Some points to add! (will be added to as we watch) 0:30 - In just one week we're getting 25(!) more vehicles from the old Aberdeen Proving Ground, including a JagdPanther and the U.S. T54E1. So we guess The Chieftan will have to visit again... 0:50 - Unfortunately since we our new building was paid for to support our mission of training Soldiers (not just Armor Soldiers either!), we can't allow the general public in during the week as we have to be available for classes. HOWEVER, we have received permission to host open house events on certain weeks. We hope to host the first one this summer so keep your eyes peeled to our social media! 1:16 - The 1916 Armored Motor Car No. 2 is the oldest armored fighting vehicle in the U.S. Army's inventory today, and arrived to the Collection in 2015 as a stripped chasis and crates of parts. In fact, the staff had to start re-assembling it just to figure out what is what since we're weren't given a headsup it was coming. It was lovingly restored over the course of a year and a half, with the very simple interior accurately based on original photos. The paint color is correct and matched to an orginal patch found underneath the fuel tank where two 1915 stamped .30-06 casings were found as well. 1:50 - The M1917 was also restored between 2016 and 2017. 2:30 - Command Car will be moved into the center aisle once our French Somua S35 arrives.
that sad Matilda at 41.17 back in 2000 was at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, I was out in 100 degree heat 100% humidity day taking photos.. something whipped past back of my head hitting my neck.. I turned around again .. and it happened again. this time I saw a Swallow flying away. I looked down and nestled in the tracks was a nest.. and 3 little faces were looking up at me. I walked away leaving mom to become less upset
SO thrilled that those tanks are FINALLY getting under cover. I was aghast when visiting the Aberdeen Proving Grounds museum years ago to find these tanks rusting out in the open. As you can see, many are still in horrible condition. I was really embarrassed showing that to my British friend.
As a retired Cavalryman this is the stuff I grew up on. I only live 65 miles from the Collection and hope it is finally open to the public before I become a relic.
This collection is nuts. So many great vehicles! I think you could take any four random vehicles and you'd have a great collection on its own... but literally there's a huge hangar and parking garages of stuff! So neat, I hope to visit someday. Thanks to Rob and all the other wonderful people who have made this happen.
I don't think that your first error was the 4 cylinder/4 liter, thing, but rather that at least one of the 'horses' was a mule... :) Thanks for bringing us along on this tour!
Great commentary. I think the cutaways are fine. Look at the insight you get into armor thickness, scale, construction techniques not to mention a good view of the interior.
I'm in FL and once the collection is open to the public, I gotta take a weekend and drive up to see it. I was fortunate enough to prowl around the massive collection of the former Aberdeen Proving Ground museum a couple of times, and I understand that many of those vehicles have been relocated to this collection. Thanks for the preview, Chief.
I visited Aberdeen waaay back in the early 90's. Didn't realize the museum closed until now. Kind of a bummer, but all the tanks were outside all year round subjected to the elements.
@@scockery Early to mid-'90s for me too. Went a couple of times with my father as it was only a 2 hour drive from South Jersey where I grew up. It turns out the curator, William Atwater, was in the same area of 'Nam as my father, and at the same time. They talked for quite a bit and afterwards Dr. Atwater took us behind the scenes and into the museum's gun room. Hundreds of firearms spanning about 400 years. He handed us some gloves and invited us to check out anything that caught our eye. Great memory.
It's never going to open to the public. Open houses are only as open as the army says they are. The "public" allowed on base in the first place will probably only be family of service members. The Curator can open it as much as they want, but that won't change the policies at base main gate.
@@Grisbane Their website and Facebook page seem to indicate otherwise, referring to a new facility in the future when the collection will be "displayed once again". Note that the current National Infantry Museum (which has part of the collection) is located offbase as was the previous armor & cavalry museum.
I volunteered there also. I think that CEV and Duster might be ours also. I've seen U-GO in a few of the vids, but I never got to drive it. That was usually Pat... :)
I saw a lot of these vehicles rotting away in Aberdeen years ago. Glad they are much better taken care of now, they even got a roof over them. This looks like a future travel destination to me…..
When I was there in 2006 for Small Arms Repairer school in the Marine Corps, we'd run by the yard where they'd have all these random tanks. And being the history need I was I geeked out. I wandered by one of the lots on a weekend and I wish I took pictures...
It's not, you are only allow to see these if you enlist or are commissioned. They took down the majority of the Army displays around the U.S. and the museum that was for public display at Aberdeen to ensure the public rarely ever sees these again. They say they want open houses, but that relies on the Army not nitpicking which civilians are allowed to even enter the base to see it. You may see a random M4 out at VFW's that was bought and paid for, but that's about it anymore outside this place.
@@Grisbane I don't know where this museum is on the base, but MCAS Miramar had an aviation museum. The entrance was separate from the base entrance so anyone could go to the museum. Shame it shut down
@@huasohvac yeah, if the museum is located at a corner or side edge of the base, they could add a second perimeter fence to make the museum into an enclosed compound with it's own external gate for open to public events without compromising base security
I agree totally. I wish that more museums would do that- people freak out about "ruining" tanks. Like they were going to be more valuable as running machines. They're not. They're museum pieces there to teach future generations about technology and conflict.
@@Conn30Mtenor as long as there is at least one running example left, I do agree. Reason beeing that there are some aspects of the context of each AFV that can only be displayed with a driving or, better yet, fully operational example with blank firing weapon systems accompanied by it's intended support elements.
