5 Weird Tanks | Tank Chats

Enjoy this compilation of classic Tank Chats presented by David Fletcher. We’ve put together David’s chats on some of the weirdest tank designs in our collection - including Praying Mantis, Tetrach, L1E3, Wheel-Cum-Track Machine, and the M22 Locust.
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00:00 | Intro
00:35 | Praying Mantis
02:26 | Tetrarch
10:03 | L1E3 Amphibious
14:48 | Wheel-Cum-Track Machine
20:36 | M22 Locust
This video features archive footage courtesy of British Pathé.
#tankmuseum

[@squelching]

I really do miss David. Hopefully he's doing well.

[@ronanfitzpatrick1261]

Same

[@demonicsquid7217]

Thought he'd retired.

[@squelching]

@@demonicsquid7217 he has. These are older videos.

[@cohenworrior898]

He's probably restoring a tank in a shed somewhere. 😉

[@mattw785]

Is he doing any articles etc?

[@66kbm]

How wonderful to see Mr David Fletcher again even if it is a compilation of older videos. I think i can safely say that all subscribers of this channel both miss him and wish him well.

[@timwells637]

That Pray mantis tank looks uncomfortable

[@Temp0raryName]

Turning around a panzer division heading towards the Normandy beaches with only 5 obsolete tanks sounds like they performed a vital role!

[@fakshen1973]

These tanks are no worse than the "tankettes" that were around in the beginning of the war. I look at them more as upgraded mobile guns that can do light defense work at airfields or near depots etc until something heavier is available.

[@mojotheaverage]

If you accidentally perform an important role, you're still performing an important role. Those little tetrarchs were clearly well worth deploying!

[@emberfist8347]

@@fakshen1973 I mean the light tank's main role is being an armored scout. You aren't going to to use a light tank against a medium tank or heavy tank.

[@russwoodward8251]

God bless you David Fletcher. You've brought thousands of new enthusiasts into the world of armour and brought history alive for all of us. You are just truly original and brilliant.

[@osmacar5331]

and the ones he brought to the table are often critically studying and actually be willing to see what the value is given instead of being propaganda pushing and consuming morons. hopefully it remains as time goes on, the museum AND the chieftain taught me a LOT of what i know.

[@johnoneill5661]

You really got to love Mr Fletcher if it's rubbish he will tell you it's rubbish.😅

[@PUBHEAD1]

They need to sell little plushy stuffy dolls of Mr. Fletcher, complete with miniture mustache and cardigan so that we can all have a tank granddad of our very own.

[@BeasBotBonanza]

100% agree

[@Green-Mountainboy]

The thought of being in a tank inside a glider and then dropping from the sky into the ocean is terrifying.

[@aaronleverton4221]

I doubt the crews were manning their tanks during flight and landing. Edit: Okay, I was wrong and didn't remember watching the original video. But it makes me ask why on earth were the crew in the tank for flight and landing? If it's a rough landing the crew get beaten up and possibly knocked out and are useless until they come to.

[@johndoe-so2ef]

The time between falling out of the glider and hitting the water........

[@sebastiangundolf6740]

​@@aaronleverton4221That is what I would have thought too. I would not bet on a smooth landing... Being inside a car crashing at 20 mph with all it's modern safety features is already not fun. But being completly blind in a steel box with sharp edges and corners without any of these features sounds like a guarantee for severe injury

[@scockery]

@@johndoe-so2ef Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the crew of the Tetrarch as it fell was "Oh no, not again."

[@aaronleverton4221]

@@scockery Poor Agrajag.

[@dougjb7848]

Mantis looks like a group of third years were told to make a tank that put the raw fighting power of the Bren Carrier on a pound-shop A-frame step ladder.

[@keithskelhorne3993]

BAE Systems are head hunting you now!! 🤣

[@emberfist8347]

The Praying Mantis reminds me of a phrase I like to use. There is no idea too stupid that someone wouldn't be willing to support it. I mean clearly this was done by a guy who had pull in the company otherwise it wouldn't been made even as a prototype and they tested it instead of laughing him off.

[@richardtheweaver4891]

9:43 Cool. The very word ‘tank’ was enough to carry the day!

