Tank Chats Reloaded | Panzer IV | The Tank Museum

[@thetankmuseum]

Hi Tank Nuts! Let us know what you think of this episode of Tank Chats Reloaded in the comments below.

[@flameraker6824]

I didn't catch the ausf. Of this specific model Otherwise this was very interesting and i like the idea of revisiting the favorites

[@TankerBricks]

Simply amazing!

[@kelvinlast6647]

Really informative, keep up the good work

[@adiaz2494]

Very nice, clearly understandable even with engilsh as a second language, enertaining and it adds to the old tankchats rather than trying to recreate them. Can't wait for more.

[@armchairgeneralissimo]

@@flameraker6824 Started life as an Ausf. D was upgraded in 1943 to what looks like F2 or G standard.

[@kittenmittenkitten]

Hans, 1943: "I'ma doodle a little Hitler. Hope nobody notices." Chris, 2022: "What a real privilege to get to see this."

[@ethanbailey7426]

Hitler? no that tanker was clearly just a big Chaplin fan

[@jimmylight4866]

Im not sure the graffiti is German. Looks more post-war English to me.

[@michaelhawkins7389]

@@jimmylight4866 there is NO way of knowing that..........

[@sammni]

One of the most underrated tanks off ww2. The only tank that could remain relevant in Europe from beginning to end.

[@krakke3188]

The T-34 was also a prewar design. But I agree, the PzIV is quite underrated.

[@genericpersonx333]

@@krakke3188 T34 was being designed before 1939, but wouldn't be in proper production before the European conflict and well before the USSR was shooting at the Fascists. The Panzer IV was in production and forming units in 1939, and unlike the T34, the Panzer IV didn't need a major redesign (ie, the big three-man turret with 85mm weapon) that greatly changed the operation of the vehicle to remain competitive. They just made the plates thicker and crammed in a more powerful gun. They didn't change the controls, the layout, or much else so you could take a Panzer IV man from 1939 and put him in a Panzer IV of 1945 and he'd pretty much know what to do. If anyone needed a moment, it would be the gunner containing their excitement at having a gun that didn't need so much elevation to hit! T34 guys, especially the ones in turret, needed a bit of time to get used to having a fifth crewman to manage, new drill for commands since there was now a loader included, and of course, the layout of the turret was very different, so gunners and commanders needed time to get used to stuff being in different places. Drivers also had to get used to a tank with a much higher center of gravity, so sloping ground and ditches that they were used to driving on in an early T34 could now be a tipping or ditching hazard. Little things like that make the T34-85 arguably a "new tank" so far as the operators were concerned, even if it was a modest iterative development to the engineers designing it.

[@daveybyrden3936]

@@genericpersonx333 The gunner from 1939 would be quite disappointed to find that the 1945 tank had no power traverse. But he would be gratified that he was now granted a headset and included on the intercom system. The new close-in defence weapon in the roof would need some getting used to. No more opening a little port to fire a flare pistol, or pulling a cable to drop a smoke canister behind the tank. The new weapon did it all. The electric fan in the roof would be greatly preferred to the old flap that you propped open. The radio op would need some practice on the new "Kasten 20" intercom switchbox. The old box of 1939 had just one switch to select "internal" or "radio". The driver would be likely to collide the new, long gun with a building. Not only was the old gun shorter, but there were little blue lamps to tell the driver when the gun was overhanging the side.

[@genericpersonx333]

@@daveybyrden3936 For sure, it would be a learning process for both crews. The main thing is that every difference you noted for the German vehicle had an equivalent in the Soviet one, while the Soviets had more problems on top of them. The commanders of Soviet tanks especially were a bit overwhelmed by the changes, as having five men to manage, no longer having to load, and a radio in most tanks were huge changes. Hell, just having more vision slots really messed with some of them, suddenly having to remember they can now look in several other directions.

[@w.p.958]

And it served after the war in multiple armies.

[@jaggedskar3890]

Funny how much that graffiti personalizes and humanizes the crew. It's no longer simply a war machine - it's the last home for so many souls.

[@bluesrocker91]

It is strange... I remember watching a documentary on WWI, showing a tunnel network that the British had dug on the Western Front. Some of the men had scribbled their names, little jokes and messages on the walls of this dugout, and it just really made them seem so much more relatable than any grainy, 100 year old footage can.

[@BOX3DOUT]

Sad but true. Poetically Put🙏🏾👍🏾.

