Chernobyl Tank Assault

It's not widely known, but during the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, WW2-era Soviet armour was called upon to attack the damaged reactor. Find out why here, and why many of these heavy assault guns lie abandoned at the site today.
Special thanks to som3e for ISU-152 footage. For great Chernobyl footage, please visit: / @som3e
Dr. Mark Felton is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
Help support my channels:
www.paypal.me/markfeltonprodu...
/ markfeltonproductions
Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; Piotr Andryszczak; IAEE Imagebank; Nzeemin; BKV7601; Tim Porter; Adam pl; David Birkar; isotopic decay; som3e.
Sources: 'Why is there a WWII vehicle at Chernobyl', wwiiafterwwii; 'Abandoned WWII Aircraft, Tanks & Warships' by Chris McNab (2021); the-past.com.
Thumbnail: Wikimapia

[@1977Yakko]

I've watched several documentaries on Chernobyl and NOT ONE has mentioned the use of these tanks. Very interesting.

[@nephilimcrt]

Indeed. I watch everything about Chernobyl that I can get my hands on and this was completely new information to me.

[@lostpony4885]

Tanks, yer welcome.

[@PanaehaliTut]

@JZ's Best Friend Not for soviets. They even used nukes for firefighting purposes. Idea was that nuke would burn all oxygen and thus stop the fire.

[@jonhelmer8591]

Hi Daniel, have you considered reading a book? I believe they are still available.

[@beitno3029]

@@jonhelmer8591 Hi Jonathan, have you considered writing a letter? I believe people still write those.

[@antonglushchenko4263]

My grandfather and my uncle were there as people call them here “Liquidation participants” back in 86. Both died from cancer in 30 years after accident (lucky case, as i understood later). They inspired my old brother to study radioecology and biophysics, he got his phd last year. I was inspired too and study nuclear physics (on last year of bachelor). I am proud to be a grandson of one of the liquidators. Missing them a lot

[@mikeingeorgia1]

Do you happen to know whether or not they wore any type of protective clothing? We were issued suits to wear just in case, and of course they told us they would protect us, but we never tried them in actual conditions.

[@kaylamarie8309]

You have every right to be proud of them. They sacrificed their lives ultimately that others could live. Respect to them from America and God bless them both.

[@webersteve1547]

Brave people!

[@JacobVahrSvenningsen]

Anton you rock ..! Thanks for sharing Also now I know the word radioecology

[@StayBasedJesus]

Спасиба за твой дядо ! Поздрави от България 🇧🇬🇷🇺🇺🇦☦️

[@kewsoner7924]

One of my close friends father, helped with the evacuation (he was drivning those busses we see), and entered Pripyat one to many times, the result was a completely ruined kidney, so he spent the rest of his life needing dialysis, sadly he died 8 days ago because they couldn't get him the correct medical help, because of the war. Now my friend Vova is defending Kiev, I personally know his bravery and that makes me extra concerned for him. I wish to God I'll see him again someday😪

[@theprinceofcrows8691]

Maybe you will see him sooner than you thought if you live near any of the reactors in Ukraine. The US has plans to make it glow with radiation again in Ukraine and then blame Putin. I would be hoping the Russian efforts, like cutting off power to stabilize the reactors power system, and other things they are doing is successful or you will see if your creator approves of propagandists telling tall tales.

[@raylovelace8588]

@@theprinceofcrows8691 That's Fox news, not Big Brother, filling your brain.

[@DaveSCameron]

We were told to avoid the radioactive fallout else we could find that chernobyl drop off!

[@FutureSystem738]

@kewsoner Heartbreaking story. You have my sincere sympathy. Ukraine has my sincere admiration. ❤️ I just hope that karma will get Putin.

[@comradekenobi6908]

I’m not sure if 😪is fitting emoji lol

[@whisperedarcc6543]

I was 12 years old and living in Galway, Ireland at the time of Chernobyl's meltdown. The radioactive cloud stretched over much of Europe, carried by the Easterly winds. I remember visiting my grandmothers farm (just outside of Galway city) this one day and there was this row of trees lying almost due north-south, and the leaves on the eastern side of the trees had turned brown almost overnight. The western side tree foliage was still green. To this day we think there must have been some fallout that dropped on the farm and only hit that one face of the row of trees; or potentially acid rain might be another possibility, but the cooincidence of it happening at that very time is very striking to us.

[@ianjohnston9325]

My dad kept horses south of Glasgow, Scotland and one of my annual jobs was to spread the midden over the fields in spring time. The midden was always home to thousands of worms but in the spring of 1987, less than a year after Chernobyl, there wasn't a single worm in the midden. It was a few years before they returned. Decades later I was talking to the then retired school janitor about Chernobyl and told him my worm story. He told me that a few days after it happened he was walking across parkland at dawn to open the school and saw dozens of dead worms lying on the wet grass. A van and a police car were parked on the road and two men in overalls and wearing masks were putting worms and soil samples in bags. He approached them to see what they were doing but two policemen promptly shouted at him to move on. The janitor was friendly with the local police and his son was also in the police so he asked them when was going on but they knew nothing about it. A few days later the local police said the rumour was that the MOD (Ministry of Defence) Police were escorting government scientists. Shortly after that a ban on all sheep movement and sales from local farms was put in place. That ban lasted for decades.

