Museum of American Armor debuts historic WW1 tank replica
A World War 1 time machine has arrived at the Museum of American Armor inside Old Bethpage Village Restoration.
The replica Renault F17 tank was built from the frame up by noted California fabricator and military historian Kameron Swinney after documenting an original that was on display at a museum in Texas.
The tank was auctioned this past winter and the Museum of American Armor was the winning bidder. So it now joins the Old Bethpage museum’s 50 operational military vehicles.
Swinney says his learning curve in creating the F17 replica is allowing him to consider building others for museums and collectors. “What better tank to create than what’s been considered the world’s first modern tank? The pinnacle of WW1 design, the Renault features a fully rotating turret with drivetrain in the rear. The crew was seated in a separate compartment armed with a 37mm cannon or 8mm Hotchkiss. The Renault FT has a rich history as it was used by French and American troops in WWI and later exported all over the world. I have the intention of building another running example of a Renault FT to create a more accurate build log for the process.”
Kevin Carroll, the Armor Museum’s director of Community Affairs, said the Renault tanks were far smaller and much more maneuverable than the original British tank design. It had a movable turret mounting a gun and its crew was removed from the noxious fumes of its engine.
“It was the type of tank that a young George Patton studied during his deployment during World War I, an experience that would shape his battlefield strategy some 25 years later,” Carroll said.
Colonel Jason Halloren (ret.), former deputy commandant of West Point and a trustee of the Museum of American Armor, observed, “History has failed to fully appreciate the enormous impact this small, two-man tank had on armored warfare. The French recognized that the concept of a tank could break the deadly World War I stalemate of trench warfare. While the British created the first tank, the French came up with something so simple it was brilliant. And timeless.”
Plans call for the replica tank to participate in various programs held throughout the year at the Museum of American Armor. It will appear alongside the Stuart tank, the legendary Sherman, and the museum’s Cold War M48 Patton that was last used by the Israel Defense Forces.
“There were any number of places where this replica could have ultimately gone, but its acquisition by the Museum of American Armor means it will be seen in a region of our nation that has one of the largest veteran’s population and where some 2.8 million people are in a 30-mile radius of the museum,” Swinney said. “As a result, my vision for this replica’s part in telling a story of our America’s role in World War I is being fulfilled.”
The Museum of American Armor is located inside Nassau County’s Old Bethpage Village Restoration at 1303 Round Swamp Road in Old Bethpage. It maintains a collection of about 50 operational historic military vehicles on display at its 25,000 square-foot facility.
