Top 5 Tanks | Schola Gladiatoria 

Hi Tank Nuts! What did you think of this crossover? Let us know in the comments below.

As a Canadian I feel obligated to point out that a lot of the Russian lend-lease Valentines were actually built in Canada. The Canadian War Museum has a Canadian-built Valentine that was recovered from a swamp or river (memory fails me) in Russia and was restored and returned as a gift in happier diplomatic times.

and now i want to see the Chieftains top 5 swords.

Thank you Matt for this incredible amount of context. Only Matt Easton could take a top 5 Tanks video and turn it into a 37 min documentary.

Nice to see that Matt provided plenty of context for his choices.

No offence to the other guest presenters but this bloke is notably good Lively & fizzing with enthusiasm as well as well informed about tanks. Really enjoyed the saga of Sgt Wilf Harris - clearly deserves to be remembered. Now he is. Neat.

Scimitar: an elegant weapon for a more civilized age. Ajax: Giant box that tries simultaneously to deafen the crew and passengers and shake them apart.

"DRIVE CLOSER SO I CAN HIT THEM WITH MY SWORD!!!" Matt Easton is awesome.

Matt knows his tanks as well. Impressive.

My grandfather started military service on horse back Calvary in the US Army before WWII and then they transferred to tanks and ended up as a tank commander in a Sherman in 3rd Armor division. Cheers.

I love these top five videos! I hope I can go to the museum one day, but I currently reside on the opposite side of the world.

MAAAAATTTTTT! Oh man I got so excited when I saw MATT DID A REVIEW OF TOP TANKS! Love your channel and content Matt!

Unusually interesting talk. Obviously one of the very best top 5 talks.

37 minutes of Matt Easton at Bovington, talking about tanks. Simply Awesome💪💪💪💥

It's one of the best Top 5 Tanks videos I've seen.👍

This was fantastic! Absolutely one of the best Top 5 videos to date. I'm a huge fan of both the Tank Museum channel and Schola Gladiatoria, and really appreciate Matt's perspective here. He's applied the same depth of research, personal passion, and nuanced interpretation of his work on swords and armor as he does here on armored vehicles. Matt's got a style that is the best combination of informative, educational, and entertaining. Well done!

Great to see a guest that really does their research and presents effortlessly. Best top 5 so far!

Matt makes a good point about the importance of the Sherman. I think it's time for someone to do a Top 5 Shermans.

What a great selection, terrific work by Matt. Thank you to the Tank Museum for inviting him to pick his Top 5! Really enjoyed this video.

This is one of the best 'top tanks' episodes, lots of interesting historical detail and context. Well done.

Interesting to note that the Valentine has a lower profile than the M3 Stuart light tank behind it.

I remember in the late 1980s i was posted to Germany. On Exercise, i noticed a Scimitar CRV operated by the Royal Irish Rangers. Jokingly, i asked " can i have a go" and.... they let me. Up and down an airfield at full speed. even full speed in reverse.

3:42 The Airfix Scorpion kit (or at least the version sold in the 1970s) had extra parts so you could make it as a Scimitar if you preferred.

I had already enjoyed Matt interesting and engaging videos about his preferred subject so it's not surprising he can pull it off with other matters.

I've not heard mention of it recently, but I read that the wavy line deception camouflage on some of the Fireflies 17pdr barrels was designed by the young artist Rex Whistler who was himself a Cromwell commander in the Welsh Guards, sadly killed in a dismounted action. It was a simple and very clever design that can also be seen on other vehicles.

Seeing Matt outside of his comfort zone and his home studio just shows how darn good he is at talking and presenting, it's impressive!

Great video, Matt is excellent.

One of the absolute best top 5s ever. You should have him do more videos.

The battle of Cambrai gets lots of attention because of the use of armour but the Battle of Amiens in the following year was a much more effective use of all arms, including cavalry. Here is an excerpt from the 28th Canadian Infantry Battalion war diary dated August 8-10 1918: CAVALRY: The support - moral and actual - of the Cavalry throughout the operations, has been of tremendous assistance to the infantry. One incident observed by several Officers of this Unit bears testimony to the fact that British Cavalry has lost none of its old daring. A patrol of four other ranks, moving across the open, was engaged (at about 400 yards distance) by an enemy machine gun. The four horsemen immediately turned in the direction of the gun and galloped towards it. Three of the number, in turn, were shot down; but the fourth continued the charge, cutting down the enemy gun’s crew, and captured the weapon. He then, with great coolness, rode after and caught the horse of one of his fallen comrades, and led it back to his squadron. It is regretted that, under the circumstances, it was not possible to obtain the name of this man.

