Carro Leggero da Fanteria Renault FT-17

Recensione del Modello Matchbox in Scala 1:76

Renault FT-17 was designed as an fanteria tank, ed it served in over 3000 engagements between maggio 1918 e the Armistice in novembre of the same year. The vehicle was bulletproofed with 22 mm of torretta e frontal armour, enabling it to attack positions mitragliatrice nemici con minimal risk to the crew. One weak point was the drive sprocket, it was made of wood ed it could be whittled away by fuoco nemico. Despite its small size, Renault FT-17 moved at the same slow speed as the much heavier Schneider tank, but 8 km/h was good enough to keep pace con fanteria advancing on foot.

Renault FT-17 saw much service between the guerre mondiali, it was engaged in the Rif revolt in Morocco, 1925-1927, ed it served con the Republican Forces in the guerra civile spagnola, 1936-1939. In 1940, many of the now obsolete FT-17 carri armati leggeri remained in service, e they accompanied fanteria francese into battle once again. Following the fall of Francia, Renault FT-17 carri armati leggeri entered service con the Wehrmacht. I veicoli were fitted con radios, e they were employed in the internal security role in occupied Francia ed on the Channel Islands.

Move o Turn

Renault FT-17 ed altri carri armati con cleattrack steering, o gear-brake-clutch steering could only move o turn, but not both at the same time. Accordingly, simulation gamers should penalize the FT-17 in combat, requiring that the vehicle may either move forward, backwards o turn in place. Pirouette turns, i.e. con one track turning forward e the other track turning backwards, are not possible con this type of steering. By comparison, modern carri armati are able to turn as they are moving in one o the other direction. Players quickly appreciate how difficult it is to maneuver a vehicle like the FT-17 across rough terrain, e to reach a certain destination con accuracy. In 1940, slow-moving carri armati FT-17 will find it difficult to evade fuoco nemico if they are spotted in the open.

Technical e Tactical Lineage

The Renault FT series gave rise to due different lines of new veicoli which fought tra la seconda guerra mondiale. Technically, the Renault FT is the direct ancestor of the series carro armato medio francese, e the Somua cavalleria tank:

Renault D1: 47 mm gun, 30 mm armour, 19 km/h speed
Renault D2: 47 mm gun, 40 mm armour, 23 km/h speed
Somua S-35: 47 mm gun, 25-56 mm armour, 41 km/h speed
Somua S-40: 47 mm gun, 31-56 mm armour, 45 km/h speed

In 1933, the Renault FT’s role as a fanteria leggera tank – Char Léger d’Accompagnement - was confirmed as a tactical doctrin, ed even the cavalleria received a similar vehicle type, developed by Hotchkiss. In addition to its cavalleria role, the Hotchkiss series was deployed as a fast fanteria tank.

Renault R-35: 37 mm gun, 32-45 mm armour, 20 km/h speed
Renault R-40: 37 mm gun, 40-45 mm armour, 22 km/h speed
Hotchkiss H-35: 37 mm gun, 22-45 mm armour, 35 km/h speed
Hotchkiss H-39: 37 mm gun, 22-45 mm armour, 36.5 km/h speed

Apparently, Renault had plans to merge the fanteria leggera tank (R-40) e medium cavalleria tank (S-40) idea into a new carro armato medio design, designated Renault DAC-1, but this project had not been completed when Francia fell in 1940.

Contenuto

Tre soldati ed one tank commander
Diorama base
Char Renault B1.bis
Char Léger Renault FT-17

Tipo: Fanteria Leggera Tank, 1918-1944
Armamentoo: 8 mm Hotchkiss MG
or 37 mm L.21 SA18 Puteaux
Peso: 7 t
Velocità: 8 km/h
Equipaggio: capocarro e guidatore

Valutazione

Excellent choice of subject. Renault FT-17 is a legendary vehicle which served in both guerre mondiali, ed it is immediately recognizable by its unique design. The vehicle was copied by other nations, ed a very similar carro armato leggero K.C., known as "Ruskij-Reno", saw training e combat duty nell’armata sovietica as late as 1941.
Scale model con much raised detail.
Due variants, con 8 mm Hotchkiss MG o con the 37 mm L.21 gun.
Easy to assemble, only 35 parts. The running gear consists of six parts each, e the rubber tracks fit perfectly.
High quality kit. Parts fit very well e there is minimal flash.
Compatibile con Airfix, Fujimi, Nitto, e VAC-U-CAST.
Char B1.bis included in the kit, an important vehicle della seconda guerra mondiale. The combination of these due carri armati in one kit is not particularly practical, they did not serve alongside eachother in the same formations. Anyone buying the kit for the carro armato leggero FT-17 della prima guerra mondiale will be left con an unwanted Char B1.bis which saw its first action in the next war.

Utilizzo Storico

Carro da fanteria francese, maggio 1918 - novembre 1918
Italian Army Carro da Fanteria, 1918
Finnish Army, 1919-1942. Of the 34 carri armati FT-17 serving in Finnland, 15 were armed con the 37 mm gun, e the other 19 veicoli carried mitragliatrici. The original mitragliatrici da 8 mm Hotchkiss were replaced by mitragliatrici Maxim nel 1937.
Armata romena, 1920s-1945.
Forze coloniale francesi, Rif Revolt in Morocco, 1925-1927
Republican Forces, Guerra Civile Spagnola, 1936-1939
Armata Francese, 1940
German Security Forces, Francia 1941-1944

Conversioni Possibili

Renault FT-17 Command, 1940
Renault FT-17 Bulldozer, 1940
Renault FT-17.bis con 75 mm L.12 tank gun, 1920-1940
Renault FT-17 con Maxim MG, Finnland 1937-1942

Matchbox deserves praise for offering the legendary carro armato leggero FT-17, which served in both guerre mondiali ed in the interim period. This kit is a must-have for simulation gamers, modellers, e collezionisti interested in modern warfare. The Renault FT-17 is unique in design, it’s easy to identify, e the vehicle looks great in one of the multi-colour camouflage patterns francesi. The old Airfix soldatini di fanteria francese della prima guerra mondiale have just been re-released by HäT Industrie, e they go very well con the Matchbox model of the Renault FT-17.

Matchbox Modellismo

Domande più frequenti

Per ulteriori informazioni, per favore contatta la redazione di Rivista Military Miniatures nel Miniatures Forum.

Soldatini della Prima Guerra Mondiale

– Pubblicato: 1997 – Aggiornato: 30.09.1997
© 1997-2011 by IDL Software GmbH, Darmstadt, Germania. Tutti diritti reservati.