Armored Vehicles of Operation Torch Pt. 1: Italy and Germany - by the Chieftain

[@WorldWarTwo]

We want to give The Chieftain a huge shout out. He is by far one of the most rigorous and professional historians on KZbin, which we are reminded of each time we work with him. The author of this pinned comment actually had the pleasure of meeting Chieftain in person at a tank show a few weeks ago, and he was every bit as gracious, intelligent, and fascinating to speak to in person as he is here on KZbin. It's very rare that we at TimeGhost do collaborations like this, mainly because it's very rare to find someone as pleasant to work with as he is. Please give him the full TimeGhost Army round of applause and go check out all of his videos over at: kzbin.info

[@pierreblaise9433]

Will do

[@gerryjamesedwards1227]

I have to agree, so many myths about armour, that have sprung up over the years, have been busted on his channel through the old expedient of trawling through the archives for primary sources.

[@QuizmasterLaw]

I'm just here for the AMC 57 MM gun carriage

[@goranvujnovic597]

I was just about to go type "Hi Chieftain, Indy sent me here" but then I remembered I was already there... Ow bugger my brain is on fire

[@PhillyPhanVinny]

Love the chieftain episodes, can't wait for part 2! Also can't wait for small arms, planes and also maybe ships to be covered like this by specialists as well.

[@JustSomeCanuck]

"He's also a great dancer and he's fun at parties". You know that means we need conclusive video proof of both those statements 😃

[@andrewfischer8564]

there is a video of indy at a wedding belting out while playing a ukelle, kiss's " hard luck woman"

[@JustSomeCanuck]

@@andrewfischer8564 Link please! 😋

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Few people have witnessed this and survived with their sanity intact. Ia! Ia! Chieftain Fthagn!

[@charleshaynes815]

Since he is a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army they should have him dance in his dress uniform

[@forbeshutton5487]

The mental image of Indy and the Chieftain dancing together is as haunting as it is disturbing.

[@hannahskipper2764]

"That doesn't make the Italians look like a meme" Oooo, Indy just scored a hit. *Luigi applauds*

[@JaZaLupina88]

Cadorna?

[@LeftToWrite006]

@@JaZaLupina88 I thought he meant Luigi Mario (from "Mario Brothers").

[@JaZaLupina88]

@@LeftToWrite006 my joke was targeted on viewers of WW1 week-by-week videos.

[@Lorscia]

The "Sahariana" is so awesome and good-looking. I'm happy they did mentioned it.

[@gunman47]

Yay, an episode from the Chieftain. I have to admit that I only knew recently on the fact that The Chieftain was actually one of the military expert advisors on the Girls Und Panzer anime series. Always liked hearing from the man himself :)

[@tomppeli.]

Did they declare that in this particular video or have they mentioned that in passing in previous videos?

[@gunman47]

@@tomppeli. You mean on him being involved in Girls Und Panzer? Well no actually, but someone in the premiere livestream earlier actually mentioned this fact and it was actually real when I went to fact check it up.

[@AHappyCub]

Say what now ?

[@Evirthewarrior]

@@tomppeli. he is literally credited in the movie

[@Canofasahi]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIuqY4upmNd8Z5o

[@flipflopzg]

The photo at 7:12 is interesting. While it does show an Sd Kfz 233, the graffiti on the wall says "long live the commander of the 4th operational zone, comrade Vicko Krstulovic". It is a revolutionary graffiti of the Yugoslav partisans. The photo was clearly taken in Dalmatia, although I can't say which city, possibly Split.

[@Perkelenaattori]

Italian self propelled guns were actually very good considering the rest of their equipment. The Semovente da 75/18 was a reliable and powerful platform.

[@Neferazo]

For those wondering, the tank featured at 4:00 is in fact the Carro Commando M41 (command tank), based on the M14/41 chassis. Featuring a 13,2 mm heavy MG if I remember correctly.

[@scottsaunders5453]

The Tigers appearing in small numbers now before increasing later is like that early fight with a boss enemy that shows up as a regular enemy late in the game.

[@md.tamzidislam6580]

Ow they'll still remain an oddity with only a 1000 produced. The panther will be the regular enemy soon.

[@amerigo88]

If a tank's main gun is 5cm/60, like the PzKpfw III, that means the barrel diameter inside is 5cm (50mm) and the length of the barrel is 60X that or 300cm, meaning 3 meters. Longer barrel means higher velocity, better penetration of the target, and larger/fewer shells carried by the tank.

