Tank Chats #71 M3 Stuart Hybrid | The Tank Museum

[@rvail136]

This man is brilliant. He deserves a Knighthood for his scholarship.

[@Masada1911]

He has an MBE. Not the same I know but still

[@joeblow9657]

and his mustache plus his dry wit.

[@daveybernard1056]

He deserves his own Bren Carrier. W/ BREN

[@hwoods01]

He should be a member of the Garter at a minimum.

[@markreeter6227]

His mustache is kept with the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London when he’s not using it.

[@jonnylivesinbr]

Lovely video. Here in my town in Brazil I always see the little Stuart parked besides a Sherman, a M60 and a Leo 1A1 in front of a battallion I always pass by when I go cycling.

[@dmvercosa]

Que cidade? Me interessei

[@jonnylivesinbr]

@@dmvercosa Santa Maria, RS

[@johnskeels8498]

David leads us into the weekend. Can't ask for a better start than that

[@lalucre1803]

David Fletcher is the David Attenborough of tanks.

[@sebastianthomsen2225]

i couldn't have put it better myself ;)

[@micko11154]

Yesss!!! Great analogy!!! :)

[@johnDukemaster]

I'll drink to that!

[@johnlansing2902]

Historical genius combined with common sense ...... thank you Sir .

[@chrisbullock3504]

God, David fletcher is such a lad. I can’t think of anything I would rather do than listen to David talk about tanks

[@Mugdorna]

I want to sit in a pub, but him beer and just listen to him pontificate about life!

[@matchrocket1702]

I read a book written by a South African who commanded Stuarts in the North African Campaign. I had to look it up, it was Brazen Chariots by Robert Crisp. The Stuart was out gunned by the German tanks but the British and their allies used its speed and maneuverability to great advantage. If you get a chance to read the book you won't regret it. I was glued to it.

[@c3aloha]

Matchrocket that book also included the driver calling it a honey anecdote.

[@marvwatkins7029]

That 'Honey' story came from Maj. Robert Crisp's memoir 'Brazen Chariots' about the early days in N. Africa. The man who coined it supposedly was trying to imitate a Texas cowboy by saying something like: 'It's a honey, sir'.

[@rileygifford1596]

1,000 Likes and 0 Dislikes, Mr. Fletcher let the results speak for themseleves. You are an icon!

[@sunnyjim1355]

I just thumed down because of the state of his pants. Really, children watch this too! >.

[@CharlesvanDijk-ir6bl]

"If the tank is on fire dignity goes out of the window."

[@legogenius1667]

We'll just add that to the official list of epic Fletcher quotes. .......there is an official list, right?

[@ishouldgetalif3]

''oh my god the tank is on fire!

[@legogenius1667]

@@ishouldgetalif3 And yes, the Chieftain's dignity went out the window when he did that test on the Stuart XD

[@lycossurfer8851]

@@legogenius1667 Octapus exit if I remember

[@tonykent59]

I say old boy, the tank is on fire. Can you hold my gloves and cane whilst I exit?

[@haydenlogston2164]

Quit a gift, amazing it survived and wasn’t scraped.

[@joebudde3302]

I had no previous knowledge of its use as reconnaissance vehicle when removing the turret, thank you Mr. Fletcher.

[@legogenius1667]

I think he said recovery vehicle, but I could be mistaken.

[@haven6410]

LegoGenius16 I believe he said 'recce', meaning reconnaissance, although according to Google that's specifically a British term.

[@gunner678]

Look up 'the curse of scotland' photo in video with the chicken wire dome. Only British tank in Malaya before the fall of Singapore.

[@gunner678]

@@haven6410 recce most certainly is a popular term as you say, in and out of the forces actually.

[@joebudde3302]

I heard recce which I know is slang for reconnaissance, i wrote the latter as I wasn't sure everyone would know what recce was, didn't mean to be confusing.

[@devonopdendries7722]

Boy they're cranking-out these tank chats fast! I'm quite pleased :)

[@KeithDameo]

Thank you everyone at Tank Museum, and special thanks to David Fletcher for bringing these tanks and wonderful stories to everyone. I can never get enough from this particular type of history and I share it with everyone I can. You're doing the world a service by keeping history alive, thank you!

[@josephfox9076]

Good see this tank from my country Brazil in good hands.

[@gregkovacs6687]

Sir you are a treasure. Keep up the great work. 👍

[@Masada1911]

Hybrid? They were very environmentally aware back then!

[@legogenius1667]

Yea.....until a battle started and everything got covered in gun smoke 😂

[@JohnyG29]

A "hybrid" is just a mix of things. It's not a new term.

[@Masada1911]

Dieter Gaudlitz thank you Dieter :-)

[@Masada1911]

Russ Woodward now that's some thinking I can get behind!

