Tank Chats #58 Buffalo & Weasel | The Funnies | The Tank Museum
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- Опубликовано: 29 авг 2024
- Tank Chats playlist • Tank Chats from The Ta... 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 Buffalo, or Landing Vehicle Tracked IV (LVT), is a lightly armoured tracked amphibious carrier. British ‘Buffaloes’ were used in Northern Italy during WW2 and were issued to the 79th Armoured Division in Northwest Europe where they played an important role in the crossing of the Rhine, in 1945. This particular Weasel is amphibious and was used in muddy and wet conditions, rather than directly in water.
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Only Mr. Fletcher can talk about the back end of a buffalo and keep me interested.
lol, true.
off*
Mr. Fletcher and AVGN
"How many troops can you stuff in the back end of a buffalo? Sources vary, but..."
But that’s the $hit end m8!
David Fletcher is the David Attenborough of tanks.
Hopefully the BBC don't get to him.
Except he's ill-spoken, full of nonsense, and generally a bore. FMC stands for Food Machinery Corporation.. David Wiley sounds like a scholar, Fletcher sounds like your drunk uncle.
@@michaelemberley2767 You are wrong. He is neither ill spoken or a bore. He mistook meat for another word in relation to a 70+ year old vehicle 99.999% of the general population would never have heard of, that is all. Please grow up.
He'd have to be crouching in the bush, speaking in a hushed tone, as the tank approaches it prey.
@@michaelemberley2767 You fookin' wot m8?
I see David Fletcher and I like.
Yep, pretty much.
David Fletcher smashes. ;)
Speak like a valley girl?
Me too. Always a good day when these come out.
I David Fletcher and I see I like.
My Dad was a Corporal with 48 Royal Marine Commando in WW2. This unit was part of 4 Commando Brigade. On 1st November 1944 they landed on the Dutch island of Walcheren. This was at the mouth of the River Scheldt, which had to be cleared to enable the Allies to be able to use the port of Antwerp, which had been captured intact. His Commando landed with far fewer casualties using the Buffalo. On the 8th November the day the Germans signed the surrender, a 3 Buffalo patrol on its way to Veere were ambushed in a village called Seerooskerke where one of the Buffalo's was blown up. 28 men died. My Dad was rescued with a broken wrist, but covered in his friend's blood, who had been killed.
🕯️🙏
These Tank Chats with David Fletcher are always so enjoyable to watch.
I will always stop what I am doing and watch when I see the Tank Museum has uploaded another of these. Great stuff.
So civilized.
Yes, especially since they use a better mic, he tends to mumble and was hard to understand in early vids.
Must have been the mustach, i say.
@Patrick Ancona And thanks to the better mic now even i can understand what he says XD
The builders of the LVTs was FMC, but that stands for Food Machinery Corporation, NOT Federated Meat Corporation! FMC later built the M113 APC and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle currently used by the US Army. The reason the Americans put fewer personnel in the LVTs than the British is that the Americans were primarily using LVTs for amphibious invasions of Pacific islands via beach landings, and the British primarily used them for river crossing. In an amphibious invasions you might circle for hours before all of the waves of landing vehicles were organized before the rush to the beach. Circling for hours in the open sea in a flat bottom craft can cause severe sea sickness, (I know this from personal experience), and closely packing people into the landing craft only makes the problem worse. However, river crossings were usually done much faster over a shorter distance on much calmer water, so motion sickness is less of a problem.
The Graham Brothers built many of these LVTs as well.
Brilliant !
"The Americans don't have patience for the slightly loony like the British do"
It's true, in America the slightly loony are living in a tent under a freeway shouting at the traffic. In Britain they get a medal and a job as historian in a museum. 😁😜
God bless you David Fletcher.
Wait ! Is he wearing any socks ?
I'd like to submit Irving Finkel and his teaching on Cuneiform's, Noah, and the game of Ur as further evidence that this is indeed true.
More like the loony that lost the Presidential run. Oh and what about the loonies in the mainstream media that all said otherwise.
