Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: Light Tank T1E2 

I’m delighted to find that what looks like a metal cap just sitting loosely on top of the turret is in fact a metal cap just sitting loosely on top of the turret. Charming!

A tank so old the Browning .50 caliber was a legitimate anti-tank weapon... and wasn't even the Ma Deuce yet, but the M1921. Still beats an FT-17.

Honestly, considering the age, that thing is in great shape. A few months with a media blaster and a bunch of paint and she would really look good. I suspect making it run and drive would be a monstrous project with every bit needing custom machining to replace corroded parts, but the main structures haven't gone too far at all.

When I was a kid my dad made me a tank out of an old washer/dryer set. He bolted the outer shells together to form the hull and the washing drum placed on top for the turret and old car tire rims for the road wheels. (No engine. It was just for play). It looked remarkably like this vehicle so I guess the US Army’s first tank was something you could build in your back yard lol.

Amazing that the American standard for tank comfort comes from the very first begining

The Chieftain: “I guess you’ll have to change gear by ear” (19:10) Driver: Well, I guess it’s ok there’s no firewall, and I’m currently wrapping myself around the engine

The sling seat might also serve as a back rest when seating in the old fashioned formed steel tractor seat.

Gonna take a crane, some chains, a lot of PB Blaster, and some courage to get this thing restored to "everything hinges and swings open properly" condition.

This was less of a tour and more of an archaeology dig. I'm sure the museum is happy that you showed interest. Thanks for giving this ancient vehicle its due.

The view comparison between unobstructed and the vision slits was an inspired directorial choice.

A couple of rare coast artillery weapons are visible in the background. On a pedestal mount is the 3-inch gun M1903. These were deployed in numerous US coastal forts. On a wheeled carriage is a 6-inch gun, either M1903 or M1905 on the M1917 carriage. These were initially at coastal forts until the US entered WWI, then about 72 of them were removed from the forts and remounted on wheeled carriages for use on the Western Front. They equipped three Coast Artillery regiments in France, but saw no action because these units didn't complete training in time for the Armistice. The vast majority of these were in storage between the wars, then reused on new high-angle mountings in WWII coastal batteries. However, one was preserved on the WWI field carriage for the Ordnance Corps museum.

Even if it never runs, there will hopefully be a full restoration of the interior, which would of course beg for a followup video.

I find it remarkable just how similar the suspension and sprockets are to some of the Caterpillar Tractor models that would have been current with this tank.

I hope you get the chance to do a tour of a farming museum that has Caterpiller Tractors/Bulldozers in it because I think that you would see a lot of trading ideas from the late 1910s early 1920s tank Tracks from the heavy industry world. This design for the track looks very similar to them.

The stepped or flanged idler ect. is just like a bull dozer or excavator's. That spring tensioner is also like the early tractors/dozers, prior to the grease tensioning system used in earth moving equipment for the last 50 or so years, maybe longer.

It's always the lights and tankettes that get me excited about this channel. It's where you find the more eccentric and entertaining engineering attempts. There may be a lot of shortcomings, but you can see the train of thought was not illogical, despite some oopsies. And I can't help but think there's a lot to love about the geometry of this hull, were I to try a modern tankette. The weight distribution of the engine & armor in front balances vs turret weight, stacked 2 man position & entry, glacis slope. Make engine block sacrificial protection in front of an inner armor shell.

These old tanks are something else. Countries sure loved having exposed engines in their vehicles. We take things that seem so obvious for granted. At least this one isn't exhausting right into the cabin like other WWI era tanks, but that seems like a bear minimum when the driver is still less than a foot away from the heat and noise lol. I'm sure there were still plenty of smells coming out of the engine.

You asked what the Army was doing with the T1E2 in January of 1945. I can only hazard a guess, but I wonder if there isn't some training film out there where it makes an appearance as a Japanese tank, maybe a Chi-Ha? It's a wild guess, but it's the only thing I can think of.

That was sooooooooooo awesome! Thank you! I see the Elefant back there! Any chance of a inside of that one? I cannot believe this is closed to the public! So many one of a kind vehicles!

