How did tank guns get so deadly? | Evolution of Firepower

The evolution of the tank gun from WWI to present day, presented by Chris Copson.
In this new series, “Evolution”, we’ll be taking a look at different aspects of the progress of tanks and tank technology from WWI to the present.
Consider becoming a Patreon Supporter today: www.patreon.com/tankmuseum
00:00 | Intro
01:08 | WW1
05:37 | WW2
16:35 | Post War
25:11 | Conclusion
#tankmuseum #evolution #tankguns #firepower #ChrisCopson

[The Tank Museum]

Hi Tank Nuts! Let us know what you think of this new series in the comments below.

[Ian "Mad Gun" Mangham]

Awesomeness 💯🤟🇬🇧🇺🇲🙏

[tasman006]

Awsome vid I think though that is not the end of it. I'm guessing the next vid will be on the evolution of armor protection and then the next one mobility. Which will complete the iron triangle of a tank.

[Sunil_de]

Love it!

[Philomath25]

Honestly, im not subbed and i dont donate to your channel. I might peek in occassionally. But videos like this, that discuss actual tactics and strategic decisions in re: to tanks and their development would probably get me to sub and donate. There isnt a lot of this content, at this level of detail, available.

[Adam Greenwood]

Fantastic, thank you. Great presenter.

[Simon Waldock]

This is an excellent, concise introduction to tank gunnery introduced by a clear spoken and knowledgeable presenter. A really first class production all round and a great credit to the tank museum and production team.

[Lacomir]

Right? How do the History channel stay in business when these youtuber accounts are just killing it with quality!

[ironman tooltime]

@Lacomir because on a tv the production quality doesn't stand up.

[Zae]

@Lacomir TV Production has far better in-detail and an easier experience to understand, whereas KZbin channels that do the same, cut to the chase, missing a lot more, in a lesser easier experience is the best way i can put it.

[Lacomir]

@Zae uhm, I watch these history documents on KZbin about various civilizations and conflicts, and some of these videos are like four hours long, talking about just ONE civilization. But that's the magic of KZbin. You want to cut to the chase, you can find it, on demand. You want in-depth, youtube has that too.

[James Calbraith]

I always find it fascinating that with all this immense in technology, increase in killing power, revolutionary changes in tactics, a modern tank gun is still in essence just a massive ballista, hurling bolts at the enemy as in Roman times.

[Harvy666]

Just like almost all power is generated by moving a turbine with steam :D

[Kyle Mac]

We've just been throwing rocks at each other with improving technology and effective for 10's of thousands of years

[HobNob Abooga]

@Harvy666 We are slowly entering the solar age but its taken a minute!

[This Is Where I died]

@HobNob Abooga i don't think we will be getting 100% from solar unless we invent some battery that can keep our energy needs for a month, but liquid salt/metal battery seems promising there!

[HobNob Abooga]

@This Is Where I died We've got batteries like that in concept already. Check out gravity batteries.

[Andrew Mortimer]

This format was very informative. I appreciated the ability to explain the progression over a century of development using tanks at the museum. I hope you are able to make a future video like this discussing drivetrain and track systems.

[Steve Yountz]

Absolutely brilliant as you folks say. All of the museums presenters do a good job but this persons knowledge, presence, and gravitas, made this perhaps one of the best chats yet. Really great job, and I look forward to more. The production value is as good as anything I have ever seen from the museum.👍

[vanguard]

I appreciate the gravitas too.

[Rogan Gunn]

The way this gentleman comports himself; the gravitas, the quiet competence and knowledgeability, his turn of phrase when describing grisly scenes, his directness and his understatement; all give him the air of a former British Army officer. Upon meeting someone like him here in Britain, you know immediately he's an officer!