[@Kyle-gw6qp]

Longer barrels are also more accurate.

[@MrZauberelefant]

@@Kyle-gw6qp The trajectory is flatter, making hitting something a bit easier. The accuracy is more depending on the spin and weight of the projectile and its aerodynamics.

[@jonesy279]

I’m such a nerd that when Chieftan said “Panzer VI” I got goosebumps and thought “he’s about to say Tiger.”

[@vksasdgaming9472]

If I remember right Erwin 'Desert Fox' Rommel was positively impressed by courage and skill shown by Bersaglieri, Italian light infantry and most likely their most skilled formations. Seeing that he appreciated bold, offensive, death-or-glory tactics (he made great use of them) they must have been really good troops.

[@michealohaodha9351]

Even in Russia the Bersaglieri were considered quite reliable. The 3rd Bersaglieri had a very good reputation.

[@yamchadragonball6983]

Can't wait for The Chieftains coverage of the soviet Mammoth Tank. I'm also wondering how well that tank armor will stand up to Tesla Coils.

[@chrisplumb4284]

I had forgotten about the Semoventes, and never heard of the Sahariana line, Thanks!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Glad you learned something new!

[@eetutorri8767]

So about Italian armoured Divisions. 132nd Ariete and 133rd Littorio (which was converted from motorised division) had 3 armored battalions armed with M14s and Semovente Gruppo (Assault Gun Battalion, basically) which each had 2-3 batteries with 5 Semoventes in each battery (later increased to 6). And despite heroism both divisions would be destroyed in El Alamein. Some thirty or so tanks that survived El Alamein would form up into a separate armoured group facing British. So majority of Italian armour was held by 131st Centauro post El Alamein (as they showed late to a party) and would end up fighting Americans in Tunisia with some success. While majority of tanks would had been still M14/41s, experience (and desperation) while facing more common American medium tanks led to Italians having Semoventes integraded to tank battalions (besides the Semovente Gruppo). At most half the Italian tanks would had been Semoventes (including the 47/32 version) but in actual numbers it is not a lot.

[@Kollider115]

Is there any chance for an airplane version of these kind of breakdowns? It’s so wonderful to see this!

[@thomasvernon2531]

I would also love to see this - would be great to have Chris/Bismarck from Military Aviation History on to do a few aircraft-centric specials

[@brunor.1127]

Chieftain collabs, You gotta love it

[@sirbobulous]

Sounds like the Italians had good recon and lighter vehicles. Mostly suffering when they needed to have heavier armoured vehicles for fighting enemy tanks.

[@shawnr771]

Excellent presentation. Thank you, Chieftan. Thank you Time Ghost Army.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Custerd1]

“The majority of AA equipment used was toad.” Snicker. But seriously, well done as usual.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks!

[@lanagro]

Remembrance Day here in Canada today, and indeed throughout the Empire. #lestweforget

[@sfs2040]

Worldwide actually, though in America we call it Veteran's Day

[@zeitgeistx5239]

Lulz, “empire”.

[@justonemori]

Joke's on you Indy, my pops has a gmail account but never signed into his Shield TV with it. I did and hit subscribe. haha

[@markreetz1001]

Very interesting revelations in today's episode! There is going to be fighting in Sicily!? But more importantly, Chieftain is a good dancer and is fun at parties. I'm glad I signed for the TimeGhost Army!!

[@PhillyPhanVinny]

Love the chieftain episodes, can't wait for part 2! Also can't wait for small arms, planes and also maybe ships to be covered like this by specialists as well.

[@avnrulz8587]

Indy needs to go through the 'serious emotional event' in a future video with The Chieftain.

[@HornetMain]

Hearing Indy simply say 'meme' is just lovely.

[@spiffdandy77]

There has been little discussion about Soviet air power during Barbarossa. It would be nice to see how air power on both sides affected each battle on the Soviet fronts.

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

I think it's fairly simple, the Luftwaffe caught the VVS with their pants down on the ground in the early hours of Barbarossa and they never recovered from that until 1943, maybe operation Uranus and Mars too? Probably not in the latter case as that failed miserably. For the course of Barbarossa the air war probably resembled that of D-Day and the West-European campaign. A shitload of Lufwaffe sorties dominating the battlefield, only a fraction of that in VVS operations, and which more often then not was of little impact if any at all.

