Strange Features found on Tanks 

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When I first heard "British sipping tea inside their Challengers" I thought it was just a joke about the British. Little did I know, that stereotype exists for a reason, and they most certainly DO ensure their tankers can sip tea in peace on any battlefield.

Man the Brits rly saw a massive killing machine made of steel and decided that it needs to make tea

Funnily enough, the Ha-go wasn't the only tank with a "door bell", actually it is quite common on tanks or as a light inside the crew compartment to indicate to them someone pushed the button. As a means for outside infantry to work with the crews of the tanks. Some even carried phones or radios on the outside to communicate with the crew

When I was in middle school I was part of the Civil Air Patrol and one of the activities we did was meeting the SWAT team of out squadron's local PD and they show'd us the ex-Army MRAP (Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected) vehicle they use for standoffs involving barricaded suspects . As the SWAT officer gives us a walkaroud, explaining the vehicle's various features, he points to a small panel on the back and says "This is the most vital pieced of gear on the whole vehicle." He then opens it revealing a built in coffee maker.

A soldier rings to speak to the tank commander, but no one answers because after having tea, the commander is on the toilet laughing while reading the operating manual.

*British tank colony gets wiped out from making Tea outside the tanks* British command: "You see what the problem is right?" Tank engineers: "Yeah those soldiers lack discipline" British Command: "No, the Tea should be able to be made from inside the tank"

“It was also here that the British first used a crazy piece of sci fi technology.”

Tank designer: "So do you want an APC or an MBT?" Israel: "Yes."

To be fair, the boiling vessel in the British tanks is used for more than just tea. It's also used for preparing hot water for rations, which is also an important thing. There's the famous saying "An army marches on its stomach," which holds true even for those driving tanks. If you're hungry, you're going to be less effective in combat. If you've had a hot meal instead of dry rations, you're going to be even more effective in combat.

Now the tea making equipment isn’t as insane as it sounds.

6:30 Interesting fact: One of the british tank units did a similar thing, when they captured intact and operational Panther tank. They painted it olive green, adorned it with white stars and nicknamed the tank "Cuckoo".

Tanks are cool, unless you're inside the tank

6:36 Panther jumpscare

Certain tanks do have a small microwave in them. Not official, but tank crews do install them when heating their MREs.

Some honorable mentions, taken from my notes. Track-wheel systems A system of combining tracks with the function of regular wheels to endure longer marches and higher speed without wearing on tracks, this was wide spread in the 1920's and 30's as tracks weren't yet as reliable as now, or as easy to replace for that matter. The most common users of this would be the BT-serie (USSR) the KH-serie (Czech) The polish 10TP and 14TP as well as the "Schofield" from New Zealand Electric-drive Instead of using an ordinary gearbox several nations would experiment with electric drive, namely the TOG-I to TOG-II* and Ferdinand Porsch with the Ferdinand, Elefant, Tiger(P) and Maus. While in theory these systems would let a smaller engine drive a large hull, they tended to always be underpowered, unreliable and expensive compared to a regular mechanical (likely with hydraulic assist) transmissions. This is no to be confused with hydraulic-drive which was also used and still it, thought not on tanks (as far as I'm aware) Driver cupola While giving your driver a view greater than straight ahead, the Tatra ”Atypicky” was a Czech project which removed the driver from the hull and all the way up in an independent cupola on the turret to give him a clear view in all directions thought on a tank that was already alarmingly tall. NOTE - it is possible it is entirely fake and made up post-war. Fixed MGs When you're the United states and wish to create the moving MG-nest of doom, it becomes clear you need to have fixed guns in the hull so even the driver can have the time of his life shooting randomly at targets with no way of aiming other than looking for tracers and adjust the hull. No ball mount, no sponsons, no remote control just an MG bolted or locked in the hull. This was used as late as the M3 Lee and the M4A1 "Michale" (the prototype for the Sherman). This system was seen in other nations, but not as much or via american designed vehicles (and the cold War soviet designs, as stated by the comments) Rockets We're not just talking the classic Sherman Calliope, you got the RBT-5 which is a regular BT-5 with 250kg "Tank Torpedoes" mounted on either side of the turret. A more succesful example of this would be the british the Firefly equiped with RP-3 60lb rockets on the turret. In an engagement, a german officer POW, would comment it was a breach of the geneva convention when his unit was forced to surrender after facing a "Tulip" as they were called. Other things would be: -The ability to ride traintracks -Multi-turret tanks -Hobart's Funnies - a collection of curious/bizar vehicles. (mentioned by a comment) -and others I cannot remember at the top of my head

The most action the T14 has seen is a parade.