[Just Iceman]

Yes very informative. It begs a question though where did the British come up with their tank names? Compare Matilda, Valentine and Firefly with Panzer, and Tiger from the Germans or the straightforward T34 of the Soviets. I know a name doesn't make it any less dangerous but psychologically I'd rather be driving a Tiger than a Matilda.😁

[Rogan Gunn]

@Just Iceman Well, Panzer, is just the German word for 'armour' - the fact it may sound badass to Anglophone ears is probably just a result of us living in the post-WW2 cultural milieu. When pronounced in German, the Tiger and Panther don't sound quite so cool - "Teega" and "Panta"..! 🤭 Remember it was the British who came up with the names of all the American tanks too. The Yanks just called them M4 and M5 etc, it was us Brits who came up with the naming scheme after US generals like Grant, Sherman, Stuart etc. Also the British had badass tank names of their own: Conqueror, Comet, Centurion, Churchill (named after Winston's ancestor John, 1st Duke of Marlborough, who was a famous general), Crusader, Covenanter, Tetrarch and many many Cruisers. But to answer, "where did the British come up with their tanks names?" I would guess it's a bit like our language: it's a bit haphazard with no general rules, at least early on. But as you've probably noticed, after a while, and to this very day, they start to all begin with the letter C...

[Just Iceman]

@Rogan Gunn Yes fair enough and I know the present tanks are the Challenger 2 and 3 which are easily the coolest names among modern tanks. I wasn't having a go I was just interested in the reasons why. Thanks for the info, it was very kind of you.

[Not Me Not Me]

The evolution of tank design in just the few years of World War 2 is mindblowing. When you consider we started off with Matilda I and the American M2 light tank and ended up with Centurion tanks being tested in May 1945 and M26 Pershing.

[rikker]

A very well presented, well-rounded video. You are summarizing many decades of progress in 30 minutes, but you keep it flowing well and found a consistent level of detail to touch upon. I enjoyed it!

[Alan Burke]

Excellent presentation. Production values as good as anything from Discovery, Smithsonian etc. I'll always cherish the original 'Tank Chats' with David Fletcher et al but these videos should ensure the continued popularity of the Museum and this channel. Well done 👏

[Don DeVore]

Very well done. I’ve been a military history fan since the mid 70’s. I was impressed how well you compressed so many subjects, so well.

[Dick Dastardly]

As a very longstanding visitor and member of 'Friends', I pride myself on having viewed all the Tank Museum's KZbin content. This is one of the very, very best. Thank-you and very well done to the writer, director, camera & sound operators, editor, excellent presenter and indeed the entire production team. I am greatly looking forward to the next one.

[Peter King]

Chieftain had a thermal jacketed barrel and it introduced the MRS. Our tank was one of the first to get MRS, it dramatically improved our kill ratio as we could realign our sight during live firing.

[ThePrimebeef]

When I was a 7 year old lad in Germany we have had a bunch of British Soldiers on a big Nato exercise, possibly one of the Reforger ones or maybe even Able Archer. Anyhow I got to check out the guns, sit on and in one of the tanks and they were overall all a bunch of very nice lads and could clearly see the shine in my eyes looking and touching all that equipment so they went out of their way to show me around. Sadly I did not get to keep any trophies but I still remember it to this day.

[Matt Rhodes]

A concise yet accurate summation of the technological improvements to the tank gun. It's Anglo-centric (unsurprisingly) but very well explained indeed. Thanks, TM!

[I Can't think of a name]

?

[I Can't think of a name]

Anglo centric?

[Matt Rhodes]

@I Can't think of a name Focused primarily on English armor & guns

[jos kamps]

The level of professionalism in your video editing, knowledge of the tanks (obviously), and the narrative you tell in these videos is just fenomenal!

[JO Grobler]

Absolutely terrific content! Impeccable content like this easily replaces the complete lack of similar content that we used to find on terrestrial television networks such as Discovery and History channel. My sincerest gratitude, and please keep these coming!

[Phil Bosworth]

Chris really is a brilliant & knowledgeable presenter. Have him presenting more often please.

[Puzzoozoo]

Fun fact: My Dad's first older brother, Uncle Cliff ord was a tank commander in a Firefly in the war. He survived it, and lived to be 99 and almost reached reached 100. Note: Dad's oldest brother Walter died at 83, Dad's sister Margaret i.e. my Auntie Betty reached 100, and Dad reached 97.

[ivatt442]

@Puzzoozoo your ancestors sound like a very determined bunch of survivors! It’s all in the genes so you’re going to be around for sometime! All the best!

[Duane Degn]

Those are fun facts. Thanks for sharing them.

[Baba “TheGoodMan” Samba]

Okay for you, but who cares !!!!

[Puzzoozoo]

@ivatt442 Thank you.🤞I make it to at least 100 to become the first male member of my family to do so.