[@Overlord734]

@@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 You kinda repeated an old myth here. Luftwaffe wasn't large enough to achieve a complete air dominance outside of a limited number of the key areas. So actually Red Army VVS contested or had some sort of air superiority over the large portions of the Eastern front.

[@monjhunesacaguing7195]

Indy and the crew did cover the Red Airforce, it was a special episode. Actually they covered a lot at the beggining of Barbarossa, check out their special episodes.

[@davidhimmelsbach557]

@@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 The Luftwaffe simply didn't have the avgas or planes to pull off total air dominance. It was common during Barbarossa for German mobile formations to have to fight off the Red Air Force with their organic FLAK elements. Still, the Reds had to stay away from the BF-109 threat. Amazingly, the FW-190s were NOT brought to the Eastern Front until the Spring of 1942. The narrow under carriage of the BF-109 caused most of them to crack up while landing in Russia... eventually. Early in Barbarossa, the ENTIRE Ju-52 fleet was grounded because they had all lost their landing gear. (!!!) Udet blew his brains out over this fiasco. Yes, that mystery has been solved.

[@wwvvvvvww]

@@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 Air superiority attained by German during Barbarossa is not comparable to post-D-Day Western Front in any way. I can't believe such myth still pop up here with so many likes when this have been brought up in numerous videos already. Luftwaffe at it peak could only achieve regional, temporary air superiority. VVS probably couldn't contest where Luftwaffe concentrated their forces, but they could definitely do so elsewhere along the front, or when Luftwaffe's sorties were fewer. Luftwaffe simply didn't have enough planes, pilots or fuel to achieve and maintain the same level of domination that Allies did in Western Front.

[@dariuszrutkowski420]

"Developed with a minimum of political interference" The chieftain about pzVI Tiger - The sarcasm is strong with this one.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

In fairness, Tiger -was- developed with a minimum of political interference. That was not necessarily the case for later vehicles, though...

[@oskarrasmussen7137]

I really like the AS42. From its looks to its weapons it is basically a WW2 Warthog.

[@MadThespian]

Great vid. Very worried for the safety of the Chief, as I see the Rabbit of Caerbannog lurking in the background.

[@GeneralSmitty91]

That AT launcher in the background is staring into my soul

[@QALibrary]

it must have been a nightmare supply all the spare parts, ammunition and anything that was needed for the German army in North Africa just because from this list nothing was interchangeable and every had to come from a different production line

[@acorjadaadegafantasma6309]

This is awesome, as always, when the chieftain speaks we all learn something amazing and brutal. All shows in this channel got this power, always amazing and brutal.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you!

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

The Auto-Sahara was a thing before the LRDG. You got it the other way around, Chiefy-baby. The Brits took inspiration from the Italians and turned it down a notch (or rather, turned it up a notch as a response to the LRDG). Hence how the Italians made the fighting in the desert a bit more competitive when it came to raids - making for many long treks through the desert for stranded Tommys caught in an ambush.

[@j.f.fisher5318]

14:55 I like how there is a Marder in the background. Why do I get the sense that this is the unit of misfit tank destroyers?

[@KettyFey]

A note regarding German recce units. The Germans had developed a 4x4 armoured car for use in the desert. However that theatre of the war closed before it could go into production. A very similar looking vehicle would later come along as the sd.kfz 234 "Puma" - seemingly just a lengthened version of this earlier 4x4. Whilst the Germans were short on armoured half tracks through the war, they did go so far as to improvise SPGs based on the .250 and 251 - indicating that the armoured hulls were considered more useful as direct combat vehicles, rather than primarily as APCs. Of all the theatres the desert didn't seem to have quite so many improvised armoured personnel carriers being built either (certainly not compared to as in the Soviet Union or Yugoslavia). Perhaps due to the need for trucks as supply vehicles, or the long supply lines making taxed chassis from all the extra armour not desirable. The Italians too would develop further armoured cars, being that their main theatre of the war was Africa, that aren't mentioned here. However they too mostly came too late, and instead the short production runs were used for the fighting in Italy (and eventually found their way into the hands of the Italian Social Republic or Partisans). These vehicles seemingly intended at providing more firepower whilst using existing chassis, or modified derivatives.

[@Ancient_Hoplite]

"Would be encountered in Sicily....spoiler alert by the way" got to love Chieftain's dry sense of humour.

