In this episode I am visiting the 2022 WWII Weekend at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA. You couldn't ask for better weather at this terrific show!
Nice video! I love that show, and I have to get back to it. One tiny correction though, that isn't a 'Firefly' tank at 4:40. The Firefly was in British service, had the 17 pounder gun and a modified turret. This looks like an 'M4A2 (76W) HVSS' (AKA M4A2E8 or Easy 8). Firefly: ua-cam.com/video/Ifxmd-uMU5Y/v-deo.html M4A2 (76W) HVSS: ua-cam.com/video/QV1yOzIZ2RY/v-deo.html
Thank you and good catch on the tank (I'm not well versed on armor). Both of the Shermans in the video have the later Easy 8 suspension. Is the long-barrel gun on the second tank the British 76mm from the Firefly or is it an American design?
@@jonsmotorcyclerescueandrev3538 That's an American 76mm (76 mm M1). The British 17 pounder was better in penetration, but was less accurate than the American gun, made worse by the size of the breech...it cramped the turret of the Firefly so much it was difficult to use by the gunner. They had to rotate the breech by 90 degrees, remove the radio from inside the turret, and lose a crewman to get it to fit at all. They also had to redesign the recoil mechanism. Really, the British had a hard time mounting the excellent 17 pounder on a vehicle successfully in WW2. Google the vehicle 'Archer' to see the lengths they went to try (and fail) to get the gun into combat on a vehicle. Oh, and I'm just writing this from memory (I'm at work). Some of this is just my opinion (I think the Firefly is overrated and it's problems are mostly ignored). If I made any minor errors, though, I apologize ahead of time.
@@Ocrilat Thank you! It is always good to learn something new. You mentioned the Archer - there's nothing right about your main defensive/offensive weapon facing to the rear. I can't imagine how the driver aimed it!
@@jonsmotorcyclerescueandrev3538 They tried to make a stop-gap vehicle to get the 17 pounder in a more offensive role, but by the time the ironed out all the issues, the Firefly was being used. The Archer was worse than what you saw. The driver had to get out of the vehicle if he didn't want to be decapitated by the breech when the gun fired (some writers deny this). Also, the gun fired over the heat of the engine, which interfered with vision, and made center of the barrel a different temperature, causing accuracy problems. Because of poor British transmissions, the vehicle had a top speed backwards of 13 kph (8 mph) under ideal conditions...so getting into combat was slow and awkward. You'll find it's defenders, but really the thing was more or less useless.
Jon,Thanks for posting this,I too love the WW2 planes,vehicles & overall history of it.
Scott next door to you in NY.
Right on!
Great video good overall view of the event....bikes and planes go together well...they both FLY!
Thanks Mike, it was a fun show!
Great video!
Thanks!
I was there. Best show ever.
Right on!
Nice video! I love that show, and I have to get back to it. One tiny correction though, that isn't a 'Firefly' tank at 4:40. The Firefly was in British service, had the 17 pounder gun and a modified turret. This looks like an 'M4A2 (76W) HVSS' (AKA M4A2E8 or Easy 8).
Firefly: ua-cam.com/video/Ifxmd-uMU5Y/v-deo.html
M4A2 (76W) HVSS: ua-cam.com/video/QV1yOzIZ2RY/v-deo.html
Thank you and good catch on the tank (I'm not well versed on armor). Both of the Shermans in the video have the later Easy 8 suspension. Is the long-barrel gun on the second tank the British 76mm from the Firefly or is it an American design?
@@jonsmotorcyclerescueandrev3538 That's an American 76mm (76 mm M1). The British 17 pounder was better in penetration, but was less accurate than the American gun, made worse by the size of the breech...it cramped the turret of the Firefly so much it was difficult to use by the gunner. They had to rotate the breech by 90 degrees, remove the radio from inside the turret, and lose a crewman to get it to fit at all. They also had to redesign the recoil mechanism.
Really, the British had a hard time mounting the excellent 17 pounder on a vehicle successfully in WW2. Google the vehicle 'Archer' to see the lengths they went to try (and fail) to get the gun into combat on a vehicle. Oh, and I'm just writing this from memory (I'm at work). Some of this is just my opinion (I think the Firefly is overrated and it's problems are mostly ignored). If I made any minor errors, though, I apologize ahead of time.
@@Ocrilat Thank you! It is always good to learn something new. You mentioned the Archer - there's nothing right about your main defensive/offensive weapon facing to the rear. I can't imagine how the driver aimed it!
@@jonsmotorcyclerescueandrev3538 They tried to make a stop-gap vehicle to get the 17 pounder in a more offensive role, but by the time the ironed out all the issues, the Firefly was being used.
The Archer was worse than what you saw. The driver had to get out of the vehicle if he didn't want to be decapitated by the breech when the gun fired (some writers deny this). Also, the gun fired over the heat of the engine, which interfered with vision, and made center of the barrel a different temperature, causing accuracy problems. Because of poor British transmissions, the vehicle had a top speed backwards of 13 kph (8 mph) under ideal conditions...so getting into combat was slow and awkward.
You'll find it's defenders, but really the thing was more or less useless.
I would love to photograph my ZX14 Ninja next to one of these planes. Do you know if they allow it?
You can call the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA to see if that could be arranged.