[@russwoodward8251]

Lots of great footage. Great review of my favorite tank. I crawled all over one of these as a child in the 1960s. Thank you Mr. Fletcher.

[@edwardcnnell2853]

This prewar tank along with the hastily put together M3 Lee tank show how the US was behind the world in tank design. Both tanks performed reasonably well considering their deficiencies. As long as they were only up against the Panzer I, II and III. When the panzer IV began arriving in North Africa in numbers we were fortunate that the M4 Sherman was ready to be deployed. The Stuart would stay on in a scout and light infantry support roles while the Lee (in British configuration the Grant) would be pulled back to far behind the lines or shipped to the Asian theater where they only faced the Japanese light tanks.

[@fernandomarques5166]

Me: **Sees the southern cross symbol on the turret** Brazilian army? David Fletcher: "It was a gift from the EB..." Me: **Taking Monte Castello on the sound of Sabaton - Smoking Snakes INTENSIFIES** A cobra fumou.

[@leopard2keilergg561]

Até aqui tem Br :v

[@davidlyon1899]

thank you to the brazilian army.

[@josephfox9076]

Isso aí!!!!

[@marioaugusto8313]

So good to see a gift from my country

[@tamlandipper29]

I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I'm pretty sure you sold them to us.

[@gunner678]

I love the Brazilian tanks, they know how to get their money's worth out of old but serviceable kit.

[@herbertbielefelder341]

@@tamlandipper29 , Mr.Fletcher said it was a gift.

[@4fun1957]

I drove an M3A1 (Hybrid) Diesel for the Patton Museum that came from Brazil. Nice little tanks. If you have more lying around, I need one for my back yard. :)

[@stevenh.9535]

Love watching these videos. I am a tank enthusiast. I like to play the game called War Thunder. It's really interesting watching videos about vehicles that are used in the game War Thunder. And of course how could anyone not love World War II history and the equipment that was used back then!

[@aussie870]

Aye.

[@majorborngusfluunduch8694]

"how could anyone not love World War II history and the equipment that was used back then!" *Raises Hand* I've gotten quite bored of it. Cold War and modern stuff is more interesting to me.

[@uncletorino2645]

All it’s missing is, the David Fletcher Assault Mustache, mounted in the front like a bulldozer blade.

[@Jan_372]

Acts like 5000mm of armor.

[@stefanavic6630]

Now I'm just imagining Mr. Fletcher in the style of Thomas the Tank Engine. Edit: He would be one of Hobart's Funnies.

[@IrishMuttley]

Great stuff. I love David's ability to be completely candid about the shortcomings of especially british/allied tanks - sometimes you wonder how the war turned out OK! :-) (PS I do know about numbers, production etc etc....)

[@paulmanson253]

There were several men who wrote that very thing,postwar. Think about it. Wearing a uniform,getting shot at,battle,combat,poor food,bad water,insults,on and on and on. Being philosophical about getting killed with no expectation of sufficient competence,leadership,planning,whatever else it takes to win a war. Any sane person would desert. Takes a different kind of courage to literally just soldier on.

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you ,Mr Fletcher .

[@davidvanamburg9727]

I love the tank chats with David Fletcher most of all.

[@paulwooster3590]

Glad you are better, health wise.

[@shredjoe1]

Tank Chat timeline ... select - hit like straight away - then press play & sit back & enjoy.

[@gerardovelazquez724]

its a good touch that the markings are left like it was originally from....

[@anasevi9456]

Seeing David Fletcher the armour expert still going some 20 or more years since the docos one saw as a kid is one of life's little joys.

[@gunner678]

I met David Fletcher in 1984 as a young officer on my first visit to the museum, he has hardly changed. Lovely guy!

[@TacoSallust]

A fresh dose of David Fletcher? Yes please!

[@MatSpeedle]

"If you believe it, you're welcome to" God love this man and his tanks chats!

[@WildBillCox13]

I hope you'll deign to give a talk on that T17E1 Staghound behind the Stuart, sir.

[@kreuzrittergottes9336]

This man is a national treasure.

[@tomenicus]

funny, that despite of being light thing, obviously, it is quite big. And all these rods pointing in all directions make a impression, no two ways about it. Oh, and there's Stuart tank in the background, too. Apart from moustache I mean. I just love this guy.

[@troy9477]

Good times. Love the series. Mr. Fletcher should be guarded as a national treasure. I hope our British cousins appreciate him as much as we do. Keep on, Mr. Fletcher! Hopefully someday soon it will be Sir Fletcher to us colonials......

[@nctpti2073]

Rumour has it, there is a plan that if he ever does pass away, he will be stuffed and mounted properly, with full animatronics.

[@maxsmodels]

Another wonderfully British tank examination. David Fletcher is a British national resource.