Seeing the T30 close to the panther is surprisingly informative on how big those heavy tanks were. Really cool positioning to get the thinking going on the merits of different designs
Awesome. Glad to see the Army finally step and consolidate the older armor into a safe space where it can be used for teaching, viewing, and proper protection. I've seen so much armor left to rot around various bases or even being saved for range targets. Unless viewers have been in the military, they won't understand an piece of armor is just equipment, once it's used up, it's scrapped or sold off. That's the big Army way. Just being able to save the collection and house it all in one area under protection is HUGE. Myself and many others appreciate all the efforts gone to saving this collection and housing it properly.
The Army is not doing much about them, because they can't, and as he said they are not in the business of running museums. They get a very small budget to operate, and a lot of everything you see is done by *donations* of money, supplies, and time. There are a lot of volunteers that put in a lot of man hours there that could use some praise.
The unidentified gun at the 38:08 mark is a US 76mm T124E2 anti-tank gun. This was one of the last towed anti-tank guns developed by the US and fewer than 100 were built before the Army abandoned towed AT guns for recoil-less rifles. This particular gun was based on the 76mm gun of the M41 Walker Bulldog and was intended to be a lightweight weapon suitable for use by airborne units. It seems that most of the limited production run ended up being used as static displays in front of veterans hall or public parks.
I’ve ever had the $ to travel to any tank museums over seas and glad we finally are getting a proper one of our own. Maybe I will actually get to visit this one someday. Thank you Nick and Robert for all the work you do for us!
I think the reason the video on the 808 is because of its sci-fi looks. I mean, it looks like something out of a sci-fi movie, and the cabin itself looks like something from the navy! I think it's possibly one of the coolest looking armored vehicles ever made :)
Thanks so much for these tours Chieftain! Nothing better than to sit down and watch a walkthrough of such a fantastic collection many wouldn't have otherwise had the chance to see! My jaw dropped on several occasions seeing such rare and unique vehicles next to some good old favourites, thanks again!
Seeing the M113 makes me smile. We have 266 M113s in service with the Philippine Army, all with the Army's Armor (Pambato) Division and based at Camp O'Donnell in Capas, Tarlac.
Fantastic! Thanks! My heart is racing that is so amazing to see! All of those precious artifacts holy heck! As shown by quite the artifact, legend historian Chieftain! Thanks so much!
This is great! Lots of neat stuff we'd never see otherwise. I'd love to see an inside the hatch on the XM-800T, M114, or that prototype T114. The Ontos as well, but it sounds like that's already in the works. I love the tiny vehicles. I really enjoy seeing how the designers use the limited space. I'm very excited to see you continue to bring the details and history of these seldom-seen vehicles to the public.
As a person who has followed some of the history of the US Army museums, I recognize a number of vehicles that used to populate the Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. It's good to see them getting some care after all these years. For a number of years the old Patton Museum would bring out a bunch of the runners for displays or mock battles. That M4A3E8 "Ole Henry" was commonly used in the late 70's and they could fire blanks through the 76mm and the MGs. One of the M3A1 Stuarts, an M3 "Lee", an M24 light, an M5 halftrack, the Centurion, the M103A2, the T35/85, the M7B2 were also among the running tanks used for demonstrations. One of the M4A1 Medium tanks inside the facility is a Canadian Grizzly that used to carry the name "Cindy" and was operated in mock battles in the 2000's along with an M4A3, 75mm, Wet Stowage, and an M4, 105mm How. I know that one can't keep the runners going, but it's nice to know that there is at least a good strong basis for eventual restoration.
For everyone belly aching that these machines are in bad shape…. They have built an extremely nice building to house the tanks and vehicles. They are going to preserve them. Give credit that the machines are still around and were not scrapped. The US Military is not known for running museums lol! They have more important things to contend with. So I give them credit for taking care of these machines and making them a new home.
About a year ago. No joke. In fairness, they got most of the way there a couple years ago when they finally decided to build a proper building, but only very recently did they decide that all vehicles needed to be as complete as possible.
@@TheChieftainsHatch It's both surprising and saddening that they didn't come to this realization back in the late 90's/early 00's when interest in WWII was exploding. They could be two decades ahead of where they are now.
This was the one of the coolest videos i've ever seen on youtube, I've followed your content for a while and I have to mention how you've improved your rhythm, and that's what made it so enjoyable. You have a true talent so keep it up!
Those German tanks with the cut away sides are wonderfully complete! They are absolutely georgeous! I hope they have the sense to keep them opened up, once they are restored? As I doubt many people will ever get permision, to ever get inside them? Someone knew what they were doing, when they collected those fantastic specimines... ;) Lots of other nice rare American stuff as well as some other rare unusual beasties! Cheers
Would love to see this done to more tanks so that people can understand what the insides are like. But I know it does damage the vehicles so isnt good for conservation
I would pay so much to be able to hang out all day and appreciate American ingenuity and old German armor. thank you to whoever set this awesome collection up! I can't wait to visit
Nice to see Tiger 332 at her new home. I have a picture of my brother and I standing in front of it back in 1983 at Aberdeen.Then she was restored and moved to the Patton Armor Museum at Fort Knox, and then finally moving here to Fort Benning 10 years ago. Amazing to watch when she was first captured basically intact in the Ardennes which was almost 40 years before when I first saw her to now almost 40 years later.
