Absolutely been waiting for more fletcher. Remember Willey said fletcher had been filming the pzr 4 chat a few weeks ago but still waiting for the upload.
David Fletcher always seems to get all the love. Which is understandable, the man is a treasure. But I do hope that the Curator and all the staff at the tank museum know how much they are appreciated. I enjoy all of the videos the tank museum has been putting out. The work done by the museum is simply outstanding in every respect. Thank you all.
I used to make cables for armoured vehicles. Every single cable meets specifications for waterproofness and fireproofness, they've got connectors that push in and then screw down, all sealed with heat-shrink boots that glue themselves down and even change shape when heated, and bunches of cables go into lengths of armoured conduit. With labels heat-shrunk on as well for proper attachment. They are ridiculously strict on standards, and would reject entire batches for one connector on one cable being out of spec. So, if the cables have been made properly, they won't short out if wet, submerged, or on fire for less than a certain amount of time. And that includes stuff like rear-view cameras or radio antennae cables. I can't say more about it, because of the Official Secrets Act.
Thanks for answering the question! I thought if you want some more questions I have 2 more. 1. Do you have any family connections to tankers or anything along those lines? 2. Would you ever consider being a narrator for an audiobook? As I would love to hear you read a book based on tanks, perhaps a war diary would be good. p.s I was meant to change my username as someone used the name I wanted, and completely forgot to change it. Hopefully, the pun makes sense now.
My little brother has some learning difficulties and would never drive a car or anything like that, however for his 18th birthday I took him for a tank driving experience! Still to this day the only motorised vehicle he’s driven!
i was at the museum on saturday. was the best day ive had in years. was acting as a tour guide to my friends and their kids, with all the knowledge i've got from your and mr fletchers videos
Following your mention of bolt on's to AFV. My Dad served with the 2nd Derby Yeo. RAC from Normandy and he had fitted 'LOOT' boxes to his Daimler armoured car. Also started using MG42 to save cleaning their own BESA MG when 'Brassing up'. The problem being that the Mortarmen had become so experienced they could open fire on the distinctive sound of a German MG.
Q&A I used to read it once and saw on photos the topic of M4 tank crews. They used to cut off the whole frontal armor plate out of wrecked tanks (welded ones) hulls and then weld it on top of their tank frontal plate. Making it double the thickness. It seems to be a case after soldiers saw thick armor work fine on Sherman M4A3E2. How many of those could appear in late WWII on the western front? How "not adding whatever you like on your armor" policy of general command dealt with this occasion? As far as I know, placing track links, sandbags, concrete, even bricks (yes, making a wall) on the tank was widely encountered. While it could have some minor effect against a few types of projectiles, shrapnel, etc. It seems to work against regular steel armor ricochet properties. The tank projectiles did not bounce off from covered armor plates. That's why command did not approve many of DIY "up-armoring" practices.
Great to see those ex Canadian Leos being preserved and run at the Tank Museum! Funny enough it was an armoured officer that was the one getting Canada out of the tank business, and it was an infantry officer that kept us in it. The head of the Army and later of the Canadian Forces in the early 2000s was an armoured officer, and he was the one who wanted to get rid of tanks for the MGS. He got his way, and our Leos were being phased out of service. After Canada sent troops to Kandahar, and after some particularly vicious fighting in the fall of 2006, it was the infantry battle group CO who asked Ottawa for tanks. He got a squadron of LdSH(RC) a very short time afterwards. Hearing and watching them roll through Kandahar city was amazing. So funny enough, even if armoured generals want to get rid of tanks, infantry COs aren't so keen on the idea.
Finn telling us how it really is! Hope these garden presentations will continue, although when winter sets in you might have to think about an indoor setting.
Another great episode. Thanks for mentioning Canada's generosity. One point: It's the Canadian Armed Forces, not Defence Forces. However, we do defend, but these days what we defend is for the most part our funding. 😉
A lot of the electrical connections are multi-pin with a screw in coupling. This whole assembly is usually protected by a heat shrinkable boot which often has glue in both ends, this provides a liquid and dust proof connection. Material of the boots are also often resistant to various chemicals, oils, petrol, diesel and are abrasion and cut resistant too.
Thank you for the reminder and mention regarding replacing the memorial tank. I've just ordered one of the wooden Churchills and will try to prep it so that it will last longer in the open weather.
Just wanted to say that I order over 10 books from the official website about a week or 2 ago and they all came in today. thanks very much I'm looking forward to reading them all!
Question - Reading today "Military chiefs have drawn up plans to mothball all of Britain’s tanks under radical proposals to modernise the armed forces." Is this the death of the tank in British service?
Also could be the usual interservice fighting in the media that happens before every defence review. Navy will complain that they have no ships, Army that they will have to make huge cuts. Its a powerplay to drum up public support for their particular branch.
I asked myself the same question when I read it, but after a bit of deliberation I think a question that makes more sense is 'Is this prophesized "Death of The Tank" the final, actual one, or will it blow over like it always did until now?".
Watching the seasons - now the falling apples have gone and the sleeves are rolled up. We received some Canadian Leopard turrets too - I remember shooting at them on the range at Pucka with the black maple leaf on the side (after we scrounged some parts from them for our ageing Leo AS1's).
Question for Q&A: I would like to know how did the Heereswaffenamt and OKH approach the tank development and how or if it contrasted with what was pushed by Hitler. I would like to know what was their vision for tank warfare as the war progressed and the blitzkrieg faded. What did they think about the tanks they had on the battlefield? Did they want to standardize the types of vehicles used to have less platforms? Was Entwicklung Series something they seriously considered?
The Berne structure gauge is really only Continental. The last major railway in the UK, the Great Central, was built to Berne gauge. Most of the rest of the UK is smaller than Berne. It’s still a problem even today. Track gauge is the same in the UK and most of Europe, but UK trains are still smaller.
