1. Challenger 2 2. T-72 3. Sherman Firefly 4. Churchill series 5. Comet That's my top 5. EDIT: made a mistake was lost in thought when typing this with a project that is relating to tanks.
Chris left out the reason that Germany was able to capture so many Mark 4 British Tanks. The horrible Sleeve Valve Engine would asphyxiate the entire crew leaving their tank to rumble on until it got stuck or ran out of fuel...
As a British army cold war infantry soldier, I can say that we had a lot of belief in Chieftain and always thought that it could do the job asked of it. Very comforting to have a troop rumble up and deploy near you. Many tankers I talked to thought that the bad reputation for reliability and lack of power was a carry over from earlier versions - by the end of their service, with Stillbrew armour, the TOGS sights and a 'Sundance' powerpack now producing over 750bhp it was considered effective and more reliable - providing as you say, it was used hard.
Chris is an absolute natural, would love to see more from him. Looking to get into historic researching myself in future so to see Chris confidently explain in depth the details of these tanks is really encouraging.
Mr Fletcher was always going to be a hard act to follow however I think Chris is going to be a great asset - his warm and very knowledgable presentation it a Joy - Maybe the banter and dry humour will follow?
I really liked these picks because they weren't just "these tanks were cool (most of them aren't cool)" , but because of the history story the tell. And it was very well told. Thank you.
A friend of mine, who was a Chieftan commander for many years once told me "The Chieftan was the best tank in the world, if it broke down in a good firing position"
I'm glad someone put the Char B1 on their list. While tragic that the French lost early in the war, these tanks did well against anything Germany threw at them.
Yeah french knew how to make tank armour and guns. Especially when it was knocking out other tanks whilst taking 140+ as stated. I would love to seen the upgrade char 2c with its 90mm armour in WW2.
It was a great interwar tank. Basically a slightly mobile pillbox with a big field gun. Great at slow advances and frontal defence. Problem was it came against more modern tactics. Why attack a Char B when you could drive around it, and if you had to attack it just get around the sides or drop a bomb from an aircraft on it. Very cool design and concept, just an ideological relic. It would have been a sensation in WW1. It was, however, a good platform for converting into a flame tank when a direct assault really is necessary. Which the Germans were happy to do with all the stocks they captured.
The camera crew set a brilliant scene here. I love the Char B1, in person it has a great presence. It represents so much of the learnings of the First World War, then behind you have the beautiful, sleek lines of the panther representing a relatively short period of time but largely differing design philosophies. Excellent chat. Excellent museum.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Well delivered and reasoned selection. Always fascinating to learn more on each type. Especially where they're successful despite their relative weaknesses when handled by and knowledgeable and experienced crew. Very happy to watch more from Chris.
Fantastic video! Loved that the first three were almost just as likely to fall into someone’s bottom five, yet Mr Copson still able to discuss their merits. Look forward to seeing him present the next tank chat revisited.
Chris's knowledge is brilliant to follow. As an ex REME mechanic I know, all too well, the reliability of the FV4201. Sadly, more often than not, than British Army during this period of the Chieftain tank had some great vehicles but a lot of crap engines and power packs.... The bane of my life was the fuel system of the Jag engine in the CVRT series.... Hey ho... Happy memories of changing power packs in German forests.
The more of these I watch the more I appreciate how brilliant your presentations are, full of concise information and interesting anecdote, and a complete absence of ear battering youf posturing and cringy comedy. I find it hard to imagine how much work you put into something that looks so easy, but as a professional myself I suppose I know really. But as someone who tried and lacked motivation to support a local museum my admiration of your dedication is beyond words.
I thoroughly enjoyed this top 5 tank presentation. Mr. Copson (along with the other members of the Tank Museum's staff) is a very good storyteller. He knows his subject and relates it in a compelling way... you could listen to him for hours! Thank you!
