California man spends 1,400 hours building replica World War I tank

A California man channeled his passion for history and metalwork into creating replicas of World War I tanks.

Kameron Swinney, who lives in Sacramento, grew up a history buff, especially passionate about learning about the conflicts that shaped the modern world.

“The history of World War I was taught in high school, but it was a very short story for an event that pretty much shaped the world we live in today,” Swinney said. newsweek. “A lot of technology has advanced on the battlefield, whether it’s machine guns, airplanes or tanks.”

Swinney’s interest in history is not very common among schoolchildren these days. This fact was highlighted in May 2023 by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which compiles a “national report card” every four years after testing thousands of students on their academic progress. In 2022, 8,000 of her 8th graders completed the U.S. history test.

Results related to reading. The average U.S. history test score fell by five points on a scale of 1 to 500 to 258. This decline continues a trend that began in his 2014 year, when only 13 percent of his eighth graders scored at or above the proficiency level.

In a way, Swinney can understand why today’s young people don’t participate in history and past events like World War I the way previous generations did. He said the main reason was a lack of “human connection” to these events so long ago.

“When you look at the black and white photos in the history books, it’s hard to believe that something like that could happen,” he said.

That’s essentially what motivated him to build his own tank. That and a set of skills developed from an early age.

“My uncle taught me how to weld when I was 15,” he said. “From there I did some ironwork, building fences and gates, but also welded classic cars.”

Building tanks was a unique opportunity to combine two of his strong interests. He also posted on his Instagram under the username swinneysolidironworks and tried to document the entire journey for people online.

“I wanted to demonstrate my skills in metalworking, but I also wanted to bring something that would draw people into history,” he said.

From the beginning, Swinney was keen to create a replica of the French Renault FT-17, considered the world’s first modern tank.

“It was probably the most successful tank of World War I, and was considered the ancestor of the modern tank, as it was the first tank with a fully rotating turret and a rear drivetrain completely separated from the crew.” This is the design layout used in all tanks today. ‘Keep using it,’ he said.

Swinney explained that the design has special meaning because the tank is “America’s first combat tank.”

“General Patton… [American Expeditionary Forces’] Serving with the 345th Tank Battalion, he saw the future of modern warfare in this particular tank model. ” he said.

Although it sounds pretty romantic on paper, making the tank a reality wasn’t easy. Swinney estimates he has spent “1,200 to 1,400 hours” working on the tank since starting the project in September 2022.

Much of that time was spent drilling “thousands of holes for all the bolts to go through,” finding tractor parts to use on the tank, and manipulating heavy steel panels up to half an inch thick. Ta. “The track alone weighs about a ton,” he says.

Although they didn’t face many challenges, the tank’s small engine room meant “there were some stressful times figuring out what kind of hydraulics to use and what engine to power it.” .

Through it all, Swinney said his “passion” for what he was doing was a big motivator for him to keep going. There’s still some interior work to do, a little track alignment and wiring, and some final paint work to do, but Swinney was able to take the tank out for his first test drive. He shared the footage on Reddit with the handle u/kswizzle1990.

The video exploded, receiving over 44,000 upvotes from loyal viewers. Mr Swinney is delighted with the response and hopes to eventually use the tank as an educational piece at air shows, museums and perhaps some reenactments.

But for now, he wants people watching the video to think about the significance of World War I, which broke out more than a century ago, and the many lives lost during it.

“When I look at tanks, I am reminded of the fact that many young men actually used these vehicles, lost their lives to mechanical failure, artillery fire, and German anti-tank guns, and crossed into no man’s land never to be seen again. “It comes down to reality,” he said.

“So even though it’s a new tank that I’ve built, it has a connection to the past and I want people to talk about the lives of people who sacrificed so much and the events that shaped the world we live in today. I hope so,” he said. “War should be avoided at all costs, and I hope that if people had a better understanding of what happened in the past, we would be doomed not to repeat it.”