Just had my 49th birthday and my son Jack, as with fathers day has bought me things from the tank museum shop. The beer glass and 2 books ( the war of the motor gun boats & escape from the Japanese).and have just ordered my i love tanks mug, an enamel mug and challenger 1 baseball cap, while looking through the jumpers, didn't know that you had a part time job as a photographic model David, showing off the Christmas jumper. Lol
one huge problem with unmanned vehicles is the jamming of communications, command and control. For , at least the i,immediate future, AI is probably not good enough for totally independent platoons of unmanned armour to be let loose on the battlefield
AFG1098 - shortened to G10. This was the list of stores which a unit held, so if an item was on the G10 (like watches) it was “valuable” and must be accounted for. The AFG 1033 (known as a 1033) was the receipt you signed when you took an item from the unit stores. So if you wanted to use a watch you’d sign a 1033.
Dear David, thank you for your videos (and to all your colleagues), they have really helped make the past few months bearable. A question I have often wondered - if The Covenanter was such a dreadful piece of kit, why were so many made? (1700 is the figure I've heard mentioned). Was it not a dreadful waste of limited resources in a wartime economy, and was this not apparant at the time to anybody who could shout STOP?
What? Fletcher? It begins...soon. Now Willey and the director seem to do the heavy lifting, but they will release Fletcher when necessary. Thank you for educational content -teacher in Florida.
Thank you for another great Q&A David. You mentioned about the 29th Armoured Brigade which had to give back their Comets for Shermans at the start of the Battle of the Bulge and then go back to the Comet, do you know how long it would take for a brigade to re-equip with new tanks and then become fully operational ?
I was supposed to visit Britain and the museum this month, but due to the new travel restrictions, I had to cancel. So I ordered 2 model kits to show support. Unfortunately, righter after I ordered, the tiger I 1/42 went out of stock and I got refunded, but luckily the Tiger II one went through, and now I'm "im"patiently waiting for it to arrive :D
That ball is getting closer and closer to the camera every week. One of these days he’s going to hit it. Yet another reason to keep watching these great shows.
Question: In regard to stowage, were there regulations or guidelines governing what to do with stowage on a tank? I.e. how much you could carry, what you could carry, etc.If possible I'd just like to know more about what goes into the thought process behind things like stowage bins, like how big they need to be and what tanks tend to carry as standard.
Question: One hears stories of tank crews going to extremes to start tank engines during cold weather, lighting fires underneath being the most common. Did the tanks receive cold weather fuel additives, different petrol mixtures, or any such remedies? Thank you. Alberta, Canada.
Thank you David for the excellent Q+A videos, they've been very welcome in these strange times. The postman brought me a box of goodies from your shop earlier, already reading "Life After the Third Reich" and finding it very good. No one normally explains just how a defeated country is rebuilt, government, transport, schools, power supply, hospitals etc so I hope it will answer some of these questions. After that I have 4 more books to read but the Challenger white chocolate may not last long! The "Chieftain" peaked cap is a good fit and looks good quality too. A question please, How are military vehicle registration numbers assigned? On one of your videos I note numbers like "03 EB 83" and "34 KA 11" just for example on a couple of tanks. Are they done "in house" by the MOD or are they done like normal UK road vehicles by the DVLA? Are numbers issued once or re-issued when the vehicle is scrapped?
I have a question that goes around in my head for a while now. I already asked Nicholas "the Chieftain" Moran, but He couldn't answer my question. Von Manstein always wanted a Infantry Support Vehicle for direkt Support fire. This later became the STUG III. But the STUG III was also of interest for the Panzerwaffe and Guderian. In the end the Infantry never had enough of these Vehicles. At the Same time there where Vehicles Like the Sturmpanzer II with a 15cm Howitzer based on a Panzer 2. Was there never a Test to put the 7.5 cm Canon on a Panzer II? I mean the Panzer II could barely handle the 15cm Gun. A 7.5 must be much lighter and way smaller. And also the Rounds would fit much better. Later was the Panzer II Chassis used for the Panzerhaubitze Wespe, a 10.5 cm Howitzer. Wouldn't the Panzer III Chassis been a better choice for the 15cm and 10.5 cm Gun? Do you know about any trials or documenta about that? Thanks for your time and best wishes.
Some times older vehicles were used because they had production lines for all the parts already, hulls, engines, transmissions, etc, - building on the still current Panzer III instead of using the increasingly obsolete Panzer II would mean taking away from Panzer III production, losing armoured vehicle production capacity while you try and change over production from the older parts to the newer parts The Panzer II hull could handle the forces of the 105mm so why lose production of Panzer III's (the hulls of which were becoming increasingly important for StuG production) which were still in front line use - to slightly increase mobility of a artillery piece and takes away production and spares from front line units.
@@chaz8758 I know that the Wehrmacht used obsolete Tanks for Support roles. BUT their where attemts for other Vehicles based on Panzer III Chassis with a bigger gun like the StuIG 33. Or think about the StuH 42 and it's 10.5 cm Gun. The STUG III had the Potential to carry bigger Canons, the Panzer II Chassis was overwhelmed by this in the case of the Sturmpanzer II, and the Wespe didn't performed very well in tough Terrain or under rough conditions. Also was the Wespe to small for a good amount of amunition (only 32 Rounds for a 10.5 cm gun. The StuH 42 could carry around 70 Rounds If i remember correctly). A "STUG II" for light Infantry support would have filled a gap that was there through the complete war. Why not a light 7.5 cm Gun on a obsolete Tank Chassis to deliver some direct Fire Support for the Infantry. Instead they used the Panzer III Chassis dir this role, a Chassis that had way more Potential for heavier Guns and heavier combat roles.
