Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: FV622 Stalwart MkII

[@piritskenyer]

"if warning signs start going off, immediately turn on the bilge pump, which I thought would be a no brainer, but whatever" - Sir, this is the British Army, not the Royal Navy. :D

[@samholdsworth3957]

You sir made me lol

[@andrewwmacfadyen6958]

British army officially at least called cargo vehicles trucks, for example Truck 1/4 Ton CT Cargo FV1801 was the Austin Champ , Truck 1 Ton CT FV1601 was the Humber Pick-up.

[@MFKR696]

That's how you GI-proof a vic. Most of the people that would have driven these things would be between the age of 19 and 23, so such warnings are necessary.

[@mavrik104]

@@MFKR696 and some may have never driven a vehicle before military service.

[@MFKR696]

@@mavrik104 Yes, indeed. Also, we tend to overlook it sometimes through our moments of blind patriotism, but most of the people who enlist are not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed, and people who end up being drivers were never the best in the lot. That's why they're drivers lol. So they can't fuck anything else up. Believe it or not, there are people in the Army who are too stupid to even qualify for infantry. Shit like that happens when standards are allowed to slip to meet recruiting quotas. But then again, someone's gotta police the burn-pits, and you know none of the "performers" are gonna saddled with shit work like that, so the useless guys are actually kinda useful in situations like that lol.

[@deanstuart8012]

In 1965 Trooper Robin Wilfred Painter of the 11th Hussars stole a Stalwart with the intention of taking it from his base in Germany to Ireland via Liverpool. This involved him in attempting to swim the Stalwart across the English Channel. He was forced to turn back due to an apparent lack of fuel, landing in Calais after sailing from Belgium. However the fuel in the reserve tank would have gotten him to the UK, only he didn't know that it was there. Painter was Court Martialled and got 8 months in Colchester, but remained in the Army. The details were reported in The Times from 24th November 1965.

[@gusgone4527]

Can't go discharging people with balls that size. Even if his brain was the size of a pea.

[@SvenTviking]

“Painter?” “Yes Sir!?” “You’re a silly bugger, Painter.” “YesSir!”

[@TheBrewjo]

Good, glad he wasn't discharged. Sometimes that line of work sends you off the deep end a little and as long as you don't steal weapon systems or harm anybody the Army did the right thing by giving him a chance to carry on after his sentence.

[@dogsnads5634]

@@TheBrewjo He actually stayed in the Army, if I remember correctly he actually ended up as a Colour Sergeant or Sergeant Major, he was mentioned as receiving a medal in the early 80's..

[@davidsmith2356]

I remember that, the story was still circulating in the mid 70’s......

[@johnt8636]

The touring company I worked for bought a Stally. Used it for an amphibious tour vehicle. The best I can say about it is that it drove like a boat and floated like a truck.

[@alganhar1]

Ever take it off road? That is where the Stollie shines, not on road. On road it can be a pain in the posterior, off road it is fun as all hell. As for how it floats, well it *does*, thats the point, they are not exactly designed to cross the Atlantic you know, or to handle Force 8's, but more to cross river or small lake obstacles without requiring the cargo to be offloaded into a seperate vehicle. They float well enough to do that job just fine.

[@johnt8636]

@@alganhar1 Really?? It wasn't meant to cross the Atlantic?? Gee, thanks for telling me. I said the company used it as a touring vehicle and you asked if we took it off road. Well I suppose we did. We took into Halifax Harbour. It was extremely slow in the water and lacked the power to maintain the speed limit on modestly hilly streets.

[@chaz8758]

@@johnt8636 Most Stollies were stripped of their impellors and the drive couplings in the 1980's when it was decided to stop swimming them. The vast majority of them that were sold on lacked them. they would still float and swim but only driven by their wheels. As for speed limit - they were cross country vehicles designed in the 50's - maybe not the best choice of vehicle for the company.

[@johnt8636]

@@chaz8758 Thanks for the info. Ours definitely had some gear replaced/removed that compounded the issue. If you knew the city in which we operated it, essentially in the downtown core, you'd understand that mobility shouldn't have been an issue. The streets downtown, you'd be lucky to get up to 30 kmh. It's entire route was only about 7 kms.

[@bradyelich2745]

@@johnt8636 You are just too civil. Argue with the guy who drove one in the Atlantic Ocean and downtown.

[@rows10]

Drove the Stolly on exercise in Germany many times during the 70s/80s. It's exhaust would glow bright red at night due to the heat from the 8 cyl engine. It's party trick was to turn the ignition off for a couple of seconds, then back on, the unburnt fuel would cause a jet of flame to fly out of the exhaust with a very loud bang. Best done at 0200 whilst passing through a German village.

[@johnnunn8688]

Used to do that with my Honda CX500, make peds jump.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

My bikes refused to do this. Even the horrible Triumph 500 refused to back fire.

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

We still had these in the British Army in the 80's. Great off road transport but we weren't allowed to swim them anymore. Surprised nobody has mentioned the story that a soldier apparently stole one of these from his camp in Germany and then drove home in it. To the UK. Apparently he made it some way over the channel.

[@Staghound]

Apparently he made it half way before panicking when it started to fill with water and he wasn't aware it had bilge pumps. he was picked up by the royal navy I think. Rumour has it if he'd made it back to england, Alvis would have given him a job as a test driver!

[@deanstuart8012]

I've already replied to someone else about this. It happened in 1965, with the Court Martial being reported in The Times.

[@mattteee2973]

@@deanstuart8012 haha wow! I was thinking theres no way one of these would even have the range to get to the coast letalone have a decent go at crossing the channel without needing more fuel, hats off to the guy!

[@deanstuart8012]

@@mattteee2973 I've checked the details and posted the full account separately.

[@pumaking2989]

Sounds like a good History that Deserves to be Remembered video!

[@beachley01]

As REME Corporal I ran the Stalwart repair section at 1Div Tpt Regt in Nienburg Germany. Only one problem was if it broke down it had to be unloaded before you could get at the engine.