Great presentation. He obviuously loves tanks (as well as swords) and did his research. BTW I follow his channel.

Unexpected but not unwelcome crossover! If only he did the interview in his german harness 😂

Not the crossover I expected but a welcome one 😂 I love Matt 😊

Great bait and switch with the Scimitar - I absolutely thought Matt was going to bring up the friendly fire incident with the A-10 as the most famous event they were involved in during GW1

Love the perspective! The Valentine was reliable! The Sherman was reliable!

Really nicely done, Matt. I like the stories attached to each tank.

This is one of my favorite top 5 videos, entertaining and easy to watch

One of the best Top 5s so far. Awesome job SG!

Guderian in Achtung Panzer was delighted that the British attached cavalry to their tank forces. His greatest fear was a breakthrough by "fast" light tanks (Whippets and French Renaults). He knew that his machineguns could pin any accompanying cavalry and halt the armoured breakthrough.

Matt is awesome! Great top 5!

Not on topic but isn’t it time the Panther received a tank chats reloaded? The Panther tank chat is rather short when compared to the later editions, it would be great to get some more detail. 👍

Matt, incredibly orepared for the show, as usual. He could start working for the tank museum. Please, consider this!

One of the best top fives from Matt SG. Great detail in the given time. His presenting skills _honed_ (😊) at Schola Gladiatoria shine through. Matt, give my regards to Gladys.

Excellent historical context by Matt!

This was a good list. Very enjoyable. There was a nice amount of detail he provided. (I made the same kit as my first model tank...got to love it for the same reasons).

I think that you stated quite well the best 5 ever tanks including your love for the Scimitar! Essentially you are correct about your tanks but more importantly you have been in the proper perspective the role is the Pz.Kpfw IV and the Sherman Firefly that at last it could fight the "Cats" on much better terms despite it's drawback. It is safe to say that the Sherman Firefly a very important tank fighting this Germans. A very interesting video, thanks for sharing this very interesting video 👍👍👍

Great video Matt, I'm also a huge fan of the Valentine and Pz IV but I especially liked your talk on the Mk IV, the role of cavalry and the crossover with the new armoured warfare. Great stuff.

37.28 Why was a Major leading an infantry team? Brilliant set of 5 Best. Really good explanations of the reasons why.

I would argue that the Tank Museum has found a formidable new presenter as a future replacement for the "aging" present staff, excellent presenting skills, knowledge and camera presence and he is entertaining, very well done. 🤓😊😀

Thank-you for putting the valentine on your list. Hopefully it will help get it a redone tank chat.

I could listen to matt easton all day!

/prays that Matt will find a tank that mounted a bayonet //clicks play

Really enjoyed the video,a bit of a change thanks Matt!

Excellent presentation, very professionally done ! You just out did the History Channel ! Thank you .

One of the most impressive top 5's due to all the very interesting 'background information'. Many thanks !!!!

Possibly the most comprehensive 'Top/Bottom Fives' ever presented.

probably the best and most informed top 5 yet 👍a very interesting top 5 , thanks for this 😊

Wow, an afrika core panzer IV waa my first model too! Excellent top 5 tank video! Lots of context and extra info, delivered with subjectivity, without bias and yet not dry. Very well researched. Love to see Matt do more.

Nice description of the tank battle Matt.

Great as usual Matt, and longwinded as usual :)

Good choices. I was expecting tanks that everyone says. "King tiger.. tiger.. panther... " I was thinking:. "Well, this will probably be uninteresting "

