Tank Chats

David Fletcher looks at the eccentric Thornycroft Bison, a concrete armoured lorry, created by the British to defend airfields in the early years of the Second World War.
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[@MikaelKKarlsson]

The moving pillbox the British Army had been asking for since 1914. Marvellous.

[@kendodd8734]

Well at least the rest of the dads army gang in the gunnery part wouldn’t b able to here jonesy shouting don’t panic as he drove them on to the airfield

[@maxkronader5225]

The fact that this sort of thing was seriously considered, and even produced in limited numbers, illustrates rather clearly just how desperate those early war days were.

[@Emdee5632]

How about the proposed 2000 ft. aircraft carrier constructed from Pykrete (wood pulp and ice)?

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Which is why the people who are so sure that a German invasion of the UK in 1940/41 would fail utterly are so thoroughly Dunning Krugering their opinion.

[@garyhewitt489]

Yet the US in Vietnam created something very similar to escort convoys.

[@garyhewitt489]

@@princeofcupspoc9073 I can argue that it would have. Purely on the supply side problems once the navy sailed down and cut of the channel. I reckon it's 50/50 to be honest. Interesting war-game.

[@ivanlazarevic78]

@@garyhewitt489 if Navy sailed down it would be carnage for the Navy

[@benholroyd5221]

"Theres no hills in airfields, if you ever go and have a look at one they're usually flat" As someone who is always getting told off for being sarcastic, I doff my cap to you sir.

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

Lots of airfields in Britain did have hills in them...and some still do... note the chock behind the rear wheel in the photo of one parked on a "flat" airfield.....

[@jimtaylor294]

Emphasis on *usually* flat.

[@realhorrorshow8547]

"It stayed where it was put". Always a virtue.

[@petermallia558]

I love it when people use old terms like "Doff my cap", absolutely beautiful English, within our wonderful Britishness.

[@billd.iniowa2263]

Whoa, a cement truck... Made with real cement! Thanx Tank Museum. You're a national treasure. I just wish it was OUR nation.

[@JTA1961]

M~U~D in England

[@AlexR2648]

It's called a "Bison" because that's what parents said to their sons before they got into them.

[@ironman8257]

lol

[@Kiyoone]

LUL

[@ultimathule3834]

indeed funny 😂

[@davidedge2189]

😂😂

[@henrysokol3466]

BAD! >newspaper smack< BAD dad joke-er! Go to your corner!

[@FolgoreCZ]

Well, when the alternative is six Home Guard guys WITHOUT a pillbox vs. elite German Paratroopers, it suddenly doesn't sound like as bad of an idea.

[@mostlyharmless7154]

But there were pillboxes all over England- and we had some terrible tanks that never left the country- this vehicle was an indulgence in absolute pessimism and it made us a laughing stock.

[@kleinerprinz99]

Thing is there were no "elite" german para troopers. And if some showed up later in the war, there certainly was not enough of them. Manpower was not something the German Reich had in abundance compared to USA or Soviet Union or even England. In '45 they started to conscript teenagers at the age of 16 and sometimes younger. And they indoctrinated the Hitlerjugend so much sometimes those children were the only ones left fighting to the end while the adults run away to save their hides.

[@PatGilliland]

@@mostlyharmless7154 Dad's Army is a great series but hardly reflective of the reality. Desperate - yes, laughing stick - no.

[@markstoyle2244]

Dad's army was not a documentry, I think taking your history from a TV comedy is not an accurate as it should be, do you also believe that Ello Ello was true about the French resistance. After a short period of time the home guard had decent training and would have put some stout resistance. Try some research, they hide information in books, try some.

[@simonmorris4226]

The home guard comprised in the main of men in their mid forties to fifties who had served in WW1. Basically combat hardened and highly trained soldiers who have lived long enough to get really clever and tough. And angry!

[@OTElron]

My brain if anybody else would say "There are no hills on airfields. They are flat, they have to be.": Oh thx Cpt. Obvious. My brain when David Fletcher says that: "Thank you for the information, Sir. Please continue to edcuate me." This man is a treasure of mankind.

