Odds and Ends at the Ordnance Training Support Facility

The last video from my trip to the Ordnance collection in what was then Fort Lee, VA. (It has since been renamed as Fort Gregg-Adams). I'm sure I'll come back to film some more vehicles which caught my attention, but this is a bit of a teaser of some of the other things which are present.

[@leftnoname]

So, Chieftain goes to an active museum that has a K5 rail gun under the roof and gives us only a glimpse of it…

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

That is one shiny "Sheridan".

[@fearthehoneybadger]

Gotta wax your tank.

[@AvaniDK]

Might even call it a "Shineidan"

[@CAP198462]

Never been fired, only dropped once

[@SonsOfLorgar]

​@@CAP198462 onto a well polished tarmac😊

[@keab42]

Something about the black shiny paint that makes it look extra menacing.

[@MalikCarr]

Fun fact, Osaka Chain and Machinery still exists, they're now a subsidiary of industrial giant Sumitomo Heavy Industries.

[@Dog.soldier1950]

Maybe they still have parts

[@iatsd]

@@Dog.soldier1950 You might be making a joke, but don't be too sure they don't! I wanted a part for a 1970's motorcycle rebuild a few years back. The part hadn't been in the parts catalogue for over 2 decades. But, Suzuki Japan actually got the subcontracting company responsible for the part to build it for me at the last list price from 2001.

[@Dog.soldier1950]

@@iatsd amazing. Then you have the availability of model T and A parts …

[@iatsd]

@@Dog.soldier1950 WTF are you talking about? Ease up on the drugs and booze, man

[@dave.of.the.forrest]

The attention to detail in that name plate is so Japanese. 😅

[@yolkiandeji7649]

When are we going to see an Inside the Hatch on the E-4’s Dodge Charger?

[@Seraphus87]

Builder's plate and track tension system on a bomb... that's bonkers.

[@tgapmax4051]

But he had to mention the track tensioning. Now an "Oh bugger the suicide drone is on fire" would have been awesome.

[@jonathansmith6050]

I'd guess the track tension is mostly for assembly and to allow loose enough manufacturing tolerances for quick and cheap construction (rather than to adjust as the track stretches from prolonged use). And since the tension system appears to just be a slot to let the axle slide forward and back, plus a bolt to hold it in place, it's not exactly an extravagant addition. But its enough to handle minor variations in final track length, just put it on loosely, lever the wheel forward until things look got and bolt it down -- so probably something done just one, during manufacturing.

[@mtm84a]

Requesting an "oh no, the tank is on fire" test on the Japanese goliath.

[@doughudgens9275]

Fun fact: the Nike first stage went straight up after firing. The Hercules part then headed off towards the target. The issue is the first stage would then fall back to earth very near the launcher. A prudent crew would watch the bottom part of the missile to see if it was safe to get out from their overhead cover as that part could land on them. As I recall watching one get launched from Crete into the Mediterranean Sea, it took over a minute to fall to ground. The crews were rooting for a good breeze at firing to blow their missile away.

[@KJAkk]

The launch angle was actually 87 degrees instead of 90 in order to lob the booster clear of the launch site.

[@MandolinMagi]

Actually, it elevates to 87.5 degrees. Learned that at the Nike site SF-88L out in San Fran last year

[@doughudgens9275]

@@KJAkk assuming the didn’t fire upwind

[@DrLoverLover]

how is that fun?

[@iskandartaib]

​Rocket launches are ALWAYS fun. 😁

[@ewdijkstra7627]

Those Nike missiles, as others have mentioned in the comments, are ubiquitous here in New Jersey. If you're ever in our neck of the woods I'll treat you to a drink. The towed 90 and 105mm antitank guns are quite interesting pieces, because when such guns are inside a tank, they look proportionally "correct," so you don't really grasp how large they actually are. Very cool to have a proper appreciation for how much volume and weight those pieces actually take up!

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Probably in Asbury Park later this summer

[@dmg4415]

The Germans made better decisions, big gun big vehicles or stationary AA. The 105mm would fit very well on a tank chassis, just for mobility, and a dozerblade in front to get a big pile of dirt in front of You to get some cover and concealment, but works best during a retreat to help the tanks. That would be what the Germans called a Sturm gechutz like the jagdpanther.