[@raketny_hvost]

It only humanizes till they step to an Eastern front. Then "special law" starts acting

[@peterfruchtig5334]

@@raketny_hvost Why should the soldiers who fought on the estern not be humans anymore? Cause war was the most brutal there and a lot of terrible crimes got committed there? If you find yourself in such a place you have to decide between one evil and another or an evil and your own death. War can turn moral beings into monsters and even if you stay straight you likely come home traumatized and be a monster to your family. My grand grandfather fought on the eastern front and fled a soviet prison camp and basically walked home. His daughter described him to be like a empty shell. Minor things got him exploding in rage and throwing dishes agains the walls. No matter what someone had done in WW2 I would always consider them a human. I think there is a bit of Hitler and Stalin in all of us and the current situation with Ukraine proves it. There are a lot of people writing comments about how they wish that Russia and their people should be destroyed and how they find it funny to see videos of young men getting blown to bits by drone bombs. War crimes will always stay a part of war and hate between people will always lead to genocidal crimes. People always make mistakes and war gives you lots of opportunities to do the most terrible of them.

[@bastiangemballa6255]

@@peterfruchtig5334 couldn’t have said it any better . Amen brother 🙏

[@philbosworth3789]

Chris does a very good job presenting this episode.

[@SMC01ful]

The blokes smooth! Love all of the presenters, each have their own style. Chris fits like a glove!

[@chuck11duck64]

My great grandfather was a gunner in a Panzer IV and he only ever told me one story. He leaned down to get something and when he came back up the loader was splattered all over the turret. A soviet round pierced through the front plate and went straight through without exploding

[@MDzmitry]

No matter the side, war is hell. May your great grandfather rest in peace.

[@bananaman7433]

​@@MDzmitryTheir great grandfather didn't die, the loader in his tank did.

[@MDzmitry]

@@bananaman7433 do you think he didn't die of old age by now? What I meant was that everyone who went through such Hell on Earth deserves some peace at least in the afterlife

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

Ouch!

[@Rokaize]

@@MDzmitrywe have no idea who he was or what he may have done in the war. He could have been a Waffen SS panzer IV gunner, does he deserve peace? That’s the issue with people like you. You want to wax poetic and have this fake bleeding heart front. It’s ridiculous. Should Japanese soldiers who used comfort women have peace? Should perpetrators of the Nanking incident have peace? Why even German soldiers? They were fighting a genocidal war. The Wehrmacht was just as guilty of genocide as the SS. They literally received special instructions that they wouldn’t be prosecuted for any war crime on the eastern front. This sounds like a bunch of good people? Who were there to obtain “living space” and a bunch of Slavic slaves? The entire German war was all about the final solution and genocide in general. Total conquest, and it was pretty upfront about that. Plenty of decent German soldiers existed. But they served in an incredibly brutal organization and them being normal people made no difference in the machine of genocide

[@chuckcribbs3398]

When you built model tanks 45 years ago this kind of information just wasn’t available. Thanks so much for showing the inside, the conditions and the cramped quarters. I always had a heart for the Panzer IV. It was a do-everything chassis and with the high velocity 75mm the Germans really should have stuck with it and just pushed out as many as possible with their limited resources. Instead of experimenting with heavy tanks that were crippled with overburdened transmissions. The Panzer IV was the German “Sherman.” And the backbone of German armor.

[@King.Leonidas]

as far as i know crew comfortability was high in the panzer 4. but i guess that's it being compared to other tanks during it's time

[@chemech]

I seem to recall that the StuG III was actually the most produced German AFV, and in its later variants when fitted out as a Jagdpanzer (tank destroyer) with the long-barreled 75mm often got used as a tank. German logistics where a confusing array of using production facilities as best they could, often with factories in occupied territory, and always a major headache when it came time to convert from production of a pre-war French or Czech design to a newer German / Austrian design. Ersatz was the order of the day for the Wehrmacht, and even more so for the Waffen SS, and the the numbers of machines with (f), (t), (i), (r), and even (a) behind their designations is quite the spectacle.

[@soren9310]

The Panther was much easier to manufacture than the Panzer IV and in terms of armament and armor: that race wasn't paced by Germany, but the Soviet Union...their tanks were monsters and the only reason, we destroyed as many as we did, was due to Soviet flaws in strategy, leadership and design details (lack of radios for instance, horrible ergonomic inside etc) but just look what a KV was and than the IS1 to 4...the Russians ended up with a 122 mm gun and 6 inches of armor on those...75mm does very little against that

[@williamzk9083]

The Panzer IV had to be replaced. At 24.5 tons it was nose heavy and beginning to loose mobility due to the extra weight on the front wheels. It may have received 80mm total Armour in the hull it only had 50mm on the turret mantlet which isn't really enough The Panzer IV long barreled 75mm gun could take on the T-34 and Sherman but these were both 35 ton tanks with better Armour. The Germans didn't have a crazy production plan. The Panzer III became the basis of the StuG III and the Panzer IV became the basis of the JagdPanzer IV which featured the Panthers 7.5cm KwK42 gun L70 gun. Used in this way the Chasis provided extremely powerfull gun on light mobile chasis with better armour than the Panzer IV. There was a StuG IV but it was only produced to suppliment StuG III production after the factory was bombed. -The Panzer IV track chasis and Suspension system combined with the engine and drive tain of the Panzer III to provide for the Nashorn(Rhinocerous) Tank destroyer with a 8.8cm L71 gun and the Hummel 150mm self porpelled howitzer. -The Panzer II chasis provided for a self propelled 10.5cm self propelled howitzer. The Panther was absolutely essential but it was rushed into production from drawing board to combat in about 15 months and that was just not enough time. It would evolve into a fine reliable tank eventually but this would have taken another year and a half. It can be argued that the Panther should have been a 35 tons tank instead of 45 ton tank and the final drive gear issued would never have existed but had there been enough gear cuttting machines using planetary gears also would have solved this issue leaving the Panther fully reliable.

