Tank Chats #57 Churchill AVRE | The Funnies | The Tank Museum
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- The Funnies playlist • The Funnies Another episode in the Tank Chats Funnies Specials, with David Fletcher looking at the weird and wonderful vehicles of 79th Armoured Division led by Major General Percy Hobart, known as 'Hobart's Funnies'.
The Churchill AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers). The Churchill was the basis for a number of Funnies. David Fletcher looks at the Fascine, Bobbin, Small Box Girder bridge, Bullshorn plough, Conger, the Churchill ARK and Bridgelayer.
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More please. Put a microphone on him, give him a coffee, let him wander and ramble, and record everything. Please.
I'd gladly pay for what ever type of drinks he wants if he'd let me follow him around with a notebook and a recording crew.
Strong Irish coffee
Don't forget to let him go home to Mrs Fletcher, ooops that should be Dame Fletcher, she does need to see him some times well at least until he starts to waffle on about tanks again then she sends him back to the museum. Sir David's Day Care Centre is probably how the family refer to the museum.
Sounds pretty good to me, waddle around waffling on about tanks and only stopping for tea and scones.
I think he's more of a tea man.
@@Desmaad I think he's more a warm ale man, in a handle
14:40 die of boredom?
never, i could watch these all day
Fast_Catz Mr Fletcher said he could go on for months.. i got some vacation time left, who's with me?
All day, AVRE day.
Well,I've got 5 days vacation time left,so why not?
I second this motion, could listen to Mr. Fletcher go on forever, he's just so knowledgeable.
David Fletcher, you are a national treasure.
My father was a gunner for this type of tank on D-Day. Their task was to take out an identified pill box, but when they arrived at the pill box it had been destroyed by naval gunnery. Moving further into the village, they were stopped by some infantry and were asked if they could help take out a house which several machine guns were holding up their advance. As they still had their Petard they duly obliged. He told me that the house was reduced to matchsticks.
What does the term pillbox mean
@@SasquatchArtistBenoit a pill box was a concrete machine gun bunker
I watch gun Jesus on forgotten weapons now im watching tank Einstein.... wow
loxxxton poxxxton Holy crap, I always thought of the guy from forgotten weapons as Gun Jesus, but I never thought of “Tank Einstein” til just now! And by God, it fits!
Tank Einstein, brilliant!
I'd like to see Tank Einstein giving the museum tour to Gun Jesus.
@@thesleepyweasel3775 man jesus and einstein talking things going BOOM would be a sight to behold
Also being referred to (in somewhat more "religious" terms) as the "Tank Santa" !!! 😂😂 But, really, anything by Sir David Fletcher is an absolute joy to watch !
"But when it hits...my goodness me." You know it must be catastrophic with that level of British understatement from Mr. Fletcher.
Like that classic "A bit sticky" line in Korea. No nearby Americans spoke British, so they didn't realize that the commander was actually saying "FOR GAWD'S SAKE, WE'RE ABOUT TO BE WIPED OUT, PLEASE COME NOW AND PULL OUR BACON OUT OF THIS FIRE!!!"
@@t_k_blitz4837 *comes with a spatula*
Can you imagine being under enemy fire, dropping a fascine into a huge anti-tank ditch and, with the fascine now out of your line of sight, driving your seatbelt-less and helmet-less steel death box over it on blind faith that the fascine didn't fall in a weird position and that you are lined up with it properly.
BALLS, Really bigs BALLS !
Well, in that situations you don't really have any other option. To stop moving is to make yourself an easy target for anti-tank fire...
Your already lined up for it when you drop, proper recce done and you know if the ditch is filled or requires multiple fascines - part of the reason the Chieftain AVRE did away with a big gun and was fitted with a top hamper than could carry three maxi fascines.
Its worse going over a tank laid bridge when closed down - you cant see anything and its just pray you were lined up correctly.
Deathbox? Churchill? NO!!!!!!!!!
fascist seen a fascine as one of their own. Hans look reinforcements! open a bottle of schnapps !
The story about the konga and the nitroglycerin explosion was one of the most interesting war facts I've ever heard. Its amazing to just imagine an explosion of that size. This kind of info is what makes the tank channel and Mr Fletcher so interesting!
There was a major dynamite factory on the coast close to me. The 'Jack Straw's hill' reactor part overheated, detonated and the wooden flumes that carried the liquid NG down hill to the next production stages propagated the blast onwards. IIRC it was over a ton, maybe four or five of NG. Everything was well bunded but damage was registered something up to three plus miles distance.
