I feel the need to suddenly love and embrace the music as an required aspect of the videos. That said, still love your videos Lindy (even though I have quibbles from time to time).
23:55 - About the "protester" who stole a decommissioned T-34 in 2006, on the memorial day of the 1956 Hungarian revolution: that was actually a pretty old guy who used to serve the Hungarian (or rather: Soviet) army back in the day as a tank crewmember. His goal wasn't to attack the police, but to cause a bit more chaos, and, according to the guy himeself: "to have a little fun".
What I found disturbing or just weird about the whole event is a monument tank still having fuel in it. I can't remember if it was started up by battery or compressed air, but either is still weird to have in a monument.
It was hard to change gears because you did not have the amazingly easy to use Stalinium hammer that is standard issue for the Motherland's glorious tankers.
These are great presentations and on behalf of all the tank loving community (veterans, hobbyists, military history buffs, engineers, crazy guys like me, etc) I thank "World of Tanks" for such high quality videos. I appreciate your unbiased and factual descriptions of each feature (good or bad) of these combat vehicles regardless of their country of origin. I would just make a "little" suggestion, if I may. These videos as watched by many supporters whose native language may not be English, in which case, the music may interfere with their understanding of the more technical terms used in these lectures. I would suggests to just turn the music down a bit, thank you. Keep on the phenomenal work! Ciao, L
***** Hi Smith, yes that is a great idea, a music soundtrack from these countries would be more realistic and also more respectful of the what they are describing, after all, a lot of people died with/in these vehicles. Good point, Ciao, L
The music makes the commentary difficult to understand at times, and it needs a change occasionally. High paced music to generate excitement doesn't really match the detailed, sober analysis. The content is outstanding, and it's brilliant to see, but the music is making it almost unwatchable to this hearing impaired ex-soldier.
The music in the back round constantly playing, kills this video. Good walk thru, i seen plenty i didn't know about. Now i want to tinker more with my 1/6 scale T34
I wish the background music was shot at by the 34's main gun . This constant racket of b g music makes it impossible for certain hearing impaired persons to understand the commentator. Tried to watch it but sadly, as I love this stuff, I had to quit trying to understand the commentator.
There are actually a few remote places in the world where it is still being used. They are being used in the Yemen conflict. They run a cord from the manual firing trigger out the pistol hole and pull from the outside of the tank as the brass has been reused so many times they have ruptured shell casings occasionally when they're fired and you don't want to be in the turret when that happens.
I read from both fiction and non-fiction books that even tanks as late as the T-72 had some bad design that could cause serious physical injury to the crew.
i reaaaally hope they get rid of the music while he's talking.... big mistake.... i wanna watch more episodes, but that music....GAWD!!! *and im a guitar TEACHER!!! haaaaahahahaaa
Excellent!! This is the true 'Inside the Chieftain's Hatch' that we used to be seeing before those 'snapshots' episodes!.. Nice work, informative and amusing, keep up the good work Chieftain.. cheers
I was a M551 driver for three years in the 70's. I never felt claustrophobic. My chest was tight just watching the view for the driver and especially the machine gunner. Yikes! My floor hatch was HUGE compared to that thing.
17:00 OMG OMG OMG. The shear thrill it must be... to be sitting in a FREAKING TANK as it comes to life and starts creeping forward. There's something that hits at the pure essence of what it means to be a man. I'll never forget the thrill I experienced when I learned how to use the clutch in my first car which had a 5-speed transmission.
I would like to mention that this tank (the T34/85 is not alone in this, of course) has a significant shot trap under the mantlet-even worse than the earlier (M40 to M42) versions. Why the turret is sited so far forward is perhaps an engineer's best solution to some other proportion difficulty, but it makes the tank far more vulnerable to incoming fire, and front protection is supposed to be a tank's main defense. It seems to me upon reflection that the whole purpose of increasing armor on the turret front is negated by the creation of a serious shot trap caused by the overhang compounded by the shape of the mantlet. This is why the Panther G had its mantlet modified; to remove that very vulnerability. Should not a tank's front form a more or less perfect slope with no marked undercut? I would think that would be a major design paradigm, given the distribution of armor (specifically, its preponderance on the frontal vector of almost every tank ever made). But, here, any shot low on the turret front would be directed into the turret ring; would it not?
With all the accounts I've heard of tankers trying to escape burning vehicles, seeing Nick fail to escape from that hatch was upsetting. These are weapons of war. Still, this was a very insightful pair of videos. Brilliant, I think.
The bow gunner used the tank's sledgehammer to knock the lever where the driver wanted. The T-34's used an agricultural tractor transmission that the US Army automotive engineers rejected in 1921 for being too primitive to consider using. The same engineers were shocked to see it being used in the T-34 that Stalin shipped to the US so US engineers could determine why it was such a POS. Those engineers were amused when they saw it again in 1953 when a new T-34/85 abandoned in Korea by the Chinese was sent stateside for evaluation. In 1943 they sent Stalin a very long list of all the crappy components and found the same crappy parts on the 1953 model.
Sithus1966 ☆ Remember the "Mild Violence" warning label? That's for the endless loop mind control muzak. Just remember Stimpy grooving to "Muddy Mud Skipper" theme song
Awesome video. Just a tip, to put it into first or reverse, pull that little spoon thingy of the gear leaver (don't know the English word) to do so. Otherwise, awesome.
GorkaMorka92 My father drove a t34 in the army (yes, Bulgarian army fielded t34's 20 years ago, much to our shame) and I showed him the video and he laughed at how he struggled.
Duh, I didn't even notice that. Obviously, it's a safety interlock. I'm surprised he could shift at all without squeezing that. It's supposed to prevent you from shifting into reverse by accident, although if I recall on the T-34 it was supposed to lock the gear in place to keep it from popping out. Not sure how it's set up, but apparently it can still be shifted without it, just not easily. I'm surprised that he didn't know that, and that no-one mentioned it to him. They've been using those on various machine controls since the 19th century. Some downsides to being used to modern equipment. Still, most modern truck drivers would know what it was for, or at least ask! It's not for looks!