[@chuckcribbs3398]

@@williamzk9083 My point was, the Germans simply had TOO many different tanks. Way too many variations. The Panzer IV could have been mass produced to the point that losses would have been overcome by sheer numbers. Look at the Sherman. America had better manufacturing capability but they settled on the Sherman. It got mass produced. The Panzer IV would have been a good compromise. Better 75mm than the Sherman.

[@erniefrijole2618]

Amazing!!! My great-uncle was a tank commander in WWII. He was 17 when he volunteered because he liked the uniform. Sent to Berlin from Münster in Westfalen and then on into the fray. He was involved in Barbarossa and felt sorry for the Russian tankers with their primitive flag communication. An argument with other German troops over rough treatment of Russian POWs got him sent to Italy (as punishment). It most probably spared his life.....he came to love porridge whilst in English captivity after the war.

[@pdunderhill]

Very comfortable presentation style, not forced or mannered just the chap being natural. Also the subtle highlighting of various controls in red was helpful. I suspect Chris would be very good with a long look at a Chieftain or Challenger 1/2 as he may know them better. Happy New Year to everyone at the Museum.

[@wessexdruid7598]

The only thing missing was an 'Oh bugger, the tank's on fire' followed by a smart exit..

[@c.j.zographos3713]

Great to re-visit the workhorse of the WW 2 German army. The original video was informative; this time round it's built on and expanded upon. Keep it up, chaps!!

[@noobster4779]

In my Opinion the best vehicle of WW2 It was basically the only (major) vehicle to remain fully combat capable and a valid threat from the first to the last day. It was the VW Beatle of the WW2 tanks. The old, reliable, upgradable workhorse for everyone. It started the war as one of the most advanced tanks of the world and ended it as the most produced and most upgradeble german vehicle of the war. This was peak german engineering, arguably only the Leopard 2 has so far come close to it. Easily my favourite metal sqare box of WW2

[@daveybyrden3936]

This tank should have been retired in 1943. It was kept in production only because Germany was running out of time and getting desperate. Yes, it was upgradable, but the upgrade it really needed was even more armour on the sides. Its suspension couldn't support that weight. So it became a very vulnerable tank.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Davey Byrden Yes, the Panzer IV reached the end of its upgrades by spring 1943 with the introduction of the ausf H. By 1944 it had neither quality nor quantity superiority. It was still useful but it did not outclass enemy tanks.

[@eliasmiguelfreire8965]

​​@@lyndoncmp5751 Actually it was still outclassing enemy tanks in 1944. June 24, 1944, during Operation Bagration, Robert Citino's Wehrmacht's Last Stand book: "The 20th Panzer was part of Army Group Center’s reserve, the only Panzer division in all of Byelorussia. A veteran division containing seventy-one Mark IV Panzer tanks, upgraded to the 75mm highvelocity long gun, the 20th had enough shock potential and firepower to do a great deal of damage. Moving into battle late in the afternoon of June 24 under the command of General Mortimer von Kessel, the Panzers immediately began to deal out punishment to the huge mass of Soviet T-34 tanks north of Rogachev. German tanks might have been grossly outnumbered, but they still held a qualitative edge in training, target acquisition, and rate of fire." June 25, 1944, same source -> "The 20th Panzer Division reported for duty to the commander of XXXXI Panzer Corps, General Hoffmeister, at 6:00a.m., although the exertions of the march had whittled seventy-one tanks down to just forty. Hoffmeister ordered the division into combat, and the Panzers immediately entered the fray against Soviet tank spearheads just west of the village of Slobodka. The German Panzers once again confirmed their reputation for lethality, destroying no fewer than sixty Soviet tanks in the course of the day’s fighting, while suffering negligible losses of their own."

[@user-fm6ns5nb4j]

@@eliasmiguelfreire8965 But are those examples of the PzIV being a superior tank, or the 20th Panzer crews being better trained and more experienced than their Russian counterparts? The key to tank combat is to be first to acquire your target and get a round on target before the other guy does the same to you. Experience counts.

