Chieftains Q&A 18½ Rabbits, Reindeer and Wombats

Part 2, continuing from last week
00:00 Hallo.
00:09 Why the jump in designations to the M103 from all the earlier numbers?
01:15 On occasion, military equipment is painted up to be particularly visible to the enemy. Did this ever happen to armor units or vehicles?
02:52 Has there ever been a case of Shermans engaging Shermans?
03:32 Do shells fired by a tank normally wobble?
04:31 Are there any armed forces I think might have a problem converting power on paper to military victories?
05:29 What are the procedures in case of a misfire?
06:51 Can I shed some light on the development process of the ARL-44
09:15 Are there talks of doing any more books with Wargaming on meds, lights or artillery vehicles of the US?
09:55 Have i come across documents comparing steel quality?
10:33 Would the US have been better off adopting the CVRT over the M551?
11:27 What holds the turret to the hull?
12:56 What does it mean for resources to be held at different army levels?
13:46 What am I hoping will be under the tree for me this Christmas?
14:48 Is it true that after WWII construction companies used Shermans to destroy houses?
16:22 Any amusing stories of after-action reports of Sherman ops in the Pacific to share?
16:52 How do vehicle crews manage to keep their optics and sensors clear in foul weather or muddy terrain?
17:15 How difficult of terrain is deep snow?
17:48 Were the LVT/LVTAs successful in their roles in Pacific and Europe?
18:23 Any advantages/disadvantages to a reindeer-powered present supply vehicle as opposed to one which uses tracks.
22:17 You and some tanker buddies just started band, what would you name it?
22:42 Does the low silhouette of Eastern block tanks cause a problem in urban terrain?
23:42 Why were T62s and not T72s used in Afghanistan?
23:54 Does greater track width necessitate a greater output from the engine,
24:45 Would field expedient means of damaging bridges, such as shooting at them with cannon or SP artillery be a reasonable means of slowing pursuit?
25:40 What is my opinion on tanks where the commander’s position is centerline in the turret?
27:10 What’s the most surprising vehicle I’ve explored?
28:05 Are the books behind me the only ones I have?
28:50 Why were the Coalition armies so effective at killing Warsaw Pact equipment in the 1991 war?
29:58 Would I care to opine on the trend of mis-labelling Russian equipment?
31:15 In replacing the Bradley would the US do better to have different vehicles for the IFV and CFV roles?
32:52 What would a post-war TD branch have looked like?
34:35 What is the blue jacketed round of ammo I have displayed on my shelf?
36:05 Tank related lies in Patton
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[@Masada1911]

Chieftain: “Gives a multiple minute analysis of the advantages vs disadvantages of reindeer power vs tracks” Also Chieftain: “Im not known for my creative expression”

[@richardcox7939]

I wonder how many takes that answer took...

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Yeah I thought that was rather cheeky of him as well.

[@Username67357]

He has a great sense of humor. I loved it :D

[@petesheppard1709]

That Irish dry wit...

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

And kept a straight face all the while :)

[@roymuerlunos2426]

Smoothbore could be a workable Heavy Metal Band name, can even start your own genre, Rhein-metal.

[@CallanElliott]

To be fair, Rheinmetal would be a good band name too.

[@mpetersen6]

Depleted Uranium. That works.

[@aliasalias8433]

good!

[@Silver-vy9ie]

Tungsten core, HEAT, discarding sabot, track tension, all seems good names

[@mpetersen6]

@@Silver-vy9ie Make mine above Undepleated Uranium

[@bencejuhasz6459]

For the band name in your case, I would go with Track Tension.

[@allensteiner1]

Good one Sir

[@andrealeighv1]

I was going to vote for "Oh bugger the tank is on fire" but I like Track Tension better. Shorter and rolls off the tongue better.

[@MajesticDemonLord]

Liquid Track Tension....

[@elliswatanabe]

@@henrykimberley5922 or "this silence offends me"

[@Legitpenguins99]

@@elliswatanabe "Things are about to get loud!"

[@petethebastard]

Re: "what holds a turret on?"... At the (Aussie) First Armoured Regiment, the standing joke was "to remove the turret, traverse 13 times anti-clockwise, then connect a crane and remove!" ...Many believed us!

[@slateslavens]

Same here. I was a Bradley Turret mech with 24 Inf Bn at Ft Stewart. We had the privates convinced it was a combination lock. Something like 10-5-38, which was a hoot when you see the turret spinning wildly in the motorpool. :P

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

@@slateslavens lol. I dont know which is better. Screwed on tureets, or safe lock turrets?

[@memesmemes6893]

All you hear in the middle of sentry duty is “a little click out of one, two is binding…”

[@joaoie]

"IFR all-weather module" got me

[@davidmunro3910]

Tres clever.

[@christophercripps7639]

Code named "Rudolph" ...

[@CallanElliott]

@@christophercripps7639 M1 IFR-AWM Rudolf

[@beardo52]

Re: Turret Attachment,, The instructors at Ft. Kox years ago answered the question thusly. " It screws on, if you traverse the Turret more than 12 times to the left, it will unscrew, and fall off"

[@jackeyboy6538]

The real answer

[@treyhelms5282]

Hey, everything is "air-droppable" once.

[@PobortzaPl]

That's what Maxims for Highly Efficient Mercenaries say.

