter War Q.F. 4,5 inch howitzer Mark II, also known as 114 Psv.H/18 in Finland . 6 Eighteen BT-42 were built between 1943-1944. 7 These converted vehicles quickly became very unpopular with their crews. 8 The weaknesses could mainly be attributed to the new turret, which apart from giving the tank a high-profile also added significant weight to the vehicle, stressing the suspension and the engine. 9 The BT-42 was used for the first time in 1943, at the Svir River, where it was used against enemy pillboxes. The design worked reasonably well against soft targets but was completely unsuitable for anti-tank warfare. 8 The BT-42 ultimately failed in its original goal of establishing a domestic armor production to combat the Soviet tanks—this being realized when the tank proved ineffective in tank-to-tank combat 10 and later replaced with the German Stug IIIs. To counter this, the Finns copied a German-designed HEAT round for the gun and it was initially thought that it would be effective against the sloped armour of the T-34. Testing showed that it could penetrate 100mm of steel plate at 50 or 60 degrees, and should be able to penetrate 110-115mm armor sloped at a 70 degree angle, but this was proven incorrect at the Battle of Viipuri where it was shown to be incapable of taking down even medium tanks. 2,000 shells were ordered but this was cancelled after 500 had been delivered. 11 Supposedly one of the main issues was with the copied HEAT shells fuses, which apparently did not arm themselves correctly after firing, due to the different muzzle velocity and round spin rate of the 4.5-inch howitzer compared to the original German guns citation needed . The BT-42s were used again during the major Soviet offensive in 1944. Nine BT-42s were deployed in the defense of Vyborg. 8 12 10 In one encounter, a Finnish BT-42 hit a Soviet T-34 eighteen times, failing even to immobilize the enemy vehicle. 10 During this battle a BT-42 was destroyed by a T-34 tank shell. 12 Seven of the BT-42 tanks were also lost due to mechanical failures, resulting in eight of the nine deployed being destroyed. 12 10 At the time Finnish armoured units were still composed mostly of older designs such as the Vickers 6-Ton, T-26 and T-28 tanks, and all of these suffered losses. Emergency supplies of Panzer IV tanks and StuG III self-propelled assault guns from Germany made it possible for the Finns to replace their losses with more effective vehicles. The BT-42 was retired soon after the Vyborg battles, replaced in their role with German-made StuG IIIs. Finland also used captured T-34s, as well as receiving more of these vehicles from Germany's stock of captured enemy kits. 13

Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf.C (Sd.Kfz.101) (VK6.01) GERMAN

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The chassis design was influenced by Krauss Maffei earlier work with halftracks including the 8-ton Sd.Kfz. 7 halftrack. The turret armament was the Mauser E.W. 141 semi-automatic gun derived from the MG151 cannon and firing the 7.92 mm Patrone round as used in German anti-tank rifles such as the Panzerbüchse 38 and Panzerbüchse 39. The gun was unique to this tank, 4 chosen as it could not carry a 20mm cannon. The gun could fire at up to 100 rounds per minute but lacked in penetration. Although this tank proved not to be effective against similar armored tanks, it was proven to be able to clear small arms and halt defending forces during Operation Barbarossa.

10TP Polish

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In the late 1920s, the Polish Armed Forces identified a need for a new tank design. The Wojskowy Instytut Badań Inżynierii WIBI , or "Military Engineering Research Institute", dispatched Captain Ruciński to the United States to legally acquire a Christie M1928 tank, along with its blueprints and a licence for production. This tank was intended to serve as the basis for a new Polish light tank. However, the Poles never received the machine. Fearing legal complications, Christie refunded the purchase. Due to the failure to acquire the master model and its associated licence, the WIBI Tank Design Bureau began preliminary design work on its own wheeled/tracked tank in late 1930. This design was inspired by the American Christie M1928 and M1931 tanks, and was given the working name "A la Christie". The design work was based on available data, including advertising brochures, notes, and sketches that Captain Ruciński had obtained from Christie. By 1932, design drawings and a parts list were completed. However, work soon slowed down as the designers were tasked with evaluating a newly purchased British Vickers Mark E tank. This evaluation ultimately led to the development of the Polish 7TP light tank. In late 1934, the liquidation of the WIBI and the establishment of the Armoured Forces Design and Testing Centre under the direct command of the Armoured Forces Command led to the destruction of most documentation for the "A la Christie" project by a special commission. Only a handful of handwritten notes and calculations survived. On 10 March 1935, design work began on a new tank model designated 10TP. Major Rudolf Gundlach led the design team, which included engineers Jan Łapuszewski, Stefan Ołdakowski, Mieczysław Staszewski, Kazimierz Hejnowicz, and process engineer Jerzy Napiórkowski. In 1936, the 10TP tank design was still under development, but it was nonetheless included in the Polish Army's modernisation programme for 1936-1942. This programme, encompassing armoured forces, was approved by the Armament and Equipment Committee Komitet do spraw Uzbrojenia i Sprzętu, KSUS in January 1936. The 10TP was listed as the intended equipment for four tank battalions within new motorised units. Assembly of the first 10TP prototype began in 1937 at the Experimental Workshop WD of the State Engineering Plants PZInż. Factory in Ursus, near Warsaw. This factory served as the central production site for Polish tanks during 1931-1939. Captain Kazimierz Grüner oversaw the construction. Coinciding with the prototype's development, two motorised cavalry brigades were formed, intended to be equipped with the 10TP once operational. 3