[@cryptobox128]

3:35 "WIthout hills, you had a chance of the vehicle moving a little bit." (tears of laughter)

[@nonamesplease6288]

I know it's crap, but it is still actually a pretty cool curiosity. The fact that men were willing to get in the back of the thing shows how deadly serious Britain was in those dark days.

[@ptonpc]

More than likely it would have worked. It was not intended to be the only defence and against lightly armoured German paratroopers, it would have lasted long enough for reinforcements to arrive to help.

[@simonmorris4226]

We are deadly bloody serious now!

[@korbell1089]

"Where do you want the pillbox?" "yes"

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

"Willing" to get in the back??? "Jones, Smith, Brown you 'orrible shirkers..in the back and be right quick about it!"

[@nonamesplease6288]

@@ptonpc Yeah, there probably some Beaverettes on hand to help out.

[@melaniejason3912]

That would be the perfect car for James May from Top Gear

[@fancyultrafresh3264]

Captain Slow and his concrete lorry.

[@loddude5706]

Yep. Hammond would flip it over & Clarkson would just offer it fish pellets . . .

[@melaniejason3912]

@@fancyultrafresh3264 he build a car from mud and later from bricks on the grand tour so it's not out of imagination

[@melaniejason3912]

@@loddude5706 I.mean James already build a car like that

[@namenlosnutz]

@@melaniejason3912 But it was Jeremy Clarkson who built concrete Mercedes S-class

[@JohnyG29]

I think it's a pretty good idea for airfield defence. You can move several of these out against lightly armed paratroops who would've had little hard cover on an airfield, whilst the regular troops mobilised to back them up. Or you could have blocked runways with them if required.

[@killerwhiterabbit570]

They were not the only lorry based vehicles redesigned for defence. After loosing a lot material with the fall of France, lorry chassis's were used as a basis of new armoured fighting vehicles. If you are interested looking further into this class of improvised AFV's, the Bedford OYD Armadillo's is a good start. The Bedford OYD Armadillo Mk III for example had a 37 mm clip loaded cannon and was also used for aerodrome defence.

[@Sshooter444]

Wait till its dark and throw a few molotov cocktails. Bunker turns into oven

[@CountScarlioni]

@@Sshooter444 If it's taken until dark then the paratroopers are in serious trouble. Measures like these were designed to delay attackers for minutes, maybe an hour or so at a push. Just long enough for a regular force to turn up. There were absolutely no illusions over the limited usefulness of the Home Guard, but every minute of time they could force Germany to spend in neutralising them would up Britain's chances of repelling attackers. The major problem with Operation Sealion was always going to be Germany not being able to land troops on the UK quicker than defenders could contain them.

[@garywheeler7039]

@@CountScarlioni : I bet the British wish they had some of these in Crete when the German paratroopers attacked and there were no British tanks available. Yeah, a speaking tube would be a good addition. Off road they would probably get stuck, but even if overloaded, they could get around paved roads and paved airfields pretty well I imagine. Even without a working engine they could push or tow them around to different parts of the airport to keep the German reconnaissance off balance.

[@Raptor747]

Yeah, this. It was never meant to stand up to a proper attack, or to defend against any anti-armor weaponry. It was meant to prevent lightly armed paratroopers from being able to just secure an airfield with minimal resistance and minimal delay. Whether or not it would actually be an effective position to fight from is irrelevant--if it takes the German paratroopers even three minutes to deal with them, that's three minutes of precious time denied to the enemy.

[@henrysokol3466]

I note that even the shown example (which used a fiberglass mockup of the cab armor) is heavily supported by jacks in the museum. I can also imagine the strange comedic sight of a German trooper managing to enter the cab, shoot any crew, and drive the whole pillbox full of bewildered Home Guard far away from the fighting area!

[@timberry4709]

They probably would have been more useful in preventing planes/gliders from landing if just the driver got in, drove it onto the runway and then bailed out.

[@justanothercaptain6566]

Totally agree with you, Sir. It would be better as a runway "stopper" to prevent plans from landing. I wouldn't want to fight from it. Ouch!

[@slartybartfarst55]

@@justanothercaptain6566 It could have been a Monty Python style ploy - the Germans would see it heading sloooooowly towards them, & die laughing!

[@shatbad2960]

That would have been a hell of an accident!