NMUSAF is arguably the best military vehicle museum in the world. Not only is it open to the public (c'mon, Army, get it together!), but most of the aircraft on display are actual combat veterans, historically significant examples of the type, or one-of-a-kinds.
@@jarink1 It is very good, but the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola very definitely gives it a run for its money, if not better. Fantastic collection, they let you get right up to and under the aircraft (you can even touch the skin), and a good bar/ restaurant with a Subic Bay theme.
I will most likely never get to go and see that museum so this is the next best thing, and to add to that we get to have Mr Nicholas Moran telling us what all the stuff is! Now that's a privilege. thank you!
One of my dreams came true to tour this place while I was with the 2-15 CAV on Benning. Also can confirm that was the M60 outside the Marine Corps barracks.
I visited on 09-09-2023. They allow the visit a few times a year. It is free to visit and take pictures. Wonderful. I have seen and taken pictures. My eyes were blessed. This video is awesome. It deserves 1,000,000 views and more. I didn't know there were more tanks on display open air, rusting. I think they will repaint some of them, if the rusting is severe enough.
Can't help it, still find the Tiger I the most beautiful and iconic tank ever. Great vid, fantastic museum; the Walhalla of tanks! Thanks for sharing! Greets from the Netherlands 🌷, T.
Just wait, I'm not sure if the on in the video or they have another one they're restoring but once it's done it'll be the second fully operational Tiger in the world.
A high speed tour, but a great asset for those of us who don't have the opportunity to get down to Fort Benning. It is a shame that some of these amazing historical pieces were stored outside for many years, but at least these incredible vehicles were saved, so we won't be too hard on those who did the best they could with what resources they had. I am extremely impressed with the new "tank-o-drome" it looks amazing. I am certain as more time passes more vehicles will be restored and brought out for the world to admire. An excellent summary by the Chieftain. Keep up the excellent work US Army Armor & Cavalry Collection!
Very pleased to see these preserved. I can tell from comments and the mention of Aberdeen that a lot of the outdoors ones (many with floatation devices) are hopefully going to be there temporarily. Even if not, those that are preserved are magnificent
I still remember fondly going to the tank museum in '12 right when they were still moving into Benning. Seeing the T-28 "doom turtle" up close was the best experience. I thought it was a giant wall or box. Nope, it was a tank, haha.
17:00 that Tiger II was the main piece inside the main building at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. I remember seeing many of these tanks back when i was a kid and it makes me happy to see them inside and fixed up.
When I was went to armor school back in 93 the Tiger 2 was on display in museum across from the M2 of all things. According to my ex wife’s grandfather his platoon captured that tank. He was in The picture they had near the tank showing it captured in the battle of the bulge.
Really cool video. I've lived in Maryland for most of my life and recognized quite a few of those vehicles as one's from Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Use to take trips up there to see the tanks and took about 200 photos (ok photos, with what is now a 20plus year old digital camera), in 2000 one day up there (took the day off to drive up there) and was able to match up quite a few in your video with pictures i have. Glad there getting fixed up, would love to see them again some day if they open them up to the public.
At 50:43 that T55 with the addon armor is a T55AM-1. The box above the gun is a laser rangefinder. It also had a very sophisticated fire control system for the time. I was told it was even better than than T72s of the same vintage.
I'm so happy to see that the Vickers Medium MK II is still around. There are few left and they were such an interesting interwar tank. I have a model kit of one that I need to build, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Fun fact, they were briefly brought back into service at the start of WW2 in the African campaign. I would have to relocate the source, but to my knowledge 3 were reactivated and sent from Siwa to Mersa Matruh to reinforce allied positions. Of the three one caught fire (not sure what was the cause, but these were air-cooled engines that already had trouble keeping cool in normal conditions being used in Africa) and was out of commission. I have a photo of that tank with a soldier and scout car next to it, which I think was German/Italian? Someone else could easily identify the vehicle as a good portion of it is in the picture. I read that it became a bit of a sight seeing thing in a sense. Of the remaining two I know that 1 for sure made it and was converted into a fixed firing position and the second tank I am unsure of what happened with it.
Thanks Nick for braving the heat and humidity of Georgia for us. Of course - it's spring time so ... it's not _that_ bad ... That was interesting. I've posted my memories of the museum when it was at Aberdeen elsewhere so I'll not do it again - but - this always reminds me of that (and my youth ... (18)). I noticed that one vehicle with the split tires and wondered how they were supporting it and then it's like - "Oh! Jack Stands!" That explains that. Cool. Must be nice to say "Best job I ever had!" without the irony ... .
It's amazing to see some of these tanks in relation to each other, some look huge while others look smaller than I thought, overall a very enjoyable video but of course, I want to see more detailed stuff on all of them. I kept finding myself saying "but what about" as he rushed past. It's almost worth a trip to the US just for a Ft Benning tour. I'll certainly see what I can find on Facebook, a service I usually stay well away from. Thanks Chieftain please do it all again!
Chieftain, 5cm PAK38 at 6:00 The third wheel is usually not a spare wheel. It was mounted at the back of the gun carriage to form a "tricycle". Makes manually moving the PAK a lot easier. It had a steering handle as well. The collection shows the third wheel as in transport (towed) position.