Hristo Balabanov Cant we call that thingy as a second clutch? I think I think it works in kinda the same way. Not sure. Btw greet your father (if he still alive) from me. I will salute him for his work in the army and I do think that the T-34s wasnt easy to controll as a driver. Im from Denmark btw, but I like history and WW2 and highly looking up to T-34, as I knew what it was made for during the war. I do like to drive a T-34 myself, but I had never driven a tank before, let alone a tracked vehicle. And Im abit large, so Im not sure if I can squeeze meself through the hatches
I saw something where they were able to interview a former T-34 commander (I'm not sure if it was the old 2 man, or the 3 man crewed version), but he said they worked out a system where he put his feet on his driver's shoulders, and by nudging the driver, he could get the driver to turn wherever he wanted. That makes sense. I saw something else about a German Tiger tank ace named Wittman, and had an insight about his ability. He was already an ace in Stugs, which, as you know, are turretless. So in a Stug, to turn the gun, you have to pivot the whole track. The thing with that is, the track can actually pivot a bunch faster than a tank's turret can traverse (at least in those days), and if you can aim that way, you can pick out targets a bunch faster in a battle. But doing this requires a coordinated team effort, since the driver is in control of the azimuth, and the gunner can only control the elevation, or the range. So, the commander has to coordinate the two of them, such that the movement of the whole thing becomes fluid, it's not that easy to do. And as I had that insight, they mentioned that Wittman took his crew from the Stugs with him everywhere he went. And they wanted him to get out of combat, and train new tank crews, where he would have been far more useful. But he didn't go for that for very long, he felt his place was back on the battlefield, where he was killed. But I can just picture him and his crew in Tiger, and what made him so good: he would still pivot the whole tank around to pick targets, very, very quickly. And all the while, he would just leave the turret facing forwards, and wouldn't bother to traverse it all, using the Tiger tank like a big Stug. So I am thinking that those Russians had the same idea with the feet on the driver's shoulders, that's actually a brilliant idea, if that was the case.
Yeah, it was a staple of T-34 driving. It actually exhausted the drivers by quite a margin. Seeing this, one feels more inclined to approve the ergonomics one could find in, say, a Tiger, even if it makes more complex. Because tired people do not respond that well under combat.
Richardsen The bow machine gunners often assisted the driver in shifting gears whenever the bow machine gun isn't needed, which would be most of the time.
In the video he mentions this, he states that a foot more of room wouldn't matter. The "floor" was uneven, and it's a cramped space. Did you watch the video??
Seeing that this one was well maintained was a surprise. From the videos Chieftain has done at Kubinka, the interiors mostly look like the tanks were just pulled out of a lake rather than being kept in a museum.
Brilliant video! Am I right in thinking that the T-34 was ahead of most other tank designs in WWII in as much as it used a diesel engine and thereby had a much reduced risk of caching fire?
I just feel sad for him when he tries to change the gear, like you could see that struggle and pain in him, but he did a good job at explaining about the tank, thanks for the vid! :)
Nicolas thanks for the report, but some points for consideration: - you are 2m tall, and its a problem. But, soviet crewman were selected under 1.70m or even 1,60. With over 3mln man under arms and just about 50.000 tanks - no probelm to find some right people. same in air force for the MiG-15. The infantry, in the opposite, need tall man. They can carry more- - smaller tank makes the armor thikness better, and the angles take even more additional space. - The full simplicity of design made the great manufacturing numbers, and the win in the end. The gear shift system of tiger one or the panther had more parts as the whole T-34, and bouth could knock each other out from 500m in front.
Great series of videos. Reminds me of Ricky out of Trailer Park Boys' car. (To his ten year old daughter before she takes his car out to the shop) "Remember Trinity, First is third, second is first and third is reverse okay?" heh. Thanks for the upload.
Great channel with amazing vids. Could you possibly reupload without the music? I'm hard of hearing and the music makes the dialogue a bit muddled to me.
Great video. I am in awe of these Soviet tankers. I have heard that there was a height restriction - and they could be no more than 5'4' tall. After seeing this video I can believe it. But please, why, why, why the droning bloody awful background music! for 25 minutes!! nearly drove me mad. Remove it please.
Awesome video. For so many years i'm looking for some footage of the T-34/85 interieuer., and i'm afraigth of how cramped these tanks were. It must be a nightmare going into battle with these...
Try war thunder simulator battle controls for tanks. You'll see that, quoting BohemianEagle aka "Mighty Jingles", you "should be careful for what you wish for realism, you might not like it"
Appletank8 Yeah, and also it would be a DISADVANTAGE to them. Auto gear shift in game is just easier to play. And since 99.9% of players not played "simulator" battles, because WoT is an ARCADE game, those players can or will happily play War Thunder instead.
same day they implement running out of fuel and having your tank break down because of random mechanical failure before it even gets to the front (though random disconnects might be seen as just that, but they don't happen nearly enough to realistically simulate reality)...
Great video. I have had some training on russian troop transporter MT-LB in the 90s Some gears were impossible to shift gear into unless you double clutched. If they still use the same gear box that could be the issue with T-34😊
Question for Nicholas Moran and his production crew... Do you plan to make a review of Panther(Pz-V) and Pz-IV? I'm very interesting in Nicholas opinion on Panther as it was a prime time arch rival of T-34-85. I know that museum in Koobeenkah have both, but mobile only Pz IV, unfortunately I think. However it is very interesting comparison of T-34 to Pz-V, so many documentaries on both tanks, but I've learn a lot from your reviews. Awesome job, you people are doing! Thanks a lot!
That and most semi autos of the time had a reciprocating slide which I would think would be quite sketchy to stick up to or through a tiny whole in the tank wall...
And the Nagant revolver produced less recoil than the rather powerful semi-auto Tokarev. Probably not a deciding factor on its own, but something you would appreciate if you can't take a properly stable firing stance.
Mr Chieftain, Your sense of humour is as dry as an old ANZAC biscuit and getting in and out of the T34, you look about as graceful, as a giraffe on roller skates! Still, very Informative and interesting, but at the same time, hilarious! Keep up the great work! PS. Agree, the music could be a couple of octaves lower. After watching one of your videos I can't get the riff out of my head!
