Ford 3-Ton M1918 image - Tank Lovers Group

The Ford 3-Ton M1918 was one of the first light tank designs by the U.S. It was a small two-man, one-gun tank. It was armed with a M1919 Browning machine gun and could reach a maximum speed of 8mph.

Design on the 3-ton tank started in mid-1918, before which American tank forces had been largely equipped with British or French examples. The 3-Ton was a two man tank designed so that American forces could use another tank besides the Renault FT in battle, and was in fact designed around the FT but as a cheaper alternative. Its two Model T ford engines were controlled from the driver- seated at the front- with a gunner beside him who had control of a .30/06 machine gun (either a M-1917 Marlin or M-1919) on a limited-traverse mount. The initial production run of the 3-ton was of fifteen vehicles, one of these was sent to France for testing. A contract for 15,000 of these vehicles was awarded; however, the U.S tank corps felt it did not meet the requirements they wanted. The contract for the 15,000 tanks was ended by the Armistice, leaving only the fifteen original vehicles produced.