Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: Panzer III Part 1

The new episode of Inside the Chieftain's Hatch is about the German Panzer III tank. In part 1, Nicholas Moran examines the tank’s exterior and talks about the 50 mm L/60 gun being mounted to the vehicle despite the protests of experts, how the primary way to start the motor is by hand and not with an electric starter, and an unusual bin with a wooden lining. Enjoy!
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[@DamnedSilly]

Wood liners in the storage bins would help a surprising amount reducing rust on tools stored in them. Something largely forgotten now that stainless steel is so predominant.

[@davehopkin9502]

"We tend to start on the outside going over the main points of interest" - translates to "Well talk about Mr Morans track tensioning fetish" ;)

[@amerigo88]

As a toddler, The_Chieftain's stroller was fully tracked, of course. His mother was wheeling him out of a Tesco supermarket, turned a bit too quickly, and threw a track. Young Chieftain was scarred for life and monitors track tension the way I monitor tire pressure on my cars and trucks/lorries.

[@bigdiccmarty9335]

Dave Hopkin Tighter....TIGHTER.... NOT ENOUGH TENSION TIGHTER DAMNIT!!!

[@tharos]

Future series: Chieftain ranks tanks based on their stowage ability. Let's make it happen!

[@mfree80286]

"Oh bugger, the tank's full." instead of "Oh bugger, the tank's on fire" or "Oh bugger, the tracks are chattering"?

[@dposcuro]

@Breezy Mods What you find dull, I find interesting.

[@colbeausabre8842]

Speaking as an ex-Armor officer of 25 years experience, stowage space is vastly underrated by civilians. In the field your tank is your rolling home - you work, eat, sleep, crap, write letters home and read the return mail, and any other task imaginable either in or on board the vehicle. You need a place to stow all you stuff so 1) it doesn't get in the way 2) it isn't oil soaked with ground in dust and dirt. That bustle bin would have been a godsend to a DAK tank crew. It gets COLD in the desert at night, so that would be where you stowed your greatcoat, gloves, scarf and sleeping bag, spare uniform items etc) And it would be where you stowed the little things you had accumulated along the way to make life a bit more livable. (Schnapps, vino, candy, tobacco, folding stove and fuel, etc)

[@charliekk3377]

On their turret monster ability

[@amerigo88]

This chassis, used by both the PzKpfw III and StuG III, accounted for more kills than any other in the German arsenal. In many ways it was a tracked Chevrolet Suburban with about two inches of armor, depending on the exact model. The three man turret was genius and the 5cm gun killed a LOT of T-34's, although it was hardly ideal.

[@zacht9447]

panzer 3's and 4's were the backbone of the Wehrmacht armored contingent

[@ernstschmidt4725]

i blame STUG lyfe

[@2adamast]

Removing the three man turret was genius as it allowed for a decent gun and saved a by then failed tank.

[@zacht9447]

@@2adamast In what way is the most produced and widely used tanks of the wehrmacht a failed tank? let me put this in perspective for every 1 tiger there were 12 panzer 3's next up is the panzer 4 with 10-1 ratio on the tiger, and was honestly the best tank germany made due to it being capable and able to be produced in higher numbers, and it was reliable and didn't massively overload the transmission, It's gun was adequate and so was it's mobility. Now if they would have improved the armor without increasing the weight by double it would have been much better. than the panther or either tiger as a wartime vehicle. maybe 60-75mm sloped (it had 50mm to start with) at about 60 degrees in the front It's armor would have been adequate as well

[@2adamast]

​@@zacht9447 By 1943 the Panzer 3 production is stopped because by then the it fails in its anti tank mission. The Stug 3 and its bigger gun will save the platform and be the most produced tank.

[@JustSomeCanuck]

On a Sherman: "The transmission broke down. I'll get another one, you start unbolting the front hull piece." On a Panzer III: "The transmission broke down. I'll get another one if I can fight off everyone else, you start taking the entire tank apart."

[@Anlushac11]

I had no idea PzIII came apart like a French Somua S35.

[@radioactiverat8751]

The more I've been looking at German tanks, the more it always confuses me that none of the engineers thought to make them easier to maintain.