15:03 Later the StuH 42 got the Muzzle break removed, when they improved the Recoil cylinders to be able to fire APHEDS and HEDS The 10,5/8,8 or 10,5/7,5 cm Pzgr Ts
"Training Aids" are notoriously helpful. on of the reasons we found out that most modern russian tanks use a carousel auto loader. I.E. aim for the belly and watch the turret fly off
FANTASTIC VIDEO... Live for this... Camp Roberts in California has a small collections of rusty tanks The big box type M113, the M49 or 59. is one. I would walk around their on my breaks when I was their for my 91B training. Thanks Chieftain for this Awesome Video. Nick
A real pleasure to see the T29 series getting indoor display, finally. Honestly y'all should keep the German cutaways. Unique chance to comprehend the interior space.
Agreed, I was amused by The Chieftains explanation of why it was done, "Nah, it's a training item Guvner, honest, we're not just hanging on to old crap.". As it's already been done, why not leave as is? As you say, gives a unique for people to view the interior. The only reason I can think of for repairing the cutaways is if you want to put the vehicle back in running order, assuming that's actually feasible.
I was at Ft Knox from 1985 to 1987 and worked in the Directorate of Combat Developments around the old parade field. The first MBT70 and the CAV vehicle were on either corner of the building.
Whoever the genius was that saved that german armor from scrap by cutting viewing ports and creating a roll deserves a medal. If not for that guy these pieces of history would be gone.
I was wondering how long ago they cut them open. I don't understand the reasoning behind such a compromise. If that's what it took to prevent scrapping, then so be it. Seems pitiful to me though.
@@DeathValleyDays Army regulations on usable material. In the 50s that german armor was outdated nonstandard equipment they wouldnt want to pay to maintain. Probably in the 50s or 60s some genius saved it all from the scrappers by creating a display for soldiers to learn tank anatomy with the cut aways. History wasnt on their minds 10 years after a war that killed millions.
@@DeathValleyDays Hello! The cutaways were done in 1946, as the Army started sending out its captured German equipment mostly as range targets for new anti-tank weapons testing, though some were also scrapped.
The PZ IV F was originally inside the Aberdeen, MD museum and due to funding was moved outside with the openings still visible, although it used to have mesh screen covering the opening to keep tourists from climbing in. I have several interior shots of that vehicle as I used to visit it regularly.
Some points to add! (will be added to as we watch)
0:30 - In just one week we're getting 25(!) more vehicles from the old Aberdeen Proving Ground, including a JagdPanther and the U.S. T54E1. So we guess The Chieftan will have to visit again...
0:50 - Unfortunately since we our new building was paid for to support our mission of training Soldiers (not just Armor Soldiers either!), we can't allow the general public in during the week as we have to be available for classes. HOWEVER, we have received permission to host open house events on certain weeks. We hope to host the first one this summer so keep your eyes peeled to our social media!
1:16 - The 1916 Armored Motor Car No. 2 is the oldest armored fighting vehicle in the U.S. Army's inventory today, and arrived to the Collection in 2015 as a stripped chasis and crates of parts. In fact, the staff had to start re-assembling it just to figure out what is what since we're weren't given a headsup it was coming. It was lovingly restored over the course of a year and a half, with the very simple interior accurately based on original photos. The paint color is correct and matched to an orginal patch found underneath the fuel tank where two 1915 stamped .30-06 casings were found as well.
1:50 - The M1917 was also restored between 2016 and 2017.
2:30 - Command Car will be moved into the center aisle once our French Somua S35 arrives.
I can only pin one comment. You want to edit the pinned comment with this info?
@@TheChieftainsHatch can do!
Are yall open on weekends though
I would love to work there i just cant get enough of military armored vehicles especially tanks
@@ArmorCavCollection are you taking applications? Or rely on pure volunteer work?
that sad Matilda at 41.17 back in 2000 was at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, I was out in 100 degree heat 100% humidity day taking photos.. something whipped past back of my head hitting my neck.. I turned around again .. and it happened again. this time I saw a Swallow flying away. I looked down and nestled in the tracks was a nest.. and 3 little faces were looking up at me. I walked away leaving mom to become less upset
41:17 😎
My childhood is near Aberdeen proving ground remember hearing test stuff when I was young. The house we lived in was a remodel barracks.
They did say this stuff is from Aberdeen
Kool
SO thrilled that those tanks are FINALLY getting under cover. I was aghast when visiting the Aberdeen Proving Grounds museum years ago to find these tanks rusting out in the open. As you can see, many are still in horrible condition. I was really embarrassed showing that to my British friend.
As a retired Cavalryman this is the stuff I grew up on. I only live 65 miles from the Collection and hope it is finally open to the public before I become a relic.
Definitely now on my list of places to go, the fact that a mbt-70 and a T28 are in the same room is insane
This collection is nuts. So many great vehicles! I think you could take any four random vehicles and you'd have a great collection on its own... but literally there's a huge hangar and parking garages of stuff! So neat, I hope to visit someday. Thanks to Rob and all the other wonderful people who have made this happen.
Aw, thanks! Hope we can provide a chance for you to visit someday soon.
They have even more in the restoration shop
The old 113 with that basic shape was/is so versatile, an amazing series. Thanks for showing us around, Sir.
it warms my heart seeing all these tanks in such great condition!
I don't think that your first error was the 4 cylinder/4 liter, thing, but rather that at least one of the 'horses' was a mule... :) Thanks for bringing us along on this tour!
ahahah, saw that part of the video 3 times and only got it when reading your comment. Good catch :))
Great commentary. I think the cutaways are fine. Look at the insight you get into armor thickness, scale, construction techniques not to mention a good view of the interior.
