Panzerserra Bunker- Military Scale Models in 1/35 scale: Renault FT 17 char mitrailleuse crane

Messieurs tankists!!!

Continuing in the lineage of the Renault FT 17, the object of our building this time is an engineering variation of the light tank Renault: The Renault FT 17 crane.

Repair of damaged Renault FT tanks - 1st Tank Regiment
Workshop Regiment - Lodz, Polen - summer 1920.

History:

As said in the previous post, the Renault FT, frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the "FT-17" or "FT17", was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to have its armament within a fully rotating turret. The Renault FT's configuration – crew compartment at the front, engine compartment at the back, and main armament in a revolving turret – became and remains the standard tank layout.

As such, historians of armoured warfare have called the Renault FT the world's first modern tank. Over 3,000 Renault FT tanks were manufactured by French industry, most of them during the year 1918.

Recovery and repair vehicles:

During World War I, some British Mark IV heavy tanks were fitted with jibs to produce "Salvage Tanks", but the majority of their work was at the tank parks in aid of maintaining and repairing damaged tanks.

Mark IV heavy tank fitted with jib - "Salvage Tank",

But the first true ARVs were introduced in World War II, often by converting obsolete or damaged tanks, usually by removing the turret and installing a heavy-duty winch to free stuck vehicles, plus a variety of vehicle repair tools. Some were also purpose-built in factories, using an existing tank chassis with a hull superstructure to accommodate repair and recovery equipment. The M31 TRV is an example:

M31 TRV working with a M4 Sherman

Many of the latter type of ARV had an A-frame or crane to allow the vehicle's crew to perform heavy lifting tasks, such as removing the engine from a disabled tank.

The Renault FT 17 Is one of the rare examples of early recovery vehicles. Few photos are available of this brave worker, but the available ones are illustrating this work:

Renault FT 17 crane in action
France - date unknow

Specs:

Renault FT 17 light tank crane
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	France
Specifications
Weight	7.2 tons
Length	5.00 m
Width	1.74 m
Height (without jib)	2.14 m
Crew	2 (commander, driver)

Armor	8 to 22 mm
Main armament	Puteaux SA 1918 37 mm gun or 8 mm Hotchkiss machine gun
Sec. armament	none
Engine	Renault 4-cyl, 4.5 litre 35 HP
Transmission	sliding gear, 4 speed forward, 1 reverse
Suspension	coil and leaf springs, with bogies and rollers.
Fuel capacity	95 liters
Operational range	60 km
Speed	7.5 km/h - 20 km/h

The kit:

For this project. I will used an old and scrapped kit from RPM Models. I will reuse the turret with the Hotchkiss machine gun from the MENG kit from my FT 17 dozer project and the jib will be scratch with Plastruct profiles. Let's have fun:

My old RPM FT 17 kit and the amazing
MENG Berliet turret, spare from my dozer project

The comparison with turrets...

Much better!!

First of all, drawing a profile in 1/35 scale to help in my building....

A project made of scraps ...

Testing dimensions...

Ok!!

The jib with the numbers!!!

Dry-run...

I did not find anything at all about the details of fixing the jib on the FT 17 chassis. But using the photos as a guide and "reverse engineering", my opinion is that the jib pivot shafts were attached to the tank's front pull hooks: one place already strengthened to withstand tensions in the original design. See the position of the hooks below: