Tank Chats

[@thetankmuseum]

Hello, Tank Nuts! Here is your latest instalment of Tank Chats from David Fletcher, let us know what you thought of it!

[@jansenart0]

For the ads, I think it'd be very entertaining and endearing to open the ads using the traditional British apologetics of "Terribly sorry to interrupt in the middle of the video..."

[@MB5rider81]

I hit the like button before that mustache starts moving.

[@GeremiasVi]

I enjoyed it

[@davidhanson8826]

Fletcher rulz

[@1981krka]

@@jansenart0 and a few others are doing it is not the

[@christophermarsh6437]

I read an article saying that AEC weren't contracted or asked to design and build an armoured car by the British War Office; they just went ahead and did it (which is why the mk.1 used an existing turret and gun). They then placed the prototype where they knew Churchill would see it; he did, and ordered AEC to build more.

[@shatbad2960]

'The engine won't fit' 'Just put it in wonky, no one will notice' A very British solution.

[@JohnyG29]

Its just an engineering solution for that particular vehicle. I don't think nationality has anything to do with it.

[@pipandbenji]

@@JohnyG29 for some, everything seems to hinge on nationality

[@FrogWalrus]

@@pipandbenji it’s also a joke, and when it comes to ww2 “humor” it’s all based around the nations and their stereotypes.

[@pipandbenji]

@@FrogWalrus better I go back to my drunkeness so

[@scrubsrc4084]

@@JohnyG29 17 pounder in the firefly, jam it in sideways..... ee lightning.... engine jammed in sideways.

[@Chiller01]

David Fletcher star of the interweb, the knowledge, the charisma, the facial hair.

[@pluemas]

Always loved the aesthetics of this little car. Very unique with that big wedge front and it's boxy form. Always seemed like quite a potent armoured car with the 6 pounder and it's heavier armour

[@Boric78]

Not exactly little is it - I am amazed how big it is.

[@adopipiska6828]

Its prettymuch an alternative tank.

[@AtheistOrphan]

Little? It’s bloody enormous!

[@gusgone4527]

I fully agree with it's aesthetic appeal. Just out of interest, what do you think of the FV601 Saladin? David has a video on that too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/foDKepyhrqt_ba8

[@88porpoise]

In comparison to an M5 Light Tank it had comparable armour and a much better anti-armour gun. The big problem was that the majority of the time you would be shooting at infantry and the lack of an available and effective HE round meant that the American 37mm would generally be better (with its canister and HE rounds, combined with more available ammo and a higher rate of fire). The 75mm would solve that so long as it carried enough ammo and had room to operate it effectively. Would be interesting to mix a few of these into Staghound equipped units similar to give them some extra firepower, similar to the use of Firefly. I suspect its off-road performance also left much to be desired, a 13 ton four wheeled vehicle in the 1940s does not inspire much confidence off-road.

[@maxkronader5225]

A nice cup of coffee, Mr. David Fletcher, and a new armored car video from the Tank Museum. What a top notch way to start the day!

[@russwoodward8251]

David Fletcher is a national treasure. Thanks.

[@2serveand2protect]

I never even knew this thing ever existed! :D ...that's why I come here! - you can learn something new and interesting each time a video appears, but - MOST OF ALL! - I LOVE to listen to David Fletcher and his "tank chats"! :) :) You could listen to this guy for hours without getting bored for 5 seconds.

[@F4Wildcat]

I have waited...so frikking long for this video. The AEC has been one of my favorite armoured cars ever since i first photos in a book about it when i was 5. There is something just "right' about the looks of this unit

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Can we _please_ get Richard Smith to do more videos on some of the artifacts hidden away?!!? Those were great!

[@ptonpc]

Agreed.

[@richieb7692]

Yes Please.!! His video of the helmet with the bullet lodged in it was Fantastic. It aslo has one of my favourite lines ever, ' Unfortunately the man didn't have the good grace, or common decency to miss' Beautiful British Understatement

[@MrRunner]

AEC, Windmill Lane, Southall. Maker of the Routmaster double decker buses. I used to pass it every day as a schoolboy and sat alongside some of their Apprentices at Southall Tech. All gone now.

