Discover the History of AusArmour's Stuart Light Tanks

[@FrancSchiphorst]

My mind is still melting from all the details. Some people read books, some people read tanks :D

[@markfryer9880]

Comment fully realised.

[@MrPlankinton]

Some people ARE books 😊

[@markfryer9880]

Ron really needs to write a book on the Stuart, it's service history in the SWP and with Australian and New Zealand Forces. The second half of the book could be devoted to their Post WWII lives and the Restoration Hunt and challenges. His acquired knowledge of the Stuart Tank series needs to be preserved before it is lost. Mark from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺

[@TheVEUTE]

I was fortunate enough to meet Ron on Friday at Armourfest. Top guy, easy to talk to and so knowledgeable. A great asset to the museum when he visits.

[@mgbrv8]

Ron is a walking encyclopedia. It’s amazing I really enjoy his commentary.

[@jeremysaunders9916]

Ron's knowledge and enthusiasm is amazing 👍

[@aserta]

Ron's jam packed with knowledge. The guy speaks tanks and armor like we speak our first language. So freaking cool.

[@krmould]

Ron, you have an incredible amount of knowledge about these tanks. Thank you for sharing.

[@mzimmerman1988]

Would of been nice to have a series of these chats.

[@ianleckie922]

Now that is an Aussie accent! These guys really know their stuff.

[@ursamajor7468]

The Haunted Tank comic books made this my first favorite tank. General J.E.B. Stuart's spirit watched over a Stuart crew and spoke to the tank commander, Jeb. A few years ago, a movie that was planned was canceled suddenly.

[@maurotolari9215]

Yes, I remember those comic books. It was great to be a kid in the 60s.

[@orbitalair2103]

only us old guys know that. and you know what I always ask for these at comic cons and stuff, no one has any. Haunted Tank and Weird War comics. gone.

[@Mag_Aoidh]

Boy was he mad when they got their Sherman!

[@Roulandus-le-Fartere]

I saw this display last weekend and was amazed. Thanks for giving us all the context of the Stuart family tree!

[@Mag_Aoidh]

Ron is a treasure to have around. I’m always in awe of his knowledge!

[@stephenyoud6125]

thanks for the extra video and kudos to Ron for his great presentation and wealth of knowledge and passion

[@mwintersteinsmith]

Knowledge and talent is amazing to both listen to and to see what this guy has done over the years to restore tanks. Simply awesome video! 😎👍

[@philbradley5366]

Well done mate on your efforts preserving history

[@earlatkins9559]

Ron is such a fountain of information. You can tell he loves the Stuart light tank..

[@pmiller7886]

Ron is a force of nature and it's quite obvious! Saving and restoring Australia's history for all to view and enjoy. My uncle was an island hopping Marine in WW2, and was a driver for these. He was seconded off to artillery as tanks got stuck way too easily in the mud. I only got to see his album of photos one time, and sure enough, plenty of pics of these stuck in crazy jungle mud! Cheers Ron, what a good bloke.

[@investornator]

Ron is a champion of a bloke !

[@BF5player]

I was very privileged to meet Ron in person amazing knowledge he has on the m3 light and medium tanks

[@PeterNissen878112]

Fantastic post about the Stuart tank. Ron is so informative.

[@billgreen4388]

Well done Ron. History kept alive. 🤓

[@Ralph94967]

Ron. What a mind of information bloody well done. Folks.

[@patchmack4469]

love Ron and his work - keep going Ron, keep finding more toys

[@Alan.livingston]

Love hearing the history of the specific vehicles. It’d make a great series for the channel.

[@TerryWarden-fw7ob]

What a great lesson, thank you Ron

[@russwoodward8251]

I crawled into an old Stuart in an Army Navy Store display on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles in the 1960s and I've been an armor buff ever since. Thanks Aus Armour, great display, and great presentation as always.

[@bertoltb1358]

Ron is an absolute beut of a fella, good on ya mate. I could listen to his knowledge of Aus armour for hours.

[@origami26]

Ron knows his stuff!

[@At-07461]

Fantastic! Thank goodness for folks that care about history!

[@dm55]

This fellow really is an expert on this model of tank. Very informative.

[@ai-d2121]

Fantastic story!

[@PeterSoden-eb6js]

Good on yer, Ron. A brilliant summary of the Stuart's history. A dedicated tank bloke.