[@confusedrhino]

I loled at the credits rolling as he was explaining, imagining them doing it live like "cmon David wrap it up" haha. But nice video, I like his relaxed style

[@Paludion]

Your comment reminds me of that Monty Python sketch where the spanish Inquisition is late to their "unexpected" appearance to a tribunal court. They board a bus but the credits starts to roll, and when they finally arrive the screen cuts to black. XD

[@favmansanimatronicsmore2377]

Good old David is a legend!

[@octane613]

The way that man roasted that poor amphibious tank lmfao

[@maxasaurus3008]

Could you imagine the thoughts of that crew on the way down? Dreadful indeed, Rest in Peace.

[@BamBamBigelow..]

That tank falling out of glider story freaks me out

[@bebo4807]

Rather shitty way to go.

[@badideagenerator2315]

​@@bebo4807 a lot of American tank crews headed for omaha beach met similar fates when their floatation devices failed due to stormy weather.

[@c1ph3rpunk]

The man, the legend, the mustache.

[@willemhendriks1905]

Mantis is like Johnny 5's Cro-Magnon ancestor. Clear Skynet vibes. Might work as a drone so no crew gets bedsores...

[@fredwupkensoppel8949]

I like how methodical he is. "Here are all the facts, some say this, some say that, it's not up to me to decide"

[@douglasmaccullagh7865]

My understanding of those suspension rods on the M22 Locust is they stiffen and reinforce the suspension. The bogie brackets were weak and could be bent traveling cross country. The external rods reinforced the suspension without adding much weight.

[@thetankmuseum]

Hey Tank Nuts! We hope you enjoyed David Fletcher discussing some weird tanks. Know any other weird tanks? Drop them in the comments below.

[@adubs3080]

The ram kangaroo is rather weird

[@book5ter]

How is David doing these days? If i may ask.

[@Kellen6795]

Could we get an update on how Mr. Fletcher is doing? Would love to know if hes doing well and if not, if there's any way we can help out!

[@Simon_Nonymous]

Adding to a common theme, would there be a chance of a small video catching up with Mr Fletcher, as it's easy to see he is very well respected, very well loved, and greatly missed. I think a lot of us would like to think he is enjoying a well deserved retirement, watering pot plants and enjoying frequent pub lunches.

[@jakedee4117]

I think the Praying Mantis design is still a solid concept, just a bit ahead of its time. A tracked vehicle with a couple of machine guns or missile launchers on a tall hydraulic arm. You could convert a JCB to do that and most or all of it can be automated.

[@christopherreed4723]

I was thinking the same thing. Re-visit the concept as a remotely-operated vehicle with current technology, and it becomes potentially useful. I don't think a missile launcher would fit into the gun mount, assuming one kept the size of the vehicle the same, but the mount would definitely accomodate a .50, or a .30 caliber gun of some type plus a grenade launcher. Or, for that matter, an array for less-lethal devices for use by police special-tactics units. Without the need to fit the crew into the lifting arm, the arm itself could be made to extend as well as raise, meaning one could use it to peek over (or into) quite tall structures.

[@Kellen6795]

@@christopherreed4723 Take that design, beef it up a bit, toss a machine gun and possibly a pair of handheld anti tank weapons on it and you have a neat scout/ambush vehicle!

[@CrusaderSports250]

​@@christopherreed4723working with infantry it was a mobile machine gun, the lift was to allow the mantis to fire over walls, undergrowth, and into buildings without exposing the crew to fire, in a city fighting scenario it would have been ideal, the man credited with its design had been a machine gunner in the great war, and so knew how dangerous a job it was, in operating a machine gun you had to expose yourself more than a man with a rifle, thus opening you up to sniper fire, hence the mantis.

[@Kumimono]

Going down in a tank, into the English Channel. What a way to go. I'd imagine drowning is unusual cause of death for a tanker.

[@emberfist8347]

I think it might have been more common disturbingly. There were a lot of amphibious tanks concepts as David mentioned so statistically some will fail. Even more than that, the DD Sherman deployed at Normandy the same day as the Teterach to support the beach landings did sink in large numbers because the ships deploying them deployed them too far from their intended drop point. For reference 29 DD tanks were deployed to support the landing at Omaha Beach and only 2 made it to the beach.

[@Captain_Rhodor]

The only reason I know the Praying Mantis even exists is because of a certain porcine Scotsman, so it's really cool to see it get a more in-depth spotlight!

[@johndoe-so2ef]

Might that be a certain intoxicated porcine Scotsman?

[@silentdrew7636]

He's probably the main reason they're covering it.

