Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: T-34-85, Episode 2

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Nicholas Moran continues his tour of the most interesting tanks. This time, he came to...Russia! Why? To finally tell us about a Soviet medium tank, the T-34-85!. How are its tracks designed? Why did the T-34 turn into the T-34-85? And how can you know that the tank was produced in Nizhny Tagil? You will find answers to these and more questions in the new episode of the "Inside the Chieftain's Hatch". Let's watch!
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[@SuzanneKowalski]

23:55 - About the "protester" who stole a decommissioned T-34 in 2006, on the memorial day of the 1956 Hungarian revolution: that was actually a pretty old guy who used to serve the Hungarian (or rather: Soviet) army back in the day as a tank crewmember. His goal wasn't to attack the police, but to cause a bit more chaos, and, according to the guy himeself: "to have a little fun".

[@ravenouself4181]

I have to say it... that guy is a legend

[@quinnthespin5407]

Also apparently he did it since he knew what he was doing and did not want someone else to take it not know what they are doing and hurt someone

[@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren]

@@quinnthespin5407 He's crazy but he's no fool. I respect him.

[@imrekalman9044]

What I found disturbing or just weird about the whole event is a monument tank still having fuel in it. I can't remember if it was started up by battery or compressed air, but either is still weird to have in a monument.

[@Space_Man909]

Ivan the great tonk destroyer returns!

[@alexkeil3445]

In soviet russia, gear shifts you.

[@ergbudster3333]

Ya? In Nazi Germany Adolf sends you to your death to make bankers richer.

[@brightworld1148]

Erg Budster no, lol, he hated bankers

[@TackleTheDog]

Alex Keil hahahaha

[@vic4345]

+Erg Budster no thats us

[@mrgeorgesteamuser6085]

i just saw this comment and it made my day

[@kikihempelmann7890]

music. driving. me. nuts.

[@dukenukem8381]

TUTUDU TUTUDU TUTUDU TUTU TATTI TI TI

[@betabilly]

Torture

[@rosstheboss1014]

😂

[@rosstheboss1014]

DUKE NUKEM 👌 perfect

[@HammyJamPants]

At this point, it's kind of hilarious that this lesson wasn't learned after the first time.

[@douglasfulmer5483]

It was hard to change gears because you did not have the amazingly easy to use Stalinium hammer that is standard issue for the Motherland's glorious tankers.

[@douglasfulmer5483]

Mr. Monocle High class man I am sorry Komrade I have disappointed Stalin.

[@douglasfulmer5483]

Mr. Monocle High class man Will I be sent to the Gulag?

[@petersimonpieters8814]

+Douglas Fulmer Da, you socialist pig, your only use is for building of train rails.

[@douglasfulmer5483]

petersimon pieters I will pray to Stalin this day and sacrifice many goats in his name.

[@Lo-tf6qt]

+Douglas Fulmer that will not work comrade because we do not believe in sacrificing in great Mother Russia

[@g2macs]

What made you think that twenty five minutes of intro music played in competition to the narration was a 'stonking' idea?

[@stonks6616]

I disapprove

[@trainboi014]

@@stonks6616 LMAO REPLY 4 YEARS L8TER

[@stonks6616]

Panzerkampfwagen Ausführung B e

[@Average-Friday-Enjoyer]

@@stonks6616 omegalul

[@oweneldridge8491]

I wonder who thought that the music was a good idea

[@markukrainetz5058]

it could be lowered a few notches

[@enscroggs]

Like, to zero, please? Not only does it occasionally obscure Nick's narration. it's f'king maddening!!!

[@Stigstigster]

I struggled through but it was driving me mad too.

[@HammyJamPants]

"Hey guys, I finished that short intro music clip you wanted!" "Intro music? Naw, we're gonna play this on a loop for 25 minutes! It'll be great!"

[@baobamarcopolo726]

They should have put Soviet Union anthem hardbass or something like that

[@lindybeige]

Tanks are great of course, but did we really need to have the annoying and distracting music?

[@crosseightyeight]

Not you too, Lloyd!

[@SlavicCelery]

I feel the need to suddenly love and embrace the music as an required aspect of the videos. That said, still love your videos Lindy (even though I have quibbles from time to time).

[@pegging640]

How dare you insult the music of my childhood )-:

[@JeremiahPTTN]

Newer vids do not have the said annoying music. Funny it never annoyed me until you pointed it out.

[@danielbuxton4493]

Exactly! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@lennykhaychenko8465]

My father's tank from 1941 to 1945. Thank you very much.

