Renault used a lettering system for its projects. From 1899 till 1905 products were given a letter between A to Z, then till 1935 double letters from AA till ZZ and further on three letters. The code was given to the design, not the effectuated vehicle. So the FT was between the truck FU and a car FS. But things were flexible: the design could change during realisation, the code remaining the same. Or codes were altered when the number of modifications grew. Where the BS here stands for I don't know, may be it is Bis, or just a letter combination and not an abbreviation. I read this in a Histoire et Collections volume, l'AMR 33 Renault. (here AMR is an abbreviation for automitraileuse reconnaissance, I think the military code, the Renault itself was a VM)
The BS refers to the gun, the Blockhaus Schneider, many of which were salvaged from unserviceable CA1s. The Tank itself was still an FT, so the vehicle's full title was FT 75 BS.
It was intended to double as a bridgelayer - in some photos you can see the pivot for the bridge just behind the idler - but I don't think any were produced in time to see action.
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The BS was, indeed, used in the Rif War and up to 1940 in FT units.
In July 1918 plans were made to increase each FT unit to 2 MGs, 3 37mm Canon, and 1 BS. Trials were still incomplete in Sep 1918, and the author deduces that very few or none at all saw action. The idea of using the CA1 guns was apparently Estienne's.
M Danjou says that 600 were made but in 1921 only 39 were listed as fit for action.
That's all I can come up with at the mo. I'll see if Chars de France has got any more.
P.S. Jeudy confirms the 75s being ex-CA1.
This is how the bridge was supposed to work, but I haven't seen any actual photos. The idea was dropped after the war, since trench warfare was deemed a thing of the past. But the fascine carrier was trialled in the 1930s.
-- Edited by James H on Friday 27th of August 2010 12:02:44 PM
"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
