Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: M25 Dragon Wagon, Pt 1.

Video cross-posted from World of Tanks channel for greater visibility. The M25 Transporter is often mis-named the M26, which, in reality, is only the tractor. But either way, it's a fascinatingly complicated piece of machinery designed to do particular job, and is another example of the 'behind-the-scenes' effort that the US Army took in creating a balanced, sustainable force in WW2. Not as glamarous as the tanks they transported, perhaps, but almost as vital.
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[@stevecarswell6329]

I served in a HET (heavy equipment transport) company for 4 years in the army, driving the m1070s and m1070a1s. Those are modern equivalent to M25. Best vehicle to operate in the entire army in my opinion. Two bunks in the back to sleep in, great AC, lots of space in the cab, and you could stow extra equipment up on the winch catwalk and gooseneck. I drove one all over the US and overseas. HETs are not very common, and once during an NTC rotation we had a bunch of OCs that had never even seen a HET before. They crawled up inside to take a look and were shocked when they found the two full bunks in the back. We did recovery and transport on probably every vehicle the army has, abrams and paladins to HIMARS and bridge layers. It is very cool to see the similarities between the modern HET and the M25. Maybe someday you could do a video on the M1070? I think some have been sold as surplus to the civilian market. Thanks for the video and I look forward to the part 2!

[@markmitchell457]

Imagine a Ukrainian farmer towing off a Russian HET tax free. That's a happy farmer.

[@Hybris51129]

I know a few KZbinrs have bought M1070's for recovery work. I personally am considering one once I go Owner/Operator but before I buy I have to nail down plans for when stuff breaks who and where do I go for parts among other logistical questions.

[@charlesmoss8119]

Soo I was in Vilseck flogging GM stuff oh so many years ago - this nice lady came in when I was working late one evening and we get chatting - suffice to say she ordered a Geo Metro - when I asked what she did in the military it turned out the m1070 was her daily work vehicle! I always pondered if she hid the metro somewhere in the big beast 😂

[@DrLoverLover]

@@Hybris51129 why would youtubers need a recovery vehicle?

[@Hybris51129]

@@DrLoverLover HeavyDSparks runs a heavy vehicle recovery business for one example.

[@andrewdickens9697]

Man seeing the last shot with it pulling out i said "thats f*cking cool" out loud. Ive been a mechanic for 14 years so thats saying something haha.

[@Geoduck.]

In 1973 I was assigned to Test and Evaluation Command Ft Benning Ga. One one of the ranges we used were a number of WWll armored vehicles in very good condition including a Dragon Wagon. The Dragon Wagon. was HUGE! We used it as a rain or sun shelter often. Also had a Sherman that was in very good condition. Used to rotate the turret and imagined how brave those were who served in them.

[@danielaramburo7648]

It would suck to get a flat tire on this platform.

[@bruni5289]

The Dragon Wagon is anywhere from 11 feet to 13 feet wide so yeah, you could register it and the trailer as an on-road antique vehicle, however you'd need a wide load permit, wide load broker, pilot cars, and possibly even highway patrol escort to go anywhere with it because you're well outside of one lane of traffic with it as a highway lane is roughly 10 feet wide

[@davidgoodnow269]

The only problem with that is how hard it is to get information on how to register as a pilot vehicle and driver! I have _worked_ with them, and every one of them guards that information closely. It's not on the Internet, at least by any search engine, and State Department of Transportation websites and offices refuse to provide any information whatsoever. If I had a M-25 Dragon Wagon or a M-1070 Heavy Equipment Transporter, then I would want some friends to have licenses and bonds and equipment, so that if I needed to move the transporter I could. I would still have to schedule permits, but the cost could be greatly reduced unless someone was hiring my transporter. Who wants to travel full-time, especially through insane traffic? At least driving an escorted vehicle on a planned and scheduled route, there should be less risk of dozy idiots cutting off a 150-ton rig!

[@joecook8352]

I’m fairly sure my father ran one of these in WW2, he was a tech sergeant that recovered tanks and other damaged equipment sometimes behind enemy lines. That’s all learned from what my Mother knew, I unfortunately did not get to know him as he was killed driving a semi when I was very young. I’ve watched a vlog on the Dragon Wagon before, it gives me some idea of what he dealt with. I’ve also read Belton Coopers book about what the men went through in the tanks and what the men went through repairing them after they were knocked out in combat, it was a very interesting book that was well written

[@tokencivilian8507]

Great stuff Chieftain. One of the unsung hero type vehicles of the war. Recovery and return to service is a critical element of overmatching the enemy. Great to see the details that went into this vehicle.