[@eliasmiguelfreire8965]

@@user-fm6ns5nb4j When I said "outclassing enemy tanks in 1944" I meant it was still getting very impressive victories in the battlefield, which doesn't necessarily mean Panzer IV is the better tank in technical specifications, surely it was showing its age already, but it was still a formidable machine, which combined with training, target acquisition (in my first example I put exactly this quote from Citino's book), and I would add tactical situation of those specific battles, it enabled it to kill a lot of Soviet tanks in the later part of the war, with examples like I put above, in the midst of the greatest Soviet offensive of the war, it was getting high K/D ratios. Of course, It didn't make a dent on the Red Army at the operational level, but in the tactical realm, it was still giving the soviets a lot of trouble.

[@michaelwest4325]

Together with the III, this is the vaunted Panzerwaffe, the true center piece of German armoured warfare. Considering it went from pre-war through the end and still had service after says a lot, both good and bad as to Germany strategically and technically. Like many I think I overlooked it in favour of the more famous Tiger or more modern looking Panther, but its study is more informative to the history in many ways. So glad you have preserved such a rather mundane variety of German tank. Cheers!

[@jordansmith4040]

That exterior paint job is beautiful.

[@gg.youlubeatube6249]

I like the slow speed of speaking and proper pronunciation of the new presenter. English is my second language, so watch the Tank chat without subtitles is great value. Keep on. BTW : Could you fit in a inflatable dummy-body in place of crew members ? So it is better view how space limited it is ?

[@shabut]

Considering people were 6 inches shorter on average back then?

[@josephahner3031]

@@shabut depends on what country you're from and the people you're going to be prioritizing for military recruitment are going to generally taller than average.

[@thekinginyellow1744]

@@josephahner3031Tank crews were generally recruited from shorter people. Most had a a height limit of 5'8" to 5'10" (1.73M to 1.76M and IIRC Russian T34 drivers had to be 5'4" (1.63M) or less.

[@josephahner3031]

@@thekinginyellow1744 in some countries they did, because they had no other option like that Soviet Union. Others like the US have a maximum height but that's around 6'4".

[@danieparriott265]

@@josephahner3031 Um... how tall is The Chieftan?

[@kieranholland1048]

I always thought the Panzer IV was a great looking tank, especailly with the later revisions and suited Germany's needs so much better then Hitler's wonder weapon tanks such as the Tiger and Panther. "It looks right, so it probably is right" applies to this tank perhaps more than any other I can think of until Centurion came along. When last I visited this was one tank I spent a while just walking around it. In terms of british tanks, nothing we had until the Comet really looked as good as this.

[@King.Leonidas]

Panther had real potential being the first MBT

[@kieranholland1048]

@@King.Leonidas Yeah your probably right, but Nazi procurement and Logistics meant it never really reached its potential.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Good for early war and mid war but it had reached its level of improvement by spring 1943. By 1944 it had neither quality or quantity superiority.

[@HerrGausF]

You could get 2 Panthers for the price of 3 Panzer IV. It was way too overengineered to be suitable for mass war production, but industrial constraints forced Germany to keep producing it until the end.

[@thebravegallade731]

@@HerrGausF and you can get like, 5 panthers for 1 tiger

[@Ghostmaxi1337]

7:35 The last the Ausf. J didnt have the electric traverse anymore, to save on copper and production cost and speed. Instead improved traverse was equipped as well as an traverse for the loader to help treverse speed of 10°/sec and more were easily achivable. By british tests the gunner alone was over medium distances as fast as the electric traverse and over short turns (around 60° iirc) faster.

[@kimjanek646]

You must be really proud about your WT bug report 😉 Too bad the loader can’t reload the gun when he is helping to traverse the turret 😂

[@daveybyrden3936]

Not so. The extra traversing handwheel for the loader was introduced long before the Ausf.J. It was apparently introduced along with the "long" gun, in the Ausf.G. Which makes sense because that gun made the turret more difficult to turn.

[@kimjanek646]

@@daveybyrden3936 It’s probably there for traversing the turret on slopes, since that made it more difficult. Maybe the power traverse didn’t work under such conditions anyway or could damage it.

[@kimjanek646]

@@ThatZenoGuy Well, we don’t want to open that box about T-34 😄 If Shermans and Pz IVs are 3.7, they would be at 2.3, if they had their crappy real life performance 😂

[@VosperCDN]

Love this "Reloaded" video on a favourite tank. For all the publicity the Tiger/Panthers get, the old Panzer IV deserves a lot of credit for soldiering on through the entire war.

[@Claymore5]

The interior is in such marvelous condition - I am so impressed. Simply wonderful - or should I say wunderschoen!

