1917 Ford Motor Company tekee sopimuksen kevyen, Renault FT tyyppisen panssarivaunun rakentamisesta yhdysvaltojen armeijalle.
Vaunussa oli kuljettaja ja konekivääri ampuja, joka aseena on 0.30 cal konekivääri.
Nopeus on n. 8 km/h. Moottorina 2 x Ford T-mallin 4 sylinteristä bensiini moottoria.
Tämä kolmas yhdysvalloissa valmistettu tankki, kaksi aikaisemmin valmistettua mallia Tank Mark VIII* Ricardo joita valmistettiin useita, sekä M1917 6 tn Renault FT kopio
M1918 oli enimmäisiä keveitä yhdysvalloissa suunniteltuja ja valmistettuja tankkeja. Keveys oli seikka jota suosittiin kuljetusten johdosta koska pieniä kevyita tankkeja oli hyvin helppo siirtää kuorma-autoilla junalla tai laivalla aina tilanteen mukaan.
Panssarivaunuja tilattiin 15000 kpl, mutta vain 15 kpl ehdittiin rakentaa ennen kuin sota loppui. Armeija tilasi 1000 kpl näitä vaunuja mutta perui myöhemmin tilauksen.
Lisäksi vaunu oli liian pieni ja ahdas, eikä täyttänyt kaikkia asetettuja vaatimuksia U.S. Tank Corps mielestä, joten Ford panssarien tuotantoa ei jatkettu tämän pidemmälle.
Sen sijaan yhdysvallat jatkoi Renault FT-17 vaunujen valmistusta.
Kaksi valmistunutta Ford tankkia on säilynyt.
Yksi on Patton museossa, Fort Knox Kentuky.
Toinen US Army Ordnance museossa, Aberdeen Maryland.
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
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The Ford 3-Ton M1918 was one of the first light tank designs by the U.S. It was a small two-man, one-gun tank. It was armed with a M1919 Browning machine gun and could reach a maximum speed of 8mph.
M1918-ford-3-ton-tank.
Type: Light tank
Place of origin: United States
Specifications
Weight: 3 tonnes
Length: 14 ft
Width: 6 ft
Height: 6 ft
Crew: 2 (Driver and gunner)
Main armament: 0.30 caliber Browning machine-gun
Secondary armament: none
Engine:Two Ford Model T engines 45 hp
Power/weight 10.4 hp/t
Operational range: 55 km
Speed:12.8km/h (8 mph)
Design on the 3-ton tank started in mid-1918, before which American tank forces had been largely equipped with British or French examples. The 3-Ton was a two man tank designed so that American forces could use another tank besides the Renault FT in battle, and was in fact designed around the FT but as a cheaper alternative.
Its two Model T ford engines were controlled from the driver- seated at the front- with a gunner beside him who had control of a .30/06 machine gun (either a M-1917 Marlin or M-1919) on a limited-traverse mount. The initial production run of the 3-ton was of fifteen vehicles, one of these was sent to France for testing.
A contract for 15,000 of these vehicles was awarded; however, the U.S tank corps felt it did not meet the requirements they wanted. The contract for the 15,000 tanks was ended by the Armistice, leaving only the fifteen original vehicles produced
There are two known survivors with the National Armor & Cavalry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia, second is with the Ordnance Collection at Fort Lee, VA.
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Any explosive ammunition or empty cores, you can put in this.