[@PatGilliland]

That was one of the design considerations. As seen on the continent, paratroops would secure the airfield and infantry heavier weapons would be flown in using conventional transport aircraft. One of these parked halfway down the runway would make a mess out of any JU-52 trying to land.

[@TheRustylungs]

Exactly

[@Epicurus78]

"The vehicle is very little more than a death trap for anyone inside it - but that is how they were designed" Genius :D

[@JustSomeCanuck]

As others have pointed out in the comments, remember that this was designed to fight paratroopers immediately after they had landed and were at their most vulnerable without any heavy weapons. German paratroopers (from what I've heard and read) in particular only landed carrying a pistol and picked up more weapons from containers landed nearby. I put it in the category of vehicles that would have been effective at what they were designed to do, but useless otherwise.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Paratroopers were very vulnerable if surprise is lost as they simply do not have staying power to long-duration fight and that problem still hasn't been solved completely. That machine would have been nasty surprise to be roaming around drop zone.

[@johnd2058]

4:08 I agree with you on a technical level. Tactically, however, pillboxes (rolling or not) require interlocking fields of fire and mutually supportive fires to be effective, especially against trained assault troops. If these boxes weren't 'emplaced' correctly, pistols and grenades would have been enough.

[@EmergencyChannel]

Paratroopers aren't used very much anymore due to the effectiveness of helicopters.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@EmergencyChannel Because helos can deliver as well as evacuate troops or because there hasn't been any big airborne operations since Market Garden?

[@matthewcaughey8898]

@@EmergencyChannel tell that to the 82nd airborne

[@CaptainBango]

I love that each tire has a different tread.

[@SueBobChicVid]

I found it interesting that the name was not derived from the appearance. It certainly fits.

[@johnmurrell3175]

Airfields also had Pickett-Hamilton forts to provide defenses in the open areas. These were fixed in position but could be lowered level with the ground when not in use and raised in the event of the enemy landing. One reason for the Bison and the Pickett- Hamilton forts is that you do not really want obstructions near the runways in case a landing aircraft hits them. In the early part of the war most fighter airfields were grass and so aircraft could land in any direction depending on the wind.

[@sureshot8399]

How much weight of concrete can this frame carry? "Yes"

[@_Matsimus_]

*Bricklayers* - “Am I a joke to you?....”

[@vermillion.__-_.]

Lol

[@danielwilson5102]

Plenty of bricks being laid by the men in the back :D

[@valhalanguardsman2588]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWrSladslJ5_nMk The ultimate answer

[@trentdabs5245]

She's a Brick House She's Mighty Mighty Just Letting it Al, Hang Out

[@henrysokol3466]

"Sorry sir... but you _are_ cementing a concrete hut onto the top of a truck."

[@reecewestmoreland6137]

Much like the Bob Semple tank from New Zealand it was a case of work with what you've got or role over and get walked over. Shows that Britain wasn't going down without a real nasty fight.

[@tortron]

Id rather the concrete of the bison over the corrugated iron and laying on the engine of the semple

[@guypierson5754]

I don't think it looks too bad. I'd rather have that than nothing: It's bulletproof, all your mates are in there with you, watching your back, and if it looks like German paras might overrun your "bunker", you scream at the blokes in the front to haul the whole pony show 400 metres down the airfield, see how the Germans like jogging under fire to keep up? Everything works if you can make it work.

[@captaindreadnought212]

it looks like something the Walmington-on-sea platoon would put together to upgrade from Jones' van

[@tech4pros1]

That is what it pretty much was.. Take an old truck chassis, chuck a big lump of concrete on the back of it and stick it somewhere the Germans were likely to drop fallschirmjagers. Not very hard to construct, any totters yard and builders labourers could manage it without need for scarce supplies of armour steel. Not forgetting the thousands of vehicles we left behind during the British evacuation from Normandy!

[@timorvet1]

The very first "Self Propelled Pillbox" gentleman for your inspection.

[@joshuaa.5523]

Big S.P.P.

[@derekmills1080]

Thanks again, David. What's astounding is that Bison are still one of the pre-eminent manufacturers of precast concrete products. Hopefully a lot less bonkers than this curious contraption. Ambrose and Mathews (both ex Royal Engineers) founded the company after the Great War.

