Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: Challenger 1 Prototype, Pt 2

[@mikedelta792]

As a gunner I used to traverse the turret at some speed, my driver would complain about the heat as the traverse motor moved near his head. Oh what fun those days were. The gunners foot plate didn’t give much room, I could stretch my legs only when we were static. The travel mode was not really used unless you wanted some sleep as a gunner. Normally you would be in stab for moving under gunners control. Trav stab would be for free control, because you didn’t need to pull on the dog clutch. It meant you could get some rest while on the move. Note:Once you stopped, you switched to non stab, this stopped the gun from hunting around. Ie it made the movements more precise. The CCMU was programmed with a steel tape recorder, it was called (Program loading and interface equipment) place for short. The battle links were in the Hull main junction box, this linked the turret and hull batteries together in case you lost your ME main engine and the GUE generating unit engine. Once TOGS came onto the scene, the training became so much harder, you would spend half the night driving around to help train the crews, the day time traing was the same. Making your workload increase. In my opinion, the 87 sight was a really bad design, the linkage was lack, they went back to the chieftain style sight on challenger 2. Thanks for the video, great to see the old girl one more time.

[@ccavanagh8429]

Thanks for the reminders

[@conncorde2694]

Hi i want to ask in TOGS in high mag mode the reticle is circle like on Challenger 2 TOGS ?

[@calvingreene90]

The fear factor that keeps the emergency trigger from being used except in a real emergency is a safety feature.

[@Misericorde9]

At some point there was probably a post-it note reading: "Remain fearful of pushing this button, until you are more afraid of not pushing this button."

[@Colonel_Overkill]

Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if the gunner carried a 6ish inch long stick in his kit just in case the button had to be used. I wouldn't want my fingers anywhere near the finger removal button personally...

[@lilkobabunga]

@@Colonel_Overkill It's a finger(and/or gunner limb) realignment button, It realigns your fingers(and/or gunner limbs) within the tank

[@Colonel_Overkill]

@@lilkobabunga ehh, less realignment and more creation of modern art on the turret rear. As fast as the breech recoils I doubt a finger would remain attached. It may be able to hang on with a ligament or two or it may bounce around until you give another crewman the finger. Either way it will be a significant emotional event for all involved.

[@lilkobabunga]

@@Colonel_Overkill It realigns bodyparts according to the turret's feng shui

[@Centurion101B3C]

Hm, being a former Centurion TC, I have no option but to conclude that where the Centurion would allow for a moderately trained monkey to operate the machine to get a decent time-on-target, I estimate that this prototype Challenger would require a genetically modified genius Octopus to achieve the same.

[@stevenbreach2561]

I don't believe that for a minute!The Cent gunner had to do "steam gunnery"and like the driver,had to be on top of his game.I was aCheiftain gunner,and joined at the end of the .50 ranging gun,start of the Tank Laser Sight.Apart from the IFCS the gunners position doesn't look that different.I have the utmost respect for Cent crews👍👍👍🇧🇴

[@scrubsrc4084]

My work mate was a chally gunner. Don't think he's trainable in anything really

[@Centurion101B3C]

@@stevenbreach2561 Well, my National Service gunner (and let's not forget the loader) did have the .50 RMG drill down pat. We managed to get APDS double-taps smack dab on the target turret ring at dot 3 within 7 seconds and later three tracers in the air with HESH defore the first one hit (granted at, 2000 yards). We all felt jolly smug about that. Nothing wrong with "steam-gunnery" if it gets the job done.

[@ccavanagh8429]

They we not that bad I was a Chieftain TL and did the Challenger conversion. It was basically the same even the TOGs was the same. There were more boxes and the SEPU added as well as screens. One little gem was the hidden feature where you could dump the core memory of the SEPU by pressing a button out of sequence!

[@Ingens_Scherz]

And that is why the army top brass green lit a breeding programme for genetically modified genius Octopi (or "Octopuses" for the less stupid). That is why Challenger 2 followed so soon after Challenger 1, and reverted to human beings (albeit base-level examples). It's hard to fight a Main Battle Tank filled with seawater. (Sloshes around, you see.)

[@cdburner5911]

My dad has a scottish aviation bulldog, a RAF trainer from the late 70s, and its air vents are exactly the same as the ones in the tank, how neat!

[@cmck472]

Out of the British Leyland parts bin, no doubt! 😁

[@cdburner5911]

@@cmck472 most likely, they seemed to reuse a lot of existing parts. The brake master cylinders are MG clutch cylinders, the starter button is a spitfire starter button. I'm sure there is more I can't think at the moment.