[@treyhelms5282]

@@PobortzaPl Yes! *THOOOOM*

[@looinrims]

Only if it can be put on an aircraft

[@frankdantuono2594]

Band name: The Significant Emotional Events Hit single: Good Lord (the Tank is on Fire)

[@timothyhayes9724]

I like the single, but needs a retitle. Best would "Oh Bugger"

[@Finwolven]

@@timothyhayes9724 One's for US market, the other's for other markets.

[@viandengalacticspaceyards5135]

If it was up to the soldiers,I could imagine some tanks in the "Year of the Rabbit" being fitted with giant ears&fluffy tails as Playboy bunnies.

[@normandypilot8873]

Main problem being an aroused tank platoon but a confused enemy when a giant bunny tank is rolling towards them.

[@mikegonzalez1821]

@@normandypilot8873 well there goes my drink. Good thing I missed my monitor. My cat is not to happy with me either.

[@normandypilot8873]

@@mikegonzalez1821 Mission acomplished! but i am sorry for your cat...

[@mikegonzalez1821]

Lol she's ignoring me.

[@danieltsiprun8080]

@@mikegonzalez1821 i am surprised she didn't attack you

[@oldmangimp2468]

My submission for the name of The Chieftain's band: . "Steel on Target" (I hear that seeing them in concert is a significant emotional event!) . . Alternate History Note: If The Chieftain had been present, the song "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple would have been named "Oh My God, The Venue is on Fire"

[@ZGryphon]

My favorite Steel on Target song is "That Vehicle Offends Me (Remove It)".

[@windwalker5765]

Don't forget "Fire for Effect!"

[@mcintoshpc]

Oh bugger, the studio is on fire

[@KestrelOwens]

My understanding of why the Red Baron's Flying Circus was painted was to be visible and distinguishable to each other and thus reduce friendly fire incidents which apparently were not uncommon at the time.

[@Michael-ix7fg]

Speaking of friendly fire, I'm sure some unintentional Sherman on Sherman actions were caused by that

[@Alpostpone]

In earlier Q&A, Chieftain mentioned it was better to make US tanks distinguishable from air (by painting a star on the roof) than camouflaging them, given that US air to ground support was overwhelmingly more present than axis, so much so that friendly fire incidents were higher risk than enemy air attacks.

[@ew3612]

It also instilled fear among their enemies knowing that they are going to be fighting the best of the best rather than some guy in a plane.

[@littlekong7685]

@@ew3612 I think some top French aces lamented no Germans wanted to duel them when they saw their call signs on their wings.

[@Riceball01]

@@Alpostpone Sadly, that hasn't gotten much better in recent years. The USAF has something of a bad reputation for not being very good at telling the difference between a friendly and a not friendly vehicle. During Desert Storm the greatest fear of Marine Corps LAV crews was not any Iraqis they might encounter, not even their tanks, but it was being shot at by the USAF. It was so bad that Marines got into the habit of attaching Marine Corps flags or bright orange panels over the top-back portion of their vehicles as a form of visual IFF.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

You should post the reindeer part of this q&A as a standalone. That was funnier than hell! You're really put your heart into that one! Kudos!

[@teaandmedals7677]

Love the python reference, It’s just a rabbit...

[@petesheppard1709]

I thought about Bun-Bun...

[@treyhelms5282]

@@petesheppard1709 Ka-Click!

[@petesheppard1709]

@@treyhelms5282 Yeppers!

[@petesheppard1709]

And don’t forget it, Nerd-boy!

[@treyhelms5282]

@@petesheppard1709 lol. Love Sluggy.

[@tarjei99]

When a tank is in snow, the hull compresses snow beneath it. When the dept of the compressed snow is so big that the tracks don't reach anything solid, the tank stops. Just like a car.

[@catfish552]

Tank Archives did a good video on that fairly recently, including some Soviet test reports of their own and captured German vehicles.

[@christofferwillenfort4035]

some video from the norwegian trials of AFV's. the diference between the bradley and CV90 is stagering. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnLWg2qjZtyLg5I

[@littlekong7685]

"Most tracked vehicle drivers tend to have a definite preference to stay on the ground", With a notable exception of some Cromwell drivers and the odd locust driver of course.

[@jonathangriffiths2499]

“ driver , jump the canal “

[@tokul76]

And some oddball A.D.Bruce.

[@durhamdavesbg4948]

@@jonathangriffiths2499 Wasn't that a crusader?

[@SergeantSarge]

@@durhamdavesbg4948 Seemingly not, Lindybeige has a whole video on the subject.

[@Anlushac11]

Reindeer units: Self repairing and all terrain.

[@fire304]

And self replicating!

[@richardmacdonald6303]

My wife and her friend were watching Goldeneye with me and when it got to the start of the tank chase as he cut through the carriage way I said, meodified from Ralph Zumbro's 'Tank Sergeant" "There is only one thing tankers are really afraid of, Basements". Both got a laugh

[@kemarisite]

Ah-hah, another fan of Zumbro. *waves*

[@richardmacdonald6303]

@@kemarisite Yes, getting into Hue they had to watch out for buildings with basements, something they did not have to worry about out in the boonies. Ad a great something to bring up when Pierce Brosnan is driven through the carriage way ( I have the stunt coordinators book)

[@dylanmilne6683]

ARL 44: a collection of spare parts and legacy tech dating back to WWI put together in the shape of a WWII heavy several years post war.

[@catfish552]

Including bits of old battlecruiser.