@@papaaaaaaa2625 Look at the time lines vehicles were developed in, Germany and her allies lacked the industrial capability to produce enough tanks to keep up with losses let alone the increased numbers of divisions requiring equipment. Flammpanzers, Bruckenlagers were converted back to gun tanks despite how useful they were as specialist vehicles. The Stul33 was produced in 1941/42 in limited numbers for trials - it was just a direct fire HE lobber that was more conspicuous than a StuG III, lacked anti armour ability. 1942 onwards anti armour became more important with the Panzer III, IV & StuG III being re-armed, increase in production and types of self propelled AT guns, increased production of towed AT guns, adoption of Soviet guns for AT use, conversion of captured French field artillery into AT guns. Vehicles like the Wespe did not need to carry huge amounts of munitions as they were used predominantly in the indirect role, they would be supported by either stockpiled munitions or munitions carriers. Going into 1943 Germany was increasingly fighting on the defensive, mobile AT guns were more important than heavily armoured, large calibre, HE assault guns, the StuG III had a good 75mm HE round (in all versions) while packing a good AT round with the L43/48 guns, backed up by some StuH with 105mm guns (that could be used in a limited anti armour role), that left limited value for a 150mm HE gun on a valuable chassis which could not be used effectively in the indirect role. Better to increase the mobility of the towed guns which even in 1945 relied heavily on horses and could be done with old or captured vehicles that could not mount heavy armour and a big gun, ones which are much cheaper in material, time, labour, resources to build.
What a Great situation. Talking Tanks and keeping Finn happy too.!! How many of us had to Start working from Home.? And then also Keep our Pets content at the Same time..!? Once Covid is Done, how many Pets are Going to be Sulking in unison..! 🙀😿 Great Video even with the Squeeky ball..! (which I never Noticed..!) Thx for your efforts. Kim in Oz. 😎
When I hear that little "clap", I know it's time to stop what I'm doing and pay attention for about an hour. The slurping is a non-issue. Every time David drinks - so do I. All I hear is myself. Thanks David.
One of my main problems with unmanned vehicles (of all types) apart from Skynet (obviously) is they will make using these assets more politically acceptable. Currently a major factor in any decision on deployment is the risk to personnel and the political backlash of any casualties. This generally means a far stricter criteria to the use of force which if met I normally support but have no doubt unmanned will blur this and I wonder what this will do for support.
I would love to know more about personal weapons that tankers carried during ww2 and in the modern day, particularly knives. Were tankers issued the Fairbairn Sykes? What were the rules regarding keeping extra weapons in the tank? I remember some story about a US tank that seemed to collect a rather large number of machine guns, they were eventually told off and the excess weaponry was removed.
I'm kinda curious Are there any plastic model making company (Tamiya , Dragon , etc.) that ever come to the museum for the data collecting for their model making ? If yes 1. How does the museum assist them ? 2. Since some company are making a model of modern tank , tank that in service such as Challenger 2 etc., How deep the data do the museum provide? PS. The question might look confusing because English is not my first language.
Regarding the removal of sponsons and flexing of the structure. Would it have been more efficient to remove the sponsons once the tanks had been entrained, and to replace them at the other end beforehaving been detrained?
Although military carrying railway wagins tend to have screw down supports for loading/unloading not all wagins carrying tanks in ww1 may have had them. Therefore I'd suggest they'd probably not want to be block and tackle removing a sponson when the tank is balanced on top of a wagon. Also its possible the axle loading of the wagon precluded having the tank on top with the additional sponson weight? Mind i guess the mk4 was ok so this probably less of an issue. Unless they also built new wagons to go with them. Just speculation those mind but likely why they wouldnt go that route.
G1098 (tools and equipment) along with G1198 (expendable stores), various ET's plus loads of others - just which style of accounting the equipment was held on and the authorisation to hold it. G1098 was the basic section/troop/sqn/regt store for kit held
Question: Not sure if this can be answered, but has any country looked into developing/installing a Rail Gun as the main gun for a Tank? Since rail guns are still in development but can fire projectiles at Mach 4 plus, I would imagine the penetration capabilities would be tremendous. Also since the projectiles don’t need any explosives to destroy their targets (since they hit with such speed and force) storing them in the tank would also be safer and reduce the risk of fires and internal explosions if a tank does get hit.
At the moment the power supply and equipment is too large to be used in anything much smaller than a ship, although there are claims and at least one film coming from China where they claim to have made a rifle "rail gun" and demonstrate it.
Question: considering ergonomic problems with most ef early war tanks, did tank designers for posterior models consider tank crew assessment? For instance, in more recent times, I heard in one of your videos that Otto Carius tips affected some details of Challenger design.
As to robots: Well the point is they will be utilized first where it is simplest. Supply vehicles to bring resupply up as close to the front line as possible. In naval circles drones are being used in minesweeping. Perhaps not the role that takes the brightest persons; but they don't like to be blown up anyway. Aircraft carriers will use drones as tanker aircraft.
The Berne Gauge is not applicable for the railways in Great Britain. The BR Standard Mark 1 coach fto the 1950s was 12ft 10in tall (measured from the top of the rail) and had a bodywidth including all external handles of 9ft 3in. The roofs started 10ft 4in above the rail height. Of course the railways were used to handling out of gauge loads, and it wasn't other trains that were the problem but platforms and other buildings and signal post. The other trains would be shunted out of the way.
The situation was a little more complicated than that in Britain. There were a whole lot of different loading gauges depending on the original company, and what could be justified later by the big 4 in spending in the 20-40's. [There are still a number of sizes]. The GCR mainline to London was built to something equivalent to the Berne Gauge. I think that the GWR old broad-gauge lines were to a similar width but lower height?. Many of the main lines had station platforms either side of twin tracks, single bore tunnels, so they did take special oversize loads, sometimes offset to one side, . Short sections of line were widened or lowered to get from specific factories to the port etc.
@@stephenarbon2227 yes, there were a few wagons for out of gauge loads which could slew the load from side to side to avoid fixed obstructions but these were rarities. Tanks were carried on flat bed wagons or on wagons where the load bed was lower than the headstocks. The majority of the pre-grouping railways had a max allowable load width of 9ft (16 railways). The majority of the rest had a max allowable width of 9ft 3 in (5 railways including the GCR). The NSR could allow a width of 9ft 6in and the GWR 9ft 8in (this was 11ft 6in when they used broad gauge). The max allowable centre line height varied from 12ft 4in on parts of the Metropolitan Railway up to 13ft 9in on the GNR, H&BR and MR. In the broad gauge period the max height was 15ft. Platform heights were between 2ft 2.75in on the LNWR and 2ft 5.5in on the LSWR. All heights are given above the rail level. For further information on the various loading gauges I would direct you to devboats.co.uk which has comprehensive details of the pre-grouping loading gauges. Of course there will be sections of lines in each of these companies where the loading gauge varies from the standard, but these are a good rule of thumb. It was until 1928, 5 years after the forming of the Big 4 that the Board of Trade mandated a minimum 15ft clearance, but only on new constructions.
