First To Fight Pl021 1/72 Scale Renault Ft-17 With 37Mm Cannon (Polish Service 1939) Plastic Model Kit

First To Fight Pl021 1/72 Scale Renault Ft-17 With 37Mm Cannon (Polish Service 1939) Plastic Model Kit

The plastic model kit, First to Fight PL021 1/72 Scale Renault FT-17 with 37mm Cannon (Polish Service 1939), is based on the French light tank that was used during the First World War. The vehicle's prototypes were developed towards the end of 1916, and it went into serial production in 1917 until 1919, with around 3,700-4,000 units produced. The tank was powered by a single 35hp Renault 18CV carburetor engine and equipped with either a single Puteaux cannon 37mm L/21 or a 7.92 mm Hotchkiss machine gun. The armament was mounted in a round cast tower by Renault or a conical riveted tower by Berliet. The Renault FT-17 was a highly innovative tank design during World War I, as it was the first to feature a classic tank layout: the driver's seat was in the front, the combat compartment with a rotating turret was in the middle, and the engine compartment was at the rear. This design has been maintained in tanks up to this day, owing to its excellent functionality. The Renault FT-17 was also compact and manned by only two crew members, which was uncommon for tanks during that period. It had a special "tail" at the rear of the fuselage, making it easier to cross trenches on the battlefield. The vehicle made its debut on May 31, 1918, and proved to be the most efficient and dependable tank of the French army until the end of the war. It was widely exported after 1918, such as to Poland and the USA, often becoming the first tank in the history of a country's armed forces. The Italian FIAT 3000 tank and the Soviet MS-1 were also based on its design. Although the Renault FT-17 remained in the arsenals of the French and Polish armies until the outbreak of World War II, it was viewed as an outdated design at that time.