[@hannahranga]

Plus we're looking at those guns with the Chieftan for scale not someone closer to average height.

[@iatsd]

@@dmg4415 Stugs were conceptually and operationally nothing to do with the JagdXYZ. That's why they had different names.... Stugs were operated by the artillery branch and Jagdpanzers by the panzer branch. Completely different branches and doctrines and training.

[@mikeking7470]

One advantage to a clockwork Nike is it is hardened vs. EMP.

[@jonathansmith6050]

Though given when it was developed the alternative to clockwork would presumably have been something vacuum tube based -- which would also be inherently resistant to EMP. (Though, the clockwork system is probably quicker, and has a longer mean time between failures, than 50's era vacuum tube based computing)

[@geodegeo1129]

Also impervious to hacking

[@MAZEMIND]

@@geodegeo1129 Facts

[@brianreddeman951]

@@geodegeo1129 Not true: old school hacking using screwdrivers, pliers and wrenches.

[@SonsOfLorgar]

​@@brianreddeman951 but couldn't be executed remotly and thus was easily countered by K9 antivirus and either .30 06, .303, 7.62×51, .45 or 9×19mm firewalls😉

[@steveschainost7590]

It may be that a mechanical computer on a defensive missile might be immune to an electromagnetic pulse weapon attack.

[@Angrymuscles]

The Japanese remote controlled bomb tank, finally something Chieftain won't dispute he can't fit in.

[@brucelee3388]

But he could sit on it and get carried around...........

[@Angrymuscles]

@@brucelee3388 Yes, of course! Why didn't I think of that before? That's a much funnier mental image that I can't unsee now.

[@AtholAnderson]

The Chieftain just casually closing out the video while standing in front of a legitimate railway gun...

[@christineshotton824]

The big gun at the end was Leopold, formerly at Aberdeen Proving Grounds.

[@ditzydoo4378]

I'd always wondered what befell old Leupold once it left Aberdeen Proving Grounds. and now, I know. Thank you, Chieftain. always a pleasure. ^~^

[@vincentmiller7536]

I live near two of the Nike sites in Michigan. When one was decommissioned and they buried the missile storage facility under a mound of dirt and put soccer fields on top and used the rest of the facility as a park. It has a Nike missile on display. The other was not covered due to not being in a suburb so it is still possible to go and explore the buildings. Detroit was well protected.

[@paulfrantizek102]

Is that in Riverview?

[@markwilliams2620]

Two 10 megaton Soviet warheads targeted at the Warren tank plant disagree. When I found that out in 1992 my only thought was that it would have been quick. 14 Mile and Schoenherr.

[@vincentmiller7536]

Yes, the missile on display is in Riverview. The other site is in Newport off US 24.

[@drewmandulak2200]

⁠@@vincentmiller7536 Unfortunately Ford obliterated the Newport site.

[@mikeynth7919]

@@paulfrantizek102 Patriot Park, IIRC.

[@mattholland8966]

I love the cut back to the little disposable tank to do the track tensioning device! Classic!!!

[@christophercripps7639]

The PAW600 - Uses the high-low pressure system. One most notable use is in the ammunition for the 40 mm M79 & M203 grenade launchers. I read that Rheinmetall came up with this system as an alternative to recoiless systems & the recoiless systems l enormous appetite for propellents.

[@ScottKenny1978]

The PAW600 was honestly a brilliant idea for a light weight AT gun. It lives on in my Weird War 2 armies.

[@davidbrennan660]

I am so glad we got the chance for a shot regarding the Japanese electric gizmo.

[@lamwen03]

When I was a boy we took a tour of the local Nike site. They even opened it up and had the launchers exposed. This was 10 miles east of Los Angeles. I suppose it could still be used if San Bernardino County ever attacks.

