Landships II

kenbb48 · Corporal

Renault FT. 17

PDA · Legend

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

James H · Legend

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 . . .

kenbb48 · Corporal

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.

jagjetta · Brigadier

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

PDA · Legend

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

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

Charleston Daily Mail | May 2, 2007 | JONATHON RAIDER

NITRO - Nitro City Council intends to pursue the return of a World War I Renault Tank that once stood as a reminder of the city's development during the war.

"It is a part of our history," Councilman Joe Savilla said.

The tank, which was owned by the late Jack Moody, once was part of a display outside the now defunct Nitro Museum. Following the death of Moody and the closing of the museum, the tank was removed and sold by the Moody family for more than $60,000. It's now located in a museum in Indiana.

The city is involved in negotiations to get the tank back..."

jagjetta · Brigadier

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

PDA · Legend

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

jagjetta · Brigadier

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

kenbb48 · Corporal

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

CharlieC · Legend

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

�

PDA · Legend

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.