Reviving History: Renault FT | WWI Vehicles Uncovered - Ep. 1

Journey with us in this inaugural episode as we explore the legacy of the Renault FT, one of the most pivotal tanks from the First World War era. Often hailed as the forefather of modern tanks, the Renault FT's groundbreaking design was brought to life by the renowned French company, Renault, in the closing stages of 1917.

A special thank you to the Heritage Fund for their generous support in producing this video.

We are a charitable organisation set up to preserve, restore and maintain historic military vehicles from both world wars, and to educate the public about their history. Our unique line-up of rare and important military vehicles, including tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, is considered to be one of the finest working collections in the world.
#wealdfoundation #tankrestoration #tank #restoration

Chapters

00:00 - Intro
01:53 - Renault FT
06:35 - Restoration

[НиколайТургенев-лз]

Nice present to all tank-lovers all over the World!

[RussellBaker]

I was lucky to be at a talk at Tank Fest a while back on the FT and got to see it close up after. This video reminded of something I should have done back then but instead done today, joined up.

[slowshop]

Sweet little machine. Amazing work with the restauration.

[stevefoster]

Great story...love the determination to rebuild the FT to factory specs

[michaelguerin]

Excellent video. Superb research and restoration. Thank you.

[philbosworth]

You guys do such a wonderful job with your restorations.

[kiwifruit]

A really interesting video and a beautifully restored vehicle

[glandhound]

Renault FT-17 is probably the most influental design in the history of tanks.

[MisterOcclusion]

I enjoyed the trivial little details, such as the lubricated wheels, the paint sampling, the fact that the panels weren't cut in metric dimensions.

While it certainly lacks modern amenities, the FT was THE genesis of the modern tank. And, modern vehicles notwithstanding, it had a very long service life.

[foowashere]

Beautiful restoration, and beautiful production. Thanks for making and sharing!

[getinthevantim]

What a fascinating process! I must admit the fact that the idler wheels were made of Oak by wheelwrights had previously escaped me.

[SebastiaanKr]

Great docu 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻 ( i have seen them at Militracks few years ago )

[conceptalfa]

What is the odd "tail" in the rear???🤔🧐

[jmsmaxwell]

They have one of these tanks down in New Orleans at the Museum. Not restored but
sitting outside and you can try to climb in it. Very small and cramped. I wondered
how it managed to have a crew of 3 in it.

[StephaneP-ph]

Was the interior of the FT17 really white inside?
I am making a takom 1/16 one and theres no color mentionned in the instructions...

[schwabrichard]

They no doubt spent more money on this project of two tanks, than the French did for all of the war time production. Frank Luke after seeing a field of burnt out FT`s. Described them as death traps. Engine overheating and fires combined with a belt drive system that constantly shredded. Only in fantasy gaming is the FT a usable tank. The US built 900+ under license, both gun and machine gun versions. Half of those were sold as scrap or given to the Canadians for training duties.

[cpawp]

The notion that 'everything [in Germany or France] was metric' is not so convincing.
German guns of WW2 were surprisingly often of a caliber that seemed metricised from imperial measures, the 88mm is 3, 5inch, the 3, 7mm is 1, 5inch, Bismarck's 38cm is around 15 inch.
Dont know why and how, there seemed to be a residue of imperial measurements in German weapons construction...

[ArnoSchmidt]

The guys from the Australian tank museum would have just put a caterpillar engine in it. More power, less hassle.