Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: T28 Part 2

That last episode of Inside The Chieftain's Hatch was so informative that we had to split it up into TWO parts 🤯 Let's continue our journey into the T28, and see what's inside this magnificent machine! 👀
To keep up to date with our latest development, contests and events visit worldoftanks.eu and worldoftanks.com
Create a World of Tanks account on worldoftanks.eu/dropbears and try out iconic historical tanks such as Tiger 131, Sherman Firefly & T-34/85M!
You can also tell your friends and share the invite code DROPBEARS.
Follow us on:
Facebook: / worldoftanks
Instagram: / worldoftanks_official
Discord: / discord
Twitch EN: / worldoftanks
Twitch DE: / worldoftanksde
Twitch PL: / worldoftankspolska
Twitter: / worldoftanks
TikTok: / worldoftanksofficial
Amazon:
- www.amazon.co.uk/WorldofTanks
- www.amazon.de/worldoftanks
- www.amazon.fr/worldoftanks
- www.amazon.com/WorldofTanks

[@willfrankunsubscribed]

"You think if you were going to get lost, someone would notice before you got too lost." Said of the hide and seek champion, 26 years running.

[@quiteindeed6809]

I was thinking the same, where did they find it even? Hit it with a plow or something?

[@dther6314]

@@quiteindeed6809 it was in a field behind a little bush, you can find the photo if you look for it

[@DeosPraetorian]

​@@quiteindeed6809in a field behind a bush

[@TJ_Low]

@@quiteindeed6809a hunter came across it. imagine the story he told his buddies…

[@stamfordly6463]

@@DeosPraetorian It even looks like a picture from the Python sketch, "And this is Mrs T. Ank of 28, The Larches, Virginia..."

[@f-xdemers2825]

"Self propelled weight" I can identify with that.

[@andreww2098]

pretty much what happened to the British Tortoise, was used to test road surfaces

[@everythingsalright1121]

Self propelled via wheelchair?

[@hyfy-tr2jy]

Seems the last person who drove this tank before it got lost understood bush camo mechanics at an epic level

[@saladiniv7968]

You are asking how someone can loose a 95t tank. Well the swiss army managed to loose a bunch of m113, and by a bunch i mean nearly 400. That is not a typo, when they were declared obsolete all 550 the swiss army had were supposed to be destroyed and the material recycled. And they somehow managed to not notice that the majority never got sent to the scrappers. Years later when they decommissioned an old bunker someone finally noticed the giant fleet of armoured vehicles parked in the back of it.

[@adwai1h653]

imagine the face on the person that realised "ohhhh, thats where I put it"

[@vanguard9067]

@@adwai1h653you always find your M113 the last place you look:-)

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

The Swiss NEVER fight anybody anyway. They just get blackmailed into giving up their secrets or bank account numbers like the Americans did a couple of times to them by refusing to allow coal into the country to heat their houses right after WW2. So what's the point of having a Swiss army? Really!

[@marcoflumino]

Only one small problem, they were behind a bunker... The Doom Turtle was alone behind a tiny BUSH!!! And is nearly the size of 6 m113!

[@Kalashnikov413]

the T28 got lost behind literally a *SMALL BUSH*

[@smonchie]

Wow, that looked a lot better inside than I feared. If the museum ever gets around to restoring it, I think it would be glorious if the Chieftain was given the opportunity to take it for a spin

[@littlekong7685]

@@Wolvenworks More likely preserved than restored. Restored would mean the gun and traverse, the engine deck can be opened, and the pintel can rotate.

[@kop1522]

​@littlekong7685 iirc there are plans to restore it to a degree, unlikely it'll ever be drivable though as the other T95 had to be scrapped due to an engine fire

[@brianj.841]

@@kop1522The armour museum in Australia has amazing videos, mostly of German WW2 vehicles, restoration projects. If plans still exist, it might be possible; maybe.

[@alexanderhartmann7950]

27 years have passed since part 1. Finally he found the tank again. Maybe it was camouflaged.

[@1337flite]

Driver has a compass to navigate so they don't get lost at 8mp/h. I guess then it's reasonable to assume they thought they'd use commissioned officers as crew commanders for these things. 🙂

[@CharlesStearman]

Could the compass have been used for rough aiming of the gun, if the driver couldn't see the intended target?

[@kmoecub]

@@CharlesStearman Most likely so. It's more of a ship than a proper tank.

