Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: M8 HMC, Part 1

Another crosspost from the World of Tanks channel, if you aren't following it. The M8 Howitzer Motor Carriage at the Museum of the American GI in College Station, TX.
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tanks.ly/WoTChieftain

[@robertmartin6800]

I'm always pleasantly surprised by how much effort was taken to make these American vehicles easy for crews/mechanics to repair and maintain in the field.

[@clothar23]

The legacy of having to fight far from their industrial capacity.

[@rogerhinman5427]

And having to ship everything over an ocean to boot.

[@Real_Claudy_Focan]

You win with wise use of Logistics ! Napoleon learned it the hard way in Russia as well as Germany and many more Armies lost in distant conflicts US are the masters at Logistics ! Much Respect !

[@randymagnum143]

@@clothar23 not *having* to, but *getting* to. It's a good thing. And no, it was a function of the way American agricultural equipment was designed and built.

[@roguevector1268]

@@randymagnum143 Its a good thing AND a bad thing - the way Americans designed their tanks (and everything else, including their logistics train) minimized the bad things from becoming a major problem.

[@robertcolbourne386]

I'm sure I've watched this last week ?? but great to have "inside the hatch" back !

[@SovereignRose]

It went on World Of Tanks channel last week

[@johnknapp952]

Same video I saw last week on WoT channel. Was hoping for Pt2. I don't do WoT or subscribe to their channel and the video just popped up in my list. I do subscribe to the Chieftains channel so I guess he has to wait some time before he can put a WoT video (I'm assume they paid for it) onto his channel.

[@crazyeyez1502]

Chieftain needs his view time, too

[@mprime6807]

Was wondering the same thing. Lol

[@paulfarace9595]

My cousin drove one of these for 28 days in his armored reconnaissance unit in Europe in 1944/45. He hated it because he was the last vehicle when they were bugging out and running away from the Germans. He was very happy to get back to being a 37mm gunner in his M8 Greyhound.

[@tacomas9602]

I could see how the mobility in the 37 would be an advantage. A very capable flank n spank kind of gun, shoots fast.

[@demonprinces17]

Weren't the m8s in the front looking for Germans?

[@classifiedad1]

@@demonprinces17 yes, though the Greyhound is able to get out of trouble about as quickly as it can get into trouble. Namely, quickly.

[@c1ph3rpunk]

@@demonprinces17 you don’t really need a Cav Scout in the rear of a bug out, it’s better they’re in the front scouting your “organized reversal of direction”. Someone needs to light the road for the tank drivers to see where they’re going.

[@Mishn0]

@@demonprinces17 Looking for but not really supposed to engage them. My dad was in M8 Greyhounds in the Philippines with the 24th armored recon troop. They got them to replace their M3 halftracks after they were done in Europe. He wasn't super impressed with the 37 when it came to Japanese concrete and coconut log bunkers. He said it was always good to have an M4's 75 handy when dealing with them.

[@calvacoca]

My father (french) was occasionally a driver in this tank from August 1944 to may 1945. The rest of the time he drove half-tracks. He belonged to the US 17th Reconnaissance Cavalry Squadron. He was picked up by the US guys in Britanny (west of France), to show them the best way to surprise the Germans entrenched in a castle. And then he stayed with them. Just telling a guy on the side of the road "you tell my dad that I left with the Americans !". He was 20 years old. He told me how the tank commander guided him, pushing with his feet on his shoulders (right shoulder for right lever), because the noise of the tank prevented him from communicating. And also about the trees, which the Germans put across the paths, and on which the tanks skated, and were then easy prey for the 88s. And a story. In the evening, he always took care to dig a hole deep enough to be able to sleep safe from the German bombardments. And when he woke up in the morning, there was always one or two Americans with him in his hole: Too lazy to dig their own holes! 😁 This experience of 10 months of war marked him for his whole life. He still has a love, sometimes unreasonable, for Americans. He has also met the veterans of the 17th Cavalry on several occasions. in France, and in the USA.

[@patton333]

I'm so glad you've taken a liking to the Museum of the American GI. As a friend of the owner and a volunteer, I'm happy its becoming more appreciated, their events have had so much hard work poured into them for years.

[@andreperrault5393]

I’ve been there a couple times. Enjoyed it each time. And I’ve recommended it to friends. A great place

[@megamihestia4049]

I remember the good old days when I drive this little terror-on-track around in WoT.

[@HerrZenki]

The darn thing has difficulty in turning tho. But once you get used on how the M8 behaves, it's an easy breeze towards the hellcat

[@mikesweeney5244]

I got 5 kills in one game. My best. Lost connection and had to relog in.