[@rmod42]

Ah the Stalwart - another of those wonderful post war British vehicles that still looks like it comes from the future, 60 years after it was made.

[@davidsmith2356]

Yeah amazing how the really great military equipment manufacturers have been passed over.. Look at the Scorpian light tank for instance.

[@Twirlyhead]

Park an Alvis Stalwart next to a Handley Page Victor bomber and you have the makings of a SciFi movie right there.

[@michigandon]

Which is why they often show up in SciFi movies.

[@karlp8484]

I had a die cast Corgi model of the Stalwart as a young kid. I thought it was the coolest looking thing ever. I didn't even realise it was amphibious. Imagine my delight when I visited the Gold Coast in Queensland and they had them as tourist coaches complete with water trip. The British Army sold them off (1970s?) and they were snapped up by..guess who. It's a superb farm vehicle, incredibly practical, doesn't damage fields too much and obviously can go anywhere.

[@justforever96]

And also requires an enormous amount of expensive maintenance. There is more to being an ideal farm vehicle than the actual performance numbers.

[@IronCurtainTwitcher]

i had the same toy, one of my favourites, likewise didn't know it could float, the toy certainly didn't, happy days 😀

[@mozki1]

We used them still in the late 80's early 90's in BAOR. Bashing the wheels into a road curb also worked a treat for unwinding the transmission. Also slightly scary is when the steering locks while driving. If I remember correctly it's air assisted so you either stop to build more air ( not recommend on an autobahn, ) or give the engine more gas!!!.... and hopefully it releases before you hit whatever you are driving towards when the steering locked. Absolutely fabulous cross country vehicle though.

[@johnellison2698]

Worked on loads of these - always remember them pulling left when the clutch was pressed and right when they accelerate - even managed to get the angled nose to hit the ground doing 2 footed braking to try to free a clutch resulting in the engine cover flying over the roof lol.

[@paulisaperson0516]

Notice the lack of chrome

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Yeah, the Brits missed an opportunity here.

[@blinkyoureyes1400]

@@TheChieftainsHatch Chrome is going to be the new tactical color, black needs to step aside.

[@catfish552]

They've decided to forgo chrome in favour of rust trim on this vehicle.

[@moosemaimer]

mediocre

[@thedungeondelver]

*Slaps top* This baby doesn't carry so much chrome.

[@johnwilliams9240]

I served with Bob Painter after he came out of Colchester ‘nick’. He was a Cherrypicker 11th Hussars, Red Trousers, from their old CO Lord Cardigan of Balaclava fame. Bob just got browned off and decided to go home, he took a Stolly and stared driving filling up at NATO bases on route. When on Orders in front of his C.O. he was told that if he had got across the channel it would have been written off as a publicity stunt. Decent block strong willed. John

[@iainsmith6643]

Just found this channel. On a par with forgotten weapons ie excellent. Nice dry sense of humour.

[@rossfromfriends8468]

I hope they do a collab some day. They both to work for rock island auctions

[@Deathbyreality1]

@@rossfromfriends8468 Note they dont actually work for the auction house Ian has said that once that he was invited.

[@Deathbyreality1]

You should see his other videos that he does for the game world of tanks they are excellent as well and they should all be on this channel.

[@rossfromfriends8468]

MJY I’ve seen them before, I watch them for tips when I build scale models. I’ve learned so much from the chieftain

[@Deathbyreality1]

@@rossfromfriends8468 Same great resource for us tank lovers.

[@rickansell661]

Tank related thing: For many many years Chieftain and Challenger were refuelled in the field from Stalwarts fitted with semi-permanent (had to be craned out for maintenance, of which there was a fair amount) fuel and pump packs. As a civilian on attachment I once had the privilege of helping out with a Tactical Replen as part of the Stolly fuel crew. Fun in the pitch black with MBTs driving by inches from your face and handing up the hose. They had Night Vision of course, but I didn't. From my memory of extensive work with the list of UK Army Equipment, including official names, types and roles, 'Lorry' didn't appear once, Truck it was, all the time.

[@_scooter98_92]

Rick Ansell was thinking you were making a shitpost about this chieftain and challenger...you can imagine my confusion :) I’m sure the tankers got a laugh seeing how close they could get without hitting someone

[@davewolfy2906]

I nearly got jailed once for referring to a Rover as a Lanny, we are all young once.

[@markellis7819]

You mean UBRE pods ;)

[@rickansell661]

Yep - forgot the term.

[@stevenbreach2561]

Best place on a Stolly on the way to Hohne ranges in February/March was right at the back,near the exhaust which would glow cherry red ,but was lovely and warm as long as you kept a respectful distance from the pipe

[@camrenwick]

We had Stalwarts in the Regiment I served with (1977 - 1985). I agree, they were amazing fun to drive off road. They would just ride any holes or bumps like a wave. And yes, they do require a lot of maintenance.

[@66kbm]

I have not watched this yet but already I have given a thumbs up. Drove these in BAOR in the mid '80's......loved them. I have now watched this video, that is one well messy Stally, nothing like an original British Army model. I understand about the lighting system...HST to those that know, but that is a poorly looking Stally. As the "Chieftain" mentions, there is no more fun vehicle to drive off road than this, remember how old this thing is, its amazing.

[@richardbell7678]

I suspect that the only thing more fun to drive off-road would be the six-wheeled amphibious skip-steered buggies used as moon buggies in "Space: 1999" (with more power and a roll cage added). The German WWII 8-wheel armored cars, being German, probably had the required seven lockable differentials to allow each wheel to rotate at its own rate during a curve to make them as marvelous on the road as they were off the road. While I am dreaming in technicolor, if you want to combine off-road driving with the RV experience, you really need a large soviet off road amphibious truck. If I won a large lottery jackpot, I would buy one of the 14x14 chassis used for the soviet mobile ICBM batteries and hand it over to a yacht builder to have a very comfortable RV that would not capsize.