[@brokenbridge6316]

The Chieftain seems to know what he's talking about. How nice. I already subscribed to him.

[@ageingviking5587]

Great video . Germany had quite a few impressive tanks and Stugs but, those tigers truly were very scary beasts. Thank for posting. Hats off to chietain too 🙂

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Ageing Viking Thank you for watching

[@keithorbell8946]

Love The Chieftain’s polo shirt “ Fear Naught”.

[@gianniverschueren870]

Another great video!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you!

[@tomwhite7983]

Fun fact, British reference material for German armour in the North African desert, referred to the long-barrelled 75mm Pz IV's as the "Mk IV Special".

[@jackg9581]

This is the type of geeky info I love about KZbin. History matched with technical data satisfies my inner nerd. Props to whoever invited Cheiftan to splatter us with specs! I'm still a fan of the socio-economic / political histories as well.

[@QuizmasterLaw]

1:30 Discusses innovative Italian raid buggy "These showed up in Africa in August of 1942" 1:47 Chieftan is riding dirty.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

“What are those THINGS?” But seriously, the Sahariana sounds way more bad ass and capable than the kubelwagen.

[@noobster4779]

@@MarcosElMalo2 I mean the Kubelwagen is literally jsut a car that serves the same purpose as a jeep. And believe me you wwould like the Kubelwagen considering it was a very reliable way tos afe your ass from death if you needed to get away asap.

[@QuizmasterLaw]

"Schwerer Panzer Abteilung 501, of which will come back to in a minute." and this, this is how you learn what is a 老虎

[@elektrotehnik94]

老虎 = means tiger?

[@avanticurecanti9998]

Those googly-eyes keep staring into my soul.

[@seegurke93]

The sad He177 in the background of Indy left its left 4blade prop at home :(

[@papaaaaaaa2625]

Thanks a lot to both of you. I really enjoy your work and your love to details, same with the chieftain. May the algorithm be with you and your team, stay healthy!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you so much!

[@Beowulf_DW]

I would love to see you all do videos like this with regards to air power, as well. Military Aviation History is well regarded in that field, almost a Chieftain of aerial warfare, if you will.

[@douglasturner6153]

Wow! Turns out there were more German half tracks in the movie's and on TV than Germany ever had, at least in the desert. German SS jumping out of their half tracks with Grease Guns has become Iconic.

[@thanos_6.0]

Good to see the Chieftan again on this channel. It has been a while.

[@BlueRada]

Ik it’s a bit late for this stage of the war but what about a video on armoured vehicles and tanks of the Benalux countries, Poland, Norway and Denmark. Basically nations that got kicked out early on. Idk if such video would make sense to make but if u lack ideas well here’s one. Great work guys as always

[@zyzor]

I feel bad for the Italians. By all accounts they did the best they could with the sub par equipment they were given.

[@joey8062]

What about their self propelled guns and 90mm gun

[@dougedsall3317]

One point of interest concerning Tigers in Africa, according to T Jentz, Rommel was at one point promised a certain number of Tiger (P) - the Porsche designed version of the Tiger which was later converted to the famous Ferdinand Panzerjäger. Photos exist showing a Tiger (P) undergoing testing with a special heavy-duty air filtration system and engine deck cowlings for Tropen environments (though it should be added that South Russia was also considered 'Tropen'). However, with the constant delays and problems experienced by the Tiger (P) project, none of these tanks were ever delivered to Africa, and late in 1942 the decision was made to re-purpose the production run of 100 Tiger (P) for other uses (predominantly the aforementioned Panzerjäger)

[@GarioTheRock]

I love it when my patron'd channels get together 😁

[@johnrettig1880]

Thanks to all of you . I KNEW that there was Tiger 1's in North Africa in WW 2 . I know that I've seen that information some where before . Thanks for this episode .

[@eugrules]

Well done. A great overview.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@jasonmussett2129]

Great program. Great models too

[@gmsherry1953]

Starting 3:48 is he describing a tank (and the screen graphics are for a tank) while we're looking at a photo of a self-propelled gun based on that tank? I'm confused.

[@TheChieftainsHatch]

Dangit, I was hoping they had changed that. When they sent it to me to review I was on military absence, didn't get back to them quickly enough before release, I guess.

