Flying Tanks! Tetrarchs and Locusts

Bovington Tank Museum, and The Chieftain again - ten minutes on the topic of air-portable tanks of World War Two.
Support me on Patreon: / lindybeige
It is possible that (some?) Tetrarchs had holes in the sides of the turret for a drawstring that could pull the trigger of the smoke projector from inside the turret. However, you really wouldn't want the rifle cocked and ready to fire unless you were just about to use it. White phosphorous is dangerous stuff and you would make no friends by setting it off by snagging your belt on the string as you climbed in the tank.
Hannibal graphic novel (in production): www.InSearchofH...
Many thanks to The Chieftain, my co-presenter, and to The Tank Museum at Bovington.
The Museum's channel: / thetankmuseum
The Chieftain's channel: / @thechieftainshatch
Two ideas have been posted in the comments for the name 'Tetrarch'. One is that it has four equally-sized wheels on each side (which guide the tank, a bit like four rulers guide an empire). The other is that there was a very famous racehorse called 'The Tetrarch' that died in 1935. The tank was not designed originally for air-drops, but was presumably meant to be fast, so that makes sense.
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Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
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[@Beriorn]

Oh no, Lindy's still stuck in the tank museum! Someone save him already!

[@Adagamante]

What if he doesn't want to be saved? I know I wouldn't.

[@kokofan50]

Save him? He’s been purposefully camping there. It’s heaven on earth.

[@weltgeist2604]

I can just imagine him living inside one of the tanks and the janitor seeing him in the morning to get some Cheerios.

[@a.morphous66]

You could live in that TOG 2.

[@exploatores]

We tryed but he kicked and screamed to much :)

[@lindybeige]

Yes, a few people have spotted something that I missed: in the last segment on the Locust, The Chieftain and I swapped sides of the screen, but we didn't swap the microphones around. The result is that the stereo sound is the opposite way round to the picture. If you are listening on headphones, swap them around at that point.

[@MWSin1]

I thought you were both just really good ventriloquists.

[@mccallcarlson3580]

Oooooo fun game.

[@mkobd]

MWSin1 😂😂😂

[@mikhailgorbachev7621]

Will you be at tank fest this year?

[@andreasvonsinnen]

isn't it just one mouseclick on any audioprogram to swap channels?

[@ixtlguul4578]

They hovered in the air in exactly the way that bricks don't.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Sounds vaguely Douglas Adamsesque...

[@lomax343]

@ Chieftain - Mainly because it IS a Douglas Adams quote.

[@MaartenvanHeek]

I hope the crew held on to their towels upon descent

[@Tjalve70]

No, I think they hovered in the air in exactly the way that bricks DO.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Flying tanks. The gall of it.

[@germanvisitor2]

Before movies jumped the shark the Brits flew the tank.

[@midshipman8654]

They were used against Vichy France so could you say... “de Gaulle of it.”

[@midshipman8654]

Yah I know, it's a bit of a stretch, but when I think WWII and France I think De Gaulle. I did it for the sake of the joke, don't analyze it too much.

[@alphatrion100]

That would be a gunship

[@ghoost8943]

The Gull of it

[@gearandalthefirst7027]

"Germany remained unengulfed." is now my favorite sentence, thank you

[@lomax343]

How about "It was a defoliant as well as a deinfantryant."

[@halejordan]

@@lomax343 what does it mean ??

[@proxel96]

First time going to the tank museum next week :3 Legend says you can sometimes spot a majestic Lindybeige living amongst the tanks!

[@eizoshen7548]

Proxel a wild Lindybeige in his natural habitat, an endangered specie.

[@KaletheQuick]

"Yeah, but we have got loads of these and they are cute." This is how I play strategy games.

[@sparetime2475]

KaletheQuick I am starting to play flames of war and the first thing I bought was a tetrarch

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

That's basically how I play racing games: "Ferrari? Pff My El Camino looks way cooler!" "No! How did I possibly loose to something with double the horsepower and actual aerodynamics?"

[@silentdrew7636]

@@scottthewaterwarrior what racing game would allow you to put both those in the same class?

[@scottthewaterwarrior]

@@silentdrew7636 None, but plenty still let you race miss-matched vehicles. El Camino vs. Ferrari was in Midnight Club 3. My 1970 El Camino in that game is a crazy drift missile, and thanks to the way the arcady physics work, drifting is actually a viable option if you tune the car right. In fact if you use manual transmission and downshift so the car redlines during a drift, you can boost your car above it's nornal max speed.

