The FV4005 Story: Britain's Colossal Tank Dream

[@megaprojects9649]

Thanks to Keeps for sponsoring this video! Head to keeps.com/SIMON to get a special offer.

[@tasman006]

Im playing this in warthunder right now. Awsome beast.

[@makegaminggreatagain3907]

40yo full head of hair, mega projects should do a video on why Simons head hates hair but his face loves it.

[@statementleaver8095]

5:16 - 5:18 The Glare is almost as noticeable as the Spelling of LENTH 😮😮 😂😂

[@ryankersey8864]

​@@makegaminggreatagain3907q

[@coltonschroeder2092]

No shoes?!?! Legend!! 🤣🤣🤣

[@thetankmuseum]

Our FV4005, the one featured in the video, is currently being restored with help from AW Hewes and World of Tanks. Hopefully we will see it running at TANKFEST in June. 🙂

[@babalonkie]

The museum itself 😀 I figured people should know before turning up and getting disapointed.

[@erwwinexists]

Does it have a functioning 183mm howitzer?

[@babalonkie]

@@erwwinexists Gun*

[@squirrely1548]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHmccnxsiJ1-gpo&ab_channel=MrHewes

[@lordcaptainvonthrust3rd]

Nice to see you credit Mr Hewes for his efforts on what is a fascinating joint project. Any chance it will make it to Operation Market Harborough this year?

[@IamNasman]

If you follow Mr Hewes, you can watch them rebuilding this very tank. It’s very interesting and they are quite humorous.

[@Mrgunsngear]

🇺🇸

[@Kuya__micah__soler]

Yes that’s true. As of last month was when I first discovered his channel it’s really good 🔥

[@ianmitchell3725]

In the process of being painted

[@gijsheeremans9732]

@@Mrgunsngear ah, I see what you did there. Sadly you are wrong hihi

[@MostlyInteresting]

The museum took the FV turret off the incorrect hull its been on and tasking Hewes with rehabbing a correct hull Hewes has, to be period correct. Re creating the original to a functional state.

[@sergiokv5711]

The FV4005 is actually not on bovington at the moment, is currently being restored by Mr Hewes, you can even see 5 videos (at the moment) were they are restoring it, at the moment only the hull but they will get to the turret eventually

[@francisboyle1739]

Glad to see that it's no longer at the mercy of the British weather.

[@DMminion101]

Nice to know, where it is this summer. Been there quite a few times at their TankFest event since 2015 (20, 21, and 23 I weren't there)

[@DOffio]

Ummm, been a while since I saw the 1st video in that series where he explained what was going on, but Mr. Hewes is refurbing a random, extra, Centurion chassis he had for this project, and trying to make it as close as possible to photos of the original. The museum is doing the turret, and will most likely install it...if I recall correctly.

[@Ihasanart]

@@DOffio The Mk3 hull that Joe is using for the resto is a former special projects gun test hull, used as part of the original FV4005 program among many others, it quite likely carried FV4005 Stage 1's gun and potentially even Stage 2's which is what it will represent when restored fully.

[@K2edg]

@@DOffio Thats the way i understood it too......... The origanal Hull was converted back to standard Centurian and lost to time. The Hull he's using was a Mk3 Centurian he bought for spares and between Joe and Bovington they have spent a lot of time cutting off the brackets etc from the Hull and retrofitting things like the crutch and rear shovel.

[@DanGod07]

OK that slide showing round size compared to a person who's labelled "not advised for loading" gave me a chuckle.

[@steeljawX]

Well it says not advised, but it doesn't say explicitly "DO NOT".....so I mean, if I ignore advice someone's getting loaded and not in the good kind of way. Why? Because I can, not because I should.

[@killswitch69698]

I love how much war thunder footage was in this video with war thunder not being the sponsor lol

[@babalonkie]

That existing FV4005 from Bovington is currently being refurbished.

[@davidedwards4125]

By MrHewes on his KZbin channel.