[@markellis7819]

Watch it, 66knbm, and you will want to execute the presenter for being a knob in seconds

[@66kbm]

Never, that wont happen...The Chieftain will always be no1. @@markellis7819

[@stevenbreach2561]

And the engine note was lovely,Rorty as fuck

[@Sedan57Chevy]

No matter how boring the Saturday, it always becomes interesting when there's a new Chieftain video!

[@DonegalOverlanding]

We uploaded a video of us camping with one. Our friend has a Stalwart and we loaded it up with camping gear and went out on the loch. What a machine!

[@wouterke9871]

Thanx for uploading, nice video, must be great to make trips like that

[@thetourettesgamer8851]

Love vehicles of this series! My grandad was with the first royal dragoons from 1956-59 and he worked mainly in Daimler armoured cars but he also worked with Daimler dingos, Alvis Saladins , Alvis saracens and centurion tanks. He was a radio operator and he thoroughly enjoyed his time in the military and I’ve shown him some of your videos along with those of the AFV god david fletcher and he found them really interesting.

[@johnpreisler6713]

I loves me some Chieftain on a Saturday morning. Despite the lack of track tension.

[@waltherr2331]

A Lorry is typically articulated. A truck could be any large vehicle such as a 'Dumper Truck'. People don't usually call those a 'Dumper Lorry'.

[@cmanlovespancakes]

A UK friend told me that they call all trucks Lorries regardless if they articulate or not. They rarely use the term "truck", though the younger people may use the term since they are more exposed to American media. Truck is an American term. Which is used in North America, Australia and New Zealand, though they use Lorry too.

[@jic1]

@@cmanlovespancakes At best, that's a gross oversimplification. There isn't a clear distinction between truck and lorry, but size does play a part (lorries are usually larger). In my personal experience, the use of word lorry is in decline in England.

[@jic1]

@@thedcrwuft Because it's so implausible that somebody might notice that he hears a particular word used less frequently than he used to?

[@cmanlovespancakes]

@@jic1 well that's according to my friend who lives in England. I'll trust him since he lives there.

[@jic1]

@@cmanlovespancakes I live there too, in fact I've lived there for almost 38 years. Does that mean that I'm definitely right? No, of course not, it's anecdotal information. Does it trump your *second-hand* anecdotal information? You bet.

[@doodskie999]

This is the video I like. No shitty music overlaying the mechanical sounds and noise. Great vid

[@rogerhudson9732]

I was once run over by a Saracen APC, went right over me, lovely ground clearance. The 600 series had many variants, ambulances, radio command posts, engineer workshops but the Stalwart was the best. I think the RAOC used to carry ammo in them including 155mm shells. Unfortunately the were expensive to make and service. The Rolls B80 engine was used in some RR limousines .

[@Twirlyhead]

Odd that an amphibious truck should come from Britain: A desert country where it rarely if ever rains; similar to Ireland really.

[@ThePsiclone]

I know, no rain for 5 days, things are getting serious!

[@888johnmac]

and it's been 20' c / about 70' f for 2 days now .. eek, hosepipe bans soon ... haha

[@2011metalmaniac]

@@888johnmac youd think we had enough water to cope without resorting to hosepipe ban

[@m3cvfm]

It was for German and needed to swim with ammo . It could carry 5 tons. Needed to swim because of the bridges could be destroyed during war.

[@stevenbreach2561]

Love the Stolly,ideal for carrying cold Tankie's to the ranges on Hohne,the luckiest would cram into the very back near the(red hot) exhaust,bliss on a freezing German morning

[@tacomas9602]

10:20 my older Ford 3000 tractor has exceptional power steering like you mentioned. When I’m raking hay, I can fling the steering wheel and catch it in either left or right.

[@mrpirate3470]

:) I learned to drive in a Stalwart. Absolutely fantastic off road vehicle and a Lot of fun to drive. We used to race the recce platoons scimitars cross country. That little lever, just behind the gear change lever is the revese transfer lever. If turns the entire gearbox into reverse. There is no reverse gear to select on the main gearbox, you just pull the little lever back and voila... 4 reverse gears [Yes, that means you can drive top speeed in reverse ;) ] The exhaust vents are a godsend for drying wet sleeping bags and kit, on really cold drives it wasn't uncommon to see the driver pop out the top and go back to warm on the vents while the co driver took over. then they'd swap

[@richardscales9560]

Surely the inspiration for the UFO shado interceptor vehicles

[@gavinhudson5251]

I thought the same thing. I grew up in that era.

[@richardbell7678]

Oh how I longed to live in era that UFO was set in. I was amazed by the subs, cars, planes, and spacecraft that Gerry and Sylvia Anderson foresaw in the 1980's. While waxing nostalgic about the future past, it is depressing that the Moon was blasted out of orbit nearly twenty years ago (embarrassed television syndicators have renamed "Space:1999" to "Moon Base"). The fantastic technological age that was the setting of Joe90 was in the year 2011. I have that boxed set, so I should see if they lucked out and never included the Moon in the background.

[@ianrhodes6661]

They were famous for doing an almighty backfire when you switched the engine off also made a loud clanging noise when idling from the air brake compressor shaft. But a fantastic bit of kit in the right hands.

[@DIY-valvular]

It looks like one of those vehicles from Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlett or UFO Gerry Anderson's tv series!

[@ballagh]

Was chatting about this video over the weekend and I heard that when the north Irish horse were practicing deploying to Germany and had to drive through England and the continent one of the things that they brought with their Saracens was a length of telephone pole which every now and then was put on the ground to unwind the drivetrain. Also heard a story about them getting pulled over by the police to be informed that they had only 5 wheels and the missing one had fallen off about five miles back, crossing the opposite carriage way, missing everything. No one in the vehicle had noticed!

[@g2macs]

Top bloke! ........I bet you just about every lad growing up in the seventies had a toy stolli to go with their soldiers. It just looked so cool and despite its alarming habit of setting itself on fire, I'd still love to have one.

