France Renault FT 17 Char Canon BS Ordnance classification - Light Tank

Tweet The Renault FT 17 Char Canon BS was designed in 1917, manufactured by Renault based on the existing fully tracked FT17 and was in use from 1917 to 1935. General Details Specifications Operational Date(s) 1917 - 1935 Ordnance classification Light Tank Quantity Produced 40 Weight 7.2 tonne Crew 2 M.G's small 1 M.G's large(>10mm) n/a Length 4.08 mtr Width 1.74 mtr Height 2.15 mtr Engine Details/Performance Max Road Speed 5 mph Max Cross Country Speed 3 mph Range Road 35 miles Range Cross Country 14 miles Fuel Type Petrol Fuel Capacity unknown Horse Power 35 hp Power/Weight 4 hp/tonne General Information The Renault FT 17 Char Canon BS was designed in 1917, manufactured by Renault based on the existing fully tracked FT17 and was in use from 1917 to 1935. The vehicle was powered by Renault '4 Cylinder 35hp' petrol powerplant producing 35 HP which could drive the vehicle on roads at up to 5 mph with a range of about 35 miles before refuelling. Its cross country performance was poor providing a max speed of about 3 mph and a range of about 14 miles. It was armed with 1 light machine gun. Its main armament consisted of a 75 mm Schneider BS which could penetrate 22 mm of flat plate at 800 metres This version mounted a short barrelled 75mm gun in a seven sided riveted angular turret. Armour Details Turret Front 16mm @ 13° (16mm) Side 16mm @ 15° (17mm) Rear 16mm @ 15° (17mm) Top 8mm @ 65° (9mm) Superstructure Front 16mm @ 70° (47mm) Side 16mm @ 0° (16mm) Rear 16mm @ 0° (16mm) Top 6mm @ 67° (7mm) Hull Front 16mm @ 29° (18mm) Side 16mm @ 0° (16mm) Rear 16mm @ 0° (16mm) Top 6mm @ 67° (7mm) Armour (x)mm @ (y)° (Effective mm @ 0°) Effective Armour - Maximum 47 mm - Minimum 7 mm Weapon Details 75 mm Schneider BS (Tank Gun) History Based on the 75 T Schneider trench mortar the Blockhaus Schneider was a modification for installation in the Schneider CA1tank. Manufactured 1916 - 1918 Calibre 75mm Length L/10 Rate of Fire 4rpm   Ammunition Details Name/Id Calibre Weight MVelocity Explosive Content 75mm fieldgun Mle 1897 short shell (HE High Explosive) 75mm 5.3Kg 200M/Sec ≈0.795Kg explosive Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.51 1.03 2.11 4.48 7.15 10.18 13.64 17.67 Direct Fire Range(Mtr) 100 200 400 800 1200 1600 2000 2400 Flight Time(Secs) 0.51 1.03 2.11 4.48 7.15 10.18 13.64 17.67 Hit Probability(%) 98 98 60 15 2 0 0 0 Blast/Fragmentation Effects Burst radius Infantry in open 99% kill 3 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 66% kill 7 mtr Burst radius Infantry in open 33% kill 19 mtr  Armour Penetration inc roof at 1 mtr 2 mm An explosion within 3 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 99% casualties - lethal. An explosion within 7 mtr of infantry in the open will cause > 66% casualties and could damage some AFV's. An explosion within 19 mtr of infantry in the open will cause 33% casualties. The blast effect of this shell exploding within 1 mtr of an armoured vehicle will penetrate 2 mm of the tank armour including the roof.

Hit probability is based on a static 2 x 2.4 metre panel at 0 degrees(vertical) at the range specified.

The data that has been used to create these records has come from Wikipedia, The Lone Sentry, The Bundes Archive and numerous books and websites that have provided the detailed information that has not been available anywhere else. The information we use to calculate the penetration tables, flight times and the hit probability comes from the Gun Calibre, the Shell Mass(Kg) and the muzzle velocity, plus range reductions to allow for gravity and wind resistance. This calculation originally came from a pre-war Krupp calculation which has been modified, and seems to fit the actual test results.

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