[@rumpstatefiasco]

Two weeks after Chernobyl blew, my wife and I returned to her family home which was in a part of Sweden that suffered the highest level of fallout anywhere outside of Chernobyl, as highly radioactive clouds originating from Chernobyl drifted up and away from the site, only to finally let go their toxic payload as rain upon certain concentrated areas in Sweden. What I found most alarming was how the local health authorities kept upping and upping the safe & acceptable levels of radiation in Swedish milk and other food products: the higher the radiation levels in foods became over time, the higher the officially “safe & acceptable” radiation levels in foods became. Propaganda became part of the national diet, along with the nucleotides.

[@travelsouthafrica5048]

why worry about one thing that could kill you in 20 years when there are literally hundreds of things that can kill you today , and what do you propose they do about the "unsafe radiation levels" the damage is done so you might as well just learn to live with it , or move away , but one thing I can assure you is that commenting about anything on youtube won't change a damn thing , it's mostly about trolling stupid people like those commenting below me

[@aarinisles]

That’s incredibly revealing in a disturbing way. Do you think authorities consider that approach works pretty well and continue to do the same sort of thing today?

[@suzyqualcast6269]

Any ill effects ?

[@DAndyLord]

@@travelsouthafrica5048 Tell me you don't know anything about either radiation or microwaves without telling me you don't know anything about radiation or microwaves.

[@Dreyno]

@@DAndyLord 😂

[@MrAstrojensen]

I've seen the ISU-152's in several photos from Chernobyl, and always wondered what they were doing there, but couldn't find an explanation for it, until now. Fascinating story, as always.

[@samholdsworth420]

Right 👍🏻

[@theprinceofcrows8691]

Yeah this wasn't hidden or anything. I have seen the pictures of them too. It just didn't work out the way they first thought of using them and how they were used isn't that exciting to the story. It is interesting details to know if you are really interested in the history though. I just think some are running away with the idea it was some nefarious state secret when it is pretty obvious it wasn't due to the photos.

[@airborneace]

Check out the blog WWII After WWII. They have a detailed article on this very topic

[@teslashark]

"We only leave the cannon there for better sealing"

[@marekotec2540]

It was an attack on the Monolith base, interrupted by a huge emission. Everyone died or turned into a zombie, but the tanks were left there.

[@minsterley2002]

The thing I like about your productions, Dr. F, is the lack of anger inducing politics or agendas. You simply present the facts and in a very professional and well thought out manner. Top drawer.

[@tempest411]

The only people I notice getting upset about politics are those whose own politics lie at the fringes.

[@SteamCrane]

8:30 - The circles that look like thin gears are plates for multidisk steering clutches. Caterpillar tractors from the same era have the same type of steering clutches. The clutches are a stack of alternating driving and driven plates. One has external splines, the other has internal splines. Presumably steering clutch failure is why it was abandoned.

[@kevinremsen5627]

What a fascinating story. I had no idea Soviet armor from WWII were considered for use in Chernobyl. Thanks for another stellar video, Dr. Felton!

[@bongobrandy6297]

The role of Russian armor from WW1 at Chernobyl is still a closely guarded state secret.

[@QuantumMechanic_88]

Tanks from WW2 had no transistors or semiconductors which would be defeated by electromagnetics / EMP produced by radioactivity. Vehicles which used the old distributor system for engines were used.

[@martijnt1353]

Then what about the story the ussr tried using artillery cannons to try and put a fire? 😆 Think it was like a gasfire of kinds..

[@dougalbadger4918]

@@martijnt1353 ... ?

[@666zombee]

Most of Russia's tanks are antiques so why wouldn't you lol

[@CFarnwide]

Your shows on current events are just as impressive as your WWII content. Thanks Dr Felton, it’s much appreciated!

[@RReese08]

The more videos of yours that I watch, the more I learn of important events such as these. Thanks Again, Dr. Felton.

[@danielschein6845]

40 years later I am breathing a sigh of relief as I hear Dr. Felton describing how they came to their senses and didn't try to blow holes in a wall that was containing a melted down reactor with an anti-tank gun. Whoever suggested testing the idea on a mockup wall first probably saved thousands.

[@mobilizedpanda3795]

Dr Felton proves once again that his outstanding historical knowledge isnt limited to just the second world war. I feel very lucky to have access to content from such a world class historian in this day and age. Thank you Mark.

[@DaveSCameron]

Oh quite, indeed hos historiography is rather polished however his current affairs are appallingly tragic and its merely echoing our BBC news! Best wishes with it all Sir 🙏

[@andypozuelos1204]

🟤👃

[@otofoto]

Dr Felton explanation of what went wrong on Chernobyl was very innacurate. Where did he read such a nonsense.

[@LilTachanka]

he also provides us with screenshots from stalker in the intro lol

[@nikdagr33k]

I don't know how you do it Herr Doktor Felton, but you consistently consistently bring the goods, and you do it without waggling your fingers about or bending spoons. Much respect.

[@hiskebekkering3450]

Thank you for another excellent video, Dr Felton! This story of tanks firing at the wall of the reactor building far exceeds the mad details I already knew about this disaster. I clearly remember where I was when this disaster was made public in Dutch news bulletins. A while later, the Dutch government made it known that the entire harvest of spinach would have to be destroyed due to its ability to absorb radioactivity. That was quite the wake-up call for us. Thanks for consistently providing new insights into our history.