Amen to the music comments. Please, in future, lose it. It is intensely irritating, especially in the longer presentations. That said, as a former Cold War tanker...this stuff is great!
Love the bloopers These two in particular "Inside! (Proceeds to go in, a crunch sound is heard)...ow" "There are 22 rounds... (Arf arf arf...arf arf arf) Okay that was unexpected (more arfs)."
According to the opinion of the American tank experts at Aberdeen Proving Ground who investigated a T-34/85 without treads built in late 1945 and captured in Korea during the war there in the early '50s, the transmission was without synchronization and the method used to deal with that was termed crash shifting. With less than 500 miles on the odometer the gearbox oil in this particular tank had accumulated about half-a-cup of metal torn from the gear teeth in it. They also reported that the turret, unlike almost all other tanks of the era, had no bottom to the basket, which meant that a crewmember out of his seat during turret rotation would have to step among extra ammo, spent brass, or whatever else might be in the bottom of the tank as the turret turned or else be dragged along and likely injured as the turret rotated. I've often wondered how the Soviets got the diesel engines in those things started during the Russian winter while the Germans were failing to get their gasoline-powered tanks cranked. I owned a diesel-powered 1978 Mercedes 300D for many years, which would only crank in cold weather after the glow plugs warmed the cylinders for 15-30 seconds or so, so I guess that's how they did it, but I still wonder. Maybe they also used block heaters, which my old Mercedes could have been retrofitted with. Using diesel fuel was smart, not only because it's less dangerous than gasoline, but it has 6% more energy per gallon.
+Sabra S How to start diesel engines in a cold weather? Per Eric Hartman(top German ace) when they captured a Russian mechanic, he showed that they pore gasoline into an engine oil pan, then light the match and that usually do the trick..., but that is for airplanes. May question would be how in the world did they keep diesel fuel from gelling up in those temperatures!
+Sabra S I don't know about the tanks, but two techniques were widely used for trucks: Not turning engine off, and setting a small fire under a fuel tank - as long as there was no leaking, or the fire didn't damage some rubber wires, there was no big danger of setting whole thing on fire.
I've read articles that say that crews would light fires under the engine bays of the tank when they stopped for the night, and keep them going all night. The crews would be sleeping on the engine decks, so it also kept them from freezing to death in Russian winters. Or, I guess, they could just keep them running all night.
Its no joke that drivers would use a hammer for gear shifting in T-34's haha. I love everything about the T-34-85, even its faults. It's such a beauty in its simplicity and has a monster round.
Love these tank vids. Great work. The music track does detract some what. Overly repetitive and drowned out the sound of the engine. I want to hear the tanks diesel song.
Binge rewatching Nick's hatch videos.. I wonder how many loaders were injured in the 85.. bigger gun, fast traverse, no turret basket.. broken/severed ankles and feet..
With the gearshift being as difficult as it is, I remember seeing on a video put up by the mighty jingles as he was invited to tiger day at the bovington tank museum that someone there while talking about the T-34's said that the drivers would actually have hammers to assist with changing into gear.
+Nate Gardner not exactly to change, it seems that the lever sometimes got really stuck and it was't possible to put it in neutral. Some direction levers were also very hard to move, and it is famous a driver that steered the tank using a hammer in each hand to hit the levers, something more like a drum player. Or maybe it is just a legend.
Interesting video. Moran says that in 1942 the Sherman was the best tank. It would seem that there must be a bias on his part. For example when he looks at the T34/85 he complains that to access the engine/transmission/cooling system you need a 'tool' to undo some bolts, yet at the same time he marvels how on the Sherman you undo some bolts (about 50) to service the transmission. Moran also criticizes that the T34 has thick armor in the rear - that that is not the most effective use of the additional weight . Such an odd comment because as we all know there are so many examples of dealing with the German heavy tanks was getting behind them where the armor was thinner. If Moran's approach would have been followed and the T34 had thinner armor in the rear a Panzer III (with a 50MM gun) could have knocked out a T34 from the rear. He also says he does not like the T34 because in his opinion it was designed to meet the needs of the state but not the crew. We all know the day Germany invaded Russia, they did not have a single tank that could kill the crew inside of a T34 - the crew were too well protected, and at the same time the T34 had the largest anti-tank gun (mounted on a tank) that could kill all invading German tanks. How isn't that meeting the needs of the crew?
It strikes me that while we all know out ancestors were shorter (and young 17 year olds are always more nimble to get in and out of a tank like that), the confines of some Soviet tanks may have been part of the reason - beyond that of just using everyone - of female tankers. They'd be even shorter, in general, than the male tankers. I've often read about Soviet tankers using big hammers to get them in and out of gear, and for gear shifts, and this sort of shows why. The tanks were great, but blunt, tools for the job. Nick, this may not be your job, but with your Russian contacts it may be a great business advertisement to gather up good parts about the history of some of their female tankers and to present it as a WoT video. All of us in the west have read parts of the stories, but I'm positive there are better and more stories the Russians would have access to. it would be a great history lesson, and may appeal to female gamers' interest in the game. Presented by you, or a female staff member of War Gaming, it could be a very interesting video.
Spearfisher1970 Female Soviet tankers? Haven't heard of that one before. Seems interesting, nevertheless. I'm sure the feminists in the US would enjoy it. Maybe they'll all move to Russia. [Do note that I, personally, have no quarrel with the idea of equal rights for all genders. It's the feminist extremists that I do not enjoy.]
Thelothuo They had female sniper's and combat pilots too, especially in the 1941-1943 time frame when they were extremely desperate for anyone who could fly, drive or pull a trigger.
Spearfisher1970 If I do something of that nature, it will likely be in the form of a written Chieftain's Hatch article on my column, as opposed to a video.
Je trouve sa très bien que tu donnes tes vrai impression au lieu de vouloir faire plaisir une excellente vidéo pour tout ceux qui veulent s'intéressez à ce char mythique
Chieftain: this tank seems to have been designed for the needs of the state with little regard for the crew. Uncle Joe: Excellent feedback, comrade. You will have much time to further develop this line of thought in Siberia.