[@alexandermarken7639]

I remember reading that the concrete was sufficient to stop a 37 mm AP round so in 1940 they would have been fairly useful if interlocking fields of fire with other Bison's got factored in. The Home Guard soldiers typically had WW1 experience or in some cases Boer or Sudan for example and the standards for shooting fairly good. A man who is not scared to death because the bullets hit concrete can fire more accurately.,

[@henrysokol3466]

To me the amusement factor is haning an armor of *concrete walls* on top of a truck cab.

[@V8_screw_electric_cars]

As always, concrete facts.

[@henrysokol3466]

Can you feel a twinge? My astral form is poking yours in the eye for that pun.

[@ohslowpoke4720]

All the comments about the Germans laughing themselves to death for this thing. Don't forget german paratroopers landed without their guns they were located in a box that landed separately. In addition they had no anti-tank weapons and nothing they had could pierce the relatively thin armor of these pill boxes

[@gusty9053]

i think they carried demolition charges of some type. That would definetly dent the "armor" on these things. I'm not sure a grenade near the thing or under the thing would be comfortable for the men inside either.

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

The Germans had gliders heavy enough to send at least mountain artillery. Not to mention a glider that couple carry a tank, but that was a bit later.

[@kleinerprinz99]

FG42

[@PatGilliland]

@@kleinerprinz99 much later in the war.

[@Twirlyhead]

@@kleinerprinz99 What about it.

[@Angrybogan]

Always a pleasure, Dr Fletcher, sir.

[@alanfaulkner6329]

Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. Love it.

[@alanfaulkner6329]

@Sam Jam mmmmm Gower Brewers Beer 🍺

[@DraconX3]

When they said the cement truck was coming and you find out you're totally wrong on what you thought that was lul.

[@domhardiman6437]

Always a pleasure to have David Fletcher share his knowledge.

[@skellyy1]

I worked nextdoor to the Factory in Leeds that made these mobile pillboxes, Bison concrete still going strong.

[@slartybartfarst55]

These Tank Chats are always a pleasure, both for the info, and equally for the presentation & the lovely asides! 😊

[@henrysokol3466]

David Fletcher ones feel like a nice lecture from your favorite uncle while in a military museum... an uncle who just happens to *be* a specialist!

[@ritchie799]

A rather unusual vehicle in all respects. Sort of Heath Robinson and a little bit of imagination thrown in. As expected David paints his wonderful picture of this exhibit and always makes me smile. Hat doffed to you Sir!

[@teaser6089]

David Fletcher: "There are no hills on airfields, you ever go and have a look at one, they're usually flat, they've got to be" Although it seems to be common knowledge, it's always good to have my suspicions of flat airfields to be confirmed every once in a while :D

[@Kiyoone]

I love how people back in time thought that no one was gonna shoot the tires. but hey also, this sir explaining the history behind is a real gold. Is the kind of guy that you must invite in a bbq. Thank you very much sir.

[@roberthardy3090]

Solid tyres possibly

[@captainswoop8722]

Would shooting the tyre make a difference? By the time you are shooting at it it is in place and shooting at you. You are in the open on a flat airfield, they are behind a concrete wall.

[@hughmarloweverest1684]

With sten guns in concert with the .303 Lee-Enfield bolt action rifles, I should think the Bison would have been a formidable vehicle IF two or three others were supporting it within a 100 yards or so, and supporting each other. I am going to light up a pipe and consider this further.

[@stephenduffy5406]

Remember the airfield defense chaps were given the exceptional Lanchester submachine guns with their 50 round mags, so any fallschirmjager has his work cut out for him!

[@markstoyle2244]

They had Lewis guns and Tommy guns as well. The paras had no weapon on landing that could defeat the concrete.

[@zxbzxbzxb1]

@@markstoyle2244 Grenades? If you get close enough of course

[@Jaccayumitty]

@@zxbzxbzxb1 if you put the grenade through one of the holes, game over. Otherwise totally ineffective, even if you held the grenade against the side of the thing.

[@captainswoop8722]

@@Jaccayumitty Would you be the man that had to attack across flat open ground against one though?