[@peterpenberthy2918]

Looks the same as the ones used on ford Cortinas and Escorts.

[@alan-sk7ky]

9:42 See the gunners fire control handle. I used to make them, so that's where they were used. We never knew what they went into only that it was green. For the nerdish hot cast epoxy with silica filler, 2ba brass inserts for the screws that hold it all together anodised (sp) aluminium(sp) base plate wot holds it to the mount. Very tough stuff occasionally we would bog one up, air bubble that wouldn't come out under vacuum leaving a void, or a tool leak. Smashing the anodised base out to reuse was troublesome to do and have it in reusable nick, the most common fault was where in the schematic number 3 is pointing the two webs under the square box thing on the side, the rearmost one next to the autolay rocker would hang up in the tool on opening up. ( the parts needed to be removed after the a certain amount of time in the cure oven otherwise they would be too rigid thus causing the breakage, mostly due to variation in the materials used we thought)

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Ok, that's an obscure level of detail I had never thought to inquire about!

[@alan-sk7ky]

@@TheChieftainsHatch At your service ;-)

[@mikedelta792]

I used the gunners firing handle many times in my career. It worked flawlessly, thank you for making a good product.

[@alan-sk7ky]

@@mikedelta792 glad to be of service mate. Did you manage to break one? :-)

[@mikedelta792]

@@alan-sk7ky no, as I said very reliable. Thanks for getting in touch.

[@DraftySatyr]

7:59 "This is the Override Master Control ..." More commonly known as the "Oh my Christ!" switch 🤣

[@ScottKenny1978]

Battle mode fuse sounds like a solid conductor, no matter how much power you draw through it, it won't blow.

[@Bird_Dog00]

Didn't they do this on warships as well? Just solid copper bars instead of fuses?

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@Bird_Dog00 maybe? I wasn't an engineer, so didn't get into that part of the plant. I mean, it absolutely would not surprise me.

[@Colonel_Overkill]

@@Bird_Dog00 yes and no. They were solid copper bars but were connected to circuit breakers. Said breakers could be physically locked down with a knob in both positions to prevent or keep power flow. The theory was better to electrocute or burn the wiring in half the ship than to lose the whole ship. This was US navy design, worked most of the time though USS South Dakota may have a different opinion on the matter. Also, look for a video on them that battleship New Jersey did a while back. Its interesting to see a row of breakers the size of a smallish woman. Scientific measurement at its finest!!!

[@colbeausabre8842]

@@Colonel_Overkill By the way, the guy who ran the Electrical Division of Bureau of Ships during WW2 was a captain by the name of Rickover. He was notorious for how he beat up contractors to improve their designs - because men's' lives could depend on their functioning properly in battle.. "Sharp-tongued Hyman Rickover spurred his men to exhaustion, ripped through red tape, drove contractors into rages. He went on making enemies, but by the end of the war he had won the rank of captain. He had also won a reputation as a man who gets things done. Wonder what happened to him....

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@colbeausabre8842 Rickover went insane and created the Naval Nuclear Power program. And yes, I stand by my assertion that Rickover was insane. Pretty sure that anyone trained by him would agree.

[@66kbm]

I enjoyed those 2 vids on this item. A rarer item as it is not one that was issued/deployed. It would be very interesting to see a side by side of Prototype Chally1 and issued Chally1, see what was kept and what was binned. Pity no "Bugger, the Tank is on fire" was available.

[@julianshepherd2038]

I was hoping for an ejector seat or at least a giant spring

[@abaialsa712]

the Germans did the right thing when killing Russians?

[@thewomble1509]

Plenty of pics of Shir 2 (FV4030/3) which was the tank that became C1 for the British Army.

[@ageingviking5587]

Great stuff Chieftain! I am glad you were able to climb back out of that thing .🙂

[@dot2562]

😅

[@c00sto]

Brilliant video. Gunners position looked miserable, yet you powered through.

[@Shaun_Jones]

To be fair, someone did basically steal the gunner’s position at some point.

[@ZGryphon]

All of the positions on this one looked pretty bad to me, especially the driver's hole. That recumbent driving position... yeah, no. I'd spend all my time feeling the same sort of incipient panic I get in an MRI machine.

[@iatsd]

@@ZGryphon Assuming they're roughly the same as the production vehicles, and it looks like they are, all the positions are actually very comfy. Gunners need to be under 6 foot to be really comfy. Everyone else can be a bit over. Driver's position is extremely comfy once you're used to it. Worst is probably the commanders because it has the least room available to stretch or adjust easily.

