Q&A 18 questions.
Added 2020-12-20 21:25:20 +0000 UTCThey go here.
Comments
NO! The T-34 and KV and IS series were diesel. The Germans were petrol. It was a reason the minenhund the Rooskies tried to use went under their own side's vehicles - they smelled different from the German ones http://www.soviet-empire.com/1/military/anti-tank/dog_mine/#:~:text=The%20simplicity%20of%20the%20dog%20mine%20must%20have,much%20to%20the%20surprise%20of%20the%20German%20
ROBERT NABORNEY
2021-08-02 08:04:11 +0000 UTCthe Panzermuseum Munster has small series on youtube on that topic... (not the movie, but the engines) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPkxxrGfnTc
Nachtelfirokese
2021-03-06 10:15:38 +0000 UTCPT-76B in Western literature is the Mod. 1959, with the D-56TM gun, while the actual PT-76B was from 1962 and had the D-56TS. Another one would be the "T-34 mod. 1943" in the West (with the new Hexagonal turret) being the "T-34 mod. 1942" in Soviet/Russian literature. Those are the two best examples that came to mind, as a lot of other mis-designations (such as BMP-76PB) have been generally replaced by their more correct names (BMP-1).
Hugo Yu
2021-01-18 21:14:27 +0000 UTCDo you have any examples of this? (I may have to table this until the next Q&A)
The Chieftain
2021-01-18 21:02:59 +0000 UTCIs there anything else tank related in the movie that is wrong? Thx
Devin Ursini
2021-01-09 00:39:57 +0000 UTCIdris and I were watching the movie patton and heard the live near the start that German tanks were all diesel. I thought they used maybach engines on their later tanks which used gasoline. What fuel did German tanks and other vehicles use?
Devin Ursini
2021-01-09 00:38:10 +0000 UTCJust as a quick question, what is that blue jacketed round of ammunition that you have displayed on your shelf and is there a story behind it?
Matthew Lesich
2021-01-08 11:00:08 +0000 UTCWhat do you think would have happened had TD Force persisted postwar? With large tripod- and vehicle-mounted recoilless rifles starting to show up just at the end of WW2 and beginning to supplement and replace towed closed-breach anti-tank guns, do you think it could have found a "return to form" with massed light, inexpensive anti-tank vehicles as originally envisioned lending it a stronger validity than the quasi-tanks it ended up with during the war?
JennyR
2021-01-07 09:48:19 +0000 UTCIn replacing the Bradly, would the US Army do better to have different vehicles for the IFV and CFV roles? Would the advantages of more specialist vehicles outweigh the flexibility of a common vehicle or not? I note the the British Army are moving to a more multi-role platform (the Ajax family) but with the greater budget of the US running 2 vehicle families might be more reasonable. What are your thoughts?
Centurion4007
2021-01-05 19:19:56 +0000 UTCThanks for answering my previous question, it was really informative. I just have a follow-up question: During the first Gulf War, why were the Coalition armies so effective at killing Iraqi tanks who were equipped with Warsaw Pact equipment (a good example is the Battle of Medina Ridge where the Iraqis lost nearly 200 tanks to the Coalition’s 4)?
Matthew Lesich
2021-01-04 08:09:57 +0000 UTCAre those those books behind you the only books you have? if not how many do you have and where do you keep them.
USAUSA
2021-01-02 07:42:06 +0000 UTCWestern designations (in literature, not NATO designations) are often somewhat wrong compared to the actual Soviet designation, yet still see widespread use in and around the internet. (Most prominent with Western vs Soviet, but it occurs in other ways too). Do you have a particular opinion on this?
Hugo Yu
2021-01-02 01:29:14 +0000 UTCWhat was the most surprising vehicle you've explored? i.e., you had a terrible opinion of the vehicle but found it far different than preconceived notions, or vice versa
Charles Sherrange
2021-01-01 16:20:24 +0000 UTCWhat is your opinion on tanks where the commander's position is centerline in the turret, directly behind the gun like the M60A2, Panzer III or M103? Does it make much difference to the commander or other crew members?
