Hi there. I just wanted to add some photos from my collection: Finnish Renaults in the beginning of the twenties.
Finland bought 32 FT tanks in 1919. 14 were gun armed and 18 were with machine guns. They were formed as a regiment consisting two battery groups of 16 tanks, each one had three batteries of five tanks. One battery had two sections of male and female tank and a command tank.
Two tanks were lent for General Judenitsh in 1919 and these were only ones ever used in combat near St. Petersburg. They were returned back to Finland in bad condition in 1920. Then France, who had pushed Finland to support an adventure of Judenitsh, gave two other tanks for compensation.
Finland used these still in Winter War 1939-1940, but they didn't see any action during the war. Most of the tanks were lost when they were dug in as strongpoints and they were left in areas which were handed to the Soviets after the armistice. Four tanks were used for training until 1943. One male survives in Parola tank museum.
Do you known original French military numbers, or original factory numbers ot these 34 Renault FT ? The model in finish museum was built in 1918. I don't known if these tanks were taken on tanks already in French Army units or on new built tanks, not given to the French army.
Thank you so much. With numbers like 66151 or 67072, I think that some of these tanks were taken in French Army stocks and not just coming from factories.
I have not found, for instance, documents from SHD Vincennes speaking of these tanks for Finland. It's probably in some 1919 French documents.