[@ccavanagh8429]

We were a Scotish regiment so no shortage of small gunners

[@janwitts2688]

When I was young chieftain (the tank) was the new hotness... difficult to process that this is the next level up... and it's now a relic...

[@mightymediocre3352]

And now so are you... ;)

[@teaser6089]

Yeah and the funniest is that we are about to see the next Generation of Tank starting to get into development. Well at least the EU is developing a next gen tank, as for the British, they are just improving the Challenger 2 design into the Challenger 3, but not a real generational leap and the Americans are as far as I know not even thinking about replacing the Abrams. The Germans and French however are co-developing the next generation tank for European armies. And no it's not the Rheinmetall Panther tank, that was just a tech demonstrator. So yeah I'd say within the next 10-15 years the Challenger 2 and Abrams are going to be relics too, which to be fair they are already decades old at this point haha.

[@shrek9703]

I'll be honest with you Mr Nicholas, at least 50% of my overall tank knowledge comes from listening to your videos and reading books you suggested or your own book ( Can openers ) Am I ever glad that wargaming hired you and allowed you to share your knowledge to a wide audience your own way! My wife hates me because I've watched so many of your videos that she can actually recognize certain tanks when we watch movies and she has absolutely no interests for them hahaha Anyways, felt like giving you some recognition today instead of asking you a question or trying to correct you on something. Thank you, Chieftain. - Tristan from Canada 🇨🇦

[@expatingermany7685]

Great video. I lived near the ATDU in bovington and remember the prototypes driving around all day and night. 3 years later I joined the RAC and went to a chieftain Regt.... The last ever chieftain Regt. Nevertheless you did say turret was basically a chieftain. Points to note. We didn't change the TLS at night, we learned to use the emergency firing button whilst doing the gunnery course, the coolant filled link arm connected the gunners and commander sight so they were always aligned. HESH corrections, yes we did massive amounts of bracketing, it was all part of our 6 week course. But there was a fast and easy trick, " lay the fall of shot onto the target". APDS and DS/T used the same bag charge ( paper caseing) HESH was just half (620 m/s) but APFSDS had its own, it produced so much recoil that the recoil indicator would fly off, so three types of bags. Lap-loading, easy with DS/T, I'd have the projectile hovering over the breach and as it gun recoiled the proj was going inside the gun, never managed that with a HESH. Cannister, we were supposed to carry one, a sort of final shot because it ripped out the rifling, according to my commander it would be use to remove infantry off another tank.

[@TeddyBear-ii4yc]

WW1 battleships/battlecruisers were the same, iirc they carried 6 shrapnel shells per gun?/turret? for the main armament to sweep the decks of enemy warships. And one was fired at an enemy airship/aircraft over the North Sea.

[@ccavanagh8429]

Yes the grape shot charge was used very rarely as it screwed the rifling. We used to get a demo on the first range day at Troop leaders course.

[@isleofthecheetah]

Content like this shouldn't be free, but it is. Great stuff

[@ulissedazante5748]

Now we have to understand who needed so badly a gunner's seat and a piece of turret basket, and to do what.

[@Tomartyr]

Bubba works in mysterious ways.

[@xilaithownage2453]

Chieftain don't forget the most important bit of equipment on the Chally and all other British Tanks. The Boiling Vessel socket. The Chally had a forced air system but no heating so you got to freeze with the metal. The fire selector rocker switch lases the target when pushed up you keep tracking the target while lasing then move the rocker switch to the bottom for the gun to autolay. This automates the turret to track the target to allow for accurate fire. There is also a pinkie finger switch that allows you to select the Ammo Type which lets the computer know which range scale it should use. I have seen Fin (APFSDS) fired off the HESH scale before hilarious when the round goes flying off into the air though dangerous. Also the Commanders control monitoring unit CCMU was used to input environmental factors like barometric pressure, Temperature etc. Thanks for this walkaround it brought back memories from 1988 when my lot moved out of Chieftain.

[@brucefluth3930]

“...I don’t know what this lever is for, but it looks important!” 😂🤣

[@krissfemmpaws1029]

That was interesting and now one can see how tight things can be in some tanks... now I understand why a tanker friend said being in a tank is a love-hate relationship.

[@falanglao01]

Watching the end, struggling to get out is hilarious. The hardships youre going through are much appreciated ;-)

[@Spartaner627]

i dont know why i enjoy seeing the chieftain crawling through these man made steel boxes so much. but i do. thanks for the upload.