RA W
2020-12-30 16:18:44 +0000 UTCFor a light armored force contesting a heavy armored force on the move, would field expedient means of damaging bridges, such as shooting bridge supports with cannons or SP artillery be a reasonable means of slowing pursuit and disengaging?
Entry Level Research
2020-12-29 18:08:21 +0000 UTCMerry Christmas, Chief. Let's hope the new year doesn't suck as much. 1) Does the low silhouette of later Eastern Bloc vehicles such as the T-72/T-90 serve as a disadvantage in urban scenarios (such as Grozny 1995), as a result of a doctrinal recognition that urban conflict was not likely in the rolling fields of Eastern Europe and Russia (before the Chechen conflicts, of course)? As a sidenote, any information on why the T-72 was never deployed to Afghanistan and T-62Ms were largely used instead (or is this simply because the Russians recognised quickly that armour wasn't particularly useful against the Mujahideen?) 2) Does a greater track width necessitate a greater power output from the engine considering the larger surface area that moves, or does the increased tractive capacity of the wider track balance this out?
Kazuki K.
2020-12-25 03:10:33 +0000 UTCYou and some Tanker buddies just started a band, what would you name your band?
TNSheep
2020-12-24 10:45:31 +0000 UTCAre there any advantages (or disadvantages) of a reindeer-powered christmas presents delivery vehicle compared to one on wich track tension could be checked?
Nachtelfirokese
2020-12-21 20:01:04 +0000 UTCHi Mr. Chieftain, hope you are enjoyed the Christmas/Holiday Season and the New Year, now onto the question. Do you think that the US Amphibious tanks and LVTs were successful in the job they were designed and sent to do in the Pacific Theater compared to the European Theater?
Josh Conti
2020-12-21 19:34:16 +0000 UTCTanks will often have steel tracks or grousers for dealing with ice, but how difficult of terrain is deep snow?
Thunderchild
2020-12-21 15:55:31 +0000 UTCHow do vehicle crews manage to keep their optics and sensors clear in foul weather or muddy terrain, especially these days when vehicles have very large optic/sensor ports (i.e. Leclerc)
Timebomb757
2020-12-21 15:16:44 +0000 UTCAny amusing stories or after action reports of Sherman operations in the Pacific to share?
Sface
2020-12-21 10:59:39 +0000 UTCIs it true that, after WWII, construction companies used Shermans to demolish houses? Btw i hope to see more videos like your "Military Civics"-Video in the future, it was very interesting.
Alexander H.
2020-12-21 08:23:57 +0000 UTCWhat are you hoping will be under the tree for you this Christmas?
J
2020-12-21 06:27:16 +0000 UTCWhat does is mean for resources to be held at a different army organizational level? In the past you've mentioned units being utilized at a higher level such as corps, brigade, etc. Is this a matter of combining the strength of smaller units or something else?
J
2020-12-21 05:38:42 +0000 UTCWhat holds the turret to the hull? (I.e. clamps, gravity, etc). I ask to understand what is going on when you see a turret pop off.
J
2020-12-21 05:36:15 +0000 UTCWould the US have been better off adopting the Alvis CVRT family of vehicles over the M155 Sheridan.
Tony Pardoe
2020-12-21 04:55:34 +0000 UTCHave you come across and documents comparing tank armor steel from different factories in the US or from captured vehicles sent back to the US.
JohnPtheWelder
2020-12-21 04:35:55 +0000 UTCIs there any talks of doing anymore books with WG on mIds, lights, or artillery vehicles of the US. I ask because I have the Firepower and Can Opener books.
JohnPtheWelder
2020-12-21 04:32:04 +0000 UTCAs there seems to be scant information available, could you please shed some light on the rather confusing developmental process of the ARL 44 given the seemingly pre-production obsolescence and how the process affected future developments?
Reece Jenvey
2020-12-21 04:27:37 +0000 UTCmy question: what are the procedures in a case of a misfire?
Christ Ian
2020-12-21 03:51:25 +0000 UTCHello,
Christ Ian
2020-12-21 03:50:28 +0000 UTCI asked him about 1 on his auto loader video. The general answer was yes.
Andrew Wells
2020-12-21 02:53:46 +0000 UTCI know you do not like talking about modern tanks which have no hard numbers. Are there any armed force you think might have a problem converting power on paper to military victories?