[@hamletksquid2702]

I would dearly love to hear more about the first assault at Chernobyl, the amphibious one during WWII. One of the main streets in Prip'yat is named after Sgt. Lazarov, an engineer who earned the Red Star by leading a company in the first wave and then holding the beachhead until reinforcements could get across. That is literally all I've been able to find out about him or the battle, other than mentions of it happening.

[@DaveSCameron]

There's so many mutant dogs, cats and slavs there now its 💯 a no go zone* ⚠

[@jwrockets]

Sounds like it would make a great Yarnhub video.

[@PAcifisti]

One correction - the ISU-152 does not boast especially thick armor. It's still respectable at around 60-90mm on the frontal sector, but still far far less than the T-62's frontal armor of 200mm+ on turret and 100mm highly angled on the front plate. The ISU's were most likely used because they had no more practical use cases left so they could be very cheaply expended on this mission.

[@milferdjones2573]

Lets say highest armor of any expendable vehicle. 152 gun was probably the original reason to send them there then that idea dropped.

[@megahunterkiller]

Your mom has thick armor lol

[@jasonthewatchmansson8873]

IDK if you are right or not, but I think we would need to compare ISU-152's armor at the weakest point to the weakest point on T-62. It wouldn't matter if the frontal armor is thick if the radiation can get in through the rear.

[@chriscarbaugh3936]

90mm and sloped compares favourably w a Tiger 1

[@TheMelorino]

I don't think angled armor matters to radiation. So maybe the true metal thickness was actually more.

[@hbilha]

The recent content related to the ukranian conflict has been fantastic. Thank you, Mark!

[@daviddoran3673]

Hopefully his content gets better and more objective now that the facts are emerging from western censorship....facts such as the hostages murdered by the Nazis in Mariupol and the UK 's secret naval base.....

[@kbanghart]

@@daviddoran3673 Putin has been putting out all the propaganda and fake news

[@tbnone2501]

@@daviddoran3673 Go take your meds

[@patdohrety2940]

@@daviddoran3673 The western nations do not censor any news. We certainly have biased news outlets, but western governments do not censor any news. You're thinking of the Putin kleptocracy. The Putin regime is arresting Russian citizens for protesting the war in Ukraine.

[@kitten30]

@@kbanghart if you open your eyes further than the western media propaganda you notice there are too many war crimes done by Ukraine, I mean just look at BBC right before the war starts, between 2014-2019 they made atleast 5 documentaries about rise of Nazies in Ukraine, but when Putin says there are Nazis in Ukraine they call him mad...

[@subverted]

The cooling is not really needed for the 1986 fuel but rather the extensive amount of more recent spent fuel stored on site. The loss of power for managing the humidity inside the new safe confinement is another big issue. Great video aside from that one issue and one overlooked issue.

[@henriknilsson7851]

Absolutely fantastic episode! Only Mark Felton has provided viewers with this amazing level of detail. Amazing improvisation to use antique tanks in such a way!

[@gregkerr725]

Yes, I agree about the improvisation.....I mean why send new assault guns if you still had old ones lying around.....and also because the Soviets manned those tanks with troops from a reserve unit so that first rank regular soldiers did not have to be assigned to what the authorities realized was a suicide mission...sooner or later. The Soviet way....the least sacrifice the most for "the common good". Yea, Russian peasants lives are cheap...as witnessed in the current Russian war against Ukraine.

[@matthewmartin5763]

Dr. Felton is the best History teacher I've ever had. My High School US History teacher in a close second. He made me fall in love with learning about the past, and sometimes how it ties into the future. Thank you Sir.

[@OGPatriot03]

Cringe profile picture...

[@niixodus]

Based profile picture

[@matthewmartin5763]

@@OGPatriot03 I don't recall asking for feedback. I'll make sure to file that away in the 'I don't care what you think' folder.

[@user-ig8ew8qz8n]

@@matthewmartin5763 u stay with ukraine?

[@EVIL-C]

@@OGPatriot03 Says the ignorant far right 🤡.

[@bodamyan_bg]

There was a nuclear fallout through Eastern Europe as well. And a heavy one too. During the 1st of May manifestation in Sofia, there was a light rain on top of it all, and of course nobody knew how deadly was it. And in the matter of fact, my mother got leukemia as a direct consequence...

[@Balthorium]

Commie officials lied about radiation levels and had a May Day parade in Kiev anyway. Swedish nuclear plant workers reported the radiation when their scanners went off at the entrance.

[@HunterPeale]

very sorry to hear that about your mother

[@badbotchdown9845]

@@Balthorium commie! commie... every natiom who passing trough a radioactive hazard would lie to their citizens

[@extragoogleaccount6061]

The toll is so hard to calculate! And therefore easy to lie about for the Kremlin. So sorry to hear that your mother became a victim of that evil regime.

[@INSANESUICIDE]

It was quite the catastrophe, we still have traces of radiation in Northern Norway

[@rolandocastaneda4429]

The most important sound, this time, does not come from Mark Felton's voice but from the radioactive blips from that tank. A stark reminder of how dangerous nuclear materials can be even in peacetime. Thank you for sharing.

[@LuvBorderCollies]

The whole idea of a "nuclear battlefield", as some envisioned in the early 1950's, is just ludicrous.