[@shorttimer874]

Really liked this style of Tank Chats. I've always been such a tank enthusiast that I signed up for the US Army in 1971 with a guarantee for armor. Turned out all the stories about conniving recruiters were true, I didn't know enough to specify tanks, ended up going to training for Recon which was also part of the Armor Branch, so I never did get to drive a tank. Ok, Recon turned out to be much more interesting than being one of the line animals, we got training in a lot of different things, there were a bunch of different half day classes, but still never got to follow my dream. We had Rat Patrol style gun jeeps when I was in the ground troop of an air cav squadron, along with the occasional helicopter flight, and set up a bunch of explosive charges to simulate someone shooting at tanks while they were going through training at Graf when I was in the Recon Platoon of an armored battalion in Germany, got sent out to be captured during Reforger exercises so other units could practice handling POWs (the only guys with black armbands), and all types of other activities. Along the way spent some time as an S2 clerk when I admitted I could type, and some more time driving 5 ton trucks when the Transportation Platoon ran short of drivers ( that was actually the best, having a real job instead of being in a combat specialty meant dealing with a lot less bull ). Turned out to be the wrong dream anyway, should have gone to mechanics school instead, driving a M88 would have been the best.

[@patrickcloutier6801]

A very remarkable tour of the Panzer IV. You mention the limited views from the vision blocks, even for the commander; the views from the T-34/76 were even more restrictive and its commander burdened with additional duties. According to a Russian video I viewed, the Germans enjoyed a kill ratio of 4:1 and 5:1, versus Soviet tanks, in part because German sight optics were much superior, but also because the Soviet tank crews had a more difficult time locating the Germans who firing at them.

[@Litauen-yg9ut]

I'd have to say how well preserved this machine is. Not just a repainted burnt out hull but a well preserved survivor as stated by Chris. One day I plan on going to Britain before I hit the dirt with 3 goals. Penrith where my Mum grew up, Heathrow, and Bovington.

[@jameswebb4593]

It used to be said pity the poor bloody infantryman . Really , couped up in a Tank , liable to be fried . Imprisoned within the confines of a Submarine , drowned if your lucky. Strapped in the fuselage of a Bomber , with little chance of escape ( especially RAF types ) Makes you think.

[@Ausf.D.A.K.]

I love this tank ! Please continue with these "Reloaded" series !

[@WVzombie138]

Chris Copson is my new favorite armor historian\presenter in history media i think. He's excellent in these reloaded chats.

[@tasman006]

Great vid on really the tank that was the workhorse of the German army all through the war and in production. One thing not mentioned is it also had a post war sevice after WW2 in the hands of the Syrians agianst the Israeli army 22 years later where some PZIV wrecks still litter the Golon heights still today.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Not quite true except for the mid 1943/early 1944 period. Before this, the Panzer III was the most prevalent German tank and after this the Panther was.

[@jeffkeith637]

That was great, thanks very much. Interesting to see how little of the overall picture crews had. Id love to see five tankers in position, trying to do their thing. Great audio quality too.

[@Adam-pt8qm]

Really enjoyed this vid, certainly made me think and reflect on what was being said. From frying eggs on the surface of the tank in the blistering summer heat to not being able to touch anything barehanded for fear of losing skin in the harsh winters. Very interesting.

[@theonlymadmac4771]

Thanks for showing the interior of this historic and very complete vehicle!

[@bkucinschi]

Wonderful presentation, indeed. The tradition of excelent curators and presenters from the Tank museum goes on.

[@johnelliott7850]

Good, informative video. The Panzer IV and the StuG III were my two favourite examples of German WWII armour.

[@marcosfernandez7207]

This is a very rare machine, an old type D model with a full set of added armour plates from the E model, including a double plate in front of the driver position that I have never seem before. It also have spaced armour in the turret, a feature from the latter G series. Final touch, what seems to be an L43 75mm gun with double baffle muzzle brake, also introduced in the G series. As it was mentioned that this machine once belong to a driver training school, it may have had a very interesting story. First, because it is really a original model D or E, both turret and hull (the lateral added armour was introduced in the model E). It was usuall to use war weary vehicled in the panzer schools. Ok. Second, it may have gone directly from recondicioning to a training school, or may have had a second tour of duty? Are there signs of battle damage in this machine? One way or another, it was a good fighting machine and a workhorse for the men who lived, fought and died in them.

[@l.a.wright6912]

Just looking at the gun in the video. Yeah mate that's the model l48 not l43.

[@Panzermeister36]

It's not really rare. There was an entire upgrade program for these vehicles. The zusatzplatten is not specifically from the Ausfürung E; Ausfürung C and D received that as well as the full Vorpanzer package too. Upgunning and adding the spaced armour to the sides of the turret to bring the vehicle up to Ausfürung H standard was done to a number of these vehicles so they could serve as training tanks while still being effectively up-to-date. Then actual new production Ausfürung H vehicles could go to combat units. These training tanks were used in combat in Normandy, crewed by instructors. That is how this vehicle would have been captured.

[@arandomfawn5289]

​@@Panzermeister36 true but how many of them survived?