[@chaz8758]

Lift the engine decks up when it was running and see the exhaust manifold literally glowing cherry red - and remember these often carried pack fuel, UBRE Pods or Ammunition. If you get wet just stand in the back above the air outlet - soon dry off

[@_scooter98_92]

Disappointed we didn’t get a demonstration by the chieftain himself haha

[@markellis7819]

On fire? What habit of setting itself on fire? I carried fuel in jerry cans and non of ours ever set on fire

[@yfelwulf]

LORRY is a shortened version of a Latin word I can't locate it was originally a 4 wheeled Roman Cart with a Flat Tray for carrying goods something like Lorica, Lorricus or Loricum. In the UK a horse drawn cart with a flat tray was called a LORRY the name just continued. Throughout their empire (not just in Britain) the Romans used a number of vehicles to travel. The carrus (CAR) was an open chariot which carried a driver and a passenger and was drawn by two horses. The carpentium was a more luxurious version and was covered by an arched cloth. It was drawn by mules and was used by women and officials. The cisium was a cab with two seats. It was open at the top and front and was drawn by two horses or mules. Coaches (raeda) were wagons with four wheels with box-like high sides and seats along them and were drawn by a team of oxen, horses or mules. It carried several people and luggage and its carriage limit was about 327 Kg (687 lb.) The definition of a carriage is "A horse-drawn passenger vehicle" It is also a railroad Passenger Car. The Romans had names for specific types of carriages just a we have names for specific types of motor cars such as a sedan, suv, van, etc. In Latin, the word for a carriage in general was "VEHICULIM ". A "carpentum" or a "pilentum" was a small light usually two-wheeled carriage and a "raeda" or a "petorritum" was a larger, four wheeled traveling carriage, usually quite comfortable. TRUCK Compared to the fog surrounding “lorry,” the roots of “truck” in the “large vehicle” sense are satisfyingly clear. “Truck,” which first appeared in English around 1611 meaning “small wheel or roller” (specifically the sort mounted under cannons aboard warships), is a shortened form of the older word “truckle,” meaning “wheel, roller or pulley,” which appeared in the 15th century and was derived from the Latin “trochlea,” meaning “pulley.” The first use of “truck” in print in its modern sense of “wheeled vehicle used for transporting heavy items” came in 1774. Here is the definition of LORINUM in English a bridle rein. LORARIUS Harness Maker or Flogger LOREMA Bridle or Bit LORAMENTUM Strap LORIMARIA bits, buckles, and other metal work for harness.

[@johnfisk811]

Before self powered vehicles the British Army had 'Carts' if the horses were pulling one with 2 wheels and 'wagons' if they had 4. If it carried just seats for personnel it was a 'carriage'. The largest of these was the 'Expedition Carriage' which mounted 20-30 troopers facing out on bench seats ready to dismount immediately.

[@yfelwulf]

@@johnfisk811 That's why I reference it to the flat tray for goods and commerce that was always called a Lorry the name just stuck. You can see the Romans used many names. There were Cars in Australia badged Landau and Brougham both types of Luxury horse drawn carriage. In fact the same names were used back in the 30s for luxury Chauffeur driven cars. History repeats its self thanks for the Info as a side note the AUS Army did and I believe still does faces its truck bench seats outward for fast exit if ambushed.

[@davidvines6498]

Thanks. I did not have to read 600 posts to find out what a Loory was

[@scraggy983]

No central tyre inflation system on British Army Stalwart. The suspension is not ALL shock absorbers, on each wheel station there are two shockers and two rebound dampers. IIRC

[@klackon1]

Just prior to joining the British Army in 1971 I worked for a family friend. He owned a research and development company and was pretty switched on. I was quite in awe of him, as he had been a pilot in the RAF. I was in even greater awe when he revealed he had also been part of the Stalwart design team.

[@EthanThomson]

my dad worked for a company that fitted undercover police cars with equipment. the owner decided to buy one of these as a restoration project the most use it got was a climbing frame by myself and my sister

[@LeoNiehorster]

Page 176 TM 30-140 "Handbook on the British Army ..." War Departmment, Washington, DC, Sept. 30, 1942 "..."truck" being used for any load-carrying vehicle of 1 long ton or less, and "lorry" for a load-carrying vehicle of 30-cwt or more."

[@gavinhudson5251]

That was well researched, I learnt something.

[@99Hokusai]

Where does this leave the 3 ton truck?

[@LeoNiehorster]

@@99Hokusai - The 3-tonner was designated as a "lorry".

[@99Hokusai]

@@LeoNiehorster I've never heard them called anything other than a 3 ton truck.

[@aaronquak2139]

it's 1940s Britain when the definitions for two nearly identical types of vehicles is differentiated by mass in two different units

[@dominiccolella3778]

Swam them at the bridging camp in Weymouth.Great fun.Drove them down from Tidworth. Got fed up waiting for the crossing in Poole so took her for a swim across.Somewhat pissed off the Harbour Master when we landed on the beech just past the Harbour. Apparently no vehicles allowed on the beech. Barr Humbug!

[@wikikomoto]

im really enjoying this look at support vehicles, something that never really gets much a look at anywhere else

[@leslieshatwell8505]

the power steering does not operate by itself as you described, the one you drove had a common fault on the power steering where by the operating spool used to stick , causing the steering to operate on its own. A mod was introduced to limit the travel on the operating lever which prevented the spool from being damage and sticking; I have built more than 50 stalwart steering boxes when I worked on them doing Base Repairs.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Bugger. I thought it was a brilliant idea and a hell of a lot of fun.

[@Anlushac11]

As a kid myself and everyone I knew had the Matchbox BP version of this vehicle.

[@Celebmacil]

Still one of my favorite Matchbox vehicles of all time.

[@martingardener90]

Still have mine!