[@theprinceofcrows8691]

Hmmm, almost like a clever use of psychology to raise the fears of the viewer and leave a stark and horrifying impression. I suspect we are going to see more trouble at Chernobyl if the US has it's way. This video is to prime the pump and prep the audience for the coming cyber attack on the reactors just like the ones in Iran recently that almost resulted in another Chernobyl type disaster.

[@Mikhail-Tkachenko]

@@theprinceofcrows8691 shut up

[@jackieking1522]

@@theprinceofcrows8691 The trouble with " a clever use of psychology..." is that it works both ways. In the spectrum of likeliness which is most probable..... that you are a mistaken propagandist for Vlad Putin or Mark Felton is setting the scene for Joe Biden inspired armageddon ?

[@theprinceofcrows8691]

@@jackieking1522 Or Mark Felton is just a western propaganda cut out used to lead true believers to drink the holy water of the new religion. This whole channel has been setting the viewer up mentally with stories about Ukrainian Nazi units and Soviet attrocity stories and Russian invasion stories, to prime the audience mentally. It is a shame that more cannot see it for what it obviously is. Of course there are those who do know and are just there to act as an enabler and to defend the mind games that are being played against the people willingly. I quit this channel in disgust because I am not going along with some Cambridge Analytica like scheme to using actor based reality, history, and culture to change politics and reality. You are being mind fuct.

[@briannicholas2757]

Dr Felton, Thank you for making this episode for us. you have a unique gift for presenting historical information, and it turns out you also have a gift for connecting the past to the present. I had seen these old WWII tank killers around Chernobyl in pictures , but had assumed they were old relics of WWII, either abandoned on WWII battlefields or part of some display of Soviet armor from the war. you have solved another mystery for us. The sad part about the current war in Ukraine and the massive disruption caused to th Chernobyl exclusion zone is that the Russian conscripts, for the most part young boys, were , in all likelihood, never briefed, never warned and kept totally ignorant of the hazards that would come from simply just being there, let alone stirring the proverbial nuclear waste pot. Those boys, just obeying orders, will all end up sick and dying from horrible cancers, their contaminated tanks and vehicles will leave the zone and contaminate other areas of Ukraine and the dust they stir up will kill or make terribly sick countless innocent civilians in the region. It is a monstrous crime, made worse because there would have been sections of Russias army that knew what would happen. knew it should be left alone, and knew it would end up killing people. Yet they either remained silent to save their own skins, or their warnings were completely disregarded. Either way, Ukraine and Europe will be paying a deadly price just for this one crime.

[@RichardWingo]

Dr Felton please never change your intro song. You don’t realise how iconic it is to your work. *Marches around room*

[@bobbirdwell5452]

I was in the US Navy stationed in Japan at the time. We did not know where that nuclear fallout was going to go at the time! Ah…Cold War memories!

[@guydegregg6869]

Roger that I was TDY in Germany at the time with the 4th Infantry Division and watching which way the wind was blowing.

[@factsdontcareaboutyourfeel7204]

Damn, yous two must be proper old lol

[@guydegregg6869]

@@factsdontcareaboutyourfeel7204 lol you got the old part right but as far as being proper..... I didn't deserve any of my medals, least of all my good conduct medal. Lol 😆

[@caledonhockley883]

@@guydegregg6869 hey. What medals did you end up receiving if you don’t mind me asking.

[@guydegregg6869]

@@caledonhockley883 nothing worth writing home about a couple of AAM's and an Arcom I ain't no hero but I was a decent squad leader and did take it seriously we worked hard and played hard.

[@thomaskositzki9424]

Mark digging up the most obscure historical anecdotes as always. ;D Keep up the good work, sir!

[@Texas-Chris]

Really appreciate your hard work on these documentaries Dr. Felton !!! Stay safe

[@markeister8518]

What a wonderful piece you have provided on the storied past of the Chernobyl area. One can’t help but feel bad for all the poor souls forced to work at the site. How grateful we, as inhabitants of the this plant, should be to all of them. Please keep up the great work Mr. Felton!

[@LuvBorderCollies]

I remember one of the helicopter pilots got leukemia shortly afterwards. He was invited to the US for treatment but sadly his condition was beyond medical help. His body systems had been overwhelmed by radiation. Don't recall how much time he spent in the radioactive cloud. His helo was dumping water directly into the reactor building, so he was soaked in radiation as well as breathing it.

[@theprinceofcrows8691]

Exactly, they were heroes and made their willing self sacrifice for humanity and their people despite the known risk. They should be celebrated like the 9/11 firefighters and emt's are and how they are in Russia and Ukraine. The liquidators should be too because they had a dangerous but necessary job to do and they never waivered or gave up until it was done.

[@DaveSCameron]

Indeed yes history is fine just leave the current affairs to journalists who are there and free to share exactly what they see. Thanks 🙏

[@aarinisles]

I’ve read several detailed books on this event and never came across the use of tanks being considered. Fascinating and, in a concerning way, timely.

[@DamoBloggs]

These wonderful, obscure nuggets of history are both fascinating and priceless. Thank you, Dr. Felton!

[@herrcobblermachen]

Whenever theres a video that doesnt fit my exact interests I finally watch it and am blown away. Its when you know you've found gold. Thanks for the vids.