[@50centpb7]

Is it just me or does it look like there has been extra armour bolted to the side of the tank as well? See 4:59

[@marcosfernandez7207]

@@50centpb7 No, you're right. The model D had 30mm frontal armour, and 20mm hull and turret lateral armour. Thus it was vulnerable to any small caliber AT guns of the period. Thus, model E introduced 20mm of extra armour in the hull front and sides, including the lower part of the hull.

[@stevebettany8778]

I’d like to see one of these vehicles with a full crew aboard. Great video thank you.

[@justinreilly6619]

Really enjoying this new series, Chris is an excellent presenter. 👌

[@CaptainCamperLP-CCLP]

It`s so intense thinking about making such a tank without oxy-cutting and MAG-welding and of course driving such a death trap without sit-awareness like with a modern thermal viewer, gps and so on.

[@andrewfanner2245]

Those graffiti are a very human touch to what by all accounts was a pretty claustrophobic and unpleasant existence, if still better much of the time than that of the footsloggers.

[@Saltasaur]

The Panzer IV will forever be my favorite, one of few vehicles to serve the entire war and still remain a competent workhorse. Though in regards to situational awareness and visibility, the Panzer IV had rather identical crew visibility to its contemporary counterparts. Every tank of the time suffered from tunnel vision barring a few exceptions.

[@forgivemenot1]

Considering it was to be a support tank to the PzIII’s and not a MBT it sure rose to the occasion by still being relevant throughout the war and even after the end of WWII in the Middle East.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Before schurzen the Panzer IV had both side turret and side hull vision ports, which the Sherman never enjoyed.

[@l.a.wright6912]

@@lyndoncmp5751 not to mention an actual commander's cupola which even rotated in some variants. The best the sherry got was a rather dinky pariscope and some late war models getting a sort of pariscopic cupola. Which is important to mention as parascopic sights limit their fov

[@lyndoncmp5751]

L. A Wright, Yes the Sherman 'cupola' was quite flush to the turret roof, and had view blocked by various turret roof fixtures and fittings. Yet all we ever hear about is how great the Sherman vision was because the gunner had a periscope 😂.

[@SpartanA054Moose]

That graffiti is amazing to see, to me it shows a much more human element to these boxy machines

[@hammondified]

Really enjoyed this Chris.... Sad to see David go, glad to see you here 👍 All the best. Good job

[@ElcomeSoft]

Such a really refreshing outlook on a tank that we have heard about before. I very much enjoyed this tank chat and the different perspectives used, both camera-wise, crew-wise and 'side of the war'-wise. Chris, take a bow. You made this your tank chat and it hits different than the well-known and most beloved Tank Chat commentators we have been used to in the past.

[@sergeipohkerova7211]

As a child I remember being with my mom in the non kids part of the library as she was looking for books on Medieval Europe. I came across a book by Stephen Ambrose where he said something along the lines of "the third best German tank was as good as the Allies' best tank." As an adult I know he was referring to the Panzer IV. I don't remember anything else of the book I just remember casually picking it up and reading that line.

[@WayFastWhitey02]

Absolutely brilliant idea to revisit the tanks in the museum and dig into further detail about them! Love the tours of the fighting compartments, truly does give an idea of how these men lived, fought, and died during the war.

[@AndrewXigna]

just gonna chime in and say that getting inside the tanks is something ive always wanted in tank chats so this is great

[@Ganiscol]

Excellent presentation! Wish it was longer, would love to see more of these inside looks from other tanks, even if they're not well preserved!

[@Bovara]

Excellent episode Mr Copson. I hope we get to see you present more. I especially liked how you brought the humanity of this to life.

[@marioshobbyhq]

Thanks for this gem and the hard effort in preserving these vehicles and their history.

[@brentwhite15]

This reload project is exactly what I wanted after the first run. I'm a tank enthusiast. Deep cut tank analysis is what I crave.

[@Sonofdonald2024]

Great idea . I love the tank chats and am glad to hear you are revisiting them in more detail..I could happily watch an hour long video on each (or more) :)

[@evilfingers4302]

Wow, I've never seen an early Pz IV ausf D with a long barrel 75, until now.

[@evilfingers4302]

@Lights Unlimited maybe

[@cmotdibbler4454]

I believe this is one that was sent back to the factory and was upgraded to Ausf G spec, two lots of added armour, kwk40 L43, multi baffle muzzle break but no zimmerit that was added to Ausf H, that is the conclusion I came to when I went to the museum last year and saw it for myself

[@Zoom_fast911]

These are the type of videos I've looking for

[@ritchie799]

A brilliant presentation Chris with a lot of attention to the details of the tank. The sheer space restrictions, duties of the crew members and most of all the graffiti made it so much more interesting.

[@cpawp]

Those eggs were fried with a little help of a blowtorch underneath - the camera-man once told an interviewer, sry ...