Jake Dee yes, hence the all Funnies he has talked about. Firefly, lets put the best gun we have in the best tank, sod the fact the turrets too small. Upkeep, we will bounce the bomb over water. Mustang, lets stick in a two stage Rolls Royce Merlin. Perhaps more eccentric than loony in those cases.
I've met Mr Finkel. It's something of a studied act, a performance. He is a genuine and high-performing academic though. The eccentricity is a fake which has become a shield, designed to protect Mr Finkel. Best leave him to it, he's happy like that.
@yeoldebiggetee I think Mr Fletcher is talking about talented looneys
Another excellent video from David Fletcher. And I am so glad that no-one at the Tank Museum feels the need to add music - which detracts from so many others that I watch.
Oh yes, please keep not adding music
The main reason I can hardly watching the "Inside the Chieftain's Hatch" series.
So much this.
I like the lack of nationalism, too. No flags. No partisan bitching. No "We're Number 1 and everybody hates the Commies!" crap.
Just the facts, ma'am. Just the facts. :-)
@@EleanorPeterson that’s why we need to make sure museums & libraries are well funded, and kept at arms-length from any kind of politics, forever. They are there to store and relay facts.
I desperately wish they would receive the funding to keep them open late at night. A lot of times, I don’t want to hang out at the pub/bar, and they would be great alternatives.
Mr. David Fletcher is a national treasure at this point.
David Fletcher must be one of the most well versed man in tank history, and one of the cutest, I see him and I just want give him a big hug and ask for tank stories.
Hi Mr Fletcher, I much apreciated your views on the Weasel , my father crossed the Rhine at night in a weasel along whith two other men, they pulled across a rope for a pontoon bridge and also a bunch of telephone cables , on reaching the far side they fixed a ground anchor plate whith steel pins , the plate had a snatch block and the rope was run through it refastened to the weasel, the cables were left atached to the plate, and they returned, the engineers then used the rope to pull a steel cable across and this was the start of a pontoon bridge, he said he was worried they wouldn't get back as the weasel was a nightmare to handle, sorry I can't give you a date or place of the crossing, he was a D, Day veteran, 15th Scottish , gold beach, Aromanche landing, I hope this is of some use, many thanks for your time and efforts, stay safe, best wishe's to all, Stuart uk.
Thanks for his service.
The word 'Weasel' somehow made your story all the more enjoyable, Thank you 👍. 🦦
Fun fact about the Weasel: After the war several of them ended up with the US Army Reserves where they were used both for training and for emergency services. Perhaps their most notable role in this deployment came in 1952 when several US Army Weasels were used to help rescue passengers from the stranded streamlined express train "City of San Francisco" after it became snowbound in Donner Pass, California.
Well that was lucky. No on wants to become stranded in the Donner Pass [shudders]
Another cannibal feast averted!
I have been snowed in on that pass on the Zephyr. An engine with a big rotating snowplow fan thingy on the front came and rescued us.
@@risasb Rotary plow you had it and may not even knew it
More out-takes please.
Agreed. One, very funny. Two, David Fletcher's mistakes are better than most people's best work ever.
Woffle woffle woffle
Out-tanks
I could go to that tank museum and talk to David for a year and never get bored of listening to him! Absolutely brilliant.
Great to hear you enjoy David's videos.
Oh my god, Fletcher's humor is such pristine gold. He just takes the most mundane and remedial details and makes them so interesting.
In case anyone is wondering, that is indeed Geoffrey 'Pykrete' Pyke he's talking about in regards to the Weasel.
Well, Glaciation works quite well in mountainous terrain :D Vast Mobile Snow Forts!
...oh. OH. _that_ loony
Loonier than the entire Boundary Waters loon population.
Look up 'loon calls'. They sound totally batshit.
@@Cemi_Mhikku Hey now, you haven't lived until you seen them swim(!) under your canoe.
Pike sure made a believer out of Lord Mountbatten!
i can listen to Mr Fletcher all day.
The Buffalo is really cool. Such a nice, almost futuristic design.
They were used on the Bresken pocket by the Canadians, before Walcheren. It allowed them to carrier UC around the canals. They were seen as vastly important to the battle as it was extremely hard to built bridges at the time due to enemy actions.