[@NacnudPinky]

The cuteness of a tank plays a certain role in if I want it on the team. My team consists of a lot of German and British light tanks Although I do like the later war panzer III and IV too

[@Tadicuslegion78]

I’ve seen a front porch swing, heard a diamond ring, I’ve seen a polka dotted railroad tie. But i be done seen bout everything when I see a tank fly

[@MisterBones2910]

I've seen a horse fly, I've even seen a house fly; but I ain't never seen a tank fly.

[@calamusgladiofortior2814]

If someone didn't name one of these tanks Dumbo, a real opportunity was lost :)

[@dermotrooney9584]

Well spotted.👍

[@azh698]

Very nice rhyme but I would suggest "but I be done seen bout everything, When I see an AVF fly"

[@pegleg2959]

Just to be sociable, well, i'll take your word

[@danieltaylor5542]

Or maybe the Locust was actually intended for agricultural warfare! Glidered in behind enemy lines to do want tanks do best. Make a mess of farmers fields! Thereby denying the enemy their agricultural resources! Also the 37mm should be reasonably effective against farm tractors.

[@rocket_sensha4337]

If those cannister rounds are effective against trees in the jungle imagine the destructive potencial against crops!!!

[@EdwardCree]

But why do that when razzles are so much cheaper?

[@J-IFWBR]

potato buggs do this way more effective

[@TheDelta0seven]

yes but we have loads of these and there cute

[@chabis]

TheDelta0seven I just wonder how cute they are if you are stuck in there with 2 other guys...

[@chriss2031]

And one of them ate a barrel of beans beforeanded.

[@FlexDB]

we had a cute tank in germany as well... the Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. L "Luchs" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_II#Main_production_models

[@nic-hol-assgrain6574]

They're*

[@FlexDB]

what!?

[@Thee_Sinner]

Imagine that, Russian tanks weren’t very aerodynamic...

[@user-go7yw3yr3y]

Uriah Siner Yeh they used the wrong tank . The WW1 Tsar tank would fly far better.

[@anathematic758]

BitGamit yes but what about the big bob?

[@1973Washu]

That is the funny thing about tanks in general, they have about the same aerodynamic properties as a brick.

[@azgarogly]

Well, jokes aside, it would be rather whole thing with wings and tail was not very aerodynamic. Considering it was a biplane with all that WWI style posts and wires. And was quite heavy. Combined with the fact that the TB-3 bomber they used to tow the thing was very much underpowered by itself, no wonder the whole think did not take off (figuratively speaking).

[@edi9892]

Well they are far more aerodynamic than the German tanks... (pike nose and angled armour)

[@martinmorsch7507]

I llove these tanks chat videos with the Chieftain and you! Keep them comming, pretty please!

[@Dale_The_Space_Wizard]

That must of been one brave man who was piloting that tank towed by a bomber!

[@AndersBGJansson]

Considering the lack of foliage in the Middle East, the Locust must have been used a lot there :)

[@jancz357]

maybe it was used to create artificial dust storms to blind the enemy

[@fixit4387]

Now I know why the Germans call a toilet sometimes locus, and if they are full add a t.

[@AfrikaKorp42]

The Israelis actually got a hold of a few in '48

[@MetalAsFork]

I only found your channel like a month or two ago. I've been watching whatever vids come up from like 5-10 years back. It makes it weird to watch a new video. Anyway, you're a splendid man, keep it up.

[@mooncabbagere]

Tell us foreigners more about the invasion of Madigascar bit.

[@tycholeela8122]

They closed the seaport, apparently.

[@thegreatdominion949]

Operation Ironclad (May 1942) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Madagascar

[@scipioafricanus6417]

The middle east is very strange, you an still find people using Stg44s there.

[@MisterBones2910]

Hey, as long as you can still feed it you're bound to find some insurgent firing it wildly in the general direction of the region's military and/or other insurgencies. I'm sure if the Italian war industry was as good as Germany's you'd have more guys running around in shemaghs brandishing MAB38s too; 9 Para ain't exactly an exotic round.