[@Alpostpone]

"Yes it does and no it doesn't." - The Chieftain, 2021

[@CallanElliott]

"The obvious problem is that tracked vehicles are generally designed to stay on the ground, not to fly..." The Reformers would like to introduce you to the Aerogavin

[@MegaNato111]

Omg, "Chieftain Plays Combat Missions" would be amazing

[@kindermord]

Agreed!

[@Oddball_E8]

@@killdizzle Too bad that it's only the modern stuff... I prefer the WWII setting.

[@johnknapp952]

Played a ton of the Classic Combat Mission games but that was over a decade ago. Played the demo for the first Shock Force but that's about it.

[@xXJAKMACKXx]

THE PEOPLE DEMAND IT

[@EvilTwinn]

@@Oddball_E8 The WW2 stuff will get there eventually. They wanted to do modern first as they thought it had the best chance of selling, the WW2 games will be (supposedly) released quarterly.

[@janosocsai335]

22:20 I bet your first album would have a lot of TRACKS! on it I'll see myself out...

[@alastairmellor966]

The CVRT (Scorpion and Simitar) were air droppable by the RAF using the Heavy Stressed Platform (HSP). Minimum drop height was 600 feet when I conducted the flight trials in 1984 /5.

[@lavrentivs9891]

"Significant emotional event" would probably work rather well as a metal band name^^

[@Alpostpone]

Could be a live tour's name

[@Lumpytusk]

Better an album!

[@ZGryphon]

Yeah, I think that should be the band's Difficult Second Album. :)

[@alan-sk7ky]

nah that a Blues band.

[@grandadmiralraeder9608]

what about Mamma M1A 1 ?

[@p51cMustangFUYTGIVEMEBACK]

the way he talk about the perks od reindeer propulsion is a piece of art. its perfect comedy and somebody that talks no tech at all wouldnt even know what nonesense it is. if you ever done with tanks (pls dont) comedy might be god for you!

[@michaelkarnerfors9545]

21:46 "Five if you're including installation of the IFR all-weather module" I lost it... :D

[@Stanupnorth]

RG - just a stab but the RG on the Aden round probably refers to Radway Green factory for things that go bang in Cheshire, UK.

[@derekp2674]

Agreed and the accompanying two digits would be the year of manufacture.

[@davidorf3921]

Case made in 89 by Radway Green, filling added in 1990 at ROF Chorley (that's what the CY designation is) that late date likely means it was fired from A Jaguar, Hawk or Harrier aircraft all of which could mount an Aden cannon

[@colbeausabre8842]

1. MISFIRES - Back in the day, when on the range, it was the job of the Range Safety Officer to clear the round after the crew executed misfire drill. The crew would be told to bail out and get well clear, the RSO would drive out and board the tank. Then he would gingerly open the breech, remove the round, and taking extreme care not to bump anything, climb halfway out the loader's hatch and pitch that sucker overboard! We'd tell range control about it when we finished firing and they had the privilege of disposing of it. 2. . TANK VS BUILDING - In Ralph Zumbro's book, “Tank Sergeant”, he related that he learned that the thing to do was hit the corner of the building, not to plow into the a wall head on. They had a newbie driver and he tried the second approach, and the building came down on top of the turret, so you had a blind tank with a bamboo hut on top from under which there was much cursing and taking the Lord's name in vain by the TC. 3. ICE - I commanded a cav troop in Germany and you just haven't lived until you've seen an AFV skid on ice. Every time it happened, I wondered what I was going to tell the court martial to explain the deaths and damage. For a mild example, the Jarheads, in Norway with their desert camouflaged M1's, try some drifting www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a19489/american-tanks-drift-in-norwegian-winter/ Remember that's 70's tons out of control.... 4. LVT'S - ETO didn't seem to welcome the LVT until very late in the war. Makes you wonder if the 36th Infantry Division could have avoided being slaughtered on the Rapido and if Omaha Beach could have been less of a horror story. 5. 5 REINDEER - For real Russian Soldiers Go Native For Arctic Ops Using Reindeer And Dogsleds (defence-blog.com) 6. WOMBAT - 120mm Recoilless used the 50 caliber M8C spotting rifle like the US 106mm M40A1, so your souvenir might have been made in the US. 120 mm BAT recoilless rifle - Wikipedia 7.WOBBLING - NAVWEAPS Technical Section and Armor God Nathan Okun are national treasures History and Technology - NavWeaps

[@31terikennedy]

Santa wrote a TM on rein deer maintenance. Rudolph was an A1 upgrade

[@tangero3462]

Your ability to deliver the absurd absolutely bloody deadpan is truly amazing

[@ThanatosZine]

The band should be called Dakka dakka and play AC/DC covers.

[@SgtBeltfed]

As far as projectiles wobbling, this article goes into some of the why at least with naval cannons. navweaps.com/index_tech/tech-043.php As far as why some wobble is a good thing, it's just proof the shell is doing what it's supposed to on the shallow arc of it's flight path. If you could have a perfectly flat trajectory, the shell wouldn't wobble.

[@brianj.841]

Arrows (and quarrels) both wobble after being released; the rear end is accelerated and has to fight inertia.

[@prjndigo]

To add: under extended field operations and lack of supply the crews are very unlikely to eat the engine of a tank. Band name? "The Chobhams" of course, name is already in the tank! First album could be named "Ablation"

[@fredorman2429]

Love his humor: reindeer powered tanks landing on the roof!

[@trevorlong9831]

I was the crew commander of a Centurion tank when we had a misfire with a HE round. We had wait 15 mins before I dismounted the crew and had to carry the round down range....you can bet my imagination went wild as the round was electrically fired. When I got back to the tank the instructor asked whether I had placed a UXB sign over it so back I went!