FMC is not "Federated Meat Corporation" but is Food Machinery Corporation - they made automated canning & bottling equipment. They are still very active in equipment making.
I did a double take on seeing that Kellogg developed K-25, the gaseous diffusion plant at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Kellogg Construction not Kellogg's cereals.
Located off 14th street in riverside, California.
That opening.
I love it!
Seeing our beloved teacher's acting as humans and having fun is a great part of a good education. ^_^
The LVT's were very successful vehicles with about 20,000 being built, they were relatively fast in the water compared to other amphibians and provided an armored assault vehicle for infantry having been used primarily in the pacific theater where it was most needed. There was also a tank version with a 75mm howitzer in an open topped turret for use against strongpoints or any of the crappy Japanese tanks it may have encountered, though I dont know if they ever did.
@DOUG HEINS I love these vehicles, it was a good idea to put little paddles on the tracks for propelling them through water, simple is always better. They were necessarily very lightly armored being amphibious, anything larger than a light machine gun would probably have penetrated the armor, the 75 mm howitzer of the LVT(A)-4 amtank was not an antitank gun and would have been next to useless against any contemporary tank except for the Japanese tanks. it would have been an interesting encounter if it ever occurred.
Buffaloes used to cross the river po in Italy. My father was a signaler with 3rd batt grenadier guards. Originally it was intended that all signallers would cross in a dukw. Eventually it was decided this might not be a good idea. So he was crammed into a buffalo. Half way across they got hit by an RPG of some sort....fortunately it bounced off.
probably was a panzerschreck because that's pretty much what the Germans main anti-tank weapon was for the Infantry.
David Fletcher is such a good historian Presenter, a pleasure to watch always
The Canadians made a alternative to the weasel, the Bombardier Canadian armoured snowmobile, and penquins. Everything I have read said they were better then the weasel. Both were tested in the Canadian north by Canadian, British and US forces during a large WW2 operation. They are rare now but would be great to see the tank museum get one.
www.mapleleafup.nl/t16carrier/cdn_armd_snowmobile.html
Thank you for this informative and absorbing set of films, David Fletcher needs to be recognised as the national treasure that he is.
At the end when he talked about how they are all gone and only their badge is left, I couldn't hold back the tears. The sacrifices these men made for us is unexplainable.
No what he means is the division isn't a thing anymore, not that they all died.
God bless David, don't ever change
My grandmother worked for Roebling in an office in his big house. She worked in the accounting dept rather than engineering so I am afraid I never bothered to ask her about it. Wish I had now, thanks for bringing this up I havent thought about that for years.
"When the french were trying to fight...." you have to love this man ^^
I have just read a History of the 51st Highland Division in WW2. They used the the Buffalo a lot in Holland as the bridges were usually blown on the canals. and were very happy with them.
The US Marine corps and army also used the water buffalo in the famous landings during the Korean war, the weasel was primarily used in France by the airborne forces they use them as ammunition carriers and to evacuate wounded with, inside the glider artillery regiments use the weasel as a prime mover for their little 75 mm artillery guns. And when the 17th airborne division cross the Rhine River as part of general Montgomery's crossing they utilize the weasel to carry the early versions of the American record less rifle and also used it as a prime mover for airborne artillery, ambulance resupply vehicle and it could do a lot of duties where a wheel vehicle would get bogged down in mud,
Geoffrey Pyke
> obsessed with winter warfare. designs armored vehicle specifically for snow
> *doesn't wear socks*
𝘿𝙊𝙀𝙎𝙉'𝙏 𝙒𝙀𝘼𝙍 𝙎𝙊𝘾𝙆𝙎
That's the least of it The guy was a complete loony. Aongst other things his diet was herrings and brocken biscuits, his furniture was attached to ropes so it could be pulled up when not in use. Then you have Pyecrete.
@@51WCDodge Less bonkers than just… strange.