[@pacificostudios]

This is a good example of why the military has so much specially designed equipment. No civilian system can do this job as well.

[@derrickstorm6976]

Clearly you don't know much of anything

[@markcollins2666]

Really, it's no different than what construction companies do for their bulldozers and excavators, or anything else that is heavy and slow. And always have.

[@sadwingsraging3044]

@@markcollins2666 show me the civilian counterpart from that era with the off road capabilities. Can't say I remember seeing anything even close to being able to go into the field with that much hauling and wenching capacity. I've never seen it. Modern stuff yes but from 1945 and earlier? Maybe a custom rig some giant construction company had made but that is about it as far as I know.🤷‍♂️

[@edwardscott3262]

​@@sadwingsraging3044The easiest place to find civilian counterparts would be prewar snow plows. There were lots of off road heavy duty vocational trucks prewar but snow plows tended to get photographed more.

[@sadwingsraging3044]

@@edwardscott3262 Cool. I will look that up.

[@someonenamedbob]

Recovery vehicles always have the most fascinating details.

[@zachsmith1676]

already watched the two vids on the M25 Dragon Wagon on the World of Tanks Channel, but I've come here to watch it again as you make great content! May the turret monster, emotional events, etc never drag you down!

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

They haven't a hope! I'll be doing this for a while yet!

[@badcornflakes6374]

​@@TheChieftainsHatchExcelsior!

[@southronjr1570]

I can attest to the unusual handling and backing of large vehicles when your drivers seat is ahead of the steering wheels. Ibdrive fire engines for a good many years and after about 10 years of driving commercial chassis fire engines, we got one with the cab forward design onna custom chassis and we had 2 guys bump into things backing bc the steering is so much different. I was lucky in that I was aware of it and it took some getting used to but I didnt hit anything with it. I did however get it stuck in mud during a drought on a house fire. My tender, who was pumping water to me didnt seem to understand that when my tank is full, it will overdlow automatically and thatbparticular trucks overflow dumped directly between the rear wheels. When the fire was over and we began to clear the scene, I discovered that at least 3,000 gallons of water had dumped out and I was now just spinning in quite possibly the only mud puddle in the entire county. We pulled it out usinf an old 3 inch hose doubled up and attached to the tow hooks of the same tender that had overflowed my tank. Thankfully we didnt have to call a wrecker, that would have been a hard conversation with my chief about that since the local towing company has an automatic $1,000 fee just to show up with is heavy haul wrecker.

[@BashoftheMonth]

I can't wait for part 2 to see if Nick can fit inside this thing!

[@jonathanbaron-crangle5093]

Or "Oh bugger, the tractor is on fire"

[@korniszon24]

You can check part 2 on the World of Tanks Official Channel, it's 5 months old already so I don't really know why chieftain himself is uploading it just now

[@BashoftheMonth]

@@korniszon24 Well now it's there!

[@markfergerson2145]

This is a rerun, right? I’m still going to watch it.

[@jamesnigelkunjuro12]

Looking forward to watching this episode! I have a Tamiya 1/35 M25 Dragon Wagon Kit - as much as I'd love to build it - I haven't found the space to place the damned thing once I complete it. I look forward to learning more about the vehicle (as well as the details that I need to pay attention to when I build my scale model).

[@exploatores]

Are you shure you use the kitchen table that much:)

[@markstott6689]

I'm building the Tamiya 1/35 model kit of this. This is purely because of the previous Chieftain upload on the Dragon Wagon. 😊😊😊

[@steveturner3999]

Tanks for sharing this one Chieftain.

[@stradplayer90]

At 17:10 they comment on the mirror performance. That is still very true of modern mraps. The only mirror that I could use in my RG-31 was was the driverside blind spot mirror. Everything else was ground guides.

[@randyhavard6084]

Glad you took the time to do this piece of equipment. Very interesting and rare pieces of history.

[@samharvey6194]

Saw one of these at the Bastogne Tank Museum, very impressive, size of the chain drive on the rear axle was on impressive

[@KJAkk]

I do not remember seeing one when I was there. However they had a lot of stuff so I may just not remember it or they have added one since I visited.