[@Great_Sandwich]

More than a few vehicles were picked clean. The ENTIRE vehicle graveyard which contained helicopters, and military and civilian emergency & construction vehicles is now barren. They're gone. All of them. Scavengers have removed the hundreds of irradiated vehicles that were left there after the operation.

[@cryptochurch3310]

As a global foundry auditor, one of the things I do is observe that foundries reliably check scrap metal for radiation before receiving at their front gate, before charging into the furnace and before shipping cast metal parts from the recycled metal, to America and around the world. This is an opportunity to explain why my job is necessary as a metallurgical engineer. I've made everything from ship propellers to water fittings in my career; but mostly automobile parts. You don't want your brakes to fail, or engine block, or water pipes and fittings to fail, do you? Or, irradiate you and your water? Wouldn't you rather allow FOUNDRIES using coal creating jobs and safe castings here at home than buying from China and Eastern Europe? This is why I support TRUMP so much. Enjoy the video. #Chernobyl #Ukraine #Foundry

[@kewltony]

@@cryptochurch3310 this was a wild ride

[@milferdjones2573]

@@cryptochurch3310 So you want a dictatorship under Trump and Putin. Support of Trump means you support abuse of women as he admitted on tape, corruption in that he lies about tax audits to avoid showing any tax returns "routine tax audit" not for six years plus covering all taxes he ever paid and can't even provide the cover letter showing he's being audited. Taking huge sums from Russian and all sorts of bad acting countries including many Muslim states by not removing himself from his business where they use his overpriced properties and rent or buy from him in great amount. Bigot who ran on falsehood about immigrants being criminals when they commit crime less than American citizens. Bigot who ran on falsehood about Muslims yet was fine with Saudi Arabia they were never part of his Muslim ban, coming to US even though all most all 911 bombers were from Saudi Arabia. And incompetent to appoint judges, and dozens of important people who steal from him. . And your a coal industry shill you don't need coal to run a foundry anymore. With Antartica melting even faster than before and here in Florida changes to deal with rising seas already underway it about time to give up on Coal which also kills though cancer in air and water in all parts of it's use. And as a Nuclear supporter I'm not one of the crazed fear of nuclear on the left I'm a radical moderate. Nuclear is not safe but it's massively safer than coal. Dozens of Nuclear plants would have to melt down to get anywhere close to deaths from coal.

[@jung9399]

Very bizarre how paragraphs start getting written when trump gets mentioned under random comments, people need to get over themselves

[@markharlock6474]

@@milferdjones2573 keep taking your medication for 'Orange Man Bad' syndrome...and I hope you feel proud to have contributed to our world getting more and more dangerous by the day. It only took your hero Brandon 13 months to create the utter shambles we now have to fix to rebuild the dreams we had for our children and grandchildren.

[@christianpethukov8155]

Once again you present something fascinating I never knew before! Really enjoyed it, and it's relevant to the present day.

[@Derman666]

These videos are just keep getting better and better. Cheers dr Felton.

[@davemcddd]

An absolutely incredible story that I've never even heard about before. Thank you Dr. Felton for bringing these stories to our attention.

[@anthonybarone8144]

Wow, it's so cool that you can find old pictures of the very tank that remains in the ruins today!

[@m.a.mehalick0910]

Thank you for your efforts in all you give us Dr. Felton.

[@skywardpictures]

Amazing. Thank you for your continued topical coverages!

[@fratercontenduntocculta8161]

I had no idea the stored waste required constant cooling! I do remember a recent report by the IAEA said that the ruins of the reactor are still pumping out just as much radiation as it did when it first exploded back in 1986. Always a pleasure seeing your videos Dr. Felton!

[@Galnar]

small correction: The reactor did not turn into a bomb, the two mayor explosions which happened at Chernobyl were the steam boiler going up and a hydrogen tank blowing up.

[@1pcfred]

While perhaps not a nuclear fission or fusion device they still blew up as you put it, so they were bombs.

[@hernerweisenberg7052]

Its been theorized by some experts that the zirconium housings of the fuel elements got so hot that they reacted with cooling water, exploding like a piece of sodium metal would explode when throwen into water.

[@mattevans5236]

That's what I always understood also. But I happened to re-read the wikipedia article recently, and it had some interesting information. _Some_ people now contend that there was a very low yield nuclear fission detonation. So while the primary explosions seem to be chemical and/or mechanical, there are a minority of scientists who also posit a small fission detonation took place in the degraded reactor core

[@milferdjones2573]

He should have said non nuclear bomb to be clear.

[@stevewhite3424]

Explosion does not equal bomb. Bomb does engender more of a dramatic reaction though.

[@vorda400]

Thank you Mr. Felton since this accident happened I read and looked at everything related to it but I never came across this information that they used ISU-152 in an attempt to drill a hole in the wall under the destroyed reactor it sounds crazy to me even when it is about the Russians

[@vorda400]

@@TomorrowWeLive Or drugs

[@JohnDoe-pv2iu]

Excellent work Mr. Felton, as always! Everyone Take care and be safe, John

[@AmazingPhilippines1]

Thanks again for bringing us new historical information Mark.