[@agwhitaker]

You are an honest, intelligent, informative, fellow with a great sense oh dry humor. I'd buy a used tank from you any-day.

[@user-df4eg3uv8v]

😂

[@SkipStorm]

Really good video. But for gosh sake turn off the the repetitive music.

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

Yeah, I don't mind little musical interludes/accents at the end of scenes but the constant blare of annoying guitar is atrocious.

[@johnfmather]

Great but ... I had to watch it in stages. The endless guitar riff was just too distracting and annoying! Other than that this is excellent.

[@sjoormen1]

same matter same for me, to loud music

[@25foxbat1]

+sjoormen1 yes true,some soft music will do..

[@broesilov]

+John Mather Music is annoying indeed.

[@urabampot]

i reaaaally hope they get rid of the music while he's talking.... big mistake.... i wanna watch more episodes, but that music....GAWD!!! *and im a guitar TEACHER!!! haaaaahahahaaa

[@Lo-tf6qt]

you had to watch it in stages because you did not have Slavination , go get a bottle of Vodka and drink it , that will make you learn better ))))

[@ruedigerbehr]

A great Video ! Very good ! Thank you. But one thing .... the music is horrible !

[@chrisbrent7487]

There are actually a few remote places in the world where it is still being used. They are being used in the Yemen conflict. They run a cord from the manual firing trigger out the pistol hole and pull from the outside of the tank as the brass has been reused so many times they have ruptured shell casings occasionally when they're fired and you don't want to be in the turret when that happens.

[@lancelot1953]

These are great presentations and on behalf of all the tank loving community (veterans, hobbyists, military history buffs, engineers, crazy guys like me, etc) I thank "World of Tanks" for such high quality videos. I appreciate your unbiased and factual descriptions of each feature (good or bad) of these combat vehicles regardless of their country of origin. I would just make a "little" suggestion, if I may. These videos as watched by many supporters whose native language may not be English, in which case, the music may interfere with their understanding of the more technical terms used in these lectures. I would suggests to just turn the music down a bit, thank you. Keep on the phenomenal work! Ciao, L

[@lancelot1953]

***** Hi Smith, yes that is a great idea, a music soundtrack from these countries would be more realistic and also more respectful of the what they are describing, after all, a lot of people died with/in these vehicles. Good point, Ciao, L

[@callumfindlay4614]

+lancelot1953 also they have a lot of languages in the subtitles option

[@lancelot1953]

callum findlay Hi Callum, I did not know about the multi-language feature in the options, thank you for informing me, Ciao, L

[@Sammakko7]

lancelot1953 nope

[@bigbrowntau]

The music makes the commentary difficult to understand at times, and it needs a change occasionally. High paced music to generate excitement doesn't really match the detailed, sober analysis. The content is outstanding, and it's brilliant to see, but the music is making it almost unwatchable to this hearing impaired ex-soldier.

[@karlish8799]

The life of a WW2 tanker must have been a pretty miserable buisness.

[@maxmustermann-ie6ic]

Yes

[@maxmustermann-ie6ic]

Bacon Space Program The poor poor loader. Sometimes it seems like the T-34 was made to hurt its own crew instead of the enemy.

[@BaconSpaceProgram]

I read from both fiction and non-fiction books that even tanks as late as the T-72 had some bad design that could cause serious physical injury to the crew.

[@pm7clips472]

+max mustermann The designer of this tank died from pneumonia he gained during 1000 km test run.

[@baronungern4900]

+max mustermann Sherman was made to hurt its own crew .....

[@CharlesvanDijk-ir6bl]

Annoying background noise. Apart from that a great show.

[@mysticvirgo9318]

somone has to say it .. in Soviet Russia, Clutch depresses YOU.

[@mysticvirgo9318]

German didin't expect the Russian tanks to be manned by psychos, either :)

[@peterson7082]

More-so the KV-1. The T-34, not as much as media describes it.

[@WildBillCox13]

Pretty sharp.

[@octane781]

"And it allows the round to fall to the floor, where the loader can then trip over it." GG Ivan xD

[@jims9406]

I'm 63 and loved this complete video. Thank you very much to everyone.

[@angusgillingham2323]

I wish the background music was shot at by the 34's main gun . This constant racket of b g music makes it impossible for certain hearing impaired persons to understand the commentator. Tried to watch it but sadly, as I love this stuff, I had to quit trying to understand the commentator.

[@theodore2067]

Captions maybe?

[@joeschmoe3630]

I loved the music.