Finn doesn't have a favorite tank because he is the co-driver in his Dad's armoured car, and has more seat time than we're ever likely to get. I think that it's a Dingo Armoured Car.
Hello David, Thank you for keeping us informed and entertained, I have a question following on from the modification question, obviously during the second world war there were many unofficial modifications, what is the earliest 'add on' that you are aware of, was the first change made by the crew the day after the first tank was issued, or was this a ww2 thing? Thanks for the fantastic series
I hope sometime in the future you can get a M1A1 to your museum. If the US can give/sell them to the Iraq Army - I don’t understand why they can’t give a obsolete M1 to your fine museum.
CWC are still in business and making the same stuff (www.cwcwatch.com/collections/general-service-watches). I remember they had plastic 'glasses' which consequently scratched and broke very easily in field conditions. We eventually got Seikos which were far more accurated and had sapphire glass.
12:45 I wonder how many people here were scratching their heads when he mentioned "17 jewels" in reference to a wrist watch? It's getting hard - and expensive - to find actual gems in a watch these days, as so many brands just don't make old-style mechanical timepieces like they used to. :-(
20:00 I knew a modeler who was inspired by a picture of a junk-covered armoured car labelled "Everything but the Kitchen Sink". He went one better and did a 1/35 scale vehicle with a kitchen sink.
Are there any plans to continue this series post covid? These videos are really interesting, though I imagine it might be hard to find time for when back to full time work for everyone involved.
Sold on at inflated prices to their allies - often being unfit for combat and requiring major overhauls - common problems the Romanians and Hungarians had - their best vehicles tended to be local transfers from German units.
Would love to have a link in the description to the pictures used in the stories of Sir David. ps. The only reason I did not purchase a dozen of those books is the pricing of the shipping.
Another excellent episodes. Though today’s clap was muffled a bit. Though I would assume with the heat your palms might have been perspiring a little. 😊🤭👏🏻
It's not that we "don't like hearing these sounds", it's that misophonia is a horrible thing to be afflicted with and we would like very much for those sounds not to produce the feelings they do, but that isn't always possible. Mute the mic momentarily.
wonder how many tanks Tank Museum can not be used due to asbestos or other contamination within it them and wonder how much its an issue it is when they have to move one said vehicle
Asbestos in vehicles is a little bit different to it being in buildings, but the following apply, if it is in solid form and covered by paint it is OK to be around. If it is broken and fibres are exposed then it is a problem. If it is used for lagging around pipes and the outer tin cover is in good condition then there is little risk. The risks start to multiply when the tin lagging cover is damaged or missing or the asbestos has been sprayed on or around surfaces as a glued on sort of insulation blanket. If it is in a loose wool condition it is very dangerous. Given the age of some of the vehicles and the rough service lives they have lived there is bound to be damaged solid sheets or tin lagging covers providing the opportunity for loose Asbestos fibres to escape and then move or be blown around the inside of the vehicle engine bay area and or the inside of crew compartments.
Great news about David Fletcher! I'm glad to see that Finn is in high spirits!!
Absolutely been waiting for more fletcher. Remember Willey said fletcher had been filming the pzr 4 chat a few weeks ago but still waiting for the upload.
Poor Finn is going to be devasted when all this CCP virus furball is over with & he doesn't have his man to himself all day to keep him entertained...
David Fletcher always seems to get all the love. Which is understandable, the man is a treasure. But I do hope that the Curator and all the staff at the tank museum know how much they are appreciated. I enjoy all of the videos the tank museum has been putting out. The work done by the museum is simply outstanding in every respect. Thank you all.
I used to make cables for armoured vehicles. Every single cable meets specifications for waterproofness and fireproofness, they've got connectors that push in and then screw down, all sealed with heat-shrink boots that glue themselves down and even change shape when heated, and bunches of cables go into lengths of armoured conduit. With labels heat-shrunk on as well for proper attachment.
They are ridiculously strict on standards, and would reject entire batches for one connector on one cable being out of spec.
So, if the cables have been made properly, they won't short out if wet, submerged, or on fire for less than a certain amount of time. And that includes stuff like rear-view cameras or radio antennae cables.
I can't say more about it, because of the Official Secrets Act.
Thanks for answering the question! I thought if you want some more questions I have 2 more.
1. Do you have any family connections to tankers or anything along those lines?
2. Would you ever consider being a narrator for an audiobook? As I would love to hear you read a book based on tanks, perhaps a war diary would be good.
p.s I was meant to change my username as someone used the name I wanted, and completely forgot to change it. Hopefully, the pun makes sense now.
I took a break from watching these in between 15 and 20, but I'm very glad that I came back
Another interesting talk from the Curator. And, once again I was entertained with things I have not heard of before.
Really enjoying these sessions from the garden. I hope they continue into the future.
My little brother has some learning difficulties and would never drive a car or anything like that, however for his 18th birthday I took him for a tank driving experience! Still to this day the only motorised vehicle he’s driven!
i was at the museum on saturday. was the best day ive had in years. was acting as a tour guide to my friends and their kids, with all the knowledge i've got from your and mr fletchers videos
Following your mention of bolt on's to AFV. My Dad served with the 2nd Derby Yeo. RAC from Normandy and he had fitted 'LOOT' boxes to his Daimler armoured car. Also started using MG42 to save cleaning their own BESA MG when 'Brassing up'. The problem being that the Mortarmen had become so experienced they could open fire on the distinctive sound of a German MG.