[@alamore5084]

I could listen to David Fletcher all day. Love these Tank Chats❤

[@jimaltergott9326]

I love this! I have found the "Holy Grail" of armour history and profiles of individual vehicles.

[@darkninjacorporation]

I never realized how massive this armored “car” actually was

[@kaiserwillhelm1]

Same

[@Ben-cn4hm]

I like to imagine David drives to work in one of these! 😂

[@samholdsworth420]

He doesn't live at the tank museum?!

[@MikaelKKarlsson]

@@samholdsworth420 yes, but he doesn't work there. ☺️

[@AyebeeMk2]

No; he uses it as his golf trolley!

[@samholdsworth420]

@@MikaelKKarlsson 😝

[@PalleRasmussen]

He is back, the Legend, the moustache!

[@JamesAlexander14]

You learn something new, every time a video is posted. Much appreciated. Thank you.

[@martentrudeau6948]

David's explanation the AEC engineering is very interesting, it seems very different from other armored cars and innovative. And a serious threat to enemy armor.

[@michaelguerin56]

Another great video. Thank you. Huge amount of relevant history in a very short time. A classic history lesson masterclass from Mr Fletcher.

[@knutboehnert3163]

Honestly any Tank Chat without advertising ain't good anymore! I would like a blooper reel of the advertising sequences.

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , Mr Fletcher .

[@gorazdvahen492]

Superbly presented, as always, by the Tank Santa Himself! Love this thing in WarThunder, earned Mark of Distinction right away, back in the day.

[@KnifeChatswithTobias]

I'd like to see a side by side comparison with a Sherman Tank! Seems to me it would've been great for convoy protection.

[@jansenart0]

I bought some plushies from the Tank Museum and they were very reasonably priced, of high quality, and shipped POST HASTE to New York.

[@danielryan6604]

A company of heroes clasic, realy good for dealing with anything armored exept medium and heavy tanks

[@1337flite]

Ooh the green on white flash is the same as the 2nd Cav Reg RAAC - which was the Australian divisional recon regiment from around the late 60s/early 70s to just a few years ago, when they re-organised all the bridages to have more or less the same establishment and made the division more or less obsolete as a tactical formation.

[@cryhavoc999]

One of my favourite Armoured cars - a tank in all but name.

[@peppermill7163]

"Effective target" made me chuckle

[@Tonys-Hobby-Room]

Absolutely love these little features.

[@theroyalaustralian]

This video has been listed twice in this playlist, but what a lovely bunch of vehicles.

[@Gnurftl]

That bridge at 2:45 is the Levensauer Hochbrücke (Levensau high bridge) crossing the Kiel Canal near Kiel, carrying the road and railway to Flensburg.

[@stevewindisch7400]

Very nice catch. I was wondering though, why they passed armed German troops. It's obviously after the war ended, but I did not think the Allies were using them for local security for quite a while (the "de-nazification" vetting taking a long time). Must be 1947 or later?

[@brittakriep2938]

@@stevewindisch7400 : The german soldiers seem to be Feldpolizei/ Feldgendarmerie ( Military Police) , but i , german, also don' t know , what happens in this old clip.

[@Gnurftl]

@@stevewindisch7400 All I can say is, that this is post-war, and pre-1954 when the bridge was refurbished and lost the towers.

[@Splodge542]

Excellent. Never heard of it before. Or even very much of armoured car regiments except after El Alamein when they used their speed for pursuit.

[@Zehnuss]

Wow that drive system of predominantly front wheel drive and four wheel kicks in when needed sounds like the grandfather of Haldex, this is like an armored audi TT

[@perotekku]

Fingers crossed we'll get to see a Staghound on the channel someday!

[@kaymarx9677]

Skew-whiff you say? Thanks Gavin; your preemptive translation was a life saver.