[@salemengineer2130]

I grew up in Lincoln MA (just west of Boston)in the 1960's. There were two Nike facilities (I don't know if they were Ajax or Hercules) in town (a very rural town with about 3k inhabitants). One of the facilties was the radar site on top of a drumlin at Drumlin Farm. The missile launch facility was a mile or so away South of Farrar Pond. Back in the mid-60's we were told the system was obsolete and it was manned by the National Guard (not regular Army or Air Force). So I was a bit surprised when I snow shoed over to the missile launch facility in the winter of 1968 and found that it was surrounded by a double fence (electrified) and the area was being patroled with K9's. In retrospect this was because of the nuclear warheads but no one had bothered to tell the public about them. We only found out about them a few years later after they were removed from the site by helicopter. I don't know where all the sites were around Boston but I know there was one in Needham MA and another on an island in Boston Harbor.

[@B1llthech1ck5n]

Had the privilege of visiting the support facility during AIT. It's an awesome collection and I definitely wish it was open to the public. Thanks for doing a video on it!

[@16Tango]

When I enlisted, end of 92, I became a 16T Patriot Missile Crewmember and most of the E7 and up had been Nike guys.

[@fauzin3338]

I really couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that particular intact I-Go demolition vehicle/tracked mine. Long ago, I thought it was just one of those parts of history that you may only see in some random, small corners of the internet with no more surviving examples in the world. At that time, I was intrigued by the fact that Japan created something resembling the German Goliath tracked mine, several years BEFORE it was produced. I searched for its origin and history, only to find two bad-quality photos and a short historical description of the machine. So here I am, mind-blown and delighted with this video. I must express my utmost gratitude and appreciation for this video, Chieftain!

[@fauzin3338]

To celebrate this amazing discovery, I am sharing a little history of this exotic machine: Type 97 I-Go/Type 98 Ya-I-Go (Japanese Goliath) The project for a Japanese RC tank with the function of destroying enemy fortifications like the German Goliath began in late 1933. The Japanese decided it would be more economical to develop a small tank powered by electricity. This vehicle is connected with 13 cables on the back. The 11 wires are to control, and the 2 wires are to power the vehicle. For ease of transportation, the cables were divided into 250-meter sections which can be spliced. The maximum connection length is 500 meters for safety. The vehicle was loaded with 35 kg explosives at the front and weighed a total of 200 kg. In 1935 the vehicle was tested and could satisfy the Japanese, so the project was continued. It was improved with braided cables so it was safe to use the vehicle up to 1,000 meters. The Japanese considered that the explosives were insufficient, so the explosives were increased to 40 kg and a 2.7 kg "Bangalore" type explosive was installed to destroy obstacles and barbed wire. This vehicle was inaugurated in 1937 under the name "Type 97 I-Go". The 40 kg explosives were still considered insufficient to beat enemy bunkers. So in the same case as Germany which developed Sd.Kfz. 304 Mittlerer Ladungsträger "Springer", Japan also developed the I-Go to be even bigger, capable of carrying 300 kg of explosives (now compare that to the Springer which was capable of carrying 330 kg of explosives). Not forgetting to add improvised Bangalore explosives with an explosive power of 3.2 kg of TNT. This version also has 5mm thick armor. This development version was formalized in 1938 under the name "Type 98 Ya-I-Go (Otsu)". In total, approximately 300 units of both types were produced from 1935-1943. The first time these vehicles were used was in Manchuria in 1939, by the 27th Independent Engineer Regiment. Each squad gets 2 units of Type 97/98 as equipment. In operation, each unit uses several modified Type 96 trucks as generator carriers and transportation. In April 1945 the regiment was transferred to Honshu Island to strengthen its defenses there in preparation for an Allied invasion. However, until the end of the war in August 1945, this vehicle was never even used against the enemy. After the surrender of Japan, (presumably) all of these vehicles were destroyed/scrapped so that nothing survived to be kept in museums. Perhaps because of this and the vehicle's lack of encounters with Allied/Soviet forces, the I-Go/Ya-I-Go never gained the popularity that its "distant relative" had in Europe.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Always glad to be of service...