[@gmsherry1953]

@@TheChieftainsHatch If "military absence" means you were serving our country (Reserves, Guard), now I feel bad for bringing it up! You definitely get a pass on that. It's a shame an error made it through, though. If I can notice that, they could have.

[@CannibaLouiST]

*sees a Tiger tank* "FUCKING TIGER!!!!!!!!!!!"

[@basichistory]

Please do more like this really enjoyed it

[@oneshotme]

Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@Panzer4F2]

That is Erwin's Sdkfz 250/3 at 16:19

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

NICE explaining Characteristics of Axis Armors Vehicles in Northern Africa operations during 2WW..Thanks For Sharing.....

[@oakleygordon7777]

What's the difference between a tank and an armored self-propelled direct-fire gun like the Semovente L40/47?

[@murraymcdiarmid9121]

Tanks have a turret which can rotate while the chasis remains still.

[@BHuang92]

An armoured SPG is mainly an artillery gun on a tracked chassis which can be used as indirect fire. Assault gun is an SPG that is specifically designed to be direct fire to support the infantry. A tank is a general description of an armoured tracked vehicle with a turret whereas an assault gun and SPG usually lack a turret.

[@sfs2040]

Tank has a rotating turret and has a different role in doctrine than the self propelled gun.

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

@@sfs2040 Not all tanks have rotating turrets though, the Swedish S-tank and WW1 tanks come to mind. Doctrine and fighting role seem to be the main difference. Sadly, to normies and especially journalists EVERYTHING that has tracks and camouflage gets called a tank.

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

In the end it's more about how it was used. There was some overlap between roles, the Stug III was first used as self propelled artillery before being found to be a good tank destroyer.

[@Condottiere1978]

Where is Sturmpanzer ll? Exclusively built for use in North Africa...

[@mikepette4422]

Surprising to learn that the german armoured cars didn't all have short range radios from the start

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

Yeah, especially since they were logically tasked with carrying out reconnaissance. I reckon Germany being tight with radios and electronics was probably the reason that they Germans chose to stick what they had into tanks first and foremost. And in that regard they chose wisely. The Red Army had even less radios and as a result Red Army tank units were very ineffective for the 1st half of the war. Being able to coordinate every tank in the heat of the battle was a war winner for the Germans. Until the Allies and Red Army got their shit together that is.

[@wimmeraparanormal6581]

@ 13.50... there were NO Australian troops in all of North Africa after Jan '43. They were all sent to the Pacific theater to fight the Japanese. No Tigers were lost in combat prior to Jan '43 either. These troops are most likely Kiwis who sometimes wore similar hats to the Aussies. Unless its 'Monty' himself, inspecting the Tiger? Coz he often wore an Aussie slouch hat...

[@Heka41]

This is great, I love it

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for watching

[@QuizmasterLaw]

Sdkfz 251 is somewhat mythical in that on paper the entire regiment (whether of a panzer or panzergrenadier division) should be kitted out with them. In reality only a battalion or even only a company would get them. In practice: 1 regiment on trucks, the other on half tracks but with only a battalion or company actually issued them. The half tracks issued were prioritized to the assault company and pioneers (combat engineers). Unlike mounted infantry the pioneers just about always had the halftracks issued to them. Part of this is because there was a tendancy to upgun halftracks in the field and use them as fighting vehicles. By 1943 mounted infantry were in fact fighting while mounted. So e.g. the halftrack mortar combos could dismount, the halftrack 37mm combo also carried infantry, the anti-aircraft and rocket armed half tracks do not appear also to have carried soldiers into combat. Flammenwerfer units were also carrying mounted troops. Doctrine was, where possible, to fight mounted, hence all the firing slots and pintles. 75mm armed half tracks appeoar only to have been used as support vehicles and not as transports. This is certainly true of the 75mm pak 40 AT, i presume is also true of the SiG version. And yeah Sdkfz 251 doesn't appear to have gone to Afrika, unlike the unarmored half track schlepper and the smaller command halftrack. This may have been due to sinkings but is likelier due to prioritizing Russia. Most of the Afrika Korps was leavings from other units, make-shift.

[@nickdanger3802]

Source for "Most of the Afrika Korps was leavings from other units" ?

[@sinisatrlin840]

On 7.05 that 8x8 is rolling down Marmont street in Split, modern day Croatia.

I would assume that part of the popularity of the semovente was that it was one of the few things effective against the Allied tanks in the italian arsenal. If they had had more and better equipment the negative sides would likely have stood out more.

