Inside the German A7V WW1 Tank I THE GREAT WAR On The Road

[@DemonOfGadara]

"Theres smoke and noise and everybody's half naked, two guys throw up" Sounds like the usual ride home from a party :D

[@projectpitchfork860]

Or Karneval in Germany.

[@James2005.]

Project Pitchfork HA!

[@blankblank5409]

Literally

[@shark180]

That's nuts. Inside that tank you had the crew, the driver, the commander, the pigeon guy, his replacement, the replacement pigeons, a man in a pigeon costume, a spare costume, the tank commander's mother in law, an Oompah band, a master brewer, a beer maiden, a Festmaster, a Frau, a replacement Frau, and the Festmaster's mother in law.

[@KnowYoutheDukeofArgyll1841]

Let's not forget the Bavarian dancers to go with the Oompah band.

[@chrisca]

And the little boy who cleans everyone's boots for a coin

[@Trowa71]

And the replacement little boy who cleans everyone's boots for a coin. And the coins.

[@melancholymelon5316]

R,I,P speckled Jim the carrier pigeon

[@MrBigbri2011]

@@melancholymelon5316 If you know, you know ;-)

[@Mixail747]

It was a great pleasure to listen to Ralf Raths!

[@ciuyr2510]

he`s quite "listen" worthy .... the accent nails it

[@kurtisprice3418]

Mikhail Evtushenko. Feuer Der Panzer!

[@DerOrk]

I feel like I've seen the guy appear in like a million WWII documentaries.

[@dragonsword7370]

That's very true!

[@Davrin]

The German David Fletcher!

[@flyeaglesfly1994]

This guy is SO German. Mannerisms, subtle humor and kind. Love the Germans.

[@GermanLegoFan]

Fly Eagles Fly 😂😂😂

[@ricoricardo4850]

Fly Eagles Fly trank you

[@wolverine1294]

Thank u

[@linusfotograf]

I was just going to comment on this! He is very clear and correct too. ;-)

[@gehtdichnixan3200]

​@LUNAR BLOODDROP if we dont like you we insult you in your face as well ;)

[@poshboy4749]

The explanation of the tank's name is the most German thing I have ever heard!

[@speevoli6315]

Stereotypes becoming true^^ Greetings from Germany 😘

[@sebastianhartung4407]

true, very true

[@jelkel25]

The most German thing I've ever heard was a German guy getting angry because a British train had turned up late quickly followed by the most un-German thing, the same German guy looking crest fallen as he realised while he was bellowing about the trains lateness on the platform all the seats on said train had been taken.

[@fristnamelastname5549]

Poshboy What did you expect? If there was a trophy or World Record of the most Harriet Names to read or Write or say. Germany would crush that Record or Take the Trophy. After all they could put it next to there World War Champions display.

[@pavelpipowitsch6011]

Yeeees. But to be fair, "Mark I-IV" isn't really creative or fancy either....

[@notmenotme614]

“Grandpapa, what did you do during the war” ? “I was the pigeons guy”

[@balticpagan1495]

Not gona lie, if i could i would become the pigeons guy

[@tedse21]

The A7V is in Brisbane Australia. It is name Mephisto. In 2011 it was moved to avoid being caught in floods and underwent an long and detailed restoration at the railway workshops. They are the same people who restore and maintain our old historic steam engines. It is back at the Queensland museum near the centre of Brisbane and is free to view.

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

I remember when Mephisto was parked out the front of the museum and as a kid I'd climb on it with my classmates during school excursions.

[@gargoyle7863]

@@goodshipkaraboudjan Glad it's now better preserved than back in your school days. 😅

[@joeyj6808]

gtfo! that's nuts! thanks for sharing that info. Now I have a reason to visit the land of Oz!

[@servinglooks247]

A video with my favourite tank and my favourite American-Belgian-German-Russian-Swedish youtuber named Indy.( i dont think there is another similar guy)

[@thecourier231]

Akos Gergely Indy's a real mutt.

[@Hubert_Cumberdale_]

TheCourier lol

[@scottleft3672]

After the 7 years war, many like him moved to the Americas.