Q&A I used to read it once and saw on photos the topic of M4 tank crews. They used to cut off the whole frontal armor plate out of wrecked tanks (welded ones) hulls and then weld it on top of their tank frontal plate. Making it double the thickness. It seems to be a case after soldiers saw thick armor work fine on Sherman M4A3E2.
How many of those could appear in late WWII on the western front?
How "not adding whatever you like on your armor" policy of general command dealt with this occasion?
As far as I know, placing track links, sandbags, concrete, even bricks (yes, making a wall) on the tank was widely encountered. While it could have some minor effect against a few types of projectiles, shrapnel, etc. It seems to work against regular steel armor ricochet properties. The tank projectiles did not bounce off from covered armor plates. That's why command did not approve many of DIY "up-armoring" practices.
3:57 right in the face. Thanks :)
Squeaky balls can be a terrible distraction...
...OK, OK, I'll get my coat. ;-)
Great to see those ex Canadian Leos being preserved and run at the Tank Museum!
Funny enough it was an armoured officer that was the one getting Canada out of the tank business, and it was an infantry officer that kept us in it.
The head of the Army and later of the Canadian Forces in the early 2000s was an armoured officer, and he was the one who wanted to get rid of tanks for the MGS. He got his way, and our Leos were being phased out of service. After Canada sent troops to Kandahar, and after some particularly vicious fighting in the fall of 2006, it was the infantry battle group CO who asked Ottawa for tanks. He got a squadron of LdSH(RC) a very short time afterwards. Hearing and watching them roll through Kandahar city was amazing.
So funny enough, even if armoured generals want to get rid of tanks, infantry COs aren't so keen on the idea.
Hooray, David “The Legend” Fletcher is back!
If there is any MDF in those wooden tank models please paint it well if doesn't like rain. Thanks for what you are doing for this veteran.
Finn telling us how it really is! Hope these garden presentations will continue, although when winter sets in you might have to think about an indoor setting.
Another great episode. Thanks for mentioning Canada's generosity. One point: It's the Canadian Armed Forces, not Defence Forces. However, we do defend, but these days what we defend is for the most part our funding. 😉
A lot of the electrical connections are multi-pin with a screw in coupling. This whole assembly is usually protected by a heat shrinkable boot which often has glue in both ends, this provides a liquid and dust proof connection. Material of the boots are also often resistant to various chemicals, oils, petrol, diesel and are abrasion and cut resistant too.
Thank You for answering my question regarding the Ersatz M10! I'm so glad!
Thank you for the reminder and mention regarding replacing the memorial tank. I've just ordered one of the wooden Churchills and will try to prep it so that it will last longer in the open weather.
Just wanted to say that I order over 10 books from the official website about a week or 2 ago and they all came in today. thanks very much I'm looking forward to reading them all!
Question - Reading today "Military chiefs have drawn up plans to mothball all of Britain’s tanks under radical proposals to modernise the armed forces." Is this the death of the tank in British service?
Also could be the usual interservice fighting in the media that happens before every defence review. Navy will complain that they have no ships, Army that they will have to make huge cuts. Its a powerplay to drum up public support for their particular branch.
I asked myself the same question when I read it, but after a bit of deliberation I think a question that makes more sense is 'Is this prophesized "Death of The Tank" the final, actual one, or will it blow over like it always did until now?".
Mr Fletcher is coming back? That't the news I was waiting for!
Lets propose David for an OTM; Order of the Tank Museum. Great videos, excelent communicator 👏👏👏👏👏
Watching the seasons - now the falling apples have gone and the sleeves are rolled up. We received some Canadian Leopard turrets too - I remember shooting at them on the range at Pucka with the black maple leaf on the side (after we scrounged some parts from them for our ageing Leo AS1's).
G10 (G1098) Is the type of equipment account it is held on. The form you sign for the kit is call a 1033. We often used to call them G10 for men.
Question for Q&A: I would like to know how did the Heereswaffenamt and OKH approach the tank development and how or if it contrasted with what was pushed by Hitler. I would like to know what was their vision for tank warfare as the war progressed and the blitzkrieg faded. What did they think about the tanks they had on the battlefield? Did they want to standardize the types of vehicles used to have less platforms? Was Entwicklung Series something they seriously considered?
The Berne structure gauge is really only Continental. The last major railway in the UK, the Great Central, was built to Berne gauge. Most of the rest of the UK is smaller than Berne. It’s still a problem even today. Track gauge is the same in the UK and most of Europe, but UK trains are still smaller.
I was worried something had happened to Mr. Fletcher, good to know he's coming back
He was likely just shielding on account of being a national treasure.
The museum without David Fletcher is like Christmas without Santa.
IIRC in one of the early Q&As it was said that he was writing etc. but wasn't able to produce video content at home.
Just had my 49th birthday and my son Jack, as with fathers day has bought me things from the tank museum shop. The beer glass and 2 books ( the war of the motor gun boats & escape from the Japanese).and have just ordered my i love tanks mug, an enamel mug and challenger 1 baseball cap, while looking through the jumpers, didn't know that you had a part time job as a photographic model David, showing off the Christmas jumper. Lol
one huge problem with unmanned vehicles is the jamming of communications, command and control. For , at least the i,immediate future, AI is probably not good enough for totally independent platoons of unmanned armour to be let loose on the battlefield
AFG1098 - shortened to G10. This was the list of stores which a unit held, so if an item was on the G10 (like watches) it was “valuable” and must be accounted for.
The AFG 1033 (known as a 1033) was the receipt you signed when you took an item from the unit stores. So if you wanted to use a watch you’d sign a 1033.
One of the lists authorising and accounting for kit, you also had G1198 for expense items, G1157 for your personal kit and a whole host of others
The best..
Please continue backyard classes as long as possible..love Finn as well..fine dog.
Different Class! A David Fletcher 'tache mask. Go Tank Museum!
When this first came on my monitor, the Finn puppet fooled me for a second. I thought it was him with his paws on that box!
Dear David, thank you for your videos (and to all your colleagues), they have really helped make the past few months bearable.