[@bill5982]

The compass is for telling the Lieutenant that "no we are not headed east".

[@prjndigo]

@@CharlesStearman the commander would literally tell the driver "come to bearing XXX" in order to bring the gunner into preferable alignment and since the transit was narrow if there was windage they might actually have to line the gun up then turn the tank further under very limited situations.

[@an0nym0usguy49]

I love the sheer W I D T H of the interior

[@petesheppard1709]

And then, conversely, how cramped it is for the crew. Throw in ammo, then all the other bits, bobs and personal gear...🤔

[@Zraknul]

Tis a fine rolling warehouse.

[@user-zv9xo9vw2x]

lol…”this gun would make problems go away”…classic

[@donaldneill4419]

I saw this vehicle at the US Armor School at Fort Knox in the mid-90s, but only from the outside. Great to be able to see what it looks like inside!

[@SlinkyTWF]

Do you remember it being painted forest green instead of olive drab? I can't find my photo of it to compare.

[@jasonharbour9052]

Same here. Ever since then I've loved this Thicc Boi. It was around '97 for me.

[@sgador]

that little bush and WoT spotting mechanics XD

[@tcofield1967]

Look at all the sleeping space. Spoken like a true tanker.

[@larrybarger1077]

Yes.. but it doesn't compare to the sheer size with flatness of an M270 MLRS launcher set up your cots with room to spare.. 👍

[@pontiacbubba]

Went to the open house last year and this thing was impressive!

[@MarcCuster]

My family saw it back when the T-28 was on display at the Patton Museum years ago. I didn't even know it existed until that visit. I can remember my girls trying to climb on it. Thanks for showing the inside.

[@donwyoming1936]

You can find a lot of lost things hunting on military bases. Camp Lejeune is a treasure trove of lost things. 🤠

[@larrybarger1077]

True. While at FtRiley,My MLRS ammo Platoon took our HEMTT. Out to the field for police call in old training areas that hadn't been used in a long while. Found C rats from the he 50's , a Coors " church key" the kind that punches the holes in the can... And a porta John list in a ravine...but to find an old Soviet SP gun is the legendary.

[@OOZ662]

@@larrybarger1077 Soviet? If you refer to the one in the video, it's American; an Ultra-Pershing.

[@richardbell7678]

One of the odd things about life is that your connection to a recounted event is limited by your own experience, which is why the most frightening piece of war footage, for me, is that clip from the Battle of the Bulge, when a group of soldiers caught in the middle of an ice covered road must get out of the way of a Sherman that is completely out of control and sliding backwards down the hill that they were about to march up. However, I have driven an old mid-seventies land yacht through a snow storm, in stop and go, near bumper to bumper traffic. The rear drums completely faded out, so tapping the brake would lock up the front wheels and the driven rear wheels would continue to push the car forward, in an out of control manner. I spent the next two hours bumping the transmission from drive to neutral if I was gaining on the car in front of me and bumping it back from neutral to drive, once the car in front of me started pulling away. As a result, your description of driving the T28 down a slope is butt clenching horror. On a similar note, I heard a story that a British Centurion crew had a harrowing experience when they drove straight down a steep slope and had their brakes fail. Down slopes and heavy armor do not mix well.

[@littlekong7685]

Unless you are in a down armoured Cromwell and use the slope to gain momentum for an emergency jump over a deep ditch =p

[@justforever96]

That's what you get for driving an automatic. You have a clutch pedal in a proper car and can always freewheel.

[@tonnywildweasel8138]

Very interesting to see the inside of this monster. Thanks 👍

[@petesheppard1709]

Given the cramped conditions of the crew stations, that spacious interior is a pretty good optical illusion.

[@thomasstevenhebert]

Put even a small combat load of 105mm and it would be a tight mess.

[@petesheppard1709]

@@thomasstevenhebert Plus all the other gear and personal belongings.

[@Kellen6795]

@@petesheppard1709 Think about this though. A lot of WWII tanks didnt even have room inside for personal belongings so they had to be stored outside on racks. Imagine the pure luxury of being able to keep your gear inside out of the weather and dry!!!!

[@petesheppard1709]

@@Kellen6795Indeed, and before personal stuff, there is a mind-boggling amount of required gear that has to be carried, THEN the ammo has to be stowed. At least, according to Chieftain, there were a few ammo spaces that turned out to be blocked by other fixtures, so there would have been some extra nooks.