[@kiwicory100]

Happy Holidays to the Tank Museum....love the content be safe and well...and keep that content coming it is loved by the community!!!!! And a special hug to Mr Fletcher...a cup of tea and a biscuit for you sir....LOL.

[@PE1JAS]

Very nice to show the exploded view of the engine, go on!

[@tyronrossouw44]

Fletcher is a gem.

[@langbaobao]

The 1st Armored Brigade of the National Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, which was formed in 1944 in Italy and then moved to Croatia to join the partisan forces there, was equipped with M3A1/A3 Stuart tanks and AEC Mk.II armored cars. According to what I have heard, the AEC Mk.II was very well regarded and preferred to the Stuarts by the crews, not the least because of the gun which was more potent than the one on the M3 Stuart and could deal better with most of the rag-tag armor that the Germans and their various collaborators used in Yugoslavia. Apparently, the AEC crews managed to even knock out several 'Panthers' and 'Tigers' during the war. The Axis forces, of course, didn't have such equipment in Yugoslavia, they mostly had just obsolete German and captured Allied armor, but apparently the British instructors that trained the crews and personnel didn't pass up teaching them about the existence of Panthers and Tigers and told stories about how powerful they were. So, just like in other Allied armies, the Yugoslav tankers started seeing Panthers and Tigers everywhere as well. Hence why they created PAK 75mm armed tank destroyers on the M3 Stuart chassis...

[@jasonz7788]

Great work Sir thank you

[@parrot849]

Very interesting and informative David, as usual. Delivered with your usual dash, suave style, and English panache. But please correct me if I am wrong, but there’s was never any mention of a date or time period this vehicle was in service; When was it first conceived and put into production? Where and how was it employed And how long did it stay a part of the Royal Army’s armoured force? Other than these and a few other very minor nick picky unanswered questions concerning this fascinating vehicle, this was another one of your marvelous videos! 👏🏻

[@military-vehicles]

It's still a crazy vehicle :-)

[@PakBallandSami]

ww2 tanks are so interesting and amazing because they were really first time in use after being invented in ww1

[@aaronleverton4221]

Spanish Civil War says "hello".

[@alexrennison8070]

@@aaronleverton4221 You know what he meant.

[@aaronleverton4221]

@@alexrennison8070 Did I?

[@alexrennison8070]

@@aaronleverton4221 Did you?🤨

[@aaronleverton4221]

@@alexrennison8070 You seemed to think so, now you're not so sure. Maybe you're not as much of a mind reader as you think you are.

[@huwtindall7096]

Waiting for a decent priced 1/35 scale model of the AEC! Love the aesthetics. Think Miniart are doing a full interior job which is far too detailed and pricey for a cut price modeller like me.

[@coling3957]

David looks like an old fella who'd wandered in of the street to tell you about his antique lawn-mower... :D

[@kayb9979]

I imagine that anything he had to say about his lawnmower would be very interesting.

[@PakBallandSami]

AEC Armoured Car is the name of a series of British heavy armoured cars built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) during the Second World War.

[@9r33ks]

Love your videos, guys!

[@ataxpayer723]

Toyota USA's offroad racing team, used a similar fold up screen for their driver, to supplement the driver's goggles!

[@nasmi1409]

Those vids are already legend 😀

[@jerryjeromehawkins1712]

Zipping around behind enemy lines with a 6 pounder?? Seems like the perfect machine. 👍🏾🍻

[@ptonpc]

I can imagine most things it comes across would suddenly have a bad day.

[@Bornst3ll3r]

@@ptonpc rifle rounds go through that pube thick armour

[@lavrentivs9891]

@@Bornst3ll3r Not 13 mm of sloped armour and certainly not at ranges where you're unlikely to be hit by the armament of the armoured car.

[@Treblaine]

It's like it was built war War Thunder.