All things considered that tank had some pretty good idea. And even the bad ideas (like no sprung suspension) were typical of the tracked tractors that would be made well into the late 1940s, so you can see where they got the idea. For that matter those two seat pans look like they could have been tractor seats from the 1940s.

My very first tank in World of Tanks, love it 🤗

I never knew that any of those tanks survived. Thank You for the tour!

It's remarkable how little has changed with that suspension system. It is very similar in form and function to the system currently used on excavators, even down to the tensioning spring on the front idlers and the mud slides to keep the track run clear.

The driver's position, besides being what I would imagine excruciatingly warm, also seems to have a great deal of potential for excitement under unfortunate conditions. And not the good kind of excitement, I might add. You'd really have to have clankers of cast iron to be in the driving position of that thing, and even then they would probably melt. Between having that big ol' V8 rattling around less than a foot away from your face and the knowledge that in combat it's only a matter of when(Definitely not if) something kind of violent will find it's way through the front facia to say hello and make your day real bad, that's a heck of a job. But yeah, it really is incredibly neat to see a tank of that era still around. For her to be in such good overall condition is a bit mind-blowing as well. She's far less crusty than tanks I've seen less than half her age, so I'm guessing at least a fair amount of care was put into keeping her in one piece along the way. Very, very cool.

Looking at the open grills down to the engine, and with your mention that there was no firewall, THIS is the very tank that the Molotov Cocktail was designed to defeat!

Thanks Nick. For all of us who've spent hours in the WoT version of this vehicle it's nice to see a real one. .

I do love these videos. Thank you sir for all the hard work and for your service.

Thanks for the video and tank history lesson. Very much enjoyed. Really appreciate your time & effort.

I like the informal format. It's personal, and a nice change. Awesome content!

always a excellent show as expected thank you

19:37 - hits his head 19:43 - "Ouch, that hurt" It is true, tankists have the best reflexes! :D Great video anyway! I really like these examples of those great pioneer times of tank design.

Thanks! Really appreciate your commitment to telling us about these old pieces of iron.

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your content, and your Body’s sacrifices:!

One of my favorites of all your videos!

I've been waiting for someone to talk about this tank for years, thank you.

Outstanding video!

Thanks for the video.

I miss "oh bugger, the tank is on fire"

Fascinating to see this old hardware!

Fantastic, thank you

Very interesting as I never heard about the T1E2!! I had a quick look on Wikipedia just to have a look but apparently they built various variants of the prototypes finally addressing a bit the suspensions: from awful ride to barely sustainable ride! Thanks again for doing a good job and looking forward to see your new videos 👍 👍👍 BTW what a shame that part is not open for the public because it would have been very interesting to visit by looking behind the T1E2....

Cheers Chief. Great vid.

Great video!

This tank is so interesting and i never thought you could cover it, crossing fingers for a part 2 driving someday

The hardly remembered Cunningham was one of the very best American made cars. The early ‘20s V-8 was 442 cubic inches, 5.2 compression, rated at ninety hp, but with a lot of torque. Very reliable.

This channel is always a delightful surprise. :)

I love following the evolution of armor. Thanks for the video.

Look at that sloped armor!

Thank you , a great lesson in development.

That museum looks beautiful! Love seeing the K5 indoors in the background. Wish it was open to the public.

Like your style, relaxed, no BS. Peace be unto you.

I love the inner war years tank. Thanks for the tour.

Too bad a T1E4 or T1E6 wasn't saved as well. It'd be interesting to see the T1E2 and them side by side and compare the two.

THIS IS AWESOME. my favorite vehicle has to be the T1 Cunningham from the golden days of WoT. Such a cute tank and yet a very good design for its time all things considered.

Brings to mind your lecture on the evolution of cav tank doctrine.

Yay a new chieftain video... Happiness is!

It must have been quite an 'experience' to drive the T1E2 with that V8 firing right in front of you. Nice to see grandpa is still in one piece.

I found it interesting. Good production and content.