[@factorybear5264]

I was a little kid in Bucharest when this happened. Way closer than Britain. We weren’t allowed to use the hot water for over a year. My mom had to boil water for us every time we had to take a bath

[@extragoogleaccount6061]

That would still not inspire too much confidence even if it worked effectively. Must have weighed strongly on the mind everytime! Hope your family and yourself are getting clean bills of health to this day!

[@factorybear5264]

@@extragoogleaccount6061 Oh thank you! I’m almost 42 and very healthy. Dad defected in 1984 and mom and I joined him in 1988 a year and a half before communism fell. We’ve all been together in the US for the last 34 years and all our friends and Relatives back in Romania are safe as well. Thank you.

[@LMSI998]

What does water boiling have to do with water? If there are radioactive nuclides in it boiling has no effect.

[@thewiktor2559]

@@LMSI998 perhaps it was as to not use the hot tap water coming from the local heating plants? some scare about their machinery being irradiated? just my guess

[@kajet666]

@@thewiktor2559 people would do a lot of senseless, ill-advised things after Chernobyl. That's how fear works.

[@irish3335]

Yet another rare nugget of info from today that has ties to WWII! Thank you Dr Felton another well done video! Appreciate all the history lessons about the current situation, it is not as simple as one would think

[@danielolguin6495]

I love your content Mark!!! Always a joy watching the less known history. You always make very interesting videos, thank you

[@danielcoffield1042]

Always appreciate your content Mark. Thank you!

[@SynchroScore]

The Chernobyl Liquidators Medal is a very clever design, showing the three types of radiation, and how they are deflected in a magnetic field. Alpha particles, with a positive charge, go one way, beta particles, with a negative charge, go the opposite way, and gamma rays, the most penetrating and dangerous type, go straight through.

[@stevenr2463]

Hm , very informative as always, thank you! Wasnt aware that the radioactive cloud ever reached the British Isles. At the time of the disaster I was studying in Vienna, Austria. When that happened, I packed my surfboards on the roof of my Golf, drove to Cherbourg and took the ferry back to Guernsey. Felt safe there.

[@Sa1985Mr]

These sympathetic and apposite interweaving of present day events and history have been incredibly impressive. Thank you

[@marcrodriquez5153]

I came across Dr. Felton a couple of years ago and his storytelling is excellent and that he is posing with a bunch of Star Wars stormtroopers on his you tube homepage shows his sense of humor.

[@MrSlanderer]

Dr. Felton's knowledge is seemingly limitless. He is a treasure of our time.

[@robertmanfredthurrigl9424]

He deserves an OBE for education services

[@cj.tj.8201]

Wow!!!. Once more. Dr. Felton. You have brought to my attention another fascinating learning experience. I spent 10 years working in the Nuclear industry, an i didn't know this. Thank you.. I really enjoy your videos. No matter the topic.!!!

[@blackpowderuser373]

The intense clicks of Geiger counters ae truly terrifying. Great work as always, Dr. Felton.

[@rexmundi3108]

Most history channels just restate other documentaries, like a bad college essay: change a few words here and there, add some graphics. You give us actual research, actual insight. Every time you present a topic there is always some aspect I had never considered or been aware of. Food for a starving mind in a sea of history junk food. Hey, Thanks, Mark. Keep them coming.

[@foxstdio]

Even with all the information ive heard about Chernobyl over the years I had no clue tanks were involved in the operation. As usual your channel gives new info never heard before.

[@1pcfred]

The magnitude of the Chernobyl disaster was so great it was pretty much all hands on deck to deal with it. It was either do something or everyone dies. It was that bad. And like Mark pointed out as bad as it was it could have been worse. If the core had melted into the aquifer that would have been an added tragedy.

[@CoarseFisher15]

Mark Felton is a national treasure! Keep up the great work. I saw you in Norwich once out for a walk.

[@MarkFeltonProductions]

I am let out occasionally for exercise!

[@benbaker2965]

@@MarkFeltonProductions With the nature of your videos we only seldom get a glimpse of your sense of humor, Dr. Felton.

[@Firebird400]

Fantastic! So many unheard of stories! Great job again mr Felton 🤗

[@brianlopez8855]

Dr Felton, at the top of his game as ever. Thanks so much.

[@sheldonrobertson8670]

Another fine example of Dr. Felton keeping us informed on critical history that ties in with our current headlines thanks for all you do hope you and yours are well!!

[@linkieloos]

Mark Felton's knowledge seems limitless. A man that can create content in quality and quantity. When it comes to WWII vehicles, the ISU 152 is a favorite mine. Knew of the liquidators and their efforts, but not that they used ISU's, even Simple History made no mention of them. Cheers for shedding light on this! 😉

[@carlmontney7916]

When you need to know the real story and the true facts about something, you won't find it on any other channels except this one. Mr. Felton's channel is where you come when you want to know. He never disappoints.

[@ronniecoleman2342]

There is an old saying where I come from that you learn something new everyday. When I feel like I know everything I come and watch Mark's videos and boom, I learn that I knew so little. Another gem by Mark.

[@Willysmb44]

Yet another "Just when you think you've heard it all" story. Great job! I've read that several Russian soldiers have gotten sick from digging in close to the reactor, some of whom apparently had no idea there'd ever been a problem there!

[@countfrankfritter]

The information contained within this video is truly frightening beyond belief. Good grief, just to imagine the consequences of possible battle taking place at this location is enough to keep me up all night with worry. Thank you for this rather alarming but fascinating upload DR Felton, it's just incredible.