@@mishacol Not in many of the camps. Few of them had death rates as bad as front-line combat units, but most people weren't in front-line combat units. You'd be a lot better off and safer as a truck driver or factory worker.
Love series, watch over and over as I hoover up more ww2 history. With the number of men the Soviets called up what was the average height and weight of their armoured troops, 5'2" 120lbs, some guys not breaking 5'?
Great vidoes, such fantastic information, interesting background info etc. But for the love of GOD! Kill the annoying music. Why play music when someone is talking, especially when they are so informative. But greats vids
thanks for these awesome videos …. lowering the volume of the background music (or removing it) would help all non english mothertounge a lot keep up the great work
actually, to address the TC knees into the gunners back, i read that in the case of the sherman tanks, or stuart tanks, the knees in the back helped to keep both the gunner and the TC static through the bumps and recoil etc.
Tanks are great of course, but did we really need to have the annoying and distracting music?
Not you too, Lloyd!
I feel the need to suddenly love and embrace the music as an required aspect of the videos. That said, still love your videos Lindy (even though I have quibbles from time to time).
How dare you insult the music of my childhood )-:
Newer vids do not have the said annoying music. Funny it never annoyed me until you pointed it out.
Exactly! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
23:55 - About the "protester" who stole a decommissioned T-34 in 2006, on the memorial day of the 1956 Hungarian revolution: that was actually a pretty old guy who used to serve the Hungarian (or rather: Soviet) army back in the day as a tank crewmember. His goal wasn't to attack the police, but to cause a bit more chaos, and, according to the guy himeself: "to have a little fun".
I have to say it... that guy is a legend
Also apparently he did it since he knew what he was doing and did not want someone else to take it not know what they are doing and hurt someone
@@quinnthespin5407 He's crazy but he's no fool. I respect him.
What I found disturbing or just weird about the whole event is a monument tank still having fuel in it. I can't remember if it was started up by battery or compressed air, but either is still weird to have in a monument.
Ivan the great tonk destroyer returns!
You are an honest, intelligent, informative, fellow with a great sense oh dry humor.
I'd buy a used tank from you any-day.
😂
In soviet russia, gear shifts you.
Ya? In Nazi Germany Adolf sends you to your death to make bankers richer.
Erg Budster
no, lol, he hated bankers
Alex Keil hahahaha
+Erg Budster no thats us
i just saw this comment and it made my day
It was hard to change gears because you did not have the amazingly easy to use Stalinium hammer that is standard issue for the Motherland's glorious tankers.
Mr. Monocle High class man I am sorry Komrade I have disappointed Stalin.
Mr. Monocle High class man Will I be sent to the Gulag?
+Douglas Fulmer Da, you socialist pig, your only use is for building of train rails.
petersimon pieters I will pray to Stalin this day and sacrifice many goats in his name.
+Douglas Fulmer that will not work comrade because we do not believe in sacrificing in great Mother Russia
What made you think that twenty five minutes of intro music played in competition to the narration
was a 'stonking' idea?
I disapprove
@@stonks6616 LMAO REPLY 4 YEARS L8TER
Panzerkampfwagen Ausführung B e
@@stonks6616 omegalul
These are great presentations and on behalf of all the tank loving community (veterans, hobbyists, military history buffs, engineers, crazy guys like me, etc) I thank "World of Tanks" for such high quality videos. I appreciate your unbiased and factual descriptions of each feature (good or bad) of these combat vehicles regardless of their country of origin.
I would just make a "little" suggestion, if I may. These videos as watched by many supporters whose native language may not be English, in which case, the music may interfere with their understanding of the more technical terms used in these lectures. I would suggests to just turn the music down a bit, thank you. Keep on the phenomenal work! Ciao, L
***** Hi Smith, yes that is a great idea, a music soundtrack from these countries would be more realistic and also more respectful of the what they are describing, after all, a lot of people died with/in these vehicles. Good point, Ciao, L
+lancelot1953 also they have a lot of languages in the subtitles option
callum findlay Hi Callum, I did not know about the multi-language feature in the options, thank you for informing me, Ciao, L
lancelot1953 nope
The music makes the commentary difficult to understand at times, and it needs a change occasionally. High paced music to generate excitement doesn't really match the detailed, sober analysis. The content is outstanding, and it's brilliant to see, but the music is making it almost unwatchable to this hearing impaired ex-soldier.
I'm 63 and loved this complete video. Thank you very much to everyone.
My father's tank from 1941 to 1945. Thank you very much.
Congratulations!!! They fought for their country and honor!!!❤
music. driving. me. nuts.
TUTUDU TUTUDU TUTUDU TUTU TATTI TI TI
Torture
😂
DUKE NUKEM 👌 perfect
At this point, it's kind of hilarious that this lesson wasn't learned after the first time.
The music in the back round constantly playing, kills this video. Good walk thru, i seen plenty i didn't know about. Now i want to tinker more with my 1/6 scale T34
I wonder who thought that the music was a good idea
it could be lowered a few notches
Like, to zero, please? Not only does it occasionally obscure Nick's narration. it's f'king maddening!!!
I struggled through but it was driving me mad too.
"Hey guys, I finished that short intro music clip you wanted!"
"Intro music? Naw, we're gonna play this on a loop for 25 minutes! It'll be great!"
They should have put Soviet Union anthem hardbass or something like that
I wish the background music was shot at by the 34's main gun . This constant racket of b g music makes it impossible for certain hearing impaired persons to understand the commentator. Tried to watch it but sadly, as I love this stuff, I had to quit trying to understand the commentator.
Captions maybe?
I loved the music.
Joe Schmoe you are satan incarnate
I never even noticed the music
There are actually a few remote places in the world where it is still being used. They are being used in the Yemen conflict. They run a cord from the manual firing trigger out the pistol hole and pull from the outside of the tank as the brass has been reused so many times they have ruptured shell casings occasionally when they're fired and you don't want to be in the turret when that happens.
Outstanding, Nicholas.
lol reply 1 year l8ter
didn't expect to see you here....
No ...he was standing out in the previous video only !!
This is a joke
The life of a WW2 tanker must have been a pretty miserable buisness.