[@antalz]

@@johnnycab8986 Splitting transmission and engine moves the turret backward a little bit, which I think improves balance, so there's definitely an upside. I think the problem is that the Germans thought that, next time, they'd make a transmission that would be fit for purpose and would need replacing very rarely. This idea was nullified by the fact that german tanks were overweight every single time because of escalating armour and gun demands.

[@Zamolxes77]

@@radioactiverat8751 Quite easy. Germans are engineers in the purest sense, great at inventing and making amazing things. However they were not good at "tinkering", making things easy to use. Americans on the other hand are the opposite: decent engineers, but great tinkerers. Their mindset was different: how to make a good enough thing, but make it so easy to maintain that even an idiot with a wrench can do it quickly. Perhaps another reason, and in my opinion the MAIN reason why that is so, is due to logistic lines. It said a good general studies tactics, a great general studies logistics. Logistics, logistics, logistics. Germans were fighting on the continent, very close to a factory that could fix the tanks. Americans were fighting 5,000 miles away from their supply base, if something broke, they had to ship that broken part 5,000 miles home, then another 5,000 miles back at the front. They couldn't afford to have a single tank waiting 2 months for the replacement part to arrive. So for each assembled tank, they shipped 2 more tanks worth of parts. Since they had no factories nearby, all the repairs, including major ones, had to be able to be performed in the field, so all their hardware was built around that concept.

[@radioactiverat8751]

Zamolxes77 I completely forgot that they have to ship their tanks back for repairs. Funny how such details completely escape the mind. You're completely right though, the Germans have factories not that far away, meanwhile the Americans have to go across the ocean to fix their tanks. I guess there really is no "perfect tank" in the second world war just whatever serve the needs of the country that made them. American tanks were made to be general purpose and easy to maintain, German tanks were really technologically advanced in design, however they didn't have the resources to just make tons of extra parts for the things so they were kind of made in a way that was a pain to maintain. Japanese tanks were made simplistically and light for their role in the conquest of the uneven Chinese terrain, and not really able to compare against the American tanks which were stronger overall. The Chinese didn't really have a tank as far as I know; Therefore, the Japanese tanks didn't need to be all that sophisticated. Just something powerful enough to break the Enemy Lines and keep up with the motorized/mechanized Infantry. I know very little about Soviet tanks, but my guess is that they could put a lot of them out because they were made very simply despite supposedly being a better tank than the German tanks of the time. They were just so hastily thrown together they didn't always compare. Every tank had its purpose and roll and there really is no definitive perfect tank in the era. Though I do agree that some do fit the criteria of perfect tank more than others. Personally in my opinion I think both the later Panzer IV's and later Sherman models best fit that definition. But I'm sure there's arguments against that.

[@BufusTurbo92]

omg the panzer 3, finally!

[@hendrickson674]

My favorite early war tank. Glad you finally did it. 👍

[@Mikey-xz4vn]

"Escape hatch" - I suppose a 'serious emotional event' can provide sufficient motivation to force a human through a gap that looks scarcely big enough to allow a spaniel through it

[@filmandfirearms]

You'd be surprised how small the human body can become with minimal effort. There's actually a really extensive report by the US army on body mechanics for just such purposes. If you're talking about how best to cram a bunch of guys into an armored vehicle, it's good to know how tightly you can reasonably pack them

[@WZW1982]

"The other minor detail was the fact that anti-tank guns were starting to become quite dangerous to tanks"

[@jedinight2353]

Lmao

[@christophervanoster]

This is probably my favorite tank of all time

[@konstantin.v]

9:50 It's a cigar box, of course ^_^

[@Myomer104]

If I could make a request, and if it would be possible, I would like to see a "Chieftain's Hatch" episode regarding the American turreted T-series heavy tanks (T29, T30, T32, and/or T34).

[@Maus5000]

T32 no longer exists, and there are many other American heavy tanks with a T prefix. It was standard for all equipment to have a testing 'T number' before being approved for large scale adoption under an M number. T1 and T43 heavy tanks are ones that immediately come to mind. That said I'd love to see a T29, T30 or T34, whichever of the group can be found in the best condition.