[@pilot1721]

You seen the real one of these

[@lucassegovia1669]

@Max Damage of course you're latin

[@sreckocuvalo8110]

''The gun is, depending on who you ask is either belgian, swedish, russian or english.'' ''Its kind off like me.'' LoL

[@joecool5784]

Srećko Čuvalo i laughed out loud

[@LocalHeretic-ck1kd]

me too :)

[@Hubert_Cumberdale_]

Yeah that was pretty funny ;)

[@gothamgoon4237]

It's a Belgian made 57mm gun. The original is in my neck of the woods. Australia.

[@1930fordman]

Srećko Čuvalo bb

[@TheRinzler2]

That guys enthusiasm and energy is absolutely nuts. It love to hang out with him in real life

[@Cancun771]

Munster is where I had my basic military training in the early 90s with the tank reconnaissance school and the museum was a great little gem even back then! Compliments to Ralf for his great idiomatic English. No language barrier stopping him there.

[@DasPanzermuseum]

Thanks very much, that's very nice. All hail Netflix. /RR

[@NickRatnieks]

18-23 crew members- that's not a crew, it's a mobile army. You could always play nine a side football and still have a referee or three and subs- very clever way of staving off boredom.

[@Cancun771]

Or just jump out of the box and be two (nauseated) squads of infantry.

[@NickRatnieks]

I get the impression, that they were in the box to avoid being the "poor bloody infantry". I was impressed by the armament that the men had which seemed to include piano accordions.They would sound great inside that steel box.

[@klobiforpresident2254]

Little known fact, the Trojans actually were gifted an A7V.

[@leepalmer1210]

If you had this thin roll up on your pillbox and ot has a big cannon and six machine guns firing yoid be fucked, if you needed more whoopass, all the crew could jump out and add to your discomfort.

[@Skilltagz]

Okay but everyone missed that there were almost Imperial German walkers?

[@scottleft3672]

That aplies to Soviet tanks too.

[@jidk6565]

Explain

[@kingdomofvinland8827]

I want to see the walker designs

[@mora8251]

We were steps away from Wolfenstein lmao

[@fortheloveofnoise]

​@@mora8251 We were steps away from The Empire.

[@jorgenbrandt5739]

My son and I went to the Panzermuseum last year, and it was a great experience. We will be back 😊

[@pbryan1967]

The tank which still exists in Australia is called “Mephisto”. It was captured by an Australian unit and sent back to Brisbane, Australia. For a long time it was displayed outside the Brisbane museum. I remember staring at it as a kid thinking “that doesn’t look anything like a tank 🤔” LOL. It’s now in a different museum somewhere in Australia.

[@alexanderdickson419]

It is still at the Queensland Museum, but the museum itself shifted from Bowen Hills to a new building at South Bank in 1986.

[@intothenight756d47]

The curator is so proud (arrogant?) about the virtues of the A7V. It was captured by the Australians at the battle of Villers-Bretonneux when it got stuck in the mud and the crew ran away. It is now in the Australian War Memorial.

[@nickpotts5378]

@@intothenight756d47 its at the queensland museum in southbank

[@johnbockelie3899]

" Ach !!, Hans drop dat beer, und get der shoe horn , it's time to get der crew in der tank !!!". How did they get that many men in that tank?.

[@midlandgeordie]

It is inside the museum in Brisbane

[@Finnatese]

Can Germans be any less villian-y: The guy has a pony tail and is wearing a black turtle neck under a black blazer. As he started talking I half expected James Bond to swoop in and karate chop him on the back of the neck

[@Autovaz2104]

Wir haben damals dem Falzmeyer mit harter Faust und dem Torso eines totes Iltis beigebracht, dass er im Aufzug nicht flatulieren darf. Er schrie, er schrie laut, doch nach der Behandlung mit dem Iltis gab er nach. Zur Feier hüpften wir auf blankem Hintern durch den Ort Schlemmbach und hieben uns dabei ins Gesicht.

[@James2005.]

Samsampf Ummmmmmmmmmm 🤨

[@Autovaz2104]

@@James2005. Dich kenne ich, Du aaltest den Lembeck! 🤨

[@scottleft3672]

Villain-ous...and yes...the dude from Die -hard...oh wait, thats his older bruder.

[@blankblank5409]

No. It makes them look badass

[@X-Prime123]

If these two taught one history class together, everyone would sign up to listen and learn.