[@luvtruckin]

Ron it's such a pleasure watching you work your magic and this lttle video sure was fun to watch all the best to you.

[@dw-bn5ex]

Very good. Love to here the history. Back story of the tanks in the museum would make great videos.

[@franciscowashington2155]

Esses tanque fica uma beleza depois da reforma 👍👍💯💯🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷👏👏

[@notchboy]

Love it Ron! Keep it coming. 😎🤙🌺

[@johnanon6938]

Holy Hanna! I never knew I could actually be interested in learning about the Stuart tanks but that's a really cool collection.

[@jmc7034]

I’m still amazed at the level of knowledge this man has😮❤❤

[@markbehr88]

Excellent.

[@stevefoster6299]

Super, super interesting.

[@bwilliams463]

Another great vid. I really enjoy learning from Ron, especially about what the smaller bits and pieces are there for.

[@timwerner7771]

I love that Ron can detect that the tank has been riun on it's bogie wheels form the way they are worn!! That guy knows his stuff! AWesome!

[@aussievaliant4949]

You know don't you, that this man needs to be engaged full time ,and every scrap of his considerable knowledge needs to be passed to someone equally as passionate.

[@mickypd1]

Always a pleasure watching these informative videos.

[@Gary-Seven-and-Isis-in-1968]

What a wonderfully comprehensive collection. Ron is a walking encyclopaedia of information about these tanks. Hopefully he can preserve his vast knowledge in a book or maybe even his own channel on KZbin.

[@jollygreen98]

Really informative. Love watching the videos, keep up the good work!

[@Nick-rr5cy]

Really enjoy Ron’s talks

[@347jpb]

Ron, Dr. Rusty Tank Master, the king of tank knowledge and rebuild. Amazingly great video. Love the hands on knowledge and insights into all of the vehicles on which I have watched him lay hands. So glad to see he is actively contributing to the museum and to the knowledge of others by sharing his experiences , talent, and knowledge.

[@tankgirl2074]

What an absolute treat of an episode. Thank you so much!!!

[@orbitalair2103]

What a find. Great story and history of that tank. Its interesting that so many tanks were repurposed into useful heavy vehicles. But I bet after a few years that spare parts became harder and harder to find.

[@paulsilva3346]

OUTSTANDING EVENT, Thank you... Thanks

[@bingleification]

Brilliant!

[@mikehotchkiss8975]

Thank you Ron. A specialist speaks

[@SoloAbril]

Amazing all the knowledge he have. Thank you for sharing with us.😊

[@MattyK166]

Mind blown at the astonishing quality of those stainless steel welds on the last Stuart. Just from the video, no undercut, consistent bead width and shape in the vertical and horizontal. Even nice transitions. Tank belongs on Weld Porn! Whoever welded that tank up was a master. So refreshing to see. Oh...great fabrication and weathering of the back armour on the tank Ron. I think we both scored in the pre-fin/yr CAT sales. Good deals to be had!

[@georgesgohier484]

Wow!!!! An Incredible source of information

[@nevillegoddard4966]

Onya Ron! Thumbs up for you mate!

[@theambientgentleman1941]

More Ron!!!!

[@yattaran1484]

What an awesome collection of stuart tanks !. Thank you for showing. 🙏

[@americanpatriot2422]

Great video

[@billbarton9046]

Great informative video.

[@babuzzard6470]

What an Aussie legend! 👍🇦🇺, Mate thank you. Awesome.

[@majorbloodnok6659]

"...I've found eleven of them" fantastic😃

[@bebo4374]

This guy from Austria is so awesome! Love it! I am going to Europe next month and just booked a hotel in Vienna to check this out!

[@Hillbilly973]

Ha. Hilarious!!! Sorry, bait not taken. That's no joke though and you know it. 😉👍

[@ishure8849]

there are no kangaroos in Austria but I reckon there'd be plenty at Rons place 👍.

[@fredfarnackle5455]

All I can say is WOW! Amazing.👍👏

[@VFRSTREETFIGHTER]

Ron is absolutely amazing!

[@dougziglar8489]

A wealth of information.

[@billyponsonby]

I’d be interested to hear from the museum’s owner.

[@Spartan_life]

What a legend.