@@Desmaad The word Sir, is Ecentric, that's a British Loony with a large bank account.
where's the problem? I don't wear socks anywhere else than in hiking- and rubberboots with no difference between summer/winter... it's just too much effort putting them on and pull them off again for no reson at all... (I live in the swiss alps, so there's sometimes "cold" days with -20°C)
@@51WCDodge a poor person is a madman, a rich person is eccentric
The way he said, "weeeeasel," when he introduced the vehicle! Fabulous.
My father served in 11th Battalion Royal Tank Regiment in the war. They started as a CDL unit and then were converted to Buffalo in France after D Day. Winston Churchill crossed the Rhine in a 11RTR Buffalo after the assault crossing.
We have several Weasels at the Montana Military Museum In Helena, MT. At least one of them is in working order. The Weasel was originally developed for use by the First Special Service Force, a joint US-Canadian commando regiment which was formed in 1942 at Fort William Henry Harrison, just outside of Helena (where the museum is now located). The Force's original mission was to coerce the German Wehrmacht to redirect massive numbers of troops to Norway to end a campaign of hit-and-run raids which would be conducted by Forcemen using skis and Weasels. The Weasel would have given them far greater snow and cross-country capability than the Germans possessed, allowing them to operate behind enemy lines for several months. Even so, the mission was largely seen as suicidal and eventually the idea was abandoned. Instead, the Force's first mission would be against the Japanese threat in the Aleutians. After that fiasco, in which they encountered no Japanese troops but still incurred casualties caused by friendly fire, they were sent to Italy and later France, where they distinguished themselves as perhaps the most effective fighting force the Allies had, earning them the sobriquet, The Devil's Brigade.
Great summary except the end. The Force was never called 'the Devil's Brigade'. That was the title of a somewhat substandard book published in 1966 which was in turn the inspiration for the 1968 film. The film, while enjoyable, is riddled with mistakes. While at Anzio, the force did earn the nickname 'the Black Devils' after a captured German diary mentioned them as such. Not to be confused with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles whose nickname, 'Little Black Devils', is similar. But nowhere in history is 'the Devil's Brigade' mentioned until the 1966 book.
@@lib556 I'm aware of the debate about the unit's nickname, but that is how history has chosen to remember them in book and film, just as the Jagdpanzer 38 (Sd.Kfz. 138/2) (Panzerjäger 38(t)) is remembered by postwar model builders as the Hetzer. I read the 1966 book in college in the 1970s. A few years ago I purchased a much later work being sold at the museum, titled "The Supercommandos". It was also my distinct honor to meet a former company commander in 1st SSF who was on the museum's board of directors. He regaled me with some wild stories of his experiences. When I asked him his opinion of the movie starring William Holden, he said he didn't like it because it made them look more like lovers than fighters. Such is often the way with Hollywood history.
@@Paladin1873 I have both books. Supercommandos is great - tons of pics. My copy was owned by a former Forceman (now deceased) who annotated and commented on various passages with yellow sticky notes. Another former Forceman was in our Regimental Association and he attended most events. I had spoken with him on many occasions but, like most WW2 vets, he didn't talk much about details. Most of the other WW2 vets in the Assn had survived the Battle of Ortona Christmas 1943 which received a lot of attention.
I understand your comment on evolving history but I still fight it. Most people that I discuss the name with have no idea that it was made up for the 1966 book (Adleman/Walton). When I point that out, they usually pledge to never use the improper name again.
Since Canadian contributions to WW2 are usually ignored in film, it would be great to see a proper remake of the story of the Force produced by the modern group of more historically-minded film makers.
@@lib556 I'd like to see a movie made about the Polar Bear Expedition of 1918-19. Few people are aware of this joint British-American-Canadian force and the adventures they went through in Russia. An interesting dynamic quickly developed in which many of the British officers were viewed with contempt by the Canadian and American soldiers who decided to stick together for mutual support.
@@Paladin1873 Yeah. We had a bde in Siberia. I was struck by some of the other participating nations - like Japan.
David, great video. One point of correction, though. The LVT's were manufactured by the Food Machinery Corporation (FMC). They also produced the M113 and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
And the LVT 6 and the LVT 7 and the M-114 and .....
