Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: Panther. Part 1 

That track and suspension system is so very German. Wonderfully engineered and built, smooth as butter, and you are totally screwed if something breaks, ha.

My brother supplied the actual tank sight to Littlefield for this Panther. He was suppose to have the chance to drive the tank, but Jacque passed away. Unfortunate for my brother.

Imagine how frightening sight this must been on the battlefield.

Tank is simply and absolutely gorgeous. 80 years old and it still looks like a fairly modern main battle tank.

As a heavy equipment operator I can tell you for fact it does not take much mud or snow to cause the tracks to lock up and freeze and become a real nightmare to get freed up. Best policy is to always clean your tracks and running gear prior to leaving it overnight, or spend hours chipping out mud and ice before you can move...;)

I have an exam tomorrow morning, and here I am watching this at 2 AM. Totally better than studying.

Very satisfying how fate was kind enough to let the one responsible drive his completed project.

I totally envy this guy. Imagine reviewing tanks, getting in them, and sometimes having the opportunity to drive'm. Dream job.

My grandfather was a paratrooper during the Second World War. Because of him, I became interested in history, notably World War 2. He told me once of an, "encounter" with one of these monsters during the Overload campaign. He told me he believed it was a Panther. It was how his unit the 101st 'I' Company 502nd PIR, killed one of these tanks. An ambush on one of the roads. Divisional arty set up one of their 75mm pack howitzers and waited till it was point blank. Then fired, blowing the roadwheels off and shredding the track. I look at your videos and I can remember him, and here his stories sir. He worked at Aberdeen Proving Ground till the late 70's, and, told me stories after he retired. He hated, and feared German armour, when he was a paratrooper, and, always told me, he would hunker down and pray for help when he saw them. Thank you, for this sir. And thank you for the videos sir.

Those front fenders, though. "Herr Schlitz, why do we not use the same fasteners all the way around so we only need to produce one?" "That is not the German way, Karl"

Pretty cool that the crews could paint whatever camo scheme they wanted. (Based on supplies available)

the tank looks amazing I can't imagine the effort it takes to restore something like that

Chieftain, here is the composition of the Zimmerit anti-magnetic mine paste. 40 % Barium sulfate - BaSO425 % polyvinyl acetate - PVA (similar to wood glue)15 % pigment (ochre)10 % Zinc sulfide - ZnS10 % sawdust

So glad I got to see this tank in person. Its a beautiful restoration and a behemoth of a tank wonderfully displayed in Hudson, MA. Hard to believe that it sat at the bottom of a lake for 50 or years.

I never noticed how crazy blue his eyes are

Great presentation and what a beautiful restoration that Panther is

I saw this exact panther with the 501 number and its perfectly restored

Zimmerit was made of Barium Sulfate, PVA, Zinc Sulfate sawdust and pigment. Interestingly they used to set fire to it to burn off the solvent in order to dry it out faster

Finally. Been waiting patiently for a Panther video. Thank You. Cant wait for the interior video. I watched the Panther restoration video. Really interesting to see interior clearly without turret installed.

It's an honour to be here. 😀🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪

Just saw this model in its new home at the American Heritage Museum in Stow, MA. The new museum took ownership of many of the Littlefield Collection's armored vehicles and is well worth a visit!

Yes! Thanks so much for the review on the panther!

What a beautiful machine :)

OMG Chieftain im so glad you finally did this, cant wait for part 2

Beautiful looking tank..

Yes, Nicholas you just made my day.

Amazing restoration. They really got this one right. Even the camouflage colors look correct.

I keep wondering if using the zimmerit kept others from starting to produce magnetic mines themselves. Wouldn't make much sense to produce a weapon if the enemy already has protection against it right?

That return roller is to avoid the track falling between the drive sprocket, and first pair of road wheel. However, your also kind of right as it was put in a position to avoid interfering with the tracks mashing with the sprocket, rather than to aid.

Saw this beast today in Massachusetts. It’s absolutely awesome, probably my favorite tank in the museum. I may have touched the zimmerit coating too…

Love these informative rundowns of tanks!

Most enjoyable series,thank you very much.

The music on the background is annoying

That’s a beautifully restored tank if I’ve ever seen one

12 years ago, an old austrian man told me that he was tankdriver in the German army in WWII. He drove the Panther tank and he said it was the most advanced tank at this time. He did not complain about technical fails or so. He said in the hand of a good tankdriver it was a reliable an very good tank.

Chieftain, I have been openly critical of some of your other material, which might help explain why I am just viewing this in 2022. But to give credit where credit is due, I really enjoyed this series on the Panther. Thanks!

That's gorgeous! Excellent restoration.

I am making a robot to clean beaches for school and this is where I get my info for running gear... Wonderful.

So this is the same tank that was in the show? Amazing. Those guys on the restoration project really did one hell of a job.

Isn't using regular bolts, along with wing nuts to bolt down the fender make the use of the wing nuts pointless?

