Tank Chats  

This is a long awaited Tank chat. Thanx!

I ❤ it

Pretty iconic tbh.

it's interesting that people are still talking about the supposed vulnerability of open topped vehicles to indirect fire after 50+ years of images of soldiers riding on top of their enclosed APCs and IFVs because they believe riding around in an enclosed box actually makes them more vulnerable. If you're convinced your survival depends upon hitting the dirt or shooting first riding on top makes perfect sense: You can see better, bail off instantly if you come under fire, and have an extra layer of armor plus whatever junk is inside between you and a mine. And an open-topped vehicle is mostly vulnerable to indirect fire in less common circumstances like air bursts or direct hits. The top is generally regarded as the least vulnerable side of any vehicle, which is why it usually gets the thinnest armor. The front wheels made perfect sense for a high speed tracked vehicle of that era. They provide the driver with steering feedback and a way to follow most roads without throwing the passengers around and maybe throwing a track or just causing extra wear and tear on the vehicle. Just imagine the hammering constant skid steering would have done to those delicate needle bearings. The front wheels enabled the high speed running that made the needle bearings both necessary and possible in a way that was fairly cheap and easy to implement and allowed them to get away with simple steering brakes when track braking was required. The Universal Carrier used track warping for most of the same reasons. As for the interleaved roadwheels I'd just note that no one else ever bothered with them because the practical problems outweigh the theoretical benefits. Even the US, which tested the hell out of everything and shamelessly copied anything that worked gave overlapping roadwheels a pass. I suspect the Germans stuck with overlapping wheels because their torsion bar metallurgy wasn't up to the task without them.

I always kind of thought the idea of a half-track was a bit silly. This really put the idea more in perspective. As much as I don't want to commend Nazis, this idea really ended up slotting into their idea of mobile warfare being the future. When they weren't being forced to build absolute nonsense in fear of a leader gone mad (Leading to questionable vehicles like Maus, Elefant and the Jagdtiger), German engineering was really ahead of its time.

APC came from need to deliver infantry in safety to where they were needed and IFV came from need to carry infantry with tanks and as tanks were very likely opponents when your own tanks are going you need something that can threaten tanks and carry that infantry.

Its has tracks therefore its tanks 😅

@@samholdsworth420 *hides the bulldozer to avoid misclassification*

@@samholdsworth420 If you really think that, you need to learn a lot more about tracked vehicles and AFVs in general. Here is a video that explains why the terminology is important. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hEna9T4zSM0.html

​@@jacquesstrapp3219 I think he's just joking around, lol.

Great fun without any flying bullets. 😅

@martinbrode7131 You had to pay extra to have the bullets too - *obviously*

It's not really a Czech copy, this one was made also in the Czech Republic during WW2 and the OT is just an improved version.

Agree ….some what Star Wars look

when you design thing on cocaine ...no cocaine m113...

@@lena19191 I think its the other way around. Star Wars took lots of inspiration from Nazi Germany for its evil Empire designs. Both vehicles and uniforms. I mean, the Galactic Empire is meant to be Nazis in space.

@@lena19191 that’s why I love Star Wars. Some of the designs and scenes are inspired by ww2 and ww1

@@swagguy2171 yep agree

For all their villainy, they sure had cool looking kit

I did a fine scale model of a 251 back in 1990 when there wasn't much variety (probably a Tamiya) and no 3rd party kits (pre-internet) but I poured over the 1 thin book that I found on the 251 that was only available by mail order. So much had to be scratch made inside that I even made a diorama base for it from plaster of paris in a square mold that I later set in an oak stand. Hmmm don't recall that book even mentioning the ambulance versions. But the 251 was in so many theatres, with so many versions and was modified so much that it is perfect for modelers to get their hands on. Especially after watching the Tank Museum's video on it!

I agree with you. The idea of motorized infantry, especially the pioneer/engineer unit or fast moving assault force is amazing.

@@johnanon6938 Being retired I got back into model building. I've done several of the Tamiya kits. They do have a more recent kit with a better interior detail.

Did the boss of armour troops use these? I didn't realise they were used as command vehicles. I'd love to learn more!

Logistics wins wars, which is why the side America picks in world wars wins.

Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.

