They didn't finish the story of the Australian Centurion, It was fuelled up and driven out of the test area, decontaminated, overhauled then put back into service. It did a 15 month tour in the Vietnam war where it easily shrugged off a couple of RPG 7 hits. It still exists as a gate guard at Robertson Barracks near Darwin, Northern Territory
Fuel tanks were in the spines between the track pairs, it had a nasty habit of bogging in deep mud and turning was very hard forget doing a pivot steer.
A bit of a side note... After the neutron bomb was developed and during the debate on whether or not it should be deployed by NATO forces, there was a good deal of discussion about how to deal with possible "Zombie solders". The neutron bomb primary kills soldiers by subjecting them to a fatal dose of radiation rather than blast effect. But, it takes a few days before the soldiers become incapacitated due to the effects of that radiation. There was concern that soldiers who had received a fatal dose of radiation and knew they were eventually going to die might adopt a "nothing to lose" attitude, leading them to engage in suicidal assaults that might prove impossible for NATO forces to contain. It was a wild time...
@@redpill6201 Yes, I'm sure how long a soldier survives after being irradiated is very dependent on range. Having said that, I don't recall ever seeing any range/lethality figures, although they're probably easily available somewhere on the internet. Hopefully, that's a tidbit of information I"ll never have need to know.
There'd probably be far more guys under the impression they were dying making suicidal charges, when they only had minor radiation poisoning. The effectiveness of the neutron bomb was overestimated quite a bit
The incapacitation of the crew is instantaneous with a sufficiently close enhanced radiation weapon. The neutron flux instantly raises the body temperature by several degrees, which causes immediate loss of consciousness.
@@redpill6201that’s still a fair amount of time for a soldier to keep fighting on. They know they will die anyway from the lethal amount of radiation, so zombie soldiers are still likely and there could be zombie soldiers swarming in human waves with bombs strapped to their chests acting as kamikaze suicide bombers.
Ahhh the memories of when you had to take a dump in 3Romeo and you hadn’t quite cleared your nbc trousers out the way and so gave yourself a little present !
The NBC suit's radiological protection is limited to avoiding inhalation of radionucleotides. Radiation proper (gamma and beta) goes right through the suit. Thus, if trudging through a heavily contaminated environment it doesn't do anything at all. The external radiation itself would still kill you in short order. An NBC is in effect a chemical and biologic one. The N part of it is kind of a misnomer. Protection against radioctivity is 3 pronged, time distance and shielding. The shielding part is essentially non wearable. For example a lead apron like you see in Dr offices doesnt really offer protection against gamma, for that you require feet of concrete or dirt or something similar. Thats why spent nuckear rods spend months under feet of water the water serves as a radiarions shield to give time for the decay of the material.
Actually. The most dangerous radiation types are Alphas which are blocked by the skin or clothes. You have to inhale or eat alpha emmiters to get worse than skin cancer. beta radiation is free electrons so anything electrically conductive will stop them cold but they will penetrate into skin. If your NBC suit has a layer of tinfoil in the lining it'll protect against Beta decay to a significant level. and then we get Gamma. oh boy Gamma radiation. Yeah not even tank armour will stop gammas. Because you want a foot of it to absorb the radiation not an inch of hull plating under you.
@stevenobrien557 Alpha radiation can not penetrate the skin. The materials in an NBC suit (canvas with and activated charcoal liner) offer no protection to Beta and still go through your entire body. Radiological shielding required for Beta is either a thin layer of lead or 1cm of high molecular weight polymer. I was an NBC army specialist which became a medical doctor after the service. As a laboratory physician I have worked with radionucleotides essentially all my life.
Spitting facts but not wisdom. You are right about the physics, except on what the actual fission products are after a nuclear explosion. MIT has a good lecture on youtube going more over the actual science, and Kyle Hill an highly recommended channel. You should be aware that popular science has the tendency to overemphasize the 'shocking' stuff that sells, and not the blunt boring practical engineering that runs the world. In regard to Beta / Gamma.. you are screwed anyways, but just as likely from the light / heat / blast effects, so you are more likely to die 'with' radiation poisoning, instead of because of it. On the long term it is the Alpha emitters you want to keep out of your body, because those are the sources that effect survivability in the medium and long term.
Indeed, totally different. Warheads are engineered to be as efficient as possible with their conversions. The more efficient they are the stronger the blast and the less hot material is left over. Assuming an air bust, the bigger issue in the target area would be neutron activation from the initial flash. Fallout is a down wind consideration. This was big on sensation, not so much rational examination. A bit disappointing. No explanation of the fall off of the blast effect at range. How close the weapon had to be to injure or incapacitate the crew or mission kill the tank. How it was judged impractical to knock out tanks with nukes because of how survivable they were. I would expect to see content like this on the current 'history' channel.
There’s a reason that people can live in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but there still an exclusion zone around Chernobyl, and will be for thousands of years. Kind of disappointing to see the tank museum get this wrong.
@@aland7236 Yup. The neutron activation of salts and minerals/metals is a problem on surface or sub-surface detonation. Air is able to absorb the neutrons without becoming a decay isotope.
I drove an m1200, it's not a tank but it's an armored vehicle. It has NBC filters, and hoses we could plug into our gas masks.. we never actually used them but they were there. 👍
All of the males in my family of the World War II generation were present in one or more nuclear bomb tests or exercises. Bikini Atoll? The crew made radioactive snowballs of the salt and threw them at each other. The trenches of infantry wearing goggles and then up and out to assault the bomb site? One was in three of those exercises. Most lived into their eighties in pretty good health.
@@parallel-knight No kidding! That one, one of my grandfather's brothers who was a Navy diver, underwater demolitions, had a ton of photos from the test and following horseplay, and radiation burns on his neck from where a "snowball" got trapped by his collar!
Spent the first ten years of my army career with a nuclear artillery regiment with lance missiles so wearing NBC kit and all the drill became second nature not that we’d even make it out of the camp gate if the Cold War turned hot. Cracking & informative upload as per 👍🏻
Paul you always deliver I really enjoy the segments you do. I knew a guy who worked at White Sands and they put an A1 Abrahms in a radiation chamber to test it's survival when hit with a nuke they forgot about how hot the tank would be afterwards and it sat in the chamber for six weeks until the radiation cooled enough for them to move it.
If a full scale nuclear conflict ever kicks off it won't matter much whether the crew survives or not. Mankind as we know it would be done for. Anyway this was a very interesting and fun to watch episode! Thank you! 👍
Your comments about the exercise Able Archer are in error. It was never meant to 'test and observe Soviet response'. 'Able Archer' was the annual NATO exercise prior to the REFORGER exercises. The Soviets mistook the exercise and yes it almost started a war. The exercise was a five day command post exercise that did not involve the movement or posting of actual troops. Troop movement would have occurred during the REFORGER portion of the exercise. Any source would state this. I would ask if you disagree to provide source information.