[@michaelfurgessons2896]

Excellent video! Ralf was a joy to hear,very interesting! Well the museum channel is only in German you say,well i guess gotta go find my old German text books and glossaries!

[@janwacawik7432]

Many thanks to the Great War crew and Mr. Raths for this great video! As always, very informative and as interesting as humanly possible. Can we count on more specials featuring Mr. Raths?

[@danrooc]

Many years ago I tried to figure out how this tanks really looked like. I depended on few old books ilustrations, blurry photos and scarece other material. Now I can almost see through its gun eyesight. Wonderful!

[@djackmanson]

Woah, I saw that original A7V ("Mephisto") outside the Queensland Museum heaps of times when I lived in Brisbane. I had no idea it was not only original, but the only surviving original!

[@markmark63]

The point about German paying the license for the "Caterpillar" type tracks leads to the interesting subject of war time trade between enemies. Throughout WW1, the British supplied rubber to Germany (from its sources in the empire), and Germany supplied Optical lenses and other military goods to the UK. It was usually (but not always) traded via a Swiss intermediary, but both governments knew that the goods supplied would be used for military purposes against them. As you said - Capitalism does not stop for war.

[@joeyj6808]

Which is why all hands turned against the heroic Bolsheviks in 1917. But Trotsky still built a victorious Red Army despite that!

[@annairinastoll2960]

Little correction: In WW1 the German Navy wasnt called the "Kriegsmarine", but the "Kaiserliche Marine" (Imperial Navy) But Nice video and im stunned by the knowledge of this guy.

[@comsubpac]

It was used though to distinguish the Kriegsmarine (war navy) from the Handelsmarine (merchants). The same way the Term Wehrmacht has always been used for armed forces even before Hitler.

[@i3lackfusion]

comsubpac that’s simply wrong. The name Wehrmacht wasn’t used for the German army at all before him. It was the Reichswehr before he changed its name

[@paavobergmann4920]

maybe that´s the reason why he became chief curator of the museum collection? ;-)

[@theodorkorner1497]

@@i3lackfusion Not as an official name but as an demotic one.

[@sishims5066]

9:02 "And sometimes..." I was half expecting him to say they took a field cook along with them!

[@zeppelinboys]

might as well, why not throw another couple bodies in there? how about a regimental artist?

[@grooms2004]

@@zeppelinboysmean while in the background: shouldn’t you guys let some people out before we die due to carbon monoxide? driver; quite sanitater, you want to go through no mans land without armor?

[@philly83]

I had no idea just how advanced this was for its time. This is incredible.

[@jasonrodriguez3630]

"Peace broke out." Poor Germans lol

[@Dostwyn]

I think that's a Monty Python reference. In the "killer joke" sketch, they also say "In 1945, peace broke out."

[@blankblank5409]

😔

[@jimboonie9885]

😔

[@CDoolan96]

I think I actually came across that Tank in the Canberra war museum. If anyone is visiting Australia make sure and check the place out. The set up and the pieces they have on display are amazing.

[@OldFellaDave]

It was only there temporarily, it lives at the Railway Workshop Museum at Ipswich but is soon to be moved to a permanent display at the Queensland Museum (where it was fro about 70 odd years previously) - but still go to the AWM in Canberra. Its one of the greatest War Museums in the world and every Australian should visit it at least once in their lives!

[@priestleyharker4046]

David Read it lives in the Queensland museum in Brisban, it was in Ipswich for storage so it's new home could be built.

[@priestleyharker4046]

David Read Ipswich only had the tank for a few years, it's always been in Brisbane. It was there after the 2011 floods as it was damaged. It was originally outside the Queensland museum near the Ekka show grounds, then was moved to southbank in the early 80s to the new museum. It never belonged in Ipswich.

[@RedtailFox1]

@@priestleyharker4046 indeed, and it only went to the Ipswich railway workshops for conservation after the 2011 floods because the Ipswich workshops had cranes capable of lifting it and were/are experienced with working on old gear like that, since they maintain Queensland's fleet of operational steam locomotives and other gear. A lot of those skills carry over into working on tanks from that era

[@TheGreatDrAsian]

"Of course, you need your pigeons guy!" 😂😂😂😂😂

[@fristnamelastname5549]

TheGreatDrAsian But the important Question is: Where is the drummer? We need music in that tank.