I do wish the Tank Museum videos had more B-roll within the videos. Break up the shots a bit and show us other shots of the tanks and pictures or videos of what's being discussed. Always love these Top/Bottom 5 videos! 👍🏻
Hi, this is Chris Copson. These are my top 5 tanks, and here's why they suck! I really appreciate that he didn't gloss over the weaknesses in his picks.
It’s kind of amazing how much interest has been generated in WW1 and oddball early WW2 tanks by video games, such as Battlefield 1 and Post Scriptum. It’s a great thing.
I rather like these more personal odd selections which always come with a cool story particularly from knowledgeable people like this gentleman. It's a good departure from T-34/Panther/Tiger/Sherman/Centurion Top 5s. And those are also nice with a good presentation.
I've heard the roles of the gearsmen described before, but this is the best description of their roles I've seen in a video. Thanks for the lovely explanation Chris Copson!
Love how you mention Normandy's vast coast line. I went to the area in 2017 and even with modern roadways your right it does take some time. The coast is crazy long and all the villages nearby would have been insane to handle in 1944.
9:15 A quick point on french nomenclature: The divisions regrouping the B1bis were the DCr. The acronym DCr does not mean "Division Cuirassée" "de Réserve" but only "Division Cuirassée". The r after the C is the r in "CuiRassée". The r in DCr is only there to not use the acronym DC which was already the acronym of the horse cavalry divisions (DC : Division de Cavalerie). The DCr were mainly a group of tank battalions (2 B1bis battalions and two Hotchkiss H 39 battalions) with an artillery regiment in support, and an infantry battalion. Not really an inter arm unit like the french DLM or the german armoured divisions.
As ever, superb video. Re the DD, 3 years ago David Willie did a 5 minute video on Hobart's "Funnies". It would be great if you could go into more depth on Percy Hobart, Funnies and the 79th Armoured Division.
Is that Lindybiege and the Chieftain I can see glaring at you from behind that sign on that first one 🤣🤣🤣 *Panther trying to creep into the shot on the second one 🤣 *As soon as you said British Leyland I had a vision of three particular former BBC presenters . One of them is screaming Clarkson for some reason 🤣🤣🤣
Over the last couple of years I have enjoyed these best five and worst five. Have to say this was one of the best due to the chaps knowledge. Now lets have his worst five. ;-)
Love that Carden Lloyd. Tankettes were just cool. And at one time probably not a bad idea. And the Universal Carrier would later prove its worth, just not as a tank! The Char B is also cool but unfortunately just not crewed properly but who knew when it was first made.. I get your POV when it comes to Chieftain. My same thoughts on the M113 and the M60A3. They were there when I was there. Love the DD and all the information and you should be proud to have the last existing! Nice nod to the MK IV.
Nice to see some love for the Sherman. People who fancy themselves tank lovers tend to be be dazzled by the aesthetics of the Panzers and miss some really important aspects of what makes a tank good.
Hi Chris, Great Story, Great Story Telling. Nice summary of everything leading up to this interesting battle. I agree with your conclusions. I wonder if there is anything to see on that battlefield today. I will be driving the XIX Panzer Corps route from Sedan to Abbeville and Dunkirk this summer.
Hi Tank Nuts! We hope you enjoyed Chris' list, let us know what you would choose in the comments below.
Carefully £400 in 1935 is worth about £22,500 in today's money, when taking inflation into account. Still cheap, of course, for an armoured vehicle.
Very interesting choices and great historical details.
Chris did a wonderful job. His delivery and script was excellent. I would not mind watching more from him.
1. Challenger 2
2. T-72
3. Sherman Firefly
4. Churchill series
5. Comet
That's my top 5.
EDIT: made a mistake was lost in thought when typing this with a project that is relating to tanks.
Chris left out the reason that Germany was able to capture so many Mark 4 British Tanks.
The horrible Sleeve Valve Engine would asphyxiate the entire crew leaving their tank to rumble on until it got stuck or ran out of fuel...