[@dreeves47]

Nice lecture. My uncle was in the reconnaissance corp for the 6th Airborne landing division. He told me an interesting story about sitting in the tanks while flying in the glider. When the tow line was cut, the glider would drop like a stone, this was followed by lots of colorful language from the pilots. "everything alright there?" a concerned tankie would ask. "yes nothing to worry about" came the reply , as the pilots strained, sweated heavily and swore. All the time the control wires would "ping" as they got more and more stretched the whole structure would groan, creak and shake like a old ship at sea, until finally with sigh of relief they would level out. He said each drop in a glider was a very stressful experience. Quite a few never made it.

[@Spare_Time_G]

Yessss Tanks again! Tank you Lloyd! Please if you see the comment, Take a look at my Maus tank model. I made it from clay. Not quite your dimensions, but still love it and will be glad if you take a look!

[@ptonpc]

Your sculptures look great.

[@Spare_Time_G]

Thank you very much Sir!

[@ianj1828]

I could listen to you talk about tanks and military tactics for hours.

[@aldor9357]

But can it shoot fire arrows ?

[@illxnati7196]

Aldor fuck arrows, can it shoot pommels?

[@omnipresentsnowflake4698]

But can it shoot *explosion!*

[@oz_jones]

HEATs? Sure

[@MidnightSt]

6:15 "now can you think of any flaws with this design?" YES! ALL OF THEM!

[@bigboy8338]

I bloody love your tank videos Lindy.

[@rmd251]

Love Lindy talking about tanks. It's always fun.

[@XL1813]

That last back and forth segment was just perfect.

[@gordonlawrence4749]

I thought I knew at least the names of most WWII tanks. This is a vid with 2 I had not heard of. Informative and humour. Superb.

[@NacnudPinky]

The tetrarch is so adorable awww I love it

[@FlowerKnight2]

My favorite tank, I absolutely love these things.

[@goldenpun5592]

Loved using the locust in WT... it was so small you could ram the sides of some people and they couldnt shoot you. Gotta really remember where all the crew are though because they only had APCR rounds I think.

[@peridoodle2644]

Lovely video, Lindy! I love seeing you and the Chieftain talking about tanks! Now we just need to see about getting Jingles in with the two of you

[@BigSwede7403]

That smoke launcher on the side is double hillarious as it´s on the support variant that was to fire smoke from it´s main gun.

[@liomii781]

Love your playing devil's advocate. Cracks me up every time.

[@CH1CK3NCH1LD]

Love these videos of lindybeige going to museums, speaking to experts and challenging their knowledge against his.

[@julianblow4739]

I like the co-host. Him and Lindy bounce well off eachother.

[@LV_427]

I think the only time I see Tetrarch in video game is in Company Of Heroes. And it flies with a glider just as described in the video.

[@apmoy70]

And it's killed after a couple of hits

[@jancz357]

not by infantry, yes by panzers

[@slacko1971]

Is a tier 2 premium tank in WOT. Was given away as a christmas gift about 5 years ago. Really good fun tank.

[@crozraven]

this whole video remind of that A-Team (movie 2010) "tank on the air" scene, LOL

[@classicforreal]

Nice touch having Chieftain appear superimposed over Chieftain.

[@andrewlasalle4312]

My new favorite tank quote "we've got loads of these and there cute" -lindy Beige

[@zerstorer335]

I think these tanks made more sense in the context of operating from captured airfields that turned into airheads that could be deeper in enemy territory. Capture it with paratroopers, get enough breathing room to start airlifting resources in, and these tanks could give troops mobile pillboxes. But we really didn’t do that. Instead, we focused more on shallower drops that conventional forces, complete with regular tanks, would link up with (and which meant these tanks, if dropped, would be close to enemy frontline troops and all their heavy-hitting toys).

[@MihzvolWuriar]

"But then you got loads of these and they're cute" I lost it there too lol

[@Nobody___]

always puts a smile on my face seeing a lindybeige vid in my sub box

[@rickgraham8701]

Note that they do not fly so much as plummet.

[@lindybeige]

A tank is not naturally a creature of the air.

[@RandyKalff]

Flying and plummeting are to one another as landing and crashing are. If you can walk away from it, it's a success. And if the French soldier you nailed can't, it's a victory.

[@BM-yy8db]

I had never heard of that way of steering, it's so clever!

[@brucelee3388]

Should I point out that WW2 smoke rounds were pretty nasty for the receivers - basically they scattered burning white phosphorous everywhere, and if you were lucky enough not to be set on fire by the WP, then you were at risk of asphixiation from the smoke until you got your gas mask on (and hadn't tossed it or replaced it in the holder with something useful like more food).