[@endy8411]

Engine swap and add a quad turbo and all 60mph of the speedometer will finally be used.

[@IkeVMAX4]

Needs a quite BIG engine...

[@colepreston4872]

Earlier version of M1 weight about 50 tons. So I think it’s going need a 3000HP and very VERY heavy gear box

[@lightdot459]

K24 swap time, since it's so popular now lmao

[@jebise1126]

@@IkeVMAX4 gas turbine...

[@VekhGaming]

I dunno if you can fit both a adequate engine and adequate transmission in there. Or if the final drive would survive all the additional torque. Maybe do it like a pulling tractor and just remove the engine covers and have most of it stick out the top of the thing.

[@Markmanthree]

As the mighty Jingles would say, the tank was kemping bush.

[@guylmorin2985]

Can you plz do a video on the T29 and T30. That would be a treat for sure.

[@el_tio_Harry]

I love how cheif can be so effortlessly humorous.

[@zerstorer335]

They really didn’t know how long it was going to take to get through the Westwall until they got there. On top of that, in March of ‘44, they didn’t know that the invasion of Normandy would succeed. If it failed, it would likely be years before they could try, again. Meanwhile, the Westwall might come to be further reinforced if the resources were available. So, a heavy bunker buster like this could be one way to hedge their bets.

[@YUriPup]

How would have these operated? As a platoon within a company attached to a..corps? Army? What would the othet platoons be? Support, engineer, 2x security (1 armor platoon and 1 mech infantry)?

[@JNF590]

Interesting we need The Chieftain to break this down on a QnA

[@johneden2033]

I don't think anything like that was ever formalized, especially considering it was designed to be used for essentially 1 single operation in Germany.

[@fett713akamandodragon5]

Hey Chieftain, quick note on the driver's compass, the last crew thought like you, they tossed it overboard, and that's how it played the best game of hide and seek in the tiniest bush for all those years. The more you know! 🌠🤣P.S. It's great to see her put into good shape again, inside and comfy. Somewhere I have a pic of me standing next to her in my dress greens in 1997 during family day.

[@scottburton509]

This would have been the easiest "Oh darn, the tank is on fire" segment.

[@muskoxthe]

This was great to see. Thank you for making this video. Well done.

[@RonI-qz2tz]

Great video. Thank you for taking the time to make such great content

[@tomhenry897]

Wonder if put out for a planed training lane that never happened? Always interesting to find old training sites on army bases Too bad didn’t have time to explore

[@b2tall239]

You could teach an aerobics class inside that thing! 😁

[@admiraltiberius1989]

Another Chieftain video with the Doom Turtle.

[@paoloviti6156]

The truly massive T28 with it's formidabile cannon must have been a sight to behold built but was powered by the same engine to move the Pershing and the late Sherman but it was barely capable to move a 86.2 metric ton beast. Inside seems very spacious devoid of big ammo and radio set but nevertheless I like it! Good job again as always 👏 👍

[@matthewcuratolo3719]

One of my favorite tanks!

[@silentrunner3067]

Love the mud dauber nest in the ammo box @ 4:56. 🙂

[@shawnkelley9035]

Nice to see you back doing tanks and AFV..

[@santaboy4818]

Just finished part 1 what great timing for part 2

[@briantoner5247]

0:08 yessss. Merry Christmas!

[@Enigmaticmuffin27]

i have been waiting for this for an entire decade

[@MitchSprague]

Very entertaining as usual.

[@francisbeaudry8598]

from quebec cnanada ......love thos vidéo infos tanks so mutch MERCI BEAUCOUP

[@HvH909]

Wish I could visit all these tanks up close.

[@butteredtank9471]

Always wanted to see inside this tank

[@MrTylerStricker]

Still the best damn show on KZbin.

[@UnknownMemoryOfTheDistantStar]

I would love to see the T29E3 next!

[@cascadianrangers728]

Holy crap the inside of the t28 is like the size my first studio apartment

[@gavincross2902]

What a monster!

[@russwoodward8251]

The best. Thanks Chieftain.

[@HappyHands.]

4:55 man those mud dobbers just get everyware

[@whelmy]

Interesting fact, the T182 round developed for the 105mm family among others like T279 APDS for the T140/T5E1 were all part of the same series of ammo development programs for the 105 family. the T140 being a more refined T5E1 more or less. So anything the 105mm T140 gun could fire, so could the T5E1. They were still using T182 AP rounds for testing of armor plate well into the 90's.

