"The A7V was really a lesson in tank construction, following our attempts to show them a tank on the 15th September 1916" David Fletcher dishing out the savagery again.
Well showing the first good tank goes for the brits - but somehow they started constructing only questionable stuff at ww2 (ok to be fair cromwell and comet are good) and germany had the higher ground ;-) Jerry did his homework back then!
I live in Brisbane Australia where the last one of these tanks is located, I remember back the late 80's you could still climb over it as it was parked out the front of the museum, it has since been moved to the new museum nearby, & last I heard they were doing some restoration work on it, I had no idea how rare it was.
A friend who is a reenactor in Brisbane got together with 17 friends, dressed up in reproduction WW1 uniforms with 08 Maxims and they manned the tank for a photo shoot.
I was a child living in Brisbane and used to love going to the old Queensland Museum. The main drawcard for me was Mephisto and likewise I had no idea that it was the only one of it's kind.
Same! Born & bred in Brisbane and remember climbing over Mephisto at the old Museum opposite the Royal Brisbane Hospital. Only now do I realise how unique it is !
The original Crescent wrenches were made in Jamestown, NY. Of course they were American and used inches. Now, however, metric crescent wrenches are common.
Mephisto Chassis 506 was on display in the grounds of the Queensland Museum for many years. As a boy it was a treat on a Sunday to travel into Brisbane to spend the day at the museum & to pay the mandatory visit to see the tank & stare at it in awe of its size. Fortunately it was housed under a "car port" out of the weather which certainly helped in preserving it in a reasonable state for the length of time it stayed there following its transportation to Australia. The structure was surrounded by a low wooden fence which we lads were able to climb over & then clamber up all over the outside of the tank when no one was looking. We couldn't get inside but were able to look through the gun ports at the machinery and think how claustrophobic and smelly it would have been for the crew. I also remember seeing a number of dents in the amour made by small caliber rounds. Never realized then what a prized military possession it would eventually turn out to be. To us it was the "old German tank at the museum".
Ditto. The old Museum building next door to the Ekka was one of my favourite sights when mum took us into the Valley on the tram. Spent a number of days at various times checking out the old tank. Hey, do you remember the lung fish in the aquariums?
I had similar experiences as a kid. Visiting the old museum next to the Ekka was one of my favourite things to do. Dinosaur fossils, old aeroplanes and a tank!
@@mikeyhau I still remember my first ever trip to the old museum. Very exciting! And the tank was the first tank I ever saw ... even though it didn't "look" like a tank. :)
I'm from Brisbane, as a kid I did similar things, Check Mephisto on the way to the Ekka Later as an adult I worked for the Cultural Center (including the museum) Where Mephisto was & is now stored I heard that the Germans came to the Museum to measure the tank so they could make a replica. I went to a model train show at the Ipswich Workshop (railway Museum near Brisbane) & in a large plastic bag was Mephisto. This may have after it was cosmetically restored after if got caught in one of the Brisbane floods & had a visit to Canberra
I remember David Fletcher from the 90's. Lord, he is such a welcoming sight and brings back warm and fond memories from my childhood. I was and still am an avid fan of military history and technology and David Fletcher played a large part in igniting and sustaining that passion.
"You couldn't use them [machine guns] all, because some of them are pointed at your own troops out the back which is not a terribly good idea" --- Fletcher always gives the best tank design advice.
If you go and watch TGW's video at deutsches panzermuseum with their A7V, it was actually a very well thought out piece of kit that solved some of the problems with the early British tanks. Introduced just as many new problems, but hey, that's the Germans for you :P
Ultimately if your weapon of war keeps falling over you kinda failed more then you succeeded. The real irony is the A7V as it's suspension and tracks where designed was for a mobile warfare where the terrain isn't as messed up as the western front. While on the flip side the British designs kept being focused on the idea of that style of warfare repeating itself again post war. A1 independent and TOG, Infantry tanks etc.
You don't have to fire them (and should not fire them) at your own troops, you know? And in case you are surrounded by infantry (which is pretty easy considering a well-trained person could outrun it) you'll feel much safer.
@X X No joke, the radio-controlled miniature sandcrawler that was actually used for Filming star was made using parts from a scale model kit of an M4 Sherman.
After one video I had to search David Fletcher to watch all of his videos. I can't get enough of this. He reminds me so much of my favorite u.s. history teacher. I can't quite place it though, maybe it's like a responsible wit? The perfect amount of humor for sure.