[@Myomer104]

@@Maus5000 Wait, all T32s were scrapped? Dang. I was aware of the T prefix referring to pre-production prototypes (such as T1 and T28 as well as the ones I had mentioned). I'd called them "T-series" because they never reached production status like the T1 (M6) and T43 (M103).

[@Myomer104]

@@XtreeM_FaiL Mostly. They mainly differed in the gun: T29: 105mm T5E1. T30: 155mm T7. T34: 120mm T53. Such a difference may seem small, but they would create quite a difference in internal space to accommodate the differing breeches.

[@SootHead]

Great to finally see another "traditional" Inside the Hatch.

[@FerramusNL]

That's an escape hatch? How small were the crewmembers for this tank

[@tahunkwai5979]

They were crewed with highschool girls back then ;) watch Girls Und Panzer PANZER VOR!

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

Apparently LLenn size

[@1LEgGOdt]

they went hands first like you're diving into a pool head first from a diving board

[@Anlushac11]

They were considered small even back then and in winter wearing winter gear you weren't going to going out the side.

[@knighttemplar6529]

@@Anlushac11 there was no size difference except theres more fat fucks then there was

[@tomcomber3723]

I've been waiting for ages for another inside the chieftains hatch video. I love seeing the inside of tanks. Along with massive amounts of infomation.

[@zot8218]

For all its flaws the panzer 3 is still my favourite tank, I'm glad you did this inside the hatch!

[@wetlettuce4768]

I'd go with the Panzer 4 as my favourite WW2 tank especially once it got the upgraded long 75mm gun and extra armor. My all time favourite tank though would have to be the T-72 I'm just wierd like that.

[@andypaine7489]

@@wetlettuce4768 Sit inside a T72 and you may change your mind. At 5'6 I fit perfectly in a tank and even I found the T72 cramped. More importantly auto load always make me nervous; God help you if something ever fails. Call me old school but I really like having a loader. On the other hand, a smaller tank is a smaller target...

[@wetlettuce4768]

I'm 6'1 I've been in a T-72 and the commander and gunner positions are a bit tight but useable for me the drivers position however is way too cramped for me I have no where to put my legs lol. Guess I have a soft spot for it becuase it's likely the oldest tank you can take onto a modern battlefield and not look like a complete joke to the enemy.

[@eemci3781]

You gotta love the tank that carry in his back the war for almost 2 entire years

[@cissuperdroid]

The entire war if you include the StuG variants on its chassis ;)

[@eemci3781]

I agree but Poland and France were a Panzer II & I / 38t Operation as a whole, they just outnumbered the III's / IV's & StuG's

[@okrajoe]

Finally the Panzer III appears. My favorite of the early-war tanks.

[@zacht9447]

"early-war" lol they were using these till 1945

[@henrikhilskov]

@@zacht9447 Not as a tank in 1th grade combat units.

[@zacht9447]

@@henrikhilskov 1st* also yes it was panthers and tigers were incredibly rare not to mention they usually broke down before even reaching the lines

[@unknownip6741]

@@zacht9447 they didn't break down reaching the line... but leaving it... Reaching it was done using railroad

[@zacht9447]

@@unknownip6741 railroads only go so far and usually they were the first thing the allies bombed also yes most didn't even reach the front before abandonment

[@Killer14798]

Did you know, that the Turret Stowage-bin was called "Rommelkiste". Named after Erwin Rommel who insisted on installing these for use in north Africa.

[@HolySwordofLight]

Glad to see these episodes back in action. Well done

[@hoplite669]

Interesting Video, as always Chieftain - your channel has become one of my regular stops on KZbin. Thanks for the effort!

[@zboypiccoro]

Thank you, Mr. Moran. I've been waiting a long time for this Hatch video. It was worth the wait.

[@massaweed420]

I'm really excited to see the upload of him going over and through a Tiger I.

[@sirboomsalot4902]

Finally! I've been waiting to see the inside of this thing!

[@kourivi]

Thank you :) I enjoy these series inside the hatch

[@bluntdanieldb]

I've been waiting for this review for A while now . Just got to wait for the stug iii and the panzer iv. Cheers, always enjoy your content.