[@penapvp2230]

Joe Schmoe you are satan incarnate

[@xtriplexvisionx]

I never even noticed the music

[@AVweb]

Outstanding, Nicholas.

[@trainboi014]

lol reply 1 year l8ter

[@jearlblah5169]

didn't expect to see you here....

[@mr.waffentrager4400]

No ...he was standing out in the previous video only !! This is a joke

[@TSemasFl]

The music in the back round constantly playing, kills this video. Good walk thru, i seen plenty i didn't know about. Now i want to tinker more with my 1/6 scale T34

[@torpaninternational8351]

The best ww2 weapons documentaries i've ever seen. It was very thorough, however, the background music wasn't welcome

[@mohammadqadri5065]

I never thought gear shifting was so complicated

[@VRichardsn]

Yeah, it was a staple of T-34 driving. It actually exhausted the drivers by quite a margin. Seeing this, one feels more inclined to approve the ergonomics one could find in, say, a Tiger, even if it makes more complex. Because tired people do not respond that well under combat.

[@tankolad]

Richardsen The bow machine gunners often assisted the driver in shifting gears whenever the bow machine gun isn't needed, which would be most of the time.

[@BungieStudios]

He wasn't gripping the johnson bar when trying to shift.

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

I wonder if the bow gunner helped with gear changing, I used to own a 1949 tractor that needed a helper( or a lump hammer) to change gear!

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

Decadent Irishman lacks correct level of Soviet malnutrition for correct tank operation, Mo! 😁

[@IvanMozgovyy1990]

"Large metal components interfacing with his head"

[@pixelkatten]

Of course you're not gonna be comfortable, you're at least a foot taller than the maximum allowed height for a soviet tanker!

[@toxicatto6074]

Either soviets are that short or he's just too long... or both

[@toxicatto6074]

Actually even if you're right at the height, it's not made for crew comforts...

[@johnkendall6962]

@Nick Sambides Jr. Diesels make almost no CO, unlike gasoline engines

[@Nedula007]

In the video he mentions this, he states that a foot more of room wouldn't matter. The "floor" was uneven, and it's a cramped space. Did you watch the video??

[@agwhitaker]

Not just you, Nicholas. I have heard that T-34 drivers made a habit of keeping a hammer handy to assist in gear changes.

[@hedgehogelite8573]

its made of Stalinium, handed out by Stalin himself. -.-

[@fulcrum2951]

The hammer is mostly used on heavy tanks, particularly the kv series

[@AndrewVasirov]

And the sickle to get out of the driver's seat! (joke)

[@billwilson3609]

The bow gunner used the tank's sledgehammer to knock the lever where the driver wanted. The T-34's used an agricultural tractor transmission that the US Army automotive engineers rejected in 1921 for being too primitive to consider using. The same engineers were shocked to see it being used in the T-34 that Stalin shipped to the US so US engineers could determine why it was such a POS. Those engineers were amused when they saw it again in 1953 when a new T-34/85 abandoned in Korea by the Chinese was sent stateside for evaluation. In 1943 they sent Stalin a very long list of all the crappy components and found the same crappy parts on the 1953 model.

[@AKUJIVALDO]

@@billwilson3609 if only you weren't ignorant dumbo... There were no model 1953 of T-34-85...

[@mikeroy9528]

I was a M551 driver for three years in the 70's. I never felt claustrophobic. My chest was tight just watching the view for the driver and especially the machine gunner. Yikes! My floor hatch was HUGE compared to that thing.

[@TheTraakon]

I like the longer video length. Would love to see an hour of "Moran Out Takes and Bloopers".

[@Sithus666]

I think these would be a lot better if the music wasn't constantly repeating over and over again in the background.

[@KermitFrazierdotcom]

Sithus1966 ☆ Remember the "Mild Violence" warning label? That's for the endless loop mind control muzak. Just remember Stimpy grooving to "Muddy Mud Skipper" theme song

[@zegunner7906]

@paradigm respawn lol XD

[@matthewmyers267]

that is Wargaming's music - it will ALWAYS be on any video uploaded that refers to them in any way

[@trevoranderson7182]

"We had a small incident with the memory card and the turret monster..." Goodness I have to hear this one.

[@hoboite1]

Couldn't watch anymore because of the music.... very good and informative

[@PajamaMan44]

Can't wait until they implement gear-shifts in WoT.

[@KorianHUN]

Ne-ver.

[@Warhamer116]

Try war thunder simulator battle controls for tanks. You'll see that, quoting BohemianEagle aka "Mighty Jingles", you "should be careful for what you wish for realism, you might not like it"

[@Dies1r4e]

they wont do that! it would give disadvantage to glorious soviet tanks comrade!