[@yourstruly4817]

Just a minor thing: singular nominative is "das Sturmgeschütz", plural nominative is "die Sturmgeschütze", "Sturmgeschützen" is plural accusative. Chieftain's German pronunciation is pretty good though.

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

Just in case Chieftain hasn't already recorded the 2nd video (unlikely, I know) here are some things I wish he would cover. Since armored warfare in WW2 has more to do with doctrine than vehicles (most of the time) and since the UK army has been so resistant, through 1941, to learn the lessons the Germans keep so generously teaching them, HAVE THEY FINALLY learned about combined arms warfare? Possibly the biggest mistake the Brits made on the equipment side was going all-in with the 2-pounder gun on both their infantry and cruiser tanks. By 1942 this failing SHOULD have been mitigated by the addition of US M3 light and medium tanks with the more versatile 37mm gun and the additional 75mm gun on the M3 medium. But DID the UK mix these American tanks in with their domestic 2-pounder equipped tanks? The Churchill could also play this role on the infantry side.

[@midsue]

Interesting topic 👍

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks!

[@ablackghostmyguy3741]

Heeeeeyyyy that's pretty good I ask yesterday on one of the two videos about, if there was gonna be any videos on hardware such as tanks or planes and look what we have here

[@WorldWarTwo]

Lucky!

[@nickthenoodle9206]

Thank you.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for watching as always, Nick. You're one of my favorite noodles, up there with lasagne

[@DougguoD]

16:33 👀 Umm... OK...

[@In_Our_Timeline]

The British chiefs of staff, spurred by Churchill, had proposed October 7, 1942, as the target date for the operation, but U.S. planners recommended November 7 as “the earliest reasonable date for landing of the forces based on availability of combat loaders.” On the question of the landing site, the respective views were even wider apart: the British urged that the landings should be made in North Africa, on the Mediterranean coast,

[@genericyoutubeaccount579]

FDR wanted the landing before the November elections but the American generals told him NO. The Democrats took a battering in the 1942 congressional elections losing 9 Senators and 47 House seats and 3 Governors to the Republicans. It is one of the worst results for congressional democrats since the Great Depression. Americans were frustrated that we had not struck back yet in the war and Guadalcanal seemed to be a quagmire.

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

@@genericyoutubeaccount579 Politics always dominates military decisions and choice of operations, just as much in a democracy as it does in dictatorships.

[@billwilson3609]

@@genericyoutubeaccount579 Later in 1943, Congress is now worried about the 1944 elections due to the press getting the general public worked up over the US Army's M4's getting blown to pieces by the German's superior AT guns and their heavy Tiger tanks. People were thinking that Congress was too cheap to fund the production of a heavy tank after the Army cancelled production of the M6 heavy tank in 1942 so Congress began to pressure Ordnance and the War Department to come up with a heavy tank before the November elections in 1944. Ordnance had started work on a replacement for the M4 in 1942 so had developed several prototypes of a heavier armored and up-gunned medium tank. The demands by Congress had the armor commanders in Europe telling Ordnance that they had no need for a heavy tank while their superiors in D.C. insisted that they needed one and went ahead to order the now overweight T26 into production in December of 1943. That took a while since they had to build a plant, get the machinery and line up subcontractors to make various components. The T26 went into production in November of '44 with 10 produced, 30 in December, 70 in January and 132 in February. Congress had their hair on fire over getting the T26 into combat ASAP so 20 arrived in Antwerp in January of 1945 without trained crews and mechanics. The armor commanders refused to use them due to that and not have undergone the usual rigorous field testing to find and fix their flaws. They relented and divided the 20 between their units to Ike out of hot water with the politicians and General George C. Marshall. The T26 turned out to be a waste of tax dollars since it had little effect on the battlefield. If they weren't being repaired then they were at the end of the advancing columns due to their slow speed and were only called up when needed. They managed to destroy 6 or 7 German tanks while having three disabled by German tanks. One was the single Super Pershing sent to Europe and had 5 tons of additional armor added under the supervision of the infamous Belton Cooper. The added weight made the tank almost too heavy to consider using yet off it went to take on the remaining German tanks. It managed to bag two tanks of unknown models from 1500 yards before being knocked out by a German medium Pz 4 with a shot thru the side. It was last seen at a vehicle dump after the war so probably was cut up for scrap.

