Life Inside a Panzer - Tank Life Part 1 - WW2 Special 

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I read in a British war memoir called "Troop Leader" that crew cohesion was taken very seriously. If two crewmates did not get along, one of them would be transferred to a different crew. People always shifted around either due to casualties or animosity. It's interesting to see the tank not as a machine, but as the weapon whose effectiveness depended on the tireless work of a group of men who need to be on the same wavelength.

The comment about tank crews listening to their tanks to find issues rang the old memory bell in my head. I served in a US fast attack submarine in the 1970-80s. After a period of time, just by the sounds the submarine was making, we could tell how fast we were going, if any piece of equipment was shutdown for some reason or if a piece of equipment was in the early stages of a malfunction. I was a nuclear trained electrician and my job was to control and monitor everything from the turbine generators to small motors. We recorded information such as temperatures and pressures once an hour. We got to the point where we could tell what some operating temperatures were supposed to be just by how fast we were going or which pieces of equipment were in operation. We could scan a bank of meters and tell if anything was abnormal just by looking at a row of meters and seeing one that was out of normal position. As we were in the engine room, we could look at a seawater pump’s suction pressure and tell how deep we were (44 psi per 100 feet). When you operated something long enough, it really could talk to you.

I was a US tanker on a M1A1 for ten years including a tour in Iraqi. The technology has increased but the life of a tanker hasn’t changed much at all. Your tank is your home, car, office and life.

All the problems of operating a bulldozer, an artillery piece, a ham radio set, and a scout camping trip, all at once.

This would make a great sub-series, especially if you go beyond tanks (bombers, tank destroyers, PT boats, Subs, Etc…) at any rate this has instantly gone on to my favorite top ten! Thank you!

What a fascinating video. I was a tanker in the US Army from 1989-1997 and served on the M1 Abrams. Beyond being a bigger and more advanced tank with a smaller crew this video hits what life is like as part of a tank crew pretty well. With a couple of minor edits this could be a look inside the lives of a modern tank crew! One thing that you sort of missed was how each tank seems to have a personality of its own. It sounds silly, but it is pretty true. Some tanks purr like a champ (usually the newer ones) and are a dream to keep up, while others are not so... nice.. "Oh hell, what's WRONG WITH 14 (in the US Army that is pronounce as ONE-FOUR) NOW????" Over time they develop personalities with their own odd quirks (14 just isn't a morning pig- she just doesn't want to start-up at stand-to.. time to slave her off.. .AGAIN!) because of wear and tear, crew PM, and who knows what (Maybe the 40K Imperium is correct and they do have "machine spirits"!?!). It does sound like the more things change, the more they stay the same and that being a tanker is a universal experience. Pretty cool!

From Richard Von Rosen's memoirs, 2 could sleep inside a Tiger, the rest slept under it usually. When his Tiger was hit by a 76.2mm shell, the main gun was knocked off its cradle and the breech flew up suddenly pinning and fracturing his arm against the turret ceiling. So even in a Tiger, one was not impervious to a frontal hit!

A friend's wife father (Buddy Edens) flew a P47. He had to bail out and was pretty banged up. Sitting on the ground up against a tree when a German tank rolls up. Wasn't able to run so he just sat there. The crew got out and started having lunch and offered him something to eat. Afterwards they started buttoning up the tank, he's thinking "well this is it". Tank drove away

TANKS IN THE DETAIL VIEWS: 1:53 This is a Befehlspanzer III. 2:02 Otto Carius is in a "Mid" version Tiger. 2:23 As indicated, it's a Stug.III. 2:26 This one I don't know. I believe we are seeing the driver. 3:31 It's a Befehlstiger. 4:03 The rear deck of an "Early" version Tiger. 4:10 A Panzer III with a 50mmm gun. The version is "H" or earlier, because the signal lamp box is still on the roof. 4:22 A Tiger 1 firing its KwK36. It's Tiger "100" of the 503rd, built in August 1943. 4:35 is a Panzer IV with the "long" 75mm gun. 6:15 The HL210 engine in a 1942 Tiger. 10:33 is a Panther. 11:10 A Tiger 1 firing its KwK36. 11:20 a Tiger 1 - in fact, Tiger 131 of modern fame.