[@Mjk10957]

I got to start a challenger 2 once , all i remember was there was loads of buttons that needed pressing a bit complicated for my Infantry brain 🤣🤣 we was out in poland on excerise i was in a anti tank platoon we had challenger 2 playing enemy for us however the tankies invited us over to have a look at there tanks. I have always liked Tanks wanted to be a tankie myself it was my first choice however when i went for my selection for British Army , i failed the eye test i passed every other test but failed the eye test for the Royal armoured core , BY ONE MARK so i ended up going into my second choice which was Infantry , however i was bit of a spoter with the AFV recognition so i got moved out of a Rifle company into surport company Anti Tank Platoon.

[@willems7454]

When was this? Wasnt 99 was it? i rem showing some guys round the challenger 2 in Poland during a fire power demo. We had the TES kit fitted and one of the sensors dangled off the Gun. So me being the arsehole i was was, I was telling some guy from the Green Jackets or was it LI, that its a microwave that can blind infantry from a mile away.

[@Mjk10957]

@@willems7454 lol 2007 or 2008 m8 when i was in the royal anglians

[@teaser6089]

@@Mjk10957 It's funny how the British army complains they cannot find enough recruits, but also have such incredible high medical standards that like 80% of Applicants fail on the Medical Check. xD

[@troglokev]

Interesting use of green paint as an anti-reflection coating for the cupola optics. I’m not sure of its practicality. The purpose of a prototype is to find out such things, but I think a little thought in the design meeting would have rejected this idea more cheaply.

[@adrianguggisberg3656]

That was a US modification. Maybe someone in the Trump administration tried to standardise far-sigthedness, or they thought there were Mexicans inside.

[@paoxley]

Thanks Chieftain for the great tour - I felt claustrophobic just watching this - I'm 6ft 3in. Totally fascinating. I've been watching on KZbin videos of the ruskie tanks destroyed by the drones or handheld rocket launchers. One Ukrainian soldier said his stomach goes in knots when they hear the Russian tanks moving towards them. I'll stick with wot and maybe become a drone pilot - lol. Great video commander!

[@expatingermany7685]

I'm 5'11", the longest I sat in the gunners position was 3 days in Canada in Sommer. I became a driver after that.

[@rollandchapin5308]

I have grown to enjoy your humor. GJ , As a Canadian ex- Infanteer . I have Cmdr several differant types of IFV's I pensioned off in 1994. A couple of tours later. Blah , blah Absolutely appreciate your method of operation. Good luck best wishes.

[@llokkee]

You've improved over the years with ur inside episodes Chief more info more sophisticated Great job mate 👍

[@kuhaku9587]

Back from a night shift tired as hell, stressed so here goes happy time in the hand and I see a chieftain video. Way to put me to sleep with a smile!

[@kippamip]

Just one observation@ 22:10, you don't need to operate the breech handle to close the breech during loading. you close the breech guard and it closes once the guard is made.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

That seems to make sense to me, but in the manual I have (dated Jun 83), close the breech is a separate step conducted before pulling the firing guard to the rear.

[@kippamip]

@@TheChieftainsHatch in that scenario I'm guessing it's first round in the breech and just making ready to fire, in which case you would not be making the guard to actually fire. In that scenario then yes the book would be right and you would pull the breech closing handle. 👍🏼

[@razorcola9833]

On the L30 gun but not on the L11.

[@kippamip]

@@razorcola9833 makes sense this being a prototype that it has the L11 as that is what chieftain was running at the time. In that case what the Chieftain has said from the book is most likely correct. I never loaded the L11 only the L30. 👍🏼

[@expatingermany7685]

The L11 had to be closed via its handle after the bag charge went in. Load, pull , next projectile , guard, safety switch..... Call "loaded".

[@luciusvorenus9445]

Thanks, Chieftain! Prototype vehicles and testbed are interesting for the features they do have and of course, what they don't.

[@scraggy983]

You are wrong on the loading drills, if firing HESH, then the next round is automatically loaded UNLESS the commander orders, "Stop" or "Stop Loading" If fifing Fin Sabot or DST, the loader must wait fore a confirmatory" Fire" order UNLESS the commander had ordered keep loading until the commander orders "Stop" or Stop loading" Also, the link temperature compensator bar simmply keeps the link bar at a st temperature, the value of which I've long forgotten.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Fair. Now I'm pulling it up, I hadn't noticed that the instruction in the manual to not automatically reload was in the sub-section for APFSDS engagement and not under general procedure.

[@ScottKenny1978]

Seems like a good way to get your loader messed up having two opposite drills.