[@joelwilcox6931]

In all that din? Only bagpipes will do

[@TheSpritz0]

OUTSTANDING video, we only DREAMED of this type of tour before!!!!

[@earlescourt66]

The guy is brilliant! His knowledge on the subject is very impressive and enthusiasm is infectious and he gets this across in his second language!

[@diegotapia2830]

damm peace always ruinning the fun for the germans

[@wesmorrisonbrickfilms]

Diego Tapia Germany fought against the odds and pummeled them all, but died to starvation.

[@olebergst.5828]

Peace? You mean preparation time?

[@joelwilcox6931]

Yeah, I agree. Brai is barbecue

[@scottleft3672]

@@wesmorrisonbrickfilms Stop deluding yourself.

[@polemisch1046]

Dont do this trash talk. You dont know anything about the past and the truth.

[@baldyman1965]

Ralf is a very knowledgeable and passionate guy when talking about his tanks. This has been a great episode. Thank you.

[@Spartaner251]

the end of the episode was awesome, you should do this more often to show some of the crew working hard behind the scenes !

[@adriang6259]

This was probably your best video of the war. Great interview.

[@matthewtippo203]

I just remembered, when I was a kid you could see the bullet scars, on this tank at the Queensland Musium. The bullet points of ricochet were at different angles and about 10mm deep groves like worms. WW1 bullets were powerful. A thought to that this was a weapon manned by real human beings. It made think what these bullets could do to flesh. Maybe all children should see these relics. Be less war that way lol ! .

[@jaydub51512]

Spectacular episode with a fascinating narration from Ralf Raths!

[@richeppler6894]

I visited this museum in 1994. The collection is very impressive. The best part of the trip was a ride in the Leopard II standing in the Commander’s hatch. It was hard to believe something that large and extremely heavy could move as fast as it did.

[@mickmaxtube]

Indeed we have the only surviving A7 in the world here in Brisbane, Australia. Named "Mephisto", this beast of war has enthralled many visitors to the museum ( especially when they had it sitting next to a replica T-Rex dinosaur ). Thanks TGW and thanks Munster.

[@harrisonpierce751]

I thought it was in Canberra

[@amsuther]

@@harrisonpierce751 was for the end of WW1 Centenary at the AWM. He's back in Brisbane settled in at Southbank, saw it a couple of weeks ago and still looking impressive!

[@brokenbridge6316]

A long but wonderfully informative video. The German tank seemed to have only a few flaws. Less than most WWI. I wonder "What if" the Germans had managed to produce a lot more of these tanks and create a real German Tank corps during WWI. What kind of effect would it have have on the war or even history. It sounds fascinating.

[@crash-testproductions9341]

They nearly created the K Wagen, a fortress of steel with 4 canons and 7 machineguns. Too bad the thing was so heavy it had to be transported in 30 tons packages, be assembled near the front and then only it would SLOWLY run to the battlefield to see some action. But the thing is : they couldn't create more. The main reason they had so few tanks was because of how little resources they had due to the blockades around them. An alternate history in which they had more tanks would have mean no blockades, and so a totally different battlefield, history and everything from the World War we knew. So it would be less an alternate history and more of an alternate universe.

[@derrattenjunge]

I am so glad this channel exists!

I can brag and say that i have touched and spent time with Mephisto in Australia, I had tears in it's presence, proud of my heritage.,

[@QALibrary]

we coming up to the very first Tank vs Tank engagement in history ~ Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux 24 to 25 April 1918

[@MrFrogNo3]

QALibrary memoirs of the battle: www.firstworldwar.com/diaries/whentankfoughttank.htm

[@andrewhart6377]

Germany had no tank left for its History collection so they asked the Australians if they could copy one they had in their collection(Mephisto).

[@daktari]

Now the only thing left is to go to Saumur and do something on the Renault FT, the Schneider CA1 and the Saint Chamond. And go drive around in them.

[@TheGreatWar]

recently checked that out. It's a 14 hour drive and there is nothing else related to ww1 in the area. A real pitty

[@IntyMichael]

We have a Renault tank at the Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung over here in Koblenz. Also a lot of fire arms and guns. Maybe it's worth a trip for you guys. www.vffwts.de/ein-einblick.html

[@Rex660173]

Just got my A7V Model from Cobi and love this Video over this iconic Vehicle. Ralph is just a nice guy to listen to.