[@ArchoN950]

Great content, looking forward to part 2!

[@petesheppard1709]

Ahhh, nice to see the regular format again. I even like the background theme!!

[@T3hderk87]

Man! Super excited that I have a new one to watch.

[@striker6097]

Yes!! My second favorite tank the day before my birthday, thanks WG & The Chieftain.

[@LooneyPoliticsTunes]

I love the early German tanks panzer 1-3 just so classic

[@VonRammsteyn]

My favorite panzer! Well, actually the ausf H is my favorite... I was waiting 4 this. I'm glad to see you back again, man... Does anybody knows how fast can a panzer 3's turret make a full circle?

[@LittleLouieLagazza]

+1

[@Electronzap]

Great video as always!

[@YuryTimofeyev]

Great video. Waiting for more!

[@rosstheboss1014]

THIS IS AMAZING OMG I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR SOO LOOOONG

[@Psiberzerker]

Going to get in the StuG III next for comparison?

[@bobbylee2853]

Psiberzerker see Tank chats.

[@Psiberzerker]

@@bobbylee2853 That's the Tank Museum. I want to see INSIDE the Hatch. Thank you. (That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed that chat, but he just stands there talking. So did Lindybeige. He doesn't crawl around in there, and show us all the positions.)

[@FalconWing1813]

Great stuff , keep these videos coming

[@WildBillCox13]

YAYYYYYY! I have eagerly awaited this edition, and the Panzer IV edition, to be released. Sweet stuff! Thanks, Chieftain!

[@WildBillCox13]

I wonder if that wood lining was mission specific. Was there equipment that a wood liner would better protect from either shock or quick changes in temperature?

[@Kyle-gw6qp]

"If you can't tell if it's a Panzer 3 or 4, just count the road wheels and divide by two." Or just count the return rollers.

[@External2737]

Unless skirts are fitted...

[@charlieparr8685]

Doesn't work with late Pz 4 Ausf. J, which had only three return rollers per side.

[@LordSteve3565]

Can not wait for part 2

[@andypaine7489]

Great video. I've been waiting for the Pz III a long time!

[@bobbylee2853]

Andy Paine See Tank talk.

[@andypaine7489]

@@bobbylee2853 Thanks! I've seen it and don't get me wrong, but it wasn't like the Chieftain's videos. He talks about tanks from the crewman's perspective. When I was younger I spent quite a bit of time on tanks and I really appreciate hearing (and seeing) what its like to have to function on a tank.

[@deividplays]

I'm a simple man, I see an Inside the Chieftain's Hatch video, I watch it until the end and eagerly await the next part/leave a like.

[@cofrbooboo]

Panzer III, yes!! My favorite series of German armor! Looking forward to part 2.

[@towerycs]

Great video, can't wait for part 2! Germany really didn't understand the concept of field repair, did they? When can we expect part 2? I saw the video saying that some of your stuff got lost while moving and I'm assuming the footage for part 2 was on a hard drive that got lost. Have they tracked down your stuff yet?

[@alexstahl284]

Yes finally! Thanks mate!

[@mk2mike24]

Thank god the music... i love it

[@przemas-gx7wr]

Finaly my favorite series is back:)

[@rickcheyne]

Can hardly wait to see the inside! I sure would like to see an "inside the pzkpfw II" sometime :-)

[@sam8404]

4:28 Thought a Stuka was diving in for a second.

[@shawnchung5336]

Way-hey! A Chieftain’s Hatch and a Tank Museum Tank Chat within 14 hours of each other! Antique Armour Nirvana!

[@das_edelweiss8736]

Been waiting for freaking years for this!!!!!!!

[@adamwarnock8890]

Pause at 1:00 Thats not a pz iii. Thats either a matilda or a valentine😂

[@korbell1089]

wow good catch there..not sure what it is myself but definately not the pz3

[@communisttears5998]

Adam Warnock look at the side skirts, that is probably a Valentine.

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

looking ta the nose of the tank, appears to be valentine. And skirt would cover a lot more on the Matilda.

[@thomaslinton1001]

Irony?

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

@@thomaslinton1001 What irony?