Yes
Bacon Space Program
The poor poor loader. Sometimes it seems like the T-34 was made to hurt its own crew instead of the enemy.
I read from both fiction and non-fiction books that even tanks as late as the T-72 had some bad design that could cause serious physical injury to the crew.
+max mustermann The designer of this tank died from pneumonia he gained during 1000 km test run.
+max mustermann Sherman was made to hurt its own crew .....
Great but ... I had to watch it in stages. The endless guitar riff was just too distracting and annoying! Other than that this is excellent.
same matter same for me, to loud music
+sjoormen1 yes true,some soft music will do..
+John Mather Music is annoying indeed.
i reaaaally hope they get rid of the music while he's talking.... big mistake.... i wanna watch more episodes, but that music....GAWD!!! *and im a guitar TEACHER!!! haaaaahahahaaa
you had to watch it in stages because you did not have Slavination , go get a bottle of Vodka and drink it , that will make you learn better ))))
The best ww2 weapons documentaries i've ever seen. It was very thorough, however, the background music wasn't welcome
A great Video ! Very good ! Thank you. But one thing .... the music is horrible !
I don't know how many times i have watched this video. I love it. And Nicholas Moran is a great presenter. Love it! Goodbye all the way from Romania.
Excellent!! This is the true 'Inside the Chieftain's Hatch' that we used to be seeing before those 'snapshots' episodes!.. Nice work, informative and amusing, keep up the good work Chieftain.. cheers
I was a M551 driver for three years in the 70's. I never felt claustrophobic. My chest was tight just watching the view for the driver and especially the machine gunner. Yikes! My floor hatch was HUGE compared to that thing.
Really good video. But for gosh sake turn off the the repetitive music.
Yeah, I don't mind little musical interludes/accents at the end of scenes but the constant blare of annoying guitar is atrocious.
RESPECT Probably the Best T34 Video I've seen.
That Particular Tank a Joy to behold.
Annoying background noise. Apart from that a great show.
17:00 OMG OMG OMG. The shear thrill it must be... to be sitting in a FREAKING TANK as it comes to life and starts creeping forward. There's something that hits at the pure essence of what it means to be a man. I'll never forget the thrill I experienced when I learned how to use the clutch in my first car which had a 5-speed transmission.
I like the longer video length.
Would love to see an hour of "Moran Out Takes and Bloopers".
"And it allows the round to fall to the floor, where the loader can then trip over it." GG Ivan xD
very nice and funny episode : D Nicholas looked nervous while driving t34-85, but its understandable. more or less this machine is relic.
I think he was afraid he would run over something.
ofc, that was I mean.
This. Especially going backward without vision...against the wall...
the "ramp" for lining up the track pins back, and that turret traversing device, are the most briliant design features i see in this tank
I would like to mention that this tank (the T34/85 is not alone in this, of course) has a significant shot trap under the mantlet-even worse than the earlier (M40 to M42) versions. Why the turret is sited so far forward is perhaps an engineer's best solution to some other proportion difficulty, but it makes the tank far more vulnerable to incoming fire, and front protection is supposed to be a tank's main defense. It seems to me upon reflection that the whole purpose of increasing armor on the turret front is negated by the creation of a serious shot trap caused by the overhang compounded by the shape of the mantlet. This is why the Panther G had its mantlet modified; to remove that very vulnerability.
Should not a tank's front form a more or less perfect slope with no marked undercut? I would think that would be a major design paradigm, given the distribution of armor (specifically, its preponderance on the frontal vector of almost every tank ever made). But, here, any shot low on the turret front would be directed into the turret ring; would it not?
With all the accounts I've heard of tankers trying to escape burning vehicles, seeing Nick fail to escape from that hatch was upsetting. These are weapons of war. Still, this was a very insightful pair of videos. Brilliant, I think.
Not just you, Nicholas. I have heard that T-34 drivers made a habit of keeping a hammer handy to assist in gear changes.
its made of Stalinium, handed out by Stalin himself. -.-
The hammer is mostly used on heavy tanks, particularly the kv series
And the sickle to get out of the driver's seat! (joke)
The bow gunner used the tank's sledgehammer to knock the lever where the driver wanted. The T-34's used an agricultural tractor transmission that the US Army automotive engineers rejected in 1921 for being too primitive to consider using. The same engineers were shocked to see it being used in the T-34 that Stalin shipped to the US so US engineers could determine why it was such a POS. Those engineers were amused when they saw it again in 1953 when a new T-34/85 abandoned in Korea by the Chinese was sent stateside for evaluation. In 1943 they sent Stalin a very long list of all the crappy components and found the same crappy parts on the 1953 model.
@@billwilson3609 if only you weren't ignorant dumbo... There were no model 1953 of T-34-85...
Love it !! The Chieftain looked quite worried as he was selecting the gears and almost guessing whether he was in neutral or not !!
I think these would be a lot better if the music wasn't constantly repeating over and over again in the background.
Sithus1966 ☆ Remember the "Mild Violence" warning label?
That's for the endless loop mind control muzak. Just remember Stimpy grooving to "Muddy Mud Skipper" theme song
@paradigm respawn lol XD
that is Wargaming's music - it will ALWAYS be on any video uploaded that refers to them in any way
From the very first note this track is fantastic. I can listen to it on repeat for hours and still feels new.
Awesome video.
Just a tip, to put it into first or reverse, pull that little spoon thingy of the gear leaver (don't know the English word) to do so.
Otherwise, awesome.
How do you know that? Just curious where you've learned that.
GorkaMorka92 My father drove a t34 in the army (yes, Bulgarian army fielded t34's 20 years ago, much to our shame) and I showed him the video and he laughed at how he struggled.
Well, our army still had Panzer IV:s as training vehicles back then. Rather unsurprisingly replaced by Leopards when I was in service, but still.
Duh, I didn't even notice that. Obviously, it's a safety interlock. I'm surprised he could shift at all without squeezing that. It's supposed to prevent you from shifting into reverse by accident, although if I recall on the T-34 it was supposed to lock the gear in place to keep it from popping out. Not sure how it's set up, but apparently it can still be shifted without it, just not easily. I'm surprised that he didn't know that, and that no-one mentioned it to him. They've been using those on various machine controls since the 19th century. Some downsides to being used to modern equipment. Still, most modern truck drivers would know what it was for, or at least ask! It's not for looks!