[@chaz8758]

@@Bornst3ll3r 30mm sloped, no rifle rounds are going to go through that

[@andrebartels1690]

I like armoured cars 👌

[@Daniel-S1]

Thanks.

[@2serveand2protect]

I recently some footages of the "Legion Etrangére" - i.e: "The French Foreign Legion" fighting in Mali and..."surrounding ares"...but I rember they had vehicles that were oddly similar! (to say the LEAST, actually). They wre referred by the tropps as "Panhard's" (or in many other ways!) - but there was plenty of similarities (though correct me if I'm wrong). PS. It's always a PRIVILEDGE to be here! :) :) Thank you guys for this work!

[@Lykas_mitts]

the Panhard 178 is a completely different vehicle; the 178B has a similar looking turret so that might be the one you saw.

[@paulosborne6517]

A beautiful brute of an armoured car. I also like the AEC Mk.II that was tested with the twin Oerlikon armed Crusader AA turret, which seemed to be pretty potent but was mothballed after the shift in air superiority.

[@josephahner3031]

Shame it was mothballed, it would have done excellent service as a fire support platform similar to how the M42 duster was used in Vietnam. Infantry would have found a twin Oerlikon in a fully enclosed turret on a relatively quick platform an absolute nightmare.

[@mikesmithg0rfd356]

thank you

[@b2tall239]

Each of these videos should include a comprehensive test drive by Clarkson, Hammond, and May.

[@Cancun771]

I'd like to second that. Some sacrifices just have to be made.

[@SteveSmith-wk9dx]

I'd settle for a test drive over Clarkson, Hammond, and... give May a running start to get away.

[@christophermarsh6437]

Hammond would crash it, break it, then have to be taken away in an air ambulance with paramedics cutting his trousers off.

[@SteveSmith-wk9dx]

If I'd been crewing a Panzer II, I'd have been very glad to spot one of these before it spotted me.

[@teamidris]

That’s not an armoured car! That’s an armoured truck :o) I wonder what the transfer box clutch was? One way ratchet?

[@michaelbevan3285]

His comment about the height being a problem is well made. There is a photo of three of them knocked out by German paras with Panzerfausts and they were all visible above the hedgerows.

[@theromanorder]

I remember reading about this tank and didn't have this much info and i already thought it was very weird

[@benb3306]

loved the look of the mark I. It would have been cool to have compared it with the Puma or Greyhound.

[@WozWozEre]

Mark 1 would be at home in a Mad Max movie

[@ataxpayer723]

Skew-whiff, my favourite British stew.

[@Bojan_Kavedzic]

In the single engagement on the approach to Trieste "major" armor to armor engagement in Yugoslavia was fought. Germans had variety of armor, including three captured T-34. After initial loses to Yugoslav Stuarts, 4 AEC Mk.II have made an ambush into which Germans were drawn in. Fire from those hit the flanks and they KOd all 3 T-34s and at least 4 other vehicles, including SdKfz 250 or 251, some Marder variant and two light tanks of unknown type, probably ex-Italian. One T-34 burned down, other was heavily damaged (engine and transmission destroyed by multiple penetrations), and 3rd had turret heavily damaged with two penetrations. So they have used turret from tank no.2 to repair no.3 and rolled into Trieste on the T-34, among other hodge-podge of the armor they had. Repairing No.3: elektron.tmf.bg.ac.rs/bojan/armor/tanks/t-34-76/t-34-76_m43_03.jpg No.3 in Trieste, operational again: elektron.tmf.bg.ac.rs/bojan/armor/tanks/t-34-76/t-34-76_m43_02.jpg

[@josephahner3031]

I enjoyed this vehicle in company of heroes 2. It was cheap and had a solid gun

[@gunner678]

Wonderful as usual. Didn't the Irish Army use these for a time?

[@tonyjedioftheforest1364]

As usual an extremely interesting video. What is the difference between an armoured car and a tank, is it just the wheels?