I'm very pleased this chap is getting so much airtime on the channel. I could listen to him for hours!
And he pronounces words from at least 3 languages without totally butchering them. Definitely will be keeping an eye out for more videos.
Totally agree. He's a truly wonderful successor to David Fletcher.
@@Ingens_Scherz UUHHM... UUHHMM... UUHHMM... almost unwatchable. lol
I'm really enjoying Chris Copson's in-depth explanations for his choices.
Same! I like they’re not some little bite-sized blurb.
I thought the same, I like the longer more indepth format.
I do as well. He has the aura. Can`t wait to visit the museum
2:39 EMF sounds more like Extremely Mental Force.
As a British army cold war infantry soldier, I can say that we had a lot of belief in Chieftain and always thought that it could do the job asked of it. Very comforting to have a troop rumble up and deploy near you. Many tankers I talked to thought that the bad reputation for reliability and lack of power was a carry over from earlier versions - by the end of their service, with Stillbrew armour, the TOGS sights and a 'Sundance' powerpack now producing over 750bhp it was considered effective and more reliable - providing as you say, it was used hard.
Chris is an absolute natural, would love to see more from him. Looking to get into historic researching myself in future so to see Chris confidently explain in depth the details of these tanks is really encouraging.
Mr Fletcher was always going to be a hard act to follow however I think Chris is going to be a great asset - his warm and very knowledgable presentation it a Joy - Maybe the banter and dry humour will follow?
I really liked these picks because they weren't just "these tanks were cool (most of them aren't cool)" , but because of the history story the tell. And it was very well told. Thank you.
I find Chris’s videos the best to watch.
You can just tell he knows his stuff and delivers it without much fluff, I appreciate that.
What a fantastic presenter Mr Copson is. Please, more content from this knowledgeable gentleman
Hi Mr. Copson, yes I did enjoy it. Great video!
A friend of mine, who was a Chieftan commander for many years once told me "The Chieftan was the best tank in the world, if it broke down in a good firing position"
So much extra bits of history I learned during this video!
I'm glad someone put the Char B1 on their list. While tragic that the French lost early in the war, these tanks did well against anything Germany threw at them.
Yeah french knew how to make tank armour and guns. Especially when it was knocking out other tanks whilst taking 140+ as stated.
I would love to seen the upgrade char 2c with its 90mm armour in WW2.
@CB56 the 1.1 million french soliders that died in ww1 would disagree. Have some respect for the dead.
@@murphy7801 if it still has a one man turret it would be a poor tank
It was a great interwar tank. Basically a slightly mobile pillbox with a big field gun. Great at slow advances and frontal defence.
Problem was it came against more modern tactics. Why attack a Char B when you could drive around it, and if you had to attack it just get around the sides or drop a bomb from an aircraft on it.
Very cool design and concept, just an ideological relic. It would have been a sensation in WW1. It was, however, a good platform for converting into a flame tank when a direct assault really is necessary. Which the Germans were happy to do with all the stocks they captured.
@CB56 actually it's an interwar tank if understand how the classifications work.
I find Mr Copson to be a worthy successor to Mr Fletcher. Another great presenter of which you seem to have so many, well done.
I could listen to this guy talk about tanks and history in general for hours!
Thanks!
Chris is a very good presenter and very much enjoying the output from the museum. Keep up the good work 👍🏻
Chris's larger historical view is a great Top 5. Thank you Tank Museum.
The camera crew set a brilliant scene here. I love the Char B1, in person it has a great presence. It represents so much of the learnings of the First World War, then behind you have the beautiful, sleek lines of the panther representing a relatively short period of time but largely differing design philosophies. Excellent chat. Excellent museum.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Well delivered and reasoned selection.
Always fascinating to learn more on each type. Especially where they're successful despite their relative weaknesses when handled by and knowledgeable and experienced crew.
Very happy to watch more from Chris.