Hristo Balabanov Cant we call that thingy as a second clutch? I think I think it works in kinda the same way. Not sure. Btw greet your father (if he still alive) from me. I will salute him for his work in the army and I do think that the T-34s wasnt easy to controll as a driver. Im from Denmark btw, but I like history and WW2 and highly looking up to T-34, as I knew what it was made for during the war. I do like to drive a T-34 myself, but I had never driven a tank before, let alone a tracked vehicle. And Im abit large, so Im not sure if I can squeeze meself through the hatches
Not sure if the music loop or the gear stick were worse, but this was extremely entertaining, thank you WG.
Btw. the gear lever is hard to pull beacuse they havent had time to sand it so it has rough edges, like 90 degree so that why its hard to move it
thanks for the video, it was really, really good of them to let you start and move their vehicle. Thank you to both you and the museum for this
Love the vid, you could drop the nerve wracking music!
Couldn't watch anymore because of the music.... very good and informative
somone has to say it .. in Soviet Russia, Clutch depresses YOU.
German didin't expect the Russian tanks to be manned by psychos, either :)
More-so the KV-1. The T-34, not as much as media describes it.
Pretty sharp.
I saw something where they were able to interview a former T-34 commander (I'm not sure if it was the old 2 man, or the 3 man crewed version), but he said they worked out a system where he put his feet on his driver's shoulders, and by nudging the driver, he could get the driver to turn wherever he wanted. That makes sense.
I saw something else about a German Tiger tank ace named Wittman, and had an insight about his ability. He was already an ace in Stugs, which, as you know, are turretless. So in a Stug, to turn the gun, you have to pivot the whole track. The thing with that is, the track can actually pivot a bunch faster than a tank's turret can traverse (at least in those days), and if you can aim that way, you can pick out targets a bunch faster in a battle. But doing this requires a coordinated team effort, since the driver is in control of the azimuth, and the gunner can only control the elevation, or the range. So, the commander has to coordinate the two of them, such that the movement of the whole thing becomes fluid, it's not that easy to do. And as I had that insight, they mentioned that Wittman took his crew from the Stugs with him everywhere he went. And they wanted him to get out of combat, and train new tank crews, where he would have been far more useful. But he didn't go for that for very long, he felt his place was back on the battlefield, where he was killed. But I can just picture him and his crew in Tiger, and what made him so good: he would still pivot the whole tank around to pick targets, very, very quickly. And all the while, he would just leave the turret facing forwards, and wouldn't bother to traverse it all, using the Tiger tank like a big Stug.
So I am thinking that those Russians had the same idea with the feet on the driver's shoulders, that's actually a brilliant idea, if that was the case.
I never thought gear shifting was so complicated
Yeah, it was a staple of T-34 driving. It actually exhausted the drivers by quite a margin. Seeing this, one feels more inclined to approve the ergonomics one could find in, say, a Tiger, even if it makes more complex. Because tired people do not respond that well under combat.
Richardsen The bow machine gunners often assisted the driver in shifting gears whenever the bow machine gun isn't needed, which would be most of the time.
He wasn't gripping the johnson bar when trying to shift.
I wonder if the bow gunner helped with gear changing, I used to own a 1949 tractor that needed a helper( or a lump hammer) to change gear!
Decadent Irishman lacks correct level of Soviet malnutrition for correct tank operation, Mo! 😁
Of course you're not gonna be comfortable, you're at least a foot taller than the maximum allowed height for a soviet tanker!
Either soviets are that short or he's just too long... or both
Actually even if you're right at the height, it's not made for crew comforts...
@Nick Sambides Jr. Diesels make almost no CO, unlike gasoline engines
In the video he mentions this, he states that a foot more of room wouldn't matter. The "floor" was uneven, and it's a cramped space. Did you watch the video??
Soviet tankers were especially chosen between the shortest man available in hand.
🤷🏼🤷🏼
"We had a small incident with the memory card and the turret monster..."
Goodness I have to hear this one.
Excellent. This link shows glimpses of a well-maintained interior of a functional T-34... used dysfunctionally
Seeing that this one was well maintained was a surprise. From the videos Chieftain has done at Kubinka, the interiors mostly look like the tanks were just pulled out of a lake rather than being kept in a museum.
Brilliant video! Am I right in thinking that the T-34 was ahead of most other tank designs in WWII in as much as it used a diesel engine and thereby had a much reduced risk of caching fire?
I just feel sad for him when he tries to change the gear, like you could see that struggle and pain in him, but he did a good job at explaining about the tank, thanks for the vid! :)
Conversation goes like this :
Western tanker : " this isn't comfortable. "
Soviet commander :
" get in the tank."
the video was ok but the music really was great, wonderful rhythm. I ply it while I am kicking back and reading. Great sounds.
Nicolas thanks for the report, but some points for consideration:
- you are 2m tall, and its a problem. But, soviet crewman were selected under 1.70m or even 1,60. With over 3mln man under arms and just about 50.000 tanks - no probelm to find some right people. same in air force for the MiG-15. The infantry, in the opposite, need tall man. They can carry more-
- smaller tank makes the armor thikness better, and the angles take even more additional space.
- The full simplicity of design made the great manufacturing numbers, and the win in the end. The gear shift system of tiger one or the panther had more parts as the whole T-34, and bouth could knock each other out from 500m in front.
Great series of videos. Reminds me of Ricky out of Trailer Park Boys' car. (To his ten year old daughter before she takes his car out to the shop) "Remember Trinity, First is third, second is first and third is reverse okay?" heh. Thanks for the upload.
Great channel with amazing vids. Could you possibly reupload without the music? I'm hard of hearing and the music makes the dialogue a bit muddled to me.
excellent video. that tank is really claustrophobic, i don't want to think what it felt like in battle being in there.
this series is so interesting, but jesus man, the background music is almost literally driving me mad... PLEASE REUPLOAD WITHOUT MUSIC
Great video, I do feel claustrophobic watching you inside the tank.