[@Zajuts149]

The band should obviously be called "The Track Tensioners"

[@jonnykelly556]

For your Lionel train set, I would recommend a Cruise Commander kit from The Electric Railroad. www.3rdrail.com/err-3rdrail/index.html This will allow you to upgrade the control system of the locomotive and you'll get much more realistic sound effects.

[@davetalley]

In SA you might check Hobbytown or Dibbles

[@thebog11]

@@davetalley Austin also had a Hobbytown. Not sure if it's still there. There was also a shop in the northern part of the city that had a large HO train set inside it, it was a thrill as a kid to go in there and see them running it.

[@alanbare8319]

The Reindeer/Tracked vehicle comparison was brilliant!

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

The LVT was based in civilian vehicle, Roebling tractor.it was designed for use in the Everglades in the search for black crude or oil. The Marine Corps sought and said gosh that looks neat! And it was consequently adapted for military use. Further adaptions resulted in armor being added as stated, the drivetrain was moved from the rear to the front, the m3 Stewart drivetrain was adapted to power later versions of the lvt. They also use the m3 Stewart tank turret to create a fire support version. One had the 37 mm gun in it which was slightly underpowered! The other had the excellent 75 mm pack howitzer. I would love to see a modern version of the pack howitzer. Essentially replace heavier components with lighter weight metals and composites as much as possible but keep the design simple as is. The only thing you might want to change is the speed of traverse, maybe a little longer barrel bigger chamber for a somewhat hotter round. But those are dream items. The basic pack howitzer was highly effective throughout World War II.

[@marklambert3428]

Re: the blue 30mm round. The Aden gun (and it’s twin, the French DEFA cannon) was an aircraft gun used in many British aircraft. The harrier among them. It’s most unusual feature is a single barrel but five chambers, like a revolver. Spits out 1,700 rounds per minute of 30mm high explosive rounds. Most impressive for a gun designed in 1946.

[@elanman608]

Your comments about the ARL44 ring true of most atempts to save money by using "stuff we've already got" the engineering challenges required to couple existing components from different projects almost always exceed the effort required to design and manufacture an all new solution. A prime example of this NASA's SLS rocket, Will the bean counters never learn.

[@mpetersen6]

One of the problems with SLS has been repeated mission changes. Add in changes in administration's. For a Heavy Lift Vehicle we just should have gone with Shuttle C

[@bozo5632]

I am grateful that you start the video when the countdown counts down. More KZbinrs could afford to know what's countdown is supposed to be.

[@kavemanthewoodbutcher]

The bit about the reindeer is hysterical!

[@jimlaker6552]

In your interview with Tom Sator, he mentions, at around the 51.00 mark, when he encountered a Sherman from the 9th PzD.

[@Davey-Boyd]

The Germans also fielded diesel engined trucks under the Einheits Diesel project which aimed to standardise trucks. The project started in 1937 and ended in 1940 but thousands of diesel trucks served until the end of the war. 17,500 diesel trucks were produced in total.

[@piers995]

I did hear an interesting report from Alaska where a present delivery team (PDT) lost one of its eight reindeer units from the rear drive, while on mission. Unfortunately they had not brought a spare with them but in a moment of inspiration they tried replacing the missing unit with a local caribou they found, which turned out to be fully compatible and thus they were able to complete their mission. Shows the value of inter-operability between Europe and the US.

[@chrissouthgate4554]

Saw a Christmas card a few years back, 5 Reindeer & a Sheep; the caption was “We had a flat”.

[@iro99]

Band name submission: "Nicky and the Nebelwerfers"

[@Cinn357]

They werf nebels.

[@Lintary]

I have learned from Star Trek to never underestimate the engineers so when it comes to bridges I put my money on the engineer in a jeep with some things that go boom vs a tank platoon :)

[@HanSolo__]

I can easily put my life on this choice.

[@treyhelms5282]

Yes, and IRL I imagine any serious offensive would rely more on a small unit of engineers than a small “combat” unit. And in Star Trek, the Dominion learned to respect the Federation engineers who could “make replicators out of rocks”.

[@slateslavens]

"There are no personal problems that can't be solved with a suitable application of high explosives" As a trained 12B10, detcord is the _bomb._

[@looinrims]

I’m not sure Star Trek is any place to take any life advice George Takai’s moronic self notwithstanding

[@frankgulla2335]

Another great job. Thank you.

[@jamesocker5235]

Thank you for the informative video

[@velqt]

18:24 I love how he legitimately answers this question

[@thequeensowncameronhighlan7883]

The Mighty Tim has spoken !

[@999torino]

The tank round wobble also happens with small arms, and it self dampens over distance. A strange result is better groups at longer distances where the bullet has finished yawing.

[@GCJT1949]

Thank you, excellent as always. Geoff Who remembers the M-60A2 with no fondness, they kept coming back to maintenance.

[@barrytaylor6565]

the round you were talking about is a 30mm Aden Cannon shell that used to be fitted to several RAF aircraft, I know this because a friend of mine who used to be a armaments fitter in the RAF gave me one, it still has pride of place on my bookshelf now .

[@Stardude78]

Same round for M230 chaingun on the AH-64 Apache as well.