[@pedroperez6676]

Not the only difference, but yeah it's the most basic one. All tanks are tracked, and all armored cars are wheeled. Tanks are also always much more heavily armored and have bigger guns. They also have very different roles in the battlefield (armored cars for scouting, tanks for spearheading attacks).

[@CGM_68]

The major difference between the two is the role they play on the battlefield. A tank is specifically used to break the enemy line. Most armored cars in WWII performed reconnaissance missions, whereas this heavy AEC had more clout. So it could defend itself, when any other scout car would have to skidaddle. As David Fletcher alluded to, the AEC had an infantry support role, blurring the line between armoured fighting vehicles even more. It seems a total of 629 were built, all variants told, according to Tanks Encyclopedia. The Lynx (1990) is an CVR(T) Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked), so the tracks can be used in a scouting role. The Lorraine 40t (prototype only) had tyres, although it led to the tracked AMX-50, somebody, somewhen, thought a tank could go without tracks from time to time. All terrain wheeled vehicles are getting heavier, if airless tyres existed which dealt with ground pressure issues, would they be any more vulnerable than tracks? Who knows.

[@PitFriend1]

Pretty much yes. Armored cars tend to have thinner armor than all but the lightest of tanks as well. The advantage to having wheels and the lighter weight is that they’re usually faster, easier to maintain, and don’t chew up roads like tracks do. The drawback they have is that they generally don’t have as good cross country mobility as tracked vehicles do, particularly over soft or very rough ground.

[@chaz8758]

The British did toy with the idea of "Wheeled Tanks" for a while - the Guy Armoured Car was originally called a Wheeled Tank. In more recent times the Italians we had in Sarajevo in 1995 called their Centauros "Wheeled Tanks"

[@Rynhelms]

It may not be the best but, it has character!

[@kenbrown2808]

I'm guessing it wasn't all that quiet, either. I suppose the reason it was front drive is because most vehicles with transfer boxes have the engine shaft coming in the front and the main drive shaft coming out the back, and they just reversed one.

[@charleswade2514]

Tanks, the ultimate Off road vehicle

[@Crash-zm2qd]

They had those in North Africa and Italy during WW2 my great grandad was in Kings Dragoon Guards and they had some.

[@tasman006]

My favourite British armoured car. I mean the mark 3 version a 75mm gun. What other armies had a armoured car with a turret armed with a 75mm gun during WW2.

[@tamlandipper29]

I double checked and the answer is a few. Wehrmacht and French for starters.

[@shanevanorder2644]

Germans had the puma

[@konnigkratz]

But the 75mm was meh in terms of armour penetration compared to the 6 pndr

[@aaronleverton4221]

@@killdizzle Yes, but once you count how many Tigers and Panthers there were you come to realise that the actual backbone of the Wehrmacht's Panzer force was "etc": Mk 3 and Mk 4s, Likelihood of an AEC finding a Tiger or Panther? Low. Likelihood of finding a Mk 3 or Mk 4? Rather higher. Also, any number of German AFVs which were not limited edition sports specials.

[@Niitroxyde]

Very fine looking

[@ericgrace9995]

The German approach to armoured reconnaissance. Fight for intelligence? A big vehicle with a big gun that can look after itself and slug it out with enemy recon. vehicles.

[@paintnamer6403]

There was the slant six, I think this could be the crooked six.

[@pedroperez6676]

AEC Diesel sounds a lot like AC/DC

[@MililaniJag]

Photo @ 4:45? Are those captured Germans (no guards?) or is the AEC captured? Great info! Cheers!

[@antonyborlase3965]

Heres one for the Tank Museum crew, why so many BESA"S rather than Vickers mg's on Brit tanks?

[@builder396]

British: *Make an absolute unit of an armored car with light tank levels of armor and whats essentially a Cromwell turret* Also British: "Great, now its too tall for recce."

[@KARLMARX56]

Monstrous

[@matthaught4707]

Mr. Fletcher could read the back of a cereal box and make it snarky and interesting.

[@michaelmiller641]

Great!