[@swag8724]

Very interesting video, you can tell david loves this thing, explaining things beyond just what you ask, lovely!

[@The_Modeling_Underdog]

Glad to have an interviewee like David, willing to explain all the odds and ends of that beast. Great video.

[@troykauffman3963]

Great video Chieftain, thank you sir. The WWII American Experience museum in Gettysburg, PA has a M26A1 Tank Recovery Tractor.

[@drmarkintexas-400]

Thank you for sharing ❤️ 🏆🙏🇺🇲🤗

[@videoviewer2008]

I watched it again, and I'm glad I did.

[@cobalt2361]

This vehicle looks like it belongs in the Fallout universe

[@dennisvandermarkt8263]

Can't wait for part 2

[@gamedude412]

It’s very similar to the famo was meant to behind the line recovery after an armoured factor recovered the to the “artillery” line in German terms

[@MrPatrickpiet]

2 of them in Overloon war museum, an u armoured and an armoured one

[@steelshepherd6843]

Awesome!

[@waynegriswold8953]

amazing, i love this BEAST!

[@Iceever]

Cool video :)

[@unsuisseegare1291]

The masterpiece of my tamiya 1/35 collection

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Love vehicles like these. It would be interesting to find out who and how it was designed, tested, improved, and the manufacturing details.🤔 Field reports could be interesting.

[@williamlloyd3769]

What a beast!

[@philipbossy4834]

Wont watch it again, but I'll still feed the algo with a line and a like. Good talk.

[@wembleyford]

Oh bliss! So nice to listen to this without that awful background noise.

[@enverhoxha545]

Hi chieftain!

[@CheshireTomcat68]

deja vu but worth watching again!

[@patrickevans3797]

He was just going to take his word about the rear ramps, after hearing it took 6 guys to lift it, he barely peeked behind as the owner spoke about the ramps

[@BeefSupreme115]

i love this series, i really think the transitions should be toned down to match Chieftain's vibe

[@tankfixer59]

Oregon Guard got three HET loaned from a California unit. They brought one over to my post to have ODOT inspect it for use over the road, with a load.. They said no go..

[@jimbo9305]

How does one go about adjusting the track tension on this beast?

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Come back in part 2

[@s.marcus3669]

In the same way that heavy-lift helicopters saved downed helicopters and light aircraft in Vietnam, I'd be more interested in knowing how many of these were built, how many tanks they recovered and why we don't see any original film footage of these things in action in WWII....

[@jamescameron6819]

I had a tin toy of that growing up. No memory of how i came by it. Loved it dearly though

[@GoranXII]

In terms of seating for the crew in the recovered vehicle, I'd presume probably in their vehicle. I can't imagine the Dragon Wagon bumps around any more (probably a bit less actually) than the vehicle would while moving under its own power.

[@genericpersonx333]

From what I have seen, the tankers would normally be recovered on their own by a jeep or truck so they could be put back into service as quickly as possible. A recovery team could take hours to get a tank onto the trailer. No point keeping tankers idle doing a recovery job there was a recovery team for when tankers could be in a new tank or replacing casualties in other tanks. Now, if there was no rush, such as a break-down in a peaceful area far from combat, then tankers could indeed, just ride wherever they could find a place, including their own vehicle.

[@GlenCychosz]

In the USA is 8' 6" is the limit before it is a wide load.

[@Atreid3s]

Why was the camera 30 meters away when they are talking about the front of the trailer? We can't see anything they are mentioning...

[@dougstubbs9637]

Interesting…but as Mr. Hewes will tell you, it ain’t no Foden. I didn’t see ‘I identify as a Foden’ on the driver’s door.

[@notbobrosss3670]

Is this a re-airing? I’ve seen this episode awhile back.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

See video description

[@cille111]

"the base weight is 36000 POUNDS as i recall, but the overall carryweight is 40 TON." im confused :D (psst metric is the way to go). Love your videos have watched em all! :) ty for this content as well

[@ryanfischer6550]

Gah! I was there last week showing my 3 year old son this truck because he’s obsessed with any truck and trailer. PS you’re ON Long Island, not IN Long Island.

[@alanmoffat4454]

NOW THATS BIG ENOUGH TOO MAKE , TONKA , A BIT JEALOUS. 😅😊

[@sparrow9990]

Can u review the m1070?

[@SomeRandomHuman717]

I seem to remember the Chieftan covering this vehicle about 5-7 months ago. Maybe that first video was under his personal label and this one has been picked up and sponsored by WoT?