[@TheAurelianProject]

Honestly this video has made me appreciate this tank a lot more

[@01Mattress]

I would argue that the A7V could be an early example of an armoured personnel carrier or possibly an infantry fighting vehicle. Although not suited for trench warfare, it might have done well in urban warfare.

[@Mike-tg7dj]

Man! It's amazing to think that tanks really haven't changed that much. They still have to be transported by rail. That's a lot of fun. I can't tell you how many times I've crossed Germany by rail with our tracks. They still get stuck in the mud. They still outrun the infantry, artillery ,support, and occasionally they accidentally fire on their own troops. That last one happens more often than you think.

[@derpreue3947]

Hallo Indy Vielen Dank - Jetzt weiß ich. Tolles Video Ralf - Danke für die Einführung in A7V in der Tat sehr interessant und Ralf sehr sachkundiger Mann.

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

My favorite WW1 tank! It really is a shame more weren't built. But the whole thing about how the crew was gathered could make a great TV series. Focusing on how soldiers of various background enlist to be tankers for various reasons. initially lack camaraderie but later bands together. The crew protest about the lack of resources placed on tank production and training etc.

[@MaxwellBenson80]

Two highly knowledgeable gentlemen who have a love of the great war. I'd love to be able to visit that place.

[@combain]

Hi, Indy and team! Big thanks for the episode about A7V tank. Here is a question for out of the trenches. Could you please tell us at least anything about other german tank projects such as LK-I, LK-II, K-Wagen (KolossalWagen) and Oberschilesien (Upper Silesia)? Thanks in forward. Love the show.

[@davidshepherd397]

I have been to the DPM in Germany, and both the town and the museum are fantastic. I stayed at a hotel the KaiserHof and can recommend this place to everyone, the room, the food and the beer garden were all delightful. Sorry got into memories for a moment, the Museum has a great collection and is very well laid out. A must for everyone that is in the area.

[@cartridgegram]

I’m very lucky, I used to live 5 minutes down the road from the Ipswich railway museum in Australia, Queensland where that original A7V is! It is being kept in a giant air bubble to preserve it!

[@ArdnuR]

Great video! Probably my favourite from all the "On the road" series.

[@generallegomacleo8986]

Wow Korean subtitles are the best

[@klobiforpresident2254]

TFW Berlin is apparently next to Pyongyang.

[@rgm96x49]

The Supreme Leader demands his subs and he will get them.

[@tyuiopt0]

they're auto generated as well so I imagine they're amazing

[@pikkozoikum8523]

@@rgm96x49 but he is able to speak german? :-|

[@potrzebieneuman4702]

As a child growing up in Brisbane Australia I visited the Queensland Museum many times with my family and always gazed at the A7V as it sat outside the museum under a tin roof. Fascinating.

[@Statusinator]

Hope there'll be a Renault FT video at some point

[@theasherroseman]

Statusinator Just came out boi. Check his “french tanks” vid.

[@marksturm6568]

I love ralph's voice. Great video!

[@iamaheretic7829]

That one dislike is from a mark IV crew man

[@joelwilcox6931]

Explain to me exactly how a A7V crosses trenches...

[@i3lackfusion]

Joel Wilcox it doesn’t.

[@LilBigBriggi]

@@joelwilcox6931 it wasn't meant to. It just shoots it up. 😂👌

[@pilot1721]

@@LilBigBriggi first tank on tank warfare was a British victory

[@nomnomxddd8157]

@@pilot1721 nobody said it wasn't

[@bogdan6785]

Absolutely fascinating episode. Great job!

[@ekmalsukarno2302]

Hi Indy and Flo, can you please make a video special on zouaves and tirailleurs. They are soldiers from French colonial Africa. I bet your fans will be very interested in this topic.

[@nicobruin8618]

Ekmal Sukarno a special video about french soldiers from Indochina, or the foreign Legion in general would also be nice.

[@jimsanderson4180]

I agree. I would love to learn about the colonial troops.

[@zeppelinboys]

ive wondered about them as well. ive read many refrences to them from Poilu to Jack Sheldons The German Army at.... series.

[@masonlexioneill2386]

loveed listening to this guy chat to indi inside the tank, felt like we were all sitting around together listening

[@HS-su3cf]

They stuffed so many guys inside, they wouldn't be thrown around, due to lack of space.