A question I have often wondered - if The Covenanter was such a dreadful piece of kit, why were so many made? (1700 is the figure I've heard mentioned). Was it not a dreadful waste of limited resources in a wartime economy, and was this not apparant at the time to anybody who could shout STOP?
The very large guns in Hanstholm, Denmark and Battery Vara in Norway (Still with a functioning 38 cm gun in a tower), came from a former Warship.
So we can buy David Fletchers moustache ?!!! Wow !!
Thank you
What? Fletcher? It begins...soon.
Now Willey and the director seem to do the heavy lifting, but they will release Fletcher when necessary. Thank you for educational content
-teacher in Florida.
Thank you for another great Q&A David. You mentioned about the 29th Armoured Brigade which had to give back their Comets for Shermans at the start of the Battle of the Bulge and then go back to the Comet, do you know how long it would take for a brigade to re-equip with new tanks and then become fully operational ?
I was supposed to visit Britain and the museum this month, but due to the new travel restrictions, I had to cancel. So I ordered 2 model kits to show support. Unfortunately, righter after I ordered, the tiger I 1/42 went out of stock and I got refunded, but luckily the Tiger II one went through, and now I'm "im"patiently waiting for it to arrive :D
That ball is getting closer and closer to the camera every week. One of these days he’s going to hit it. Yet another reason to keep watching these great shows.
Thanks for all your great content!
Question: In regard to stowage, were there regulations or guidelines governing what to do with stowage on a tank? I.e. how much you could carry, what you could carry, etc.If possible I'd just like to know more about what goes into the thought process behind things like stowage bins, like how big they need to be and what tanks tend to carry as standard.
Question: One hears stories of tank crews going to extremes to start tank engines during cold weather, lighting fires underneath being the most common. Did the tanks receive cold weather fuel additives, different petrol mixtures, or any such remedies? Thank you. Alberta, Canada.
Thank you David for the excellent Q+A videos, they've been very welcome in these strange times.
The postman brought me a box of goodies from your shop earlier, already reading "Life After the Third Reich" and finding it very good. No one normally explains just how a defeated country is rebuilt, government, transport, schools, power supply, hospitals etc so I hope it will answer some of these questions.
After that I have 4 more books to read but the Challenger white chocolate may not last long! The "Chieftain" peaked cap is a good fit and looks good quality too.
A question please, How are military vehicle registration numbers assigned? On one of your videos I note numbers like "03 EB 83" and "34 KA 11" just for example on a couple of tanks. Are they done "in house" by the MOD or are they done like normal UK road vehicles by the DVLA? Are numbers issued once or re-issued when the vehicle is scrapped?
about swapping sponsons, years ago i read somewhere of a mixed cannon/machine gun called a hermaphrodite
Yup, 'male' cannon sponson on one side, 'female' machine gun sponson on the other.
I have a question that goes around in my head for a while now. I already asked Nicholas "the Chieftain" Moran, but He couldn't answer my question.
Von Manstein always wanted a Infantry Support Vehicle for direkt Support fire. This later became the STUG III. But the STUG III was also of interest for the Panzerwaffe and Guderian. In the end the Infantry never had enough of these Vehicles.
At the Same time there where Vehicles Like the Sturmpanzer II with a 15cm Howitzer based on a Panzer 2.
Was there never a Test to put the 7.5 cm Canon on a Panzer II?
I mean the Panzer II could barely handle the 15cm Gun. A 7.5 must be much lighter and way smaller. And also the Rounds would fit much better.
Later was the Panzer II Chassis used for the Panzerhaubitze Wespe, a 10.5 cm Howitzer.
Wouldn't the Panzer III Chassis been a better choice for the 15cm and 10.5 cm Gun?
Do you know about any trials or documenta about that?
Thanks for your time and best wishes.
Some times older vehicles were used because they had production lines for all the parts already, hulls, engines, transmissions, etc, - building on the still current Panzer III instead of using the increasingly obsolete Panzer II would mean taking away from Panzer III production, losing armoured vehicle production capacity while you try and change over production from the older parts to the newer parts
The Panzer II hull could handle the forces of the 105mm so why lose production of Panzer III's (the hulls of which were becoming increasingly important for StuG production) which were still in front line use - to slightly increase mobility of a artillery piece and takes away production and spares from front line units.
@@chaz8758 I know that the Wehrmacht used obsolete Tanks for Support roles.
BUT their where attemts for other Vehicles based on Panzer III Chassis with a bigger gun like the StuIG 33.
Or think about the StuH 42 and it's 10.5 cm Gun.
The STUG III had the Potential to carry bigger Canons, the Panzer II Chassis was overwhelmed by this in the case of the Sturmpanzer II, and the Wespe didn't performed very well in tough Terrain or under rough conditions.
Also was the Wespe to small for a good amount of amunition (only 32 Rounds for a 10.5 cm gun. The StuH 42 could carry around 70 Rounds If i remember correctly).
A "STUG II" for light Infantry support would have filled a gap that was there through the complete war.
Why not a light 7.5 cm Gun on a obsolete Tank Chassis to deliver some direct Fire Support for the Infantry.
Instead they used the Panzer III Chassis dir this role, a Chassis that had way more Potential for heavier Guns and heavier combat roles.
@@papaaaaaaa2625 Look at the time lines vehicles were developed in, Germany and her allies lacked the industrial capability to produce enough tanks to keep up with losses let alone the increased numbers of divisions requiring equipment.
Flammpanzers, Bruckenlagers were converted back to gun tanks despite how useful they were as specialist vehicles.
The Stul33 was produced in 1941/42 in limited numbers for trials - it was just a direct fire HE lobber that was more conspicuous than a StuG III, lacked anti armour ability.
1942 onwards anti armour became more important with the Panzer III, IV & StuG III being re-armed, increase in production and types of self propelled AT guns, increased production of towed AT guns, adoption of Soviet guns for AT use, conversion of captured French field artillery into AT guns.
Vehicles like the Wespe did not need to carry huge amounts of munitions as they were used predominantly in the indirect role, they would be supported by either stockpiled munitions or munitions carriers.