By far one of my favourite tanks, when i saw this vid come up in my subscribers list it made my day. David Fletcher, give that man a knighthood, if hes already got one, give him another.
Lavrentivs its an M60A1/A3 if you look closely the turret is actually facing backwards and the back of the turret is hanging over the front armor, looking closer you can see the front armor is not a rounded hull which the M103 has at the front. M60’s had angles.
Wonderful to see you again, David Fletcher. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, and insights. Wishing you continued health and happiness in your "retirement". Tank Museum, thanks kindly for having these created. Wishing you continued success. :)
I am planning to visit The Tank Museum at early 2019 but until then:Thank you guys at The Tank Museum to make short,yet wonderful videos about armored vehicles like this one. And special thanks to Mr. David Fletcher,who give us some of his precious time for presentations like this one.
David Fletcher is top notch. Considering every A7V ever built, lined up side-by-side could not extend the length of a football pitch, this isn't worth much consideration for things that impacted the battlefields of World War I. The British produced almost exactly 1,900 Mk I and Mk IV tanks while the French produced 2,780 Renault FT light tanks before the Armistice. That's 234 Allied tanks for each one of the A7V's.
So I wonder who would win in a fight. 2,780 FT tanks vs 20 A7V's. Or heck, could a dozen FT tanks take out a A7V? I know the FTs only had a gun that was about as powerful as a M203 grenade launcher, but would that be enough to hammer down a A7V from all sides?
The Germans captured and operated well over 100 British tanks during WWI, yet tank-vs-tank was pretty rare. If I were the French, I would weave around, get close enough to throw gasoline bottles, and then watch the fireworks. The six pounder on a male Mark IV could clobber around 25mm of armor on an A7V. Funny that the A7V has similarities to the overengineered, overweight, oversized Tiger tank of WWII. In the only tank-vs-tank engagement involving the A7V, it won. Like the Tigers usually would win heads up in WWII. However, like the 1300 Tigers built in WWII, there were just not enough German tanks to overcome huge Allied numbers in either war.
Well, Germany was blockaded both times in both wars, so it could be that they just didn't have the materials to build overwhelming numbers, so they instead try to make due with a fewer, better tanks. Still, they succeeded in Poland and France with mobility, not heavy armor or heavy guns.
trevorpom I sincerely hope that it is situated somewhere high above the river so that it won't get flooded out the next time the Brisbane River floods.
Mephisto used to sit outside Brisbane museum for years, saw it recently in Canberra military museum,awe inspiring to see, one of the most amazing museums I’ve been in, would recommend anybody visiting Canberra drop in. , took me two days to see all of the exhibitions . An amazing tribute to all those brave men and women who served .
I’ve seen the real one at the Queensland museum in Brisbane. You can see where bullets had glanced off the side, leaving gouges. I was about ten when I saw it the first time and was blown away. I think it was called Mephisto but I could be wrong.
When I watched the video, I heard several criticisms of the tank, meaning the obviously didn't think it was perfect. They noted that it wasn't well designed to cross trenches but worked well as a mobile bunker on flat terrain. They also said that the guns were so highely elivated that they couldn't see enemies several meters in front of them (around 10m). They also mentioned the fact that it rolled over on rough terrain. Also (like the british tanks) it wasn't very great being inside, noisy, hot, fumes. Explain to me how they said talked about it like it was perfect? They said some good things about it, like how it had a top speed of 12km/h which was quite quick for tanks of the day, also that it was well armored near the front. They said that the germans ultimately weren't that impressed with their designs of tanks, since they couldn't find much of a use for them and that the resources that required to make them could be used more effectively on other machines. Again, please explain how they talked like it was perfect?
I can't get enough of these videos. Even though i know about most of these tanks Mr. Fletcher has a very interesting way of presenting them and almost always from a unique perspective.