[@scraggy983]

@@ScottKenny1978 Not really, we only use two types operationally. The root of it is that the APDS is inherently less accurate than HESH,. The system was, to use a three round technique for APDS because you could rarely see the fall of shot, so after the firing obscuration had subsided the commander could then decide if another (of the fewer carried) pointy things needed to be loaded, iff, after three rounds the target failed to blow up/die then you switched to HESH.

[@johnboy651]

@@scraggy983 APDS is inherently less accurate than HESH, are you sure you have that the right way.I always though apds was straight to the target and hesh was lobbed

[@CobraDBlade]

@@johnboy651 the APDS was less accurate than the HESH because of the barrel rifling. The APDS round normally is self stabilizing, but the rifling throws it out of whack, whereas the HESH round was meant to be fired from a rifled gun so it is more accurate. The Brits liked their HESH from what I've heard so that is why they went that route while others were going smoothbore.

[@McRocket]

I like you - you seem to have an open mind on things/not a big ego. Thank you for NOT putting background music in your videos. ☮

[@tankdriver65861]

I’ve had a try on the challenger 2 simulator, on two different occasions, and they both felt weird, the first time was before playing steel beasts, the second time after playing it for a while. My gunnery was crap both times, and I found it very hard to adjust to the sensitivity of the thumb switch/pad/ stick. They said it was easier to control in the vehicle than the simulator

[@qwerty123il]

I assume that experience was available because you’re in the in the military or know the right people 😂? I’d love to have a go in one but found nothing in google 😔

[@tankdriver65861]

@@qwerty123il just know the right people mate, even then it’s hard for them to find time or even be able to accommodate

[@qwerty123il]

@@tankdriver65861 yeah I get it entirely. I know I have access to a few things a lot of people would dream to do as well it’s just not a tank simulator 😂 we all have to make the most of what we have👌enjoy it!

[@richardvernon317]

@@tankdriver65861 Was that at Donnington???

[@karlsnow5281]

"..looks important.." I love this guy

[@shorttimer874]

Say what you will about the problems with the M114, but fully loaded including all crew gear every position had a lot of space, and even with a full 3 man crew, which was rare, there was enough room while underway for one of them to stretch-out and sleep inside the hull. I'm 6'2" and when buttoned up never had any problems hitting my head on anything while sitting up.

[@simongleed]

Fantastic and very educational not much difference to my Chieftain MK10 that we are restoring and nearly finished.

[@stuartbennett7614]

Bv is of vital importance in any ifv a morale booster in a balkan winter or a desert night

[@colbeausabre8842]

Stuart Bennett Even better is a working heater. In my 25 years in the US Army, I never encountered a working one and replacements were permanently on back order

[@PeterNissen878112]

This entire Part 2 episode has left me feeling claustrophobic!

[@michaelguerin56]

That drag/crawl out of the driver’s position looked to be slightly less fun than crawling around underneath a house whilst repiling and slightly more fun than crawling around in a relatively low pitch roof space; with the caveat that at least it was probably a bit cleaner! 🙂

[@bigpakahobnobs101]

love the Asbestos at 18:25 surely nothing can go wrong !

[@robertnemeth6248]

Great tour. There are some people out there that think the driver's periscope is actually some sort of window and thus a weak spot - see Red Effect videos. Your tour demonstrates that the tank has a periscope and not a window....

[@petesheppard1709]

Claustrophobic creepies begin at 36:00...😰 Good tour, thanks!

[@thurin84]

36:22 and here were rare witnesses to another chieftain being born into the world! congratulations challenger! its a boy!

[@skogga]

Brought back memories of cave exploring when I was younger and lighter!

[@ritchie799]

Again, a brilliantly informative video. Hat doffed to you.

[@biker6991]

the OMC links the hull batteries to the turret batteries...behind the commander the big grey box is the meterdine power module

[@anotherzingbo]

The entire bit with you in the driver's seat had my skin crawling. I think I don't like confined spaces!

[@deezynar]

I have watched several videos of the inside of various tanks, and I am shocked by all of them that the interiors are filled with hard, pointy, items that could hurt the crew who are being thrown around inside like rocks in a can.

[@Dedfaction]

You've got to spill a little blood to keep the tank happy somehow.

[@razor1uk610]

@@Dedfaction ...queue deriggur "Blood for the -Blood God- Turret Monster!" audio line

[@theancientartofmodernwarfa1850]

I explain to people that everything in the tank is trying to kill you all the time. If you remember that you will be fine.

[@deezynar]

@@theancientartofmodernwarfa1850 Attitudes like yours, if allowed to exist in all areas of life, would kill all advancements. We'd have no science or technology. You are an adherent to the mantra, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," but that's an idea that stifles improvement. If I designed a tank interior that was superior to its competitors, all other things being equal, my tank would defeat them because my crew would be more efficient. They'd be able to focus more on tracking the enemy, and getting their individual tasks done rather than trying to survive the hazards inside their own vehicle.

