Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: BA-20M

[@joaoie]

Never had I been so relieved that the Chieftain knows how to use a belt.

[@bigblue6917]

There are some sights you don't want to see on an empty stomach. Or a full one for that matter.

[@thhseeking]

We almost got a look into Mordor - "The Crack of Doom" 🤣

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

You suffer for your art, Nick and we do appreciate it. 😊

[@rgfrank1668]

I would like to say from the 'KZbin community' that we appreciate you for enduring the pain of stretching, banging and other physical activity's in armored fighting vehicles. It is interesting but to a degree also funny to see you struggling in such old vehicles and it gives a real sense of perspective. So while the phrase above was said in jest, I actually mean the overall message.

[@BeyondTheGrave84]

The radio device inside the vehicle is a Finnish produced portable radio called "Kukkopilli". They were designed to be used by on-site radio reporters at the 1940 Helsinki Olympics, but the games were cancelled because of the war. The radios that had been produced were issued to the Finnish Army and many of them were put inside captured armoured cars and tanks in order to provide radios for communication. Unfortunately, Kukkopilli radios were not suitable for that role, as their signal barely made out of the fully armoured vehicles nor could they receive any signals efficiently. After the 1941 battles they were recalled and used in other roles during the war. Oh and if you wonder why this car has Finnish swastikas on the mud guards like that, it is because the guys who painted them originally at the front during the war used some "artistic freedoms" when situating them. The official Finnish swastika stands and is not tilted that way. Later in 1942 we adopted the shortened swastika to separate our forces from the Germans.

[@andersjjensen]

Ah, thanks! I was hella confused as to why a Soviet car would have Wehrmacht markings.

[@johnfrench1239]

It felt agonisingly claustrophobic even watching you. Thanks as ever for the great content.

[@xcalibertrekker6693]

Hope you never need an MRI. He is a pretty large guy though so he makes it look even worse.

[@18robsmith]

@@xcalibertrekker6693 I think an MRI machine looks far preferable to that, after all the MRI is open at both ends (even if one's dignity is exposed)

[@xcalibertrekker6693]

@@18robsmith Well I have had several and have never had my dignity exposed before but maybe it was a bad comparison since most people have never had one.

[@hideshisface1886]

This looks like... with many soviet vehicles, it was made for far shorter people than the Chieftain.

[@antcommander1367]

looks like chieftain doing tank yoga again...

[@bigblue6917]

They were much shorter back then. The only upside to a Soviet famine.

[@lavrentivs9891]

Most vehicles are made for people shorter than the Chieftain, and people are in general shorter than the Chieftain, especially back in the 1930's and -40's (and not only in the USSR).

[@RJLbwb]

And this is what we come to see.

[@earlthepearl3922]

And far younger.

[@bernardlyons2422]

I visited that museum last July. Highly recommended.

[@soupwizard]

16:48 That was a very cinematic video shot, eyes peeking out, looking around for... something, anything!

[@Dennys854]

That padded hatch with the pop up and Chieftain's Eyes reminded me of the Bugs Bunny What's Opera Doc with Elmer Fudd and his Magic Hewmit. Even to the point of sounding like Fudd... "Wailway Wheels? WAILway Weels? WailWAY WEELS?"

[@mathiasvernet763]

The russian Wikipedia (not the best source, i know) mentions the presence of an extra 30 liter fuel tank on the BA-20M (compared to the BA-20), so i'd assume the port at the rear is the filling port for that extra tank that is probably missing on this particular vehicle

[@than357]

Plus that would put weight on the rear wheels

[@TheArklyte]

The story of soviet armored cars is a VERY weird one considering the background of tens of thousands light tanks produced and simultaneous consistent failures to develop domestic APCs(both due to problems with engines and with halftrack suspension). One could feel that they would have been better off delegating the armored car niche to BT-5/7 variant or concentrate effort on creating APC that can double up as filler for roles of these armored cars. BA-13(if I recall the name of 45mm armed one right) is especially egregious example of a questionable niche. P.S.: Komsomolets was an artillery tractor, not APC. It sadly provided no protection for the dismounts. Had it been wider or used T-26 chassis then maybe there would have been space to add side armor and get their own Universal Carrier. But, again, reality didn't turn out that way:(

