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Post Info TOPIC: Renault FT. 17


Corporal

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Renault FT. 17
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�In the town next to mine Nitro, WV USA there was an WW 1 museum.�It had an Austrian howitzer and a FT. 17 tank on display with the 8mm MG. The museum closed and later the tank was removed. Have any of you heard anything about it. thanks.



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Legend

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Kenbb48, can you give some more details; the exact name and address of the museum and when it closed. And do you have any photos of the Renault in your collection, or could you find one; it might have serial numbers or distinguishing features.

Also, Pierre Olivier has produced some excellent and up-to-date lists of WW1 survivors. Here is the url of the Renault FT list:
http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_FT-17.pdf



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Legend

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A bit of ferretting reveals that the Museum is or was situated in the Community Centre in Nitro, a town set up to manufacture explosives during The Great War. An attempt was being made to combine it with a WWII Museum and record veterans' remeniscences, but the trail goes cold after that.

You could try one of these contacts: Delmer Bird at 304-755-9306 or Casebolt at 304-419-3322 or Jim McKay at 304-415-4514. These gents sem to have been connected with the Museum. As PDA says, it would be excellent to have some details and pics.

Maybe Mothman took the Tank . . .


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Corporal

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Sorry I had an fire a few years back and a lot of my photos where distroyed, to my memory it had no markings it was painted an olive drab. I will try the contacts above thank you all.

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Brigadier

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The ownership of that tank was a bone of contention for many years. However, it is in private hands and is fully restored now.

John Adams-Graf
Editor, Military Vehicles Magazine
www.MilitaryVehiclesMagazine.com




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John A-G.
Hudson, WI USA

PDA


Legend

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This seems to be the answer. From Charleston Daily Mail:

"Nitro stands firm on rightful ownership of World War I tank


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Brigadier

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The tank that was in Nitro and now in a private museum in Indiana is a US-produced M1917, not an FT-17.

Attached is a photo of the restored vehicle.

John

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John A-G.
Hudson, WI USA

PDA


Legend

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Thanks, John. I realised, yesterday, when I was trying to solve the riddle, that this tank was unlikely to be a Renault FT, and most likely to be a 6-ton. Yet I still went ahead and posted a link to the list of surviving Renault FT tanks! I have just checked the list of surviving M1917s and this tank is on it, with the following statement:

"Six Ton Tank Model 1917 Ropkey Armor Museum, Crawfordsville, IN (USA) This tank was first located at Arlington (for nearly half a century), and then moved at the War Memorial Museum in Nitro, WV (USA) in the 1980s. It was then fully restored in the Ropkey museum (Hayes Otoupalik)"

http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_6ton_M1917.pdf



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Brigadier

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That's the one!� I was reluctant to post Fred's name because this tank has been such a center of controvevarsy. But, Fred has invested so much in the restoration and he is such a very, very fine fellow and very approachable, that anyone would benefit from a visit to his museum.

John

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John A-G.
Hudson, WI USA



Corporal

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As I said in my guest book entry my main studies have mostly dealt with ww II. What are the main differences between the two? I just took an look at the rebuilt tank the armament was different than I remember.

-- Edited by kenbb48 on Monday 17th of May 2010 12:58:40 AM

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Legend

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kenbb48 wrote:

As I said in my guest book entry my main studies have mostly dealt with ww II. What are the main differences between the two? I just took an look at the rebuilt tank the armament was different than I remember.

-- Edited by kenbb48 on Monday 17th of May 2010 12:58:40 AM



Look no further than the Landships website - http://www.landships.freeservers.com/FT17_M1917.htm has a table of the differences between the FT-17 and 6-Ton tanks.

Regards,

Charlie



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PDA


Legend

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In brief, the most obvious differences are the exhaust pipes are on different sides (Right on the Renault, and Left on the American M1917)�and the little plates of armour beside the drivers vision slot are different shapes; triangular on the American tanks and square-ish on the French ones.

But there are a few other differences, so the article Charlie refers you to is a good one to read.

Also, there is a joker in the pack! One of the American museums has a Renault body with an M1917 turret (or vice versa)! Just for fun, or a mechanic 'just trying something'? Who knows.

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