[@wadejustanamerican1201]

Great stuff

[@robertristinge4385]

Very interesting,-Where is that big tankmuseum I have seen clips with U in ?

[@McManARama]

He has gone to many museums, but the big one in England is in Bovington. They have a youtube channel simply called "The Tank Museum"

[@robertristinge4385]

@@McManARama Thanks

[@AndreLuis-gw5ox]

Heh, "semovente" is the legal name for property that moves by itself, like cattle, in Portuguese

[@ariochiv]

What's the benefit of the interleaved roadwheels on a tank?

[@Maus5000]

The benefits were primarily to do with ground pressure, or the total amount of weight exerted on the ground per wheel. The interleaved and overlapping roadwheel systems used by the Germans allowed for very low weight distribution per wheel, as more wheels could be fit withing a confined space or vehicle length. This allowed for better flotation characteristics: the ability of the tank to maneuver on soft ground - but as you're probably aware, it was a trade-off that invited maintenance issues, requiring multiple wheels to be removed if an inner one was damaged. The Tiger I was a particularly special and unfortunate case in this respect. The predecessor design, the VK 36.01, used only two wheels per axle for its interleaved suspension. When this design was hurriedly 'upgraded' into the significantly heavier Tiger as adopted for service, the weight increased such that they has to use 3 wheels per axle to prevent roadwheel failures under the increased weight. These early rubber tire roadwheels, designed for the VK 36.01, were simply not up to the task presented to them by the weight of the Tiger. Late production versions of the Tiger I used a new steel-rim roadwheel without an external rubber tire better suited for the weight, and the number of wheels per axle was reduced back to 2.

[@Kyle-gw6qp]

It reduces ground pressure and is therefore advantageous when it comes to rough terrain. However, they make maintenance more difficult.

[@ariochiv]

@@Maus5000 Thanks!

[@RG001100]

The "spoiler alert" jokes are funny every time.

[@jellevanbreugel325]

damnit, everytime this channel mentions Operation Torch, I feel a need to start up Medal of Honor again.....

[@agdgdgwngo]

Just noticed your Heinkel He- 177 in the background is missing a propellor.

[@Aliasalpha]

You know what its like with budget cuts...

[@keithorbell8946]

Do you think you’ll get a chance to go to The Tank Museum Bovington for a special?

[@chrisspencer6502]

Were engineering vehicles a thing to help troops dig in or was mobility and dead ground used to hide trucks with 90mm guns on top?

[@MBP1918]

Nice video

[@Valdagast]

Isn't the 2 cm tank gun basically a paintball gun by now?

[@markkover8040]

A 2cm gun could still destroy unarmored vehicles, machine gun emplacements, and most armored cars.

[@Marc_LK]

Chieftain miss the 15 cm sIG 33 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II (Sf). This is a armored german assault gun and only see in the north afrika front with 12 built of this machines.

[@Maus5000]

And the 15cm sIG 33 B Sfl. auf PzKpfw III Ausf H built using one of those damaged PzKpfw II Sfl., among others. But the line has to be drawn somewhere, or else this video would have been unacceptably long.

[@davidbrennan660]

Its that tall fella again.

[@JagerLange]

Thanks Chieftain for another good data-drop for all. Is it too nosy/repeating an old question to ask why other YT channels on key WWII subjects haven't made an appearance in these? I know about the ForgottenWeapons/InRange problems and hoped they woyld be resolved once clear comms were established again - but what about some aviation or navel channels (I know of a few really good ones and you probably know of them too) that would be able to supply this sort of content on their respective arms, self-shot and edited and so no need for the TimeGhost team to do too much to format them for use. I may be asking stupid questions but I'd like to know if I am - otherwise I'd love to see more people (as I love seeing Chieftain) take part.

[@hgslawyer]

When will the Weekly episode drop?

[@jamesd3472]

This is very interesting, I don't suppose there is a link to any of the previous episodes of this collaboration?

[@Maus5000]

I would recommend simply going to the World War Two channel and searching "Chieftain"

[@casparcoaster1936]

Those semeventes do look good. And Im ok w/ rivets... long as Im not in it

[@trippsallee]

The Tigers are here! THE TIGERS ARE HERE!

[@ewok40k]

Tiger 1: I have a specific set of skills....

[@jonL88]

YEEEEEESS CHIEFTAIN

[@andyhughes5766]

Every fricking video Indy does is special…. No need to classify it as such!