Seeing the armor thickness has always fascinated me since I was a kid.
I'm in FL and once the collection is open to the public, I gotta take a weekend and drive up to see it. I was fortunate enough to prowl around the massive collection of the former Aberdeen Proving Ground museum a couple of times, and I understand that many of those vehicles have been relocated to this collection. Thanks for the preview, Chief.
I visited Aberdeen waaay back in the early 90's. Didn't realize the museum closed until now. Kind of a bummer, but all the tanks were outside all year round subjected to the elements.
@@scockery Early to mid-'90s for me too. Went a couple of times with my father as it was only a 2 hour drive from South Jersey where I grew up. It turns out the curator, William Atwater, was in the same area of 'Nam as my father, and at the same time. They talked for quite a bit and afterwards Dr. Atwater took us behind the scenes and into the museum's gun room. Hundreds of firearms spanning about 400 years. He handed us some gloves and invited us to check out anything that caught our eye. Great memory.
@@b2tall239 Wow, Firearms from over 100 hundred years old !
It's never going to open to the public. Open houses are only as open as the army says they are. The "public" allowed on base in the first place will probably only be family of service members. The Curator can open it as much as they want, but that won't change the policies at base main gate.
@@Grisbane Their website and Facebook page seem to indicate otherwise, referring to a new facility in the future when the collection will be "displayed once again". Note that the current National Infantry Museum (which has part of the collection) is located offbase as was the previous armor & cavalry museum.
The Stuarts have a special place in my heart. I don't know why, they're just the coolest little tanks I've ever seen.
At 13:46 I was glad to see the M5a1 Stuart that used to be part of the Ft. Snelling Military Museum collection. I helped restore it 14 years ago.
Must be nice to see something you worked on still in good nick!
@@dposcuro Had the privilege to drive it too!
I think the Stuarts were cool little tanks!
I volunteered there also. I think that CEV and Duster might be ours also. I've seen U-GO in a few of the vids, but I never got to drive it. That was usually Pat... :)
Neato... thank you for taking part in that. Hope to see it in person someday.
Ha, this is great. Your High Speed tours are the best thing on You tube.
I saw a lot of these vehicles rotting away in Aberdeen years ago. Glad they are much better taken care of now, they even got a roof over them. This looks like a future travel destination to me…..
When I was there in 2006 for Small Arms Repairer school in the Marine Corps, we'd run by the yard where they'd have all these random tanks. And being the history need I was I geeked out. I wandered by one of the lots on a weekend and I wish I took pictures...
It's not, you are only allow to see these if you enlist or are commissioned. They took down the majority of the Army displays around the U.S. and the museum that was for public display at Aberdeen to ensure the public rarely ever sees these again. They say they want open houses, but that relies on the Army not nitpicking which civilians are allowed to even enter the base to see it. You may see a random M4 out at VFW's that was bought and paid for, but that's about it anymore outside this place.
@@Grisbane I don't know where this museum is on the base, but MCAS Miramar had an aviation museum. The entrance was separate from the base entrance so anyone could go to the museum. Shame it shut down
@@huasohvac yeah, if the museum is located at a corner or side edge of the base, they could add a second perimeter fence to make the museum into an enclosed compound with it's own external gate for open to public events without compromising base security
So many more vehicles then when I went through it back at Knox during AOB..Glad to see all these relics being consolidated in one space.
I came through here in OSUT several months ago, I wish I had more time to look around, I’ll have to go back when it opens properly.
High speed tour, 51 minute video. Love it!
I quite like the cutaway tanks! It's really cool to get an outside perspective to how everything fits together inside.
I agree totally. I wish that more museums would do that- people freak out about "ruining" tanks. Like they were going to be more valuable as running machines. They're not. They're museum pieces there to teach future generations about technology and conflict.
@@Conn30Mtenor as long as there is at least one running example left, I do agree.
Reason beeing that there are some aspects of the context of each AFV that can only be displayed with a driving or, better yet, fully operational example with blank firing weapon systems accompanied by it's intended support elements.
@@Conn30Mtenor These things are so massively built! That I see no reason why they can not be kept with the cut aways? Then made to run as well?
@@Roblstar These look like they left some structure, probably could be made driveable.
Seeing the T30 close to the panther is surprisingly informative on how big those heavy tanks were. Really cool positioning to get the thinking going on the merits of different designs
The area around Benning looks really nice. Beautiful nature
Ticks, snakes, and hogs... not to mention the soul draining humidity.
Awesome. Glad to see the Army finally step and consolidate the older armor into a safe space where it can be used for teaching, viewing, and proper protection. I've seen so much armor left to rot around various bases or even being saved for range targets. Unless viewers have been in the military, they won't understand an piece of armor is just equipment, once it's used up, it's scrapped or sold off. That's the big Army way. Just being able to save the collection and house it all in one area under protection is HUGE. Myself and many others appreciate all the efforts gone to saving this collection and housing it properly.
The Army is not doing much about them, because they can't, and as he said they are not in the business of running museums. They get a very small budget to operate, and a lot of everything you see is done by *donations* of money, supplies, and time. There are a lot of volunteers that put in a lot of man hours there that could use some praise.
Thank you sir for the walk about the collection.