[@swojal1493]

Wow… the interior of this thing is massive..

[@osmacar5331]

doom turtle has the urban mech's speedo...

[@williamlloyd3769]

What an impractical beast!

[@prjndigo]

I would bet that the low-range was calculated and designed for buddy recovery. The compass was for submarine warfare to bring the body of the vehicle within the firing solution of the torpedoes.... er, to turn the vehicle to bring the gunner's traverse range within solution. A fully enclosed SPG is often like a submarine, especially the slower they get.

[@lector-dogmatixsicarii1537]

No one talks about the torpedoes, because they were Mk14s...

[@cantreallydrive7068]

yay part 2

[@BCNoSoupForYou]

Comedy gold with the words "push start."

[@pauld6967]

@Chieftain It was probably on the Edgewood Proving Grounds which were adjacent to Fort Belvoir. I personally discovered one very, very delapidated bridge that I wasn't sure my vehicle was going to be able to get across without the bridge collapsing. In the years after that, Edgewood was absorbed into Fort Belvoir proper as has been noticeably improved. I wonder if they found and fixed that one bridge. I stumbled across it entirely by accident.

[@Sean-ot4zq]

Actually the steering controls are not bad. I have an old dozer that has a very similar set up with the brakes and pedals. Hopefully in the future the T28 could be fully restored to running condition as it would be great for such a one of kind machine but that is not likely for obvious reasons

[@TheMalootrager]

The ALMIGHTY T-28 Doom Turtle 🐢, very interesting vehicle

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

I would love to hear what Patton thought of an 8 mph tracked assault gun. Actually, it would be interesting to know what he thought of it before and then after Metz.

[@mavericmorph5358]

Great vid. Is there any chance you could review the Tortoise?

[@vale.44peru63]

Tutel 🐢!!

[@JNF590]

This tank probably inspired wargaming's Camo mechanic in game. Huge tank disappears in a bush lol

[@SlinkyTWF]

I got to see the beast at Knox twice before they closed down the Patton Museum and moved it to Benning/Moore. When it was outside on the slab, I could swear I remember it being painted in a darker color of green, almost an enamel, as though they had to coat it in something to protect it from the weather, and then stripped the dark coat off and added an olive drab before putting it on the floor in its new home. I took a photo, but I don't think I have it anymore.

[@hanknash7118]

The Patton Museum is still open to this day.

[@jackgee3200]

Assuming it's still an M-26 Pershing powertrain, it's not a Hydramatic nor is it automatic. It would be aTorqmatic 900 Series - a 3F+R planetary 'powershift' box in modern terminology. Manual selection and shifting under full continuous power at any appropriate time. It was a step on the way from conventional transmission/steering units towards the widespread + still current Allison 'cross-drive' series - when combined with a version of Merrit super-imposed steering.

[@electrolytics]

Wow. Reverse gear for going down hills. That's whacky. Very interesting. Thanks Chieftain.

[@whathappensinmaine5463]

The only problem wwith putting it reverse and going down hill, burning up the clutchs

[@mabinuqi03]

always wanted to know what one of these looked like on the insides

[@ericbrammer2245]

I'm still AMAZED that You, crawl into Tank innards, With-Out a Helmet on!? At least, in a US Tank, you kinda 'fit' in them, but Italian ones... Um... Anyhow, nice 'crawl' thru a mis-understood, but Awesome WW-2 Super-Heavy! Thankx!

[@monroetoolman]

That the Army "lost" this does not surprise me. You`d be amazed at what it sitting off in the woods at military installations. At Camp Lejeune, as of the early 2000`s, there was an M4 Sherman equipped with a flamethrower in one of the training areas. Had probably been there since the 40`s, and everyone knew about it, but no one seemed to have any authority to do anything about it.

[@ulfhunden]

I like to imagine that the two T28's were actually lost to time travel shenanigans and that one was only "found" in a field after 27 years because it had served it purpose and was put back. Why? because that's more fun.

[@DeliveryDemon]

I thought that those pods on the engine deck were supposed to be additional armored fuel tanks. Thanks, man

[@juancortapan7845]

The T-28 hid behind the bush to avoid being scrapped like its brother. After 27 years it was already a safe to leave, since its historical value was greater than the value of its steel.