[@robertalaverdov8147]

The thing is it made sense at the time and still kind of does. The Soviet Union was a vast country that needed a big army to defend its borders. Having had experienced ww1 and the Russian civil war, they realized the potential of the tank and armored vehicles. But they couldn't just build enough tanks for all their divisions. So they decided to build much cheaper armored cars in parallel to the light tanks. This way even the most basic rifle divisions could have some sort of armor elements. And they equipped them with bigger 37mm&45mm guns which were more suited to fighting the tanks of that time as well as machine gun nests and pillboxes. As apposed to light and heavy machine guns seen in other countries, which are more suited against infantry or trucks. Yes the armor could barely stop machine gun rounds and was useless against cannons. But the T-26 and BT tanks could also be knocked out in one shot. As well as most tanks in the 1930's. It was a sensible decision based on their limited resources.

[@HappyDuude]

Those LED strip lights do a great job, would be handy to have for many tank interiors!

[@ArchImperatrix]

"Warthog type ... Not a Puma."💯🙏👌

[@bluehairedgirlstudio]

And certainly not a walrus...

[@confuseatronica]

stop making up animals!

[@Penguinius]

The record scratch double take of "Did i just hear that" was perfect

[@Sm00k]

@@Penguinius Oh, I wasn't the only one then.

[@Erdanya]

@@bluehairedgirlstudio Dangit, didn't I tell you to stop making up animals?

[@neilwilson5785]

Looks like a fantastic museum!

[@samzala]

I had wanted to clamber in when I saw the door open when I went to the museum. Seeing entrance and exit here, I'm glad I didn't bother trying!

[@18robsmith]

My father called mechanical drum brakes "maniacal drum brakes", due primarily to the maniacal laughter one emitted when faced with having to use them when going down ANY hill...

[@andersjjensen]

So "gearbox and somewhat foot assisted breaking"....

[@TheRedruffian]

After driving it once, my father compared the (hydraulic but poor) brakes on my early Morris Minor to his memories of 1930s cars. "Effect of applying brakes? FRNs. Faint Rubbing Noises".

[@seanmosley5834]

I worked on one back in the day and if you don't keep them adjusted good luck stopping the thing

[@maxcleveland3446]

As Ford put it in their sales brochures of the time; " The safety of steel, from pedal to wheel". None of that new-fangled hydraulic stuff.

[@kanamisprs4330]

Never in my life have I experienced claustrophobia watching a video until today.

[@naamadossantossilva4736]

Have you seen any caving accident video?

[@kanamisprs4330]

@@naamadossantossilva4736 Strange as it may seem cave diving video's don't make me feel that way. Those are more of a "Why would you do that? Why? Are you insane?" kinda vibe.

[@robertcuny934]

Judging from Forgotten Weapons videos, The Chieftan videos and Kamerastore, Finland must be a very interesting place to visit.

[@davidotts7217]

Thanks! Love what you do and your sense of humor. Keep up the good work.

[@stanislavczebinski994]

The air vent on top of the engine bay works probably very well - as cold air can enter in the front, below the radiator. Hot air raises up - and gets pushed out by the cold air. Additionally - the draft over the hood pulls it away. Mechanical drum brakes were the state of technology back then. Hydraulic brakes existed - but were still very unreliable as they were prone to leaks. Henry Ford called the former: "The power of steel - from pedal to wheel". Emergency braking wasn't so much of a thing yet. There were still plenty of horsecars around - which were almost impossible to stop if the horses went wild. A brake back then had the task to slowly decelerate the vehicle - not stop on a dime. Therefore - it was the pedestrians task to clear the road in time.

[@bigdiccmarty9335]

I love the loose cartridges on the floor, very true to life

[@davidolie8392]

These were often used for liaison work which is why there is space for a third person next to the driver.

[@elgenvalcin6885]

"Donating to their enemy" shots fired🤣🤣🤣

[@faeembrugh]

Tankies in the British Army always tend to be on the short side (Paras as well for some reason). On the other hand, I knew a Dutch guy who was 6' 7'' and was told he didn't have to do national service as they didn't have boots in his size!

[@1aapmens]

I seem to remember that the Dutch army didn't have helmets over size 63 either. So big giant heads were excused as well.