[Puzzoozoo]

@Baba “TheGoodMan” Samba Well you for one, otherwise you wouldn't have replied. 😉

[Luca Natale]

Love this series guys! Incredible content. It is just an overview but if you turned this into a mini-series, i'd watch every episode.

[The title of my channel]

It’d be cool to see a similar video on the evolution of tank gunner and/or the commander’s optics.

[Wayne Mayo]

Well done and clearly presented. The conflicting demands in tank design are made clear, with an obvious emphasis on fire power. I look forward to more such videos.

[Jack King]

It's great that you've put this video out. It shows the frantic race to keep shell technology ahead of armour technology. For me, the really interesting story (not in the video) is how the Sherman barrel was used to develop the armour piercing shell. That story in itself is worthy of a full video.

[Beltalowda]

Really excellent presentation. Well thought out and easy to follow. It was a great blend of live presentations on or in (loved the interior shots!) the actual tanks when possible, animations and actual footage. And THANK YOU for not just showing the same stock footage over and over like a lot of other documentaries. On each tank mentioned I wanted more and more information, which means it's a great documentary. I appreciate the explanations of some of the smaller things like the fume extractor. I had always wondered what that bump was on the barrel. More please! 🙂

[Cyclopath]

Another great presenter. Love these videos they have everything, technical, historical, and personal.

[Stephen Brown]

Thanks very much for this really interesting video. I used to work at Chilwell Depot, so saw the chieftain, scorpion/scimitar and 432 first hand. Have yet to visit Bovington, but it's on my bucket list!

[Shilling and LARPing Services LLC]

Excellent work, lads! I'd definitely love to see more in-depth episodes (and perhaps a series, if possible), each focused on specific nations: their design choices, the rationale behind them and their associated components (like the turret characteristics, sensors, ammunition storage and handling, etc.). It would be awesome to see dedicated episodes about the evolution of tank firepower in the USA, the UK, the USSR, France, Germany, Italy, etc. As an example, an episode about German tank guns could start exploring the ones on the A7V from WWI, then the ones mounted on the Panzers II, III, IV, V (Panther), VI (Tiger) and VII (Königstiger) from WWII and finalize with the Leopard and Leopard II's main armament, from the Cold War to the present day. This is just a humble personal fantasy though 🙃; you guys are already doing a stellar job as it is! Cheers from Chile!

[stefan schutz]

Excellent. Many thanks from a former troop leader in 43 Tank Battalion of the Dutch Army in 1967/1968. I would have liked to hear a bit more about the Centurion tank we and numerous other countries used. The ranging HE round to establish the distance of a target over 1,000 yards seems outdated at the time as range finders had long been in use.

[Lyon Whitman]

An engaging video covering a wide history of tank development. However as an American I was surprised that so little was mentioned about the Centurian tank. I was under the impression that it was the best tank developed in the immediate post-war period and not just among British tanks but across the world.

[Goobfilm cast]

I like the "Bigger Picture" overview. Seems like this would work for other topics like Combined Arms tactics or describing updates and improvements in various Marks across different eras. Also consider a bit of storytelling describing tank battles from the perspective of the crews and individuals involved. The war in Ukraine has likely sparked a renewed interest in not only tanks but other modern armoured fighting and support vehicles....a good way to bring enthusiasts into the world of current weapons and systems.

[David Blyth]

Having worked on several weapons systems including maritime one, the challenges are quite familiar. I missed hearing about the Centurion tank which was used to great effect in the Middle East and in the Angolan civil war. The latter theatre was not conducive to tank warfare as it was in dense bush enabling armoured cars eg SADF Ratels to neutralise Soviet tanks at short range - the mobility of the Ratel compensated for its weak armour. Doctrine and training were also highly important

[Louis Thomas]

This is some of the best content this channel has ever put out (a very high bar) - informative, but sufficiently concise, and incredibly insightful.

[Daniel_F]

That was an excellent overview on the evolution of the tank gun. Will you be doing similar episodes on the other two sides of the triangle? One on the evolution of anti-tank ammunition would be quite welcome as well. The changes to armor arrangement and materials forcing rounds from relatively low velocity solid shot to APFSDS and tandem warhead ATGMs is a fascinating subject.

[J P]

Yeah I'd second the request for a video on the evolution of AT weapons

[Teemu Kustila]

Also could have needed a section about the invention of smoothbore guns to gain additional boost in kinetic energy, not to mention enhanced endurance the gun. Only the British currently use rifled guns.