Thank you for setting the facts out there. When I heard what was said in this video I nearly choked on my tea. Nobody was stupid enough to run a command exercise just to see if it triggered a nuclear conflict. I do wish people would check before publishing stuff like this, it just looks like sensationalism. It reflects poorly on the Tank Museum as well.
Which is a classic example of how not to name an exercise or operation. Random names convey nothing. Alluding names give the enemy an intelligence fimgerhold to follow up.@@T.efpunkt
You forgot about the prompt (non-fallout) neutron radiation from the initial blast. For a low-yield nuclear weapon that's lethal to tank crews at greater range than the blast. This was the entire point behind enhanced-radiation weapons ("neutron bombs") though it's true for all weapons below a certain yield. This is why many Soviet tanks and AFVs had polyethylene armor liners - those act as neutron absorbers and provide some marginal improvement in the range at which a detonation is survivable. NBC packs provide no defense against prompt radiation - they only prevent fallout ingress. Neutron radiation also creates the nasty phenomenon of "zombie crews". A tank crew that have been exposed to a lethal dose of neutron radiation can remain functional for days before the onset of severe illness.
When they did the Bikini Atoll test Able, the blast didn't sink most of the ships, being the explosion was 750yrds off the target point. Ships looked relatively unharmed save for bent antennas and thermal scorching. Surely a crew would survive it. But even in the depths of the ship, opposite from the explosion, they would have received a fatal dose of radiation. They wouldn't die immediately, but survival past a week was unlikely.
@@miket2120 Yup, that was a 20 kton weapon and well within the yield range where neutron radiation was lethal at greater distances than the blast, particularly if they're within a metal ship (or tank...) that provides much better protection from blast than from neutron radiation.
We want more on this topic. You should now disscus about the NBC protection mechanisms of individual tanks in detail -like the T-72, Leopard and any vehicle with NBC protection you have in the museum.topics like how effective the tank Armor is against nuclear radiation? Does different types of armour provide different levels of protection against radiation or not. Also discuss about the effectiveness of anti radiation liners inside of tanks and please elaborate on why you said that all frontline soldiers would be dead in 24h when they had their NBC PROTECTION training and equipments ?
Same for me as an ex-East-German conscript soldier. We knew that the NBC equipment made us surviving perhaps instead of one day for three days (of total misery). Peace! from Dresden, Germany
Nukes would mostly be used by having them explode mid air, as this maximizes their destructive potential. In this scenario, the danger of fallout of vastly reduced, as little is created in the first place. This leaves mostly the ionizing radiation produced by the nuclear explosion itself as a radiation hazard, as far as I am aware, plus bits from the bomb itself, depending on how efficient the nuclear reaction was. Not ideal.
There's no end of uses for tactical ground burst weapons. It's effectively giving troops and engineers an infinite supply of TNT. Extremely fast mine clearing; extremely fast forest clearing; totally obliterating cover and concealment; point destruction of key terrain like hilltops; destruction of useful infrastructure such as roads and rails; creating or clearing major engineering obstacles; annihilating hard targets like tank formations or concrete structures; smoke screens; stubborn infantryman; splitting logs; starting campfires; practical jokes.
Crews in M113s and Sheridans would have had to contend with their aluminum armor becoming radioactive when bombarded with gamma and neutron radiation. The gas masks would serve to concentrate radioactive dust near one's brain. Mixed reviews as to whether they would be a good or bad idea in a pentomic environment. Excellent narration Paul, many thanks!
Good video. I do wish there was some discussion of the threat of prompt radiation (different than fallout), the development of neutron bombs and the ways that tanks were designed to reduce that threat.
Prepping a vehicle for a nuclear attack, one dismount all antennas, two all loose gear on the outside secured inside, three if time allows get in full turret defilade This can be first if warning orders are early enough. Four crew positioning to be secure and away from edges and other sharp objects. Getting the antennas down is very important to prevent electrical overload on gear. Unplugging individual connections was also taught in the US. I taught Anti-tank operations in the US Army with a variety of weapons M113 and more fragile wheeled junk were our movement options.
To the end of the video, I am fortunate enough to live in America, so Fallout sounds like a pretty fun time! Also, I really wanna come back to see the museum in person sometime! I went back in 2014 when I stayed with my friend Martin! Such a beautiful country and a stunning display!
Great video but you wouldn't be blinded by a nuke if you were using a Night vision scope, as the screen can only go pure white, it's the same as looking at a screen and setting the brightness to max on a white screen.
@12:40 I once spent a week in full NBC kit that was heavier than one on video; 1cm thick vulcanized rubber at the thinnest and closed circuit rebreather. Only the second worst experience in my life xD
What? The Object 279 is a real tank? Great narration and lots of documenting photos, Tank Museum you made my Monday a shade more interesting. Thank you! Proud to be a Patreon contributor.
Having been in the British army in W Germany during the 80's I can confirm that the minute a nuke landed we were all heading to the English channel to get home and look after our loved ones. This was discussed many times in the NAAFI. Also you need to check the fit on that respirator. There's air getting into it from round the face seal, hence steaming up.
Tactical Enhanced or “Neutron”-weapons were to be employed to stop hordes of enemy tanks by immediately incapacitating tank crews, during the Cold War. Comparatively low-yield, and without a fissionable fusion tamper, the fusion-fuel generated copious quantities of thermal neutrons from the D-T reaction that would penetrate the tank armour, and kill the crew. The Soviets called them “Capitalist Weapons” because N-Bombs killed people and kept property “intact.” My first time on this channel. I really liked the post!
many Soviet tanks like the T-55A and the T-72 had an anti-radiation liner on their interior surfaces called podboi and some outer surfaces of the tank were also reinforced with a similar material called nadboi. the liners were made from ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene infused with boron and their function was to shield the crew from neutron radiation in areas were there was not enough other materials (such as thick steel armor, composite armor with textolite or tanks with fuel for example) to provide radiation shielding. there were other NBC protections as well.
An EMP does not "affect everything with an antenna". Even a radar array, which can have a lot of them, largely depends on what type of hardware is used. Vacuum tubes, as opposed to solid state, will deal quite well with an EMP.
Using night vision wouldn't blind them, night vision is essentially looking at a small TV screen. The NVGs might be burnt out, but that wouldn't transmit any energy directly to the operator's eyes.