[@mikkoolavijarvinen3653]

The tallest Finn ever Väinö Myllyrinne did serve in army (he was 224 cm 7or ft 4 in during the service but grew afterwards because apparently growth works strangle on these very tall individuals) , his uniform and other is on display in the Artillery Museum in Hämeenlinna city center, i.e. very close to this one.

[@JeffKogut]

Would love to see a video on the 8x8 Spahpanzer Luchs. Also, any post-war Japanese armor!

[@Maple_Cadian]

I want the BA-10 beside the 20M now.

[@johnsteiner3417]

Jolly Green Giant crawling through the Lilliputian-mobile. 😁

[@johnford1575]

Another episode of does The Chieftain fit.

[@ptonpc]

One of the few vehicles where you looked like you were about to have a panic or claustrophobia attack. I suppose if you were a soviet soldier at the time and told to get in it, you got in it. Refusing would not really be an option. The thing is, you can see moments of brilliance in its construction mixed in with soviet thinking.

[@mattheweagle223]

Wow I thought this channel had died away. Great to see you again!

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

I've been on average releasing every other week. You might need to do some catching up!

[@mattheweagle223]

@TheChieftainsHatch aye, youtube did NOT keep you in my feed. I haven't played WoT for years so I kinda forgot about ya!

[@01bdbark]

I don't want to be a know it all but, that alternator is actually a generator. most vehicles from that era used generators. This difference visually is a generator is housed as that one is in a long steel tube, and the alternator is a short aluminum cage. Generators use a voltage regulator to keep from over charging the battery and also give of EMF that can interfere with the radio. I've only own two cars in my life with generators. So they almost predate me. I hope this is informative.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

I sit educated

[@anthonyjackson280]

I would say all vehicles of that era. Alternators require electronic rectifiers that did not exist in a suitable form.

[@samifyrqvist258]

I hope you do a T26 and also one of the KV-1s. And also the T-50, since these last two are so rare :)

[@monostripeexplosiveexplora2374]

1:13 "but this is gonna be fairly short..." YEAH.. only because there is no track tensioning.. we know.. we know..

[@SnEaKyGiTau]

great insight into the interior challenges & terminology difficulties! :) , would love to see one on the inside of the big sister next door the BA-10

[@mark950-d7d]

The fire wall between the engine and the crew compartment appears to be standard civilian issue. It appears that it was only able to only handle unarmed civilians who do not have Molotov cocktails.

[@kettujabamiesukkeliukko]

People were smaller back then. Like tankers in soviet tanks are small, no wonder you struggled to enter/move around/exit that thing.

[@barelyasurvivor1257]

Thanks for another interesting video.

[@Rom3_29]

Those large Finnish swastikas make that truck look like movie prop from Charlie Chaplain Dictator movie.

[@Colinpark]

I get the impression that using the radio antenna as a handle was verboten.

[@HypoceeYT]

Had an interaction with the guy on the screen in this one. "OK, I'm inside." Are you really though, Nick? "...No I ain't."

[@justjeff1506]

I wonder if the driver and passenger side windshield armor were switched. Also, the company owner at my last job had a bunch of early 20th century cars and I always found it easier to get in and out through the passenger side.

[@fredhogg4361]

Delivered with a bare minimum of contractually obliged enthusiasm whilst deeply regretting committing to the Finnish expedition

[@cmck472]

No mention of the spent brass lying around inside...

[@charlie15627]

I bet they used a spent shell casing to keep the top hatch cracked open. You'd have plenty of them around, it'd keep it open less than a half inch, just enough to see around, without opening it enough for an easy shot to enter the vehicle.

[@kevchink]

Yay, I love armored cars, especially these old school Interwar/WWII ones that retain the silhouette of normal passenger cars.

[@antlamaki1108]

By the way Ford built the whole GAZ-factory to SSSR and sold unlimited licence for Ford AA and Ford B-model, so those components weren't actually copies. Henry J. thou felt some regrets about it later, his mention was to affect and make better soviet system like inside. After his own words at least.

[@gordonfraser8020]

Being a BA20M this is an improved version? Methinks the Elbonians might be interested.