Funnily enough, something reminiscent of the Konga is still in use by some modern armies.
The US army calls it the 'mine clearing line charge', typically shortened to MICLIC.
"I can't imagine anything worse than going into combat with tanks of pressureized napalm on my back."
"Let me tell you about jerrycans full of nitroglycerin..."
I really appreciate the information about how these different attachments work. Most books on armour that I've read only give what the attachment's intended purpose was, not so much about how -and how WELL - they actually worked.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!
Oh God! I've had the displeasure of experiencing Blue Clay. Peason Ridge, Fort Polk, LA. Go back in the woods a bit and you hit blue clay. We got a track stuck back there, then we got another one stuck trying to get that one out. Then we got another one stuck trying to get that one out.
We finally got the first one unstuck to only get it stuck again a few yards later. Long story short... we got 5 tracks stuck and unstuck, for 3 days, trying to get each other out of this mud, broke a prop shaft, ran one of the tracks off of one trying to get it unstuck (a rock had gotten wedged in there and it threw its track, burned out a transmission, chopped down a tree (by hand with dull axes and a platoon of guys) and chopped it juuust too tall to be able to ride the stuck track over top off to get it unstuck, and finally had to call a cherry-picker maintenance track in to haul us out... and IT got stuck like 5 times and had to use it's winch and boom to haul ITSELF out of being stuck!
It would haul the broken track out, get stuck in the process, spin the boom turret, unstick itself, spin it back around, unstick and literally DRAG the broken track (this was the one we broke a prop shaft, burned the transmission, and threw the track on... yeah, that all happened to ONE vehicle, trying to get it unstuck) out while getting itself stuck again, spin back around, unstick itself, and then repeated this song and dance 5 times.
After 3 days, we FINALLY rode and walked out of that nightmare, with it raining off-and-on nearly the whole blasted time, having a newfound hatred of blue mud. From what I understand of it, it is typically comprised of some sort of silver oxide or cobalt corrosion or something like that. Either way... Peason Ridge (where they shot the movie Tigerland no less) is a maintenance nightmare! All because of some Blue Clay Mud. 😕
"Does avre things"
The Churchill series is my favourite simply because they were so versatile never mind just the avre with it flying dustbin. The mk VII is for me what a tank is.
The Mk VII AVRE with a 165mm L9 demolition gun served the Sappers into the 1960's
What weight of explosives could it throw, I wonder ?
SimpleWalker32, Super tank, with a low casualty figures. People for get it was Churchill’s with 6 pounders that captured Tiger 131. Had they been firing APDS rounds it would not be here. Mark VII was better than the Tiger, armour, range and reliability, but didn’t have the gun. Not bad for a tank put together very quickly.
Jake Dee, its not just sheer weight of explosives, its the type of explosive, shape of the charge that make a lot of difference.
Tiger 131 was the sixth Tiger to be knocked out by 6pdrs - the first two fell to towed 6pdrs (which also took out seven of the supporting Panzer III and an armoured car, halting the attack and were the first Tigers to be knocked out by the western Allies)
48RTR and the NIH took out two each with their Churchills (along with numerous other tanks and Anti tank guns including 88mm's) Which included Tiger 131
48RTR also claimed the first Panthers to be knocked out by the westerne allies, with Churchills mounting 6pdrs in Italy, May 1944 (two Panthers and a Panther turm)
In no case was APDS used as it was not developed and issued at the time.
literally has a Super PIAT as its gun.
Jean-Luc Martel Big bang though, wasn’t it? First time I’ve ever seen one fired.
And just as awkward to load as well.
I like that analogy, well done.
AVRE cracks bunker, Crocodile flames bunker.
Germans surrender sharpish
... Except this actually works far more often.
My Friends dad was a loader for the dustbin on one of these tanks, he told me the story of when he joined up having a choice of Regiments, the recruitment guy persuaded him to join the engineers, said " you will be fixing roads and bridges after all the fighting is over" Ended up on D Day in one of the first people ashore in his tank, the first spigot jammed and he had to get out of the tank to free it, in his words it felt like every German in Europe was firing at him personally.
Engineers - first in, last out. Don't believe what the recruiter tells you!
Magnificent mustaches
Doubles up as a fascine amoungst several other potential life savers
David Fletcher, you are quite possible the most knowledgable person on the planet on the subject of these behemoths and I could never die of boredom listening to your amazing stories. god speed, you magnificent man.
I could listen to David all day
Sir David Fletcher ............ nobody deserves the title more !