[@FPolydorion]

I di my bests with this tank as well

[@pakornwattanavrangkul2550]

Ah the SPG stuart, my 3rd fav american tank in WT, after the easy 8 and the 105 sherman with its 2.7 BR.

[@AndrewMay100]

If u get there premium version with the Sherman 75mm it's the ultimate troll wagon

[@BaldwinVonDresden]

All great picks; you have good taste my man.

[@carloshernandez-qc4jq]

@@AndrewMay100 Literally managed to snag one for myself earlier today for just 28 GC, which when you consider how the thing is usually up for twice that much, I consider it a huge win. In my opinion, low tier US has some of the best lineups and vehicles overall. Can't wait to try my new M8A1 one of these days. BTW, happy to see fellow thunderers around here!

[@AndrewMay100]

@@carloshernandez-qc4jq I got it for free years ago in a promotion if you Max out the crew experience it is heaps of fun to play very fast and movable like a hellcat but if u get hit you die quick ..great shoot n scoot tank

[@Blizzardmane]

He is back, He is not ANZAC, But most importantly, He tensions track.

[@paoloviti6156]

A very interesting video regarding this light tank! My late Italian father saw it in action outside Volterra when they liberated his town in July 9th

[@russell3380]

Great to see this, my Dad commanded one throughout the war. He spoke of it often and how much he loved it. I wish I would have recorded his experiences when he told them to me.

[@chrismiddleton398]

I like explanations of tread tensioning! Repairs in the field we know are necessary. This helps us understand what that means to the crew. Set firmly in my young mind was the image of James Garner repairing his lost track during the night, and injuring himself in the process, in the movie, "Tank".

[@kevinsullivan3448]

I served in the support company, as a truck driver, of an armored Battalion and nothing says you life sucks more than trowing a track, which is the most common mobility problem for the Abrams. You could hear the tankers swear from a mile away when they lost a track because of the effort it takes to fix the issue. A lot more effort than just making sure you have the correct tension in the first place.

[@bullettube9863]

I remember that scene in that movie and was amazed that he did it by himself!

[@chrismiddleton398]

@@bullettube9863 A kindred soul!

[@vintagecapgunsatyourmomshouse]

The Scott M8 is equally pugnacious and cute. Literally. Like a bulldog puppy. Makes me wanna simp.

[@ABrit-bt6ce]

Track tensioning familiar to most motor bicyclists then.

[@sthenzel]

Ah yes, the M8, loved it in WT! Turret rotation is abysmally slow, but the drivetrain more than compensates it. A 37mm might easily kill it, but most light tanks with the same BR are easily outmaneuvered, and the 75 easily knocks most of them out.

[@samuelsocha8384]

yea, I love this thing in WT

[@AnimeSunglasses]

I'm still sad that they removed it in WoT Blitz...

[@twostep1953]

Museum of the American G.I. !! Most museums have a, "Look, but don't touch," rule. Here, they encourage you to climb over, and sometimes in, the vehicles. On certain weekends, if you ask nicely, they will give you a ride. There are also weekends where WWII (and sometimes WWI) re-enactors get to show you combined arms, including German vehicles and equipment. A little south of College Station, TX and just past Santa's Wonderland as you head south on the frontage road. On the other side of the freeway from where the Texas Speedway used to be.

[@ferrofilos]

I wanna see the "oh bugger , the tank is on fire " test

[@jamesseiter4576]

The cutest tank ever made!

[@Shadow_Lunatale]

I've never been so happy before to see the Chieftain educate me about another track tension system. Glad to see you back in the field doing your awesome work, Sir.

[@Idaho-Cowboy]

Love this tank in WOT. The track tension is done almost the same as checking the chain on a motorcycle.

[@EmonWBKstudios]

One of my favorite armored vehicles.

[@1337penguinman]

The one thing American tank designers got right was designing vehicles with what amounted to off the shelf car engines. Something that most American mechanics (shade tree or otherwise) could get up to speed on relatively quickly after being pressed into service. It also made it much easier for auto manufacturers to get tooled up for wartime production.

[@reform-revolution]

thats what they had laying around ...... later in the war they did start making purpose built engines cause they had the tooling and lines ready unintentional side effect of the great depression more then for thought

[@billwilson3609]

The M2-M3 also used the twin Cadillac V8's w/automatic trans. It was designed/built at the Lima, Ohio Army Arsenal with one driven non-stop to Washington, DC without any breakdowns to show off to the Congress.