[@andersjjensen]

Yes... this is the improved version... I haven't seen the base version up close, but I can't for the love of me figure out what is improved in this one....

[@michaelbourgeault9409]

Looks all right, Colonel, but where is the chrome?

[@Masada1911]

This vehicle does seem to be lacking in chrome

[@adrielcamilo2564]

Plz do a T26!

[@MrHws5mp]

Could it be that the vision plate in front of the driver with the low slot is simply mounted upside-down? The bolts on the brackets look like they might be vertically symmetrical.

[@CTAJIEBAP]

Or they just swapped them accidentally during restoration process and the driver's one ended up on the door.

[@anaphylastiks]

" I guess it beats getting shot in the face ". 😂 Made my Day Mr Sir

[@B9oyd]

6:25 Warthog? Now you're just makin' up animals!

[@davidhansen5067]

I'm telling you, man, it sure looks like a puma.

[@brosefmalkovitch3121]

Man, imagine having to get in and out of that thing wearing any kind of kit whatsoever! Ergonomics have come a long way since the 30s.

[@andersjjensen]

Imagine trying to get out of this in a hurry because the Finns got a couple of Molotov cocktails on target.....

[@jaysherman2615]

The one vehicle I want in this series is the total nonsense of the T-35 heavy tank in Kubinka. It is a mess and I love it.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

It'll be a very long time before I'm back in Kubinka, I suspect

[@AlarmingVirus]

ww2 vehicles really give you appreciation for the modern stuff.

[@RRD-ye6ed]

I just recently picked up a mosin nagant that was donated to the fins as well during that same time period 😂

[@anaphylastiks]

Nothing wrong with being short. I can move through the bush like a cat

[@allanlarrett6015]

Thanks!

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

I appreciate that

[@Tankdestryer1]

would you work with LMM in Britain to do an armored train? also wonderful video!

[@jon-paulfilkins7820]

Is there still a replica of the one that ran on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway about, that would be a 'fun' one... (for those not in the know, Its a 'miniature/small gauge railway, an armored train was built in WW2 for patrols along the 15 miles of so of coast the line runs across, armed with machine guns and an anti-tank rifle).

[@naamadossantossilva4736]

Whoever went into battle in this is not just braver,he is also shorter.That looked cramped AF.

[@anaphylastiks]

I call them hoodbonnets. Like clipmags

[@mavvh1054]

I use you as a metric for whether or not Ill fit in a vehicle... not that I would ever need this information, but Id rather have it and not need it.

[@ImRuined666]

What's the armoured car to the left with the 37mm (?) turret? Would be curious to see a Chieftain's Hatch on that one, too...

[@V_Gert]

Nice RvB reference

[@stanislavczebinski994]

7:40 "The smallest air filters I've ever come across" - the air filter (singular) is that can-shaped object on the lower left side. It's an updraft-type carb. I think you mean the priming cups. To get this thing running when cold - you pour some fuel into them. I'm just wondering what that modern part on the low right is. Any ideas?

[@banaana1234]

The thing bolted next to the carb with fuel lines? It seems bolted to the crank case and looks like one so mechanical fuel pump most likely.

[@CobraDBlade]

It's possible that the vision slits for the driver aren't at the correct height because the armored panels accidentally got swapped left-to-right during the restoration process as well. That is if the vehicle was restored, there is an awful lot of crinkled sheet metal on it that makes that questionable.

[@no1DdC]

It was restored (there's no way the paint is original), but it certainly wasn't restored well.

[@andersjjensen]

@@no1DdC Bashed into shape (optional), some rust removed, some bog applied and painted with a brush.

[@kennethkaczypenski6224]

Man I do not see any man over five foot three manning that weapon system. BTW I am curious before you climb into one of those small tanks/APC's/jeeps ect...do you have the local fire rescue phone number on speed dial?

[@johnfisk811]

So the Irish army was ahead of the game compared to the 1930 Soviets. Thank you for the video. I watched in mortal fear of builder’s bum but decorum was maintained.

[@haldorasgirson9463]

Perry suspenders are the bomb

[@WildBillCox13]

The rear of the BA-20M is strikingly similar to the front end of the Italian AB41*. *Bronnimat Avtomobilyah vs Autoblinda . . . Armored Car vs Car Armored . . . does syntax win wars?