[@onebigfatguy]

The only thing that really gets me these days is how the Panzer III ingame still has the piss poor penetration of 67mm on the main 50mm L/50 cannon when that was packing 98mm of pen at 10 meters, 91mm at 100 and more then 80mm+ at 500 meters. don't even get me started on the gimped L/48 and L/70 cannons or the poor American M1 and M2 76mm's.

[@MrChiron12]

My favorite German tank

[@HRHtheDude]

Love your vids mate, not missed one yet. Just one thing though: Versailles pronounced verse-eye.

[@45sticky]

I love the video on Panzer III. Please do one on the M551 Sheridan.

[@bigsolidboss781]

FINALLY! PANZER III! I'VE BEEB WAITING FOR THIS!!

[@jackgirote9132]

The wooden lined bin on the track shield is clearly a humidor for cigars.

[@Real_Claudy_Focan]

The wood lining in box is for ammo or any "explosive" stuff, it's a prevent against sparks

[@Dick-Dastardly]

Another great video. Nicholas Moran is an excellent presenter

[@robertward7382]

My panzer iii fun fact. It has the same headlight fitting as a grey Ferguson tractor. Apparently when tank museum were renovating their panzer 3, it was the only one they could find that fitted the mounting...if you look closely on a close up you can see the picture of Ferguson tractor embossed on the glass!

[@elektro_knete792]

Yes! Chieftain! What a good suprise! 😍

[@nathanroberts355]

I've seen this at the Australian armoured artillery museum in smithfield and panzer 1to 4 and the panther tank

[@Cadars]

Uhhhh i've waited a long time for this :D!!!!

[@Sgt_Chevron]

He didn’t talk about the cupola, it was a rather unique part of the tank and somewhat revolutionary for the time, if I remember correctly it can also be rotated. CORRECTION: later models of the cupola had a rotating band on top to mount the MG 34 AA mount.

[@billwilson3609]

I'm thinking that the wood lined box held a 12v work lamp that had a roll of wire with clips that fastened to battery posts.

[@latvius7600]

Chieftan - two words "Gig Line"! :)

[@allzzzzz2000]

glad im not the only one driven mad lmao

[@John-iv2oz]

At time stop 12:25 I can hear Odd Ball say that they like to get out of trouble just as fast as they got into trouble. LOL

[@amerigo88]

At 5:48 mark, he references Hillary comments regarding sloped armor. See the "Think Tank 2012" panel discussion in 12 parts also on KZbin. Fantastic use of four hours for tank fans.

[@Cinn357]

Yes, was a wonderful way to eat up part of a 16 hour drive.

[@hudsondonnell444]

Cigar humidor at 9:50.

[@mandymayne8759]

0:34 The Treaty of Versailles was not signed in a railway car. The armistice was signed in a railway car. The Treaty of Versailles was signed in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.

[@blueboats7530]

You had me at "pull the turret"

[@sweetfox6940]

I can't wait to see the inside! -Sweet_Fox

[@PavarottiAardvark]

Wuld love to see the Chieftain trying to escape out of those side hatches!

[@adamdubin1276]

Bovington you say? Any chance you'll finally give us the tour of that TOG II they have on display?

[@kellypayson4997]

Wargaming needs to get someone for this job that knows more about tanks than what he learned on the History Channel.

[@dougstubbs9637]

Chieftain, This REVIEW, much OVERDUE, THANK YOU

[@topfishing]

Do Tiger 131 next PLEASE!!! I know it's been done but not in your style. King tiger after that would be cool too.

[@henrikhilskov]

why waste time and money for film crew to do a video there actual are on the market you can just restat that. Please do reviews of tanks there is not current on youtube.

[@alisholst255]

Finally he did the panzer 3

[@scottleft3672]

looking at that escape hatch at the side of the panzer 3....game me the heeby jeebies just trying to imagine attempting to squeeze through....omfg.

[@DC9622]

Despite, it’s short comings, it robustly fought throughout the war, possibly because of all issues with Panther. At the start it was undoubtedly the best, but had issues with Mattel 2, and early T34 armour. Ultimately the arrival of Sherman. I was surprised to learn about 40 were at Normandy with two Panzer Divisions.