For anyone who is curious as to why the 75mm gun's HE round was so well praised, it is because it's a pretty low velocity quick firing field gun literally from 1897, because the shell was flying slowly it could have thinner walls without the threat of fragmenting mid flight and that means you can have more payload. It was never designed to be shooting at tanks, WW1 tanks, let alone panthers and tigers, therefore high payload was ideal. This is not the only way to go about it. The German Flak 88 HE round they just went for a larger projectile size and less powder pushing it, and subsequently they had a devastatingly massive HE payload(it's actually got considerably more high explosives in the shell than the Soviet 122mm HE shell(so a tiger was putting out bigger booms than an IS2 or SU122, and much more quickly), and still an excellent high velocity AP shot. It meant your crews might need to readjust aim if they are switching shell types, but you're dropping A LOT of explosives. The British had close support tanks with 3 inch howitzers early in the war for shooting smoke and HE rounds(doctrinally more often smoke, but Australian CS matildas would be put to good effect firing HE in New Guinea and Borneo), but being fielded 2 tanks per squadron (3x troops of 4 or so tanks each) of gun tanks they didn't have much effect. Of course mainly attacking fortified positions in the pacific the Australians would run the 3 inch howitzer tanks 50:50 with 2pdr tanks, they'd also throw in flamethrower matildas too.

Entertaining and informative. Excellent video.

The Lemon Russ, you always have the option - "Drive me closer! I want to hit them with my sword!!"

Awesome!!!! Love it!!!

Matt! There's one favourite youtuber, I was not expecting on this channel

What a lovely surprise. Love both channels. ❤❤

Quite enjoyed that Matt, well done.

The most interesting top 5 thanks Matt love your normal channel

My first tank model was a Tamiya PzKpfw IV ausf F2.😁

I've rarely clicked on anything as fast!😂

Brilliant, lots of different perspectives 😊

You had me at top five tanks

"A" Squadron, 16th/5th Lancers also engaged Iraqi tanks with 30mm, destroying some and damaging others. The Rarden could fire APDS, HE, and APSE.

Matt on tanks? 😄 Surely the one with the best armour? 🙂

Excellent choice of vehicles

I wonder if Matt is going to bring a tank to his next HEMA event.

Mate! You didn't have to go that hard! BRILIANT

Agreed. Sometimes personal reasons apply to a degree.

Great job!

Great choice of number 1 tank!

Great video, thank you for sharing your opinion. Thumps up 👍

i do love he chose tanks we're still learning from so many decades later

Not so well known fact. The Panzer III was built in larger numbers and was more prevalent 1939-mid 1943 and the Panther was built in larger numbers in 1944 and 1945, being more prevalent after mid 1944 according to the production figures by Jentz and Doyle. So the Panzer IV was only the most prevalent German tank for about a year. Mid 1943 to mid 1944. Even in Normandy, the Panther was almost as numerous as the Panzer IV. Nearly 700 v nearly 900.

Great review!

I would argue that the tank, especially the early ones like the Mark IV, were not replacing cavalry. They were replacing the siege tower, or the battering ram, or any number of other clever military engineering solutions you would use to break a siege, which is what the battlefields of the first world war had become. It was a modern reinvention of a thing we hadn't needed for a while because the cannon made stone walls useless. We had to wait a long time for a new kind of fortification to be invented and then had to invent the new battering ram to beat it.

Love the storytelling.

The valentines is my number one tank. I absolutely love the little devil. I know it struggled in the fight. But I love how unique it is. :D

Matt Easton sent me. Fun show.

21:20 ish. The actually thought they were seeing a Tiger, because with the "Schürzen" it looked like one from a distance at a glance. I always thought that was rubbish, but the I went to the Tschech Tank Museum Lesany and they have a hall with a light and sound installation where you walk throuugh a Ditch. It is pretty intense. And after entering I came around a bend and for a moment thought "Oh a Tiger" But it was a late model Panzer IV :) I gues in the heat of battle that effect would be even more pronunced.

Heh. I had a Scorpion tank for my Action Man. 🙂 It was a Valentine hatch that 'nipped' off the finger tip of the actor Ian Carmichael.

I play WoTB and from there found Tank Chats, etc, and through interest in HEMA found Schola, and now it's all come together, worlds colliding! 😂

That windmill looks happy to be involved. 16:44

Impressive knowledge of armour for a bladed weapons expert.

Hey Matt 👊 A very good top five, buddy 👌 Two of them would feature, in mine 😉 Thanks to the Tank Museum for letting Matt share his T5 👌 All the best, Gus 👍

Sword tanks and tank swords for the win

it's interesting to look at the differences between IFVs and main battle tanks. Technically you could classify them both as tanks, given their general construction. However, they are so different that they have entirely different classifications and roles on the battlefield.

Wonderful job.

The Firefly 17 pounder was probably the best WW2 tank gun. The sabot 17 pounder round had the greatest penetration, 8 inches, although it had accuracy problems.

Matt my man I am happy to watch this episode 😂

Thanks!