[@KorianHUN]

Appletank8 Yeah, and also it would be a DISADVANTAGE to them. Auto gear shift in game is just easier to play. And since 99.9% of players not played "simulator" battles, because WoT is an ARCADE game, those players can or will happily play War Thunder instead.

[@jwenting]

same day they implement running out of fuel and having your tank break down because of random mechanical failure before it even gets to the front (though random disconnects might be seen as just that, but they don't happen nearly enough to realistically simulate reality)...

[@HOrseshoeM]

Excellent!! This is the true 'Inside the Chieftain's Hatch' that we used to be seeing before those 'snapshots' episodes!.. Nice work, informative and amusing, keep up the good work Chieftain.. cheers

[@longstreet0163]

Love it !! The Chieftain looked quite worried as he was selecting the gears and almost guessing whether he was in neutral or not !!

[@youtubuzr]

Great stuff, but my god could you cut the music?

[@bertramrottie4420]

Yea,the background 'music's irritable, advertisers use it in ads,I've got an MBA,marketing major...it's patronising..negative marketing..cunts

[@kivitelezo]

Mr Nicholas Moran is getting better and better with each episode. It was informating and entertaining! :) Thx for the vid.

[@WildBillCox13]

I would like to mention that this tank (the T34/85 is not alone in this, of course) has a significant shot trap under the mantlet-even worse than the earlier (M40 to M42) versions. Why the turret is sited so far forward is perhaps an engineer's best solution to some other proportion difficulty, but it makes the tank far more vulnerable to incoming fire, and front protection is supposed to be a tank's main defense. It seems to me upon reflection that the whole purpose of increasing armor on the turret front is negated by the creation of a serious shot trap caused by the overhang compounded by the shape of the mantlet. This is why the Panther G had its mantlet modified; to remove that very vulnerability. Should not a tank's front form a more or less perfect slope with no marked undercut? I would think that would be a major design paradigm, given the distribution of armor (specifically, its preponderance on the frontal vector of almost every tank ever made). But, here, any shot low on the turret front would be directed into the turret ring; would it not?

[@cristian6766]

I don't know how many times i have watched this video. I love it. And Nicholas Moran is a great presenter. Love it! Goodbye all the way from Romania.

[@abrahamsds1277]

the "ramp" for lining up the track pins back, and that turret traversing device, are the most briliant design features i see in this tank

[@pawelek83bdh]

very nice and funny episode : D Nicholas looked nervous while driving t34-85, but its understandable. more or less this machine is relic.

[@panzerking1218]

I think he was afraid he would run over something.

[@pawelek83bdh]

ofc, that was I mean.

[@pointlesspublishing5351]

This. Especially going backward without vision...against the wall...

[@ichko3]

Awesome video. Just a tip, to put it into first or reverse, pull that little spoon thingy of the gear leaver (don't know the English word) to do so. Otherwise, awesome.

[@Orb_Pilot]

How do you know that? Just curious where you've learned that.

[@ichko3]

GorkaMorka92 My father drove a t34 in the army (yes, Bulgarian army fielded t34's 20 years ago, much to our shame) and I showed him the video and he laughed at how he struggled.

[@Orb_Pilot]

Well, our army still had Panzer IV:s as training vehicles back then. Rather unsurprisingly replaced by Leopards when I was in service, but still.

[@justforever96]

Duh, I didn't even notice that. Obviously, it's a safety interlock. I'm surprised he could shift at all without squeezing that. It's supposed to prevent you from shifting into reverse by accident, although if I recall on the T-34 it was supposed to lock the gear in place to keep it from popping out. Not sure how it's set up, but apparently it can still be shifted without it, just not easily. I'm surprised that he didn't know that, and that no-one mentioned it to him. They've been using those on various machine controls since the 19th century. Some downsides to being used to modern equipment. Still, most modern truck drivers would know what it was for, or at least ask! It's not for looks!

[@Danspy501st]

Hristo Balabanov Cant we call that thingy as a second clutch? I think I think it works in kinda the same way. Not sure. Btw greet your father (if he still alive) from me. I will salute him for his work in the army and I do think that the T-34s wasnt easy to controll as a driver. Im from Denmark btw, but I like history and WW2 and highly looking up to T-34, as I knew what it was made for during the war. I do like to drive a T-34 myself, but I had never driven a tank before, let alone a tracked vehicle. And Im abit large, so Im not sure if I can squeeze meself through the hatches

[@Axemantitan]

The crews probably preferred revolvers so that they didn't have to deal with spent shell casings flying throughout the turret interior.