[@jmackmcneill]

A lot of people making the claim that German paratroops dropped "unarmed"... while this is technically true, they did so because they were dropping from ultra-low altitude with their weapon-pod right beside them. They had their weapons with them almost as soon as the landed, and they landed in close company without the scattering of British and American higher altitude drops.

[@captainswoop8722]

And yet there are plenty of instances where they didn't find or couldn't get to their weapons pods and had to rely on their pistols.

[@danielboone4796]

Thank you so much for the work you have put in to inform the younger generations. It is a wonderful gift that you have given to the world.

[@richardfisherpottery523]

Still waiting for the David Fletcher bobble head. Could be a good money maker for the museum!

[@darrenchard2221]

I find the tank museum shop a very disappointing experience, a lot of tat and cheap toys!

[@berkayt5319]

"There's no hills on airfields if you go and have a look at one, they're usually flats, they've got to be."

[@stephenarbon2227]

Some on side of hills in New Guinea, pilot goes from as far back as he can, then floors it down hill and hopefully airborne, before dropping off the edge and space below.

[@JTA1961]

HILLarious🐸

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , Mr Fletcher .

[@SunKing968]

Svelte and lovely, a triumph of pure cosmetic beauty over functionality

[@Philistine47]

German paratroops who landed without their rifles, as they tended to do, might well have had some difficulty dealing with a few Home Guards with rifles in a pillbox (mobile or otherwise).

[@teeford2504]

If the bison stayed relatively mobile, I reckon a few guys with Brens could deal a fair bit of damage and then drive to another hotspot. Almost shoot and scoot tactics.

[@dj1NM3]

@@teeford2504 I think that would depend on how slowly the "scoot" part proceeded....

[@williamchamberlain2263]

@@dj1NM3 shoot and stroll?

[@foamer443]

I've not learned of this before. Not how one usually thinks of the German army during WWII, now if it had been said of the British it would have been entirely understandable without a second thought.

[@matthewcaughey8898]

If the driver was an enterprising sort he could park that thing over the Germans weapon cases that they dropped separately. With just handguns and basic small arms it’s unlikely the Germans would have much chance

[@BA-gn3qb]

No communication from the back? What a perfect thing to taxi around my mother in law. 👍👍😉

[@loddude5706]

Bison eh? Cab roof needs some black woolly sandbags & a pair of curved tannoys to shout 'Moo!' when firing. : )

[@Twirlyhead]

Tin cans on string would have sufficed as an intercom.

[@JTA1961]

G~E~T O~U~T & P~U~S~H•••

[@johncoffin9354]

Maybe carrier pigeons? I'm sure they'd appreciate the short trip.

[@Twirlyhead]

@@johncoffin9354 Carrier hamsters then.

[@webtoedman]

I believe this is the example that was found upside down in the woods just south of Sleaford in Lincolnshire. I remember seeing it as a kid as we drove to Grantham, getting more overgrown every year, until somebody realised what it was.

[@Daz555Daz]

Both my kids has this on their "Tank Museum Bottom 5" when we visited recently!

[@foxtrotromeo25]

One of the most curious vehicles in the Tank Museum. 6 soldiers in the back would have been very cramped!

[@aaronleverton4221]

The Lee Enfield isn't the quietest of rifles available at the best of times, but several of them inside a small concrete box? You might survive, I don't think your hearing would.

[@toml8142]

@@aaronleverton4221 the noise tends to come out the same end as the bullet, as long as that bit is poking out it won’t be much worse than any other bunker

[@aaronleverton4221]

@@toml8142 Most of, probably almost all of, sure. But, you'd still get some. The size of this bunker, however, would make it worse as there is very little internal volume, the sound has a lot less further to travel from one hard, noise-reflective surface to another. I can believe they would have refused to use a Bren gun inside it.

[@CountScarlioni]

@@aaronleverton4221 Quite a number of the guys manning these things from the Home Guard would have been WWI veterans. Most of them were probably deaf already!

[@captainswoop8722]

@@aaronleverton4221 the actual shooting would be outside though

[@GapeGang]

Haha I remember seeing this at the museum, always stood out.

[@Xumak525]

God bless British engineering for making this gem

[@ogilkes1]

and Magog protect them!