You had to wear noddy suites and masks all the time because your filter was connected to the N.B.C. pack. Also the radio ( Clansman 353 ) was shielded, so very heavy.
one Cold war tank with a high focus on Nuclear survivability is STRV103 Sweden had alot of focus on Nuclear Survivability Including Ships like the Halland class destroyers which could be operated in a Nuclear secure way with no sailor needed outside during service qw qn example. We also had Europes 3rd largest oil powerplant built inside one of the worlds biggest Atomic safe bunkers outside of Stenungsund. There is talk about renovate it into a Nuclear 4th gen plant.
Even as an Australian Infantry soldier in the 90's and early 2000's we did a lot of NBC training!! We had to wear the full kit and do a 3.2km run and shoot in tropical heat of Townsville Australia. Had to do the run in a certain time then complete a live fire shoot and pass. The shooting was easy the running and overheating, not so much!! The worst gas we learnt about was called a Blood agent. It could defeat even the best respirator in 5 minutes and would stop your red blood cells from carrying oxygen which suffocated you to death!!
That’s incorrect and misleading. The suit (or it being impregnated with charcoal (which is a chemical absorption barrier) or not impregnated with charcoal) isn’t going to protect you from Gamma or X-rays. It would need to be made of lead or some other ridiculously heavy metal (or so thick as to be impractical if made of other materials) to even stand a chance of offering protection against Gamma radiation. What the suit can do is prevent you from getting Alpha, Beta, or Gamma emitting particulates (irradiated ground/debris/fallout) from getting into or on your body. In your hair. Under your nails. In your GI track from food. Or into your lungs. In this way, it can “protect” from alpha and beta emitters which can be blocked by human skin or even a single sheet of notebook paper. But Gamma emitters will not only go straight through the suit… but straight through your body… and that’s where they’re gonna start destroying your DNA/tissue/cells. MOPP is a barrier for chemicals and biological agents… but in a highly irradiated environment… it doesn’t do much of anything. You can get a lethal dose of radiation wearing the suit… or without it. It makes zero difference in many scenarios. It will make decontamination easier no matter what… and could possibly save life if you got alpha or beta immiting participles inside your body. And don’t ever drink the polonium 210 tea that Putin gives to his “guests”.
Mostly good info but a bit misleading discussion of chernobyl. It is mostly cleaned up and was until the russian invasion something of a tourist spot with working hotels etc. Lower radiation in chernobly city than on an average international flight for example.Its also now a thriving example of how nature can succeded when people step back.
I can highly recommend Kyle Hill's documentary series both Pripyat and Fukushima on those aspects. The Chernobyl exclusion zone is still not a healthy area, and there are still more than enough core products in the environment, 'hot particles' that you don't accidentally want to bring home and get stuck into your bed matras. Containable yes, safe with appropriate behavior.. likely, idiot proof... not so much.
A german F-104 pilot said that in the Cold War times they sat in ready mode in their planes, armed up with US nuclear bombs, to be instantly ready for a retaliatory strike it the USSR started a nuclear attack. He said never before of after did they drink as much as back then. They did not care whether they were sober in their plane. He said they knew even if they would be able to take off, even if they would be able to fulfill their mission, when they returned their airfield would probably be destroyed, their families blown up, and their country be a nuclear wasteland. So it did not matter whether they would do their job. The functioning of the Cold War was the surety that if one side started an attack, it was definite that it would also be annihilated - maybe a few hours later, but definitely. That kept all side in a stalemate. Shortly after the german wall came down, when the USSR and the Warsaw Pact imploded, the Cold War more or less vanished, I was in a chat with someone from the german foreign office. He said that the giant threat of the Cold War conflict had suppressed all the smaller conflicts that are sizzling on since centuries til millenia. He said that his office sees the potential for 140 local conflicts that are now eventually coming out again. And when you look at what happened in the time after 1989, all the places where people happily killed each other, that insane number was not that unrealistic.
I would have figured the best way to survive a nuke in a tank is to start two hours before the blast, point the front of the hull away from the blast, then bury the accelerator as far as it will go until minimum safe distance.
Congratulations on a debut Tank Museum vid. Excellent.As a fellow Brit, to those who don't like the way he says nuclear, it's how we do pronounce it in England, the country that invented English (and the tank). 😁
Maybe I’m just too early in the video, but the comment “equipment was developed to make fighting possible in the aftermath of a nuclear exchange” that’s an idea that is absolutely insane lol after we end the world how can we keep doing the thing that caused it. Bananas.
EMP is mostly from high altitude bursts I thought... the inverse compton effect... gamma smashed air molecules breaking off electrons. those get accelerated along the magnetic field lines, emitting a shedload of radio waves- which induces a massive current in conductors, aerials etc
If the NBC systems needed to be used on an armored fighting vehicle… you can start a timer… there is no room inside for the necessities necessary to sustain human life for long. The water isn’t stored inside. The chow isn’t stored inside. Liquid and solid human waste can’t be accumulated to a large degree. Any maintenance or even things like ground guiding and refueling or rearming need to be done outside. That’s the real limiting factor of how long the vehicle can fight if the exterior is highly irradiated or if slimed by other chemical warfare agents… fuel and water and ammo. I’d liken the systems to keep the crew functional long enough to drive the vehicle to safety and possibly fight a little on the way… if the NBC systems even work. In Iraq the vehicles (LAV variants) heating systems didn’t even work the few times they were needed. The NBC systems never even were tested or used. We fought out of MOPP same as the CAT Teams in Hummers with no NBC systems.
The threat of an NBC attack and dummy 'gas' attacks (just smoke shells for instance) is enough to substantially reduce combat effectiveness. If you can get your enemy to spend hours or even days in NBC suits and have armoured vehicles constantly buttoned up, you've probably already made them 50% less effective.
TOPP High sucked, especially digging fighting positions in 32°c temps. Defecation drills and even sleeping in that claustrophobic outfit gave you nightmares. The only time that getup was good was winter warfare, when you passed gas it was actually balmy when you were in the trench at -40°c.
I would think the glass of the periscope would absorb most non-visible EM radiation. The crew may still be blinded, but I'm not sure they would be burned.
I do think the overall narrative gets a bit smeared in the telling but I do like Paul. He's good at what he does. A solid host. And I feel he knows the subject and tells it well. I would have preferred a more "on the nose" presentation, it meandered a bit, but this was an enjoyable watch. Sorry for my poor English, I'm an American.
this is a bit light on science as an explanatory video. A few points here: 1. As others have previously commented on, Able Archer was not an exercise to provoke in order to study the Soviet response! 2. Nuclear is pronounce nu-clear, that is, clear with nu in front of it. Pronouncing it Nucular weakens the value of this video. 3. The answer to the posed question about whether a crew can survive in this situation is a simple maybe (for some variable value of survive). If I remember correctly as part of the response plans drawn up there were contingencies involving dropping in new tank crews to operate the tanks ( having to clear up the remains of their comrades wouldn't have been the most pleasant task for the replacement crew). 4. Studies by various militaries about using tactical nuclear weapons against deployed armies in the field were pretty much unanimous in the conclusion that those weapons would have been deployed against fixed position assets (POMCUS sites, C4ISR, POL, Ammunition storage etc) since it was extremely difficult to target in such a way to render a significant amount of a deployed and mobile fighting force mission ineffective
One thing myself and at least one fellow viewer wondered in another video, was what about the barrel of the tank? It's one thing having all that NBC gear and filters on the tank, but the barrel is a direct opening to the outside world that can't be sealed.