[@theprinceofcrows8691]

That is why the Russian military secured the site and provided a safe and stable power source under their direct control. Now they have to watch for cyber attacks like the ones launched at Iran a few years back that almost created another Chernobyl event. We live in perilous times.

[@Warfoki]

@@theprinceofcrows8691 I mean, how nice of them to protect the site... from the war they created.

[@theprinceofcrows8691]

@@Warfoki I think it is the responsible thing to do when conflict becomes unavoidable. Otherwise your enemies use it as a dirty bomb and nuke the country. Of course there are many ways to achieve a goal. A cyber attack or other attack could still happen and of course it would be evil Putin who was responsible.

[@kajet666]

Actually a battle would not've been that dangerous. The building around a nuclear reactor can withstand almost any artillery and aerial strike, and even if it's penetrated, the impact on the reactor would still be limited.

[@Kitharistas]

@@kajet666 The effects of radiotion are very much disputed. It can cause disastrous effects, of course, but it's overestimated. For exemple, all the images of the Reactor 4's core disponible in the internet, since 1987, were made by a single photographer, alive, who constantly enters the Reactor. There's a mini doc on KZbin about him.

[@RangaTurk]

Expecting something to do with Operation Bagration and ended up with something on a completely different tangent. Thanks for the surprise and keep going. Bravo!

[@jamesbehrje4279]

Cool!!! Mark feltons gonna have a whole new category of videos to watch.

[@heatherporterfield7343]

Thank you Dr. Felton for giving us more information than the news could ever could .

[@marvwatkins7029]

It's amazing how Mark Felton gets this information and immediately (relatively speaking, of course) gets it out to all his growing numbers of fans. And now (if the world survives to see it), he'll have a new war to discuss, revealing in time the hidden gems that even the dozens of reporters in Ukraine now won't ever have found.

[@scratchguns]

Absolutely killing it with the topical content 👏

[@nicksterklad1]

Great story Mark... Scary how that situation was handled...

[@thejudgmentalcat]

Very interesting. I've read and watched all I could get my hands on about Chernobyl and no one specifically mentioned the tanks. Especially that they're still highly irradiated. 👍

[@viliamklein]

My father was a postdoc/prof at the Košice technical university in Slovakia at the time of the Chernobyl disaster. There was nothing on the news for days, but his colleagues knew something happened because their radiation detectors were going off.

[@a.m11558]

This is honestly the only channel I'm subscribed to that I automatically watch a new video of whenever I see one. Actually, Mr. Ballen is the other channel. Mark Felton and Mr. Ballen, two legendary content creators haha.

[@Balthorium]

Some of Ballens videos are too disturbing so I don’t click on them without reading the description. The industrial accidents are ok but the weird serial killer stuff makes me not feel good.

[@a.m11558]

@@Balthorium Fair enough, I’ve become really desensitised to that stuff over my life so I can watch any true crime content and not really be weirded out at all. It’s kind of messed up now that I think about it.

[@SuperCorking]

Thanks mark, this is what makes your channel unique

[@LazyLifeIFreak]

Radiation is the gift that keeps on giving.

[@rogersmith7396]

For 100,000 years. There are 10s of thousands of tons of the stuff sitting around waiting for someone to do something with it. So lets build more reactors.

[@otofoto]

@@rogersmith7396 Let's not build RBMK reactors. See other type reactors are safe, terrorussians shelling them and no one really cares. That shows actually how safe nuclear reactors are.

[@detroitredneckdetroitredne6674]

Wow thank you for the history lesson and for the information we never received from the government and educational institutions thank you for what you do

[@deanedge5988]

Superb historical work as ever Dr Felton. Thank you.

[@geoffreybudge3027]

As always a great production , thanks Mark

[@insideoutsideupsidedown2218]

What is interesting is that the Soviets still had operational 152’s in a reserve capacity in 1986….

[@rogersmith7396]

They virtually list everything back to junk T 34s in their current arsenal. We have an M 60 parked at the VFW down the road. Theres an M48 in the next town. Come on Ruskis, bring it on!

[@mattbite]

In the 80's T-34-85 were still in use in Eastern Bloc, so were the tank destroyers whose next and last task will become mechanized artillery gun.

[@jagdpanther2224]

Soviet heavy tank of WW2 : IS3 The Stalin tank IIIs were still in service in far east Kurile islands in defending position until 1991!

[@insideoutsideupsidedown2218]

@@mattbite so, their tank strength advantage in numbers was on paper only…

[@akmask1258]

It's hard to believe we are living some events almost the same as people from the cold war

[@daveh322]

Thank you Joe Biden.

[@danw1089]

@@daveh322 the shitty part is that it’s all preventable

[@unevenelephant469]

@@daveh322 Ah yes, Biden's Invasion of Ukraine, truly unforggettable *Sarcasm*.

[@neighbor-j-4737]

Some of us are from the cold war too...

[@paidwitness797]

It's hard to believe we are living some events almost the same as people from WW2 as well....

[@stevenbrindley2469]

Excellent research Mark as usual, thanks for sharing.

[@sabrekai8706]

Nice little bit of detail about that disaster. I remember seeing a spike in radiation about 5 or 6 days after it happened. By that time it was pretty diluted but still noticable on the meter I had at the time, an old Civil defence 700 model.

