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RAAF airmen with old FT-17 tank at Antwerp 1944
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RAAF airmen from 453 Squadron with a German Renault FT-17 tank at Antwerpen airfield, Belgium."Informal group portrait of men from 453 Squadron (Spitfire) RAAF, standing around a captured French FT-17 light tank (in German markings) at a former German airfield, (landing ground B.70) near Antwerp, from which 453 squadron was operating. Left to right: 403917 Flying Officer (FO) James Humphrey Ferguson, of Newcastle, NSW, (later shot down by anti aircraft fire and taken prisoner of war (POW)); 414189 Flight Lieutenant W R Bennett, of Clayfield, Qld; 400249 Squadron Leader T E Hilton, DFC, of Adelaide, SA; 406586 FO M West, Gnowangerup, WA.
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The Renault FT (Fusilier Tank) was a French light tank that was introduced during World War I. It was one of the first tanks to feature a fully rotating turret, which allowed the tank to engage targets in any direction. The Renault FT was also the first tank to be mass-produced, with over 3,800 units built during the war. The tank had a crew of two and was armed with either a 37mm cannon or a machine gun. It had a top speed of 7 miles per hour and could cross trenches up to 6 feet wide. The Renault FT was used by several countries during and after World War I, including France, the United States, Poland, and Yugoslavia. The Renault FT was considered a revolutionary design at the time, and its influence can still be seen in modern tanks today. Its success on the battlefield helped pave the way for the development of armored warfare in the 20th century.
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