This is amazing if possible id love to hear something simmilar to this for uboats, plane crews, half track crew men and others thank you for your hard work lads :D

I served as a tanker from 1989 to 1993, with the M1-series Abrams tank. In my unit in Germany, the low guy on the totem pole was the driver, not the loader. Our battalion CO wanted a turret crew with live-fire experience, in order to increase the average tank qualification score. Driving the M1 is (relatively) easy, so driver was the entry-level position. I can say with experience that a tank crew can become an effective, cohesive team even if the individual crewmen don't like each other. But affinity is definitely preferable.

Bathroom facilities is an area older tanks have a distinct advantage. Modern cases are combustible but a spent 76mm or 7.5cm brass is a pretty convenient and disposable toilet.

How little things have changed, this just explained 90% of my time in the army lol

Spent many a night living in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle with my crew. What you described is absolutely true with no exaggerations.

My Grandpa command M10 Wolverine Tank Destroyer in the US Army and landed on D-day. He was wounded during a engagement with Panzers in France. He made it home and is one of my hero’s. Thanks for the video Ian. Love the series.

Best tank movie? Fury The Beast? Sahara? I'd love to see the tank version of Das Boot .

I didn't think it was achievable, but this channel just keeps getting better and better!

Happy Birthday tomorrow, Indy!!

2.41 Dwight: assistant tank commander Jim: assistant to the tank commander

Thank you for your unbiased, accurate, and respectful description of a German tank crew. Some individuals presenting on RU-vid would have us believe they could only function as cohesively and effectively as they did by being strung out on methamphetamine. (Perhaps you know which A-holes I’m referring to?) Your description corroborates what my father told me of his experience. He cited the rigorous training, discipline and cooperation required. He spoke also of the education, the technology. Cutting edge for its time. He said they would stretch their supply of diesel fuel with fuel made from biomass. Interesting. He told of the dangers as well. A hit even just dimpling the hull would spall the metal and shrapnel would bounce around inside at high velocity. He didn’t speak much of the horror show aspect. A good hit might cremate the occupants. He’d had to deal with that task. Cleanup, interment and salvage. Gruesome and heart wrenching at the same time. They’d been friends. Not how I would’ve wanted to be spending my late teens. They didn’t have a choice. But he did value the regimen taught, and remembered the camaraderie with fondness. He was trained on panzerwagen and tigerwagen as driver in charge of maintenance. He served in Tunisia under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and fought in the battles of Kassarine and Sidi Bouzid. Supplies were cut off. They were ordered to scuttle all equipment, don civilian clothing, and try and go home. He said they were captured near Venice. In England they were tortured for information about the tanks by being put in ice cold water. They were then sent to America labouring as POWs in Fort Worth Texas. My dad was 17 in 1939. All I could think about at 17 years of age was fixing up my car and activities with pretty young ladies in the backseat of it. Many young men of those times never got to enjoy that. Many lost their lives. My point being, what they experienced, what they lived, deserves respect. Thanks for showing that. Thanks for sticking to the facts.

The Loader did not "operate" the Coax MG, he would only reload it and maybe clear jams. The gunner was the one that aimed and fired it as it was tied to the main gun. One the other hand the Radio Operator was usually also the Bow Gunner and did aim and fire that gun.

I read that the Germans had tank crews that were all the same blood type so they could do transfusions

In the Wermacht, there were tank mechanics who looked after the tanks when they were in laager. But as with British crews, when the tanks were not in action, it was the poor bloody driver who had to undertake the daily and routine maintenance tasks. Thus he usually had a long day ahead of him apart from the driving before he could take a break.

The poor loader was/is very much the least in that group. As The Chieftain once explained, under the "right" circumstances, a tank crew will check whether the air has become breathable again by using the loader as a human guinea pig and having him temporarily remove his gas mask and than waiting to see if something happens to him. That is the official procedure.

The German Panzer and Panzer troops of World War 2 defined modern armor, crewmen, and strategy. That's a legacy that will never die.

For Part 2, I hope you take us inside some Panzers and explain the typical equipment that the crew would use.

Sadly, I am sure that panzertruppen didn’t always buy or trade for food with the local population.

very insightful. great share thank you

I had no clue Guderian shorted panzer school by such a high %. Seeing as he was one of the Germans to recognize not only the importance of a gun but it’s engine, transmission, ect. I thought he’d be in the opposite boat trying to keep training as detailed as possible. Maybe two years is a bit long but 3 months minimum seems exceptionally rushed. Granted Germans had no business underestimating so many nations so it’s not like 3 months or 2 years would have changed the war much still I find it strange on Guderian’s part.

Good Job Indy Neidell!!!!!