[@yusufturner1971]

We used them in 11 Brigade in Minden in the 1980's, mostly with POL pods in the back, then in the field we would pull up in two columns left and right in our 432's. I as the driver /mechanic would jump out, walk across the roof, take the fuel filler from the logistics guy on top of the Stally and fill both tanks, then pull forwards to the Colour Sergeant's truck, my crew would then collect the rations, then I would oull forward to the rover with the water tank, on the trailer, my crew would then refill our water jerricans, the drill was important as you were doing it at night as part of a BG movement, with of course lots of armoured vehicles including Chieftains, and in the dark only using red filtered lights! But the Stallys were mega useful, but a bit top heavy, saw one roll over off a German road, into a ditch near Minden, it got lifted out with little damage, in the mid 1980's, they were replaced in our battalion, with TM's, which weren't amphibious or so solid! BAOR/BFG stopped using amphibious vehicles in the 1970's as we had bridging capability and the RE M2's from down in Hameln. But thanks for your video and the trip down memory lane, just hope this Stally finds a good home! 👍🏽🔥⚔️🙏🏼🤞🏼

[@Roger_Stenning]

Bloke I know had one of those, that he used to show at military vehicle displays in the south east England area. You said "maintenance intensive" with straight face. I well remember him cursing without repetition for something like ten minutes (in and of itself bloody impressive) about the suspension / steering linkages / waterproofing of seals / that damned screw system etc etc etc. He loved the damn things :D

[@dessicator]

All manner of armed, armoured and heavy vehicles have graced this magnificent channel and the loudest thing by far to have appeared is the rear hatch handle on a swimming truck.

[@armoureddiver5262]

I concur with Chieftain that the 'Stolly' was a brilliant drive, especially in heavy country. In addition to ammo & general stores we used them fitted with UBRE (Unit Bulk Refuelling Equipment) packs which contained tanks and pumps to refuel the Chieftains. The Stollys used to get the places where the Tanks had problems! Someone else has mentioned it but the standard practice for the drivers on a road run was to bounce the up and off the curbs to reduce the wind up. We also tried to avoid driving them unladen to reduce the angles that the drive shafts and UJ's had to cope with. I believe at one stage there were even dummy load packs available. Transmissions were checked by painting a white line on each hub, if they all lined up it was OK, if any element (bevel box/driveshaft etc) failed then that wheel station would be immediately identifiable as the line was out of alignment with the others. The most desired version was fitted with a HIAB hydraulic crane just behind the cab which made loading and offloading much easier. When swimming, especially in fast flowing rivers(e.g. the Weser ) a wire hawser was sometimes rigged and the vehicle attached by running shackles front and rear to keep it at right angles and give the props a chance (also done with CVR(T)) Good times.

[@buggs9950]

I found one of these rusting away on a back road last year. Awesome thing to see in the flesh.

[@freedomvigilant1234]

My brother fixed a Stalwart for a chap who sold military trucks as a sideline. It was a sod to repair. The same chap who employed my brother was a cool dude, who went on to stand as a prospective MP on a pro Firearm stance.

[@Orlok1970]

Awesome vehicle. Just amazed how small it is by modern standards. It would fit on a DROPS pallet!

[@charlescoats7425]

thank you ! I was looking for the proper pronunciation of Stalwart. Pretty cool Vehicle too!

[@bigblue6917]

One of the problems was the exhaust pipe at the back. Anything too close to it could catch fire and more then one Stalwart went up in flames. Of course if the cargo is fuel or ammo then the fun really reaches new heights. Five tons of tank or artillery shells in the back will definatelly add to your day.

[@chaz8758]

Evil backfire from the exhaust, drove a bit close a few times in convoy and swore the flame shot past my head (in a FV 432). The exhaust manifold and pipework under the cargo bed glowing red - with pack fuel, UBRE or munitions mostly

[@markellis7819]

Back fire was awsome. But the exhaust is not near the load bed, but outside of the rear louvres. This mythe about catching fire is bull

[@chaz8758]

@@markellis7819 We had one or two have little fires, but that was the hessian skirts touching the exhaust charring and catching, same with a few of our 432's. Quick panic, rip the hessian off and all good, never set the vehicle on fire.

[@nothingtoseehere1221]

Notable decline in demonstration of tension, track.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Next one, I promise.

[@josephhardwicke6344]

@@TheChieftainsHatch panzer 1 possibly?

[@p_serdiuk]

@@TheChieftainsHatch You should have shown how to regulate the tyre pressure.

[@nothingtoseehere1221]

Holy moly I've been blessed.

[@markellis7819]

@@p_serdiuk because the alleged Tyre pressure regulator doesn't exits. I don't know what this guy is smoking

[@monicabello1962]

In the British army a lorry is a fladbed truck with separate cab meant to transport any sort of load (it could be articulated too), a truck is a single unit vehicle meant to trasport equipment and personnel. So looking back at ww2, a Bedford QL is a lorry, a Bedford MWD is a truck. A us jeep is a truck because it's not flatbed and a Canadian CMP could be both a truck or a lorry according to the fittings, usually the short wheelbase were fitted as trucks and the long wheelbase as lorries.

[@rebootweb]

Earlier models that went in the water had a flat plate that could be lowered to stop the bow wave from covering the windows. It also had an inflatable seal on the back flaps so water did not flood it and ruin stuff being carried.

[@GrumpyIan]

There better be an "Oh bugger the FV622 is on fire and sinking." Test. Edit: I'm not mad. I'm just very disappointed.

[@piritskenyer]

*in Gerald Butler's voice* ABANDON SHIP!

[@danieltaylor5542]

@@piritskenyer Shouldn't that be ABANDON TRUCK!?

[@piritskenyer]

@@danieltaylor5542 refer to the movie Rock'n'rolla :D where Gerald Butler's character, upon seeing a combat knife coming through his car's roof, shouts "ABANDON SHIP! "

[@Stuka87]

@@danieltaylor5542 Or would it be ABANDON LORRY?!

[@commander31able60]

if it's on fire *and* sinking - just wait for it to sink and voila - fire is put out.

[@geraldswain3259]

New the test driver of these vehicles at the Alvis holyhead rd Coventry a Mr Packham a really super knowledgeable guy.Had the good fortune to go to school with his son ,had many a ride in one of these (unofficially) of course

[@exactinmidget92]

dude that salamander is a hippy bus that got drafted.