[@commonpepe2270]

it's all about using the packaging material efficiently i guess

[@klobiforpresident2254]

Like human bubble wrap?

[@gothamgoon4237]

I consider the A7V the worlds first armoured personnel carrier.

[@magnusgranskau7487]

@@klobiforpresident2254 you think you could pop the air from human bubble wrap?

[@paavobergmann4920]

@@magnusgranskau7487 you can. It´s just not nearly as fun.

[@centuriomacro9787]

Before this Episode I knew nearly nothing about the A7V, now I feel well imformed, great Video :D

[@mimikal7548]

Surely the same guy could handle the pigeon and the light.

[@paavobergmann4920]

This is germany. You have a higly trained pigeon handler, and a highly trained lights operator, and both of them would rather bite their tongue off than lower themselves to doing the others job. Also, command would insist on 2 gus hired, because specifications call for pidgeons to be handled and a light to be operated, so these are clearly 2 different jobs, so logically, 2 guys get hired. You cant hire 1 guy for 2 job descriptions. That´s just not how it works. This is public service after all, and besides, we´ve never done that, so? ;-) ;-)

[@deathekyle]

Great Video. Very informative . More information on this tank than anywhere else I can find. Thanks Indy and crew!

[@rvanhees89]

11:14 'the Germans always want the most complex engineering' And that's coming from a German XD

[@scottleft3672]

He is so very Prussian, really.

[@fluffybilly]

When I was a kid “Mephisto “ , the original tank, was outside the museum in Brisbane in QLD and you could play on it, which we did until we were chased away.

[@killzoneisa]

When i was a kid i saw the real one when it was at the Queensland Museum so i was lucky to see it.

[@thefuck7175]

Its coming back soon

[@planetfonz]

I remember climbing all over that when it was at the older museum along gregory terrace near the showgrounds! great fun as a kid

[@domdouse3575]

Still yet to return to Queensland museum

[@charlesnolan7602]

Ralf Raths explained in engaging details the history of the German tank, used during WW I. Thanks Indy, for ANOTHER Great GREAT WAR field trip!

[@Cybermat47]

I was lucky enough to see Mephisto, the last original A7V, at the Australian War Memorial. Massive thing. Still has the bullet holes.

[@LeFeuauxpoudres]

Seriously one of the best episode! I learn a lot, and I definitivly put that museum on my list to visit! Thank you!

[@Rowanbows]

er spricht echt gut fließend englisch und den deutschen akzent, um den er sich nicht schert, finde ich sehr sympathisch.

[@chicoL7]

Wow, that was really incredible! I have been to many museums & watched many videos like this one & both the museum director & the host were great, leaps beyond the ordinary. Subscribed to this channel.

[@-----REDACTED-----]

A7V = Abteilung 7 Verkehrswesen Abteilung: Department Verkehrswesen: Transportation So Department 7 Transportation

[@maxb8043]

7th department

[@scottleft3672]

The Omnibus, was in mind....the Kombi was it's grandchild.

[@denizbeytekin9853]

thanks !!!

[@tricksor6589]

D7T

[@TheGeneralOf501]

Can you make an extra video on Ernst Jünger? He was a german infantry officer on the western front, wounded around 9 times, awarded with the knights cross of the Hohenzollern, and the pour le merite as one of only 11 infantry officers. He survived the war and wrote a very famous book about it, "In Stahlgewittern". He has a very interesting life and he simply was one of the bravest soldiers I know.

[@HughieMunro]

This guy is so German he sounds like an Englishman trying to do an impression of a German.

[@Autovaz2104]

Scorpions-english

[@scottleft3672]

No, not even close mein frunde....he travells, and he isn't a museum automaton....a German says "MEEETERS" a lot, eg Kilo--meters, where Brits say miles...or Kilometers...or Ka-loma-ah's!...kilometers were known as German miles in the 1800's.

[@onemanarmysswampparty]

Alan Rickman did it better

[@WestfaliaStuff]

Ralf is such an excellent chap.

[@indianajones4321]

Great job as usual

[@fristnamelastname5549]

Indiana Jones And Usual for World War One is a stalemate.