Great stuff, but my god could you cut the music?
Yea,the background 'music's irritable, advertisers use it in ads,I've got an MBA,marketing major...it's patronising..negative marketing..cunts
Great explanation of operations! Kudos
Great video. I am in awe of these Soviet tankers. I have heard that there was a height restriction - and they could be no more than 5'4' tall. After seeing this video I can believe it. But please, why, why, why the droning bloody awful background music! for 25 minutes!! nearly drove me mad. Remove it please.
And anyone know how tall our host is?
@@ThePaulfullTruth he is 6ft8
Awesome video. For so many years i'm looking for some footage of the T-34/85 interieuer., and i'm afraigth of how cramped these tanks were. It must be a nightmare going into battle with these...
Can't wait until they implement gear-shifts in WoT.
Ne-ver.
Try war thunder simulator battle controls for tanks.
You'll see that, quoting BohemianEagle aka "Mighty Jingles", you "should be careful for what you wish for realism, you might not like it"
they wont do that! it would give disadvantage to glorious soviet tanks comrade!
Appletank8 Yeah, and also it would be a DISADVANTAGE to them. Auto gear shift in game is just easier to play. And since 99.9% of players not played "simulator" battles, because WoT is an ARCADE game, those players can or will happily play War Thunder instead.
same day they implement running out of fuel and having your tank break down because of random mechanical failure before it even gets to the front (though random disconnects might be seen as just that, but they don't happen nearly enough to realistically simulate reality)...
Great video. I have had some training on russian troop transporter MT-LB in the 90s Some gears were impossible to shift gear into unless you double clutched. If they still use the same gear box that could be the issue with T-34😊
T-34-85 does have commander's overrride.
There was a second panoramic gunner's sight for indirect fire.
You don't know anything
Thank you for the comments on crew training.
"Large metal components interfacing with his head"
Question for Nicholas Moran and his production crew... Do you plan to make a review of Panther(Pz-V) and Pz-IV? I'm very interesting in Nicholas opinion on Panther as it was a prime time arch rival of T-34-85. I know that museum in Koobeenkah have both, but mobile only Pz IV, unfortunately I think. However it is very interesting comparison of T-34 to Pz-V, so many documentaries on both tanks, but I've learn a lot from your reviews. Awesome job, you people are doing! Thanks a lot!
The crews probably preferred revolvers so that they didn't have to deal with spent shell casings flying throughout the turret interior.
That and most semi autos of the time had a reciprocating slide which I would think would be quite sketchy to stick up to or through a tiny whole in the tank wall...
And the Nagant revolver produced less recoil than the rather powerful semi-auto Tokarev. Probably not a deciding factor on its own, but something you would appreciate if you can't take a properly stable firing stance.
Mr Chieftain, Your sense of humour is as dry as an old ANZAC biscuit and getting in and out of the T34, you look about as graceful, as a giraffe on roller skates! Still, very Informative and interesting, but at the same time, hilarious! Keep up the great work!
PS. Agree, the music could be a couple of octaves lower. After watching one of your videos I can't get the riff out of my head!
Amen to the music comments. Please, in future, lose it. It is intensely irritating, especially in the longer presentations. That said, as a former Cold War tanker...this stuff is great!
They've been using the same song for over 4 years now.
@@BungieStudios i dont mind it having the music as a bridge to another section but wtf is the poin having it for 25 minutes while someone is talking
All Tanks are Cool to me and DEATH TRAPS also. Great show learned a lot of good stuff.
I now officially suffer of claustrophobia. To go in battle in that deathtrap must have been an unspeakable anguish.
Love the bloopers
These two in particular
"Inside! (Proceeds to go in, a crunch sound is heard)...ow"
"There are 22 rounds... (Arf arf arf...arf arf arf) Okay that was unexpected (more arfs)."
According to the opinion of the American tank experts at Aberdeen Proving Ground who investigated a T-34/85 without treads built in late 1945 and captured in Korea during the war there in the early '50s, the transmission was without synchronization and the method used to deal with that was termed crash shifting. With less than 500 miles on the odometer the gearbox oil in this particular tank had accumulated about half-a-cup of metal torn from the gear teeth in it.
They also reported that the turret, unlike almost all other tanks of the era, had no bottom to the basket, which meant that a crewmember out of his seat during turret rotation would have to step among extra ammo, spent brass, or whatever else might be in the bottom of the tank as the turret turned or else be dragged along and likely injured as the turret rotated.
I've often wondered how the Soviets got the diesel engines in those things started during the Russian winter while the Germans were failing to get their gasoline-powered tanks cranked. I owned a diesel-powered 1978 Mercedes 300D for many years, which would only crank in cold weather after the glow plugs warmed the cylinders for 15-30 seconds or so, so I guess that's how they did it, but I still wonder. Maybe they also used block heaters, which my old Mercedes could have been retrofitted with.
Using diesel fuel was smart, not only because it's less dangerous than gasoline, but it has 6% more energy per gallon.
+Sabra S That is the reason of the compressed air auxiliary starting device, that he talks about in the video.
+Sabra S How to start diesel engines in a cold weather? Per Eric Hartman(top German ace) when they captured a Russian mechanic, he showed that they pore gasoline into an engine oil pan, then light the match and that usually do the trick..., but that is for airplanes. May question would be how in the world did they keep diesel fuel from gelling up in those temperatures!
+Sabra S I don't know about the tanks, but two techniques were widely used for trucks: Not turning engine off, and setting a small fire under a fuel tank - as long as there was no leaking, or the fire didn't damage some rubber wires, there was no big danger of setting whole thing on fire.
+3DBlockBuster I guess they were using additives. Soviets had big problems with their tanks freezing in the Winter War and have learned hard lesson.
I've read articles that say that crews would light fires under the engine bays of the tank when they stopped for the night, and keep them going all night. The crews would be sleeping on the engine decks, so it also kept them from freezing to death in Russian winters.
Or, I guess, they could just keep them running all night.
very interesting learned some details about the vehicle thanks Nicholas Moran!
these are very enjoyable, thank you. music is however distracting and unnecessary.