[@AcAAvengersClan]

A friend of the family had 2 of these fv622's and used them in the past to give people rides on the local beach, he had them painted in the thunderbirds colours :) still has a small collection now but nothing like it used to be. still has one of the amphibious jeeps seen in the opening now that i think about it (refuses to sell it)

[@PPC4]

I don't know for certain but in the UK. Truck tends to mean rigid chassis and lorry means it's articulated (articulated lorry). Although the terms frequently get interchanged.

[@Jimmyfisher121]

The sound of the Stally is pure music. while sitting and just idling.

[@cobalt2361]

This is the kind of stuff that really tensions my tracks.

[@andyward8336]

You missed the bit about the exhaust glowing bright red and can and did set fire to the load being carried i.e fuel or ammo apparently . and the guy who attempted to cross the channel . Salvage squad got a Stolly up and running with full swim kit KZbin .

[@SvenTviking]

Knowing Salvage squad, they probably bodged it with bathroom silicon.

[@markellis7819]

Never had a load set in fire. The exhaust exits the hull out of the side and then comes up in the exhaust box by the edge of the rear louvres

[@petershort3764]

That takes me back, steering effort dependant on engine revs. Go into a corner on a trailing throttle, you’re in trouble. Gear change pattern back to front. 1st back towards you, 2nd forward, third back and away, catches everyone out and the best, Rev limited by shorting out rotor arm = big flame and thunder show. Agreed best drive ever

[@JagerLange]

Among the many urban legends of BAOR is one in which someone went AWOL and "drove" home across the Channel in a Stally.

[@deanstuart8012]

Not a legend. It genuinely happened, although the driver only got half way before turning back. The Court Martial details were published in The Times in October (I think) 1965.

[@julianjackson2099]

I met the guy that did the deed. Alvis claimed something in the drive train could not be broken,the guy broke it whilst driving off a prominade towards the beach,he turned back,got court marshalled and booted out.Alvis gave him a job testing trucks.He did insist that he did NOT make it into the channel.

[@umt1cardiff]

@@deanstuart8012 seems strange to turn back halfway 😊 might as well go all the way.

[@dogsnads5634]

@@julianjackson2099 He remained in the Army. He's recorded in the London Gazette as getting a medal (think Long Service in the early 80's. He was promoted as well to Colour Sergeant I believe.

[@colinlythall3435]

he was in the reme at 7 armd workshops we where on parade when the recaps marched him past us

[@bergauk]

You'd think they'd solve windup by using some sort of air-lockers on the hubs, you go through a corner on land and unlock the hubs for a moment while moving and the wind-up goes away.

[@ptonpc]

It's not really a major problem, it takes a while for the wind up to have any effect. All you do is just aim for bumpy surfaces, such as potholes or kerbs every so often. Gravel works too. Since they were supply vehicles, they would spend a fair amount of time on the side of roads or off road. So it was not worth the extra weight and complication for air lockers. As an aside, you are supposed to measure the circumference of the wheels as the tires wear and swap them around so they are the same size on each side. This also reduces wind up.

[@markellis7819]

Tyre rotation. Drivers had to measure the circumference of the tyres and put the smallest at opposite end to larges. And then would balance the vehicle on the centre wheel to release it, or fly it on a table top earth platform.

[@justforever96]

Or just do what most people with locking hubs do and only lock them when you are trying to cross slippery terrain. Then you don't need to worry about it at all. You only need one drive axle on a paved road. Most European heavy trucks only have a single drive axle. Although what you actually just want is a locking "center" differential, or just a way to disengage the first two axles. Both of which have been used on civilian 4wd trucks for decades. As for the "extra weight and expense" of any of them, it is a 9 ton, 6 wheel drive amphibious cargo truck. I don't think adding a hundred pounds of weight and two hundred pounds of expense to the cost of the vehicle to make it that much more useful is prohibitively expensive. How much did it cost them to repair the constant axle and driveshaft breakage over the service life of the vehicle, because they failed to provide the simplest of mechanisms to disengage the axles or account for the differential rotation? I see they generally consider it worth the "weight and expense" to put transfer cases and axle differentials into trucks, even military trucks. If they weren't useful and worth the weight and cost they would just make them full time fully locked 4wd and tell the troops "it isn't really a big deal". If they were so concerned with shaving pounds off this beast, why didn't they make it out of aluminium?

[@Skorpychan]

@@justforever96 They aren't 'locking' hubs. The drivetrain itself is permanently locked to make it simpler and save on gear losses.

[@waynehankinson8210]

They should have made a differential lockup control to use when you are off road and just one axle drive when on road. Works great on all US military equipment.

[@bwilliams463]

Most all ofthis family of vehicles, except (I think) for the Salamander were all Matchbox toys. I had the Saladin, and later the Alvis Stalwart. When I was collecting Matchbox, we didn't have the Interwebs for research, so I often wondered about the models that were based on UK vehicles. I hardly ever saw the real-life vehicles on the road.

[@BazilRat]

Every single Stalwart driver I've ever seen on youtube says the Stollie off-road is the most fun on wheels.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

You sure you're not a Pedigree Siberian Hamster?

[@BazilRat]

@@TheChieftainsHatch I've not driven one myself, this is just what I've seen on youtube; You even said it yourself. I imagine it's a bit like driving a mini; you're uncomfortable AF but you don't really care (until your head bounces off something)

[@jnelchef]

"The wheels...are big. " Awesome!

[@tonymirarchi]

Driver in the center. Genius! More vehicles should have this. Same purpose as the Gama Goat done right.

[@Sturminfantrist]

I always loved this Vehicle, when the Brits were in Manouvre i played many times in it and talking with the Crews eating their Rations. One Day , i was at a knights estate near my Hometown i found many brits Stalwarts and Bedford there but was astonished that the german army was also there with 2 Alvis Stalwarts, never saw this Type before in german Army, they loading Jerrycans from a5t M.A.N. Truck to Alvis Stalwarts , both Alvis had german army License Plates with Y-xxxxxx, it was in early 70`s. Later i heard that the germans purchased 2 or 3 Stalwards and tested the Vehicles in Trials or manouvre

[@ktg8030]

I wonder if the 1983 GI Joe APC was inspired by this thing. The VAMP was based on the Lamborghini Cheetah, so why not? Very cool.