Going into 1943 Germany was increasingly fighting on the defensive, mobile AT guns were more important than heavily armoured, large calibre, HE assault guns, the StuG III had a good 75mm HE round (in all versions) while packing a good AT round with the L43/48 guns, backed up by some StuH with 105mm guns (that could be used in a limited anti armour role), that left limited value for a 150mm HE gun on a valuable chassis which could not be used effectively in the indirect role.
Better to increase the mobility of the towed guns which even in 1945 relied heavily on horses and could be done with old or captured vehicles that could not mount heavy armour and a big gun, ones which are much cheaper in material, time, labour, resources to build.
What a Great situation. Talking Tanks and keeping Finn happy too.!!
How many of us had to Start working from Home.? And then also Keep our Pets content at the Same time..!?
Once Covid is Done, how many Pets are Going to be Sulking in unison..! 🙀😿
Great Video even with the Squeeky ball..! (which I never Noticed..!)
Thx for your efforts. Kim in Oz. 😎
Question: was winter camouflage ever used on great war tanks?
When I hear that little "clap", I know it's time to stop what I'm doing and pay attention for about an hour.
The slurping is a non-issue. Every time David drinks - so do I.
All I hear is myself.
Thanks David.
Question: Any possibility now or in the near future of the tank museum acquiring a running M1A2 ?
One of my main problems with unmanned vehicles (of all types) apart from Skynet (obviously) is they will make using these assets more politically acceptable. Currently a major factor in any decision on deployment is the risk to personnel and the political backlash of any casualties. This generally means a far stricter criteria to the use of force which if met I normally support but have no doubt unmanned will blur this and I wonder what this will do for support.
"Woo, hit the camera..."
“G10” is part of the reference for standard issue personal equipment in the Army - G1098 I seem to remember.
You for the high jump if you loose anything you signed for on the G1098 form
I would love to know more about personal weapons that tankers carried during ww2 and in the modern day, particularly knives. Were tankers issued the Fairbairn Sykes? What were the rules regarding keeping extra weapons in the tank? I remember some story about a US tank that seemed to collect a rather large number of machine guns, they were eventually told off and the excess weaponry was removed.
I'm kinda curious
Are there any plastic model making company (Tamiya , Dragon , etc.) that ever come to the museum for the data collecting for their model making ?
If yes
1. How does the museum assist them ?
2. Since some company are making a model of modern tank , tank that in service such as Challenger 2 etc., How deep the data do the museum provide?
PS. The question might look confusing because English is not my first language.
Airfix probably.
Regarding the removal of sponsons and flexing of the structure. Would it have been more efficient to remove the sponsons once the tanks had been entrained, and to replace them at the other end beforehaving been detrained?
Although military carrying railway wagins tend to have screw down supports for loading/unloading not all wagins carrying tanks in ww1 may have had them. Therefore I'd suggest they'd probably not want to be block and tackle removing a sponson when the tank is balanced on top of a wagon.
Also its possible the axle loading of the wagon precluded having the tank on top with the additional sponson weight? Mind i guess the mk4 was ok so this probably less of an issue. Unless they also built new wagons to go with them.
Just speculation those mind but likely why they wouldnt go that route.
If I remember correctly the G10 was short for the G1098 troop store
the G1098 was a list of all the equipment the unit was issued with to carry out its role,,, from Vehicles to KFS and cooking pots
( ex RAOC lol)
G1098 (tools and equipment) along with G1198 (expendable stores), various ET's plus loads of others - just which style of accounting the equipment was held on and the authorisation to hold it.
G1098 was the basic section/troop/sqn/regt store for kit held
@@chaz8758 G 1198 was your personal clothing issue Possbly? my bad,, personal kit issue was the AF G1157 ,, hands in my Ordnance badge :(
Question: Not sure if this can be answered, but has any country looked into developing/installing a Rail Gun as the main gun for a Tank? Since rail guns are still in development but can fire projectiles at Mach 4 plus, I would imagine the penetration capabilities would be tremendous. Also since the projectiles don’t need any explosives to destroy their targets (since they hit with such speed and force) storing them in the tank would also be safer and reduce the risk of fires and internal explosions if a tank does get hit.
At the moment the power supply and equipment is too large to be used in anything much smaller than a ship, although there are claims and at least one film coming from China where they claim to have made a rifle "rail gun" and demonstrate it.
Question: considering ergonomic problems with most ef early war tanks, did tank designers for posterior models consider tank crew assessment? For instance, in more recent times, I heard in one of your videos that Otto Carius tips affected some details of Challenger design.
As to robots:
Well the point is they will be utilized first where it is simplest. Supply vehicles to bring resupply up as close to the front line as possible.
In naval circles drones are being used in minesweeping. Perhaps not the role that takes the brightest persons; but they don't like to be blown up anyway.
Aircraft carriers will use drones as tanker aircraft.
The Berne Gauge is not applicable for the railways in Great Britain. The BR Standard Mark 1 coach fto the 1950s was 12ft 10in tall (measured from the top of the rail) and had a bodywidth including all external handles of 9ft 3in. The roofs started 10ft 4in above the rail height. Of course the railways were used to handling out of gauge loads, and it wasn't other trains that were the problem but platforms and other buildings and signal post. The other trains would be shunted out of the way.
The situation was a little more complicated than that in Britain.
There were a whole lot of different loading gauges depending on the original company, and what could be justified later by the big 4 in spending in the 20-40's. [There are still a number of sizes].
The GCR mainline to London was built to something equivalent to the Berne Gauge.
I think that the GWR old broad-gauge lines were to a similar width but lower height?.
Many of the main lines had station platforms either side of twin tracks, single bore tunnels, so they did take special oversize loads, sometimes offset to one side, .
Short sections of line were widened or lowered to get from specific factories to the port etc.
@@stephenarbon2227 yes, there were a few wagons for out of gauge loads which could slew the load from side to side to avoid fixed obstructions but these were rarities. Tanks were carried on flat bed wagons or on wagons where the load bed was lower than the headstocks.