[@SomeRandomHuman717]

While you are correct for the M5, I have to point out that no other widely produced American tank had an off-the-shelf car engine. In the immediate pre-war period, the burgeoning aviation industry was King and most higher-power engine technology was being developed for use in aircraft. That's why most early WW2 American tanks had aircraft-derived engines. The M3 med tank had aircraft radials. The M4 series med tank had air-cooled aircraft radials, twin GM truck diesels, and the later Ford GAA V8 engine, which was in no way related to the famous automotive Ford V8. Some came with the 30-cylinder 5-bank contraption that Chrysler threw together, which had its roots in Chrysler's automotive straight 6, but let's get real---what you have to do to them to gang five of them together sort of makes it a whole 'nother animal. The majority of the M3 series light tanks had aircraft radials. M10 TDs had the twin GM diesels, M18 TDs had the aircraft radial, and most M36 TDs had the Ford GAA.

[@paulfarace9595]

As always the Chieftain does a great job !

[@beesod6412]

finding you makes me feel like i hit the jackpot! thank you Tank Messiah!

[@stevenwilliams1550]

Great to see inside the hatch back.

[@DIEGhostfish]

I love the good old Derp Cannons.

[@bar4775]

Very nice to finally having back this series Please keep up the great work

[@MrAcuta73]

People that complain about mentioning track tension have never had to fix a thrown track in deep mud....I have! An M577 twice (mine), M4 Bradley several times (battery vehicle), and an M1A1 once (ran across a stuck crew on maneuvers and helped out).

[@ulfhedtyrsson]

I always thought that the flash deflector was a attempt at making the thing look scarier lol

[@justforever96]

Purpose seemed pretty obvious to me the moment I saw it. If you have ever used a short pistol or rifle, you know that the muzzle blast is very painful or even dangerous to the people beside the muzzle, much worse than for those behind it. The stubby barrel ending directly above the drivers hatches, about two feet over their heads are a pretty strong hint as to the purpose. Why would the _one_ AFV in history that tried to put a fake gun barrel on just to make it "look scarier" be a light indirect fire support vehicle that is never supposed to be used in direct contact with the enemy? If they thought that was a good idea, why would they not slap a fake 155mm barrel on the M4 or some other vehicle that is probably going to pointing its gun directly at an enemy in visual sight at some point?

[@dannyneal6194]

Love the Chieftains Hatch videos! I have been waiting on part 2 of this one. Good video.

[@tonyblitz1]

Back to touring the nation and crawling in/on the hardware itself Congrats on another season!

[@Deltaguy447]

Always very informational, Cheif! Pleasure to watch as always.

[@aeslec-525]

Thank god this series is still up

[@PeterNissen878112]

Nice to see The Chieftain back with The Hatch. I was starting to miss the opening music!

[@barrytaylor6565]

Yes!!!! Ive been waiting so long for one of these Inside The Hatch, welcome back Chieftain !!!!!

[@viperscot1]

New format me like . excellent informative video as usual keep the great content coming All the best from Scotland

[@stephenrickstrew7237]

The Bullet deflectors on the front of the transmission case … that must have been a sight when they had to do some deflecting…

[@DavidPT40]

Is that what they were? I thought they might have been for fording so water didn't splash into the drivers hatches.

[@jolyonbrindle1131]

For a number of complex reasons, it turns out this is exactly the therapy I needed! Thanks!

[@ritchie799]

Brilliant overview of a very interesting little vehicle. The M8 was a rather weird looking MC, however fittied the bill for decent fire support and mobility. Keep up the good work.

[@paulmiddleton8487]

What a wonderfully immaculate tank. Lovely.

[@sinful.silence7244]

THE KING RETURNS

[@wolfmann2023]

Yea I've seen this episode last week. Good to have inside the Chieftain back anyway👍

[@fallout0624]

How we have waited for you to upload this one, and good to see the M8

[@shogunnate7724]

Great video! Thank you!

[@ThroneOfBhaal]

Track tension is one of my favourite parts. No joke. :)

[@danhill6333]

M8 HMC reload? Always enjoy your content. 👍👍

[@geofftimm2291]

Thank you, Sir! Geoff Who was an Armament Specialist in his youth. Getting beyond the turret is interesting.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

A reboot? I’ll watch it a second time. Looking forward to Part 2! Cool little GMC. One of my faves.

[@erichthepantherausfg7465]

Nice nice. Always love seeing your content

[@kraftaffe2284]

7:36 Silly Chieftain, it is a ”light tank” after all

[@bullettube9863]

The first time I saw a tank with the adjustable idler wheel I realized that they had copied the way the rear wheel on motorcycles were adjusted to set the chain tension. Simple, yet very effective!