[@le_travie7724]

1:59 highlights the need for Holy hand grenades. Especially the type made in Antioch

[@MatoVuc]

I had the opportunity to sit inside an M84A4 derivative of the T72. I'm 1.83m tall and weigh between 105 and 110 kg with a sports build. Had no problem fitting inside it.

[@mooneyes2k478]

Things wrong in Patton, relating to tanks: An M37 SPG in North Africa, it didn't enter service until 1950. While not a tank, and also common in movies, some of the "Jeeps" in the movie are actually civilian CJ-2A rather than military vehicles. M41 Walker Bulldogs stand in several times for both Sherman's and Chaffee's. Patton passes by an M44 Howitzer at one point, which didn't enter production until 1953. Again, not a tank, but Bradley's command center is towed by a Mack B-61 fro 1964. There are a whole heap of other anachronisms and failures, but they're not tank-or-vehicle related.

[@davehopkin9502]

Adeb Cannon was indeed an aircraft weapon, a 30mm revolver beastie with a rate of fire around 1500 RPM, the name ADEN is a acronym of the Armament Development Establishment and eNfield where it was made

[@dizdizzy8937]

Thank you Sir

[@SirDaffyD]

That story about the Raindeer has me in stitches. Somewhat because of the story, but moreso because you kept a straight face through it all. lol.

[@jakobc.2558]

Shells wobbeling when fired from world war 2 guns today seems to be quite common. I remember watching a german PaK 40, which was about to be auctioned, being fired. In the slow motion footage you could see the shell litteraly turning 180° so that the front part was facing the wrong direction when impacting its target. So yeah I assume that keeping the rifleing on the inside of a barrel from rusting/degrading for over 70 years is a impossibility. That might even be one of the reasons why all the post war M4 Shermans got their guns exchanged very soon.

[@KushiakaSquig]

Speaking about storing reindeers in a shed for a year with a perfect straight face. I wonder how many takes it took not to smile ...

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

First take worked, actually

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Thanks Nick. Yes. _Both_ interesting _and_ informative. As to tanks and basements - my time playing Steel Panthers taught me to avoid cavalierly driving through houses. As to the US vs. Warsaw Pact - NATO trained to fight outnumbered 8 to 1 and win. They also had the experience of 4 Arab vs. Israeli's wars to learn from. .

[@arabiandarkstone2835]

Love the AAVP7A1 on your desk

[@theordinarytime]

There were trials during or after WW2 using Reindeers to pull sleds with supplies conducted by I22 in Kiruna. However, the animals proved too skittish, and unreliable to be used in lieu of horses. However I've heard that 6000 reindeers were used by the soviets to ferry supplies in Karelia. In any case, the correct horse breed is superior in every way, except that the Reindeer may forage its own food during winter. In the case of tracked vehicles, while generally far superior, the only time you do not think so, is when you're stuck in snow with them.

[@Kaboomf]

I grew up with a pet reindeer, believe it or not. Had horses too. Reindeer are much much better than horses in deep snow, and they can tolerate extreme cold no problem unlike horses. Downsides: Reindeer are dumber than bricks, hard to train, and as you say skittish. Once a reindeer gets properly spooked, it may stay in panicked flight mode for the rest of the day. We had that happen one time when a wolverine passed close enough for Rudolph to see it, poor reindeer was out of his mind with fear for at least six hours afterwards and could not be controlled at all. In winter conditions off road, reindeer pulling sleds can float on top of snow where horses get stuck. That's about the only time I'd prefer reindeer over horses for a logistical train.

[@theordinarytime]

@@Kaboomf "Reindeer are dumber than bricks". Tell me about it.. -.- And while reindeers are better suited to deep snow and cold, I don't think it's viable to pull heavy loads in deep powder behind either horse nor reindeer without either clearing a path forward for them (with another animal, or the animal detached from the sled or with your own body). Any longer trip will have to be undertaken along existing roads (or large paths) or across the ice on rivers with whichever animal you choose. Only those days where there is a thick enough crust to carry reindeers would actually count towards reindeers. Admittedly an often occuring phenomena in the reindeers natural, windswept-mountains/tundra habitat. Not so common in the forrest and lowlands however.

[@Kaboomf]

@@theordinarytime Of course a reindeer cannot pull a very heavy load, but deep powdery snow is usually not an obstacle if the sled is kept fairly light. We used to have our reindeer pull stuff for us on winter camping and hunting trips etc, if beat having to carry all our gear ourselves. Reindeer can spread out their toes/hooves to get a fairly wide footprint, almost like snowshoes, so their ground pressure is quite low. The problem is steering. Reindeer are good at following their "herd" and following tracks, but forget sitting in a sled and steering with the animal up front like you can with a horse. The trick is to raise the animal among people so it sees humans as it's herd. The reindeer will then follow where you lead on skis. So you don't have to clear a path really, but you do need to ski up front and create a visible track for the animal to follow.

[@theordinarytime]

@@Kaboomf Surely it depends. Just yesterday I watched Reindeers trudge through powdersnow (without any prior tracks) that easily went above their kneecaps, I cuoldn't imagine them pulling a lot of weight behind them judging by the effort of their progress. Atleast not for any length of time. That said, I understand that "powder snow" isn't always "snow deep and loose enough that reindeer sinks through to their kneecaps". However just by skiing infront of them you create a world of a difference in regards to their ability to stay mostly atop of the snow. "forget sitting in a sled and steering" Yep. I've tried shouting at them, I've tried talking to them, I've tried pointing at them. I've tried all handsigns I know, I've tried every facial expression I can make, most sounds I can make. And all they do is stand around and stare at me... :(

[@Kaboomf]

@@theordinarytime bring a big black shaggy dog, if you want to scare them away. They'll try to stomp on smaller or light-coloured dogs but apparently they have an instinctive fear of dark furry things (wolverines). Our reindeer buck would murder a German shepherd if you let him, but was absolutely terrified of any kind of black long-haired dog. Maybe if you dressed in a gorilla costume and went on all fours they would scatter? Rudolph once tried to kill a German shepherd inside the waiting room at the veterinarian office. Rabbits and hamsters scattering in all directions, quite chaotic. Protip: keep the sick reindeer outside, even if it's not afraid of going indoors.