[@BleedingUranium]

Thank you to both of you for the video footage and the history, I love when seemingly lost pieces of history turn out to not be, and especially getting some good quality shots of something not otherwise accessible to the public. :)

[@ExUSSailor]

There are a few amazingly well preserved Nike sites here in New Jersey. They're popular with urban explorers.

[@MandolinMagi]

San Francisco has a site that stll mostly works, the SF-88L site's magazine still opens and elevates.

[@nonamesplease6288]

"Leopold" was the first thing you saw when you parked your car at the old APG museum, and an impressive sight he was. He was a favorite of mine when I was a kid and, later, of my own kids as well. Good to see him under a roof, behind glass, and out of the weather!

[@Mishn0]

You must not have noticed the great big 16" coastal defense gun that was next to the path from the parking lot!

[@spaman7716]

The 105mm gun making Nicholas look small really gives you a good idea as to how massive the the thing was 😂

[@stitch626aloha]

It werfs panzerabfers Dear God, Lt Col... you had me snickering for a good ten minutes

[@M.M.83-U]

4:09 that's wonderfull! I have never seen one even remotely in such good conditions. Thank you.

[@jakeholmannf]

I work up the street sir, welcome to Fort Gregg-Adams!

[@Odin029]

That builder's plate needs to have a warning... "If you can read this, it's already too late"

[@ymishaus2266]

FRONT TOWARD ENEMY

[@richardmeyeroff7397]

There were three versions of the Nike series, in addition to the Ajax and Hercules there was the Zeus. remember this because the Zeus was stationed at the far end of Rockaway peninsula in NYC. I didn't know about then until the 70's when they were removed.

[@AsbestosMuffins]

from what I can tell one of Cleveland's Herculese batteries was where the tri-c parma campus is today or there's an old mechanics garage there, the roads were reconfigured at some point

[@arsenalxa4421]

I remember reading about a former Nike missile site in North Central Texas that was being converted into a home. One of the missile bunkers was going to need some work as it was flooded.

[@JimmySailor]

The PAW 600 (Panzerabwehrwerfer 600) is a fascinating weapon. It’s actually most similar to a giant M203. Its high/low pressure system accomplishes the same thing in both cases: turn a kick into a gentle shove. This made it capable of firing a very large projectile without a heavy barrel. Had the system matured sooner it could have taken a serious bite out of Russian tank forces. Its only drawback was range, against a moving target it wouldn’t have been much use past 1000m, a low velocity smooth bore round being doubly difficult to hit anything with. It could have served a similar role as a recoilless gun, but without the tell tale back blast. Instead German doctrin went for fewer, massive, long range “sniper” style AT guns like the 128mm, probably in the thinking that you wouldn’t want to let the Russians get that close. But in hindsight there’s nothing Russian commanders loved to do more than arrange massive preparatory bombardments and then roll the tanks. A 2000m ranged AT gun wasn’t as much use when the enemy advances under smoke.

[@ssgtmole8610]

Chieftan will definitely not fit in the I Go, but Mrs. Chieftan's prized pup could probably take it for a spin. 🐶😊

[@blueboats7530]

That mechanical Nike launch control computer may seem quaint, but it's efficient compared to the electronic aerial target guidance system, which involved a barn sized building full of heat intensive 1950's electronics and 3, count em 3 separate radar and transmitter and receiver towers. At the San Francisco site, the remainer of that complex is atop nearby Hill 88.

[@stanleyspadowski235]

My dad manned the radar on a Nike site in Germany in the 70’s. Growing up in New Jersey, I snuck onto a decommisioned site behind a high school. Sadly, the underground command center was flooded (likely on purpose) but the above ground launch pads were intact. Crazy to think the whole goal was to shoot down bombers with nukes - and have the fallout irradiate the ground below to slow an invasion force.

[@LevitatingCups]

Unless the blast touches the ground, it shouldnt irradiate things so much, not sure if they knew it back then. (it will still irradiate stuff but not as much as, say ground blown nuke).

[@SonsOfLorgar]

The EMP would be a fraction worse than a ground blast though still local.