@@FlyboyHelosim The NBC positive pressure system sends a steady rush of air flowing out of any openings including the barrel, preventing ingress of contaminated air. The breech is still a source of contamination since it's directly exposed to the outside elements.
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons-signed 2017, entered into force on January 22, 2021: prohibits possession, manufacture, development, and testing of nuclear weapons, or assistance in such activities, by its parties
One classic gaming ruleset stated that if a nuclear weapon was deployed the best way to simulate it on the games table was pour fuel all over it and set it on fire...
When I served in the US Air Force back in the mid 1980's, I had to wear a Chemical Warfare suit once. I was in computer maintenance, back then it was Main Frames, not desktop or laptop computers. Under the watchful eye of a Quality Assurance inspector, I was being evaluated to perform some maintenance tasks on one of the systems while wearing the full suit. It wasn't difficult, but when I was finished, I was soaked in sweat. And that was in an air-conditioned computer room.
As a fullscale nuclear war leaves nothing behind that's worth fighting for, I can only repeat sting's words. I hope the Russians love their children, too.
The hypothetical week buttoned up. It is why many NATO forces were envious of the BV (Boiling Vessel) in British Tanks. Hot drinks and hot food is a morale booster. Somebody forgot to use the anti fog cream on those respirator lenses. At least these days you can have a drink in NBC gear. The faff to have a drink "when ordered only", with the old S6 respirator. Not something I care to repeat. As most of the actual effects on the Centurion and "crew" are likely still classified. Really, this was about squaddies operating in an NBC environment.
one of the most amazing thing he I ever saw was a platoon of Gurkahs doing an obstacle course, in full NBC kit, including S10 respirators, full webbing and weapons. They went around it like they were in tracksuits! We were all on our chinstraps after doing it in uniform only! Did I say it was the middle of summer?
True for blast radius, but larger nukes are dramatically more effective at creating and spreading fallout. Take the Lucky Dragon incident during Operation Castle. I believe the largest nukes were predicted to be able to destroy DC entirely as well as cause something like LD50 (50%) fatal exposure in New York City. Command and Control by Eric Schlosser is a great technical deep dive into nuclear strategy, testing, and incidents.
They seem to mix the effects of a ground burst detonation with an air burst one. air burst = max EMP, but min fall out, etc. NBC pack not really useful once you start firing since the air flowing through open breech is not treated. You end up needing to be in MOPP-4 even inside the vehicle. From experience, after 3 weeks this is not fun. Oh and forget it these days if you have grown a beard (no seal).
The sheer mention on the topic across many different channels these days mentioning nuclear blast is terrifying by itself. It’s like people are conditions for what’s to come soon. There will be many bodies in a fridges scattered across the landscape I presume… a bit of dark humour.😢
They didn't finish the story of the Australian Centurion, It was fuelled up and driven out of the test area, decontaminated, overhauled then put back into service. It did a 15 month tour in the Vietnam war where it easily shrugged off a couple of RPG 7 hits. It still exists as a gate guard at Robertson Barracks near Darwin, Northern Territory
Does it glow in the dark still?
How much longer did the crew who drove it out survive?
Yes,upgraded to mkiii and sent into service,it wasn't only agent Orange that made our troops sick
i would like to see a video about the australian centurion if there is one it would be interesting to see after it went through the atomic test.
The other part of the story that isn't mentioned very often is the conclusion that the crew would have been killed by the shock wave.
I love the aesthetic of the object 279 so much, the four tracked hulls have a certain look that is just amazing.
Almost looks like a UFO i reckon
Me too, one of the reason I used to play world of tanks all the time
Fuel tanks were in the spines between the track pairs, it had a nasty habit of bogging in deep mud and turning was very hard forget doing a pivot steer.
A bit of a side note...
After the neutron bomb was developed and during the debate on whether or not it should be deployed by NATO forces, there was a good deal of discussion about how to deal with possible "Zombie solders".
The neutron bomb primary kills soldiers by subjecting them to a fatal dose of radiation rather than blast effect. But, it takes a few days before the soldiers become incapacitated due to the effects of that radiation. There was concern that soldiers who had received a fatal dose of radiation and knew they were eventually going to die might adopt a "nothing to lose" attitude, leading them to engage in suicidal assaults that might prove impossible for NATO forces to contain.
It was a wild time...
I remember they said NBs could totally incapacitate within 4 hours only. Depends on how high the INR was I guess and how close you were.
@@redpill6201 Yes, I'm sure how long a soldier survives after being irradiated is very dependent on range.
Having said that, I don't recall ever seeing any range/lethality figures, although they're probably easily available somewhere on the internet.
Hopefully, that's a tidbit of information I"ll never have need to know.
There'd probably be far more guys under the impression they were dying making suicidal charges, when they only had minor radiation poisoning.
The effectiveness of the neutron bomb was overestimated quite a bit
The incapacitation of the crew is instantaneous with a sufficiently close enhanced radiation weapon. The neutron flux instantly raises the body temperature by several degrees, which causes immediate loss of consciousness.
@@redpill6201that’s still a fair amount of time for a soldier to keep fighting on. They know they will die anyway from the lethal amount of radiation, so zombie soldiers are still likely and there could be zombie soldiers swarming in human waves with bombs strapped to their chests acting as kamikaze suicide bombers.
Ahhh the memories of when you had to take a dump in 3Romeo and you hadn’t quite cleared your nbc trousers out the way and so gave yourself a little present !
Harsh. 👍💛
Huh
This Chieftain tank is now the gate guard at Robertson Baracks just out of Darwin Australia. Still a little radio active:)
It’s a centurion not a chieftain.
The NBC suit's radiological protection is limited to avoiding inhalation of radionucleotides. Radiation proper (gamma and beta) goes right through the suit. Thus, if trudging through a heavily contaminated environment it doesn't do anything at all. The external radiation itself would still kill you in short order. An NBC is in effect a chemical and biologic one. The N part of it is kind of a misnomer. Protection against radioctivity is 3 pronged, time distance and shielding. The shielding part is essentially non wearable. For example a lead apron like you see in Dr offices doesnt really offer protection against gamma, for that you require feet of concrete or dirt or something similar. Thats why spent nuckear rods spend months under feet of water the water serves as a radiarions shield to give time for the decay of the material.