The majority of the pre-grouping railways had a max allowable load width of 9ft (16 railways). The majority of the rest had a max allowable width of 9ft 3 in (5 railways including the GCR). The NSR could allow a width of 9ft 6in and the GWR 9ft 8in (this was 11ft 6in when they used broad gauge). The max allowable centre line height varied from 12ft 4in on parts of the Metropolitan Railway up to 13ft 9in on the GNR, H&BR and MR. In the broad gauge period the max height was 15ft.
Platform heights were between 2ft 2.75in on the LNWR and 2ft 5.5in on the LSWR.
All heights are given above the rail level.
For further information on the various loading gauges I would direct you to devboats.co.uk which has comprehensive details of the pre-grouping loading gauges. Of course there will be sections of lines in each of these companies where the loading gauge varies from the standard, but these are a good rule of thumb.
It was until 1928, 5 years after the forming of the Big 4 that the Board of Trade mandated a minimum 15ft clearance, but only on new constructions.
Has Finn the dog ever been to the Tank Museum? And what's his favorite tank?
If you look at the tank museum shop and go to Finns puppets you can see a picture of Finn out there
Finn doesn't have a favorite tank because he is the co-driver in his Dad's armoured car, and has more seat time than we're ever likely to get.
I think that it's a Dingo Armoured Car.
Thomas Chen I am sure Finn would like to chase the big cats, Tigers and Panthers.
@@markfryer9880 Thanks for the info! That given me some ideas.
@@michaelnaven213 they stand no chance against Finn!
Surprised they didn't build a cross brace to keep the Mk1 sponson holes rigid during transportation.
Love the watch!.
Hello David,
Thank you for keeping us informed and entertained, I have a question following on from the modification question, obviously during the second world war there were many unofficial modifications, what is the earliest 'add on' that you are aware of, was the first change made by the crew the day after the first tank was issued, or was this a ww2 thing?
Thanks for the fantastic series
Love the Dog,he steels the hole Show!
The length of that sip was emulate!
i just received finn thank you so much, carry on
Just nipped into the shop to buy a book for a Christmas present, I ended up purchasing 4 books.
Product idea for the museum shop. Finn approved ball and thrower. Maybe bundle it with a Finn puppet.
I hope sometime in the future you can get a M1A1 to your museum. If the US can give/sell them to the Iraq Army - I don’t understand why they can’t give a obsolete M1 to your fine museum.
As ive a renewed interest in tanks, ive watched a few of these videos and heard you mention Tiger day, what is Tiger day?
CWC are still in business and making the same stuff (www.cwcwatch.com/collections/general-service-watches). I remember they had plastic 'glasses' which consequently scratched and broke very easily in field conditions. We eventually got Seikos which were far more accurated and had sapphire glass.
Question- would the Mark 5 or A7V tank win in a 1 on 1 fight?
I see the weather is a lot better where you are
How was it to be an engineer or technical tank designer back in ww2, Germany and the UK ? Must have been a highly intresting and changelling time!?
12:45 I wonder how many people here were scratching their heads when he mentioned "17 jewels" in reference to a wrist watch?
It's getting hard - and expensive - to find actual gems in a watch these days, as so many brands just don't make old-style mechanical timepieces like they used to. :-(
Otto Skorenzy? ????? Oh dear......
20:00 I knew a modeler who was inspired by a picture of a junk-covered armoured car labelled "Everything but the Kitchen Sink". He went one better and did a 1/35 scale vehicle with a kitchen sink.
Are there any plans to continue this series post covid? These videos are really interesting, though I imagine it might be hard to find time for when back to full time work for everyone involved.
were there any other ww2 missile tanks besides the t34 calliope?
Hi Finn. Good Boy!
What about actual selleing those watches you showed in this video in your shop?
I have a question about tiger and panther muzzle brakes. Some photos show them as being darker than the tanks camo. Were they unpainted gunmetal?
Most probably smoke-stained from being fired a lot.
A fair lot of Czech tanks were sent to German allies when they were well past their sell by date.
Sold on at inflated prices to their allies - often being unfit for combat and requiring major overhauls - common problems the Romanians and Hungarians had - their best vehicles tended to be local transfers from German units.
David Fletcher Tasch mask!! 😂😂😂😂
Would love to have a link in the description to the pictures used in the stories of Sir David.
ps. The only reason I did not purchase a dozen of those books is the pricing of the shipping.
Another excellent episodes. Though today’s clap was muffled a bit. Though I would assume with the heat your palms might have been perspiring a little. 😊🤭👏🏻
It's a G10 98 watch from QM stores
One of the stares accounting systems in use, we would have them in Troop (Tp G1098), Sqn (SQMS) and Regt (QM's) stores as Sappers
It's not that we "don't like hearing these sounds", it's that misophonia is a horrible thing to be afflicted with and we would like very much for those sounds not to produce the feelings they do, but that isn't always possible. Mute the mic momentarily.
Why didn't German apcs and scout cars carry Schürtzen?
Loading gauge. If you hit it you'll have a bad day somewhere down the line.
I contacted the masuem in regards to some advice on the battle of the bulge tanks but never heard back, is this normal?
Finn treated us to a bark!
maybe make a tanker fin plush. maybe with goggles or something like that
wonder how many tanks Tank Museum can not be used due to asbestos or other contamination within it them and wonder how much its an issue it is when they have to move one said vehicle
Asbestos in vehicles is a little bit different to it being in buildings, but the following apply, if it is in solid form and covered by paint it is OK to be around. If it is broken and fibres are exposed then it is a problem. If it is used for lagging around pipes and the outer tin cover is in good condition then there is little risk. The risks start to multiply when the tin lagging cover is damaged or missing or the asbestos has been sprayed on or around surfaces as a glued on sort of insulation blanket. If it is in a loose wool condition it is very dangerous. Given the age of some of the vehicles and the rough service lives they have lived there is bound to be damaged solid sheets or tin lagging covers providing the opportunity for loose Asbestos fibres to escape and then move or be blown around the inside of the vehicle engine bay area and or the inside of crew compartments.
Now Mr.Wiley, all you need is an M1 Abrahms.