Renault FT / TSF - The Trenching Skid Part One - Inside Track | Renault TSF Tank Kent

All Renault FTs and TSFs sported a unique trenching device attached to the back of the hull. This was designed to facilitate the crossing of trenches, which the Germans had begun widening with the advent of tanks ostensibly to act as a tank trap or barrier. The trenching skid design evolved over time given the initial cast design of the first 150 unarmoured FT hulls and the first prototypical TSF. These hulls were characterised by a cast front and rear. The rear of these early machines was wider than later production vehicles and therefore had a wider trenching skid to accommodate this width. The skid on these early tanks, are a much larger and more robust predecessor to the later production examples. A very good example of this early production hull and skid is to found on the ‘one of a kind’ Tank Museum Renault FT. The later production trenching skids are narrower given the width of the later armoured hulls. The skid is a riveted construction consisting of the main panel (5mm thick) formed to an angle and gusseted with thicker 7mm strips affixed to angle iron 50mm x 50mm. 7mm is no longer available so we elected to go with 8mm instead of 6mm. The junction strips at the top and bottom of where the skids fixed to the vehicle using long pins, were made of 10mm material. No two skids that we have analysed are the same. We started with very good examples from the Brussels Museum and Fort Benning. We had the basic dimensions until we were offered a survivor that had been found in a wood – to copy. This is owned by Fort Seclin and was in a very original condition but had been left outside for years. All three of these skids were different in small ways. The build quality of the skids was good in the Brussels Museum example and bad in the Fort Seclin example yet the basic dimensions of all were the same save for differences in material thickness. The build quality angle could be easily explained as these skids appear to have been fitted to each FT/ TSF individually and were being produced under wartime conditions. Here are some views of our trenching skids during the build. A working sketch of the skid, giving the basic dimensions, used in the build is attached. The riveting is yet to be done. All the bolts will need to be removed and replaced with rivets in a lengthy process made more complicated where we cannot use a hydraulic press given accessibility issues requiring a mechanical hammer. Photos of the Fort Seclin example provide a good view of the differences in build quality. The overlap in the junction strip beyond the main angle iron frame is clearly visible and when compared to the other example you can see how different they are in this regard alone.

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