​@@stevenschnepp576✡️👃🇺🇸

and the bright light jumping out with his back facing the direction they are traveling... aaaah very well trained i see

"You know, the World,🗺 War,💥 Two,2⃣✌ Nazi German,🇩🇪 built,🏢 SD.KFZ 251 half-track mounted with MG34 and MG42 machine gun,🔫 and Flammenwerfer 35 flamethrower,🔥 variants aren't a match for the 1942 World, 🗺 War,💥 Two,2⃣ ✌American,🇺🇸 built,🏢 M1 bazooka anti-tank rocket,🚀 launcher or the M4 General Sherman medium tank,take it out, from the tall bush hedges of the French,🇫🇷 countryside of Nazi German,🇩🇪 occupied France,🇫🇷 during the D-day allied Beach,🏖 landings of Normandy in the date of June six, 6⃣ in the year of nineteen forty-four during the allied liberation,🗽 of France, 🇫🇷 the Netherlands, 🇳🇱 Belgium, 🇧🇪 Luxembourg, 🇱🇺 Denmark, 🇩🇰 Czechslovakia,🇸🇰 and Norway,🇳🇴 from the tyrannical oppressive Nazi German,🇩🇪 third Reich occupation of western Europe in the European theater,🎭 of the year of nineteen forty-four during World,🗺 War,💥 Two,2⃣ ✌?"

"You know the World,🗺 War,💥 Two, 2⃣ ✌Nazi German,🇩🇪 built,🏢 Junkers JU-87 stuka dive bomber,💣 isn't a match for the World,🗺 War,💥 Two,2⃣✌ British, 🇬🇧 Canadian,🍁 🇨🇦 Australian,🌏 🇦🇺 New Zealander,🇳🇿 Jamaican, 🇯🇲 Barbadian,🇧🇧 Indian,🇮🇳 Bangladeshi,🇧🇩 South African,🌍 🇿🇦 Bermuda,🇧🇲 and the Commonwealth of Nations built,🏢 Supermarine spitfire mark 1 and 2 and Hawker hurricane🌀 mark 1 fighter planes, ✈ in air,🛬 battle of great britain,🇬🇧 in the year of fifteen forty, during World,🗺 War,💥 Two,2⃣✌?"

Following the second war these SchutzPanzers (I don't think any of the kids knew the name beyond 'Jerry Half Tracks' mind) were pretty much iconic of the whole German panzer ethos. Every comic book, every film which wanted to be taken seriously etc.. Obligatory inclusion 🙄

Came here to say the exact same thing. Other than that, excellent video.

Also, he pics they show to illustrate the 'new' version are also C pictures, not D. (The editor put the right pictures in for the C, so blame the speaker!)

The Mattracks Museum in my county has one of those on display.

@@Devin_Stromgren COOL! My Dad said they actually were fairly common, at least in the Northern Tier.

I don't know about before the war, but after the war a lot of surplused Bren carriers were used as utility vehicles on Canadian farms.

@@minuteman4199 How cool would that be? Especially in the snow...

Special Purpose Vehicle, but the rest is correct.

@@jeffreyestahl Naja - KRAFT Fahrzeug ist ja schon was anderes als ein Eselkarren…😜

Kraftfahrzeug is still official word for cars , lorries and busses, but not common in daily spoken language. Kraftrad is dated word for motorcycle. I personally would translate,Sonder-' in this context as ,extraordinary'.

SdKfz was for (partially) tracked vehicles (armored or not) as well as wheeled armored vehicles, so IMHO "special vehicle" comes closest.

@@ottovonbismarck2443 At least “extraordinary” vehicles no one would use on a daily basis…😜 Except going to war or something else…

And the 250 was a Demag chassis, while the 251 was the Hanomag chassis.

I'd love to see your backyard. 😃

Amen, the ultimate lawn ornament! I remember once making a pak 36 entirely out of scrap exactly for such a purpose because we had such snooty neighbors! 😉👍

@@ottovonbismarck2443 And the swimmer version of the kublewagen for beer runs.

I wish my back yard was as large as one of my these. I typed this and I regressed many years to my youth when "back yard" was a reference to something which these days isn't politically correct. But moving on....

Supposedly one can still get their hands on the Cold War Czhek version.