[Bee Cee]

Great video, the quality of internal refurbishment and equipment in Tiger 131 is astounding and good to see.

[Aussie Drifter]

Thank you for a very informative, insightful & explanatory basics into tank ammunition & evolution, it was really great & I enjoyed it immensely as always.

[Moreno Franco]

Excellent, Chris and Tank Museum production team! As usual - a no-frills, hard information presentation. Thank you, for your work.

[Andrew McLaren]

Excellent presentation, a very intelligent analysis of the many issues in tank gunnery. Chris Copson is a worthy successor to David Fletcher! Hope to see more videos in a similar style, in future.

[Wolf _]

Very impressed with Mr. Copson's German pronunciation, neat idea for a series as well, looking forward to armor and mobility.

[J.F. Fisher]

agreed. I'd love to see the three soft qualities of a tank addressed in more detail too - visibility, ergonomics, and communications. They are so frequently ignored but for example if you look at the German tanks against the early war French, British, and Soviet tanks, the biggest difference isn't armor, mobility, or firepower, but radios (communications) and 3-man turrets (ergonomics) that allow the commander to focus on situational awareness (visibility).

[Peter D.]

A super presentation Chris - I assume that you are at Bovington. I visited Bovington some years ago and spent half a day in the Museum and realised that I should have spent 2 days there. A really fascinating museum - But what a shame that such a great deal of time money and resources are spent on the development of increasingly sophisticated ways to kill each other !

[Jon Roads]

This was an awesome video, really enjoyed it! Would love to see something similar on armour 😁

[Corvus Rabiatus]

It would have been rather fitting to include a moment or two on the how, when and why of the migration from hull-mounted guns to the currently ubiquitous turret mounted armaments and the mix of main-gun and auxiliary weaponry like coaxially mounted and Turret-top machineguns etc.

[mvfc76]

that happened between WWI and WWIi

[Corvus Rabiatus]

@mvfc76 Not so. The French applied the fully rotating turret in their miniscule , but quite effective Renault FT tank in 1916 onward and were experimenting with heavier types and models during the the war.

[Jeff]

Wow you pretty much explained every question I had from my observations of modern tank designs, very informative thank you

[TurboPepsi]

Thoroughly enjoyed the video and liked! I'm not that much into tanks that I would subscribe - unless you're planning more in depth ww2 era tank videos :) Many thanks for the broad overview - most excellent information!

[Graham Walker]

Thank you very much for such a concise and informative history of tank warfare. Having listened to recent military commentators, would it be correct that supporting the armoured triangle of the tanks capability is their serviceability and logistical support.

[Jack Weathersby]

One of the questions I keep having is: when did the development of the smooth vs rifled bore begin? Are there certain countries that incorporate this variety into their doctrine, or is it more based upon the role of the carriage upon which it's employed?

[Thomas Mitchell]

It might be useful to graph with a line graph the increasing size of typical tank main guns in medium tanks and MBTs starting in 1940 to illustrate how they grew from 40mm at the start of WWII to 76mm plus at war's end and then to 90mm, 105mm, and today 120 mm. This would be a very useful chart for the conclusion of the presentation.

[Uncle Wednesday]

Beautiful presentation! Precise, concise, and informative. It doesn't really matter whether one is interested in tanks and their firepower: this video sets a pattern that all should adopt.

[Paul Regula]

What an amazing video! Clean, concise and got to the point. Well done!

[Joseph1Sco]

I would like to see a similar video about the development of armoured trucks through to armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles. Charting when and why they effectively came to replace the idea of a light tank in service worldwide.

[dzerkle]

It’s fascinating how fast the technology advanced over the course of WW2. The most modern tanks are based on platforms designed 30 or 40 years ago. Producing a new platform can take decades. I don’t know a lot about tanks, but consider the Bradley and the F-35.

[Erdanya Gaillard]

Thought this was very well made, with solid presentation, which can be trickier than some people think. Reminds me a quite a bit of the old documentaries that got me interested in this in the first place, back before Reality TV took over. Very well done!

[Jim Campbell]

That was first class, well done to you all. I particularly enjoy seeing whatever equipment using the ammunition

[Oxcart]

I'd love to see them build a new working mark 1. It would be fascinating to see videos of the progress. They do it with old aircraft. A tank would be a lot easier

[alpacaofthemountain]

Great video! I love seeing how technology advances exponentially over time

[David Robertson]

Fantastic video - really enjoyed the presentation, particularly seeing inside one of my favourite MBTs, the Chieftain. Lots more like this please!