[@K2edg]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5DbYnh8hLSHl8U

[@HarTmanN_erik]

18:01 Gotta love the utilization of War Thunder’s X-Ray to look into the tanks internal Modules

[@Tundraviper41]

Fun fact: while the hull itself remained unchanged mostly, the Turret gearbox had to be replaced as the weight of the 183mm gun would break the Centurion mk3s orginial turret gearbox. (The turret Gearbox is what allows the turret to turn) Mr Hewes, a Tank resteratonist KZbinr, as of the date of this comment posting in august of 2024, he and his team had already earlier had restored the last example of the 4005, reuniting the turret with the orginial MK3 hull, he wanted the turret to also be able to rotate, so he had a new turret gearbox manufactured as the orginial would not work. they even restored the tanks ability to move under its own power too and it was displayed for the first time at Tankfest 2024.

[@lkchild]

Great video, but if you’re going to use Tanks Encyclopaedia and Armoured Archives research you really should give them a shout out to be fair. They’re smaller channels than yours and would really benefit from the attention.

[@sentinelxcix2526]

They also used footage from SY Simulations… noticed a few war thunder screenshots as well as some images from the war thunder wiki regarding ammunition layout… The MBT section could have used B-roll of T-55s, T-62s, T-64s, M60s, or maybe (seeing as the video is on a UK prototype) Chieftain, instead we get profiles of 2 fictional tanks and a photo of someone’s fictional tank scale model, with just one photo of some Leopard 2A5s right at the end of that segment. Similarly, none of the ATGMs shown are Malkara, the missile that did the job of the 183mm gun but was better in almost every way Combined with the filters put over the b-roll they used and it all just leaves a bad taste in my mouth tbh

[@Beryllahawk]

Absolutely unrelated to the topic of the video but I'm giggling helplessly at Simon's lack of shoes in the ad spot. It's charming and I don't know why it's making me wheeze laugh :D :D :D

[@ShawnF6FHellcat]

Turning the corner and seeing this thing staring at you in War Thunder is a horrifying experience, which is why we call it the "Death Star" or the "Doom Barn".

[@drhelianthus5707]

WoT, it's the Sh*t Barn

[@mrmcmoustache9615]

Because it deletes a planet but takes a while to reload

[@ShawnF6FHellcat]

@@drhelianthus5707 I didn't know it was in WoT, probably because I only got to Tier 6 before rage quitting the console version and am very casually Tier 7 in Blitz.

[@MoA-Reload...]

​@@ShawnF6FHellcatyep, FV215B 183 is the Deathstar in WoT. Does a similar thing while not having a 2 car garage on it's head

[@ShawnF6FHellcat]

@@MoA-Reload... I see... I play Russia, Germany, and USA in Blitz, but it's been a while. Back in my console days (long before the Great Arty Nerf) the most Death Star-like tank I encountered was the Japanese O-I (not sure which version); and in Blitz, I'd say the SU-100Y (which I also got free through a large crate).

[@reapersteelwolf4327]

Hello, you're one of my favorite and most reliable sources of historical vehicle information and I loved your video on the jeep and dodge trucks of WW2 but I wanna know what did the Germans field, I know they had a vehicle like the jeep the kublewagon or whatever it's called and some half track trucks so I wanna know what was the jeeps adversary

[@J4CK4TT4CK95]

I love the way you use war thunder pictures on your channel 😁 im a big fan of the game and I play Britain 100%!! I love this tank on the game, I even got a 1 shot kill on a leopard 2 with this yesterday 😂 love it!!

[@BadgerBadgerBadger28]

It’s getting restored right now too The vid dropped today of it been painted

[@labaras]

Metric measurements would be great. It doesn’t have to be said out loud, but the editor could include it visually

[@watcherit1311]

Consistency would be even greater (now some measurements are in inches while others in mm without any logical pattern)

[@arawata2126]

And they keep misspelling “lenght“

[@ChIGuY-town22_]

Great video, I appreciate your hard work.

[@helmersher]

The FV4005 is being restored over at @mrhewes youtube channel. Great content and banter for those interested

[@EAWanderer]

Got it in World of Tanks It is a MONSTER of a thing!

[@randytessman6750]

In WoT this monster is called the "sh!t barn" because its as big as a barn and if your looking down the barrel you will say ... "OH sh!t"

[@nomercynodragonforyou9688]

Its tougher sibling is called the "Death Star"

[@randytessman6750]

FV215B(183)@@nomercynodragonforyou9688

[@Turbo495]

Glad you guys posted a video on this, if anyone likes video games its in Warthunder. Thanks Simon and all for the content!