[@kevinjhonson5925]

Im in Canada and i swear coming to the the tank museum is on my bucket list.

[@kevincaldwell4707]

This is a great video, too often in these tank chats the weapons, engines, armour etc are mentioned. Not often enough is the actual interior conditions of the men who fought in them shown or explained.

[@MyDogmatix]

Love this reloaded series. I kinda hope they redo a lot of the tank chats. Probably alot more to talk about. Maybe they can also diverge into the realm of apcs and maybe all things land warfare on track or wheels.

[@AlbertComelles1970]

Beautifully explained, thank you very much! What a pity this beautiful machine was on wrong side.

[@Jpdt19]

Excellent stuff as always. Very keen on this new series. Well done Chris!

[@s1nb4d59]

Will be great to see some of the other well preserved interiors of other vehicles in this series.

[@anumeon]

This week on "Inside the Copson's hatch" we get an indepth look at the Panzer IV :D Just kidding, great and informative video as usual from you.. Happy new year to everyone and especially to the fine folks at the Tank Museum

[@Hybris51129]

**Endless background guitar riffs intensify**

[@OneofInfinity.]

Having served as a Leopard 2 gunner for almost 6 years, its a joy to see that German engineers did not forget the lessons learned during WW 2.

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

Brilliant, much that I appreciate Nick Moran's inside videos, it's nice to see a 'normal sized' crewman like Chris in the context of the interior of the tanks 😊

[@andrewcoley6029]

Fantastic. Really enlightening insight into the vehicle. Keep up the good work Tank Museum.

[@lorimeyers3839]

Truly an incredible machine. I’ve never seen one in person. This restoration makes this tank the latest version an opponent would encounter on the battlefield. The returns of armor plating would come with impactful drawbacks as well, as the engines weren’t designed for all the added shield weight. This resulted in the engines taking on much heavier loads than the tank was designed for. The drawback of the extra armor was less maneuvering power as well as that it ate through petrol at a higher rate. Still, no doubt armor plating it to make it less obsolete during the later years of the way was the right way to go.

[@Bananakingatauerbach]

Would be great to see some more shots from the viewports and maybe see some still moving parts demonstrated! Great video, thanks!

[@igorGriffiths]

Great to see Chris sitting in all the crew positions, I have just finished reading the 2 books by Wolfgang Faust and his experiences of both the Tiger and Panther, with him as driver getting a commanders kick in the back to get a move on. The glacis plate is mentioned in the books and now makes sense, seeing its position and purpose.

[@douglasr.swanson]

Brilliant! Loved the Reloaded Chat. Look forward to the next one.

[@ApocDevTeam]

"The Panzer IV was very cramped". Early T-34's: am I a joke to you?

[@Panzermeister36]

Well there is one less crew member in an early T-34

[@paoloviti6156]

I like very much this video regarding the Pz.Kpfw IV possibly the Ausf.H but still quite complete inside including the stencils and those two very interesting graffiti! Looking forward to see more of your very interesting videos, good job and Happy New Year 🎅🍻🍻🍾

[@daveybyrden3936]

It's an Ausf.D. We can see the Ausf.D fittings all over the inside.

[@paoloviti6156]

@@daveybyrden3936 thanks for "updating me" as I do tend to get a bit confused with the variants as they are quite similar at a distance! You too have a Happy New year 🍾 🥂

[@l.a.wright6912]

@@daveybyrden3936 too be technical it's not a ausf d It's an ausf d refined to meet either the ausf h or ausf j specifications. Which is important to distinguish as it means it was improved from the ausf d spec

[@yattaran1484]

Incredibly well preserved tank !. Thank you for posting. 🙏

[@lukum55]

It would be interensting to know the full story of this particular vehicle. Ausf. D production was finished by 1941 so it definetly predates that year and its entirely possible that this vehicle was made before the war even started. It would presumably have been assigned to a frontline combat unit and could have fought all the way from Poland to France and then to the eastern front, receiving refits to the latest standard along the way. Finally this old veteran would have been pulled out of the front and brought back to be a driver training vehicle and end up in British hands after the war. Absolutely fascinating.

[@entropy11]

I'd assume the interior cream paint has yellowed some over time. I think you can see hints of scratches that didn't get all the way through that might show the more original tone.

[@hughbarton5743]

Great presentation! Thanks.

[@SteamCrane]

This is a wonderful presentation. The original condition of the interior really gives an understanding of how it was to use it. Cramped, but seems task efficient, maybe "cozy". It's interesting that the internal layout is very similar to many modern tanks, except that the commander was moved to stbd side due to the longer breech. Loader seems better moved to the port side, to load with the right hand.

[@turnpiketumbler8938]

Just time for my lunch break. Nice!

[@daveybyrden3936]

It should be said that the breech of this gun (8:05) was not painted dark green while in German service. The British painted that.