[@HowlandGreywolfe]

Tetrarch is my favorite tank of all time

[@Quadrenaro]

I'm friends with a private owner of an M22. The thing still runs, and I've rode in it. Very cramped though. As far as I know, it's not listed among surviving locusts.

[@joseftrumpeldor6240]

At 7:10 I just had to smile, I remember seeing an M-22 on an Israeli kibbuts in the Negev sometime in the early 1990s. The British had given them to the Egyptians and they had at least one example, the one I saw.

[@Gerbs1913]

Locust is probably the cutest tank to exist.

[@EdMcF1]

There is a statute of the Tetrarchs on the outside of St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, near the tourist exit from the Doge's Palace. I thought that Lloyd was on an early summer holiday.

[@UnfortunateFreakNo1]

This The Chieftain fellow seems pretty cool, I could go for a couple more videos with him

[@spamuraigranatabru1149]

A Lindybeige video? What a treat! Oh more about planes? Wonderful! Oh plane... Tanks?

[@sshep86]

Audio is funky. Much louder on right channel.

[@therealDJKFC]

Tetrarchs probably a reference to the four equally massive wheels.

[@TheMadDrD]

I'm loving all of this, andany vid with the Chieftain and Lindybeige is AWESOME! I just wish the sound wasn't reversed on my headphones at times. found my self flipping my headset just so it wouldn't distract me.

[@Jenson334]

If you ever do a Q&A I'd be interested to know how you reconcile your obvious love of military history, weaponry and paraphernalia, with what I assume isn't an actual love of war itself.

[@brianartillery]

The forerunner of the Tetrarch, the Alecto, or sometimes 'Harry Hopkins' was a fascinating machine, too.

[@secundarlegendary]

For the smoke grenade there was used a strink which goes thru the notchy thing beside the trigger.

[@samuelkurcik6911]

If I remember soviets had a tank that would glide onto a battlefield after being towed aloft by an airplane, to support airborne forces or partisans. A prototype was built and tested in 1942, but was found to be unworkable. This vehicle is sometimes called the A-40T or KT.

[@_ob200]

Love the videos with the chieftain! You boys make a fine team

[@BakerMikeRomeo]

lovely video as always, lloyd. I really enjoy videos where you get to talk to somebody for a change, I think I'd like to see you interview people more often. That's not to say I don't enjoy hearing you talk about things, obviously, I just think you'd be a good interviewer, is all.

[@wertyman6]

The Chieftain is such a great guy. Would love to have a beer with him one day!

[@uglyfink]

To that last point made, during the Malaya campaign the Japanese army did EXACTLY that to the British, in their tiddly little tanks i might add.

[@mushmorant9253]

I think the Hamilcar fully loaded would have required the power of a 4 engine bomber to get it aloft. Stirlings and Halifaxes were the most common 4 engine glider tugs used. Many of the lighter Horsas were also towed by those aircraft, also by the twin engine Whitleys and Albemarles.

[@cleaversrus3938]

Wow. It never ceases to amaze me how many weird and sometimes very stupid ideas were thought up during WW2. Flying tanks was admittedly probably one of the better ones, though.

[@fulgursagitta5049]

love the passive aggressive C named tanks text

[@georgeetboom7719]

2:37 love the salty use of editing 😂👌

[@liomii781]

My guess would be that the Tetrarch was named for its four wheels. From the side its just very distinct.

[@cp1cupcake]

A lot of tanks that went Mid East countries had armor thin enough (especially in the rear) to make them vulnerable to homemade explosives.

[@Aquelll]

Tetrarch is named so because it only has 4 huge wheels per side. Two groups of 4, hence Tetrarch.

[@PilotTed]

The m22 locusts are perfect tanks in War Thunder as it can go 60 kph downhill and speed up to 50 very fast and is perfect for flank and spank tactics. I have used it to flank a Tiger HI and I was able to use my solid shot up close with 90mm of pen to pen the 80mm back armor and set fire to his engine. I died shortly after as another German tank killed me.

[@malkavianstr450]

Tetrarch->Caesar, there you got the "C". According to Diokletians reforms, each half of the Empire had an emperor with the title Augustus, and an deputy emperor with the title Caesar. The Germans ofc. were like: lets make the Pz. 4 an airlanding tank by building a giant glider.