[@JenniferinIllinois]

That has to be the most detailed description of Santa's sleigh. ;)

[@B9oyd]

"Breach face" sounds pretty metal for a band name :D

[@mancubwwa]

On the first question: UN vechicles are painted white with giant black letters UN. And yes, this includes tanks.

[@glenndean6]

On the Aden round ... the Aden cannon fires the same 30x113mm round as the Apache M230 cannon. So that round on your shelf is the same config as the M788 TP that Apache fires, and given NATO-standard colors and markings is marked identically.

[@johnladuke6475]

Rabbit description earns like.

[@pugnate666]

For those wondering: 12:45 since the biggest concern is a hit (generally speaking a shock leads to things breaking, a constant force causes wear), it is safer to handle this via compressing the balls on the opposite side of the bearing. As they are hardened, they can handle that pretty well. The weight of the turret is not that critical. Handling it as a shearing force will cause wear, but it's not like tanks have to last forever ...

[@Mrdark7199]

I think the slight yaw you are refencing is how some rounds seem to fly in a nose up attitude maybe creating a flatter trajectory.

[@mathieu4432]

Your Raindeer rant got to me man Well done.

[@peterbrazier7107]

Sherman v Sherma , Egypt had Shermans with AMX 13 Turrets , Iarael had Sherman M50s with the 75mm gun from AMX 13s in their Turrets.

[@davetalley]

The Germans 2nd SS iirc had an entire battalion if T34s at Kursk, target ID must have been a bitch

[@aaronc4671]

Chieftain, it is actually well known in well-researched small arms circles that small arms bullets leave the muzzle with a bit of a wobble, and, given 100 yards or so, it smooths out or "goes to sleep" for the remainder of it's stable flight. I would not be the least bit surprised if this were to happen to larger caliber projectiles even though I have never seen it discussed (but I am not commonly involved in artillery-size ballistics discussions). :)

[@richardboll8763]

I would love to have the Reindeer explanation for next Christmas!

[@jerry2357]

Armoured vehicles used by UN peacekeeping forces are often painted conspicuously. Yellow noses on Bf109s in the Battle of Britain were for recognition purposes, like the stars on the roofs of allied tanks and the black and white stripes on allied aircraft after D-Day. I suspect von Richthofen’s planes were painted red for the same reason.

[@timengineman2nd714]

Q&A: With the M-551 & M-60A2, since the Missile Launcher/Cannon had difficulties of using the "Tube" as a Missile Launcher after firing the HESH round (as a Cannon), any idea why the US Army just didn't make a Spin-Stabilized or Folding Fin Stabilized (Unguided) Rocket with a HESH warhead? Or was there too many other issues with the M-551 that made the US Army just want to forget the whole thing?

[@wolfhound113]

The gun system had way too many problems. Electrical and mechanical faults. Probems with the standard ammunition - the casings could not tolerate humidity and therefore the rounds had to be kept in plastic bags. They could also cook off in a hot barrel. Also an agonisingly slow rate of fire due to the electrical-mechanical breach operation. I heard 4-6 round per minute, whereas a good M48 or M60/M60A1 crew could do more than 12, and also keep the gun aimed at the target while they did it. And there were problems mechanically - overheating being a constant problem. Also the aluminium alloy M551 could not take battle damage. The M551 was actually not really a tank, but a tracked, amphibious and air-portable reconnanisance vehicle - but why then the massive gun?? Then they got to thinking: what's wrong with an M151 jeep with a TOW missile launcher? I know, it was fielded way too early, and went straight into a war for which it was not suited. The ex-M113 units loved it for its firepower. The ex-M48 units hated it for its weaknesses and unreliability. Gun/missile problems were enough for the Army to drop the M60A2 and use the hulls into regular M60A1/A2's or armoured bridge layers. The base vehicle was good. The entire idea of the M551 was flawed and it was witgdrawn from service (with the exception of an airmobile division - I forget which.)

[@timengineman2nd714]

@@wolfhound113 Yeah, I had heard that the "Caseless ammo HESH round had several problems and when fired in the M551 had enough recoil to jar loose the Missile Guidance System's Electronic. Hence my question about why they didn't change it out for a Rocket with a HESH warhead for bunkers, etc.

[@dfostman6014]

In addition to being used for building demolition. I believe that Morpac Industries, in Canada still uses Sherman chassis for specialized vehicles used in logging.

[@billd.iniowa2263]

Yes, I found it both interesting and informative. The Reindeer Driven System response was superb! Best deadpan comedy since Buster Keaton.

[@fewtoes]

The Chair Force also had a "Century" series at that time also. Arrows have yaw, and it helps in accuracy. I had Egyptian officers in my MG class. Was not impressed. Armored vehicles slide on ice as easy as wheeled vehicles. Maybe more. Snow can be a problem, especially when it has frozen to you tracks while you slept. The turret ring on M109 and M48/60/M1 is basically a ball bearing laid on its side. The outer race is bolted to the hull, the inner race is bolted to the turret.