[@Sheerwater909]

One only has to count the number of remainng pillboxes along the Sudbury (Suffolk) stretch of the River Stour to see how worried the army was about invasion by gliders or paratroops. There are at least six in a two mile length of river with more further along. Mobile pillboxes might have been useful on an airfield.

[@juniusvindex769]

We have hundreds along the Kennet and avon canal, and some inland too ! Here in Wiltshire we have many pillboxes along roads quite literally in the middle of nowhere 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@captainswoop8722]

They were arranged in 'stop lines' . These were the starting points for containing and counter attack movements by regular army units. There were also strings of them surrounding important location like area HQs or command centres. Look up 'the defence of Britain project' they have catalogued all the locations and types of defences archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/dob/

[@forbeshutton5487]

If you moved them around every couple of days, or kept them out of sight in a hangar, they could have given invaders a bit of a surprise if they were going by air recon photos. Perhaps keeping them pinned down long enough for a larger, better equipped regional response unit to arrive. I would expect it would do better with a Vickers MG or a couple of Brens over half a dozen rifles, but I guess MGs. like proper armour, was going to front line units and not home guard types.

[@agroulesupermarinespitfire4209]

They could've given them old water-cooled MGs from the last war ! Still better than rifles, and the extra weight isn't a problem as you're in a truck.

[@tech4pros1]

I'd suspect some home guard troops upon knowing the Germans were coming would have 'acquired' a .303 machine gun or two from a crash landed or wrecked aircraft ahead of time..

[@captainswoop8722]

Home guard had Lewis guns. Still a very good machine gun even in WW2.

[@captainswoop8722]

@@agroulesupermarinespitfire4209 Water cooled Vickers Guns were still standard army issue as medium machine guns up in to the late 1950s. They were still very good in the role. Home Guard got the Lewis Gun, a WW1 vintage LMG displaced by the Bren.

[@captainswoop8722]

@@tech4pros1 where would they get that? Maybe a German gun but it wouldn't be .303

[@vhbeckett7706]

The wooden block behind the rear wheels helped prevent this vehicle from rolling away after the hand brake cable failed.

[@ss-sq1hn]

Concrete is interesting material for tanks because it is cheap, strong, and it works. Almost like a moving bunker.

[@charlesinglin]

Just parking one in the middle of the air strip would make things rather difficult for any JU-52 or glider attempting to land.

[@paulhammersley4562]

mobile pillbox, great idea, British ingenuity at it's finest,

[@roberthiggins6401]

One up from Jones butchers van. Thanks for showing as I've never seen one of these before.

[@shakebraza196]

Excellent presentation SIRS.

[@agp11001]

I have never seen David Fletcher looking THAT sad on a Tank Chats thumbnail. This is going to be good.

[@stevemull2002]

David, you are such a great presenter on the subject of Tanks, i look forward to every Friday to watch the Vids If not just for you extremely funny quips, as in Airfields are generally flat, go and see one !! hahahaha

[@eldritchia]

Saw this in Squires top 5...very interesting

[@roycarter6235]

That has to be one of the most eccentric ideas I have seen for quite some time. I commend David Fletcher. I always look forward to his Tank Chats

[@petermallia558]

Top channel, amazing content, brilliant presenters in a typically wonderfully British Tank museum. Look like they didn't even use rebar to sure up and strengthen the concrete also having better stopping power for any small arms fire hitting the mobile pillbox. The Bison, a crazy idea that was just to make the soldiers inside feel safe, although it was really a false sense of security, because one good blast by a GPMG or a grouping of 0.50 cal rounds would be through that in minutes without rebar.

[@andrewdrabble8939]

Another interesting talk from the legend

[@steve1315]

Aways good, can't wait to get back down to Bovington.

[@volters9561]

BISON - the trade name of company manufactured concrete. It reminded me of Blue Circle Radar for british Panavia Tornadoes 😉

[@ThePsiclone]

I can just picture a German Paratrooper jumping in and driving off with Corporal Jones in the back telling the other five not to panic!

[@clockmonkey]

I think the idea was you drove the Vehicle onto a Runway then destroyed the tyres to create an obstacle to stop aircraft landing. The Germans used captured FT17 and other vehicles in a similar way at airfields and to block bridges, causeways and narrow streets. Must have worked as the Germans didn't try anything.