Actually. The most dangerous radiation types are Alphas which are blocked by the skin or clothes. You have to inhale or eat alpha emmiters to get worse than skin cancer. beta radiation is free electrons so anything electrically conductive will stop them cold but they will penetrate into skin. If your NBC suit has a layer of tinfoil in the lining it'll protect against Beta decay to a significant level. and then we get Gamma. oh boy Gamma radiation. Yeah not even tank armour will stop gammas. Because you want a foot of it to absorb the radiation not an inch of hull plating under you.
Wrong. Keeping fallout from contacting clothes and skin will make an enormous difference with exposure to alpha and beta radiation.
@stevenobrien557 Alpha radiation can not penetrate the skin. The materials in an NBC suit (canvas with and activated charcoal liner) offer no protection to Beta and still go through your entire body. Radiological shielding required for Beta is either a thin layer of lead or 1cm of high molecular weight polymer. I was an NBC army specialist which became a medical doctor after the service. As a laboratory physician I have worked with radionucleotides essentially all my life.
Spitting facts but not wisdom. You are right about the physics, except on what the actual fission products are after a nuclear explosion. MIT has a good lecture on youtube going more over the actual science, and Kyle Hill an highly recommended channel.
You should be aware that popular science has the tendency to overemphasize the 'shocking' stuff that sells, and not the blunt boring practical engineering that runs the world. In regard to Beta / Gamma.. you are screwed anyways, but just as likely from the light / heat / blast effects, so you are more likely to die 'with' radiation poisoning, instead of because of it. On the long term it is the Alpha emitters you want to keep out of your body, because those are the sources that effect survivability in the medium and long term.
Fallout from a nuclear weapon detonation and fallout from a reactor explosion are not comparable events.
Indeed, totally different. Warheads are engineered to be as efficient as possible with their conversions. The more efficient they are the stronger the blast and the less hot material is left over. Assuming an air bust, the bigger issue in the target area would be neutron activation from the initial flash. Fallout is a down wind consideration.
This was big on sensation, not so much rational examination. A bit disappointing. No explanation of the fall off of the blast effect at range. How close the weapon had to be to injure or incapacitate the crew or mission kill the tank. How it was judged impractical to knock out tanks with nukes because of how survivable they were.
I would expect to see content like this on the current 'history' channel.
especially since there wouldn't be just one nuclear weapon detonating
There’s a reason that people can live in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but there still an exclusion zone around Chernobyl, and will be for thousands of years. Kind of disappointing to see the tank museum get this wrong.
@@incook33Yep, air bursts are "cleaner". The whiter the mushroom the less fallout there will be, excluding vaporized ocean water of course.
@@aland7236 Yup. The neutron activation of salts and minerals/metals is a problem on surface or sub-surface detonation. Air is able to absorb the neutrons without becoming a decay isotope.
I drove an m1200, it's not a tank but it's an armored vehicle. It has NBC filters, and hoses we could plug into our gas masks.. we never actually used them but they were there. 👍
As long as the BV is still working, all is good!
Those tests in the 40-50’s (maybe later I’m unsure) where soldiers would stand in range of a nuke for tests is just so wild.
All of the males in my family of the World War II generation were present in one or more nuclear bomb tests or exercises. Bikini Atoll? The crew made radioactive snowballs of the salt and threw them at each other. The trenches of infantry wearing goggles and then up and out to assault the bomb site? One was in three of those exercises. Most lived into their eighties in pretty good health.
@@davidgoodnow269 god damn. I’m glad to hear that they survived into their late years. That’s crazy throwing radioactive snowballs at each other.
@@parallel-knight
No kidding! That one, one of my grandfather's brothers who was a Navy diver, underwater demolitions, had a ton of photos from the test and following horseplay, and radiation burns on his neck from where a "snowball" got trapped by his collar!
They got absolutely shat on by the government too.
@@davidgoodnow269 oh my good god that’s just so crazy!!
I had already forgotten how much I enjoy this new presenter. His voice is perfect for these sorts of videos, and I appreciate his enthusiasm.
He's great isn't he!
Spent the first ten years of my army career with a nuclear artillery regiment with lance missiles so wearing NBC kit and all the drill became second nature not that we’d even make it out of the camp gate if the Cold War turned hot. Cracking & informative upload as per 👍🏻
Love this sort of content, wss thrilled it popped up top of my recommended, tanks + nukes are both interesting topics
Paul you always deliver I really enjoy the segments you do.
I knew a guy who worked at White Sands and they put an A1 Abrahms in a radiation chamber to test it's survival when hit with a nuke they forgot about how hot the tank would be afterwards and it sat in the chamber for six weeks until the radiation cooled enough for them to move it.
We will pass your comments on to Paul - thank you!
If a full scale nuclear conflict ever kicks off it won't matter much whether the crew survives or not. Mankind as we know it would be done for.
Anyway this was a very interesting and fun to watch episode! Thank you! 👍
Even after decades of hearing people say it, I still can’t accept that half the world can’t pronounce “nuclear” and keep saying “nucular”.
Yea people can't pronounce words. Just like how people say the name Craig and Creg
You'd hate me.
I use both.
Half of the world:
你說什麼？
No "eggs" in exit, nor Brexit. Its "ex" not "eggs". Please tell the BBC etc!
Also people who say "ex-cetra" instead of "et-cetra" ugh
Your comments about the exercise Able Archer are in error. It was never meant to 'test and observe Soviet response'. 'Able Archer' was the annual NATO exercise prior to the REFORGER exercises. The Soviets mistook the exercise and yes it almost started a war. The exercise was a five day command post exercise that did not involve the movement or posting of actual troops. Troop movement would have occurred during the REFORGER portion of the exercise. Any source would state this. I would ask if you disagree to provide source information.
Thank you for setting the facts out there. When I heard what was said in this video I nearly choked on my tea. Nobody was stupid enough to run a command exercise just to see if it triggered a nuclear conflict. I do wish people would check before publishing stuff like this, it just looks like sensationalism. It reflects poorly on the Tank Museum as well.
Another little known fact: REFORGER stands for "REturn of FORces to GERmany", it has nothing to do with reforging.
Which is a classic example of how not to name an exercise or operation. Random names convey nothing. Alluding names give the enemy an intelligence fimgerhold to follow up.@@T.efpunkt
Yet another great tank history video! I was that I could visit the museum some time soon as a Fin.
We would love to see you!
You forgot about the prompt (non-fallout) neutron radiation from the initial blast. For a low-yield nuclear weapon that's lethal to tank crews at greater range than the blast. This was the entire point behind enhanced-radiation weapons ("neutron bombs") though it's true for all weapons below a certain yield. This is why many Soviet tanks and AFVs had polyethylene armor liners - those act as neutron absorbers and provide some marginal improvement in the range at which a detonation is survivable. NBC packs provide no defense against prompt radiation - they only prevent fallout ingress.