[@lonesurvivalist3147]

That and most semi autos of the time had a reciprocating slide which I would think would be quite sketchy to stick up to or through a tiny whole in the tank wall...

[@akmzd6938]

And the Nagant revolver produced less recoil than the rather powerful semi-auto Tokarev. Probably not a deciding factor on its own, but something you would appreciate if you can't take a properly stable firing stance.

[@ItzCammyBlake545]

thanks for the video, it was really, really good of them to let you start and move their vehicle. Thank you to both you and the museum for this

[@Tf291]

Btw. the gear lever is hard to pull beacuse they havent had time to sand it so it has rough edges, like 90 degree so that why its hard to move it

[@Conserpov]

T-34-85 does have commander's overrride. There was a second panoramic gunner's sight for indirect fire.

[@jayoutdoors1534]

You don't know anything

[@hash-slingingslasher1374]

this series is so interesting, but jesus man, the background music is almost literally driving me mad... PLEASE REUPLOAD WITHOUT MUSIC

[@dandavis1953]

Love the vid, you could drop the nerve wracking music!

[@hansmueller3029]

Conversation goes like this : Western tanker : " this isn't comfortable. " Soviet commander : " get in the tank."

[@SabraStiehl]

According to the opinion of the American tank experts at Aberdeen Proving Ground who investigated a T-34/85 without treads built in late 1945 and captured in Korea during the war there in the early '50s, the transmission was without synchronization and the method used to deal with that was termed crash shifting. With less than 500 miles on the odometer the gearbox oil in this particular tank had accumulated about half-a-cup of metal torn from the gear teeth in it. They also reported that the turret, unlike almost all other tanks of the era, had no bottom to the basket, which meant that a crewmember out of his seat during turret rotation would have to step among extra ammo, spent brass, or whatever else might be in the bottom of the tank as the turret turned or else be dragged along and likely injured as the turret rotated. I've often wondered how the Soviets got the diesel engines in those things started during the Russian winter while the Germans were failing to get their gasoline-powered tanks cranked. I owned a diesel-powered 1978 Mercedes 300D for many years, which would only crank in cold weather after the glow plugs warmed the cylinders for 15-30 seconds or so, so I guess that's how they did it, but I still wonder. Maybe they also used block heaters, which my old Mercedes could have been retrofitted with. Using diesel fuel was smart, not only because it's less dangerous than gasoline, but it has 6% more energy per gallon.

[@josemigarrido]

+Sabra S That is the reason of the compressed air auxiliary starting device, that he talks about in the video.

[@3DBlockBuster]

+Sabra S How to start diesel engines in a cold weather? Per Eric Hartman(top German ace) when they captured a Russian mechanic, he showed that they pore gasoline into an engine oil pan, then light the match and that usually do the trick..., but that is for airplanes. May question would be how in the world did they keep diesel fuel from gelling up in those temperatures!

[@pm7clips472]

+Sabra S I don't know about the tanks, but two techniques were widely used for trucks: Not turning engine off, and setting a small fire under a fuel tank - as long as there was no leaking, or the fire didn't damage some rubber wires, there was no big danger of setting whole thing on fire.

[@gautamon]

+3DBlockBuster I guess they were using additives. Soviets had big problems with their tanks freezing in the Winter War and have learned hard lesson.

[@michaelcoulter1114]

I've read articles that say that crews would light fires under the engine bays of the tank when they stopped for the night, and keep them going all night. The crews would be sleeping on the engine decks, so it also kept them from freezing to death in Russian winters. Or, I guess, they could just keep them running all night.

[@neilwilson5785]

With all the accounts I've heard of tankers trying to escape burning vehicles, seeing Nick fail to escape from that hatch was upsetting. These are weapons of war. Still, this was a very insightful pair of videos. Brilliant, I think.

[@leonst.7471]

Going back to older episodes of those iconic tanks is pretty interesting to see

[@montysandor8362]

why the music? are you in a disco

[@Darksylmoran]

The music! OMG! the most irritating, psyko rage it brings!

[@KermitFrazierdotcom]

Darksylmoran ☆ That's the Reason behind the "Mild Violence" warning. You may feel compelled to go step on some ants, later. Uncontrollable Urges.

[@Novous]

17:00 OMG OMG OMG. The shear thrill it must be... to be sitting in a FREAKING TANK as it comes to life and starts creeping forward. There's something that hits at the pure essence of what it means to be a man. I'll never forget the thrill I experienced when I learned how to use the clutch in my first car which had a 5-speed transmission.