[@Bartman61911]

Most of the images in the episode was war thunder footage.

[@Turbo495]

@Bartman61911 it was, was just letting people know lol.

[@joshuaboulee8190]

It's in World Of Tanks too

[@only1dat]

Thanks Keeps

[@phildibb914]

Great video, as usual. But please check your spelling of “length” - I’ve seen “lenght” twice now and I’m only 5 minutes in.

[@tektier4009]

I love the War thunder images used as visuals. I guess it is the best way to display some stuff

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

The engine, the Meteor, the ground level version of the Rolls Royce Merlin engine.

[@Eldred15]

if they decide to remake this tank for the present day they could keep with the British "C" naming convention and call it the Chungus.

[@calebbearup4282]

Greenland, Svalbard, Antarctica are at the top of my wishlist and fairly difficult to get to pricewise compared to others I'm interested in

[@The1ArcticWolf]

"Human, not advised for loading" 😂😂😂

[@Hemimike426]

"We only need to damage the enemy not destroy them." then they proceed to use a gun capable of turning modern MBTs into confetti.

[@roycsinclair]

I take exception to calling the FV4005 a "failure" in the script. It was not a failure as it was never put to the test, instead it would be far more correct to say it was obsoleted before it reached production and in a rare show of intelligence the government decided to not produce a few of them anyway which in it's own way could be counted as a success for the FV4005.

[@gavinferguson]

Now officially a moving beast btw it was only ever a experimental test machine

[@DraftySatyr]

Yeah, I'm not sure where the myth of the FV4005 going into serial production has come from.

[@ferallion3546]

These technical demonstrator weapons platforms are always interesting to study. The 4005 was not a tank by mode of operation. It was technically an armored externally mounted gun system with numerous fighting designations depending on country, military branch, and intended mode of operation. This Cold War era of AFV development saw some crazy ideas. Good Lord though, imagine if an IS3 or T55 was struck by it's colossal main gun?

[@peterjenks5451]

FV4005 is restored and runs from Mr Hewes base in the UK Midlands. It has appeared at several tank festivals this year, as a runner. How long it will stay wth Mr Hewes I do not knoe, but Mr Hewes has become the leading Centurion restoration group, probably anywhere. Theri KZbin channel is enjoyable, if not at all PC.

[@ThePropertyProject]

I always love me a good tank history video

[@aarondavies8486]

Mr hewes channel is rebuilding the chassis for the fv

[@DraftySatyr]

Although it would be nice if it was a tad more accurate.

[@Jaabaa_Prime]

14:09 I was wondering if it would get a mention that the "FV" in FV4005 means "Fighting Vehicle". So after so many mentions of FVnnnn, the prefix wasn't so much explained but said in passing. Still a massive like from me but I think you missed a chance at a little bit of additional education.

[@Four_Words_And_Much_More]

In warfare, the methods of countering threats is always dynamic. Furthermore, given the shifting that occurs on both sides, the continuing development was definitely worthwhile. It proved the concept was viable. The fact that rockets and changes in tank design happened, the change in the balance of threat and destruction of the threat happened. Could this have been foreseen? I doubt that anyone's crystal ball is that good. The reason is the certainty of the path of battle tanks development was also unknown. Thus given the multiple levels of uncertainty on both sides, the expense of research funds was warranted. The rule in war is always present a viable counter to each realistic threat. This is not the only such project. Most are secret so you never know they existed.

[@grandadmiralthrawn9231]

How is his beard so perfect. My brain cannot comprehend such witchcraft

[@stuartlew1229]

good to see us all on the same lvl watching military history

[@Skillerz87]

Given that active defense against guided missiles are getting better this could come full circle with the centaur becoming the basis for a modern anti tank gun.

[@bradbrandon2506]

That thing is a BEAST!

[@justdeaf-ry6bn]

That's a interesting tank. Huge turret and you won't have any trouble seeing the tank at a distance. This type of tank is not made for offensive but rather a defense. Stand your ground type tank that is.

[@jeffdroog]

Holy shit! Did we all watch the same video?

[@MoA-Reload...]