Neutron radiation also creates the nasty phenomenon of "zombie crews". A tank crew that have been exposed to a lethal dose of neutron radiation can remain functional for days before the onset of severe illness.
When they did the Bikini Atoll test Able, the blast didn't sink most of the ships, being the explosion was 750yrds off the target point. Ships looked relatively unharmed save for bent antennas and thermal scorching. Surely a crew would survive it. But even in the depths of the ship, opposite from the explosion, they would have received a fatal dose of radiation. They wouldn't die immediately, but survival past a week was unlikely.
@@miket2120 Yup, that was a 20 kton weapon and well within the yield range where neutron radiation was lethal at greater distances than the blast, particularly if they're within a metal ship (or tank...) that provides much better protection from blast than from neutron radiation.
Well done Mr. Famojuro, my first time seeing a video presented by you and sir, you are top notch. Thanks for a great show.
Thanks for your feedback Sir!
But would the boiling vessel still work?
Cheer up, it's just a nuclear apocalypse, not the end of life as we know it ☕👌
Best question yet!
We want more on this topic. You should now disscus about the NBC protection mechanisms of individual tanks in detail -like the T-72, Leopard and any vehicle with NBC protection you have in the museum.topics like how effective the tank Armor is against nuclear radiation? Does different types of armour provide different levels of protection against radiation or not. Also discuss about the effectiveness of anti radiation liners inside of tanks and please elaborate on why you said that all frontline soldiers would be dead in 24h when they had their NBC PROTECTION training and equipments ?
As a retired US Army soldier, I always knew that the NBC gear was basically only to provide a glimmer of hope that maybe one would survive.
Same for me as an ex-East-German conscript soldier. We knew that the NBC equipment made us surviving perhaps instead of one day for three days (of total misery).
Peace! from Dresden, Germany
@@gerdlunau8411 Thank you for your service, mate. From one soldier to another, I'm thankful we never had to find out just how long it gave us.
Nukes would mostly be used by having them explode mid air, as this maximizes their destructive potential. In this scenario, the danger of fallout of vastly reduced, as little is created in the first place. This leaves mostly the ionizing radiation produced by the nuclear explosion itself as a radiation hazard, as far as I am aware, plus bits from the bomb itself, depending on how efficient the nuclear reaction was. Not ideal.
There's no end of uses for tactical ground burst weapons. It's effectively giving troops and engineers an infinite supply of TNT. Extremely fast mine clearing; extremely fast forest clearing; totally obliterating cover and concealment; point destruction of key terrain like hilltops; destruction of useful infrastructure such as roads and rails; creating or clearing major engineering obstacles; annihilating hard targets like tank formations or concrete structures; smoke screens; stubborn infantryman; splitting logs; starting campfires; practical jokes.
Crews in M113s and Sheridans would have had to contend with their aluminum armor becoming radioactive when bombarded with gamma and neutron radiation. The gas masks would serve to concentrate radioactive dust near one's brain. Mixed reviews as to whether they would be a good or bad idea in a pentomic environment. Excellent narration Paul, many thanks!
Steel armour will also become radioactive after exposure to neutron radiation, possibly more so than aluminum.
We did the cbrn training in basic, that equipment sucks. I couldnt imagine having to operate in that equipment full time.
Thanks for another excellent video Paul.
Thank you for watching!
Good video. I do wish there was some discussion of the threat of prompt radiation (different than fallout), the development of neutron bombs and the ways that tanks were designed to reduce that threat.
Prepping a vehicle for a nuclear attack, one dismount all antennas, two all loose gear on the outside secured inside, three if time allows get in full turret defilade This can be first if warning orders are early enough. Four crew positioning to be secure and away from edges and other sharp objects. Getting the antennas down is very important to prevent electrical overload on gear. Unplugging individual connections was also taught in the US. I taught Anti-tank operations in the US Army with a variety of weapons M113 and more fragile wheeled junk were our movement options.
I can't get over the fact you're saying "NUCULAR". "English MF, do you speak it?" xD
If you think the chieftain was cramped try it in a Scimitar. It was only the commanders chair that had the “dump” function! 😂
Paul seems very knowledgeable and is a great presenter!
Doesnt know how to pronounce ‘nuclear’ tho
Nicely presented
To the end of the video, I am fortunate enough to live in America, so Fallout sounds like a pretty fun time! Also, I really wanna come back to see the museum in person sometime! I went back in 2014 when I stayed with my friend Martin! Such a beautiful country and a stunning display!
Please do more evaluation of tank doctrine videos
Great video but you wouldn't be blinded by a nuke if you were using a Night vision scope, as the screen can only go pure white, it's the same as looking at a screen and setting the brightness to max on a white screen.
@12:40 I once spent a week in full NBC kit that was heavier than one on video; 1cm thick vulcanized rubber at the thinnest and closed circuit rebreather. Only the second worst experience in my life xD
Let's make a video about bombs with a guy who can't say nuclear
What? The Object 279 is a real tank? Great narration and lots of documenting photos, Tank Museum you made my Monday a shade more interesting. Thank you! Proud to be a Patreon contributor.
What did you expect it to be?
@@PineCone227_ another WOT paper tank.
Glad to make your day brighter! Thank you so much for your support!
Having been in the British army in W Germany during the 80's I can confirm that the minute a nuke landed we were all heading to the English channel to get home and look after our loved ones. This was discussed many times in the NAAFI.
Also you need to check the fit on that respirator. There's air getting into it from round the face seal, hence steaming up.
Tactical Enhanced or “Neutron”-weapons were to be employed to stop hordes of enemy tanks by immediately incapacitating tank crews, during the Cold War. Comparatively low-yield, and without a fissionable fusion tamper, the fusion-fuel generated copious quantities of thermal neutrons from the D-T reaction that would penetrate the tank armour, and kill the crew. The Soviets called them “Capitalist Weapons” because N-Bombs killed people and kept property “intact.” My first time on this channel. I really liked the post!
Really well put together video 👏 love the effort that's got into making this, hope to see more!
Watch this space!
many Soviet tanks like the T-55A and the T-72 had an anti-radiation liner on their interior surfaces called podboi and some outer surfaces of the tank were also reinforced with a similar material called nadboi. the liners were made from ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene infused with boron and their function was to shield the crew from neutron radiation in areas were there was not enough other materials (such as thick steel armor, composite armor with textolite or tanks with fuel for example) to provide radiation shielding. there were other NBC protections as well.
Yes, the T-55 had an ABC-package very similar as the one shown in the video.