[@stuartwhelan233]

David Fletcher is a absolute legend talking about tank don't half miss him reminds me a bit like fred dibnah on the tank version hope he is enjoying his retirement and has many years ahead of him. I could sit in a pub all day and get pissed listening him talk tanks and stuff😂👍👍

[@HATECELL]

I find it interesting that even though these tanks didn't perform too well, the main ideas behind the aren't exactly dead. Light, airliftable tanks are still around, with vehicles like the Scorpion, BMD, or the Wiesel. Whilst we don't really see them as tanks anymore they still have some armour, tracks, and thanks to missiles they can have quite the punch. Whilst the Praying Mantis was a flop, Germany tried it again in the 1980s with their trilateraler Versuchsträger. And on the more improvised side there are weaponised cherrypickers in places like Syria. And one could argue that periscopes on recon vehicles or drones spotting or even marking targets for friendly ground forces are a spiritual successor to the idea. Amphibious tanks still somewhat exist. Whilst we wouldn't consider them MBTs, vehicles like the PT-76 or the Ikv91 can pose a threat to most other vehicles. Even the "wheel and threads" idea isn't totally dead. On some "future tech" videos there are triangular threads that can warp into a round wheel. Whilst I doubt armies will slap these things on all their wheeled vehicles anytime soon there seem to be enough people believing in this concept that engineers keep tinkering

[@murrayscott9546]

Nice to see'va still stickin: round ! You're part of my life. G'bless.

[@fatrobin72]

Personally I love the plucky little light tanks, especially with the crazy idea of dropping them behind enemy lines and basically praying not to encounter any form of tank with a pea shooter and thin metal plate.

[@mikep490]

I love his talks. Light tanks were considered novelties since tanks were supposed to fight armor. In recent wars light tanks could be very useful. Even the Bradley (not even close to being a tank) has racked up its fair share of armor so maybe medium and light tanks could have a place in combat.

[@MrAdamforman]

I love the guy. He's perfect for such videos.

[@Studio23Media]

I love this old chap. You can't more "British tank historian" than David Fletcher. I hope he's doing well.

[@bennyfactor]

Marmon built the first car to win the Indianapolis 500 Mile race - "the wasp." Perhaps the "locust" name the British assigned to the M22 was in reference to that instead of a general.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Strange definition of weird. Apart from their intended use the Tetrach and Locust are normal.

[@ferdonandebull]

The locus design to be carried outside of a plane then having the turret added after landing makes it odd.. just looking at it you immediately think Glider delivered tank to support airborne . At least I do.. but you are absolutely right.. just looking you think light tank..

[@Ganiscol]

It looks like a miniature MBT, which makes it weird. 😅

[@CrusaderSports250]

​@@ferdonandebullit would have to be delivered to an established base, just to land the aircraft and deal with it, so not a front line delivery system like the glider, once you have established your airfield it would have been a useful way of getting light armour protection reasonably quickly, a system more useful in the Pacific theatre with the myrid of islands to deal with.

[@johnfisk811]

Several Locusts ended up with the Egyptian army and fought in 1948.

[@jenniferstewarts4851]

wow, a full video about the Tetrarch, and not a word about its Little John adapter. in fact the last picture shows a Tet with the Little John. it gave the tet's the ability to penetrate 88mm of armor or most Panzer III and IV's... at 450 yards.

[@Memevze]

Wow now that's a neat piece of kit.

[@maotisjan]

15:12 An adjustable track system 😯, I use that for the tanks I made up (sorta super sci-fi space tanks) interesting to see someone tried that concept for real, even if it didn't went anywhere

[@ptonpc]

The thing is, at the time, they all made some sort of sense, at least enough to try out.

[@mikezackman2093]

I always enjoy coming home to work and getting the treat of a fun and educational history lesson on something truly interesting. Thank you, Gentlemen.

[@reg8471]

if I remember don’t you guys have a Churchill gun carrier rotting at the museum? if you guys are able to you should restore. it the gun is still intact if I remember correctly

[@liamcollinson5695]

The m22 locust tank almost looks cute for a weapon of war

[@m10cachilles43]

Can't believe you missed the Humber Pig with the high pressure water cannon.

[@bwilliams463]

I don't know about the Locust not resembling other American tanks; it looks to me like a miniature Sherman with sloping side armor.