Andrew Wells
2020-12-21 02:48:59 +0000 UTCMost military vehicles are painted with concealment in mind. In some rare exceptions this is specifically not done. Take for example, the Red Baron and his Flying Circus. Do you know of any armored units or vehicles that were painted in such a way as to be specifically noticeable to their opponents? I was going to ask a question about why the French used the Panther after WW2 with all the US Shermans around but, I found your Chieftain's Hatch article on it so here's a different one. Do you know of any large scale Sherman vs Sherman combat that has ever happened or other tank? I.e. 2 nations having the same exported tanks assets having a bit of a scuffle.
VanOwen
2020-12-21 02:46:27 +0000 UTCWhy the jump in designations to the M103/M113 when contemporary mediums and lights were in the 40s
George Parremore
2020-12-21 01:17:13 +0000 UTCWill the Aberdeen tank collection ever be seen by the public again?
sirjohnbrian
2020-12-21 01:15:21 +0000 UTCThe 17pdr was known for excessive blast and blinding muzzle flash, what was done with the 20pdr to fix this?
George Parremore
2020-12-21 01:11:16 +0000 UTCIf the Cold War went hot (conventionally, non-nuclear) in the mid or late 1960s who would have fared better in tank-on-tank engagements?
The_Sprinklez
2020-12-21 00:56:08 +0000 UTCHi Chieftain. Do you plan too/would you like too go back and do a full Inside the Hatch on any of the vehicles you looked at with Sofilein?
George Wood
2020-12-21 00:20:13 +0000 UTCWere there armored clashes in the early battles of the war in the Donbas and if so, is that the most recent tank battle?
Evan Williams
2020-12-21 00:14:44 +0000 UTCGoing way back in history, what are your thoughts about the Hussite Wars and use of the ‘War Wagon’? While there have been many wagons or chariots used in warfare for over a thousand years, the Hussites incorporated firearms and even cannons with static use, but in the Battle of Kutná Hora, or Kuttenburg, Źiska incorporated the wagons in mobile action. BTW, if you have a good resource for the use of the Hussite wagons in battle and specifically the Battle of Kuttenburg would be greatly appreciated
Charles Adams
2020-12-21 00:09:59 +0000 UTCHow were American made tanks such as the Sherman variants incorporated into the logistic supply of the Allies, did the "traditional" armored units of England and the Commonwealth, keep there British built tanks and the American made tanks supplied to those units that were created by expansion for the war effort or were units supplied but whatever was available at the time; if a unit that had traditionally been supplied with British vehicles suffered enough losses would they be supplied with American vehicles or held back till enough British vehicles could be supplied?
Robert Henry Illston
2020-12-21 00:02:08 +0000 UTCWould you use Operation Fortitude Inflatables as Christmas decorations?
Josh Heintz
2020-12-20 23:34:58 +0000 UTCHow would you (as a 21st century tanker) deal with an enemy vehicle you came across, that you suspected but couldn't confirm had been knocked out or abandoned? Throw a round into it just to be sure? What would the practice have been in WW2? (The scene from Fury comes to mind)
Hammer of Terra
2020-12-20 23:34:09 +0000 UTCI believe you’ve mentioned DCS before. If so what modules do you fly, what are favorites, and why?
mavmanish
2020-12-20 23:01:51 +0000 UTCAre you familiar with a relevant piece by HG Wells? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Land_Ironclads
Minion
2020-12-20 22:46:05 +0000 UTCTa Carl.
Minion
2020-12-20 22:44:18 +0000 UTCTo your knowledge, what was the first tank wider than one man with a centrally located driver? Also, it seems like the bow gunner was eliminated pretty quickly after WWII, why such a drastic change in design philosophy so suddenly?
Caleb Engelhardt
2020-12-20 22:30:13 +0000 UTCOn the tank archives website, they recently posted a article where some tank regiment commander asks if the azimuth indicator and clinometer for indirect fire support can be removed from the T-34/76. He says that the crews are not trained for using these tools, and that any indirect fire mission is better handled by towed and self propelled artillery pieces, allowing the tanks to perform in their intended role. So, how was it on the other fronts? Were all US crews trained for it, how often did they do it, and are there any accounts of regular gun tanks performing this role? Did the British with their Shermans do indirect fire missions, or remove this gear as well? And would the germans use tanks in the indirect fire role?