The unidentified gun at the 38:08 mark is a US 76mm T124E2 anti-tank gun. This was one of the last towed anti-tank guns developed by the US and fewer than 100 were built before the Army abandoned towed AT guns for recoil-less rifles. This particular gun was based on the 76mm gun of the M41 Walker Bulldog and was intended to be a lightweight weapon suitable for use by airborne units. It seems that most of the limited production run ended up being used as static displays in front of veterans hall or public parks.
haben sie diese militärfahrzeuge im Museum? ua-cam.com/users/shortsbcf_nyHGijA?
I’m amazed at your encyclopedic knowledge of the tanks at a glance.
So glad places like this exist, great way to learn history is to see it in person.
And here we see the chieftain in his natural habitat, what an awesome collection
I’ve ever had the $ to travel to any tank museums over seas and glad we finally are getting a proper one of our own. Maybe I will actually get to visit this one someday. Thank you Nick and Robert for all the work you do for us!
I certainly found this high-speed tour to be interesting and informative, and hope to see you on the next one; take care!
I think the reason the video on the 808 is because of its sci-fi looks.
I mean, it looks like something out of a sci-fi movie, and the cabin itself looks like something from the navy!
I think it's possibly one of the coolest looking armored vehicles ever made :)
Thanks so much for these tours Chieftain! Nothing better than to sit down and watch a walkthrough of such a fantastic collection many wouldn't have otherwise had the chance to see! My jaw dropped on several occasions seeing such rare and unique vehicles next to some good old favourites, thanks again!
Seeing the M113 makes me smile. We have 266 M113s in service with the Philippine Army, all with the Army's Armor (Pambato) Division and based at Camp O'Donnell in Capas, Tarlac.
I can smell this video and I love it.
That is a fantastic collection, and a lot of it in surprisingly good condition! :) What a delight to see, thank you.
Fantastic! Thanks! My heart is racing that is so amazing to see! All of those precious artifacts holy heck! As shown by quite the artifact, legend historian Chieftain! Thanks so much!
This is great! Lots of neat stuff we'd never see otherwise.
I'd love to see an inside the hatch on the XM-800T, M114, or that prototype T114. The Ontos as well, but it sounds like that's already in the works. I love the tiny vehicles. I really enjoy seeing how the designers use the limited space.
I'm very excited to see you continue to bring the details and history of these seldom-seen vehicles to the public.
we'd need to get him to go to Ft Elgin to cover the XM-800W as well
As a person who has followed some of the history of the US Army museums, I recognize a number of vehicles that used to populate the Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. It's good to see them getting some care after all these years. For a number of years the old Patton Museum would bring out a bunch of the runners for displays or mock battles. That M4A3E8 "Ole Henry" was commonly used in the late 70's and they could fire blanks through the 76mm and the MGs. One of the M3A1 Stuarts, an M3 "Lee", an M24 light, an M5 halftrack, the Centurion, the M103A2, the T35/85, the M7B2 were also among the running tanks used for demonstrations. One of the M4A1 Medium tanks inside the facility is a Canadian Grizzly that used to carry the name "Cindy" and was operated in mock battles in the 2000's along with an M4A3, 75mm, Wet Stowage, and an M4, 105mm How. I know that one can't keep the runners going, but it's nice to know that there is at least a good strong basis for eventual restoration.
For everyone belly aching that these machines are in bad shape…. They have built an extremely nice building to house the tanks and vehicles. They are going to preserve them. Give credit that the machines are still around and were not scrapped. The US Military is not known for running museums lol! They have more important things to contend with. So I give them credit for taking care of these machines and making them a new home.
Out of curiosity, when did the authorities realise that this captured "junk" was incredibly important and valuable and start conserving it?
About a year ago. No joke. In fairness, they got most of the way there a couple years ago when they finally decided to build a proper building, but only very recently did they decide that all vehicles needed to be as complete as possible.
@@TheChieftainsHatch thanks..... thats quite shocking really,
@@davehopkin9502 very saddening
@@TheChieftainsHatch It's both surprising and saddening that they didn't come to this realization back in the late 90's/early 00's when interest in WWII was exploding. They could be two decades ahead of where they are now.
I am reminded of a photo showing Tiger II hulls stacked three high at APG after the war. They were used as test targets…
There were a lot of tanks I had never heard of. Thank You Chieftain for the education.
This was the one of the coolest videos i've ever seen on youtube, I've followed your content for a while and I have to mention how you've improved your rhythm, and that's what made it so enjoyable. You have a true talent so keep it up!
Well done Chieftain! Always enjoy your high speed tours.
Keep up the good work.
Those German tanks with the cut away sides are wonderfully complete! They are absolutely georgeous! I hope they have the sense to keep them opened up, once they are restored? As I doubt many people will ever
get permision, to ever get inside them? Someone knew what they were doing, when they collected those fantastic specimines... ;) Lots of other nice rare American stuff as well as some other rare unusual beasties! Cheers
Would love to see this done to more tanks so that people can understand what the insides are like. But I know it does damage the vehicles so isnt good for conservation
So many different versions of, and modifications to the Sherman. Keeping track of them is quite a test for your memory, Maj Moran, Sir.
I would pay so much to be able to hang out all day and appreciate American ingenuity and old German armor. thank you to whoever set this awesome collection up! I can't wait to visit
Thanks Nick, great video!
Fantastic to see the collection coming together!