[@aymanayad7230]

Still kinda feels weird how these small armored cars are practically obsolete nowadays

[@tamlandipper29]

Depends where you are and who you're fighting. Plenty of wheeled fighting vehicles out there.

[@pavarottiaardvark3431]

Still are. The Panard AML is still in service in europe, the mid east, central america, south america and all over africa

[@sebastiannicolaikaupe5175]

Russia's go the BRDM 2 in all its glorious variants. Germany and the Netherlands are using the Fennek recon vehicle. The French have the Panhard. Armored cars are still around, they simply no longer mount big cannons.

[@BillKermanKSP]

@@sebastiannicolaikaupe5175 Well, the Panhard has a huge gun

[@sebastiannicolaikaupe5175]

@@BillKermanKSP You're right, sorry, forgot about that. French armed forces aren't exactly what I know most about. Didn't they plan to replace those with the VBL, though, or am I mistaken?

[@IrishTechnicalThinker]

AEC in company of heroes 2.

[@dynaflow666]

This thing looks quite brutal.

[@jured.7976]

Maybe the last armoured combat during WW2 in ex. Yugoslavia was between Yugoslav AEC AC and German Beute T34 during race to Trieste . After few shots, Germans fled in terror, leaving their tank behind.

[@rogerbond7811]

I think AEC built a bus where the engine axies did not line up. I think it was canted, twisted and tipped fore and aft. AEC was a well respected company when I started work in 1970 at BOAC.

[@pvtmalo3217]

Woho! I love these vids

[@walt_man]

That turret instantly reminded me of a Cruiser Mk8 tank and a Cromwell! Too big.

[@yereverluvinuncleber]

Automatic LIKE. It is big, it has character, it looks British, it is British, it is unique, it looks functional but mad at the same time but most of all it has a moustache.

[@Stribog1337]

2:48 Anyone knows what is going on in this picture? How are the Germans and the British so nonchalantly on the same picture?

[@randyhavard6084]

A tank in all but name

[@V8_screw_electric_cars]

Front wheel drive, interesting.

[@fosty.]

My grandfather crewed these in the war.

[@ZurLuften]

I bet the tank museum is starting to run out of vehicles by now :D ... Seriously, how many are there in the collection?

[@tasman006]

Plenty more where that came from.

[@diestormlie]

*Glances at the Restoration Building* Ehh, they'll manage for a while longer yet!

[@jonwingfieldhill6143]

if you ever have a chance to go id highly recommend going when the conservation centre is open they have a large collection of rare and one of a kind vehicles in storage there and they have an interactive touch screen system so you can look at each vehicles specifications etc. they are barely scratching the surface with these videos.

[@zxbzxbzxb1]

I read they had 297 vehicles but that was a very long time ago. Think they'll be able to keep it up for a bit longer yet :)

[@jamieslingsby9907]

Love this vehicle in the tabletop game 'bolt action' has killed more tanks in the games i've used it than pretty much all of my actual tanks and tank destroyers.

[@ironseabeelost1140]

This vehicle with a 75mm and its armour could be used today in limited roles!

[@terrysparrow2180]

Maybe, but in this day and age anti-tank missiles can probably do the job better and at longer ranges than a gun. Also you don't need such a large vehicle to mount ATGMs

[@scoutdogfsr]

In many ways I find armored cars and non tracked fighting vehicles more interesting than tanks.

[@zoranocokoljic8927]

@ 1:55 those two AC seem to have Yugoslav flag painted on. Were they delivered to the allies during or after wWII (as unneded junk, probably)?

[@gusgone4527]

You can see where the idea came from for the much later Fox. The British army did like their armoured cars. I wonder when they will "give in to the urge" after being without one for so long? Panther is the closest thing in the current inventory. It's just not "British" enough. We need a quirky homegrown design.

[@timsweet3224]

they had just as god armour than valentine .them matador are brill lookin trucks they can go any where aggressive lookin aswell like most british trucks and armoured cars fromww2 i thank you .says arfer.