[@honkhonk6443]

One of my ww2 favorites

[@scottmcdivitt2187]

Finally, a video on my favorite tank!

[@GeneralJackRipper]

Daww, what a gorgeous little honey that is. It's like a puppy dog. I just want to pat it.

[@crowbarknight]

Good, good, i thought that your WG days are over or smth has changed in your life, but... Happy to see the video.

[@ahmiv8825]

Wow! I suggested this tank on another video a couple of weeks ago and low and behold! I know I didn’t catalyze this video but thanks man I was wondering about the Scott!

[@samuelsocha8384]

yay! i love the m8 hmc, it's my favourite tank both in War Thunder, World Of Tanks and irl!

[@reformedalien6545]

Goodness. Been so long since I've seen that opening.

[@speedandstyletony]

Track tension adjustment is just like most motorcycles!

[@Bob_Betker]

Chieftain: Were the M8 HMC used more in the direct fire or indirect fire mode? How were they typically employed in the Mechanized Cavalry squadrons?

[@MarcosElMalo2]

The clue here is that it was armed with a howitzer. Primary use is indirect fire.

[@Bob_Betker]

As a former artilleryman, I know the principal mode for a howitzer is indirect fire yet they can be used in direct fire roles (such as in Viet Nam firing Beehives rounds and later Killer Junior). Tanks and tank destroyers were used in indirect fire roles in WWII and Korea. I just wanted to get a better idea of when they were used in in what mode. Typically, howitzers used in indirect mode in WWII needed to be surveyed in, a time consuming process. I doubt that armored recon units had the time and assets to do that, so how did they respond for calls for fire?

[@tgapmax4051]

@@Bob_Betker I'm anxiously awaiting part 2 & hoping to see an answer. I think we can assume it was used similarly to the German Sdfkz 233 (8rad) as fire support of a recon unit. Both vehicles light armor highly mobile & with a 75mm gun. US 75mm Pak Howitzer was much better than the stubble 75 of the 233. Full tracks would have given it better tactical mobility as well. Paul Farace's comment above seems to be further evidence. That said, the aiming stakes mounted on the drivers side are used for laying indirect fire.

[@billwilson3609]

Those provided indirect fire support for the recon units from a set position.

[@wes11bravo]

@@billwilson3609 - overwatch the recon element so they can break contact if needed? I know this was the idea for the overwatch elements (2 hardback humvees, 1 with a Mk19, the other with an M2HB) in the early 2000s Brigade Recon Troop for a heavy mech infantry division...

[@matthewanderson9754]

YESSS!!!! Finally! I'm so so so happy about this!!!! Edit- Thank you for track tension!! I actually find that very interesting! 😁

[@Ciborium]

Watched this before on the other channel, but watching it again and commenting to feed the algorithm.

[@cheyannei5983]

I love the M5 and its variants! They just seem like they'd be such pleasant vehicles to own and drive.

[@billwilson3609]

Their top speed was 45 mph!

[@cheyannei5983]

@@billwilson3609 that's as fast as the 2.5 ton trucks!

[@billwilson3609]

@@cheyannei5983 That's what the M3/M5 end users wanted since they'd be doing recon duty and guarding the flanks. The medium M3/M4 users wanted theirs to be able to run at top speed (28-30 mph) all day so Ordnance made their top gear a true overdrive so those could using less gasoline. Ordnance also made their first gear a granny gear so they could tow/pull out heavy loads from a dead stop with second gear being used as that starting gear when not under load.

[@jim99west46]

My dad had a 75mm ...... in his B25 bomber. The plane would jolt when they fired it at Japanese at low level.

[@Stardude78]

That was the medium velocity M5 too, an actual tank killer. That must have been something to experience.

[@davham27]

I ran a skid steer cutting down trees and we checked tracks every morning. It isn't fun putting a track on in the woods. We had a tensioner go bad while about a mile in the woods and it threw the track. It took a long time to replace.

[@social3ngin33rin]

@7:39 I remember you said that about a similarly designed tank vent at an indoor museum :)

[@Davito2000]

Also, it's an adorable vehicle. Very important, strategically.

[@justforever96]

I think you may be mistaken on the meaning of the word "strategic". These would only be important strategically if somehow their very existence in the US arsenal prevented war with Russia from breaking out after 1945, or if somehow the production of this particular machine was a policy that ended up leading directly to victory. This was important _tactically_ in that it was an important tool that the US Army actually used to fight battles and kill enemy soldiers.