[@Herowebcomics]

Wow! That first one makes me wonder why it was made!😮

[@NeoIsrafil]

I do wish we had any idea what the hell the wheel cum track was meant for. It's a very odd little vehicle, barely armored, terrible to drive in, and not very well armed. Can't fathom why you'd want it. You may say the locust is one of the worst, but honestly I think it's a beautiful idea... It could have been the infantry of tanks. They're absolutely adorable in my opinion.

[@tin_sn6171]

the wheel-WHAT-track machine??

[@emberfist8347]

Get you mind of the gutter.

[@johnwolf2829]

Thailand had a pair of L1E3 Amphibs for their Marine Corps (battalion, really) and I wonder if they ever used them for anything in WW2?

[@SCRB1GR3D98]

Wow where did u manage to find test footage of the Vickers Armstrong armoured car? That's amazing!

[@aceade]

I honestly thought the Praying Mantis was supposed to be a siege ladder or something like that.

[@cedhome7945]

That would be absolutely terrifying to go into battle inside that thing..

[@emberfist8347]

It looked like something Homer Simpson would design.

[@alexdemoya2119]

Air portable and amphibious tanks suffer from the same issue. By making the tank light enough to be delivered in a glider or swimming across a river you must sacrifice too much armor. Such operations are not two way, you can't air-extract a tank as easily as air drop it. So in essence you have managed to deliver a tank to its doom because it isnt as good as the tanks bound to the land.

[@emberfist8347]

That changed with the creation of helicopters.

[@CrusaderSports250]

​@@emberfist8347and the protection got thinner to allow portability, it is the problem all air mobile infantry have had ever since they existed, you land the troops but with no backup beyond what they can carry, and if you cannot get to them you have lost them, light air portable vehicles and armour helps to give them a little bit more "say" in the matter. Helicopters are good but you are never going to get large and in short supply heavy lift helicopters well behind the aggressors front line, they are too tactically valuable for that.

[@emberfist8347]

@@CrusaderSports250 That is why they are light so you can use medium lift helicopters.

[@torinjones3221]

The tetrachs actually distracted thd germans and caused them to redirect armour to them rather than the beaches. Remember to an infantryman without an at weapon a tank even an outdated one is still a tank

[@od1452]

Nice collection.

[@Fidd88-mc4sz]

I've always thought that the 'praying mantis' was a quite brilliant and original idea, that was worthy of further development. It is interesting to consider what the result might have been had the builder liased with the RAF and USAF turret designers as the Mantis'es fighting compartment was clearly sub-optimal, and much of the remote-sighting technology developed for B29's and the like could conceivable have been applied. Thinking to more recent conflicts, the ability to pop-up over the walls of Afghan compounds with such a vehicle to provide over-watch as infantry effected a breach of the walls might also have been a useful capability. It's a shame this highly original vehicle was not fully exploited - imagine is equipped with heavier ATGM's - could have had a long and useful career, effectively the fore-runner of helicopters popping up and firing ATGM's. The basic idea of a low vehicle that can extend upwards a weapon or sensor package to fire or observe, before retreating and lowering, is very sound.

[@bobbmarly4355]

Tanks a lot!

[@timf6916]

Nice, a lot of good info.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Great video...👍

[@Airman_Fu]

Pretty sure the prototype for the “Dinosaur eating truck” Megasaurus came from the tank Praying Mantis.

[@ErvinJusic-fo4sz]

The thumbnail tank looks like something that a 5 year old would draw honesty

[@steve1315]

Good to see the Fletch again👍👍🍸🍸.

[@sebastianthomsen2225]

i hope Mr David Fletcher is doing okay ☺👍

[@OptiPopulus]

M22 my beloved! ❤❤

[@kristinabegail]

I think if they just made the Praying Mantis bigger, it could basically act as a ww2 helicopter So you go the advantages of being more armored than a heli And you can snipe at enemies from above It can hide behind a building or any other object and fire from above

[@omaralonso2471]

I wanna go to the museum but I'm literally on the other side of the world -_-

[@latch9781]

Correction on Tetrach; it doesn't have hydropneumatic suspension. Source; the stripped down hull you have in the VCC

[@Paciat]

He meant the steering mechanism that moved the 2nd and 3rs wheels of the suspension sideways for steering. But yes this mechanism isnt a part of the suspension. It had simple coil springs for that job.

[@emberfist8347]

@@Paciat Yep the good Christie Suspension. The solution to the problem nobody asked for.