[@Cancun771]

_"Zusatzpanzer"_ German pronunciation so good that it makes sense to add a finer point at this juncture: stress is on the first vowel, not the second one, and the second one should also be shorter.

[@JimboPalmer]

Wooden Box, our Blasting crew has an entire wooden truck to reduce sparks near the explosives. I suspect the wooden box holds some kind of explosives. It is on the outside, to protect the crew from it.

[@NathanOkun]

With a blunt-point uncapped AP shot or shell, the cross-over point where sloping a typical forged WWII US Army RHA/British MQ homogeneous, ductile chromium-nickel steel armor plate backward becomes better at stopping penetration due to glancing rather than just making a vertical plate thicker and stopping the shell by slowing it to a complete stop prior to it making a complete penetration, so that both plates weigh the same amount, is at about 45-50 degrees from the vertical or more. In the sloped-plate case, you do not want to damage the shell, since a broken projectile has its ability to ricochet suppressed (the shell nose no longer can pull the rest of the shell away with it if it glances off) and pieces of the middle and lower body might penetrate through a smaller opening than would allow an intact projectile through. In the thickened vertical plate case, you most definitely want to break the shell, particularly the nose, so that it has to make a bigger hole and thus cannot penetrate as deeply into a given thickness of armor at a given striking velocity -- face-hardened armor may, under a limited set of conditions, be superior at low impact angles when it can break shells, all other things being equal, but NEVER at high obliquity.

[@shawnchung5336]

🤩🤩🤩🤩 Nathan Okun! (fanboi squeal)

[@juliusdream2683]

And easier way to tell the difference between panzer 3-4 is the return rollers. The panzer 3has 3 the panzer 4 has 4 simple. You can count the road wheels but it takes way longer.

[@Maus5000]

0:58 Hey that's a Valentine hahaha

[@visionist7]

The wood lining could be for storing cloths of some sort (yes cloths, not clothes) as all good wardrobes have a cedar wood lining to repel insects

[@enlg3750]

My argument for the wood framing inside that storage box is that they used it to store food items or such and needed thermal protection from cold steel...

[@VonGrav]

The rolling escapehatch

[@TopSecretVid]

Those welds are sweet

[@edi9892]

I'd love to see a Nebelwerfer/gepanzerter Raketenwerfer on this show (that halftrack). Also a puma would be nice.

[@malkavianstr450]

The armistice was signed in a railroad carriage, the treaty of versailles, was signed, well in the palace of versailles.

[@01ZombieMoses10]

You know, I'm not a huge fan of World of Tanks, but I have to admit, without it there wouldn't be this enormous wealth of in-depth content on WWII and early cold-war tanks. The Tank Museum is also great, but The Chieftain has so much to say on the specific features of each tank that you just don't get elsewhere.

[@Dreachon]

The plethora of books published in the decades before WoT was even released would like to have a word with you. The "enormous wealth of in-depth content" has always been there, it has never been dependent on a videogame, something that those of us with an actual interest in these vehicles have long been aware off.

[@inisipisTV]

Ahh... that brusque BG music, WOT's Chieftains hatch is back.

[@Shepard_AU]

It actually makes me happy to hear that background music. I really hope that they don't change it to something else.

[@a.morphous66]

@@Shepard_AU I prefer the videos when there's no background music, but I don't really have a problem with it. It's not really that noticeable and it's pretty catchy, which is the exact right mix for background music.

[@VenturiLife]

The cigar-box is nice.

[@trauko1388]

Finally!

[@unclematt3]

4:46 is that an escape hatch or an ammo loading hatch? I know some tanks in WWII had a small hatch in the lower hull to make taking on ammo much easier. It's so dang small I just can't see a person squeezing through it. It is an odd shape for an ammo loading hatch, though. Most other ones I have seen are circular.

[@carloscactus]

Is it possible the wood lined-box on the running boards could have held replacment parts that may have been vulnerable to static discarge? light bulbs,radio or ignition? just a thought

[@davidgorny4766]

The Treaty of Versailles wasn't signed in a railway car. The armistice was.

[@VicariousReality7]

My favorite german tank, it sits on my desk, watching