[@theancientartofmodernwarfa1850]

@@deezynar Ah, you haven't been a tanker then. We appreciate that our steel beasts are out to get us. Keeps up the adrenaline rush. And they continue to do so with each improvement made to them. They just find new ways to try to kill us. Kind of like other personal relationships.

[@cynicalfox190]

Well I caught this a little late but I’ll be back to rewatch from the start soon I think

[@biker6991]

Double H gear selector Bottom left low reverse..top left high reverse...center top 1.. centre bottom 1-2.. right top 1-3.. right bottom 3-4.

[@melangellatc1718]

As a Desert Storm M1A1 tank company/team commander, the fire control system in the thing seems horribly complicated...

[@Masada1911]

The whole inside of the tank looks very busy and crowded to me

[@expatingermany7685]

It wasn't complicated because it was all we had and it was all we had to learn. IFCS is more simple than you would expect. From finding a target to killing it took about 5-6 seconds. Ammo was preselected, weather parameters were programmed in before firing, laser range didn't matter when using full systems, lase, Auto lay, Check the target was in the ellipse and fire. We learned all types of system failure all the way down to looking down the barrel. We also fired using the clinometer upto 9000m using HESH for area bombardments ( Canada Sommer 1987 )..... All trained in a 6 week course.

[@Kosmos6171]

17:50 Now we know how the scariest button in the tank looks like...

[@jameswhymark4507]

Excellent videos!!! Please keep them coming 🙏

[@biker6991]

the RED handle on the rear of the drivers back rest...LOWERS it FLAT for evacuation...

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Well, crap. I must have missed that bit in the manual.

[@venator5]

28:50 I think you could open the hatch if you unlock the level, There is that red locking knob just above the level which you could turn away.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

If you mean the lock on the left side, it didn't make a difference.

[@paulrisk1988]

The drivers hatch was always stiff to raise and some mud did sometimes jam it but some upwards pressure on the hatch while operating the handle worked most times. but with the amount of paint on that tank even more that what is normally on a British tank, it probably wouldn't work this time. The commanders hatch could be opened from outside by jumping on it the locking handles were on springs and would pop out sometimes if you jumped on the hatch just right.

[@venator5]

@@paulrisk1988 Sound like you were served on those tanks. What is you general opinion for this particular tank, or do you have experience with other tanks as well?

[@SteamCrane]

@@paulrisk1988 I assume most insurgents knew this?

[@biker6991]

NO that link bar is for the commanders sight main gun alignment for the contra-rotation system

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

The one at the very end?

[@biker6991]

@@TheChieftainsHatch it goes to the commanders cupola and operates the mirror for his "view" of the gun symbiology

VEry interesting tour

[@andrewtibbetts2695]

Quick question: Is the Fort Benning Museum open again for viewing or are they still moving vehicles in?

[@colbeausabre8842]

Andrew Tibbetts. The museum is part of the Armor School, is used for instruction and is PERMANENTLY closed to civilians. Even retirees like me

[@robertcogan7109]

We're still moving vehicles in (another shipment of 20 is due in the next month). We won't be open throughout the usual week for civilians due to the training requirements but we will have weekend events where the public will be able to come visit. Once we get things in place we'll announce dates for those open houses.

[@biker6991]

Muzzle Reference System Sight has to have the graticule UNLOCKED to MRS...there is a switch low left of the gunners left knee to turn on the light source

[@garyneilson1833]

Good video, are you going a special on the correct way to use a BV sometime ?

[@ulissedazante5748]

Stephan from Sweden Arsenalen museum did a "cook in a tank" video. I've seen a "how to make tea in a tank" from Tank Museum (who else) Could be interesting a "cooking with Chieftain" - food and tank.

[@CaptainSeato]

36:23 - Ah, rare view of a Chieftain's vulnerable belly :v

[@nonpartisangunowner4524]

36:00 OMG, the tank is on fire!

[@occamraiser]

Wow! I haven't heard the word 'Canister' used in conjunction with cannons since Waterloo. I didn't know it was still 'a thing'.

[@MrAktilos]

A little random but you you mentioned you liked flight sims when talking about the TC gun controller. What do you play if one may ask? DCS, MSFS, Xplane, Falcon BMS or a older classic?

[@b.griffin317]

How do you ensure the projectile is all the way in and doesn't stop short and jam up the propellent bag?