[Bernard De Boeck]

This again a very nice series, please continue with this. I absolutely love it! Thank you all for all this knowledge, tidbits etc... Many thanks from Belgium 🇧🇪

[Spagneto]

Very cool video! Do you think the next generation tanks will be radio-tanks (unmanned)? I don't know much about war but it seems like the perfect vehicle to have unmanned because you can use it to pave the way for troops. It could also become smaller and have more ammo. We could also make a super robust anti-mine vehicle whose job is just to drive in front and take beatings from the mines in the road - just a big engine with an insane amount of armor

[Basti Stoeck]

Great Video! I would be interested in a deeper dive into the evolution of tank ammunition. Maybe in a future epidode. Thanks

[QALibrary]

It would be good to see the crossover from AP to other tank ammunition in WW2 by the British and others to overcome German tanks without getting crazy big guns and vehicles as the USSR did. Also the "fun" the Germans had gained materials/making their tank ammunition as the war went on.

[quicksesh]

Thank you for the video. It was fascinating to see the development of the tank gun, but also explaining the “lumps and bumps” was very interesting too.

[Pucio Henzap]

Love it, would like to hear more about how different rounds work.

[HammondIOfITexas]

Great Video ! Would've loved some more info pulled from the Leopard and Abrams series of tanks though. Especially on the L44/L55 Rheinmetall 120mm Smoothbore since it'll most likely be the gun of the future for NATO Countries.

[Hermes]

It's the gun of the past. Futur is about 130 or 140mm.

[Multiple Wounds]

Muzzle breaks also help reduce the amount of dust kicked up in order to help see where your rounds are landing. Which is slightly more important

[MBC]

The quality of this series is exceptional, I’m looking forward to more!

[bikenav bm12]

great feature I know you touched on it but I would love to see a similar feature on the evolution and a little of the science of sighting systems, thanks for the guns.

[UsefulMuffinCat]

Greetings from Germany! I really dig your videos as they are presented with dry facts but still with the english smirk in your voice. Really pleasant to listen to and highly educational. And adding to that you guys bring me the "outside view" on things. If there is documentary on tanks here, it mainly talks about the Leopard line or the Tiger, or the american tanks like Sherman and Abrams, but very few show the british machinery, even though the Challenger 2 is widely regarded as one of the most capable tanks in service.

[Tunkkis]

Not only do you not need rifling for modern HEAT rounds, the spin actually has a degrading effect on their function.

[DumbSkippy]

Thank you for producing such a wonderful and informative doco on tanks. Kudos and much appreciation for your efforts!

[Håvar Eriksen]

Very well presented and informative. What I would like added was some mention of the Renault FT tank that came late in WWI, with the lay out that later tanks would be built on, with a single gun in a rotating turret. Then what happened in the interwar years, and how light tanks armed only with machine guns were still used in the early days of WWII. They proved effective where the opposition did not have tank forces or sufficient anti tank weapons, such as during the invasion of Poland, Denmark and Norway.

[RickTransit]

That was the one thing that was missing for me in an otherwise excellent video. The change from having two guns in sponsons to a single turret gun was probably the most important development in the history of tank design! But perhaps it's covered in other videos - after all, this film was all about the gun itself rather than how it was mounted.

[Håvar Eriksen]

How the gun was mounted does impact the size of the gun. In a small turret, you can not mount a large gun, as you need room for the breech, space to load the rounds and space for the gun to recoil. A major problem for tank designers was how to shoehorn in a large gun into the turret. That's why many earlier tanks could not be re armed with more powerful guns. One example mentioned in this video was the Mathilde tank. While others, such as the T-34, the Valiant and the Sherman could be up gunned.

[Soft Ops]

Very good video. One inaccuracy. First production gun stabilization was fielded on the Sherman 75MM, vertical stabilization only. Took a good trained gunner to use effectively but helped a Sherman crew get a round or two on target before a reply.

[Poltical Me]

A really interesting and highly informative video. I learnt a lot of things I thought I knew but actually didn't. One day I'll have to scrape my rear off my swivel chair, cross the Channel and visit Bovington. For the time being I'll have to do with your brilliant vids! Thank you so much for sharing.

