There appears to be another type of wooden wheel made from equal segments of solid timber so far Ive noticed this on two contemporary survivors (Brussels right hand idler only and Norway) and a 1920s TSF pic see below...
Cheers
I do but I need permission as it was provided by a third party. I'll see what I can do. Meanwhile the actual French is:
Sur labout avant on remarque la poulie de renvoi[1]
qui est en bois « mosalque », cest-à-dire formé de plusieurs pièces assemblées par des coins et cerclée de fer, disposition qui lui permet de continuer son service méme lorsquielle a été frappée en un point par un projectile et qui la preserve en même temps du gauchissement. Elle est supportée par 2 paliers fixés par des boulons. Ces paliers portent à la partie inferieure de leur semelle un
venir par un tube de dimension donnée au lieu de la projeter simplement par terre.
Hope trhart's a start.
Regards
David
Weald foundation
[1] . Il existe également une poulie à lavons venue de fonte directement (poulie Berliet). Elle est munie dun carter en tôle.
Hi James
as discussed hope this helps. Training manual says the idler wheel is wood apart from Berliet which are cast iron. The picture shows the Bovington FT idler wheel missing a wooden segment which we sent off for analysis. By the way the wheels are not laminated but are made from solid sections of French white oak. We have used English oak in ours.
regards
Weald Foundation
David - thank you ever so much for the photo. No one can argue with that.
If I might:
Sur l'about avant on remarque la poulie de renvoi qui est en bois «mosaique », cest-à-dire formé de plusieurs pièces assemblées par des coins et cerclée de fer, disposition qui lui permet de continuer son service même lorsquelle a été frappée à un point par un projectile et qui la préserve en même temps du gauchissement. Il existe également une poulie à l'avant venue de fonte directement (poulie Berliet). Elle est munie d'un carter en tôle.
At the forward end can be seen the return idler, which is a wood mosaic, i.e. made of several pieces butt-joined and with an iron rim, an arrangement that allows (the vehicle) to carry on even when it has been hit by a projectile, and also prevents warping. There is also an idler made of cast iron (the Berliet idler). It is fitted with a steel guard.
Hi Haviker do you by any chance have a scan of the manual in question?
thanks for posting the pic the constuction is the clearest Ive seen it anywhere..
Thanks again, Ivor. More excellent stuff. Will be useful when expanding the Service History. Ta.
Hi James, this may prove usefull it gives many details of tanks during the St Mihail and Argonne offensive including the numbers of french tanks particularly Renault tanks involved which out numbered the 150 US Renaults recieved in late August/early September by more then 2/1...
Details of Commanders Rockenbach, Tank units, notes on anti tank Minefields and Wire cutting or lack thereoff...
United States Army in the World War, 1917-1919 military opertanks ations of the American Expeditionary Forces, volume 8.
Another usefull book with good details, Rockenbach, Patton, anti tank mines etc
History of the 304th (1st) Brigade Tank Corps
Thanks, Ivor. Brilliant. As long as I've got a published source, I'm in the clear. The numpty on Wikipedia won't have one, because what he believes isn't true. There are times when one must play by the rules, I'm afraid.
Nice book, and some v nice new images: Ford 3-Man, Skeleton, etcetera. Thanks for the tip-off.
J
Hi James heres another one just in case from "Tanks of the World 1915-45" Peter Chamberlain and Chris Ellis, see page 29 "Char Mitrailleuse Renault FT series"
"Front idlers were of steel rimmed laminated wood" Theres the usual errors though in the text FT17, FT18, Ft = Faible tonnage.....
Also Describes in the text the Cast, omnibus and Girod turrets in that order although not precisely in those words.
Can anyone direct me to a source that states in black and white that the idlers on the Renault-built FTs were wooden? Of course it's obvious to anyone with any sense, but I have to have a quotable source inorder to silence a crackpot. Any book will do, just as long as it's got a title and the pages are numbered.
Thanking you.
Hi James, Stuart by R P Hinnicut page 18, this refers to the differences bettween the 6 ton M1917 and the Renault FT:
"the large steel rimmed wooden idlers on the french vehicle were replaced with all steel idlers on the American model"
free copies here http://bookos.org/book/1359385/6f42a6 more books by hunnicutt http://bookos.org/g/R.P.%20Hunnicutt some are definatly worth downloading
In "Renault Ft, Armor photo Gallery 15" by W.J Lawrynowicz, it states on page 10 in reference to photo 46:
"Note triangular and rhomboidal wooden elements used to create the idler wheel, and the steel pins holding them together"
The FT refered to is the one in the "Musee Royal de l'armee" Brussels. Copies Here http://bookos.org/g/Witold%20J.%20Lawrynowicz excellent photo book.