I feel like if mud was really a problem when it froze overnight then German tankers would learn to scrape the mud off the tank before any stretches of time where the tank isn't going anywhere. It wouldn't take long and if it really was a problem it could be solved pretty easily.

12:37 I like how he just gave up with trying to latch the hatch.

Wow, they did a really good job restoring that tank, I remember watching the tv show he was talking about. (tank overhaul) They literally drug this thing out of a lake or a river, I can't remember which. It looked like the biggest pile of 💩 known to man. Sucks the guy who restored it passed away, but at least he got to enjoy the fruits of his labor by getting to drive it before hand.

Fitting Epitaph! Plus RESPECT.

I got to see this Panther in person. It’s an amazing restoration

The only thing I noticed lacking from this magnificent restoration are the air filters for the Maybach HL 230 engine. I can see the carburetors fully exposed and open. There should have been a pair of canister like thingys holding the air filters over them. This way whenever the engines are running dirt wont get through to the pistons and abrade them.

Beautiful Tank

That is one beauty of a Restoration job.

If you watch the footage from Cologne, you'll see the Panther crew escaping their hit Panther just as quickly as the Sherman crew does, and more Panther crewmen survived. If you are used to getting in and out of your tank every day, you soon find the easiest and quickest ways to do it. It also helps if you aren't 7ft tall 😂.

can't wait til part2

I love your narration. Not only great insight, but you have great cadence. That is important when binge watching! It's annoying to watch and listen to someone that suffers through speech. It's a gift not everyone has.

Well, other facts that convicted germans to stop the application of Zimmerit was that it delayed the release of many finished tanks for many hours in the factories, and second in September 44 is that the front was the Germany itself: the France was lost, and also Russia.

Tiger: I am the King of the Battlefield! Panther: Hold my fuel canisters

Very informative! Thanks for the tour. :)

What a beautiful tank!

Thanks for the tanks.

I actually get to see this exact panther this weekend at the American heritage museum Its really is a nice looking tank

Very informative video. Thanks so much.

It's a nice little introduction at the beginning. I hope future vids will all get something like that. Also, regarding zimmerit, as far as I know it was suspected to be flammable but never confirmed, and eventually considered safe.

Finaly! Thank you!

This footage is beautiful, keep it up

Its such a beautiful tank.

Excellent video! Thanks for posting your video(s)!

Amazing show,I love it

Need. Part. Two!!

love these videos always hit like before I watch

Still an excellent video. Can't wait to see this tank in Boston next month

They even added Zimmerit! How amazing!

Wow!This Is nice,thank you!

Great stuff Nicholas! Have you read "Panther in Action" by squadron/signal publications (armor nr. 11)? Great book with every detail of the Panther from D to G! Also a must for model builders ! Can't wait for the next episode, what a beautiful tank and a great restoration...

Its a beautiful tank, i love it

Its really interesting that we think of 40mm of side armor as being really thin, and then actually seeing how thick that steel really is. Makes it really easy to understand why Steel armor couldn't keep up with post war HEAT rounds.

its...its.. so beautiful

Another great video by the Chieftain :)

Excellent video!

Dear god Chief, PLEASE tell me you took this one out for a spin in part two! It's a FUNCTIONING PANTHER! Is rare, indeed. Also, if there is anything left of it, please do an episode on the Object 279 at Kubinka. Thanks.

Love the colors of the film

Yes! Finally!

waiting part 2

While I'm not a big fan of WoT, these videos are really interesting to watch.

Choosing between Panther and T-34 is like choosing between Audi and Lada. The progress in combat armor during WW2 was fast when comparing some Pzkw II to Panther. What seems to be almost impossible is how Germany managed to cut cost of Panther when it was just 14% more expensive on production than modernized Pzkw IV. In combat ready the price was RM 176,100 while that of Tiger I almost RM 400,000.

As always your expertise in your craft is exceptional. - The_Colonel

Best show ever.

Tank you for the video 😉

When I was younger I use to think zimmerit was weld that was applied to thicken the metal.

Very, very cool

I love how it has zamarit on it

I am going up to Massachusetts to go see this Panther and all the other tanks up there.

I read somewhere that the reason the Germans used interleaving road wheels was to save rubber.

Yes! the never ending music.

i gasmed looking at my fav tank of all time

My favorite tank of all time

great video

Danville, Virginia has an excellent Tank museum. If you can, make the trip!

7:20 T-54/55 tanks also had leading axles on one side and trailing on the other.

What you missed about the transmission: the Panthers transmission was able to compensate 50cm of altitude difference. It made driving and shooting way more comfortable. Also, these 50cm have never been topped until the late 60s.

SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT THE CANCER ...THE MAN IS A GREAT MAN TO DO THIS ..SAVE HISTORY

I went to see that today!

Actually I found an old photograph of a Panther crew pulling the transmission out from the access hatch on the top front of the hull you can see the access hatch with the 2 escape hatches on it laying on the ground. So in other words it wasn't that hard to take the transmission out like most people think. I think this is often the case for German vehicles of World War 2 They had ways of dealing with the issues. with special tools and methods.

Now that's a pretty tank!