[@xploriatv890]

Great Video, thank you for sharing.

[@elektro_knete792]

16:57 That moment when you see a Tiger 1 shooting at you.

[@masterspieces5635]

Amen to the music comments. Please, in future, lose it. It is intensely irritating, especially in the longer presentations. That said, as a former Cold War tanker...this stuff is great!

[@BungieStudios]

They've been using the same song for over 4 years now.

[@theTutenstien]

@@BungieStudios i dont mind it having the music as a bridge to another section but wtf is the poin having it for 25 minutes while someone is talking

[@Rokonroller]

Great explanation of operations! Kudos

[@ToddWPerry]

Great detail, great knowledge, I just subscribed due to how awesome your video is, thank you!

[@michaeldegginger7076]

Great channel with amazing vids. Could you possibly reupload without the music? I'm hard of hearing and the music makes the dialogue a bit muddled to me.

[@Spearfisher1970]

It strikes me that while we all know out ancestors were shorter (and young 17 year olds are always more nimble to get in and out of a tank like that), the confines of some Soviet tanks may have been part of the reason - beyond that of just using everyone - of female tankers. They'd be even shorter, in general, than the male tankers. I've often read about Soviet tankers using big hammers to get them in and out of gear, and for gear shifts, and this sort of shows why. The tanks were great, but blunt, tools for the job. Nick, this may not be your job, but with your Russian contacts it may be a great business advertisement to gather up good parts about the history of some of their female tankers and to present it as a WoT video. All of us in the west have read parts of the stories, but I'm positive there are better and more stories the Russians would have access to. it would be a great history lesson, and may appeal to female gamers' interest in the game. Presented by you, or a female staff member of War Gaming, it could be a very interesting video.

[@Thelothuo]

Spearfisher1970 Female Soviet tankers? Haven't heard of that one before. Seems interesting, nevertheless. I'm sure the feminists in the US would enjoy it. Maybe they'll all move to Russia. [Do note that I, personally, have no quarrel with the idea of equal rights for all genders. It's the feminist extremists that I do not enjoy.]

[@keithsmith4656]

Thelothuo They had female sniper's and combat pilots too, especially in the 1941-1943 time frame when they were extremely desperate for anyone who could fly, drive or pull a trigger.

[@drchiefnska]

And some of those women even became part of the aces of the soviet union

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Spearfisher1970 If I do something of that nature, it will likely be in the form of a written Chieftain's Hatch article on my column, as opposed to a video.

[@cccpredarmy]

Keith Smith judging from your words it sounds like none of those women had even one simple argument to join the army

[@Marchand848]

My favourite term “service the target”. Love it

[@strangerinastrangeland8026]

That gear shift struggle :'D Pure comedy gold! :'D

[@rckchp]

The verbal commentary is good info but the music background makes it hard to watch. Do this series again but lose the music.

[@grey9191]

Great video. I am in awe of these Soviet tankers. I have heard that there was a height restriction - and they could be no more than 5'4' tall. After seeing this video I can believe it. But please, why, why, why the droning bloody awful background music! for 25 minutes!! nearly drove me mad. Remove it please.

[@ThePaulfullTruth]

And anyone know how tall our host is?

[@TES99911]

@@ThePaulfullTruth he is 6ft8

[@fatalmokrane]

Such a beautiful tank, a true classic

[@The1piotr]

ładnie opowiedziane , ładnie pokazanie ... dziękujemy

[@franzkoviakalak6981]

these are very enjoyable, thank you. music is however distracting and unnecessary.

[@jamesdunn3864]

Brilliant video! Am I right in thinking that the T-34 was ahead of most other tank designs in WWII in as much as it used a diesel engine and thereby had a much reduced risk of caching fire?

[@douglaswaggoner7487]

Total respect for the tankers!

[@alpha2874]

I just feel sad for him when he tries to change the gear, like you could see that struggle and pain in him, but he did a good job at explaining about the tank, thanks for the vid! :)

[@ex59neo53]

Music should have been turned off while driving the tank .

[@brucetucker4847]

Chieftain: this tank seems to have been designed for the needs of the state with little regard for the crew. Uncle Joe: Excellent feedback, comrade. You will have much time to further develop this line of thought in Siberia.

[@herosstratos]

Bruce Tucker kzbin.info/www/bejne/npaUqJ5nprOBbJo

[@mishacol]

Siberia was the safest place in WW2.