[@BlueBaron3x7]

@The_Chieftain I'm a British Truck/Lorry Driver. The term truck or lorry is interchangeable. We call it a lorry generally but I'm not sure where truck came from maybe Europe or the U.S. but it is now part of the English language. But I add a caveat to that and that is a pickup is also known as a truck here it is the shortened name of pickup truck. P.S. I was in the British Army my Corp was the R.E.M.E. (Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers) and was a VMB (Vehicle Mechanic B Class vehicles) and I used to work on Stalwarts. (B Vehicles are all vehicles other than tanks).

[@pmjn0943]

Hi there, you forgot to mention they have five forward gears and five backward gears as the gear lever was left of your drivers seat on the floor, the gear position was odd as well compired to a car ..1st was where 5th would be.. 2nd was where 2nd should be,, 3rd was where 1st would be .. 3rd was where 4th would be.. and 5th was where 3rd would be, ok hope that's clear, plus you could go just as fast backwards, mine also had a crane on it, for off loading of 155mm Ammunition, I even remember my registration it was 89.ET.56 and would reach 45MPH, lots of fun back in the 80s, great video happy memories.

[@markellis7819]

Forward - Reverse Transfer box allowed 43 MPH forward and 43 MPH in revers ;) How much more fun could you have on Achmer training area

[@davidfraser7265]

good report ,,but obviously splash board at front(removed ,,early 80,s),,plus plate above to rest the hatches on,,,air inlet was to rear of drivers cab,,,,also not mentioned was artillery limbers were fitted with cranes,,,drove these for 2 years ,,winch fitted on front ,inside hull,,plus the version you showed was minus lighting on front and modern lighting at rear

[@Backwardlooking]

Great vehicle and manufacturer;Alvis.

[@cargo_vroom9729]

"Should we make the roof tall enough to fit the driver's head?" "No where's the fun in that?" - Army Design meeting, probably.

[@junsengjs]

"Why don't we just put the hatch on top of the driver?" "Its fineeee, just leave it with the 2 hatches"

[@MrDgwphotos]

Yeah, I don't get why the hatch is not in the center.

[@ThePsiclone]

"yes, but only the little ones, no need to go mad old boy!"

[@ptonpc]

Designed in the 50s when National Service was in effect. Most of the soldiers where shorter, and skinnier than people now. Also being in the age range of 19 to early twenties, they were much more flexible.

[@laurencemoore2105]

More likely that at the time of design, the top brass would've expected anyone tall to be a guardsman, on short, scruffy lower class men would drive stollies!

[@kendog84bsc]

Wow. The cockpit of this thing looked so modern, so I assumed it came out around 1990s or 2000s when I saw the thumbnail.

[@markellis7819]

Half the "cockpit" is missing

[@webtoedman]

I knew an elderly gentleman who worked on the development of these at Chobham. He told me that it was usual practice to unload the transmission by heaving on the brakes, whereupon four out of six wheels would leave the ground. The practice was banned when a tester tried it with a full load...

[@armedbrit493]

Shouldn't it have a fording panel at the front to negate large bow waves.

[@bigbill74scots]

You're correct, it's missing.

[@ishouldgetalif3]

Ever heard of a Scania Terrängbil 30? pretty much the same idea, but no flotation. dad drove them in his army service his description was almost the same when hooning around in heavy terrain haha.

[@markellis7819]

How can it be the same thing if it has no flotation ?

[@ishouldgetalif3]

@@markellis7819 Not what i meant pardner.

[@markellis7819]

Yes, but no. These were designed to follow and support tracked vehicles. As in driving over knife edges. One of the fun things to do is balance the entire vehicle on the centre wheels on top of a knife edge ridge

[@harrisonrawlinson5650]

One of these with a crane mounted on was parked outside my old work for the 4 years I was there, it’s probably still there

[@justforever96]

Lorry is basically a word for a heavy commercial vehicle, anything you would need a CDL or special license to drive. A truck is a smaller vehicle, typical non-articulated, although a lorry can be solid frame as well. For example, a pick-up truck is just a pick-up truck in the UK, not a "pick-up lorry". A light box truck is a "van". So are vans. A heavier box truck like a delivery truck is a "truck". Apparently the use of the word "truck" is being used more and more commonly to describe a wider category of vehicles than it used to be, so it may well be that for most people in the UK a "lorry" is basically a semi truck. But i have definitely seen people refer to mid sized dump trucks, etc, as "lorries". For example, the Top Gear UK "Lorry Challenge" where they drive across Burma in mid-sized trucks. Then again for them it might have been a point of pride to not use anything smacking of American English. Interestingly the word "truck" comes originally from the heavy goods wagons they used to use to transport freight around cities, usually unsprung, with flat beds and heavy wheels. A wagon would have a box or sides. It could also refer to what we call "dollies" today, of the heavier sort. That is why you will see them referring to 'trucks" in pre-automobile literature like Dickens. I would say in this case it was a truck since it was a non-commercial vehicle of relatively small payload (if not bulk).

[@sidwainhouse]

A brilliant vehicle I loved driving but did have it's drawbacks. If there were any mechanical issues the load had to be removed to access the engine and as mentioned the transmission was prone to failure if wound up. There was no central tyre inflation system fitted to in service vehicles. On the left there's a lever which is the forward/reverse selector meaning the vehicle has six forward and six reverse gears, good fun flat out in reverse... Their party trick is to park on their nose, drive flat out and slam on the brakes, get it right and the two rear axles are off the ground and the vehicle is resting on its front tow point.

[@dougsscalemodels]

Not sure what tires were used on this vehicle but only bias ply tires change circumference based on air pressure, radial ply tires do not change circumference.