[Ian 1]

16:30 Should have also mentioned the muzzle break is designed to deflect the blast to the sides in order to keep ground dust down. All that blast going into the dirt in front of you not only made you more visible to the enemy but most importantly made it very hard to see down range.

[Greg Black]

my late father was in tank maintenance in ww1 after transferring from infantry where he had been wounded a number of times (volunteer fro anything to get out of the trenches he said (I'm glad he did)) and I vividly remember him telling me one of the rare anecdotes of this period. The male tanks were so dangerous inside due to the petrol fumes that the crews often asked them to make the cannons inoperable because of leaking breeches that could set them on fire. He also told me some stories about the petrol vs diesel engines that I am very hazy on because I was pretty young at the time and its about 70 years ago but it seems there was a bit of corruption in high places (so what's new?). He was a Staff Sergeant at the time.

[SJ H]

Brillliant documentary and the sort of thing I’d love to see museums doing more. Keep up the great work!

[Stuart Walker]

Fascinating insight and well presented. Thanks for clearing up a couple of questions I had about guns too!

[Straight talking]

Great video from end to end. Information, presentation, narration and illustration! I left this video much better informed than from any other tank video I've ever seen. 10/10.

[erloriel]

As to the video itself: what an excellent presentation! Charismatic and clear speech, along with good visuals, where needed.

[Michael Guerin]

Thank you for this video. First class explication and explanation. Book to follow? I expect to see and hear more of Mr Copson, given that he and his team were silly enough to do such an excellent job of this video! 😊

[Eric Wilson]

I am an old Cold War tanker. Would love to see your take on tanks during the Cold War.

[Gooner 72]

Nice to hear proper professional hosts talk about military hardware, that's why it's fantastic for museums to have channels.... I've been there and, if you're a military buff and enthusiast like me...... its absolute heaven

[Steven Wilson]

Next gen tanks will include a platform for a rotating swarm of small battery powered drones that can take off and land and recharge so the tank both has "eyes in the skies" but also the drones can likewise be fitted with small ordinance and also take out smaller targets themselves. There will be a need for ever more sophisticated IFF (identification friend or foe) systems to prevent from the tank and drones doing friendly fire

[dougie mc]

Very well presented, Informative video. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks Tank team. Keep up the great work

[fifteen8]

Really enjoyed this informative video. I would have liked an explanation of why most tanks use smooth bore if rifled is more accurate. I believe the answer is that that spinning APFSDS and HEAT rounds greatly reduces their effectiveness. APFSDS: spinning a finned projectile creates drag which reduces the round's velocity. HEAT: spin can inhibit or prevent the penetrating molten jet from forming properly.

[J.F. Fisher]

What I find most fascinating is that the older model of the Rheinmetall gun was 44 calibers long, which is in the range of higher-velocity howitzers and medium-velocity guns, but still are pushing shells out at up to 1700 m/s. The thing is that those sabot rounds are so light (relatively speaking) that they are able to fly at about half of the maximum velocity that propellant gasses can expand which is just crazy. And the massive propellant charge and large bore means that there is a lot of gas pushing the round and the gas is pushing against a large surface area to help with that acceleration. It's especially interesting in comparison to the other way of getting really high velocities before that, the squeeze bore, which was able to get nearly that fast but at the cost of a very small muzzle that couldn't throw other kinds of projectiles. The squeeze bore compensated for the sharp fall-off in pressure as the round moved down the barrel by making the barrel smaller to keep the pressure high, but the relatively short high-caliber gun takes an opposite approach of only using the highest-pressure part of the gas and venting the rest out in a gigantic fireball at the muzzle of the gun.

[Puge Henis]

Thank you very much. I consider myself knowing a lot about tanks, but still I learned so much. HESH only through a rifled barrel. Didn't know. Thank you again for a very nice and informative 26min, paired with some footage I haven't seen.

[Warris]

Awesome video! Thank you so much for taking the time to guarantee such quality.

[Jt H]

Great presenter. Easy to follow and understand. A good blend of technical jargon mixed with layman terms. Learned a lot and enjoyed it.

[Christian Mejlhede]

Love the video! As a none brit I would have loved a little more talk on the new smoothbore guns like the rheinmetal 120

[David Newton]

That would be classified.