Good man; God bless you

I loved seeing this, glad to see one of these still exists. I don't know if anyone else noticed, but if you look carefully, the tracks on the museum vehicle are on backwards compared to the tracks shown in the old period photos that Chieftain showed during this video. The patterns of the links run in the opposite direction. Wonder how that happened, did someone at the museum install them incorrectly??

Thanks!

@The Chieftain. In 9:22 that piece of metal looks like an barbed wire cutter (although it is facing wrong way). Thanks for your great videos.

I was at Ft Lee for a year in 2012. I saw some of the armor from Aberdeen - they didn’t have the museum up and going when I left.

Thank you.

Cheers for make the video👍🏻

Love to hear about the Ford 3 ton, lots of contradictory information about that one. Love your work as always!👍

A very fascinating one, those early experiment are allways so strange.

This would make an amazing restoration piece

Very interesting Video

Great video on an interesting tank. The Chieftain has tried to explain how the Army tanks evolved into the M-4 Sherman, but looking at the earlier experiments, that war winner seems to come out of thin air! The M-3 to M-4 makes sense, but how did they come up with things like VVS that bolts on, or using aircraft engines, or the removable transmission housing from a tank like this? Plus add in reliability, assembly line production, and truly interchangeable parts to create arguably the best tank of the war.

I love these cute little tanks. I'm unsure why, but they have such a charm. So adorable.

Love old history tanks. Cool tanks!😊

Loved it

Great vid as always! This tank definitely needs some work!

I wonder if, given the age of the vehicle, there once was a fire wall but it was made of asbestos? Which would have been removed. I’d hazard a guess that the 1945 date is when it was sent to the museum. I love these quirky, early tanks.

Omg the memes I've had in this thing Wot. Loved the vid.

I live 20 minutes away from Ft. Lee and can't go visit. Make me sad!

I wondered for a second why everything was so quiet and serene, then I realized this wasn't an obnoxious WoT sponsored Inside the Chieftain's Hatch, lol. I understand, gotta pay the bills, but I do like these plain un-sponsored ones.

The speedometer is a common Stewart Warner type fitted to many USA built cars in the 1920s, They were used around the world as they worked well provided the magnet inside which drove the upper drum (speed indicator) had kept its magnetism

Snap, just missed the premiere!

I really hope there are plans to clean and restore the interior. Also, it should definitely be possible to have machinists replicate the parts that are missing. Expensive and very time consuming, yes, but definitely doable.

Huh I didn't even know there was any of these still around. I alway assumed it was one of those lost interwar tanks. The more you know eh...? W

this tank kinda impressed me in a way i did not expect

I am about as tall as Chieftain and I would not considering entering this tiny rusty tank. Fighting in it is out of question! Great video sir!

Considering the period when this was built, it is remarkably well thought out tank.

At first glance I would say that GM/Cadillac used this as a basis for the M114. Almost as much HP output from the V8, fantastic for 1920s. As a career Scout/Tanker I really wish these museums were open to the public. At least you can get us inside and probably get us a better look in the vehicles.

Pretty cool!

All the rust in the interior reminds of many a video of work done on upstate NY rusty vehicles by Eric O. of South Main Auto.

M1A1 guy here... My skin crawls just watching you inside a tank sans helmet!!!

As an automotive engineer the method of use of those cotter pins on the tracks make me wince.

"and there's another great view of that flange I was talking about" aaah one for the innuendo masterpiece book.

Un-armoured external fuel tanks located directly above the exhaust pipes. Sounds like a good idea!

8:19 "...I strongly suspect that this lid here is literally just resting here by weight of gravity alone." Call that an early blowout panel

As a Rochester fellow, I knew we made plenty of stuff for the military (its mostly an optics industry city) but I had no idea we were involved with making a tank?! Guess you learn something new every day.

This thing is still around? I've so got to see it!

I want one. Think of the creative things you could use it for! You need the Patton,gold football helmet! 🤠

Love the Cast-steel farm tractor seats! , probably off of a Horse-drawn Sickle...

I would love to have this as a little RC tank, set in next to my Tiger II and Abrams.

Nice ! Please do ' inside T-26 or Vickers mk E type B or 7TP jw ' !

I suggest a "cutoff wheel " on a grinder .great for cutting welds