Hey, it's the mighty sh*t-barn 😊 Used to be hilarious in World of Tenks

[@huwdavies6650]

Tank Enthusiast and KZbinr Mr Hewes is actually building a replica in partnership with The Bovington Tank Museum.

[@robertdonnell8114]

Replica is not the correct word here, the FV4005 was never anything other than a prototype but a correct hull (Centurion Mark III) is being rebuilt to go with the historic prototype turret to produce something of a running prototype machine. The word "replica" implies that none of the original parts are used. That is not true.

[@ThroneOfBhaal]

How do I tension the tracks Simon?

[@pimpampet7053]

Great video Simon, but Imperial and Metric units please....

[@AtheistOrphan]

This video features two of my favourite words: ‘Mantlet’ and ‘Trunnion’.

[@gusgone4527]

I don't agree it was a battle tank. More of a long range fire support vehicle. Today it would more resemble a self propelled gun, which I suspect it would have become if accepted into service.

[@nrs91]

They called it a Tank Destroyer earlier in the vid, i think thats more suitable description

[@chriscook7420]

CFB Borden making an unexpected appearance at 13:47.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

0:55 - Chapter 1 - Technical specifications 2:20 - Mid roll ads 3:50 - Back to the video 7:05 - Chapter 2 - The gun 11:45 - Chapter 3 - Development 14:05 - Chapter 4 - The FV4005 stage 1 16:20 - Chapter 5 - The FV4005 stage 2 18:35 - Chapter 6 - Cancellation 20:20 - Chapter 7 - Survivors

[@solreaver83]

An important part you missed was the effectiveness of the is3 was discovered to have been over estimated and the British were developing the new 20pdr gun for the centurion which made the centurion mk3 and above capable of dealing with the is3 as well as the many other tanks needed. This is also why the conqueror tanks didn't last long in service. P. S. Don't use game footage, especially world of tanks to show armour. Wot armour is not accurate and is fictional for game balance. These images lose you credibility.

[@sebastianthurmond498]

Affectionately known in World of Tanks circles as “The Shithouse” 👀😂

[@satopierce4408]

*Shit Barn

[@DJGMatthews]

Could you do a follow up on the tank on the thumbnail (I believe it is a fv215b 183)

[@timur22993]

Thought you would plug the World of Tanks add at the end there.

[@jamesleatherwood5125]

every one of these tank videos makes me wanna load up World of Tanks, lol. and then i do and realize how much grinding ill have to on my pc JUST to reach the progress level i was at SEVERAL years ago on xbox360 and get discouraged. lol

[@nomercynodragonforyou9688]

Console ain't like the PC version bro, not even close

[@jamesleatherwood5125]

@@nomercynodragonforyou9688 I know! lol. My console hasnt even been on in years, PC is superior fer sher!

[@skaarjconall]

Please do a video on the A4 Skyhawk. There's no good videos on here bout them, despite them being the most iconic jet of Vietnam.

[@Brobobobobobobo]

Funny enough the 4005 is actually being restored by bovington

[@martinrose2833]

The FV4005 was killed by the 105 mm L7A1 gun under development at the time . A gun so good everybody wanted it .Centurion ,Germany's Leopard , the USA's M60 the first batch of M1 Abrams and I think the new M10 Booker MPF mobile protected firepower support tank has a version . The L7A1 would be a good subject for a Megaprojects

[@Sturmcalleopard.120]

The tank in the thumbnail is an FV215b, in wot there were two 215b's one was classified as a heavy tank and the other was a TD that used the 183mm from the FV4005

[@HyBr1dRaNg3r]

I’m curious about this Soviet “v11”😂

[@the7observer]

They made the tank so big to make the enemy think it was a house

[@mavericmorph5358]

I often wondered, if this gun was to be used at long range, why put it in a bulky, complicated turret? They could have put it into a semi superstructure in the hull. Bit like the Tortoise T.D.

[@nrs91]

That would require making a whole new hull and would come with operational disadvantages. Plus its a prototype to test the cannon so you just slap it on what you've got lol

[@blakekenley1000]

"gimme a kv 2 that makes tea and may or may not really like punitive expeditions"

[@ace448]

HESH rounds aren’t armor penetrating rounds, they are not designed to pierce armor plate. Rather it transfers massive amounts of energy to the opponent causing spall killing the crew or damaging the internal components.