[@hannahranga]

That the downsides were considered worth it is the bit that terrifies me. Like I can see how the logical progression of thinking got it into use but still maddness

[@GeneralJackRipper]

Fallout is the result of ground particles being drawn through the fireball and ejected as the particulate rain from the mushroom cloud. Set your nuke off high enough, and you get no ground to fireball interface. Air defense nukes would have produced very little to zero fallout.

[@Mishn0]

It's also a case of a kiloton's worth of fallout vs a few megatons worth augmented by whatever parts of your cities were mixed into the brew.

[@drmarkintexas-400]

🏆🤗🇺🇲🙏🎖️ Thank you for sharing

[@ChevTecGroup]

There is a T8 90mm in private hands. Its a beast to see it shoot

[@felicitylongis3605]

Got way too excited to see that XM104 at 3:50. Definitely has my vote for an Inside the Hatch priority next time you're at Fort Lee.

[@rn2dresq]

A 105mm US towed ATG. Who knew. Thanks. PS. Reminds me to see my chiropractor.

[@robertakerson7186]

Mr. Chieftain- Thanks for showing some artillery pieces. That first tank in the program is the only military vehicle I have ever seen which has a Simonized finish.

[@TwisterTLT1]

Teases us with Leopold...

[@HumbleDirtMerchant]

Regarding Nike: A study was done where a nuclear device was detonated at high altitude while two officers and a reporter stood directly under it. These men lived to ripe old ages with no complications. Because there is no particulate at high altitude fallout is not formed, and the radiation dissipates before it reaches ground level. With the low projected kill rate of counter ICBM systems, low yield nuclear devices are probably the best chance against a MIRV swarm.

[@StephenNowak88]

> "Oh, yeah, they've also got a big gun." I had to rewind it at that point. The thing was so big, I didn't even *see* it at first.

[@nekomakhea9440]

105 mm AT gun: *exists* "Your back problems are not service related"

[@MFitz12]

I always thought the PAW600 was an interesting gun both tactically and technically. By 1945 it was the only practical solution to the problem of an anti-tank gun usable by infantry until the arrival of large enough recoilless guns post-war. It basically fired 81mm mortar bombs, which would have made it a useful infantry gun as well.

[@michaelbevan3285]

I thought it fired a type of Panzershreck round that didnt fit the actual Panzershreck because this one needed a base cartridge. Even the strained German supply system couldnt cope with what was effectively two types of Panzershreck rounds and the possibility of confusion so this gun was barely used, compared to the Panzershreck.

[@MFitz12]

@@michaelbevan3285 - The caliber is the key - 81mm. It also had a bigger brother in 105mm - same as the heavy mortar used by mountain units. It basically fired a modified mortar bomb sat in a cartridge case cut down from one for the LeFH 18 10.5cm howitzer. There was no rocket. The resulting PAW600 / 8H64 gun was much lighter and much faster and cheaper to produce than the PAK 40 while having similar anti-tank performance, albeit at shorter range since the muzzle velocity was meh. Because the rounds were derived from standard mortar rounds production tooling already existed and it could fire rounds like HE, smoke and illuminating in addition to HEAT-FS. The Panzerschreck used the rocket from the 8.8 cm Raketenwerfer 43, an overly complicated gun/rocket launcher which fired the rocket like a gun, using a cartridge case. The German's quickly worked out they could skip the cartridge case and the carriage-mounted gun and just fire the rockets out of a simple tube resting in the firers shoulder.

[@ScottKenny1978]

Yes, as Chieftain mentioned the PAK40 is too heavy to push anywhere but on a paved road. Even the PAK38 is really too heavy to push far by hand. But the PAW600 was much lighter than either, and could also effectively replace the 7.5cm infantry guns, allowing a reduction in guns and personnel per regiment.

[@cboetigphone]

2 comments: amazing. Again with the ADA. Nothing wrong with an analog computer. They can be extremely accurate. When they went to modernize the Iowa Class battleships, they kept the analog computer as it did the job just fine. My Tank, an M60A1 had an analog computer. worked just as well as the first series of digital computers. Digital computers were cheaper, easier to reprogram and as memory increased could handle more inputs. But in the 1960s analog computers were just fine.