[Franky46Boy]

Deadly, especially for other tanks... But why do we see so few tank-against-tank battles in this Ukrainian war? Most tanks are destroyed, not by other tanks, but by drones, mines, ATGMs, RPG's and heavy artillery shells that land on top of them... Excellent review of the history of the tank by the way!

[Howard King]

Excellent documentary that explains in simple terms how the modern tank developed from its first appearance to the present. Lots of information clearly presented. Enjoy.

[Mike Cabral]

I enjoyed this video very much. I’m currently reading Victor Davis Hanson’s book The Second World Wars a wonderful book and a lot about Tanks and their role during the 6 years of the war. I’m so happy that your video was in my feed I assume it’s was because I’m listening to the audiobook. I have read a lot about the 2nd WW and I am so pleased to have found this channel. I learned a lot from this video and I can’t wait to see what you have done in the past and what you are going to do in the future. Thank you.

[Clock Monkey]

I've read a bit about the Spanish Civil War where Soviet T-26 and BT-5 Tanks armed with 45mm Guns engaged German Panzer I/II armed with Machine guns and 20mm Cannon and Italian L3 Tankettes armed with Machine Guns. That led to the the Soviets and Germans looking towards thicker armour and larger guns though at a fairly leisurely pace. The evolution of gunnery seemed to be driven by thicker armour occasionally pushed forward by someone's bright idea to go for the biggest gun possible. Probably more interesting is the development of actual Shells where some incredibly clever stuff took place.

[Nathan Okun]

The original AP round given to the German Army 88mm/56 AA/TIGER I gun was a reduced-size version of the latest naval AP, Capped (APC) shells used by BISMARCK and HIPPER and the last German 16" Coast Defense guns. It was replaced a little later by a much stronger projectile with a nearly-flat-faced, extra-hard AP cap, a blunter nose to reduce impact damage, and a smaller internal explosive charge to strengthen the middle and lower body when hitting at an angle. The later up-gunned Pak-42/Panzer IV 75mm gun, the very long PANTHER 75mm gun, and later very long TIGER II 88mm/71 gun started out with versions of the new APC design.

[Len Gordon]

Great video. Looking forward to more in this series.

[garfield1415]

Great video, one question I would love to see answered is, how bag charges work, how they are ignited! There just doesn't seem to be any videos explaining this mechanism in laymen terms!

[lodagin]

War is of course terrible in all shapes and forms, although I can't help but be completely amazed by the science behind weaponry and in particular tank warfare. The "We have to find something to stop that" followed by the "We have to find something to punch through that", rinse and repeat. So damn fascinating.

[boogie153]

Very interesting report, perhaps you should mention that the german success in accurate tank gunnery was also a merit of their superior Zeiss optics which are used in the tanks.

[wise guy]

I have to say this was so well produced and done so well that I was startled to hear the “please subscribe and ring the bell” at the end because I was sure this was originally produced for television. How did I not know about this channel ?

[Pete Sheppard]

I think the 105mm L7 gun should have been mentioned, since it was the mainstay NATO gun during the Cold War, and its refinement was a large part of the post WWII tank-gun evolution.

[Ragnar Storm]

Superb video. Can we have matching ones on self protection / armour and future of the tank please.

[Norman Edwards]

Main armourment was always advancing ( at a snails pace ) personally I think the game changer was the flack 88, OK it was a anti aircraft gun , but it's sheer power and manoeuvrability were amazing , in a anti tank role it was devastating, give it armour .......the tiger and it could have been a world beater , just a pity that the tiger was over engineered , very thirsty , and prone to mechanical failure , luckily for the allies to came to late and in insufficient numbers to make much of a difference

[Andy C]

In 1974 when I joined my regiment, as a Chieftain gunner. We were using .50in Browning ranging gun which fired 3 tracer round. At BATUS in Canada I engaged a target at 3,500yards hit it using HESH after using the .50in ranging gun. We didn't have TOGS or laser range finding system, but just good old steam gunnery. Never had MRS,each morning on the range we had to use a boresight.

[Matt Fleming]

I was an infantryman and paratrooper but I really like tanks and wished I could have done both somehow lol. I chose infantry but I’d like to have a second chance and just see how the tanks really work.

[Blunt Cabbage]

From what I've seen, tankers frequently spend time as dismounts (grunts/infantry) on deployment.

[Martin O]

Great video, and very well presented / narrated Chris. We miss you up the road!