[@warrmalaski8570]

Slite correction it's a 6 by 4 by 2. Six wheels total by 4 drive wheels by 2 steering wheels. It's so rare to have anything other than 2 most people forget about the full speck. But you can have 1, 2, 4, or in the case of some extreme limos 8 steering wheels on the ground.

[@davidhanson8826]

Thank you. Tank Museum rulz

[@PaulFlude]

Every visible tire tread on their example is different from the others!

[@wayneccj0710]

I think the best use of such a vehicle is as a road block. It would be very useful standing next to or in front of a gateway or bridge. Just roll it into place & set the parking break.

[@johnlansing2902]

Thank you.

[@JTfromtheSK]

Love this video's. But can you add a walk around the vehicle, to kind of get a good idea what its like.

[@migueldeluis5507]

It looks like it came out straight for a Top Gear Christmas Special

[@jeroen79]

Or a Dad's Army episode.

[@davidlees2963]

In isolation, they would be an easy target but a half a dozen of them gathered together might be a harder target. Also they are likely to block the runway from being used by gliders even after destruction.

[@dem0nchild610]

I couldn't imagine what it was like in there 6 men all with freshly fired guns in the middle of summer talk about a hot box

[@DH.2016]

What a mad idea.

[@russwoodward8251]

Very interesting. Thanks!

[@gabrielbennett5162]

This actually isn't as hokey as you'd think. Marvin Heemeyer used a similar armored casemate made of concrete when he built the Killdozer in 2004 (essentially a crude homebuilt tank). It proved impervious to all small arms fire and just about everything else the police threw at it, even grenades. Heemeyer's June 4 rampage, which saw the destruction of multiple buildings in the small town of Granby, Colorado, including City Hall, was only halted when he chose to commit suicide via a self-inflicted gunshot.

[@moosemaimer]

Looks like a pop-up tent for car camping, like you'd go on vacation in it.

[@Salty3439]

Great idea!

[@natejones902]

One area in military vehicle history i find interesting is the improvised vehicles to fit a certain need at a certain time, usually made up in the field verses a concept vehicle design and built under different conditions. This concept reminds me alot of the later gun trucks seen in the US Army in the Vietnam War. The offical solution wasnt adequate for the needs so those in the field came up with their own solutions. However for all involved unlike the guntrucks in Vietnam this concept thankfully was never put to use.

[@studiograham]

I see David is an Airfield aficionado.

[@toddsteel8377]

This could work today probably. What you would do is replace the concrete with UHMWPE armor about 3" of it is level 3 so I'd put between 1-2 feet of it with a half inch aluminum casing for it. That should stop 20-30 mm autocannon fire especially if you use 2 feet of the plastic.

[@markstoyle2244]

I read they were meant to work in groups and if one was being over run then they just fired on each other for support.

[@alanspencer1631]

Built in my hometown, well the chassis of this example was at any rate.

[@randomoldbloke]

You would be surprised how strong and bulletproof concrete is , I put a few .303 rounds into a badly built ferro yacht 50mm thick from 50m all it did was scratch the concrete. All in all a mobile concrete bunker is not a bad idea at all

[@alexdrennan7654]

from what i can remember from the film "The foreman went to france " the lorry that turns up with tommy trinder and a very young gordon jacksom was a thorncroft

[@mootpointjones8488]

It would make an excellent bullet proof camper van.

[@Makrangoncias]

I want David Fletcher Merch in the store. For example a T-shirt with his face with the text "Actually..." or a Funko Pop toy. Something!

[@military-vehicles]

The gunshots must have reverberated nicely in that bunker! 😬😬

[@kerrydennison7947]

A very good mobile pill box the concept seems like it was something that could be parked somewhere to defend a strategic point this would been quite a good concept that if it had a larger weapon on it .

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

I thought it was called a ‘bison’ because it looks like an upturned sink...

[@baltoflyer7503]

It's a fitting (and coincidental) name. The broad flat cab does resemble a bison.

[@kikufutaba524]

Love Mr. Fletcher OBE he is quite an interesting fellow

[@grochomarx2002]

A clever adaptation of materials readily available into a hopefully useful vehicle. Kind of a modern day "War waggon".

[@ratius1979]

Amazing 😳