[@Scroll101]

hope they do the t30 next vid😢

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

Fort Moore? Can'tget used to the new PC names. Gimme Rock Benning back!

[@stevevernon1978]

oh damn! I KNEW I didn't know where Fort Moore is! This is at Benning!

[@user-tc6ji4iw4p]

The T-28 is almost like cruiser turret on tracks

[@L0neW0lfL0gan]

it might be slow, it might be wide , it might not even be a tank but its still my 2nd or 3rd favorite next to the sherman and abrams lol

[@ssisk87]

14:15 I will not let the irony of that statement be lost...

[@zerstorer335]

I was thinking: Could it be that it was "lost" because it's such a rare and unusual design? Once the people who know what it is and where they left it get distracted or move on to other things, that knowledge base goes out the window. And then, anyone who happens upon it while they're doing other things might think that it's so bizarre--it doesn't look like your usual US tank or self-propelled gun--that maybe they wrote it off as some strange target vehicle or mishmash of parts left out in the field, so they just go on with whatever they're doing and don't think about that chunk of metal they saw behind that bush.

[@Formulka]

It's in an amazing shape, even if it held up well in that field, there must have been a major restoration effort.

[@BlackHawkBallistic]

A 105mm round going 4,700fps is absolutely mental, .30-06 sabot rounds go 4,080fps and they're asbolutely screaming and will sometimes disintegrate upon exiting a barrel.

[@zoperxplex]

No problem with "Oh bugger, the tank's on fire".

[@jacobstewart1950]

The army transporter tipped over with the tank

[@andrewcox4386]

The interior looks amazingly spacious despite your comments

[@Armoredcompany]

I'm still convinced that when they were told to destroy it the crew drove it into the woods and went "yup...it's gone..." but never bothered to figure out the part about how they were going to come back later and make off with a 90-ton tank.

[@chrisgeddes26]

The "Reverse and accelerate" method is STILL a current thing in the M88.

[@edwardstd52]

I wonder if this contraption was ever at Fort Knox and if they tried to stuff it into the LST building that's just off Eisenhower Avenue. Now that would have been interesting. Take the tracks off - assemble the "trailer" - drive or back into the LST building - come back out - put the tracks back on. 😄

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

No need to do that. They actually did try putting the thing onto an LST and an LCT. They needed to pull the tracks off for the LCT, but it fit in the LST without issue.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

With the T-28 being that big, each member of the 4-man crew could have his own room...😉

[@grismor1884]

Honestly the inside looks pretty spacious with all the ammo and stowage removed. İ could live in that thing

[@Sion_Revan]

Bunker on tracks

[@T3hderk87]

Just for reference, modern m182 5.56 travels at about 3200ft/sec out of a 20 inch barrel.... That is an object that is roughly 18 fold larger than the aforementioned bullet traveling THE SAME SPEED. That is terrifying.

[@andrewcox4386]

Looking at the photo of it found I can't help thinking of the Monty Python hiding sketch 😂😂

[@Finwolven]

The T-28 has achieved true mastery of the Art Of Not Being Seen. It's hidden behind a bush, where it Cannot Be Seen.

[@DUDEWithDODGES]

T30 next !

[@The_Ninedalorian]

For the Doom Turtle the war is never over.... Pushes the Battle button...

[@bahuman]

WG should make the camo rating on this one 90%. How else could this beast be lost for 27 years???

[@TomppaESG]

I assume it could reach 60mph on a freefall, maybe if the wind is favorable

[@kop1522]

Imagine trying to push start this though, itd be a nightmare

[@justforever96]

It's pretty easy to loose a vehicle, especially when no one is looking for it. You park it somewhere on one of your hundred bases and leave no record of where it is parked, so even if someone wonders where it is, they won't be able to find it without spending weeks scouring obscure corners of various bases. This is why good records keeping is so important, and even then, someone woke have to care enough to go and dig the file up to find out what the final disposition was it the equipment. There are those who saw the machine, some of them maybe even knew what it was, but if no one asked them, they have no reason to mention it to anyone.

[@markschoch9592]

have you found anything on the land side like the mk 14 torpedo [ tested] was junk and brass swore it was good?

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Medium Tank T23 is the vehicle which first comes to mind. Fortunately, Armored Force flat refused to accept it no matter how much Ordnance swore it was fantastic.

[@larryjohnson7591]

Never even knew the US built such a thing. Thanks Chief.