At least an OBE
I must admit, with the facines I love the idea that something that was used at the battle of Alesia also works for a tank very nearly two-thousand years later. Some things truly are timeless, it seems.
This is absolutely the most fascinating video I've seen on YT. Amazing stories from the master himself.
Please be assured, and I think I speak for all of your followers, that we wont get bored if you go on some more about tanks!
50 men and 2 trucks, that must have been horrific!
The things people came up with during both world wars, never ceases to amaze me.
Another great video!
that concept of clearing mines is actually still used today. (like in Afghanistan) Only they don't use something as dangerous as nitroglycerine anymore
Don't forget that farm and it's inhabitants that got vaporized with them.
And the 4 AVRE tanks. Now THAT was a serious cluster duck. What happened to dispersal and traffic control of the reload area? 50 men in one accident. What a waste.
14:40 Oh, that's a funny joke! We will never bore of you, Mr Fletcher. You're a national treasure and a brilliant presenter of fascinating information at every turn.
Not that you'll ever read this...
14:37 David, a week ago I spent 2 full days in your amazing museum and managed to see only about half of it. We don't get bored fast...
I would never die of boredom listening to Mr Fletcher
"So the tank could go about its business..." what an amazingly polite way of saying "so the tank can continue to kill everything in sight."
I could listen to this man talking about tanks all day
Great video. I can listen to tank chat all day. It's so interesting!
I'm simple man. I see david fletcher, like.
I thoroughly enjoy David Fletchers common sense approach to the artifacts. He knows what he talks about and is able to puncture myths with a dry remark.
"Doing other AVRE-things".....
What David Fletcher does is directing the attention towards other things than the commercial diatribe - to what is really working.
I have noticed that in the last couple of years quite a lot of attention has been allocated to the engineering vehicles: Bridging equipment, recovery vehicles, etc.
I love how he had this quick little rant about not being able to pronounce this place in holland right after saying the word, like if someone had criticised him for that, but noone did.
Love these videos. Keep it up.
Wording “explosion” as “tremendous business, and not very pleasant” is the most British thing I’ve heard this year
Another fascinating tank video courtesy of David Fletcher. Thank you David.
"And doing other AVRE things". Absolutely brilliant a master presenter!. By the way the Churchill the most underrated tank in WW 2. There are more functions other than an anti-tank gun on tracks. That is my opinion.
I'd go even further and say it was the best overall tank of the war.It was highly adaptable as David has described here ( best bridgelayer,best flame thrower,best mine clearer etc,etc)it was capable of taking a lot of punishment,it could traverse ground that other tanks could not,it was easier to escape from than other tanks,it could take on most German tanks in its six pounder versions particularly with the later ammunition...........all in all a tank that could perform more different tasks than any tank on either side which made it very important.
It doesn't get the recognition that it deserves because people don't research it enough.....they are all too wrapped up in the sherman,t34 or tiger tanks.The Churchill is the unsung hero of WW2 as far as i'm concerned.
That facine would keep me in kindling for the rest of my life.
The Santa Claus of Tanks gives us an early present!
Mr. Fletcher could go on about tanks for weeks and I'd gladly keep listening.
tanks are cool and all but i watch this videos solely for this man
I can listen to this man all day! He is so soothing and really interesting to listen to. You can tell he really loves what he does
20 out of 10, this one is a rollercoaster ride.
I wonder what could possibly be driving this recommendation
We wont die of boredom plz do them all. Amazing video please do more of these funnies. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
M103 beside the Churchill? Love that one too
The loading process sounds like loading a top break shotgun, but upside down. I think this 'tank' has an intimidation factor....I sure as Hell would move, and fast, if this Super Beast was pointing in my direction. That, and the Churchill's size seems imposing. The U.K. came out with some pretty cool ideas for armor, even the failures, those failures answered questions for the Engineers of what to change in the future.
Thank you for posting this video ( and the others ) I wish I could visit the Museum but, you would have a hard time getting me to leave at closing time. That and I would probably put myself into abject poverty after going to the gift shop. BTW ~ Mr. David Fletcher, Sir, that is some God-Level face fuzz!!! That is a stache' of true Ultimate Power. I doff my cap in salute, Frater of the Fuzz!!!
"my goodness me"
Man, this guy is a masterpiece
I'd be happy to listen to David Fletcher tell me about the different versions of the Churchill AVRE for as long as he's willing to talk, what they were, how they worked, the jobs they were designed to do, why they were invented and how well they preformed their tasks. I love these Tank Chats on the Funnies and always want to hear more. Please Never think that folks like me will get bored or lose interest, it's just not so. These are wonderful videos and like others, I can't get enough of them.