[@brucetucker4847]

@@mishacol Not in many of the camps. Few of them had death rates as bad as front-line combat units, but most people weren't in front-line combat units. You'd be a lot better off and safer as a truck driver or factory worker.

[@vespelian5274]

That music is melting my brain!

[@rinsedpie]

Excellent. This link shows glimpses of a well-maintained interior of a functional T-34... used dysfunctionally

[@butchs.4239]

Seeing that this one was well maintained was a surprise. From the videos Chieftain has done at Kubinka, the interiors mostly look like the tanks were just pulled out of a lake rather than being kept in a museum.

[@townsville69]

Love these tank vids. Great work. The music track does detract some what. Overly repetitive and drowned out the sound of the engine. I want to hear the tanks diesel song.

[@Zamolxes77]

The music dubbed on the video is a distraction, very annoying. Also you really get a feel of the thing, people operating it must have been very small.

[@ps2hacker]

I saw something where they were able to interview a former T-34 commander (I'm not sure if it was the old 2 man, or the 3 man crewed version), but he said they worked out a system where he put his feet on his driver's shoulders, and by nudging the driver, he could get the driver to turn wherever he wanted. That makes sense. I saw something else about a German Tiger tank ace named Wittman, and had an insight about his ability. He was already an ace in Stugs, which, as you know, are turretless. So in a Stug, to turn the gun, you have to pivot the whole track. The thing with that is, the track can actually pivot a bunch faster than a tank's turret can traverse (at least in those days), and if you can aim that way, you can pick out targets a bunch faster in a battle. But doing this requires a coordinated team effort, since the driver is in control of the azimuth, and the gunner can only control the elevation, or the range. So, the commander has to coordinate the two of them, such that the movement of the whole thing becomes fluid, it's not that easy to do. And as I had that insight, they mentioned that Wittman took his crew from the Stugs with him everywhere he went. And they wanted him to get out of combat, and train new tank crews, where he would have been far more useful. But he didn't go for that for very long, he felt his place was back on the battlefield, where he was killed. But I can just picture him and his crew in Tiger, and what made him so good: he would still pivot the whole tank around to pick targets, very, very quickly. And all the while, he would just leave the turret facing forwards, and wouldn't bother to traverse it all, using the Tiger tank like a big Stug. So I am thinking that those Russians had the same idea with the feet on the driver's shoulders, that's actually a brilliant idea, if that was the case.

[@WildBillCox13]

I found this video both amusing and informative.

[@tsimon1234]

I realise that, cos this tank is old and a museum piece, it's working parts are gonna be a lot tougher to use than on a "young" T-34-85... but all the same, that thing looks like a pig to drive!

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

tsimon1234 I've driven some very pleasant museum pieces as well. I would probably have to take a sample of T-34s for a firm conclusion.

[@Jayui22]

TheChieftainWoT Yeah, T-34 components (especially the gear stick) were not supposed to be that hard. They weren't very light either, but you were able to change gears with one strong pull or push, as opposed to suffering from this.

[@jwenting]

TheChieftainWoT  probably someone forgot to lube it recently, or the lube used was too thick for the weather conditions so it doesn't work properly (had that once with my car. It'd been delivered from the factory in Spain with lubricants appropriate for Spanish summer weather, 30+ Celcius. In the northern European winter it started to congeal making the doors open sluggishly. Remains that it wasn't designed with crew comfort in mind, especially for people who were a bit taller than short, as the video shows. Then again, I'd not be surprised if a lot of Soviet crews were relatively short. The 1920s in the USSR were characterised by famines. Famines cause children to grow slower, leading to an adult population 15-20 years later (so right around the time of WW2) that is shorter than it would have been without that famine. If the T-34 were designed for the average height of the Soviet late teen/early 20s aged male of the time (as seems likely, why deliberately design something people will have trouble using) it wouldn't be a huge stretch to conclude that that average male was relatively short based on those two pieces of historical data. Having met several Soviet WW2 veterans over the years, they indeed all do seem rather short, corroborating that even further.

[@deadpan237]

jwenting i'm told russian military drafts shorter men specifically for tank duty.

[@justforever96]

I thought of that too. Although he also wasn't squeezing the gearshift locking lever to disengage it, which probably didn't help.

[@vladbcom]

Seriously, cut the music out guys. It hurts. I feel traumatized, actually TUTUDU TUTUDU TUTUDU TUTU TATTI TI TI

[@drTERRRORRR]

Love the anegdote about starting up the monument.

[@Pasteurpipette]

*Dog barks* Ten seconds later: "Oh my god, the tank is on fire!"