Its no joke that drivers would use a hammer for gear shifting in T-34's haha. I love everything about the T-34-85, even its faults. It's such a beauty in its simplicity and has a monster round.
why the music? are you in a disco
I really like your objective presentation without dissing the equipment just for the fact that its Soviet.
Love these tank vids. Great work. The music track does detract some what. Overly repetitive and drowned out the sound of the engine. I want to hear the tanks diesel song.
Binge rewatching Nick's hatch videos.. I wonder how many loaders were injured in the 85.. bigger gun, fast traverse, no turret basket.. broken/severed ankles and feet..
The music! OMG! the most irritating, psyko rage it brings!
Darksylmoran ☆ That's the Reason behind the "Mild Violence" warning.
You may feel compelled to go step on some ants, later.
Uncontrollable Urges.
With the gearshift being as difficult as it is, I remember seeing on a video put up by the mighty jingles as he was invited to tiger day at the bovington tank museum that someone there while talking about the T-34's said that the drivers would actually have hammers to assist with changing into gear.
+Nate Gardner not exactly to change, it seems that the lever sometimes got really stuck and it was't possible to put it in neutral.
Some direction levers were also very hard to move, and it is famous a driver that steered the tank using a hammer in each hand to hit the levers, something more like a drum player.
Or maybe it is just a legend.
The verbal commentary is good info but the music background makes it hard to watch. Do this series again but lose the music.
Interesting video. Moran says that in 1942 the Sherman was the best tank. It would seem that there must be a bias on his part. For example when he looks at the T34/85 he complains that to access the engine/transmission/cooling system you need a 'tool' to undo some bolts, yet at the same time he marvels how on the Sherman you undo some bolts (about 50) to service the transmission. Moran also criticizes that the T34 has thick armor in the rear - that that is not the most effective use of the additional weight . Such an odd comment because as we all know there are so many examples of dealing with the German heavy tanks was getting behind them where the armor was thinner. If Moran's approach would have been followed and the T34 had thinner armor in the rear a Panzer III (with a 50MM gun) could have knocked out a T34 from the rear. He also says he does not like the T34 because in his opinion it was designed to meet the needs of the state but not the crew. We all know the day Germany invaded Russia, they did not have a single tank that could kill the crew inside of a T34 - the crew were too well protected, and at the same time the T34 had the largest anti-tank gun (mounted on a tank) that could kill all invading German tanks. How isn't that meeting the needs of the crew?
It strikes me that while we all know out ancestors were shorter (and young 17 year olds are always more nimble to get in and out of a tank like that), the confines of some Soviet tanks may have been part of the reason - beyond that of just using everyone - of female tankers. They'd be even shorter, in general, than the male tankers.
I've often read about Soviet tankers using big hammers to get them in and out of gear, and for gear shifts, and this sort of shows why. The tanks were great, but blunt, tools for the job.
Nick, this may not be your job, but with your Russian contacts it may be a great business advertisement to gather up good parts about the history of some of their female tankers and to present it as a WoT video. All of us in the west have read parts of the stories, but I'm positive there are better and more stories the Russians would have access to. it would be a great history lesson, and may appeal to female gamers' interest in the game. Presented by you, or a female staff member of War Gaming, it could be a very interesting video.
Spearfisher1970
Female Soviet tankers? Haven't heard of that one before. Seems interesting, nevertheless. I'm sure the feminists in the US would enjoy it. Maybe they'll all move to Russia.
[Do note that I, personally, have no quarrel with the idea of equal rights for all genders. It's the feminist extremists that I do not enjoy.]
Thelothuo They had female sniper's and combat pilots too, especially in the 1941-1943 time frame when they were extremely desperate for anyone who could fly, drive or pull a trigger.
And some of those women even became part of the aces of the soviet union
Spearfisher1970 If I do something of that nature, it will likely be in the form of a written Chieftain's Hatch article on my column, as opposed to a video.
Keith Smith judging from your words it sounds like none of those women had even one simple argument to join the army
Je trouve sa très bien que tu donnes tes vrai impression au lieu de vouloir faire plaisir une excellente vidéo pour tout ceux qui veulent s'intéressez à ce char mythique
Chieftain: this tank seems to have been designed for the needs of the state with little regard for the crew.
Uncle Joe: Excellent feedback, comrade. You will have much time to further develop this line of thought in Siberia.
Bruce Tucker ua-cam.com/video/he1wk1qNN68/v-deo.html
Siberia was the safest place in WW2.
@@mishacol Not in many of the camps. Few of them had death rates as bad as front-line combat units, but most people weren't in front-line combat units. You'd be a lot better off and safer as a truck driver or factory worker.
I like the zero’ed gauges behind his view while demonstrating the gear shift …
Awesome. Loved it. Terrible-for-crews tanks are my favorite :)
Same here. Don't twist a knee Chieftain! Torn ACL's are horrible!
Love series, watch over and over as I hoover up more ww2 history. With the number of men the Soviets called up what was the average height and weight of their armoured troops, 5'2" 120lbs, some guys not breaking 5'?
Great vidoes, such fantastic information, interesting background info etc. But for the love of GOD! Kill the annoying music. Why play music when someone is talking, especially when they are so informative. But greats vids
Great detail, great knowledge, I just subscribed due to how awesome your video is, thank you!
Could you please turn the music volume down, or off it's getting too intrusive and drowning out your voice a bit. Thanks.
thanks for these awesome videos …. lowering the volume of the background music (or removing it) would help all non english mothertounge a lot
keep up the great work
The music dubbed on the video is a distraction, very annoying.
Also you really get a feel of the thing, people operating it must have been very small.
18:32 OMG. AHAHHAHA. The tongue! THE TONGUE! I do the EXACT same thing when I'm focused on something intense without thinking about it.
Interesting, but I couldn't watch all the way through, because the music was driving me mad! Interesting content doesn't need background music,
actually, to address the TC knees into the gunners back, i read that in the case of the sherman tanks, or stuart tanks, the knees in the back helped to keep both the gunner and the TC static through the bumps and recoil etc.