[@CobraDBlade]

As long as there isn't an obstruction in the chamber I'm betting that the force of ramming the bag in would seat the projectile.

[@jonathonpalmer9593]

You push the projectile until the seal on the round engages with the rifling, you will feel it.

[@b.griffin317]

@@jonathonpalmer9593 Ah, thanks.

[@philipkarsten9859]

Hello Chieftain My big question for the day is about the boiling vessel. Does the BV have a lid? and does the lid if so equipped have a steam whistle in case the crew get busy and forget about it? Just thinking Boiling water splashing about during action could get a bit exciting.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

It does indeed have a snap lock lid

[@biker6991]

no whistle....just tons of steam coming from the mushroom...

[@tonysmyth1767]

It had a relief valve (the black mushroom thing on the lid) also had an inner square pot with a hanndle you could lift out. Woe betide the crewman that let it boil dry and killed it, they were very difficult to get a replacement through the stores. Funny how the REME guys mamaged to have 2 on their vehicles?

[@slammerf16]

Warrior had two as well, for the bigger crew. You could modify the one to make it into a toaster...

[@SebastianDeBeer]

Are tank crews allowed to change the configuration of equipment on their vehicles?

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Only to a limited extent. It's good practice to have the same things on the same places on all the vehicles, so that anyone can go from any other vehicle and know where to get something.

[@mikewinston8709]

Amusing to hear them described as old. I recall loading them at Marchwood for the BAOR when brand new. No matter….😂

[@МихаилБатькович-м2ь]

Grrrrrreat thnx for this series of videos, it was especially interesting) again, it's a pity there was no "the Tank is on fire", but, nonetheless, very interesting.

[@keithplymale2374]

I saw Challenger I when I was in the UK in 1999. The driver was always the shortest and smallest member of the crew.

[@biker6991]

trigger is squeezed on the OW of NOW

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Thanks Chief!

[@ThePsiclone]

Do you ever have nightmares about getting into one of these things and being unable to get out? Just curious.

[@robjmck]

My brother was 6 feet 4 inches and served in all positions, prefering the drivers position no less as sleeping was easy. I shall ask him how he got on in the other positions when I next see him!

[@colbeausabre8842]

ThePsiclose. Why do you think you have a pistol

[@dposcuro]

That final laugh translated: "The shit I get myself into!"

[@calvingreene90]

How do you know the barrel has cleared the terrain? The driver has hit the brakes.

[@pennycarvalho1223]

If only you could check the ikv103 interior, it’s a vehicle that doesn’t have any interior photos as I am sure of

[@Zombine45]

I think the problem with the thumb control for the gun is that you only have a single finger to manipulate it with, instead of using the entirety of one/both hands which gives you a lot more dexterity and control. Though as you said i think practice helps a lot.

[@expatingermany7685]

The first thing we did was to follow lines drawn in the simulator. Even though it was 70's technology the fire control computer (8kb) had a training aid and my commander would have me trace objects or chase dots projected into my sight.

[@michaeldenesyk3195]

Thank you for the video. Was the 120 mm gun the same weapon as the previous Chieftan weapon? I still am confused as to why 2 or 3 piece ammunition was a preference to a one-piece round. I am sure you have covered the plus or minus aspects of either

[@ThePTBRULES]

Weight, less weight in one object let's the loader have a much easier job, second, you can place the charges in a more protected location, as they are the most likely to explode.

[@jasoncp3257]

The same gun, yes

[@elanvital9720]

At the time the L11 was being designed, one-piece steel casings would have had to be very large and heavy (at least heavy) due to having worse propellant and lower operating pressure. Some countries in the late 50s and 60s started looking directly at semi-combustible casings, but the UK instead looked at bagged charges since that was a more mature type of charge which reduced weight, but it was still quite long so it was two-piece. Nice thing is that you could fit two HESH charges in the same slot as an APDS charge so total ammo capacity was increased a bit. Best comparison is the Conqueror's gun. Its steel casings were much bigger and heavier. The Soviets used non-metallic casings that were lighter but IIRC not combustible at the time, but since they used autoloaders with T-64 weight and two-piece ammo became a non-issue. Unfortunately the British didn't mate bagged or steel charges to an autoloader which would have been a neat solution to the problem.

[@jimmydesouza4375]

Same gun, and the reason for the three peice ammo is because the gun is a direct adaptation from a German artillery peice which used bag charges to modulate firing range. And also at the time, it was beleived that one peice ammo was too large to be usable for calibres above 100mm which is presumably why they didn't bother to adapt it to be one peice.