Hi Indy Lots of details and about tank crew. Thanks

I was a tank crewman from 1968 to 1971. Served in Vietnam and then West Germany. Training sucked. So did the attitude of many of my fellow soldiers. There were snow flakes then also.

barely nothing changed lol this is how service in the armor corps is, besides having a radio man.

2:40 I believe there was a certain man named Schrute, who was a very good Assistant Tank Manager...

"A moving foxhole attracks th' eye." WWII comic artist Bill Mauldin's Willie and Joe. ='[.]'=

Danke!

Having the man right below the unit commander ready to assume command was a German Army goal for all combat arms, both to create better leaders and to be able to replace casualties.

Thanks!

A Wonderfull Video Guys, i am very pleased! This detailed View on WW2 German Tank Crew Life is up to 99% correct, and it is to this very Day! Of course i was not a Tanker, but a Panzergrenadier. So i worked very close with Tankers together, because one depends on the other in Modern (or even WW2) Warfare. Thank you very much for this great Content, and please by the love of God, continue!

Takk!

How often would tank crews simply steal provisions from the surrounding countryside? I imagine it must have been common on the Eastern front.

Of course, making sure the track tension is correct is part of the maintenance of a tank.

This looks more like a quilt than a tie. AND I LOVE IT!! 4.5/5, slightly brighter colours would have pushed this one into perfection range

Oh Indy! That is a sharp tie and I covet it with a capital I! Of course these tank episodes are very interesting and no matter how attentive a tank commander is sometimes it is sheer good luck that keep him and his crew alive. Such was the case with Michael Wittmann when he went to work on a British armoured unit in Villers Bocage. As he was proceeding through the town with his Tiger, he passed by an open courtyard with a driveway. He didn't even look to see if there was anything in it. If he had he would have felt faint instantly because right there, with its cannon pointed right at him, was a Cromwell tank only a few dozen feet away! Fortunately for him the gunner of the Cromwell had felt the intense call of nature and been allowed to leave the tank to attend to his needs. Precisely at the wrong moment. The tank commander should have handed him an empty tank round and told him to pee in that but he didn't and Wittmann escaped with his life. 🤷‍♂

This is fantastic....really hope you do many more of these type of videos of daily life for different troops and vehicles...well done!

These special episodes really are the best part of this WW2 series. It really gives an insight into the humanity and the lives of the soldiers on both sides. You see they were people just like us.

We've been waiting for this one, Chief! Please do more!

great idea sending drivers to factories to learn how tank is manufactured etc..

You cannot imagine the smell generated by 4 or 5 men inside a little metal box for a couple weeks. You might think you can but you would be wrong, and it is a smell that I hope to NEVER experience again!😱☠😊

This is the best documentary about this subject on the internet! As an ex-tanker, it is like back in the times... Very good job!

God I love this channel. Thanks for all the great quality content you keep producing!

I have a taste of German tank. The mark 4 was an efficient well made tank.and difficult to repair...maintenance was hard because of intricate machinery but is worthy to keep running

Yep. It took sometime for the allies to catch up in mobile warfare doctrine.

Interesting use of the Toulon fleet scuttle picture ! Hopefuly you'll cover this event in depth when you get on that !

This has got to be one of the best special episodes ever! Absolutely excellently presented. The technical and humane insights are superbly told. Video and picture plays are magnificent. Awesome work Indi and co.

3:16 thats what pervitin is for

Indy fabulous again! One of your best ever since June of 1914!

Thanks

This is very interesting. Thank you.

Another great and eductional episode Indy and crew! Keep up the great work. 👍

Wow, what a neat episode! I love ones like this.

Yukari is my spirit animal.

Former Panzer-Commander here. Life in a Panzer is very constricted but possible. You‘ll form a team that depends on each other, you get to know each other better than your family might do. It takes a good amount of sensitivity, work and time but it can be made to work even in modern times.

Thank you for another interesting, informative and well presented video. I look forward to every video produced by Time Ghost Army as I have never seen a bad one!

It took a lot of courage to willingly fight inside tanks during ww2. Though I still think the worse by far were submarines.

First thing, damn good video guys, pay attention to the sound/volume. FV4005 with Mr Hewes, he will give you the best running mk 13 hull available. So happy to see a Mr Hewes, Tank Museum Bovington and...other external suppliers of info and parts for both the original and reproduced items to be acknowledged.

Thank you.

Excellent and informative show! Great job as always!

Best job I ever had!