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Other way around. It was released by WoT, as per the description. I cross post WoT ITCH here for completeness of the series, other WoT shows stay only on their channel.

[@Sturminfantrist]

I saw Diamond T during Manouvres in late 60s maybe early 70s (Brits BAOR ), long service live.

[@robertsteinbeiss8478]

This is a remake of a Video outside the museum some years ago, is it not? Or was it another traktor of Levys? 😅

[@danielaramburo7648]

Not all heroes drive tanks. Many heroes also are mechanics and other non combat roles.

[@GoranXII]

Recovery vehicle operators are the mechanical equivalent of medics.

[@markcollins2666]

Not sure if it's a spell check glitch, but the M26 was nicknamed the Draggin' Wagon. Nothing to do with fire breathing reptiles.

[@roceye]

The infamous split rims....

[@TheBrewjo]

Good thing about going through so much paperwork researching stuff, you must be immune to papercuts by now... A key requirement for Officers I hear!

[@finncarlbomholtsrensen1188]

I have seen several films where tanks miss the transport, and eventually falls to the side. Much fun to look at. I doubt it is funny to be inside?

[@paulvalencia9307]

Which state/company was this Dragon built?

[@flexabu]

Those ramps 💀

[@metalmilitia1o740]

"If you have something wider". Like a Jagdtiger. Lol I was wondering how a Jagdtiger was drug up onto the M15. Being able to increase the winching system weight puts it together now. Still doesn't explain how that M15 carried that weight across roads in a war torn Germany.

[@boskinght]

Could you comment on the lazer pig - red effect debate?

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

I am not familiar with this debate.

[@badcornflakes6374]

Wait, you're telling me tanks had gurneys!? 🤯

[@strydyrhellzrydyr1345]

Did you mean 22 wheels... Chieftain... Because of the front wheels on the truck/tractor. Unless the picture is not correct, which I understand is possible.

[@strydyrhellzrydyr1345]

Oh wow... 8 upfront.. and 16 behind... That's INSANE. A double dually. Or, the drawing is very much incorrect, like I said might be the case

[@alangordon3283]

Deja vu I’m sure this is a repeat .

[@DrLoverLover]

Yes yes very impressive. But can it haul a sturmtiger?

[@AKUJIVALDO]

Naw, it is for weakass American tanks... LOL

[@Studio23Media]

Isn't this a re-upload? 🤔

[@deptusmechanikus7362]

Where did da musac go?

[@jeremyl862]

WTF Long Island has a tank museum, why didn't anyone tell me?!

[@nickpaz8890]

thats like what i saw from wagner group i thought their tanks would go on its own to moscow

[@merlinwizard1000]

22nd, 2 August 2023

[@mmclaurin8035]

I can't be the only one disappointed to see that Nick will have to share the video with someone else. I don't care if he owns the vehicle, or knows more about it. I want to see The Chieftain. Period.

[@alexduke5402]

The dragon wagon lol there's a joke in there somewhere

[@pnutz_2]

imagine dragon wagons?

[@philippos5547]

Wargambling!

[@gregoryheim9781]

Déjá vu...?

[@derrickstorm6976]

How ironic is that sponsorship, Chieftain should be one of the top people to have personal knowledge of how Wargaming don't care for anything else than their bottom line

[@ksheehank]

The code for World of Tanks seems to have expired lol

[@Valkyrie9000]

What in the wide wide world of GI Joe is this?

[@wlewisiii]

I thought there was a video on this beast once before?

[@30LayersOfKevlar]

being forced to have a ramp to clear the wheels seems like a flawed design

[@SteamCrane]

Keeps the height down for Euro roads.

[@GeneralGayJay]

You guys need to be a little less stiff when doing this. Maybe take a drink or two before?

[@SteamCrane]

Predecessor of Ukrainian John Deere tractors.

[@XRISTIANIN.496]

АД ИЛИ РАЙ ВЫБИРАЙ

[@rangerman9241]

Russians taking notes for lost tank in Ukraine😂

[@brentfellers9632]

First

[@egyeneskifli7808]

Pointless video. We see absolutely nothing from the whole vehicle. Why you even bring a camera? This is practically a podcast.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Have you seen part 2 yet?

[@egyeneskifli7808]

@@TheChieftainsHatch I don't even care after this debacle.