[@wastelander89]

Thank u for time and effort teaching us about history and tanks .I really appreciate ur time Thank you guys very much.i lucky and fortunate to get to see this historic item. I really hope the person in the video see this and knows that I appreciate the video very much.

[@duggiebader1798]

Superb. Really enjoyed watching this. 10/10

[@eliterry3785]

Good content. Thanks for your efforts to preserve history.

[@kajlennartsson4234]

Happy New Year The Tank Museum and all the Tank Nuts!!✨🎆🎉

[@SerpenTyx]

Imagine you scribbled a small picture of your girlfriend inside your tank to remind you of something nice for a change and 80 years later a hundred thousand people can see it in a video and think about what you went through back then.

[@dougstubbs9637]

Panzer Mk. IV. What a piece of Krupp.

[@daveybyrden3936]

At 12:52 the narrator talks about two heads that are sketched on the panel below the visor. But he doesn't notice that an entire human figure is drawn on the front wall. We can see it, just beyond the driver's window mechanism. It has been partially erased but it's definitely graffiti (I took a photograph of it).

[@kevinr.landmesser2082]

Well done! Thank you. Keep’em coming!!!!

[@Geoduck.]

Thank you Chris. Can't imagine how very difficult it must have.been for those crew.

[@sirlorax9744]

these new tank chats are excellent

[@alan-sk7ky]

You didn't do the 'oh Christ, the tank's on fire' drill...

[@lyndoncmp5751]

3 turret escape hatches. 1 for each crewman. You can bail out of a Panzer IV quicker than a Sherman. Early Shermans only had one turret escape hatch for all three turret crew to get out of. Yikes. That's terrible. The Chieftain should prefer the Panzer IV fire bail out test of the Panzer IV to his beloved Sherman. 👍

[@l.a.wright6912]

@@lyndoncmp5751 not to mention all the Sherman's hatches were vertical and didn't have springs till late war. It's not just a little bit faster, it's A LOT faster.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

L. A Wright, Absolutely. Always amuses me when people just want to talk about the benefits that the later Shermans had but not the deficiencies of the early and mid Shermans.

[@11Kralle]

At 1:40min, the word "Zurrungen" ('zurren' means to fasten something with a belt or similar type of gear) made me giggle inwardly: never read, never heard it, but it makes total sense. Great lecture/presentation by Mr. Copson! There's nothing better than a person, who knows about his topic.

[@MB5rider81]

You had me at "tank chats"

[@neiljohnson6815]

I was a tanker in the US Army from 1968-70. We had a mix of M-60s and M-60A1s. What surprised me was how roomy the interior of the Panzer IV is compared to the M-60 series tanks.

[@danielhurst8863]

If would be great if you would take 360 pictures of the inside from every crew's position. It would also digitally preserve the interior for future generations.

[@kiwifruit27]

This guy is awesome, excellent episode. Thanks

[@johnnyzippo7109]

It is presentations such as this regarding Panzer IV that one becomes very aware of just how groundbreaking the bow gunner installation on the likes of Panther and Royal Tiger are with those tanks sloped glacis plate .

[@mcfontaine]

These Reloaded shows are going to be a great addition to the channel. Thank you.

[@saradolphin3242]

A Good Presentation of the Crew's who fought in the panzer 4!

[@garyneilson1833]

Thank you, it is really nice to see inside the tanks

[@stevenmattson3164]

I appreciate you fellas getting inside. You really could stand to get more of a snapshot by getting “B-roll”. Cut away shots of close-ups of the vision block periscopes the commander had, the controls for gun traverse and elevation, etc. etc… you could really go to town. Filling these videos in with much craved visual details. Why not cram a couple of your mechanics in there in their coveralls to give a sense of how tight it would have been? You could have so much fun with this.

[@daveybyrden3936]

That's just what I was thinking. They have most of the equipment storage, ALL of the controls, still present and looking like they used to. Why don't they put someone in the seat saying "So I look through the telescope HERE and I press THIS switch to illuminate it.... I press THIS pedal to fire the MG....I flip THIS to put the turret in powered mode...." and so on. Explain EVERY control and feature of the tank. I'd watch it - heck, I'd watch five such videos, one for each crewman, and I think there's enough material for them.

[@kampfgruppepeiper501]

Great idea guys!! Love this new series!

[@pyrtwistPyrtwistWorldInMotion]

Keep these Reloads coming!!

[@ronyeahwiggie729]

Keep 'm comin'! These in-depth chats are much appreciated.

[@knot3d_]

Great video of a tank that formed the actual workhorse brunt in the war. But my favorite is the Panzer IV's final end of life iteration, the Pz IV 70(V) aka Jagdpanzer IV with the L70 gun.

[@c1ph3rpunk]

Hands down, my favorite tank of WW2, can’t get enough about it.