Fantastic video! Loved that the first three were almost just as likely to fall into someone’s bottom five, yet Mr Copson still able to discuss their merits. Look forward to seeing him present the next tank chat revisited.
Chris's knowledge is brilliant to follow. As an ex REME mechanic I know, all too well, the reliability of the FV4201. Sadly, more often than not, than British Army during this period of the Chieftain tank had some great vehicles but a lot of crap engines and power packs.... The bane of my life was the fuel system of the Jag engine in the CVRT series.... Hey ho... Happy memories of changing power packs in German forests.
The more of these I watch the more I appreciate how brilliant your presentations are, full of concise information and interesting anecdote, and a complete absence of ear battering youf posturing and cringy comedy. I find it hard to imagine how much work you put into something that looks so easy, but as a professional myself I suppose I know really. But as someone who tried and lacked motivation to support a local museum my admiration of your dedication is beyond words.
What a brilliantly done video. Very in-depth & entertaining. Time well spent. Thank you!
I thoroughly enjoyed this top 5 tank presentation. Mr. Copson (along with the other members of the Tank Museum's staff) is a very good storyteller. He knows his subject and relates it in a compelling way... you could listen to him for hours! Thank you!
Excellent presentation, so much background information, one of the most enjoyable Top 5's yet!
With trousers that colour, you know you're in safe hands.
The longer format was very interesting. Getting the back ground really enhanced the experience.
Really interesting choices this video. Fascinating history and technical details.
Thank's for a very interesting well presented Top 5 Chris, in depth and no Muppetry, Well Done Sir.
Indeed a fantastic video with lots of historical details - love it
Superbly presented and very informative. The Tank Museum content is among the very best.
I do wish the Tank Museum videos had more B-roll within the videos. Break up the shots a bit and show us other shots of the tanks and pictures or videos of what's being discussed. Always love these Top/Bottom 5 videos! 👍🏻
Real GOOD to see thank you.
Hi, this is Chris Copson. These are my top 5 tanks, and here's why they suck! I really appreciate that he didn't gloss over the weaknesses in his picks.
As ever, another amazing Friday video - thanks Chris!
It’s kind of amazing how much interest has been generated in WW1 and oddball early WW2 tanks by video games, such as Battlefield 1 and Post Scriptum. It’s a great thing.
Excellent and Outstanding!!!
Thank You!!!
Another fun and informative watch. Thanks for posting this. Cheers!
I rather like these more personal odd selections which always come with a cool story particularly from knowledgeable people like this gentleman. It's a good departure from T-34/Panther/Tiger/Sherman/Centurion Top 5s. And those are also nice with a good presentation.
Very interesting and varied list. Thoroughly enjoyed the in depth discussion. Many thanks.
I've heard the roles of the gearsmen described before, but this is the best description of their roles I've seen in a video. Thanks for the lovely explanation Chris Copson!
Excellent choices, cracking video. Thanks
Thank you, Mr. Copson, for your personal take on these tanks. Very historically informative as well.
Thank you for a great story of 5 tanks.👍
Love this longer format. A really refreshing list in this one. 👍🏻
Great introduction music. Excellent content. You all put quite a bit of quality work and information as always.
Good on you all. Thank you
Excellent. Detailed and thoughtful.
Great video Chris, especially the run down on the amazing Mk IV and the crews that fought in them.
What a great video, well done. 😃
This man knows what he is talking about and even pronounces German words correctly 👍
Brilliant! Informed and articulate. Thank you.
Love how you mention Normandy's vast coast line. I went to the area in 2017 and even with modern roadways your right it does take some time. The coast is crazy long and all the villages nearby would have been insane to handle in 1944.
I really enjoyed this top five tanks list ! Some new interesting details about each tank I had not heard before.
9:15 A quick point on french nomenclature: The divisions regrouping the B1bis were the DCr. The acronym DCr does not mean "Division Cuirassée" "de Réserve" but only "Division Cuirassée". The r after the C is the r in "CuiRassée". The r in DCr is only there to not use the acronym DC which was already the acronym of the horse cavalry divisions (DC : Division de Cavalerie).