Regarding the doorbell. It was first included in ww1 to allow runners/messengers/the infantry to get the tanks attention as they are ridiculously loud knocking just sounds like additional gunfire/shelling

Wait, didn't Challenger also had a "biotoilet" under commander's seat as one of optional features? It might sound funny or disgusting, but not when you're stuck in NBC scenario... Edit: the Ha-Go buzzer also lived on with parallel developed american "infantry phones" on the back to allow infantry to directly talk to tank commander.

When you realize Darjeeling sipping a cup of tea inside a tank is actually historically accurate

Americans: "...y'know you could just go to a safe haven or wait until you're NOT in a combat zone to drink your te--" British: "NO. It's our battery charger."

Simple History and their toilet humor *NEVER* gets old.

I hope they talk about the M1 Abrams and the deep fryer

I like how the lesson from the tea making incident was to give the soldiers a facility inside the tank instead of training and discipline.

There's also the Italian tanks who all had reversing lights

0:30 can't stop laughing at this LOL

You guys didn't just animate a tank shooting a blue paintball shell at someone at a medieval re-enactment site from a living room window 🤣

3:30 thats the most british thing ive ever heard

Tea on a british tank , how iconic

Lol "how did he die?" "He hopped out of his tank to poo and was shot in the head."

The Merkava Tanks cant Transport soldiers and ammo for the Main gun at the same Time. They can just do one thing at the same time. So either you want to Transport soldiers or have a fully working MBT.

I hope you guys do a video on weird weapon features. I was inspired when you mentioned the German tank manual because I remembered that the original M16 came with a comic book styled operations manual. Then I started remembering other unique featured firearms like: The Galil Assault Rifle having a slot under the front handguard specifically for opening bottles and how the bipod also functions as wirecutters WWI Lee Enfields with wirecutter mounts The Mosin Nagant's minesweeper kit The LeMat revolver's underbarrel shotgun Sharps Rifles with coffee millers in the buttstock

02:05 prank caller prank caller!

Fun fact about the Mk. VIII tank (1919), the little box at the top is a flag box, which is useful for signaling to other tanks in line where to maneuver. The tank also had an internal coms system, that was just a large tube that ran to each station from the commander's spot.

Tank: *Appears out of nowhere* Nintendo: *Plays wii play tank mini game music.* Enemy: Why do I hear boss music?

0:45 tactical wiz

I think an issue with trying to make tanks more liveable for the crews is that it will come directly at the cost of their survivability. Despite stereotypes, tanks are only mostly immune to small arms fire, but there's still plenty of man-portable things that can take them out (namely explosives), so the way a tank competes with that is by being a small target and harder to see, and thus the only way to make more room in smaller tanks would be to try to increase automation of various functions and cut down on crew requirements. Otherwise, next best hope is we figure out Fallout-style power armors.

Bro did the delivery man time travelled in 1942 💀

Within the first 10 seconds my suspicion about British tanks having a dedicated tea boiler being in the video is confirmed.

One thing about the Merkava is that in order to carry troops, you need to remove ammo stowage, which drastically reduces the amount carried within a tank. The troop carrying function was introduced because IDF found the M113 to be too lightly armored for it’s needs and decided to also make the Merkava an IFV. However from what I am aware of, this is hardly done anymore as Isreal has introduced the Namer APC, which is a Merkava that has the tank turret removed and replaced with either an M2 or MK19 RWS, or a 30mm Autocannon. The Namer also has added armor to take advantage of the weight savings of not having the turret and the big gun. Still because of budget constraints, the IDF still relies on the M113 and other APCs for it’s troop carrying needs.

1:01 "Sir......is it REALLY necessary for me to do this for real!?!?! I think the people get how a toilet works without me having to do this..."

The AB41 featured the possibility of moving on railtracks by simply changing its wheels.