[@ScottKenny1978]

The electronics available in the 1980s couldn't handle the recoil shock.

[@hoilst265]

There's a line from Black Buck documentary - the RAF guys who were meant to sneak into Russia and drop buckets of sunshine on the Soviets in their Vulcans, but instead went to bomb Port Stanley airfield in the Falklands - where they described their bombing computer: "Sprockets, wheels, bits of bicycle chains". They had open days where WWII Bomber Command veterans were shown around the aircraft in 80s, and were quite alarmed when they old timers would go "Oooh, look at that, Fred! We had that over Berlin in 1945!"

[@SonsOfLorgar]

​@@hoilst265 if it isn't broken and not too heavy, no point in replacing it. An analogue mechanical computer has a lot less bugs and if it's clockwork operated, it doesn't care about ECM...

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@SonsOfLorgar and it was paid for, as the single greatest threat to HM armed forces is HM Treasury.

[@chefchaudard3580]

There were already analog solid state computers around, at the time, using transistors and operational amplifiers later in the 60s. As accurate, but much more compact. There was a mix of both technologies. Old one was still in use, because it worked, new one replacing it in new designs.

[@michaelguerin56]

Thank you. A very nice selection of kit. Always something to learn.

[@Vince_A_Bull]

the odds are good and goods are odd

[@rolofox7283]

Could we get a high speed tour of the Fort Lee Ordnance collection? That would be amazing!! With everything in one continuous video?

[@boyd21]

Enjoyed your video. A little bit of this a little bit of that. And all of it was interesting. Like to see more videos like this.

[@Euro2610]

That Pak 43 zoom was menacing as hell.

[@cboetigphone]

Reference the fallout quote "Fallout will happen either way" Not really the case. while with a fission bomb there will be airborne radioactive particles those will stay airborne and be in the very high atmosphere unless the bomb detonates close enough to the ground where the fireball touches the ground. Now dirt (or water) is heated to very high levels and is sucked up into the sky fusing with those airborne radioactive particles. The mix is now heavy and heads downward producing a Fallout pattern. So if the NIKE Ajax or Hercules engages the bomber at a reasonable altitude (the AA nuke is not very big) you get a lot of high altitude particles but no fallout. If the bomber is engaged low you will have some water based fallout. So good to engage over the sea but most likely the engagement will be too high to produce fallout. Plotting an altitude to avoid fallout was part of a nuclear targeter's job at least in the NATO countries.

[@MrDgwphotos]

There was a test involving the Genie air to air missiles involving live observers on the ground, they were not affected.

[@cboetigphone]

@@MrDgwphotos Quite likely. Most military people learn Nuclear defense - how to react to the worst possible outcome. I was amazed when I had to learn offense that worst case is not the norm. A genie is not a big nuke and is also fired at altitude. The likelihood of its fireball contacting the ground is very small. Most of the 40s and 50s test were low altitude airbursts which will produce fallout. You can see that in the late 50s most test were high altitude. There is still a measurable amount of radiation in the upper atmosphere with an airburst but it is very widely spread and descends very slowly.

[@kaiserwilhelmshatner3156]

"Fallout will happen either way" Grabs blue jumpsuit and bottlecaps!

[@erikverstrepen3373]

That 105 !! 😳 Would have packed a punch though

[@electrolytics]

Thanks Chieftain. Always great stuff.

[@toepopper]

I've manhandled a Soltam M71 out of a ditch before - along with twenty other guys. That was only 2 tons heavier than the T8 105mm and even then it was a heck of a push!

[@JamesLaserpimpWalsh]

Oh. I musta missed this one. Cheers for the vid squire.

I did a Video on why there are no (next to no) AT Guns anymore. And I said that modern ones would be to big, because of the calibre requirement. Chieftain standing next to a 105 at Gun kind of illustrates that point nicely. Although it looks bigger then the L7 105 that is outside of a tank in the german tank museum. Maybe some metalugical advancements made it possible to build Guns a bit smaller for the sa calibre.

[@LeadHeadBOD]

The 105mm T8 is most definitely bigger than the L7, gun barrel alone is nearly 1.5m longer.