[@isuzu6851]

During the snow storm that pulled over the germany's in 1978/1979. The NVA and Bundeswehr used tanks and APC's to get to cut off hamlets and villages in northern germany. I remember the interview of a East German Doctor riding along with a T-55 tank to a farm where a woman was going to have a baby. The tank got stuck in the snow and the doctor had to continue on foot.

[@aritakalo8011]

Unlucky and careless tank driver can beach tank like whale on snow. If one drives in deep enough snow a wave of packing snow can starts to form under the center front hull. Until if one isn't carefull this is deeply packed enough and high enough to lift the tank to air from it's center hullbelly. At which point tracks mean nothing, since the tracks are churning loose snow or air. One then has to have another tank pull the tank of the snow bank it has beached on or dig the now due to pressure probably nearing ice solid snow bank from under the hull to collapse the bank enough to get the tracks back on ground. To aid in this tanks usually have this nice front edge with slopes up and DOWN. this down slope though acts to give nice extra angling also works as nice snow scoop and compressor.

[@ZGryphon]

@@aritakalo8011 When I was just a little kid, my dad beached a bulldozer on a rock in the middle of a field he was trying to level. It was a very formative experience, since it was the very first time in my life that I realized my father was a mortal man capable of spectacular incompetence, and my mother's reaction taught me a valuable lesson about the difference between "laughing with" and "laughing at", to boot.

[@prjndigo]

The rounds cast for the tank place are intentionally sub-caliber and don't really engage the rifling. This lets them use cleaner powders etc.

[@johnsalt1157]

On the subject of steel rabbits, WW1 fans will recall that the first idea for the defensive employment of tanks by the Tank Corps (later Royal Tank Regiment) was known as the "savage rabbit" concept (as Hugh Elles said, the tanks would emerge "like savage rabbits from their holes").

[@doncarlton4858]

Your discussion of reindeer powered vehicle was hilarious!

[@philstaples8122]

Very cold temperatures and frozen ground are great fun in a tank, I've drifted Chieftains with great success and enjoyment but you can only do it if you maintain your track discipline, lose tracks will come off and that isn't fun, far from it. Any hard work in sub zero conditions when you're using metal hand tools and aren't issues with good cold weather gear ( British Army ) is a pain in the ass and takes rather longer than it would in better conditions.

[@joemorganeatmyshortschannel]

i love these q&a's and i have a good one for you when are we going to get to see more "oh buggar the tank is on fire" :)

[@tarjei99]

Bridges might have demolition chambers. In parts of Northern Norway, the explosives were pre-deployed. Middle East tanks produced in Eastern Europe were not Warsaw Pact standard.

[@Kaboomf]

Blowing up bridges can be tricky, they're usually designed with multiple redundancy in the load bearing bits. Engineer troops spend some time learning about ways to blow up different bridge designs. As for the Norwegian bridges, I believe you are correct in that several bridges up north by the Russian border were designed with explosives pre-placed and cast into the concrete. All you need is the proper key, the proper knowledge of what hatch to open, and a blasting cap to insert behind said hatch.

[@aritakalo8011]

@@Kaboomf Well not in many countries bordering Russia. For example here in Finland all important bridges MUST BE designed to be demolished. Most typical design for short span is the span sitting on a shelf of concrete on both ends. If one looks under the bridge one can see hooks cast in the concrete in a line little bit under this shelfs edge on the main water/ gap front wall. The look like "well those must be for hanging work lights or electrical cables or something". The one cable like object the hooks are for is detonation cord or lead in wires for electric detonators. These hooks are there to hang sufficient amount of demolition charges or say 10kg AT mines just below the lip of the foundation shelf supporting the span. blow these explosives and the shelf aka whole foundation of the bridge will crumble and collapse and the span drop down in the gap (probably also having lost some of it's own end, after all explosives are straight under it). This not only drops the span, but destroys the main foundation of the bridge support thus making it hard to say for example bring mobile bridge in and mount in the same shelf the old bridge sat on. They would have to larger length all the way to behind the main shelfs. One just never usually counts on such things as the concrete main foundation to be critical failure piece, since it is meters thick reinforced concrete. Just like say in suspension bridge main pillar usually isn't counted as failure piece, rather the cables are. Military engineer looks the bridge and will go "How many kilos of demolition explosives it would take to destroy that main pillar" or for example "how many kilos to blow up the main anchoring point of the cables."Mainly the demolition of bridges is pretty much "bring enough explosives". There was news report here Finnish Defence Forces demolitioning a civilian road bridge as training exercise, which was painstaking process... Until you heard in interview the engineer officer in command of the job note how they had to do it the slow way to meet civilian standards and make the mess easy to clean up. Mainly meaning lots of small well placed drilled in explosives to both drop the bridge where it stands nicely without using too large charges to not blow out half the village windows nearby and cut it to small pieces of rubble easy to transport. His comment on military demo was "oh we would be much quicker and use much larger satchel charges." It is hard and slow process to demo bridges and buildings in CONTROLLED fashion. Military demo isn't looking to be controlled. Far opposite. The more horrendous mess the construct does when coming down, the better. All the more stuff for opposite sides engineers to clean up. The area is being given up anyway, so any collateral damage is just more scorched Earth against enemy. Standard demo charge delivery size in FDF is 20 kg of TNT. That should tell what kind of amounts we are talking. Normal infrantry unit is possible every man lugging 1 or 2 10 kg AT mines. Well you could mine the road with those..... or mine the bridge and blow it up. military unit will have hundreds of kilograms of TNT at their disposal in fast order and in case of war will not be afraid to used it in hundreds of kilograms,