Dean Friant , Thank you . Author Patrick F . McManus always claimed FMC meant Fast Mean Cow Or Frickin Mean Cow if you are a Trout fisherman being chased at the time by an FMC . I am glad you cleared that Up About FMC . Happy New year
and the m-59 -- used 2ea 302 6 cylinder gmc engines -- one mounted on each sponson - driving forward to a right angle gear box then to a center mounted differential unit. --- the " alligators" used a similar arrangement but with 2 flat had cadillac v-8 engines -- I rode in one -- first of the rear ramp models - at the boat basin camp pendelton about 1943 --
@@gbalias361 Wow!
Mr Fletcher has a way of keeping the viewer engaged, absolutely fascinating stuff, i went to the Tank Museum a few years ago & was like a kid in a Candy Shop,is a fantastic place to visit, i'm definitely a subscriber from now on !!
I live in Dunedin Florida, where this was first designed, and where Donald Roebling built the first few alligators. we recently had one return, an LVT-4 built in land-o-lakes, fl, and it's now on outdoor display at the VFW post in town, across from the baseball stadium.
Thank you for a fascinating trip through the 79th Armoured brigade vehicles. I made a point of seeing all of them when I visited the museum this year
So, the Weasel was basically the "Mud Jeep". Excellent!
I love this guy.. it's because of people of his kind that we have won several world wars and assorted skirmishes..
He also makes good youtube videos
"Light weight, high mobility, in wet conditions"...sounds like Mr. Fletcher just deescribed Holland to me..
The manufacture was called the food Machinery corporation (FMC) located off 14th street in riverside, California.
I served in the U.S. Army for 15 yrs as a Bradley mechanic. I guess I am one of the few people that ended up loving my job. I loved working on the Bradleys and when possible the Abrams. My primary 2nd job was recovery vehicle specialist. I was mostly a M88a1 driver and operator. But I knew my way around the wheeled wreckers in our teams well enough. But the M88 was my bread and butter. I got to see the FT. Knox armor museum when I graduated from Basic and AIT training in 96' there. Its a hell of a sight to go see. I highly recommend it. That being said this museum here in the video looks amazing for a armor nut like me. I will for ever miss driving my M88s and even though I saw a great deal of work in Iraq supporting my crews I still found myself loving my job. Through all of the hardship and pain. There is something about driving a vehicle over 56 tons at 25 mph that never gets boring or old. Being a Bradley mechanic was the last time I felt like I was an expert at something and people wanted my experience. But none of that means anything in the civilian world lol. Anyways thanks for these videos.
The reason the LVT's weren't used on D-Day was, though the American Navy had offered them to the American Army - the US Army said that since they didn't have to cross any coral reefs - they wouldn't need them. I can't speak to the details of this for the British.
For the most part the Army was right but at Omaha Beach the Germans had a regular army regiment there (it was actually there for training) and the currents off the beach sank the battalion of Dual Drive Sherman's that tried to swim ashore. Fortunately the crews of the LCT's carrying the other battalion realized it was to rough for the DD Sherman's and ran them right up onto the beach, sometimes at great cost to themselves.
.
Also, had D-Day failed, the LVTs stockpiled in England, 2 to 4 hundred or so, would be used in a follow up invasion using Patton's Third Army. From Zaloga's book on Omaha Beach.
Great information R....I always luv'd these rigs and figured they didn't have the numbers for both Europe and the Pacific. The protection offered for at least the initial assault coys could have taken them up to the sea wall....and then some, for the ''dash'' inland suffering far less casualties than we all did.
"the US Army said that since they didn't have to cross any coral reefs - they wouldn't need them." Apparently they did hit a sandbar though so really would've been much better off if they had used the LVT's.
@@Bochi42 They would have helped on Omaha but weren't needed on the others.
I don't believe it was one sand bar but several scattered about. Here the experience of the LCVP drivers made a difference. If they misjudged how far off they were they'd dump guys into water over their heads. I don't think they lost a whole boat that way though. Your more experienced drivers would realize they'd hit a sand bar and work to go around it. The less experienced might not.
.
David Fletcher is the Man!! Thumbs up from Canada! lest we forget. Thank God for the brave generation that paid the ultimate price for us.
That buffalo might be pregnant.