[@redspecial4102]

I-Go: Apple lawyers will still try & sue for copyright infringement

[@MrJarskiperkele]

that railroad gun

[@chrissouthgate4554]

Forge for mounted Troops; so, Track Tension for Horses?

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

The 105mm could have been useful at the Bulge if you could pre-position them someplace you knew the Germans were going to want to pass through. Could have been a nasty surprise for someone in a King Tiger.

[@bigbob1699]

I was a computer operator in The Danvers Mass. Nike site D 1/5 for three years. I am proud to say we stopped the Chinese Commies from over running Boston.

[@Dog.soldier1950]

Analog fire control computer. Not simple but highly accurate until digital came along

[@lewiswestfall2687]

Thanks C

[@Absaalookemensch]

WE had a Nike site above our High School and I remember when they removed the warheads by helicopter to decommission the site.

[@chriskortan1530]

No Nike-Zeus ? It was produced and probably only months from deployment. A victim of the incredibly rapid advancements in missile technology and better politicking by the chair-force.

[@brianjackson185]

@cheiftan when talking about the Japanese Goliath, you made a statement about how it has sprockets at front and back… my question for a QA.. is why do tanks and afv’s not have a toothed sprocket on the front and back of the track run more commonly.. seems like it would help keep the track on better ect

[@edl617]

I was reading about the 240 mm howitzer M1, popularly nicknamed the "Black Dragon", did you ever do a piece on big artillery?

[@akfarmboy49]

I live in Fairbanks Ak there was 3 or 4 Nike battery here and several in Anchorage. I have a crane that was used to load the Nike launcher. North of town is a scientific rocket launching area and originally they were using the old Nike boosters till they got used up.

[@RobertLee25]

Wish it was open to the general public

[@klepper00]

Nike Ajax did not have a nuclear warhead and the Hercules could have a HE warhead . Thanks for the video ! Maybe someday they will have an open house 🙏🏻 Nike Vet

[@edl617]

We lived not far from a TAC base in Ohio. You would hear the Century series jets taking off.

[@jpc6235]

Greetings from the old country, Nicholas. Hope all is well with you.

[@MilesStratton]

I was not aware of the 105mm AT gun...dear lord thats one big SOB

[@firehawkdelta]

Regarding the Nike: well, if your choice is between fallout from a small nuclear device at 30-50k feet, and fallout from a much larger device detonated at optimum destructive altitude over a city (or a ground detonation for bunker-busters)...

[@axelrajr]

outside the hatch on the big gun at the end when?! but seriously, very nice video. thanks.

[@DubGathoni]

Question for Exercise (Q and A) 27; a bolted together piece of let's say a Sherman HVSS unit is seized, what do you do? Also, before anti-seize, how do you keep things like HVSS units from working themselves loss or seizing in the first place?

[@popuptarget7386]

I remember little David at Aberdeen back in 1987. It's an impressive mortar

[@Mishn0]

It was originally designed to test air dropped bombs if I'm not mistaken. Was it ever used for that or did that not come to pass either?

[@stevewatson6839]

@@Mishn0 Designed to breach the Siegfried Line, but got overtaken by events.

[@Mishn0]

@@stevewatson6839 Ah, okay, the bomb testing idea came later. So it was used, just not in combat.

[@ulfhedtyrsson]

I always though the Japanese Goliath was just some poor kid thats been ordered to grab a AT mine or a lunge mine and BONZAI

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

Mate, there are still places in the world, where everything is transported by your Mk.1 Mule.

[@tedvelas1187]

I have 2 questions for you. And knowing and understanding you not commenting on some current affairs, I will try to keep this general. What is the current US policy on troops and cell phones? Seems to be causing a problem for someone. Also has corruption played a large part in any countries military before? Thank you and always look forward to your videos

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

I would not be surprised if corruption has played a part in the past, though I'm not sure I can come up with specifics. I've not been on a true field exercise in years, I don't know where the policy is on phones right now but I have my suspicions...

[@MrKronikDeception]

Now I'm wondering who I would need to contact to get access to the traveling forge to take an inventory and measurements.