[@ajpotter7151]

Absolutely love the Stuarts!

[@RossJochheim]

That gentleman is what we call in the mining industry a"Content Expert". He's probably forgotten more than what I know about M3's. Such an interesting episode 👍👍

[@fjardine]

What a good bloke!

[@kenbb99]

Great overview video by an expert.

[@MGB-learning]

Outstanding video and presentation.

[@davidkimmel5153]

Thank you. Great video 😊

[@zaynevanday142]

That’s a Beautiful Stuart ❤

[@eno.5796]

Just love this guys depth of knowledge,loving the friday bonus btw.Bravo fron uk😊

[@PaulRhB]

Nice to use one of his future projects to complete the lineup. 👍🏻

[@raystarr4388]

One of my favorite tanks to drive

[@simbi8797]

Thanks for this great video. So interesting. My wife and I managed to get up to visit the museum a fortnight ago. It was incredible. I didn't expect that size building, or that number and variety of vehicles and guns. You might be interested to know (if you don't already) that the Stuart was nicknamed the "honey" in British service. As an ex South African I was fascinated to read a book called Brazen Chariots, by Robert Crisp (a South African international cricket team bowler before the war). He served in 3 RTR (I think, my copy of the book is not immediately to hand). In the book - about the Sidi Rezegh battles in the Western Desert in 1941 - he tells the story of when his unit was equipped with the American Stuart's, after years of dismal campaigning with poor British designed tanks that constantly broke down. They were amazed at the rubber pads on the tracks, with ran so much smoother than the old metal tracks they were used to. But also the speed and agility, and ease of driving (as is mentioned in this video). Crisp tells the story of his driver testing one of the first Stuart tanks delivered to the unit and, after roaring around for a while, jumping out of the tank with joy, to tell the assembled officers "It is a honey!" Abd the name stuck. Not sure if it is a true story. But Crisp's books (he wrote another one, on the Greek campaign) are really good. Any tank lover will find them interesting.

[@Abby1952]

I climbed inside the turret of one up in Moresby back in 1992. If I remember rightly it was powered by a radial engine. I'm fairly sure it was one of the Stuarts used in the Buna/ Gona campaign. I was surprised at how little room there was with the breech block.

[@gregwooldridge8864]

We use to play on old tanks when I was a kid. .

[@Mltemple8333]

Got to see a Stewart in action at a private showing in Massachusetts. Flamethrower demo with a coax flamethrower attached to the Stewart, amazing piece that was restored really well.

[@gerardhogan3]

That was very interesting thank you Ron

[@timprice516]

Great info mate

[@wheresthegovernance4350]

Wasn't surprised to hear that one is from the Heywood collection. Alex and George's farm was full of the Grant, Matilda, Stuart, Bren Carriers and Blitz Trucks. The numbers they bought from the Bandiana Auctions is mind boggling. All lots were made up of 25 units..... 250, 200, 175, 150 of various types. A few decent ones ended up in John Bellfield's collection (including a 100% complete Matilda) We were located between both Alex and George's farm and many an awesome time was spent exploring.

[@JeffBilkins]

Usually you need a multipart series for this much detail but Ron was out of time so we do it in 10 minutes of highly condensed light tank crack.

[@goooooller9353]

There ahould be a Friday With Ron video series.

[@Nyllsor]

Super Nice vid! Thanks!

[@lukespread]

One word for this video. Wow.

[@billy123174]

Good information

[@warwheels5774]

If anyone's interested that Stuart Ron F talks about was recovered from John Belfield Melbourne Tank Musuem holding yard in 2023 - 19:29 time stamp kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJibZJ6aedCMY8k

[@nv1493]

Wow, the info! Ron's like the Steve Magnante of tanks.

[@jasonscott8844]

Thanks Ron.

[@artboy57]

Nice job Ron! Over the years I think the Stuart has become one of my favorites. I hate to classify a tank as "cute", but it seems to fit the bill!

[@drmarkintexas-400]

🎖️⭐🏆🙏❤️‍🩹 Thank you for sharing this with

[@ivoferin8176]

Fascinating

[@williamkoppos7039]

Good on ya, Mate! Stuart saver.

[@smileydave3907]

Beautiful Thx

[@scroggins100]

Its da do Ron Ron... Gooo Ron.. Legend!