[@tallandhandsome29]

Thanks very much for the info. Some stuff I didn’t know there. I always look forward to these chats.

[@beencybouncyburger]

Maj. Robert Crisp, a South African, attributes his driver having called it a "Honey" as the source of the term, but it's possible that the Texan training staff that had arrived with the tank and already been using the term among themselves and Crisp's driver merely *concurred* that it was a "Honey" after his test drive. Given the ubiquity of the nickname, an origin with the trainers seems plausible to likely. I'd have to check his book The Gods Were Neutral to see where Crisp's driver Whaley was from, I'm sure he mentions it.

[@kenneth9874]

The reason they british crews called it honey was because it was a vast improvement over what they had previously

[@HOBMACHINE]

With every one of these wonderful videos, David Fletcher's moustache gets more out of control ! Spellbinding stuff from a superb narrator and brilliant man : MORE PLEASE !!!

[@ritchie799]

Brilliant video, I have never heard of the hybrid before. Many thanks David for the excellent presentation and level of information.

[@micko11154]

Thanks David! You are awesome! I love your content and especially your delivery of it. Always thoroughly interesting. Cheers m8!

[@simongee8928]

With respect David, any tank should always reverse out of action so it keeps it's thickest armour facing the enemy.

[@gordonlawrence4749]

Mr Fletcher has found yet another one I never even knew existed. Superb.

[@andrewgregory151]

Here in camp slo they have a m3 Stuart with 3 position turret and the fixed hull mg

[@pugnate666]

Nice to hear that his voice is back ^^ Enjoyable as always, thank you very much for the interesting video

[@nobodyuknow2490]

The most powerful thing in that entire museum is that magnificent mustache!

[@CybershamanX]

Thank you so much for yet another fine "bit of film" with the great Mr. Fletcher! :) Yes, I enjoyed it very much, sir! ;) :) I don't know what it is about his voice, but it's very relaxing and soothing to listen to. I'm so happy that David is part of the Tank Chats crew. I wonder about his background. Is he just a scholar or did he actually serve in the military and work with tanks? Whatever the case, I hope he continues to provide us with more tank knowledge for a long long while! :)

[@vikingwarlord2453]

Thank you and your team for the great information on tanks

[@filipeamaral216]

Fletcher, we love you!

[@Daniel-S1]

Thanks.

[@RemusKingOfRome]

Excellent, one of my favorite tanks

[@emizerri]

This tank is always been a good looking one, I find! Thanks for the vid :)

[@brentsmith5647]

Brilliant 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍❤️👀👍

[@mariaguzman623]

David Fletcher is the man!!!!!!!!!!!! Fletcher for president 2020!!!

[@gunner678]

Great video thanks! The recce scimitar turrets were the same, no damn seats. Commander hung by the elbows with his foot on the battery.....very very tiring. Changed later of course. Nice little beast this, but I like the vickers light, just something dashing about that little tank.

[@Theogenerang]

Really appreciate the interior footage.

[@dm4544]

Mr Fletcher doesn't sound sick anymore! Glad you're recovering!

[@punchmo]

One of the most entertaining fellows to watch talk about tanks, but I feel like he could be equally entertaining talking about a loaf of bread or his favorite beverage.

[@johnpreisler6713]

I love this guy!

[@DoubleThink-jc2dp]

Can’t wait for tank fest 2019, see you all there!

[@andynixon2820]

Thanks grandad I enjoyed that .

[@janwitkowsky8787]

44 minutes ago?! I'm late! * sits with a mug of tea and crumpets *

[@Jayneflakes]

Another great film, thank you.

[@warrenflood2809]

David - great talk as usual, but one point I wish you would elaborate on is how they actual could effectively retreat in reverse? I presume the driver cannot see behind the tank so how did they avoid obstacles? Sounds like a precarious solution at best.

[@mwnciboo]

I like the late war Jallopy Stuart when the Brits removed the turrets and turned them into open topped Recce Vehicles. Pretty cool with good performance.

[@411.48R]

Mr Fletcher could even read the telephone book of Leeds, but I would still be listening to every single word of him.

[@AdmSpock]

Stratford-upon-Avon would do just fine too, excellent narrating voice to listen to

[@nepete7]

Robert Crisp tells the story of his driver pronouncing the the Stuart “a honey”, and notes this was probably influenced by the American trainers. This is early in Crisp’s book “Brazen Chariots”.

[@Paladin1873]

This tank looks like the version US troops fought with in the Philippines in 1941-42. I remember some of the problems they had were a lack of the new type shells and training in their use. While I was growing, a local surplus yard had an old Stuart rusting out front. I remember seeing MG ports on either side of the raised hull, so I presume it was one of the first models.

[@4fun1957]

I had always thought the baskets were removed from M3A1's by the using arm, but I see the first batch with the new turret was sent without the basket.