[@markellis7819]

Tyre rotation. A maintenance task by the drivers to measure the circumference of all the tyres and put the smallest at the opposite end to the largest circumference

[@N1KH]

As far as I'm aware the use of the worg truck to used as in a railway, a vehicle that can move loose goods like coal for example. A lorry was a vehicle that could carry other items but noy loose material as its load bed would spill the item carried. I think!! :D

[@matthayward7889]

You’re not going to try and drive it across the channel are you? Edit: perhaps the event/ urban myth I was alluding to isn’t as widely know as I thought www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/Stalwart_Across_The_Channel

[@adamcullen31]

Lol it's Top Gear military version

[@ExUSSailor]

Since it's in the US, he'd have to drive it across the Atlantic first.

[@tigercat418]

Nicholas is anti German to push Zionist agenda

[@jballew2239]

If it were the GPA, he'd have to drive it around the world.. (Someone did, in a modified GPA).

[@66kbm]

"Borrowing" one of these from BAOR in the '60's/'80's and driving it from Germany to the channel ports and swimming the channel in it was a myth...the fuel would get you to Belgium with some really economic driving, crossing the channel would require a full tank on its own.

[@oldschoolgreentube]

It seems like you spend a lot of time at in the Quad Cities area, doing these videos. I was stationed at Rock Island Arsenal for a few years. TACOM has an office there. Some of the tank testing that was done during WWII was done there. They have a tank test track and a few static displays. If you're looking for a real unusual tank to do a video on they have a TE9A1 aka M22 Locust there. Facilities office can probably get you inside it. Additionally the small arms museum is phenomenal. The golf course, although private, is accessible to military personnel. It has a very generous bar and the food is out of this world. I recommend the "Plantation Salad".

[@a_random_tank_152mmera7]

7:36 When you try to open the fridge door for a midnight snack while everyone is sleeping.

[@tomroland2315]

The concept of a wheeled swimming vehicle is fine until you encounter an actual river bank. These things need a very shallow sloping beach/slipway/prepared area to get out. Lack of propulsive power coupled with very limited wheel traction and their own buoyancy seems to be the issue. Also see quite a few videos where they are towed out.

[@justforever96]

the army rarely tries sending supplies randomly over a river willy nilly wherever they reach it. If they used to spend time searching for a suitable ford, it is even better to only have to find a spot where the banks are low and suitable for amphibs. If they can't find one, they can try bulldozing a ramp. These aren't assault vehicles anyway, but much the same applies in either case. If you need to use your amphibs to assault a defended river, you find the _right_ place to cross _first_ . you don't just send them all to the river to find a place to cross. In either case it is better than waiting for a bridge to be built, which used to be the only alternative if you couldn't find a ford. So does it mean you can just drive across any river any time you want? No. But it does mean you have more options than finding a ford or building a new bridge whenever you need to cross a river. And if you think it is bad having to find a relatively level spot to swim across, try finding a spot with level banks that is _also_ shallow enough to drive across. With roads in close proximity to both sides, unless you are just crossing combat troops to clear the enemy away from your actual crossing points. And to build a bridge you also need level banks and you need to build a pontoon bridge, or you need to build embanked approaches and build an actual bridge. seems to me that needing a level approach is not unique to amphibious vehicles at all.

[@gapratt4955]

Clearly the inspiration for the american LARC 5. The LARC-5 (or Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo, 5 ton) was developed in the late 1950s by the Borg Warner Corporation. Surplus vehicles have proven very popular with coastal fire fighters.

[@damright]

used to have one of these on a farm where I was

[@MrFleem]

I'd like to have one of these in Spintires.

[@blxtothis]

Didn’t the definition ‘Truck’ originally refer to a two wheeled handcart and then later, an assembly of axles and wheels on a railway vehicle onto which an engine or carriage was mounted?

[@richardbell7678]

A truck is a grouping of wheels. Skateboards have a two-wheeled truck at each end. The formerly dominant four-wheeled road vehicle layout with a front mounted engine and rear wheel drive has a two-wheeled steering truck and a two-wheeled driven truck. Highway tractors have a two wheeled steering truck at the front and a driven truck at the rear, with one or more dual wheeled axles. Railway cars typically have a four-wheeled truck at each end. Semi-trailers are called that, because they have a single two-, four-, or six-wheeled truck at the back and the forward end is supported upon the driven truck of the highway tractor. British usage of English may name cargo vehicles depending on the number of trucks it uses (and the exact definition of how wheels are grouped). With all six wheels driven by a single shaft and all three wheels on one side driven at the same speed, the Stalwart may be considered to be supported, steered, and driven by a single truck, so the Stalwart is just a motorized truck. Possibly, cargo vehicles with more than one truck are called 'lorries' and cargo vehicles with just one truck are called 'trucks'. My guess is that American usage of English used the verb "to truck' to refer to conveying loads by wheeled platforms and the entire system of wheels and chassis to convey a load was called a 'truck', which would identify an Australian road train (a very powerful highway tractor pulling many trailers with gross weights approaching 500 tons) as a 'truck'.

[@JimFortune]

They could use an unditching beam that they drop in front of the vehicle, bounce over it unwinding the wheels, then pick it up in the back and carry it back around to the front!

[@chaz8758]

Any handy kerb did the same, plenty of them about in BAOR

[@JimFortune]

@@chaz8758 Yeah, but tradition! lol

[@EnterpriseXI]

If it wasn’t for the transmission problem on flat roads, I’d love to have one of these

[@tonyhill8300]

good looking truck I always thought like something out of thunderbirds

[@olesyagodlike1096]

Love the bloopers at the end :)

[@ZGryphon]

Oh hey, I had the Matchbox car of this. Never knew it was a real vehicle until much later; as a kid, I assumed it must be something from _Thunderbirds_ or a similar show.

[@norb0254]

He forgot that the wheels where timed and we always painted a line on the hubs so you could see when one failed.Also they should have been driven loaded which would then have the drive shaft parallel with the ground..Nostalga says great bit of kit ,but reality reminds me they where pigs to work on .Due to lack of use ,the seals would go as soon as it did move

[@davidcollishaw2771]

never understood why they didn't just remake the DUKW, still a very capable vehicle. I've even seen one with a caravan mated to it