The Renault FT-17 tank used in the MCTA logo is a French Light Tank created in 1917 and one of the most revolutionaary and influential tank designs in history. It was the first tank with a fully rotational turret, engine in the rear and driver in the front which would become the conventional configuration of Modern Tanks today.
The US built 1200 of the FT-17 tanks as the 6 1/2 ton M1917 light tank with a maximum speed of 5.5 miles per hour, which would travel a mere 30 miles on a full tank of 30 gallons, but never made it to the Front Lines of WWI. General George S. Patton (then a captain) was one of the first to learn how to operate the FT-17. Only about 5,000 of these tanks were manufactured and the design proved itself invaluable to many countries in Europe.
There are only four or five of these tanks left available to the public.
FT-17 Cutaway
FT-17's going forward to the battle line at the Forest of Argonne.
In 1928 the Russians developed their version of the FT-17, called the T-18. Notable difference was a sprung suspension that allowed the T-18 to travel faster over rough terrain. It used a modified version of the French 37-mm Hotchkiss SA 18 gun. Later versions the T-19 and T-20 had 90 and 60hp engines respectively.
T-18 Tank at Moscow Museum of Armed Forces
Later to become President, Lieutenant Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower poses in front of an FT-17.
Leiutenant Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1919.
Lt. Col Gene Berbaum with a FT-17
Archived footage of the FT-17 in operation