Excellent! Can't wait for the public museum opening.
Nice to see Tiger 332 at her new home. I have a picture of my brother and I standing in front of it back in 1983 at Aberdeen.Then she was restored and moved to the Patton Armor Museum at Fort Knox, and then finally moving here to Fort Benning 10 years ago. Amazing to watch when she was first captured basically intact in the Ardennes which was almost 40 years before when I first saw her to now almost 40 years later.
Nice to see such a great collection from across the sea
finally some government spending I can appreciate looks like a great museum, might rival Wright Patterson’s.
careful wright patterson has nukes, but ya this is great that the US has gotten its collection in order
NMUSAF is arguably the best military vehicle museum in the world. Not only is it open to the public (c'mon, Army, get it together!), but most of the aircraft on display are actual combat veterans, historically significant examples of the type, or one-of-a-kinds.
@@jarink1 agreed, I have high hopes for this museum,
@@jarink1 It is very good, but the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola very definitely gives it a run for its money, if not better. Fantastic collection, they let you get right up to and under the aircraft (you can even touch the skin), and a good bar/ restaurant with a Subic Bay theme.
@@TheChieftainsHatch Im visiting family in South Georgia this fall, Ill make an effort to visit both. Thanks for the heads up, keep up the great work.
Really good to see that these things are being taken care of
I will most likely never get to go and see that museum so this is the next best thing, and to add to that we get to have Mr Nicholas Moran telling us what all the stuff is! Now that's a privilege. thank you!
One of my dreams came true to tour this place while I was with the 2-15 CAV on Benning. Also can confirm that was the M60 outside the Marine Corps barracks.
Possibly the most interesting program you have produced.
I visited on 09-09-2023. They allow the visit a few times a year. It is free to visit and take pictures. Wonderful. I have seen and taken pictures. My eyes were blessed. This video is awesome. It deserves 1,000,000 views and more. I didn't know there were more tanks on display open air, rusting. I think they will repaint some of them, if the rusting is severe enough.
Can't help it, still find the Tiger I the most beautiful and iconic tank ever. Great vid, fantastic museum; the Walhalla of tanks! Thanks for sharing!
Greets from the Netherlands 🌷, T.
But the Tiger II is better 😉
Just wait, I'm not sure if the on in the video or they have another one they're restoring but once it's done it'll be the second fully operational Tiger in the world.
@@GrumpyIan : that would be fantastic !
A high speed tour, but a great asset for those of us who don't have the opportunity to get down to Fort Benning. It is a shame that some of these amazing historical pieces were stored outside for many years, but at least these incredible vehicles were saved, so we won't be too hard on those who did the best they could with what resources they had. I am extremely impressed with the new "tank-o-drome" it looks amazing. I am certain as more time passes more vehicles will be restored and brought out for the world to admire. An excellent summary by the Chieftain. Keep up the excellent work US Army Armor & Cavalry Collection!
Very pleased to see these preserved. I can tell from comments and the mention of Aberdeen that a lot of the outdoors ones (many with floatation devices) are hopefully going to be there temporarily. Even if not, those that are preserved are magnificent
Definitely one of the best birthday gifts I ever got! Thanks, Chieftain!
I remember walking around Aberdeen looking at all the tanks with my dad as a kid glad to see some of them make it inside
Great video. Thank you for taking the time to make it.
You do an excellent job of explaining, please don't change anything. Thanks. Brian.
I ALWAYS wanted to go here so Thankyou for the tour and your time!
holy crap what a collection, i cant wait to see what it ends up looking like in 5ish years. gonna be a crazy display
I still remember fondly going to the tank museum in '12 right when they were still moving into Benning. Seeing the T-28 "doom turtle" up close was the best experience. I thought it was a giant wall or box. Nope, it was a tank, haha.
Very, very impressive collection of armor!
17:00 that Tiger II was the main piece inside the main building at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. I remember seeing many of these tanks back when i was a kid and it makes me happy to see them inside and fixed up.
When I was went to armor school back in 93 the Tiger 2 was on display in museum across from the M2 of all things. According to my ex wife’s grandfather his platoon captured that tank. He was in The picture they had near the tank showing it captured in the battle of the bulge.
@@davidknight9709 this is why I love history. There are stories like this one that tie everything and everyone together!
Really cool video. I've lived in Maryland for most of my life and recognized quite a few of those vehicles as one's from Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Use to take trips up there to see the tanks and took about 200 photos (ok photos, with what is now a 20plus year old digital camera), in 2000 one day up there (took the day off to drive up there) and was able to match up quite a few in your video with pictures i have. Glad there getting fixed up, would love to see them again some day if they open them up to the public.
At 50:43 that T55 with the addon armor is a T55AM-1. The box above the gun is a laser rangefinder. It also had a very sophisticated fire control system for the time. I was told it was even better than than T72s of the same vintage.
This collection is fucking awesome. I don't think I've been this excited about a walkthrough video maybe since Jingle's videos on Bovington.
I'm so happy to see that the Vickers Medium MK II is still around. There are few left and they were such an interesting interwar tank. I have a model kit of one that I need to build, but just haven't gotten around to it yet.