Peace! from Dresden / Germany
Great video. Fam really explains things well
Thanks - See you soon!
@@thetankmuseum Sunday! And not if I see you first lol
This is the first video that I have see presented by Paul Famojuro (I had to look in the description to find his name), he is excellent!
Thanks Michael!
Flashbacks of night marching to the range in MOPP gear.
@@mikeraphone3000 I started AIT at Ft Sam in late July. I feel your pain man.
An EMP does not "affect everything with an antenna". Even a radar array, which can have a lot of them, largely depends on what type of hardware is used. Vacuum tubes, as opposed to solid state, will deal quite well with an EMP.
Using night vision wouldn't blind them, night vision is essentially looking at a small TV screen. The NVGs might be burnt out, but that wouldn't transmit any energy directly to the operator's eyes.
You had to wear noddy suites and masks all the time because your filter was connected to the N.B.C. pack. Also the radio ( Clansman 353 ) was shielded, so very heavy.
one Cold war tank with a high focus on Nuclear survivability is STRV103
Sweden had alot of focus on Nuclear Survivability Including Ships like the Halland class destroyers which could be operated in a Nuclear secure way with no sailor needed outside during service qw qn example.
We also had Europes 3rd largest oil powerplant built inside one of the worlds biggest Atomic safe bunkers outside of Stenungsund.
There is talk about renovate it into a Nuclear 4th gen plant.
Top tip, there is NO second "u" in nuclear...
There is the NEW nucular weapon, I think President W Bush invented it.
The shock wave alone would give a new meaning to "ring my bell" regardless of PPE worn.
Even as an Australian Infantry soldier in the 90's and early 2000's we did a lot of NBC training!! We had to wear the full kit and do a 3.2km run and shoot in tropical heat of Townsville Australia. Had to do the run in a certain time then complete a live fire shoot and pass. The shooting was easy the running and overheating, not so much!! The worst gas we learnt about was called a Blood agent. It could defeat even the best respirator in 5 minutes and would stop your red blood cells from carrying oxygen which suffocated you to death!!
That’s incorrect and misleading. The suit (or it being impregnated with charcoal (which is a chemical absorption barrier) or not impregnated with charcoal) isn’t going to protect you from Gamma or X-rays. It would need to be made of lead or some other ridiculously heavy metal (or so thick as to be impractical if made of other materials) to even stand a chance of offering protection against Gamma radiation. What the suit can do is prevent you from getting Alpha, Beta, or Gamma emitting particulates (irradiated ground/debris/fallout) from getting into or on your body. In your hair. Under your nails. In your GI track from food. Or into your lungs. In this way, it can “protect” from alpha and beta emitters which can be blocked by human skin or even a single sheet of notebook paper. But Gamma emitters will not only go straight through the suit… but straight through your body… and that’s where they’re gonna start destroying your DNA/tissue/cells. MOPP is a barrier for chemicals and biological agents… but in a highly irradiated environment… it doesn’t do much of anything. You can get a lethal dose of radiation wearing the suit… or without it. It makes zero difference in many scenarios. It will make decontamination easier no matter what… and could possibly save life if you got alpha or beta immiting participles inside your body. And don’t ever drink the polonium 210 tea that Putin gives to his “guests”.
Mostly good info but a bit misleading discussion of chernobyl. It is mostly cleaned up and was until the russian invasion something of a tourist spot with working hotels etc. Lower radiation in chernobly city than on an average international flight for example.Its also now a thriving example of how nature can succeded when people step back.
I can highly recommend Kyle Hill's documentary series both Pripyat and Fukushima on those aspects. The Chernobyl exclusion zone is still not a healthy area, and there are still more than enough core products in the environment, 'hot particles' that you don't accidentally want to bring home and get stuck into your bed matras. Containable yes, safe with appropriate behavior.. likely, idiot proof... not so much.
A german F-104 pilot said that in the Cold War times they sat in ready mode in their planes, armed up with US nuclear bombs, to be instantly ready for a retaliatory strike it the USSR started a nuclear attack.
He said never before of after did they drink as much as back then. They did not care whether they were sober in their plane.
He said they knew even if they would be able to take off, even if they would be able to fulfill their mission, when they returned their airfield would probably be destroyed, their families blown up, and their country be a nuclear wasteland. So it did not matter whether they would do their job.
The functioning of the Cold War was the surety that if one side started an attack, it was definite that it would also be annihilated - maybe a few hours later, but definitely.
That kept all side in a stalemate.
Shortly after the german wall came down, when the USSR and the Warsaw Pact imploded, the Cold War more or less vanished, I was in a chat with someone from the german foreign office.
He said that the giant threat of the Cold War conflict had suppressed all the smaller conflicts that are sizzling on since centuries til millenia. He said that his office sees the potential for 140 local conflicts that are now eventually coming out again.
And when you look at what happened in the time after 1989, all the places where people happily killed each other, that insane number was not that unrealistic.
Respect ... Talking " mushroom clouds " - that is a might 'fro !🇨🇦
I would have figured the best way to survive a nuke in a tank is to start two hours before the blast, point the front of the hull away from the blast, then bury the accelerator as far as it will go until minimum safe distance.
The front of the tank is the strongest so I’m not sure how this would work.
Congratulations on a debut Tank Museum vid. Excellent.As a fellow Brit, to those who don't like the way he says nuclear, it's how we do pronounce it in England, the country that invented English (and the tank). 😁
You guys were the first to build one, but the inventor was leonardo da vinci (as far as we can tell)
Thanks for your feedback!
Great video!
Thank you!
Maybe I’m just too early in the video, but the comment “equipment was developed to make fighting possible in the aftermath of a nuclear exchange” that’s an idea that is absolutely insane lol after we end the world how can we keep doing the thing that caused it. Bananas.
This was a very good and professional video. Blot, Bang, Rub!!!
Thanks for the feedback!
EMP is mostly from high altitude bursts I thought... the inverse compton effect... gamma smashed air molecules breaking off electrons. those get accelerated along the magnetic field lines, emitting a shedload of radio waves- which induces a massive current in conductors, aerials etc
I loved this guy's narration
Thanks for the feedback - glad you enjoyed it!
The only thing better than seeing a new Tank Museum video would be David Fletcher coming out of retirement for a video or ten!
Tank jesus forever man.
I remember training for NBC. Hated it. Agree with the question, would you even want to survive?