I like to imagine that at one point an American soldier rung the doorbell on a Ha Go and the gunner opened the hatch and was met with garand rounds to the head

on the merkava the door was actually added to make it easier to load ammunition into the tank but then it turned out to be quite good at carrying troops and acting as a door for them to get in and out of so later versions of the merkava went all out with it doubling as an ifv

Simple History: Destroying the tanks was a disaster Me a German: Well it depends

Should’ve included the downward-facing trench bullet deflectors for the rear machine gun turrets on the M2 Medium.

As an English man I can confirm we definitely enjoyed our tea during a mission or two…our German friends also balanced their tanks so well they could rest their Jäegermeister on the end of their cannon head whilst moving, the German soldiers holding and drinking Jäegermeister themselves well let’s say they were not as balanced

0:17 I am such a child for laughing 😂

That device used for boiling water inside British tanks is a Boiling Vessel aka BV. Just consider how nice it would be to have a hot drink on a really cold day or the ability to warm up rations without having to leave the tank and be exposed to enemy fire or the elements. They can also use the BV whilst on the move.

The animations have improved so much, I literally cannot express the beauty of details put into the tanks and such with own words

3:50 I've never heard anything more British

The M577 command version of the M113 also has a doorbell, and almost all armoured vehicles in the Norwegian Army are equiped with a water heater for preparing hot drinks or field rations

The strange feature on an Italian tank was the tank itself

If I’m honest I did not expect T 14 armada to be on this list

Translation of the text on the upper right side at 8:33 : The right amount of oil alone won't do it. Oil in the swamp is as useless as beer in the basement if pressure is missing to pump it to the hot and dry throats of the consumers. It's only than that things get going (the literal translation would be "It's only than that there is momentum in the store" it's a German phrase). Only then can you shift up and down so that it just rattles (rattles here is meant in good and funny way), steer so the dust comes up and to turn the turret like a weathercock.

1:45 I’m just imagining an American ringing this like “hello sir, Girl Scout association. Would you like some double chocolate mints?” *sounds of a loading Thompson SMG*

In Warhammer 40K, the Imperium of Man has a rare and old model of super tanks called the Bane Blade, which were so massive that the 9 foot tall super soldier Astartes could easily be crushed by their treads. The tank has a complement of no less than six guns including its main cannon, a forward facing super heavy cannon, two side mounted cannons and two additional turreted cannons atop the former. However the Bane Blade was far more than just a mobile firing line of cannons, but acted as a mobile fortress and made use of its humongous size to store within it: - an armory - a small prayer alter - a small library for the tank’s tech priest - a command deck for the Tank’s commander - a small restroom - a small storage room for rations and other supplies needed All this along with the weapon and function systems needed for such a colossal machine. And this is JUST the basic model. Many Bane Blades have been customized in various ways by their commanders and crew. Such as the Fortress of Arrogance commanded by Commissar Yarrick of Armageddon. A pitch black variant with golden details and decorations, but also a large command bridge atop the tank for the Commissar himself to stand on to inspire, intimidate and lead. As well as mowing down foes with a heavy storm bolter mounted atop. It’s good to know that strange features persist even in the grim dark future

The boiling vessel is now also fitted to UK fire engines

My life currently 0:33

In Abrams tanks I heard they just do their business in an MRE bag and seal it up until they can get out.

Our Centurion tanks had a telephone on the back, inside a small box cover. It was used for fire control and directions by support infantry.

The Boiling vessel does double duty... In the 50's and 60's the new thing in British Rations was boil in the bag meals... It was kind of designed to do that, though the 'drain tap' means hot water for brew ups and filling hot water bottles can be made use of. Because in cold weather, they will do anything to make themselves comfortable.

1:09, an easter egg of your previous video about weapons being copied/reverse engineered. On the sides of the walls.

It's amazing how many of Girls Und Panzer's jokes are actually real history

When the day comes that a tank becomes a mobile home, it’s the day the world has some peace

The brits had a whole series of strange features on tanks called "Bogarts Funnies" that were used for engineering purposes. One such was a giant spool of fabric on the front that the tank would roll out in front of itself to cover loose rocks on the beaches in WW2 that would jam in the rollers of the tracks (which was one of the main issues discovered during the Dieppe raid) or barbed wire and other such obstacles that would tangle up in it's tracks or inhibit infantry passage.

The M60 Patton tank has one unusual feature itself. At the back, it has a radio phone. Watch full metal jacket and see for yourself

Love your videos man , keep up the good work ❤❤

8:02 and people say Germans have no humor

The pooping SFX really added some shine on this one

Good video. But the german ruse during the battle of the bulge, wasn't called operation grief. The codename was 'Unternehmen Greif', wich would translate to operation griffin.