[@VonRammsteyn]

...When you are so wise and respected, you can appear in videos all disheveled without having your mother scolding you about it...

[@tamlandipper29]

I had always assumed his mother was a female mark iv.

[@MrKeys57]

I think of all the men (and women) that bravely was fighting in ww2, my father was one of them, he often told me about disabling tanks by throwing Molotovs under the tracks, a scary job, they had to crawl pretty near to get a good hit, Levi from Finland

[@Alexplainow]

3:58 "Which is shorter ......and tended to be a little bit inferior in performance" So great

[@Marcus-eb2vn]

Oh thank god You guys are back!

[@dealwithit2789]

I think we need a tank chats on David Fletcher himself

[@johnray7311]

Probably already stated, but according to Robert Crisp (famous SA cricketer, tank commander and journalist) his driver (under American influence) coined the nickname “Honey” in 1941

[@Cruor34]

Video leaves me with two questions. 1) did they traverse the turret often? 2) Was the turret easy to traverse?

[@jameslohr4943]

Great video!

[@tommyboy054]

In David Fletcher We Trust.

[@pikeywyatt]

yes i do have my DFTC thank's..

[@frankanderson5012]

The nickname 'Honey' came after the British were starting to be equipped with these tanks having previously lost most of their Crusaders the desert during the recent campaign and following retreat. Many of their tanks had to be left behind, largely through breakdowns. The Americans sent advisors with these replacement tanks and on one occasion after the crew had tried them, one of the advisors is supposed to have said, "ain't she a honey?" After the abysmal reliance of their previous Crusader tanks the British crews liked these and the term honey stuck as the name. So technically it was a joint Anglo-American naming.

[@drmcollard]

The subtitles are a hoot, e.g. "gamma" for "gunner."

[@Wu.Tang.Financial]

Imagine being told to take off a perfectly good turret in the middle of a war.

[@Peorhum]

In Canadian histories only the M3 with turret removed, is called a honey. Maybe the term came from a Canadian with some shared slang with the Americans. Canadian army had a fair amount of Americans in it to begin with. Fletcher is looking more and more like a cartoon character as he gets older. Not sure how happy the major would be happy with that mustache. "Oh dearrr, Fletcher it seems your mustache has gotten the upper hand. I think it is time to give it a trim" or the sergeant versions "FLETCHER!!!, Trim that bloody mustache before I see you again!

[@gunner678]

That makes sense!

[@herpderpherpd]

I have a theory that David Fletcher is actually the moustache. The man behind it is just there for display purposes, all David Fletchering occurs within the confines of the moustache.

[@olivierr.5752]

Could you please review the Sexton I or II artillery if there is one in the museum? I would love to hear about it!

[@MrKeys57]

Excellent video! - not concerning this video, but has never anybody thougt of building an electrified tank? - now when we have the Tesla technology and all? - just a thought...

[@chancepaladin]

the weekend can officially start now!

[@scottmccloud9029]

How did the driver and front gunner open those heavy front hatches? Brute force?

[@Mugdorna]

I had read many years ago that when the Brits when testing the M3 a American salesman/military liason had stated "isnt she a honey?" to his British audience.

[@cpmenninga]

Did he pound the roof while saying it?

[@Pfsif]

She's a beast !!!!

[@c4blew]

I want a plush version of Mr Fletcher for my nephews!😂

[@DeepPastry]

A Brit being trained by Americans would use "honey" as a complement. Simply because he'd pick up the word usage from the Americans and would then apply it to an American made gear. It's a bit like my usage of "bloody hell", since I picked it up just from a few years living in the UK as a kid. And don't get me started on my inability to say "Aluminum" rather than "Aluminium".

[@evilmoif]

Its worth remembering, when talking about how impractical the M3 was for the crew, - that the M3 was itself an improvement on the previous variant, the M2. Heaven only knows how bad that one must have been!

[@cropathfinder]

Honestly i just don't see why you don't call it a "fat stuart"

[@pedror598]

Quem diria, um tanque que serviu por aqui...

[@RugnirSvenstarr]

I'm surprised that reversing to retreat is considered so odd - surely keeping your thickest armour pointed at the enemy is a good idea

[@Stefan-ps6tl]

What's that vehicle on the right side of the tank ?. Looks pretty awesome.

[@gerardwalsh6082]

Davids hair & moustache are in camouflage mode

[@GenghisVern]

I read Brazen Chariots when I was young. re: "Honey". I'm sure that's how the myth (?) began

[@paulmanson253]

Forgotten clean about it. Is that the one where he ends up with crabs after wearing some borrowed pajamas? Should read it again. Thanks for that.

[@risasb]

Yes, the one where he gets part of his head taken off by German fire for raising his head above the turret.