[@Kaboomf]

@@aritakalo8011 Yes, the goal is to destroy the bridge in a way that makes it hard to repair and preferably also hard to put an improvised bridge in its place. Doing this the military way takes lots and lots of carefully placed high explosive. When we trained for demolitions work, our instructor told us to use certain formulas to calculate the required explosive- and then halve the result, because the military demolitions formulas are designed to make absolutely sure you don't use too little. Half is always actually enough if you place it right, but do the calculations by the book and it'll work even if you cannot get perfect placement. That said, some bridge designs really are quite difficult to properly destroy. Suspension bridges typically have multiple cables and you either have to destroy the anchoring point entirely or cut all the cables to ensure the bridge goes down. And even if you bring down one end of the bridge, sometimes it stays together and can be used anyway if the river is shallow enough at that side so vehicles can drive onto the end of the now sloping bridge. If you only succeed in cutting the cables on one side, the bridge deck can tip sideways but the bridge might stay up in a way that lets infantry climb across. Old steel bridges are often of riveted construction, which is extra difficult to destroy because cracks cannot propagate through the steel past the riveted joint. If I recall correctly, the book says to double the amount of explosive for riveted bridges. I once tried to do the math for a by the book demolition of a 1930's all steel riveted bridge, and found it would be physically impossible to fit as much TNT onto the critical beams as the formula suggested. In other words, doing it by the military demolitions manual would require several truckloads of high explosive. Overkill much?

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

The Koreans go one step further. They make “bridges” which are basically giant concrete overhangs which are designed to be demolished onto a road and make it impossible to pass for hours.

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@Kaboomf there is no such thing as overkill. There is only "open fire" and "reload"

[@thetanksofworldwarii-tanka4368]

There is an M4 at the Russel Museum in Zion Illinois that was supposedly used for house demolition in New Jersey if I am remembering the story the museum owner told me correctly. The only thing it was missing was the main gun, which he was able to restore to the vehicle.

[@ret7army]

I heard about that tank as a kid back in the 1960's ... guy would run it into the corners of the house and down it would come.

[@CheshireTomcat68]

Re Wibbly Wobbly rounds, in archery, the arrow flexes considerably in the air, and knowledge of what this does can make for a very accurate archer. I forget the channel but the results and slow mo were fascinating to watch.

[@CheshireTomcat68]

Smarter everyday 136

[@jerry2357]

There was a chemical engineer I was acquainted with who took a set of arrows and worked on them carefully until they were all exactly the same weight balance and flexibility. Then, as a novice, he did very well in archery competitions because he didn’t need to adjust for the slightly different characteristics of each arrow.

[@Punisher9419]

I sit me or is storing a faulty round inside the tank a really really bad idea. I'd rather just dump it outside the tank instead. Maybe mark it on a map for pickup later on but storing it in the tank isn't something I would be comfortable with.

[@doughudgens9275]

I agree. In a combat situation, I would skip the part about turning the round 180 degrees and trying to fire it again. It’s overboard, and use a new round!

[@OhSome1HasThisName]

this, surely just chuck it out of a hatch

[@kosakuito9496]

Note how we have been told what procedure is. Not necessarily what crews actually do ;)

[@Punisher9419]

@@kosakuito9496 I would imagine though you would get a bollocking from the CO though.

[@calvingreene90]

I would certainly want to discard the powder before storage.

[@WildBillCox13]

Your positive appraisal of the Pz III and IV turret positions seemed to indicate you were willing to accept the TC at the rear paradigm. My brain perked up when you spoke against it here.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

That's because the guns for those vehicles were so short and the ammunition so small that no unnecessary compromises were required in the positioning. For later (and future) tanks, though, that doesn't apply any more.

[@donnut999]

Your band would definitely have some mighty „Tracks“ 💪🏻

[@666Blaine]

My guess with the the Slo-Mo guys 76 footage was that it wasn't a full power round. They probably down-load them to save on barrel wear. The lower velocity would mean that the round wouldn't be spun as fast by the rifling, resulting in a poorly stabilized round. Just a guess.

[@spdaylight1]

For the Lionel Locomotive there's really only two options. Assuming the board is in the tender it may be best to buy a working tender or sound unit off ebay or a local show and swap the shells/boards of them. Normally it's a few screws to hold the shell on, although it has to be a same tender. The second option is to go through he board your self and find the short or solder joint that has given way, had it happen on a family members 50's locomotive. I think your model is a Lionel 6-21787 CNJ 4-6-2 pacific, good place to start looking for answers.

[@ericgrace9995]

The basement windows are by no means unique to Grozny. They're common in Germany and I read some time ago that they were required by German building regulations...as a civil defence measure !

[@donnut999]

From what I‘ve heard, very deep snow can become an issue when the hull starts to more or less „skate“ on the then compacted snow and the tracks wont be able to drive the tank forward anymore. Plays kind of in the direction of tracks not having grip as you said.

[@DiceStrike]

I remember one rabbit - guarding the holy grail.. by the cave *Flashbacks intensifies*

[@mwhyte1979]

Of course you could paint the tank up as a giant badger.....!