I love the Merkava design!

I just wanted to know if the British BV was on the list. One has to admire a culture so entrenched in something that elements of it show up in their military hardware.

The dude trying to crimp one out infront of all those guys at the arms show is some of your best work yet SH

The Ha-Go having a way for infantry to alert the crew of their presence isn't strange, it's not like they could use radios to communicate with the crew, (the Ha-Go was not radio equipped until late in the war and infantry units rarely carried the right kind of radios to communicate with tank crews anyway).

2:30 the greatest intro to an ad I’ve ever seen 😂

Just by looking at the thumbnail, i knew it was actually going to be strange

The pooping noises were a real highlight

I really like the Merkava's design. Cargo space = less need for dedicated transport vehicles.

On the T14 Armata 0:55, that is a bit misleading. They have produced dozens of T14's at most and none of them have seen combat, when it was introduced in a parade it broke down and almost had to be towed away. They cost about $4 million each to produce and a lot of required components are impossible to obtain now due to sanctions (even before they had a lot of trouble producing them) so it's doubtful they will ever be fielded.

During the American Civil War when a certain dude takes a call of nature both sides does a gentleman act of not killing that said dude

Of all the features mentioned, the secret doorbell of the Type 95 Ha-Go tank is my favorite. I also like the thumbnail of this great video.

Please do a video on the battle of Delville wood. As a South African it would be truly amazing to see our troops remembered on this channel. Thanks..

The Russian designer demonstrating the tank toilet using an actual crapping soldier had me lolling. Also, the Israeli Merkava tank has such an option as well.

the merkava was not a transport vehicle in the slightest the doors at the back where to facilitate loading the rounds into the tank. i watched an interview with a person who worked on designing the merkava and he said that if you remove all the ammunition for the main gun you can cary a max of 2 injured soliders and that he had never seen a merkava carrying people there is no room for 6 infantry in the back.

I think Strv 103 fit in this list, it featured - only 3 crews, driver/gunner, commander/gunner, and radioman/driver (this guy responsible for rearwards tank driving) - can go back the same speed as forward - gun that is fixed on the hull - hydropneumatic suspension (also used for shooting, hence why driver is also a gunner) - can be operated *alone* if needed - two engines - weird wedge design that, in ideal condition, shatter AP ammunition, and a slat armour up front that defeat shaped charge (such as HEAT shells and man portable anti-tank of the era)

In the 70s we were given little PM booklet about every couple months for our tanks, they were updated copies of the german idea, and were popular with us as well, and we had a radio set on the back of our tanks for ground troops to talk to us

Fun fact: some T-34-85 models also had the Doorbell for infantry communication during combat.

As a brit the morale of being able to make your tea without having to get out of your armour is damn near immeasurable. A cup of tea and cigarette really do go a long way in the field

Great work 👍

Gotta love the BV (Boiling vessel) Its still in use today, some vehicles have 2 if its a personnel carrier. You can also throw rations in it for easy cooking. Even our trucks and recovery vehicles have them.

Hi I've never committed on your videos and i like that you make these incredible and informational videos

It's not a fake doorbell if it works. It's a way for troops outside to get the attention of the tank inside so they can pass information to them. Like updated enemy locations or orders. I'm not entirely sure if the Japanese even cared if they ran over their troops or not.

Sherman Duplex Drive: screen and propeller to allow it to swim on the sea Sherman Crab: flail to clear landmines Churchill Crocodile: flamethrower

British "tea making equipment" is not for tea only. It's regular boiling machine that they use mainly for warming food.

I think stopping your operation in no man's land to make tea is the most british thing ever

6:12 The soundtrack sounds like Battlefield.

*Simple History* : Tanks have bathroom,tea making system and also will have kitchen and showers Me : *imagine having a whole fucking flat in the hull of the tanks*

I just got my collector's copy of The TigerFibel tank manual reprinted in English last week from the Tank Museum's online store in England. Beautiful book with lots of information.

Anti tank guns in the bushes, snipers in the tall grass, oh and bombs falling from the sky. Even so those British Tommies would stop for tea. And I thought the Brits having breakfast during the battle of Goose Green in the Falklands was weird.