[@HitodamaKyrie]

I recall using a locust in Warthunder once upon a time. Ran into a KV-2. It was quite the stalemate until an allied plane bombed both of us into oblivion.

[@huscarlkt2335]

"Why would we take that tank? we have others that are way better than this one!" "yes, but look how cute this one is!"

[@michaelmilburn911]

Yes another video on tanks! My favourite

[@eze417]

Great dialogue.

[@Thane36425]

The US tried again with the Sheridan tank. Lightly armored, huge gun for also firing guided missiles, heavy recoil, apparently tended to brew up easily when hit.

[@K1W1fly]

And then there was the Hafner Rotorbuggy - A flying Jeep. essentially a Gyroglider, conversion of a Wilys Jeep. But... the next plan was to fit rotors to a Valentine tank to fly that!

[@samholdsworth3957]

I saw tetrarch and it made me think of company of heroes, miss that game

[@LokiCDK]

"And they're cute." Excellent argument for a tank.

[@radogost1536]

funniest Lindybeige video ever

[@ralphreal4039]

iv just bought my first beige shirt and i look really good in it thx

[@carabus0354]

Always love tanks, more tank videos please.

[@Intrspace]

I don't know if Lindy has a point with his last remark. A tank that lightly armoured is vulnerable against anti-tank rifles such as the Boys AT rifle, PTRS-41 or the Panzerbüchse 39 or also against re-purposed anti-air cannons.

[@TeamNutmeg]

Those smoke dischargers are cable-fired - you can see the armored housing over the cable entrance hole just behind and below the rifle receiver. It would have been cocked and armed any time combat was imminent. The safety was a cotter pin securing the trigger on the other end of the cable, where it could be disengaged and fired from within the safety of the turret. It wasn't a simple pullstring.

[@TeamNutmeg]

Also, the grenades (Generator, Smoke No 8) discharged from this launcher (Discharger, Smoke Generator, 4-inch No 2) weren't white phosphorous, they were the same basic chemical composition (hexachloroethane, or HC) as hand-thrown marker smoke grenades like the US AN/M8.

[@LordoftheJamesClan]

They had strings attached to the trigger of the smoke gun going through a small port, They didn't get out of the vehicles to fire the smoke

[@GaudiaCertaminisGaming]

I'm always surprised by the amount of action there was against French Vichy forces. If you read Roald Dhal's RAF biography he spent some time straffing French aircraft in the Middle East.

[@mk3ferret]

"My neighbor stands zero chance against the m22" said the guy whom commissioned the m22

[@PerfectDeath4]

M22 Locusts are pretty darn useful in WarThunder; however, your mostly fighting Panzer IIIs and early PzIVs.

[@thelieutenant7732]

Can't wait for the "Oh my God, the tank is on fire" with the Locust

[@machaiarcanum]

It could be that it was named the tetrarch for its having four wheels?

[@Alan-l]

"All going well you haven't sent your paras in against a load of armoured panzer grenadiers with all the kit". Except - Market Garden - when it turns out that's exactly what you have done.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

I strongly suspect that was the deliberate reference

[@Tjalve70]

Best argument for the use of a specific tank: "They're cute".

[@kharnthebetrayer8251]

My left ear enjoyed Lindy, my right ear enjoyed the other guy

[@florisvandenbeld6621]

The Sovjets also had the idea of dropping a tank out of a plane and using a rocket assisted parachute to slow its descent. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASU-57 PS Yes I know its officialy not a tank but an assault gun.

[@typicalasianguy1805]

*Those magnificent men in their flying machine*

[@RobinTheBot]

By the first 30 seconds I knew the Americans made a more expensive, less effective version that shipped in parts. As an American, I knew we'd use a huge and uncommon plane to haul the tank around, and that we'd somehow find a way to make it more complicated. Like shipping it "Some Assembly Required" into a warzone.

[@mfree80286]

Perhaps "tetrarch" is a reference to the four road wheel architecture?

[@Kikilang60]

Can anyone tell Lindy already knows much what is being explained to him? You can see it in the way he stands, and moves. Ha, so funny.

[@nomorok15]

I am amazed yet terrified that this is posibble. Also I like the cowboy co host

[@neilwilson5785]

T22. Oh no, the tank's on fire! Out you get.