Commissar Carl
2020-12-20 22:28:39 +0000 UTCHow will armored doctrine evolve to deal with the drone threat?
Pat Fay
2020-12-20 22:28:14 +0000 UTCI've seen World War II photos of extra equipment and/or infantry on top of the engine compartments of moving tanks such as Shermans. Doesn't that block the cooling air from reaching the radiators? Are there any areas on the top of tanks/AFVs you've served in that needed to be kept clear to avoid over-heating?
Jeffrey Bangle
2020-12-20 22:24:06 +0000 UTCHe has a whole video on this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCqMzzU5gB0
Commissar Carl
2020-12-20 22:22:46 +0000 UTCOn the sides of our T72 at AHM there are swing out rubber panels, along the top of the tracks. I have heard various stories about their purpose. Can you give a definitive answer?
Steve Doucet
2020-12-20 22:10:00 +0000 UTCCan you briefly describe the development of the organisation of armoured units at the tactical and strategic level, and some recommendations on books on this topic?
Moraxis
2020-12-20 22:07:59 +0000 UTCHow do you define a tank ace?
Oscar
2020-12-20 22:07:46 +0000 UTCTwo questions about auto-loading main guns: 1) can an auto-loading gun auto 'unload' (i.e. remove an unfired round)? 2) In the event of auto-loader system failure, is there a method to manually load the gun, and who does this duty fall to?
Library of Context
2020-12-20 22:06:19 +0000 UTCIf the "water tank" subterfuge had not occurred, what do you think tanks would have been called?
Bruce Beckwith
2020-12-20 22:05:57 +0000 UTCEDITED (Redundancy)
Minion
2020-12-20 21:58:41 +0000 UTCWhich uniform/tank colour scheme, both today and in WW2, do you find the prettiest?
Timo Fiebich
2020-12-20 21:40:13 +0000 UTCDo you forsee any further ill fated efforts of Elbonia in the future? Your small arms counterpart appears to have further tried to salvage the situation to no avail, can Armor Branch be "saved"?
Spencer Loper
2020-12-20 21:40:06 +0000 UTCGood day sir !....How would German tank, tank destroyer, assault gun etc production numbers have looked had they only produced the Panzer 3 and 4s and all the associated variants of those vehicles. Rather then also producing Panther, Tiger etc etc. I'm not suggesting they could have won the war, just curious if they could have produced more good/average tanks vs producing only a few really good/above average ones.
Admiral Tiberius
2020-12-20 21:37:15 +0000 UTCI've seen photos of armored trains with tank turrets mounted on them, are there any accounts of armored trains versus tanks or other armored vehicles?
Nuxes
2020-12-20 21:36:50 +0000 UTCTo the casual observer, it seems that after North Africa the major allied armies didn't go for disruptive camouflage patterns on AFVs as much as the Germans did; going instead for all-green colour schemes. Was this the case and, if so, why?
John Brophy
2020-12-20 21:34:53 +0000 UTCWhat has been the biggest inconsistency you've found in one nations archives whilst doing your research? I.e. not differing accounts in different nations archives of the same event - as imagine that may be more common.
Scruffy
2020-12-20 21:34:47 +0000 UTCWhich German tank would you prefer to command on the Eastern Front mid 1943 and in Jan 1945?
Jens Backman
2020-12-20 21:34:30 +0000 UTCFor Infantry-Tank cooperation, what differences are there when the infantry's transports are APCS (armed with HMGs) versus IFVs (armed with autocannons and ATGMs)? The ABCT mixes Abrams and Bradley Companies by doctrine, but how would an Abrams Company approach working with a Stryker Company instead?
james Kachman
2020-12-20 21:33:20 +0000 UTCHave you ever trained with other nations militaries? If you don’t mind a two parter, Thoughts on Canadian Forces choice of armour?
Sam
2020-12-20 21:27:40 +0000 UTC
