Ford M 1918
The Ford M 1918 was a light main battle tank that was developed and tested in 1918 as part of the First World War on the basis of the Ford Model T 1918 , but was no longer in series production due to the armistice in November of that year . Fifteen copies were actually made, originally a production of 15,000 units was planned.
Technical specifications
- Weight: 3.4 t
- Length: 4.20 m
- Width: 1.68 m
- Height: 1.62 m
- Armor: 13 mm
- Motors: 2
- Power: 2 × 22.5 hp
- Top speed: 13 km / h
- Driving range: 55 km
- Crew: 2
- Armament: a 5.7 cm caliber cannon or a 7.6 mm caliber machine gun.
Production features
The tank was designed as an easy-to-manufacture mass vehicle and had great front steering wheels, six small wheels, a circulating plate chain and bug either a machine gun or a cannon and a small dome. To improve off-road capability, it had a spur at the stern . According to Senger and Etterlin's judgment, it was cheap to manufacture, but “of limited cross-country mobility”.
Preserved copies
One is on display at the Patton Museum in Fort Knox , Kentucky .
literature
- Ferdinand von Senger and Etterlin : The battle tanks from 1916-1966 . 2nd edition, JF Lehmanns Verlag, Munich 1971, p. 429f, ISBN 3-469-00340-8 .