[@februarywhiskeys]

At 5:08..... Is that EQUESTRIA AT WAR???

[@string_fellow_hawk]

Designers and construction was good. Time just marched on .

[@Mornomgir]

Imagine all the resources spent on the conq, this, m103 and so on and it turns out that the IS3 couldnt fend of s stone tossed by a strong arm.

[@alexneff]

9:00 " human not advised for loading "

[@stefan514]

Purposefully using the wrong tank in the thumbnail to farm views by angry nerds? Worked for me 😅

[@heuhen]

The one on the thumbnail are correct. If you watched the video. There was two variant. The one you see in the thumbnail was the one the Brits wanted, the other one was the "test"-object, to test the gun-system, before they produce the one in the Thumbnail. The FV4005 was more or less a stop gap tank, until they could get FV215 ready. The FV4005 come around as a simpler version, while the FV215 got developed. The gun was the same, but all the system controlling it and more was more advance on FV215.

[@DraftySatyr]

@@heuhen No, the FV4005 was, plain and simple, a means to prove the viability of the 183 mm gun and HESH shell. There was no intent to take the FV4005 into serial production; the gun would have been installed into the FV215b which was to have been based on a hugely modified and re-engineered Conqueror tank. But the program was cancelled as it was realised that ATGM were a more viable and cost-effective way to combat IS3 and its successors, and the later development of APFSDS (and APFSDE(SE) rounds in 105mm and 120mm calibres proved entirely capable of destroying Soviet armour (and still are).

[@EgaoKage]

According to tank-craniology, this tank would have possessed a winning personality and been highly intelligent!

[@edmundisanski982]

Another interesting video but please drop the dizzying animations between video cuts.

[@savarok]

You cannot undervalue the psychological effect of a weapon that can cause devastating damage to vehicles that had a perceived level of invulnerability.

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

Legacies of heavy tanks with such highest were over. Under guided missiles and cheap drones ...

[@_Hodgepodge]

Ah yes, the infamous Sh*t Barn. The best of the doink machines. Gotta love BESH. But as other's have pointed out, that is not what is shown on the thumbnail. Unfortunately, as we have seen with other vehicle related videos on your channel, the people handling post-production do not take their time to double check what they show.

[@jeffdroog]

It's just really hard to tell tanks apart lol They all look the same,and they all do tank stuff lol No one with braincells cares.

[@howbizarrepodcast5421]

It was indeed, the biggest gun ever mounted on an armored chassis, like in history.

[@petrpuna8958]

What hapened to the custom of converting to metric? Using only antique units makes comparison impossible for me :(

[@wizzbang54]

Simon, have you thought about making a video on the c17 globe master?

[@tiemenvanderbijl785]

I love this channel and as a non USA person ( and most of the rest of the world) I would appreciate it very much if you include non-freedom units for us plebs

[@garypeyman932]

Gotta flatten that "O" in Bovington

[@JessWLStuart]

I'd hate to be the crew testing the Stage 1 FV4005 in the rain!

[@Matze-c1j]

"Human, not advised for loading" Tell that to the circus.

[@BaddBadger]

When i saw a thumbnail saying ''Ulimate Destroyer'' i though that's either a death metal band, or it should be.

[@PanzerWeeb3305]

And the Bovington Tank Museum is currently refurbishing their FV4005.

[@15DEAN1995]

this makes me think of the german jagdtiger. that massive 128mm cannon could practically split whatever it hit in half, but did you need to split your target in half to knock it out? no it was kinda overkill.

[@julianh9347]

Anybody else notice that the thumbnail to this video show actually the wrong tank? Thumbnail shows FV215B183, same gun, but rest is completely different.

[@jammiedodger7040]

It’s not just the biggest ever fitted to a British time it’s the biggest gun ever fitted to a tank.

[@keithwalmsley1830]

Oh I don't know, was a baby compared to the German "Mouse" of World War II which was the largest tank ever built, totally impractical and couldn't even be moved anywhere as no roads or bridges could take its colossal weight, but still an amazing engineering feat.

[@alexandergausJTP]

I did see the first picture of the tank and did ask myself, why it never got further than the prototype... 🤔 Did I already comment that video? Having either a half memory or a very strong dejavu...