[@DefaultProphet]

The Stewart was a 1941 tank useful in 1944, no reason the Tetrarch wouldn’t be

[@StuartG.Kizomba]

Strange and amazing ideas

[@mobiusmo6152]

It's nice to see Mr Fletcher again :) But I also like the new ones at the TM. They do an awsome job.

[@oldesertguy9616]

Hearing that the "armored car" was sold to Hungary explains why Hungary went to the Axis, lol.

[@emberfist8347]

Well that and some people need to learn the same lesson twice. Germany and Bulgaria are other examples.

[@Beemer917]

The empire had quite a collection of wacky inventors. We colonials call them Rube Goldbergs. So many excellent products came from Blighty, I never imagined that you had these kind of people or that they would get anybody to listen to them but I guess they did

[@tom-vx1lp]

pomp and prestige describes david

[@barbarybar]

The mantis could easily have a modern counterpart with a remotely controlled armament.

[@bigiron2572]

What about the Italian L3/33?

[@StephenLyons-tl8ie]

That's an impressive biscuit brush

[@kermitthorson9719]

i thought the best part of compilations was going to be the clothing changes. but honestly its the hair cuts

[@jp18449]

Instead of a compilation of old content (Repeats are not needed on the internet), how about bringing back workshop diaries?

[@johnanon6938]

Yes or even redo some of the old ones now there's new info/details that were missing, could expand on variants and maybe on support vehicles too?

[@noobyd9767]

rip the penguins of madagascar!

[@ivan123341]

Can all the tanks shoot or are the guns just blocked?

[@user-co2vz4py3r]

Locust=Minnie Me Sherman.

[@magnustherad3597]

looool wheelcumtrackmachine

[@anumeon]

A day with some of David Fletchers reviews is always going to be a good day.. I really miss that man, i hope he is enjoying his well earned retirement.

[@glitchvlogs6597]

11:54 someone doesn't like amphibious tanks

[@f1reguy587]

Oh i want the praying mantis tank in world of tanks, warthunder and wotb,

[@whiskeyguzzlerpaso]

Bennie Hills little brother gives us Tonks

[@tigadirt]

The Attenborough of tankists

[@emilsinclair4190]

Playing mantis idea was modified at the end of the cold War. Something similar might have been adopted if the war would have gone on later.

[@HorstMichel-mh7gv]

Sir Fletcher, good to see you do well.

[@mattw785]

Great video. As always, great stuff

[@MURATAYDOS71.]

Firedi amca,sizin bu tank sisteminden robotik iyi bir çok namlulu roket sistemi olur.

[@pyeitme508]

Wow

[@user-qg9in6sp2x]

2ndc one smol pew

[@ianbell5611]

Great video. Very interesting

[@user-qg9in6sp2x]

One in thumnail tall boi

[@alanrickett2537]

Spend time telling you how rubbish a idea it was to send these tanks by glider and then drops in that the turned round the best German chance to stop d day like it was nothing. He should know that the effect is more important than how much it kills and the fact they had no other useful role makes sending them zero loss.

[@johnanon6938]

He usually jumps to the end of the vehicles service life says its garbage then goes back in its history knowing someone will call his BS for ignoring notable times during the vehicles history.

[@theromanorder]

Please do a video on the evaluation of tank veiw ports and more evaluation of tank doctrine videos

[@murrayscott9546]

Very well d,òn, ás always.

[@johndoe-so2ef]

Any opportunity to see a new David Fletcher video is a full stop, this is priority situation.

[@BronxBastrad730]

All of these list videos, the tank museum posts are basically the same 5 tanks over n over ... I'm sure there's some tanks in that museum that haven't been featured in any videos .. how about doing something on them instead of the same things over n over n over again ....

[@johnanon6938]

I totally agree and also videos on artillery ie. 17 pounder with the separate ammo trailer, or CMP and other support vehicles, etc.

[@wot1fan885]

Was away for awhile . Though you retired from youtube but was a nice surprise . I love weird military ideas or vehicles .

[@johnsowerby7182]

Vickers Armstrong were just a never ending source of designs... They weren't all necessarily good mind...

[@randyhavard6084]

David Fletcher is a legend.

[@sylvainvanduyl6143]

David, probably the only there who is not biased, and talks out of knowledge and passion. 😅

[@michaelhband]

👍👍👍

[@chaoctic7278]

The old bull returns