Restored M1917 Tank at CWM

[Ed Storey]

On 13 August the Canadian War Museum (CWM) unveiled its restored M1917 in a ceremony held for members of the press, members of the Friends of the Canadian War Museum (FCWM) and Canadian Armoured Corps military dignitaries including General Natynczyk, Chief of the Defence Staff. It was in 1940 that 250 of these tanks were purchased from the then-neutral United States to be used as training vehicles for the newly formed Armoured Corps at Camp Borden, Ontario. At the time they were sold by the United States to Canada as scrap metal for approximately $20 a ton plus a 100% mark up which resulted in each tank being sold for $240 (roughly $3,800 in 2012 dollars).

The M1917 6 Ton Tank is an American license built copy of the FT17 which had been designed by Louis Renault in 1916 and refined in 1917 with over 2600 being delivered before the November 1918 Armistice. As Americas first mass produced Tank, over 4400 were ordered for use in October 1918 with 64 being produced before the war ended and 950 were manufactured before the order was cancelled. No American manufactured tank reached Europe in time to participate in The Great War.

This particular example was discovered rusting in an Alberta field and was bought by the museum in 1997 but restoration and reconstruction work was only begun four years ago. Financial support for the project was provided by a private donor Richard Iorweth Thorman with additional funds allocated by the charitable organization FCWM.

When discovered by the CWM, the tank had been used a log skidder which meant that most of the upper hull and turret had been removed and discarded. With a set of M1917 tracks and runner gear that had been located behind the Canadian Forces Base Kingston, Ontario rifle ranges and the fabrication of the missing turret and missing hull sections by DEW Engineering in Ottawa; this important armoured fighting vehicle was restored to non-running condition and is currently one of only two examples in Canada (the other is in CFB Borden, Ontario).

The M1917 Six Ton Tank is an important addition to the CWM collection as it is this vehicle that formed the basis of the modern Canadian Armoured Corps. It is this Corps that served throughout the Second World War, the Korean War, numerous UN missions and as well as recent NATO combat operations in Afghanistan.

[Lynn Eades]

Thankyou for posting. Shes a beauty! 10 or 15 years ago I saw old footage of a line of the Renaults, at speed, leaping off the top of a road cutting and chewing through the bank on the other side of the road cutting, to continue on.
My thought at the time was " Everyone in them should all have broken backs".
No tanks stopped.
A very "classic" looking tank!

[maple_leaf_eh]

Thanks Ed!

I remember Don Dingwall telling the engineers at DEW to stop over-thinking the project. These tanks were made before precision drawings and methodical production controls. An 1/8th inch left or right didn't matter.

[45jim]

The Hull was recovered from the Stan Reynolds collection in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, not the Reynolds-Alberta Museum which is just up the road. The tank was recovered in the 70's by Reynolds, from Ontario where it was working in a saw mill. Parts like the turret and armour were lost long before the recovery. When I found it going through his yard (in the mid-90's) it was just the lower hull and tracks with a Buick dashboard and modified controls to allow the vehicle to be driven from a much higher position than normal. The tracks also had squares cut from them to fit a grouser-type spud to give it traction on ice.

Having just examined the CWM example, the first thing that stuck out was the distinctive flame cut holes in the tracks. I understand the CWM traded a Sherman project from the Jack Guthrie collection for it.

While not a runner, it sure looks great. Having driven the Renault in Samur, I can say that they were not a pleasant vehicle to crew at all.

[Philliphastings]

What a great thread !

I could read stories of 'just saved' tracked vehicles all day...

As a kid I desperately wanted my own Renault Ft 17 tank to proudly drive around in

I've had to settle for carrier, Centurion, Stuart, M113 FOV and Cat D4 instead, not that I'm complaining !

Thanks for the story

Cheers

Phill

[Bob Cohoon]

I thought You Tube might have some footage of these in action, and there is some excellent footage http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...Dg_ng-Qi0&NR=1 looks like the skid device at the rear was needed for going up steep slopes and coming out of a trench . An excellent looking rebuild of this machine