[@vicpecka7356]

Are you going to do a Chieftain's Hatch on the BA-10?

[@spamotron1178]

Out of curiosity are you having any trouble with KZbin's image recognition bots hating a certain symbol causing videos to be demonitized?

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Hasn't hit me yet

[@terrancelopez9631]

"It's not a puma" Was that a Red vs Blue reference?

[@DavidJohnson7738]

Cars of that era had a generator not an alternator

[@StratfordWingRider]

Greetings from New Zealand :)

[@slateslavens]

Thanks Nick. Nice to have an object lesson in how _not_ to design an armored car. :D

[@patrickporter1864]

A post on what would have happened if the usa had not provided lend lease to the ussr during the war. Would be interesting even if it just covered military vehicles and aircraft.

[@stanislavczebinski994]

I doubt that thing in the very rear was a fuel tank. This was long before electric fuel pumps became common in cars. The front tank is higher than the engine - or at the same height. Carburettors don't neccessarily need a pump - they create enough draft in the fuel line due to how they work - to feed themselves. But I doubt they would be powerful enough to draw fuel all the way from the lower rear.

[@jon-paulfilkins7820]

I am looking at this and thinking, open that slit louvre, open the drivers vision ports, is that the heater?

[@WildBillCox13]

Attach by chains an infantry sled at the rear and you've got the Bradley's great grandpa.

[@ROBERT-p5d8r]

In the Civil War, they mounted an MG on either a cart or sled pulled by two ponies ("Tachanka") en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachanka. Could have been towed by an armored car

[@cedhome7945]

Greetings from Devizes Wiltshire England 👍

[@Zackary1005]

Please do the ERC-90 Sagaie

[@Teh0X]

BA-10M following soon? T-50 would be very interesting as well.

[@TheWalterKurtz]

It almost like they were designed to be captured to foil the enemy.

[@GARDENER42]

I'm sure I saw one of those heading through Belgorod towards the front at Kursk last week...🙃

[@michaelbourgeault9409]

running boards are there for you and your driver to scrape the mud off your boots whilst you climb into the car.

[@bongfuhrer]

Well, that is what the running board is for. To rest the foot you're not able to get inside the car..

[@cheekibreeki4638]

This seemed.... okay, til I saw the turret rotation mechanism. I don't know how thats better than letting it freely rotate.

[@tfio7838]

I wonder if the driver's shutter has just been installed upside down.🤔

[@petesheppard1709]

The driest, most dead-pan humor on KZbin!! 😁 Nick, you made it look like a kiddie car by just standing next to it. I suppose 30 years younger and a foot shorter would have made a difference.

[@Marcus-ki1en]

Oh Bugger the... never mind, BBQ is up.

[@HumbleDirtMerchant]

6:42 Spare pistol port.

[@alm5992]

Would this really be in the thick of battle? I thought they more of reconnaissance cars with an MG for a few infantry run-ins.

[@WilliamTestaert]

Interesting!

[@quentinking4351]

I understood that reference

[@jakubl8271]

Looks like a vehicle to be used in area with well developed infrastructure, like cities, to fight against not so well armed people, like protesting civilians, partisans on occupied areas at most..

[@stanislavczebinski994]

I highly doubt that little box is for the battery. This was long before the age of lithium-ion. Batteries were big, heavy and bulky back then. Maybe those lived in the lower rear....

[@ramdynebix]

It’s probably a 6V car, so the battery is tiny

[@stanislavczebinski994]

@@ramdynebix Not really. We're talking 1930ies here. Even at only 6 Volts - those batteries had to be big and heavy. Yes - today we have (motorcycle) batteries that would fit in that compartment. But even those wouldn't have enough power for this application. Even considering it probably never had a starter motor - just to get enough power to run the radio whilst running the engine would require a big chunk of lead and acid. That's why I think they might have been in the lower rear.

[@kemarisite]

If all the enemy has is rifles with ball ammunition, then the 6 mm armor is likely fine.

[@seanmosley5834]

What's that vehicle next to it?

[@davidolie8392]

BA-6 (aka BA-10).

[@mattblack118]

Theses vehicles seem to be designed for a different species.