[@briantayler1230]

Gidday, the tank they are talking about us "Mephisto". It sat in the open in the gardens of the old Brisbane Museum until the 1980's. As a child, I climbed onto this tank many times. It now resides at the Australian War Museum, after being conserved at the Ipswich railway workshops. They left the battle damage untouched.

[@wilhelmofcharlotte772]

Another fine piece of German engineering.

[@fristnamelastname5549]

William Mann To bad they lost the War tho. If Germany did win the World would be a different place.

[@Raptor747]

...kind of. The A7V was a really badly designed tank, overall. It was very bad at traversing trenches or rough ground (due to its small, short, and narrow tracks), it was overweight for its role, and it was larger and heavier than it needed to be. It was also too expensive to make more than a handful of. By contrast, the Mark V and RT-17 (IIRC, can't recall what its exact name was) were simpler, cheaper, better at traversing trenches and rough terrain, and didn't have a stupidly large crew. Notably, the Mark V had two cannons, too, while the RT-17 had a rully rotating turret-mounted cannon.

[@bencejuhasz6459]

The A7V was overall a better machine,and more ergonomic than it's British counterparts. But the lack of trench crossing capability and high center of mass made it unsuitable for the typical Western Front battlefield of the 1st World War.And that's quite a drawback.

[@thefuck7175]

They were handmade

[@zoperxplex]

Not.

[@JohnWaldron-cm7ce]

Wunderbar! Fascinating video on a very esoteric vehicle! Danke sehr! John in Texas

[@sshep86]

The thumbnail is very romantic. ;)

[@fristnamelastname5549]

Steve Sheppard War was Romantic too then World War One happened.

[@japeking1]

You lot are doing something right, managing to make early German tanks interesting. Well done and thanks.

[@TheInternetBlows]

Actually I think the origin of the name A7V is pretty cool! I like that kind of stuff. An uninspired bureaucratic notation eventually became the legend that is the A7V tank!

[@redconnor3629]

I've always wanted to learn about this tank since it so rare, thank you so much for doing this!

[@priestleyharker4046]

I worked on the mephisto A7V here in Brisbane Australia, the only surviving example. Jelly? Yeah you jelly

[@hasaki5474]

The mephisto broke down and was captured by australians in 1917 if i recall correctly. He/she probably meant that they maintained the tank.

[@gasmaskguys4965]

Its a pretty neato piece of equipment, saw it last at the history museum in Brisbane city

[@nekman8521]

I just went to that museum yesterday. Never thought the tanks were that big, loved the Goliath.

[@hypolyxa7207]

Ralf was great!

[@Colinpark]

An excellent video with all sorts of fascinating details, I have learned a lot, thank you!

[@ihateemael]

as a child I played on "Mephisto". Fascinating history.

[@javasrevenge7121]

I love every upload of this channel, a big thank you to you again :)

[@colonel1003]

Also according to battlefield 1 it can fly

[@Roamor1]

Great episode, very informative.

[@johntheknight3062]

Seeing tank in WW1 for the first time must have been like seeing UFO today.

[@Anomaly-uz9pr]

Pretty much imagine huge metal monster smoking and extremely loud slowly coming at you and you have almost no idea what it even is

[@angiefav1847]

This was awesome love this programme enjoyed every minute thanks

[@carlosmiranda2889]

Why at time 3:26 you see what appears to be swastikas in the body of the "tanks" or is another insignia?

[@eagleone493]

It does have the German "Iron Cross" painted on it

[@AsG_4_]

I saw it too.. it looks a bit different

[@klassehkhornate9636]

Carlos Miranda iron cross is more like putting a pictographs of the Medal of Honor on the tank

[@joelwilcox6931]

The iron cross has existed long before the Third Reich

[@GDLamb42]

The first 2 photos do appear to have Swastikas painted on, weird.

[@con6951]

Amazing video ralf was very knowledgeable and explained the tank very well!

[@CaptainAwesome-mz6mt]

My country has the last A7V tank, *YAAAAAAAY!*

[@kyedamant1323]

*you mean my state*

[@bryce4724]

Thanks for mentioning the stolen one we have in australia, it was the first tank i ever saw and got me interested in tanks to start with. Its a very important piece of history and important for generating interest in history and tanks. I love the lil guy

[@boneclawwalker3778]

They didn't steal it they adopted it :)