Was it you?
Maury said no. You nervous?
AND IT IS A BREACH DELIVERY! QUICK, get a bucket of boiling water and all the white towels you can find, STAT!
An Amphibious Jeep/"Seep" appears to have been the proud papa.
Blame Boris, he shags everything.
Bollards are on shore. Bits are on the vessel. But otherwise just call it a capstan. Unless it hauls up the anchor chain, then it's a wildcat
Not Federated Meat Corp. FCM was Food machinery Corp that built industrial sized freezers and reefers a job requiring them to assemble large insulated steel equipment, and was quite capable of making these. They were still building M113s in the 60s and I am sure got bought up by some other government contractor
That 20mm must be a real pain, if you would rather go in to combat without it.
I'm wonder why tho?
Isn't a bigger offense weapon better for dealing with bigger trouble?
@@RexWort well a big weapon takes up a lot of space, is heavy, generally harder to use, has less ammo, and more annoying maintenance, so for the 90% of the time your not fighting, it's not all that fun
Ian on Forgotten weapons has a video of this gun. It was stupid to trash them.
2nd Marines used them at tarawa..Greatly utilized during the assault on IIWO JIMA
Really enjoy all these videos. Thanks for sharing so much of your time, and knowledge, Mr. Fletcher , and all the wonderful folks at The Tank Museum.
Great informative video thank you David Fletcher 👍
my hometown was where the LVT-4 originated. Dunedin, Florida. we call them Alligators. there's one on display across from the baseball stadium in the center of town. I was there for the dedication ceremony when it was finished with it's cosmetic restoration and was delivered.
I used to work for a Florida Police Department. We had, for many years, an old amphibious vehicle for going out and rescuing people after Hurricanes. Problem was, we went through a long period where our town was not having any hurricanes for multiple years, and the rescue vehicle fell into disrepair. When the old boomers on city hall and in city government saw the repair bill, they declared that we did not need the thing, because it was too expensive, and hurricanes were so rare, so they sold it off. The next year we got hit by one of the most powerful hurricanes in American history, and had no rescue vehicle.
David Fletcher is the Bob Ross of tanks
These Buffalos have a place in my heart. When I was in the TA many years ago we were trained in placing demolition charges on redundant Buffalos. Watching the drive wheel on one of these whizzing off through the air was great fun.
The idea of a armour plated weasel somehow feels just right! 🦦👍
11:53 That perfect British "right" before a sentence :)
Thank You David Fletcher.
Excellent as ever David Fletcher , the voice of Bovingdon 👏👏👏
This guy has a great voice for rambling. I love it!
What a national treasure.
You look after him you hear me Britain?
I could watch David Fletcher talk about literally anything. It is a bonus he talks about odd armoured vehicles.
Mr. Fletcher is such a great speaker I could listen to this all day
*Im a simple man.. i see David Fletcher and i click and like*
David Fletcher... absolute legend.
Bletchley Park would be proud of the clever encryption used in this video to remove any chance of lip reading for Jonny foreigner.
R.I.P. Percy Hobart. As unique as the armored unit he commanded.
i love listening to this man talk so enthusiastically about military vehicles
Fantastic, the narrative about Mr Pyke was worth listening to this video by David Fletcher on its own. He was a unique gentleman, with his ice aircraft carrier.
Also known for his diet Herrings and brocken biscuits.
Don't you mean his Pyecrete aircraft carrier?
Rob Ashton yes Project Habakkuk, it used ice and wood pulp I believe.
It might be worth mentioning that the Weasel wasn't used only by the military. Several post-WW2 Antarctic expeditions, such as the Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1949-1952 and the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1955-1958, used Weasels for travelling over the Antarctic ice
My father, Major F.S. Corbeau D.S.O., worked on developing the DD tank and developed the Kamgaroo.
Nice to see both tanks in your museum. I remember my Dad saying that the General's nickname was Hobo.
3:04 I know it’s not loaded but I find it funny that they have a bunch of prisoners with a few machineguns within easy reach while their being covered by only 2 men with revolvers.
Again, I know the things aren’t loaded but I find the imagery quite humorous.