[@kiromancer]

Great tank destroyer in world of tank game

[@Sierra0331]

Simon getting Keeps to sponsor him will never not make me laugh. (I say this as a fellow baldie.)

[@alucardgd2523]

I like to think that if fv4005 just had a slightly thicker turret it would have made a good support tank for taking out bunkers or other targets 120mm he/hesh cant deal with

[@Leto_II]

Been waiting for a video on this tank for ages, leave it to Britain to stick a really silly gun on a tank that also looks like a barn.

[@jeffdroog]

...What the fuck is that supposed to even mean? Lol Verbal diarrhea at its finest.

[@AngryCanine]

Thumbnail shows an FV215B 183, not an FV4005, a little confusing there. Also the lone surviving FV4005 Stage II is being restored and will be fully functional and accurate to what it was back when it was created, and I can't wait to see it finished!

[@kevinluk1150]

It's not just the thumbnail, quite a few of the images are of the FV215B

[@V3RTIGO222]

I think most people consider the FV4005 a failure in that compared to other tanks of the time, it filled a niche that ultimately was not particularly useful, and eas ultimately a stop gap for bigger, better designs that had a chassis designed around the gun. I think that the necessistation of spades and other notable caveats ultimately would have lended itself to the sane issues other SPGs had, but also suffering less mobility and armor, ultimately exacerbating those issues. Doctrinally, this means the 'tank' would likely be destroyed by artillery or outflanked by infantry before it could be effectively utilized against other tanks (lessons the Germans firmly educated on by allied arty and air support)

[@jeffdroog]

Cool opinion!

[@solreaver83]

It wasn't made obsolete by other tank chassis. The centurion literally made it (and the conqueror) obsolete. The 20pdr proved good enough against revised estimations on is3 armour and the L7 105mm good enough for the early Russian mbt. All of which were used on the same chassis as the fv4005.

[@V3RTIGO222]

@@solreaver83 I think you are misinterpreting what I said, the FV4005s cannon was not a good fit for the chassis, which itself was designed for smaller, more manageable cannons. While most chassis are specifically designed to mount specific weapons, any chassis itself has an effective range of weapons and armor it could support or be adapted to use (often with their own drawbacks), and the cannon on the 4005 was simply too large to be effective on said chassis. This is not to say the gun was not effective, nor that the chassis would be effective in other capacities, but that the two combined created an unwieldy vehicle that was regarded to not be sufficiently effective in combat... Hence it's abandonment.

[@solreaver83]

@@V3RTIGO222 yeah I did misu der stand your first comment the mostly. But I will point out that the army didn't decide the combination was not effective. They found the opposite however as I pointed out the need for the gun was surpassed by the development of new guns and munitions as well as realising the is3 wasn't as big a threat armour wise as previously estimated. Had the 20pdr not come in and the is3 been as strong as first though the fv4005 would have seen some production. It had passed trials quite successfully.

[@bwilliams463]

I have heard in other vids - including The Tank Museum - that the FV 4005 was prone to flipping itself over when the main gun was fired from certain angles. Did you find any references to this phenomenon in your research?

[@edfrancis712]

no because it didn't happen - the full firing trials are available at the national archives, the BS about rocking back 45 degrees etc was Richard smiths clickbait fantasy -

[@jamesleatherwood5125]

This thing looks like a soviet tank... The KV series specifically..... and with the name FV, which is remarkably close to KV, seriously makes me think this was the product of espionage! lol

[@absiddique139]

Do a video in Soviet N1 Rocket.

[@THB1945]

Ahh, the iconic world of tanks tank. Wonder when it will be added to war thunder

[@theforerunnerreclaimer]

It's been in war thunder for a while

[@THB1945]

I mean the version with the turret in the back, not the stage II@@theforerunnerreclaimer

[@hikaruduthie6850]

Some of the picture used in the video are from warthunder

[@Capain_D00dle]

It's a video about the FV4005, but the thumbnail has the FV215b (183)....

[@Hakugarawe]

Ah, the beloved Doombarn.

[@MausMasher54]

Well, an Outhouse on treads was not too appealing.....Time to roll out a vid on the Tsar Tank.....