[@attrapper1]

Gear shifters were probably desgned for burly men who wrestle bears or something.

[@angelmarkovo]

Frequently gear were shifted with help from radioman, who didn't have anything else to do (commander actually talked by radio).

[@mqbitsko25]

The Russians love pneumatic starters. They do that with planes too. Why? WINTER! Batteries don't like cold.

[@HanSolo__]

?Yeah! Winter - was the best Russian tank of WW2. No Lend-Lease and no winter = no Soviets then, no Russia now. T-34 was BY FAR THE WORST TANK USED IN WW2! How could such coffin made for tens of thousands of people still be claimed as a "good" design Chieftain never told you? Soviets send T-34 into the USA. "Build it for us and for you" The design was rejected after the initial inspection in the first few hours and send back with a note. "No equipment at all, no place for crew members, armor plates made of poor steel alloy - not tempered at all. Aside only from gun initial kinetic energy, no good will come from this layout even if redesigned and rebuild." The reason why M4 from Lend-Lease program always went into command officers - because it was reliable, safe, comfortable and used an accurate gun.

[@user-tj9vp8re4d]

@@HanSolo__ you probably didn`t know about italian and japanese tanks as well as late german tanks half of wich can`t even sustain working condition so with "worst tank of ww" you mean just worse then sherman and maybe pz4\panter? nice bias

[@haroldfiedler6549]

The pneumatic starter had NOTHING to do with winter weather. It had to do with carrying a huge set of batteries to turn the starter motor. Given how cramped the conditions were in the tank, where the hell would you have put them? The Germans had the same problem. Their answer was the inertial starter. The crew would insert a crank handle into the rear of the tank and turn it until enough rotational inertia was built up to start the engine. The other thing is, even if you could find a place for those batteries, you could easily burn out the starter motor by using it too much. Especially if there were some mechanical problem keeping the tank from starting. Nowadays, tanks are outfitted with huge starter motors and a huge bank of batteries. But you can still burn out the starter motor is you push your luck.

[@haroldfiedler6549]

One thing I forgot to mention is think about the extra resources needed to mine the lead and other materials needed for a big bank of batteries. And the manufacturing. Having a pneumatic or inertia starting system saved both sides a huge logistical nightmare.

[@tovar-alcoholic]

@@HanSolo__ Worst tank?American propaganda washed you brain?

[@flybager]

Chiefchain's my favorite teacher.

[@56ya]

excellent video. that tank is really claustrophobic, i don't want to think what it felt like in battle being in there.

[@ElephantRage]

I now officially suffer of claustrophobia. To go in battle in that deathtrap must have been an unspeakable anguish.

[@Airrivalsgamer]

wow soviet drivers must have been strong end very very flexible to get out

[@panzerking1218]

why do you think most soviet T-34 drivers were originally circus contortionists?

[@TheCanadianOpjin]

Russian gymnastics!

[@fortuna19]

Soviets succeeded in the eastern front due to their efficiency in producing tank and tank crew. The Germans couldn't keep up. By yeah the tankers would have to pretty flexible and strong

[@KevinSmith-qi5yn]

On paper the PzIV was inferior to the T-34. In practice it put up a fight primarily because of crew operation.

[@comrade110397]

or, you know, really short

[@jimyoung7090]

Thank you for the comments on crew training.

[@oxxnarrdflame8865]

Great video, I do feel claustrophobic watching you inside the tank.

[@mandolinic]

Interesting, but I couldn't watch all the way through, because the music was driving me mad! Interesting content doesn't need background music,

[@PPC4]

Could you please turn the music volume down, or off it's getting too intrusive and drowning out your voice a bit. Thanks.

[@Novous]

18:32 OMG. AHAHHAHA. The tongue! THE TONGUE! I do the EXACT same thing when I'm focused on something intense without thinking about it.

[@digitalincometactics9858]

very interesting learned some details about the vehicle thanks Nicholas Moran!

[@clintonscottwalsh]

I would love to see a show like this but on tanks been hit by anti tank weapon, and see the damage and the science to it all.. anti tank weapons vs armour

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

Suspect that 'crew turned into charcoal by white-hot metal squirting into tank before ammo cooks off' might work?

[@thebgpikester]

Not sure if the music loop or the gear stick were worse, but this was extremely entertaining, thank you WG.

[@BungieStudios]

4:15 Love it. TC came out there.

[@udorechner6846]

Awesome video. For so many years i'm looking for some footage of the T-34/85 interieuer., and i'm afraigth of how cramped these tanks were. It must be a nightmare going into battle with these...