[@jaspergood2091]

Which German gun are you referring to? The closest non British relative I can think of to this gun is the US 120mm AA gun that Conqueror's gun was based off

[@kellymouton7242]

Plot twist: Chiefland filmed the end first, and is STILL crawling out of that drivers hole.

[@greghelms4458]

Stupid question. If using powder bags. How are you sure there aren’t particles that can explode the next bag after firing?

[@thewomble1509]

They are sticks of cordite encased in a canvas bag not gunpowder!

[@greghelms4458]

@@thewomble1509 so either way there’s no way there are any burning particles between firing left in breech?

[@thewomble1509]

@@greghelms4458 No, the charge case is made of nitro cellulose and basically vaporises on firing.

[@greghelms4458]

@@thewomble1509 thanks. Spent 17 years in the military but not one second around any artillery. Always wondered that watching videos of big guns firing.

[@Riceball01]

Are all thos cables and wries iaround the TC's position stwoed differently in the production model or are they all exposed like that still? I wonder because it seems that having all of those exposed wires and cables, even clipped and tied, seems like a snag hazard to me., esp. if you're claiming in and out quickly.

[@dennisvandermarkt8263]

Made my day sir

[@ponchoremerize5508]

After seeing this I like the U.S. & Eastern tanks for various reasons.

[@senatorjosephmccarthy2720]

1: 08, Hard to believe those sharp corners wern't radiused during mfg. Who's in charge here?

[@thomasbernecky2078]

Last return sounds ominous? and no teapot? oh, I guess the BV is for that and the Full English breakfast?

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

I cover first and last return in my switchology videos on the M1 and M60, if I recall correctly.

[@MisteriosGloriosos922]

It's easy to enjoy!!!

[@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785]

At 18:24 that has got to be scary as hell... You'll be fine, just don't twitch!

[@MrWhy6]

I like the ones without music the best.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Great vids!!!

[@mbak7801]

One day in my unit we were due to have an inspection of our vehicles and I was given a brush and a giant tin of NATO green paint. I asked what should I paint and was told "Everything". So I did. Hinges, handles, anything that was supposed to open or move was painted. I went over the top of mud and welded the doors shut by painting the rubbers. Even the locks got a lot of attention. It looked disgusting close up but fine from about 25 feet. The experienced inspecting officer walked 30 feet away and did the usual series of comments "very good" etc. After it was all over I kept well away from the vehicles as there was lots of swearing coming from those who were supposed to maintain them as they discovered everything was seized. Oh dear what a pity......

[@paulbantick8266]

No mention of Challenger 1's service?

[@cpt_nordbart]

In regards to thumb stick usage. I've seen a picture of a fps character with a stick mounted to the back of his head as example how it works. Push it forward the head looks down. Pull back and he looks up. Legions of gamers have learned to use thumb sticks like that.

[@qwerty123il]

Im an inverted player and I can’t stand it not being inverted it does make more sense in my mind as well, using that analogy. The thing with that analogy that I’ve always struggled to answer is what about left and right, if it’s fixed to the head if you pushed left the head would go right like bicycle handlebars. On that, I got to go in an airliner type flight simulator and I couldn’t get my head around the pedals for yaw/nose wheel steering. Touched down and weaved wildly back and forward down the runway because I assumed the pedals would be like bike handlebars but pushing the left pedal made the plane go left… my brain just couldn’t compute that 😂

[@AsbestosMuffins]

The british would find no issue with using the night sights in the daytime, day and night are just varrying levels of gloom in most of britain

[@biker6991]

32 fin...16 HESH, 4 SMOKE and 2 SHOT were carried when i was in Berlin

[@williamlloyd3769]

What a complicated beast. Wonder what the part count is related to the logistics of supporting this tank?

[@HunterTeddy010]

The paint, you warned us but... holy no. It's spackled into the viewports and lights.

[@jamesrowlands8971]

What was the end of this video? Where were you moving from and to in the tank?

[@matthewJC1990]

Do a video on the challenger 2 that would be good

[@krisluedke9557]

35:13 The turret clock is so you know when it's tea time.

[@paulnutter1713]

Is that a bit of 4x2 timber as it's a challenger or is it a piece of 2x4 lumber as it's in America, these are the big questions

[@clothar23]

Seriously the Limes measure their timber ass backwards to ? So that convoluted fire control system isn't the only thing they got wrong.

[@thewomble1509]

@@clothar23 Limes? It's 4x2 btw.

[@ivoferin8176]

Fascinating

[@AsbestosMuffins]

I feel like Emergency Button Mk2 would involve adding a little cover around it so you couldn't stick your finger past the button