Fun fact, they were briefly brought back into service at the start of WW2 in the African campaign. I would have to relocate the source, but to my knowledge 3 were reactivated and sent from Siwa to Mersa Matruh to reinforce allied positions. Of the three one caught fire (not sure what was the cause, but these were air-cooled engines that already had trouble keeping cool in normal conditions being used in Africa) and was out of commission. I have a photo of that tank with a soldier and scout car next to it, which I think was German/Italian? Someone else could easily identify the vehicle as a good portion of it is in the picture. I read that it became a bit of a sight seeing thing in a sense. Of the remaining two I know that 1 for sure made it and was converted into a fixed firing position and the second tank I am unsure of what happened with it.
I got to go there a couple months ago since im stationed at Benning, very cool seeing people i watch on youtube going.
Thanks Nick for braving the heat and humidity of Georgia for us. Of course - it's spring time so ... it's not _that_ bad ...
That was interesting. I've posted my memories of the museum when it was at Aberdeen elsewhere so I'll not do it again - but - this always reminds me of that (and my youth ... (18)).
I noticed that one vehicle with the split tires and wondered how they were supporting it and then it's like - "Oh! Jack Stands!" That explains that.
Cool. Must be nice to say "Best job I ever had!" without the irony ...
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it warms my heart seeing all these tanks in such great condition!. it warms my heart seeing all these tanks in such great condition!.
It's amazing to see some of these tanks in relation to each other, some look huge while others look smaller than I thought, overall a very enjoyable video but of course, I want to see more detailed stuff on all of them. I kept finding myself saying "but what about" as he rushed past. It's almost worth a trip to the US just for a Ft Benning tour. I'll certainly see what I can find on Facebook, a service I usually stay well away from. Thanks Chieftain please do it all again!
Chieftain,
5cm PAK38 at 6:00 The third wheel is usually not a spare wheel. It was mounted at the back of the gun carriage to form a "tricycle". Makes manually moving the PAK a lot easier. It had a steering handle as well. The collection shows the third wheel as in transport (towed) position.
15:03 Later the StuH 42 got the Muzzle break removed, when they improved the Recoil cylinders to be able to fire APHEDS and HEDS
The 10,5/8,8 or 10,5/7,5 cm Pzgr Ts
Impressive tour. I would love to go see this collection
all in all a VERY interesting high speed tour, thank you very much.
For some reason this video is an excellent ASMR video for sleep
I had a good laugh at 36:38 when I saw the puddle at the base of the hammerhead on that FIST-V, our M901s did the same thing.
Chieftain, anything involving armored vehicles with you is Guderian in my book.
Appreciate the walkabout! Looks like a fun place, have to plan a trip there soon.
"Training Aids" are notoriously helpful. on of the reasons we found out that most modern russian tanks use a carousel auto loader. I.E. aim for the belly and watch the turret fly off
Lots of these tanks was stored outside at Aberdeen Proving Grounds for decades , now in this new museum - nice
FANTASTIC VIDEO... Live for this... Camp Roberts in California has a small collections of rusty tanks The big box type M113, the M49 or 59. is one. I would walk around their on my breaks when I was their for my 91B training. Thanks Chieftain for this Awesome Video. Nick
When they open, I will have to take the boys down and tour it. It’s already an amazing collection.
Sir, thank you for finally teaching me the proper pronunciation of MERDC.
I have no idea the proper pronunciation, that’s just what I came up with.
just realised this is the abadeen collection so happy to see them being taken care of
A real pleasure to see the T29 series getting indoor display, finally.
Honestly y'all should keep the German cutaways. Unique chance to comprehend the interior space.
Agreed, I was amused by The Chieftains explanation of why it was done, "Nah, it's a training item Guvner, honest, we're not just hanging on to old crap.". As it's already been done, why not leave as is? As you say, gives a unique for people to view the interior. The only reason I can think of for repairing the cutaways is if you want to put the vehicle back in running order, assuming that's actually feasible.
@@gwtpictgwtpict4214 Looks like they left enough structure to make this possible.
Awesome tour. Thank you for posting this.
That was a tanktastic walk through thank you for the journey
I was at Ft Knox from 1985 to 1987 and worked in the Directorate of Combat Developments around the old parade field. The first MBT70 and the CAV vehicle were on either corner of the building.
Whoever the genius was that saved that german armor from scrap by cutting viewing ports and creating a roll deserves a medal. If not for that guy these pieces of history would be gone.
I was wondering how long ago they cut them open. I don't understand the reasoning behind such a compromise. If that's what it took to prevent scrapping, then so be it. Seems pitiful to me though.
@@DeathValleyDays Army regulations on usable material. In the 50s that german armor was outdated nonstandard equipment they wouldnt want to pay to maintain.
Probably in the 50s or 60s some genius saved it all from the scrappers by creating a display for soldiers to learn tank anatomy with the cut aways.
History wasnt on their minds 10 years after a war that killed millions.
@@DeathValleyDays Hello! The cutaways were done in 1946, as the Army started sending out its captured German equipment mostly as range targets for new anti-tank weapons testing, though some were also scrapped.
Waiting for another Inside the Hatch.
Thank you
Interwar US tank designers really loved their sponson guns and as many machineguns as possible, and then more where not practical
The PZ IV F was originally inside the Aberdeen, MD museum and due to funding was moved outside with the openings still visible, although it used to have mesh screen covering the opening to keep tourists from climbing in. I have several interior shots of that vehicle as I used to visit it regularly.
I remember seeing a lot of these same vehicles in horrid condition...good to see they are getting a lot of care
"Sir, don't look but outside your window is a panther!"