M1917 light tank

M1917
M1917 tank at Ropkey Armor Museum
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	United States
Specifications
Weight	7.25 tons
Length	16'5"
Width	5'10 1/2 "
Height	7'7"
Crew	2
Armor	0.25" to 0.6"
Main armament	37mm M1916 gun or Marlin M1917 machine gun, later replaced by the M1919 Browning machine gun
Secondary armament	none
Engine	Buda HU modified 4-cylinder, with forced water cooling 42 HP
Transmission	sliding gear, 4 speed forward, 1 reverse
Suspension	coil and leaf springs, with bogies and rollers.
Fuel capacity	30 gallons (30 miles on the road)
Operational range	48 km (30 miles) on road.
Speed	8 km/h (5.5 mph) - 20 km/h

The M1917 was the USA's first mass-produced tank, entering production shortly before the end of World War I. It was a license-built near-copy of the French Renault FT, and was intended to arm the American Expeditionary Forces in France, but US manufacturers failed to produce any in time to take part in the War. Of the 4,440 ordered, about 950 were eventually completed. They remained in service throughout the 1920s but did not take part in any combat, and were phased out during the 1930s.

The USA entered the First World War on the side of the Entente Powers in April, 1917, without any tanks of her own. The following month, in the light of a report into British and French tank theories and operations, the American Expeditionary Forces' commander-in-chief, Gen. John Pershing, decided that both light and heavy tanks were essential for the conduct of the war and should be acquired as soon as possible. A joint Anglo-American programme was set up to develop a new type of heavy tank similar to those then in use by the British. It was, though, expected that sizeable quantities would not be available until April of the following year. Because of the wartime demands on French industry, the Inter-Allied Tank Commission decided that the quickest way to supply the American forces with sufficient armour was to manufacture the Renault FT light tank in the USA.

A requirement of 1,200 was decided, later increased to 4,400, and some sample Renault tanks, plans, and various parts were sent to the US for study. The design was to be carried out by the Ordnance Department, under the job title "Six-ton Special Tractor," and orders for the vehicles placed with private manufacturers. However, the project was beset by problems: the French specifications were metric and incompatible with American (imperial) machinery; coordination between military departments, suppliers, and manufacturers was poor; bureaucratic inertia, lack of cooperation from military departments, and possible vested interests delayed progress.

The Army in France was expecting the first 300 M1917s by April, 1918. In the event, production did not begin until the autumn, and the first completed vehicles emerged only in October. Two tanks arrived in France on November 20, nine days after the end of hostilities, and a further eight in December. In the summer of 1918, with no sign of the M1917s and US troops desperately needed at the Front, France supplied 144 Renault FTs, which were used to equip the US Light Tank Brigade.