“Dirty great bundle of sticks” - this choice of words sums up why I love listening to this man.
Good lord, that whizzed by faster than expected. What splendid British understatement you posses sir. Utterly pleasing to the ear and of great detail. More if you.please David! 👍
A friend of mine saw one of these petard firing Churchill AVREs in action, German snipers in a French chateau had some troops pined down. After calling up for support one turned up, fired, no more snipers and no more chateau.
The Royal Engineers, when you absolutely, positively have to blow up every thing you see
Nice little bit of ingenuity with the culverts running through the middle
What a nice chap.. Marvellous spicy accounts Bored. No I could listen to him for hours. Brilliant bit of history !
Love Churchills so much!
David Fletcher is truly a national treasure.
My grandads friend died in one on Juno. it was hit by artillery twice, they built a bridge so they could drive over the fallen avre,
The same avre his friend was in was dug up 20' under the dirt and now sits as a monument over looking the French coast
Shortly before receiving a dustbin, some Jerries in a casemate were jokingly mocking: "Hey Hans look at that tiny barrel, hähä it's just your size."
Die of boredom if you told us all about them all day? I suspect 75% of us live for that info.
Quite right
Only 75 % ? Dear sir kindly revise your figures upwards. Try 90% and that's only because the 10% got stuck with work or She Who Must Be Obeyed Chores
That bit about the universal carrier being used as a trailer, it seems like that was the start of the MICLIC, which uses plastique explosives, as they are far more stable.
How can you tell you have an impressive armament? David Fletcher is taken a back at the thought of what happens when your weapon works. "...but when it hits...my goodness, me..."
Using hydraulics can lift the mustache, move it forward, lay it in front of itself.
With the mustache never turning over or doing anything, it stays horizontal the entire time.
I love this series it's really well done. I really like learning the 79th armored division
"I could talk about them for weeks on end and you'd all die of boredom" Absolutely no way, David Fletcher is someone I could listen to for weeks without getting bored
he says he dosnt want us to die of boredom but sadly im never bored when I watch these videos
I think they just called it the ark because it carried things to safety across water, it seemed like a fitting name, it sounds good, that's it.
This thing will come to warthunder bois
Indeed
I think that the gentleman is a master of understatement. So very British in his laid back approach. Hobart was a genius the so called funnies made such a contribution to the British successes in Normandy. It would be interesting to see how British tank development would have progressed without the damn Sherman overshadowing everything. By 1944 we were starting to produce world beating tanks such as the Comet, Centurion and I add the Tortoise. The 17 pdr would have been a major game changer had we not blindly followed the septics and the 75mm. How many British and Commonwealth tankers were killed purely by using a mass produced tank out of its class in 42-43?
I can never get bored of tanks
"Ghastly blessed thing"
And with that condemnation it hangs its rocket in shame forever.
Go David, go!! I hope museum admin. looks at these comments. We want David, and his broom, to go on forever.
“Fiddle with the mine afterwards” is a very funny way to say clear the zone and shoot it.
British: AVRE is not a tank.
Gaijin: hold my beer. 😁
Lol
Thanks for posting this fascinating presentation.
How anyone can give this video a thumbs down is beyond me.
It is always wonderful to learn more about these kinds of military vehicles.
That nitroglycerin hose is very close to what we use today. Today, we have det cord attached to small, single stage rockets. It's tremendously effective as far as I know.
I have Richard Anderson's book "Cracking Hitlers Atlantic Wall" and it mentions that the AVRE's used during Operation Neptune didn't even have proper gun-sights reducing it's effective range to 80 yds. It wasn't until August that proper ones were available and they began retrofitting them in the field. Also, according to his book, a lot of the Petard mortars were installed a couple days before June 6/44. Gives you a pretty good idea about how much of a crunch it was time-wise preparing for the invasion.
Soviets: we must develop better tanks and upgrade current models to be capable against German armour
Americans: we must experiment with better suspension and guns to equip our Shermans with
Britain: EEEEEEEEEEEEEE NITROGLYCERIN IN TUBE AAHAAAAAAH BIG BUNDLE OF STICKS
That's not funny..
@@apollo8972 Well if it isn't the Head Chairman of Happy Club
British engineering's what won us the war you know ;)
@ Chrissy D No it's hilarious
@@brightwizard12
Can't argue with that, Churchill Crocodile has to be my favourite tank of the war, 2nd to the T28 Super Heavy (although it was never used)
Great! But could make your tea underway? “...hey Sarge, where is your tea cup?” “In the god dam tea cup holder, of course!”