Er ist kein Mensch, er ist kein Tier,..... ...Er ist ein Panzergrenadier.. 😅

How is it ahead ?

Yes it's easier to drive than a fully tracked vehicle, so someone who can't drive a tank can drive them.

L' Half Track M3, secondo me, superiore al Skdz 251, avendo la trazione anche all' avantreno, con cingoli in gomma, piu' facilmente sostituibili. Comunque, i tedeschi avevano capito l' importanza di questi mezzi blindati rispetto agli autocarri, usati inizialmente per trasporto truppe, poi declinati in altri ruoli ( artiglieria terrestre, contraerea, proiettore, getta ponte, ambulanza.) Saluti.

The M-3 was basically a 4WD truck transmission with driven fron wheels. The Germans could never have offered the cost of a transfer case and extra differential. The M-3 also had rubber tracks. Germany didn't have any natural rubber to add into synthetic rubber for an all rubber track. The KFZ.251 could operate without front wheels.

Just patronizing a few master mechanics would be worth it.

Think someone makes kits

I want one - like yesterday! I need it to take to take shopping, kids off to soccer games etc when it is raining, muddy. If the ref says l can't park near the goal keeper...

I would build on the kubelwagen and modernize to compete with jeep on the roads again.

Half-tracks are not good for pure on-road use, the tracks wear down too quickly and get expensive for the owners. The main advantage of half-tracks is the fact that they are half tank and half regular truck, so a person familiar with truck driving can simply switch over. But that really was their only strong point, the rest is too much of a compromise to ever excell at anything. We today have the technologocal base to produce better units with purely wheeled or tracked drive train and the training of drivers is no issue either.

‘Spectrum is green!’

and we didn't even care if we could see the strings. Filmed in Supermarionation makes it all ok!

It's another fine proof that sloped armor wasn't invented on T-34. There were still some issues with welding thick sloped armor plates, as you can see on T-34 wrecks. If the welding isn't done well, that sloped armor gets you nowhere. From a production aspect, it was easier to build a rectangular box.

Well, it was originally a czech design... Thank them for it

@@HarborLockRoad I'm afraid it wasn't. You should watch the video. The Czechs continued to build them after the war, so many of what you see in museums and in movies today is of post WW2 Czech origin.

They did do it on their early tanks. Look at the glacis plates, bow sections, and turret sides on a Panzer III or IV; they're not vertical, but are in fact set with a shallow slope. The Germans simply decided to compromise in favour of interior volume rather than maximum protection.

@@kw9849 That's a good point. I should have just looked up. I have a 1/16 scale model of a Panzer I, and sure enough, it was a lot more sloped than I had remembered.

Cool

Hanomag was a factory in Hannover that produced them and other machines like Panthers.

Was he the one who said they weren't really that common in German service (outside of panzer grenadier units)?

The American half track was basically a 4WD truck with the rear wheel drive replaced by rubber tracks. The front wheels did all the steering. The German half track were a 2WD truck. Front wheels did the steering for small turns but an adjustable braking circuit progressively applied braking force to the inner track. The differential could be locked. Because of the length of the track and brake steering the German half tracks could be operated with the front wheels flat or removed. The US rubber tracks were maintenance free. The German rubber padded tracks had to be lubricated at each link. Rubber shortage in Germany.

I second this

I think the Puma is the Sd.kfz. 234 (more specifically I think it is the '/2' variant) in which case he did a tank chat on it a while ago (#120) but on their 234/3 variant with a different turret. This is the link ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-D-HPtLPK-Ts.html

@@Tinderchaff I know. But that was very short. The 234 vid. I was more thinking in the greater sence of wheeled At/IFV vehicles, that early on. The French was quick on it too, but it was rather novel. At least with that level of gun. Hence the wanting their thoughts and opinions on it in the whole tank/mech/maneuver warfare aspect.

The decision to make every pin bear on a set of needle bearings is insane. I question just how well these tracks worked in the long run; I'd wager they were only better than dry-pin for a short period before the needles got contaminated and started brinelling. Caterpillar does something similar nowadays, but even they use simple bushings.

They would constantly get stolen by sweatlord snipers and wasted as they drove them to some far away spot to extreme long range spot all game to make 4 whole kills