The DCr were mainly a group of tank battalions (2 B1bis battalions and two Hotchkiss H 39 battalions) with an artillery regiment in support, and an infantry battalion. Not really an inter arm unit like the french DLM or the german armoured divisions.
That was excellent, really enjoyed that. More in-depth than a lot of the other Top 5s I've seen.
As ever, superb video. Re the DD, 3 years ago David Willie did a 5 minute video on Hobart's "Funnies". It would be great if you could go into more depth on Percy Hobart, Funnies and the 79th Armoured Division.
Very, very interesting lecture. I hope that I can visit the museum some day.
LOVED THIS! Always learning more on this channel.
Is that Lindybiege and the Chieftain I can see glaring at you from behind that sign on that first one 🤣🤣🤣
*Panther trying to creep into the shot on the second one 🤣
*As soon as you said British Leyland I had a vision of three particular former BBC presenters . One of them is screaming Clarkson for some reason 🤣🤣🤣
A great chat, thank you
Over the last couple of years I have enjoyed these best five and worst five. Have to say this was one of the best due to the chaps knowledge. Now lets have his worst five. ;-)
I love lists of favorite tanks and I will never get sick of them
This was superbly well told.
This was a bit longer than most of these top/bottom 5 lists, but the explainations were marvellous. Thanks Chris. :)
.
Excellent presentation and choices
Man I love your style of presenting these machines
So happy finally seeing someone pick the Char B, which is also one of my favourite tanks, and I loved his explanation on why.
First class. I enjoyed every minute.
Wonderful video, thank you.
Really like chris and the way he explains things.
Great video! Nice to see the Char get some love.
It's great to learn the context of these tanks from a very knowledgeble fellow.
Enjoyed the tank history presentation.
Thank you for sharing.
Love that Carden Lloyd. Tankettes were just cool. And at one time probably not a bad idea. And the Universal Carrier would later prove its worth, just not as a tank!
The Char B is also cool but unfortunately just not crewed properly but who knew when it was first made..
I get your POV when it comes to Chieftain. My same thoughts on the M113 and the M60A3. They were there when I was there.
Love the DD and all the information and you should be proud to have the last existing!
Nice nod to the MK IV.
Spot on Chris!
Great work sir. Well done
I hope we see much more of you Chris!
Nice to see some love for the Sherman. People who fancy themselves tank lovers tend to be be dazzled by the aesthetics of the Panzers and miss some really important aspects of what makes a tank good.
Fascinating thank you
Really enjoyed your presentation for the DD Sherman
Thank you for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed!
Gotta be honest. Chris Copson does a fantastic job on taking over from David Fletcher. That bit about the B1bis was excelent, for example.
Love the tank museums videos!
Fabulous history.
Very informative, thank you 🙏
Really enjoyed Chris' video, I hope we see many more.
Very much enjoying Chris’ content. Well done. Keep in if front of the camera.
The bundle of sticks on the mark 4 ww1 tank is pure art, those bundles are perfect
Why yes , I have discovered this channel and have been watching episodes for a good 5 hours now . Why do you ask ?
Love this. Simply her personal top 5, with reasons as to why. Nothing more !
interesting choice of tanks, each one a landmark in the development of the tank
Great talk, thanks.
Sherman DD is definitely very cool. Great list overall.
20:29 so very true
I somehow really appreciate that he always uses the original language for some descriptions (greetings from Germany).
What a great selection!
Very appropriate to be talking about track tensioning next to a chieftain!
Hi Chris, Great Story, Great Story Telling. Nice summary of everything leading up to this interesting battle. I agree with your conclusions. I wonder if there is anything to see on that battlefield today. I will be driving the XIX Panzer Corps route from Sedan to Abbeville and Dunkirk this summer.
Excellent!
Love that opening tune