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

Did it come with a Pipboy?

[@michaelmitchell6476]

Wow this is incredible thank you Dr Felton I wasn’t even aware this happened during the clean up thank you for sharing this with us

[@y_ffordd]

Damn straight, you can always rely on a man with a doctorate in physical education to come up with the goods.

[@horusfalcon]

The reactor did not turn into a bomb: it experienced a condition known as prompt criticality and suffered a core meltdown which prompted a steam explosion. The meltdown caused by the prompt criticality also caused it to subside by eventually altering the geometry of the core, and rendering the fissile mass non-critical again. This disaster could have been a lot worse. The use of graphite moderator in this reactor's design indicates it was using fuel with a higher percentage of Uranium-238, as is present in most natural ores of Uranium without enrichment (most modern reactors use Uranium-235, which undergoes fission from lower energy so-called "thermal" neutrons). This fuel has different operating characteristics than enriched fuels, and design flaws in the placement of moderators in this design (the RBMK reactor) doubtless contributed to this occurrence. Seems the Soviets were basically using ISU-152s as engineering vehicles to expedite demolition and burial of the reactor site, but that plan didn't work out. Thanks for sharing that with us.

[@quillmaurer6563]

I feel like "bomb" is still a reasonable description - it did result in a large and extremely destructive explosion. It just wasn't an atomic bomb, the explosion was caused by steam rather than directly by nuclear reactions as in an atomic bomb. So perhaps it was a gigantic nuclear-heated BLEVE dirty bomb.

[@kajet666]

@@quillmaurer6563 you're right, and "bomb" might be a reasonable description, but given that a nuclear explosion would've been orders of magnitude more powerful, I think Mark should've been very precise there.

[@OneMonster]

Exactly. Mark’s description is a little oversimplified and might lead some viewers to believe that the explosion was nuclear in nature while is reality it was steam pressure. I didn’t know about the use of ISU-152 use there though, super interesting!

[@eaglesix6585]

So it turned into a bomb... Interesting

[@y_ffordd]

You should definitely do your own video commentry on Feltons video to explain this error as it would be extremely useful and Im sure the Felt-on community would welcome it.

[@Ronin4614]

Great coverage as always. A very splendid blend of then and now. It almost seems that Chernobyl has become fated for woes that no one could ever have predicted . I thank you, Dr. Felton!

[@theprinceofcrows8691]

When something works so well the first time around people tend to use it again and again. Just like the Iran nuclear program being targeted by the cyber attacks that JUST MISSED being a second Chernobyl. Now they are about to employ the old self fullfiled prophecy to attempt to bring down the Russian state. Your Spidey senses should be tingling.

[@tobyborgens3817]

informative as usual .. Thank you Dr. Felton!!

[@bobslate7231]

Mark I have enjoyed and learned a lot from your videos. My father was in military in WWII and he never talked about it. I've always had an interest in European theater.

[@drgeorgek]

Dr Felton does it again - this time linking three disasters together - WW2, Chernobyl meltdown and a despot’s “special military operation”.

[@ohiowoodburner]

Tanks for the vid Mark

[@headmahone]

Holy hell! Mark, your research never ceases to amaze!

[@mikefoehr235]

I still remember this years ago...a reporter was asking US everyday people what they knew of Chernobyl...one woman replied that was Chers full name...I am not making this up.

[@F4Wildcat]

Soviets using heavy guns to blast open the wall of a nuclear reactor that exploded? completely normal phenomenon

[@Balthorium]

There was a fear that the nuclear core would burn to the water table and create an explosion much larger than the first blowing up the entire place including the other 3 reactors. The tunnel was dug by coal miners brought in.

[@rogersmith7396]

And then shell the hospitals full of the injured. The ultimate blame the victim.

[@jamesbednar8625]

Awesome video!! I remember when Chernobyl happened. I was in the US Army and stationed in (then) West Germany. My unit was conducting training maneuvers at Hohenfels Training Area at that time. Can remember the continous rain, which thought was kind of "odd" for Germany at the time of year that Chernobyl happened. Also remember that we put on our wet-weather trousers, jackets, and boots just to sort of stay dry as much as possible. Also, there we were running up/down whatever firing range we were supposed to be at conducting dismounted tactics and flopping around in pools of water that used to be foxholes and such. Then, riding around in our armoured personnel carriers, the vehicle commanders & drivers had their heads and upper torso exposed in order to safely drive the vehicle. The running joke at that time was do not worry about kids for we are all sterile now!! Eventually command realized the futility of training in that horrendous non-stop rain and decided to limit any outside activities after about a week of being exposed to the rain and everything else that came our way. The persistent non-stop rain and our joking about our being sterilized is my biggest memory of the Chernobyl accident.

[@alm4655]

Crikey. Fantastic stuff, Mark. As always

[@alanaldpal950]

Mark Felton …. Radiating his knowledge again.

[@gregmiller9710]

badum tish!

[@statementleaver8095]

That "Gei" at the end was beginning to "tick" me off🙊🙊

[@MithridatesEupator412]

Dr Felton never fails to impress with information I have never heard of before.

[@MrSmokincodz]

Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us all. Top tier content all around. Cheers and Health.

[@Spuggy0453]

Love your work. Interesting topics and impressive research. Many thanks!