[@station992]

Yees he is come backkkk inside the tankkk ,😍😍😍

[@jvleasure]

Got a 12th Armored 92nd Cav man's uniform that was in their gun troop. Really cool.

[@podfuk]

that music, its like it is 2008 all over agin, YT is still new and cool and someone tought this is great idea ;)

[@darciento1198]

I feel like there has to be some other people thinking this, but Panzer 2 video? Or Panzer 2 Luchs, both would be interesting videos to watch

[@ElysiumNZ]

Shouldn’t part 2 have dropped by now?🤔

[@Sleepy.Time.]

what a cute little tank

[@JorJes24]

What a treat!

[@jasonrusso9808]

14th Armored Div., 94th Cav. Recon Squadron.

[@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBars]

Little technical point. I think you might need some reflectors. The exposure on this is horrendous making seeing the data is in shadow extraordinarily difficult to see! Great to see this feature back again though. Thanks so much for doing this!

[@jasonrusso151]

14th Armor Div. 94th Cav RCN Squadron E Troop. the Assault Guns M8 HMC were always E troop.

[@heimvar]

Glorious glorious cheiftan on one of my favorite (what I think is) joke tank). Instant click

[@kerrydennison7947]

You should go to the artillery museum at fort Sill Oklahoma and see if you can fit into some of the self-propelled guns especially the early models would be some very good filming and entertaining.

[@glengearhart5298]

Low flying aircraft gets you every time. LOL

[@kurttank_1909]

Great Scott, it’s a Scott......and thus, I have tickled the algorithm. Good day

[@Wolvenworks]

man...i miss the Chieftain theme. been a while since i last heard it

[@paintnamer6403]

This is good the second time around.

[@ShinobuBlade]

doing track tension daily routine sounds is like me adjusting my chains on my motorcycle like every 500/1000km, except only easier lol

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Freaking airplane. Man the Deuce!

[@Yaivenov]

110 hp per motor... I think we could at least quadruple that with some modern upgrades. That would make for a very sporty M8 HMC.

[@ObiwanNekody]

Given how much I have grown to dislike maintaining proper tension on precision timing belts on printers, I am glad I have never had to adjust track tension on a tank.

[@magdovus]

Video suggestion- track tensioning NASA's Crawler Transporters :D

[@donaldparlettjr3295]

What a great tank to own and bug around for a parade.

[@N1SMO32]

It's been a while 🥰

[@MrHws5mp]

Another advantage of that track tensioning system is that former motorcyclists won't need much training to get used to it...

[@andypants1000]

OH HELL YEAH

[@jroch41]

No mocking, sir. I was worried that the video had already rolled 5 minutes without mention of track tension!

[@dirus3142]

Egad, another down the hatch video!

[@bird518]

Will you be able to do a video on the Panhandle EBR?

[@geofftimm2291]

How did the US Army employ these units? Were they part of Div Artillery or were they the Armor Battalion Commander's personal indirect support? Geoff Who remembers when Armor turned down two 120mm Mortar vehicles per Battalion as close indirect support. I come from the days when the 60mm Mortar was the Infantry Company Commander's personal artillery.

[@doughudgens9275]

Good question: the bumper number is confusing “14 AD 97 C” the vehicle “E”. No “F” to indicate a Field Artillery unit. One would assume on such a quality restoration, the bumper number would be accurate. My only guess would be something like the Howitzer batteries assigned to a modern Cavalry Squadron (and I don’t know how those vehicle are bumper numbered).

[@tgapmax4051]

With a Pak75, it can't be DIvArty. Those would have to be 155s. I see the aiming stakes stored on the front hull, what type of pano telescope did she have & was indirect fire rare, or common?

[@doughudgens9275]

@@tgapmax4051 105mm howitzers would be Direct Support DivArty, with the 155mm “Long Tom” gun (not howitzer) in the General Support, GSR role- probably. With such thin armor, they would likely try to have at least one terrain feature (hill) separation. Being tracked, they could easily displace forward to maintain engagement with the enemy. I must admit, my WWII American artillery knowledge is rusty, and I could be wrong

[@jasonsnyder3948]

Chieftain, would you be willing to do a short video on the range poles.

[@toneloke4417]

I don’t thill I’ll be needing to do repairs on one of these tanks anytime soon lol

[@LeoLeentvaar]

is this the second release of this video? I was expecting Pt. 2

[@kevin_1230]

Hey Chief I saw the video you did last week on the US Armor & Cavalry Collection. Will you be doing any inside the hatch videos there?

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

I hope to, but I did not have time for filming vehicles. It was a work trip.

[@dryinspection875]

Inside the hatch is back but without the hatch.