My father a member of the 4th RTR drove one of these across the River Elbe in support of the American 82nd Airborne Divisions last opposed river crossing of WW11. April 1945. Candidly he thought it was a waste of so many young Americans.
David Fletcher - thank you for these quite interesting explanations, Sir.
Imagine having a 20mm cannon and then throwing it overboard.
the problem with having a cannon like that is the crew will start thinking they're driving a real tank, which will get them into endless troubles.
This is one of the few Brits I can enjoy listening to, and understanding his speech! Sorry, but many Brits on RUclips have such garbled speech patterns that I can barely understand what they are saying. I know some about these vehicles but enjoy hearing and seeing them in operation. I have the Airfix model of the Buffalo/LTV and I had the Monogram model of the M29C when I was a kid. I thought of the Weasel as a swamp and snow jeep. Both these vehicles are pretty darn clever inventions! Good job!
I love David Fletcher trying to stay polite when describing sockless loony Mr Pike. Thanks for a very enjoyable series of videos.
Charming narration with a touch of droll humor, well presented without repetition or verbosity.
Mr. Fletcher is a true moustaches master, brilliant! I really enjoyed this series.
Mr Fletcher is a joy to see and listen to!!
Thank you for another great video!!
At 12:20 and elsewhere we get to see an LVTA-4 (or LVT(A)-4), the A standing for Armored. The armor plate is clearly visible, conforming exactly to the bow of the vehicle with space in between. It's a bit higher, probably to give the crew compartments some protection too. At its top, the armor is rolled up are attached to a bar. The unarmored ones did not have those.
Afaik, sides were reinforced as well with one smooth plate w/o welds or bolts.
Fantastic series! Thank you Mr Fletcher, wonderful presentation as usual!
A very good friend of mine has just excavated a buffalo LVT that was buried 30feet underground. An interesting vehicle for sure.
@7:00 - 1971, Fort Ord. The Army dug a large man-made pond to test Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) in water. It was about a 50 or 60 yard crossing. I was driving the APC that was 2nd
or 3rd in line to cross the pond. Although the steering was a little different, it was relatively easy to steer a straight path through the water. A couple of drivers wandered a little in the water. APCs weren't new in 1971, so I found it interesting that they were doing this test. It may have a test to determine how well the inexperienced soldier was able to steer the vehicle in water. Perhaps the purpose was to broaden the training. I have to speculate because the generals didn't talk to me about it. They got along somehow, without my advice.
By gaawd, that mustascho isn't for the faint of heart!😁
Tanks for the review/walk through! Although a more detailed look into how it's operated would be gold!
Fascinating vehicles, made even more interesting by David Fletcher’s excellent narration. Since I do spend a portion of every lunch hour on the Bovington site, I do recommend contributing a few dollars a month to Patreon. History like this should be preserved, and it is a rather inexpensive way to insure these videos keep coming.
Most informative. Between you and The Chieftan I have learned much about multiple AFVs. Thank you.
i could listen to that moustache ALL...DAY....LONG
the opening alone, is fantastic
Could listen to Mr. Fletcher talk about tanks all day.
Another interesting bit about the weasel is they came standard with provisions for a self destruct device. The pull fuse was in a compartment on the bulkhead behind the driver that ran down to a compartment containing explosives above and slightly behind the transmission.
Such a pleasure to view this entire collection of funnies. A commendable effort by the production team, patreons and most Importantly.. David Fletcher. 👏🏻👌🏻👍🏻✌🏻
Ah Master Fletcher any videos he does are going to be Brilliant - wasn't disappointed! Total Respect and I doff my hat to yon SIR!
Amphibious Tanks like this did alot for Marines in the Pacific. Basically the only kind of tank that could land with the Jarheads
FMC Corporation ( For Food Machinery Company, evidently), a Chicago-based manufacturer, who later made the M-113.
(I briefly dated their personnel secretary in the late '70's when "Big" Bob Mallot of was CEO.)
M-113
The sherman apc
I don't know what is more monstrous the tanks or that ginormous mustache?!?!
Thank you so much for your work on bringing this series to you tube.