The launcher on the conger carrier looks like a massive piat launcher
Very interesting stories, that tank was a jack of all trades!
Great episode, David! I like that you covered many of them.
How could we ever die of boredom listening to this amazing person talking? You seriously underestimate yourself sir.
Die of boredom? Never if it's you David Fletcher i would like to hear your stories all day
Thank you for another great video, gotta love the Churchill tank.
Apparently the big demolition mortar often caused a few last minute surrenders of holdouts in bunkers. If the enemy gets the AVRE within firing range, there's really no point in continuing....
PavarottiAardvark they used to have a crocodile following the AVRE to flame through the cracks caused by the petard. Surrender was inevitable
I'd surrender damn fast if this thing started aiming at me.
yeah nobody wanted to get hit with a world-sized potato masher ;/
The thing is that if they dont surrender they get smashed with a mortar inside of a bunker without any hope of survival really because if they still wanted to fight they would get shot by the infantry once they start taking over the bunker (ir what its left of it)
@@ghld4er503 If they even got that far, Churchill Crocodiles following them would smoke them out with flamethrowers.
Oh, The VCC, i can't believe I spent time in that glorious place just a week ago.
I just saw a Conger in the Overlloon Museum in the Netherlands , but it had no sign . Thanks for the info !!
One of these is slowly deteriorating at the Bloemfontein Tank museum in Tempe base in South Africa
Fascine, Fascism, and FaBBot all come from the same root origin, meaning bundle of sticks. The original Facine was a bundle of sticks woth an axe in the middle, which was the symbol of Roman Imperial authority.
Now I know where the inspiration for the Leman Russ Demolisher came from!
I love this guy...
The mention of the tight fit for vehicles going over that last bridge sparked a forgotten memory for me. The armored battalion I was in during the 70's, 3/35th, traveled by rail from Bamberg to Graf (Grafenwoehr) for gunnery periodically. Our pc's could drive along the railroad flatbed trailers with a few inches to spare on either side, but the M60's tracks hung over about a third of their tracks on both sides, and the first tanks to load had to drive over quite a few cars to get to their's. Definitely pucker time.
www.usarmygermany.com/Units/ArmoredCav/3rd%20Armd%20Cav%202.jpg
Lol, I was in 3/35 in 85, on M1s, yes, nerve racking rail loading. Loading on HET trucks was crazy also, hit the tipping point and down it goes!
Happy Trails ✌🍀
Love this man’s voice !
(3:56) Here you can see the plastic piping in the middle of this particular fascine in order to allow water to continue flowing through it to some degree. Pretty clever. :)
I want this chanal to blow up this guy should be famous
He actually the one I most enjoy listening to lol
"50 people died in the explosion [...] it was a tremendous business and not very pleasant" my god i love this man
Explosion kills 50 men, knocks out four tanks and two trucks, and levels a nearby farmhouse:
"It was a tremendous business and not very pleasant"
Now we need a video of the Churchill Mk III AVRE vs the Churchill Mk. VII AVRE vs Centurion Mk. V AVRE
The British doctrine on special tank design: If it's stupid but it works, it's not stupid.
Almost a modern Silicon Valley take on innovation (make it, break it, go again) applied to armour.
Germany, we will apply precision and engineering technology. Brits, bring me the mad professor.
Hobart, Pike, Wallis, Hartley, Jones, Turing, Watson-Watt. Sometimes a lack of discipline and relaxation of rigid rules just works.
11:43
"Don't talk to me or my son ever again"
7:17 That poor tree
"... well do other AVREY THINGS". Epic!
What is really "funny" about these is that all of them, perhaps with the exception of the flail, are used today: facine, bobbin, bridge layer, plough, conger, flame thrower all have modern equivalents. Nice one Percy!
flails are still used, most of the ones I've seen look like a converted digger with a flail on the end of the arm.
We used Aarvarks in GW1 and after en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aardvark_JSFU
Flail tanks are in use. See Keiler
The interesting thing is that when I was in the 3rd Armored Cavalry at Ft Bliss in the early 80's, we had a variety of these vehicles based on the M-60 chassis. Not sure if they are still in service, or if there is a modern equivilant.
Imagine this thing in world of tanks. It just come trundling round the corner, lobs this slow moving thing with a "thomp" and then does 3000 damage.