[@SaiunDS]

interesting short video, speaking of the mobile forge. Did you have any book or video tip's for the topic "tank maintenance in WW II" specific on the Allied side? Like, how was the organisation, which tools and vehicles got used and which criteria's decided about a tank goes for repair or just get replaced by a new one. I found an old report from 1954 about german tank maintenance in WWII from the US Army, but sadly they say there only it is handled differently but not how the US Army did it. So some insight to US or UK or even Soviet maintenance doctrin would be great 😊

[@michaelbevan3285]

The Russians used a different system for deciding whether a tank would be saved or scrapped. If a tank was unable to be used immediately, it was regarded as a "loss" to the Unit until it was repaired or declared to be only fit for scrap or Depot overhaul. So, a typical tank unit would declare to it's senior parent unit how many tanks it had available each day, so if it had an establishment of 20, say, and 6 were out of action, then it had 6 "losses" against it. If it redeemed a vehicle then that vehicle would be posted as active again. A tank unit commander who "lost" a lot of tanks, whether they be actually destroyed or merely repairable, would expect close scrutiny from on high, so the pressure was on to keep as many active runners on hand as possible, even if a vehicle was not technically entirely battle worthy.

[@fabiogalletti8616]

Don't know where and when, but I have seen the manual for a WWII armourer shop. It was on two 2-1/2 tons trucks, one with the bench and a gazillion drawers (each with some specific tools in army jargon like "plier, round nose, 2"1/2, extractor, Mk2"), other truck with a lathe and another gazillion drawers and crates that had to be removed from inside the truck to work, each crate with another set of drawers and tool kits on its own. All labeled, all exactly filled with the correct spanner. Guess the mechanic shop back then was more or less the same "tetris meet toolshed, on steroids", plus a crane.

[@larryfontenot9018]

A mechanical computer will operate regardless of EMP, so it'll keep on doing its job when an electronic computer burns out. That analog computer that was pointed out is probably so rugged that it still works perfectly. There are definite times when older technology is better.

[@stevewatson6839]

MiG-25's radar and fire control come to mind.

[@shaider1982]

2:08 the prime mover looks like the large truck the Chieftain featured in a past video.

[@Anarcho-harambeism]

Im here for AIT, i cant believe i missed you

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

I recorded this late last summer.

[@alantheinquirer7658]

Perhaps they went for clockwork fire controls as it's less likely to be affected by an EM pulse?

[@fearthehoneybadger]

Give us Borabus.

[@TheKing1cobra]

seems a 105mm AT gun is around the size where you hit "great in theory, not in practice" in the towed gun role...

[@mattbowden4996]

In truth, they'd already got there with guns like the 17 pdr and the Pak 43, both guns being wildly impractical to manhandle. The largest anti-tank gun to see service that was actually practical to use was probably the Pak 40.

[@christopherreed4723]

Just remember, the story doesn't stop there. When the Soviets developed the 125mm 2A46 gun to arm their next generation of main battle tanks in 1970, they made - you guessed it - a towed version. But not right away. No, the 2A45 "Sprut" didn't enter production until the late 1980s. You know, contemporary with little-known, mostly ineffective experiments like...MILAN. But at least the good folks at the Petrov Design Bureau were lavish enough to include an auxiliary motor that allows a 2A45 to be moved around a bit by itself. Because, apparently, it was realized that the Sprut was too much even for the vaunted strength and determination of a crew of true New Soviet Men.

[@mqcapps]

I miss the museum at APG

[@ihorbychkov8742]

OMG that XM551 is so shiny that at first glance I thought it had 20mm Vulcan gun 😂

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Nick: Great video.

[@norad_clips]

I kinda like the crunchy audio, unironically

[@thurin84]

sssoooooooo wheres the bayonet mount for the I-go?

[@victormiranda9163]

nice vid.

[@tacomas9602]

4:13 love that joke

[@theapostatejack8648]

The I-GO Boom?

[@larsmathiesen8999]

Cats on Rumbas are a thing !. So could we get sclips with The Chieftain on remotely controlled Goliats e.t.c.??