I cant stand World of Tanks but as long as they give you Money to continue your work I am absolutely fine with them :) Thank you for the video!

In WW2 my Dad served in the British tank force,from 1941-43 he was in N Africa.I believe his first action was Alam Halfa,in an M3 Grant.Then Alamein in an M4,and on to Sicily.Then transferred to UK and was then part of a Cromwell unit,through Normandy,and Europe,until ending in Hamburg.He was in 46th RTR,Royal Scots Greys and 3rd CLY,(later 3/4 CLY).Plus some time on relief driving supplies around by truck.

Did they never make the sequel? Shame, this was an awesome idea

I am watching Indy describe the roles of each tank crew and the image I have are that of Miho, Hana, Mako, Saori, and Yukari from Girls und Panzers.

9:10 I'm impressed they could make a crane out of 3 pine poles lashed together into a tripod

A very involved job indeed.

Good work

I once taught World War II to year 13 students. We used to make a yearly trip to the National Army Museum. They let those of us who wanted to climb into a tank although we had to wear cotton gloves. Once that hatches down you can't see a damn thing. I would have been paranoid within a few weeks.

Interesting, and enjoyable hearing the roles of a german tank crew. Hope to see moore similar videos of other axis or allied vehicles.

Very interesting, would be curious to know how far the approach and training differed (if at all) for the various different nations. Also, think the use of sponsors for these extra episodes is well done, complimentary but not intrusive to the content . 👍

WOT is not truly free to play. To be competitive at higher tiers you MUST buy gold ammo. Otherwise you will be outperformed by other players who do.The most important part of the Pz III/IV having 5 man crews was each man could focus on learning his primary job and in combat focus on just performing that job. As Indy pointed out having a larger crew did help with sharing all the other duties. The German's also paid a price for all those highly trained tankers lost used as infantry in winter 1941/42, in the 1942/43 Stalingrad and Tunisia surrenders. Just as in every other army/navy/air force on the Axis side performance went down under the Allied hammer.

Indy great to see you again haven't seem you for several years...when you doing WW1 series....my father was a tank commander in a M3 in North Africa for Patton....wow he had stories ....Shoe in SW Oregon.

A wonderful introducing of crucified situation of tanks crews inside tank...thanks

This was so well researched. Brilliant, very interesting.

2:40 Panzer Dwight

Amazing video. I'm obsessed with tanks, hopefully you have more parts coming very soon!

Great first instalment of what will prove to be a very interesting series! Many thanks to the Time Ghost team. 👏

and there is no "internal radio". that would be an intercom, and it is fully wired. no point in using radio with all of its many drawbacks when you can run a wire four feet to the person you want to speak to.

One thing i never seen in world of tanks, is when a tank is penatrated. The crew that are still alive exit the tank blinded burnt and bleeding are then machine gunned. You can't leave an experienced crew alive. God it is a nasty business.

Wow the loader used the coaxial MG ? Given its position being right of the Kannon sure it makes sense I just never would have thought that ,always seemed like it was the gunners role ,also the radio man's job is also hull gunner . So he's a busy lad

Do more do more! Of all the episodes I’ve ever watched, as long as I’ve watched Indy himself even on other channels, this is my absolute favorite video idea he’s ever done. It’s so much fun to picture what he’s saying and imagine myself in all the rolls he explains. It puts me in the mood to watch a good tank movie like Fury or T-34

You present this as if you have witnessed it close hand. Good job Sir, thank you :)

Man, I absolutely love all the videos you do!! Been watching for a very long time! And knowing that you are a fellow pennsylvanian is awesome! Keep up the good work my dude!

for the Al Gore Rythm section is on tour now... thanks for another great one

That was great. So much detail in such a short video! Very engaging style, clear, precise...great presenter, great presentation. And of course, a very interesting subject. See you again

Jesus Christ...I spent almost 10 years playing the stupid game and finaly got my self off the hook a year ago. Now Wargaming spreads their tentacles even to this channel...

Riding a tank makes one a stronger individual, a better wife and a more caring mother.

Outstanding video and presentation. Thank you for a lot of information I did not know.

While in the US Army I spent a little over a month in the Egyptian desert. Dust gets into everything, and I mean everything. Vehicle motors, radios, even inside your field pack. I can only imagine how much of a chore maintaining a tank in North Africa must have been. Even without the stresses of battle it would have to be a full time job. For the Afrika Korps and the Italians, supplies may or may not be coming as well.

Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up