If the NBC systems needed to be used on an armored fighting vehicle… you can start a timer… there is no room inside for the necessities necessary to sustain human life for long. The water isn’t stored inside. The chow isn’t stored inside. Liquid and solid human waste can’t be accumulated to a large degree. Any maintenance or even things like ground guiding and refueling or rearming need to be done outside. That’s the real limiting factor of how long the vehicle can fight if the exterior is highly irradiated or if slimed by other chemical warfare agents… fuel and water and ammo. I’d liken the systems to keep the crew functional long enough to drive the vehicle to safety and possibly fight a little on the way… if the NBC systems even work. In Iraq the vehicles (LAV variants) heating systems didn’t even work the few times they were needed. The NBC systems never even were tested or used. We fought out of MOPP same as the CAT Teams in Hummers with no NBC systems.
The threat of an NBC attack and dummy 'gas' attacks (just smoke shells for instance) is enough to substantially reduce combat effectiveness. If you can get your enemy to spend hours or even days in NBC suits and have armoured vehicles constantly buttoned up, you've probably already made them 50% less effective.
TOPP High sucked, especially digging fighting positions in 32°c temps. Defecation drills and even sleeping in that claustrophobic outfit gave you nightmares. The only time that getup was good was winter warfare, when you passed gas it was actually balmy when you were in the trench at -40°c.
I would think the glass of the periscope would absorb most non-visible EM radiation. The crew may still be blinded, but I'm not sure they would be burned.
scientist much?
I was of the opinion EMP only occurs with detonations at very high altitudes. No tactical device would have an associated EMP wave.
I do think the overall narrative gets a bit smeared in the telling but I do like Paul. He's good at what he does. A solid host. And I feel he knows the subject and tells it well. I would have preferred a more "on the nose" presentation, it meandered a bit, but this was an enjoyable watch. Sorry for my poor English, I'm an American.
Nuclear, not nucular.
Otherwise great video and good speaking voice. That last one is something that's hard to fake, so you will do well 👍
try wearing all that NBC gear along with LBE and helmet and clearing a trench in Texas during July.
Great video...👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
this is a bit light on science as an explanatory video.
A few points here:
1. As others have previously commented on, Able Archer was not an exercise to provoke in order to study the Soviet response!
2. Nuclear is pronounce nu-clear, that is, clear with nu in front of it. Pronouncing it Nucular weakens the value of this video.
3. The answer to the posed question about whether a crew can survive in this situation is a simple maybe (for some variable value of survive). If I remember correctly as part of the response plans drawn up there were contingencies involving dropping in new tank crews to operate the tanks ( having to clear up the remains of their comrades wouldn't have been the most pleasant task for the replacement crew).
4. Studies by various militaries about using tactical nuclear weapons against deployed armies in the field were pretty much unanimous in the conclusion that those weapons would have been deployed against fixed position assets (POMCUS sites, C4ISR, POL, Ammunition storage etc) since it was extremely difficult to target in such a way to render a significant amount of a deployed and mobile fighting force mission ineffective
One thing myself and at least one fellow viewer wondered in another video, was what about the barrel of the tank? It's one thing having all that NBC gear and filters on the tank, but the barrel is a direct opening to the outside world that can't be sealed.
If the breech is closed, the gun is hermetically sealed.
@@SonsOfLorgar What about when it's opened for loading?
That's why the BBC pack kept the air pressure inside the tank higher than outside, when the breech was open, air was pushed out, not sucked in.
@@FlyboyHelosim The NBC positive pressure system sends a steady rush of air flowing out of any openings including the barrel, preventing ingress of contaminated air. The breech is still a source of contamination since it's directly exposed to the outside elements.
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons-signed 2017, entered into force on January 22, 2021: prohibits possession, manufacture, development, and testing of nuclear weapons, or assistance in such activities, by its parties
"It's a fast and violent end"
I see you've played nukey-spooney before.
I love the chieftain tank
Excellent.
Hey bud, it’s nuclear. Not nucelar.
I thought the first effect of a nuke was the intense x-ray flash that precedes the fireball
This new guy is great
Thanks!
Good information
One classic gaming ruleset stated that if a nuclear weapon was deployed the best way to simulate it on the games table was pour fuel all over it and set it on fire...
When I served in the US Air Force back in the mid 1980's, I had to wear a Chemical Warfare suit once. I was in computer maintenance, back then it was Main Frames, not desktop or laptop computers.
Under the watchful eye of a Quality Assurance inspector, I was being evaluated to perform some maintenance tasks on one of the systems while wearing the full suit. It wasn't difficult, but when I was finished, I was soaked in sweat. And that was in an air-conditioned computer room.
The OBJ.279 can do that with EASE!
What we all want to know is will the boiling vessel survive.
Ngl surviving a nuke in a tank would be rad af 😂
Quick now somebody do the statistics I wanna see if this can really be done 👀
As a fullscale nuclear war leaves nothing behind that's worth fighting for, I can only repeat sting's words.
I hope the Russians love their children, too.
8:37
"50'000 people use to live here, its a ghost town now"
Some of the Fallout from Chernobyl reached Britain, there are still parts of Scotland that get regular radiation tests.
The hypothetical week buttoned up. It is why many NATO forces were envious of the BV (Boiling Vessel) in British Tanks. Hot drinks and hot food is a morale booster.
Somebody forgot to use the anti fog cream on those respirator lenses. At least these days you can have a drink in NBC gear. The faff to have a drink "when ordered only", with the old S6 respirator. Not something I care to repeat.
As most of the actual effects on the Centurion and "crew" are likely still classified. Really, this was about squaddies operating in an NBC environment.
one of the most amazing thing he I ever saw was a platoon of Gurkahs doing an obstacle course, in full NBC kit, including S10 respirators, full webbing and weapons. They went around it like they were in tracksuits! We were all on our chinstraps after doing it in uniform only! Did I say it was the middle of summer?
Nuclear yield doesn't scale up as people think. 20 megaton nuke wont have double the effects of 10 megaton nuke.
True for blast radius, but larger nukes are dramatically more effective at creating and spreading fallout. Take the Lucky Dragon incident during Operation Castle. I believe the largest nukes were predicted to be able to destroy DC entirely as well as cause something like LD50 (50%) fatal exposure in New York City. Command and Control by Eric Schlosser is a great technical deep dive into nuclear strategy, testing, and incidents.
They seem to mix the effects of a ground burst detonation with an air burst one. air burst = max EMP, but min fall out, etc.
NBC pack not really useful once you start firing since the air flowing through open breech is not treated. You end up needing to be in MOPP-4 even inside the vehicle. From experience, after 3 weeks this is not fun.
Oh and forget it these days if you have grown a beard (no seal).
The sheer mention on the topic across many different channels these days mentioning nuclear blast is terrifying by itself. It’s like people are conditions for what’s to come soon. There will be many bodies in a fridges scattered across the landscape I presume… a bit of dark humour.😢
I like this host.
Clear and concise language.
Is Paul a regular host?
Thanks for the feedback! Paul is one of our new presenters. He runs our successful TikTok channel too!
I was one of those Cold War tankers.