"Would the world,🗺 war,💥 two,2⃣ American,🇺🇸 built,🏢 M1. Bazooka anti-tank rocket 🚀 launcher or the 37 millimeter light,🚦 anti-tank artillery gun,🔫 and the british,🇬🇧 and the commonwealth of nations, built,🏢 boys anti-tank rifle and the PIAT mortar launcher or the Soviet Russian,🇷🇺 built,🏢 PTRD-41 and PTRS-41 anti-tank rifles, and the Polish,🇵🇱 anti-tank rifle, alongside the Finnish,🇫🇮 and Soviet Russian,🇷🇺 homemade built,🏢 burning,🔥 molotov cocktail,🍹 glass,🍸 bottle,🍾 grenades,💣 alongside the allied forces captured Nazi German,🇩🇪 built,🏢 Panzerbuchse 39 anti-tank rifle, and the Swiss,🇨🇭 built,🏢 Solothurn S18-1000 anti-tank rifle alongside the Finnish,🇫🇮 built, 🏢 Lahti 39 20mm anti-tank rifle,alongside the Nazi German,🇩🇪 built,🏢 hollowed explosive,💣 charge Panzerfaust disposable recoilless rifle, and the Nazi German,🇩🇪 reversed,🔀 engineered,🛠 built,🏢 version of the American, 🇺🇸 built, 🏢 M1. Bazooka anti-tank rocket,🚀 launcher called the Panzerschreck anti-tank rocket,🚀 launcher,could take out the world,🗺 war,💥 one, 1⃣ Imperial German,🇩🇪 built,🏢 A7V tank by putting it out of commission during the second,✌ world,🗺 war,💥 in the late year of nineteen forty-three to nineteen forty-four?"
Since I live in Australia and this Covid crap is well almost over I'll be going up to visit the only one left in QLD. I havn't seen her in 44 years can't wait. It was the tank that made me a tank nut today.
I'm sure everyone here agrees that David Fletcher should do ALL the tank chats. As much respect I have for the other gentlemen, David Fletcher's unique narrative and humor, along with his encyclopedic knowledge, makes him a superstar!
Recently saw the last A7V, “Mephisto”, captured by Australian troops and currently held at the Queensland Railway Workshops Museum in Ipswich, awaiting restoration after a hundred years out in the weather.
my maternal Grandfater had an encounter with one while driveing his ambulance back from “the front”. while driveing though a barrage on a village, he was suddley infron on one of these, and squads of german troups. the commander in the tank on see his red crosses, orders all tropus to stop shootings, let a ricocket hit the veichle. he then got out (or hand outthe door) ofthe tank, and waved my garpop past, and as pop passed, saluted him. such honor was not the only time he met german chivalry during WW1.
Something he failed to mention, is that thia driving toaster wasn't meant to take on british tanks. It was mainly designed to drive over a trench, clear out the trench using the mgs on the side and then deploy the Sturmtrupp carried inside to take over the trench. More of an Armored transport. An all terrain armored transport you might say.... Oh if only we had given it legs....
So what we've learned is, the Germans have been overengineering their tanks since the very beginning, not just with the well known ones. They're such wonderful monstrosities of steel, aren't they?
He exaggerates the instability of the A7V and it wasn't quite the biblical disaster he makes it out to be. It is best to think of the A7V and Mk.IV as both being a something of a disaster but for different reasons. It's also worth keeping in mind that nobody really knew what the optimum layout of a tank was in 1915/16. The Germans generally liked both the A7V and the Mk.IV (which they also operated in large-ish numbers since British army generously donated several hundred examples of it to the German army) but acknowledged that both tanks had severe limitations and flaws. One major criticism of the Mk.IV from the German side (apart from the thin armour) was the fact that it was colossally under-powered to the point where it could not evade artillery fire. This was a problem the A7V did not have despite all its other problems with rough ground and needing pioneers to cross trenches (which the Mk.IV didn't). Another German criticism of the Mk.IV was that it was steered by two steersmen and two brakemen so driving the Mk.IV required the commander to communicate with no less than four other crewmen. In fact this was considered such a major flaw in the Mk.IV that the German army motor vehicles command, responsible for refurbishing British donated Mk.IVs, even tried to modify a Mk.IV to be steerable by fewer crewmen (two IIRC). The A7V on the other hand could be steered by one man and was equipped with an internal signal system the commander could use to communicate with the driver (failing that he could also just kick the driver's shoulder to get his attention). These were major reasons the Germans liked the A7V despite its faults. Thus I would argue the A7V was not *that* much more of a disaster than the Mk.IV was. The interesting thing about the Germans during WWI is that they either operated or extensively tested (often in combat) a specimen of practically every kind of tank used in any numbers during WWI. They are therefore the most reliable source on which WWI tanks were any good and which ones were *truly* a disaster. In general the Germans liked the A7V somewhat better than the Mk.IV, largely because of the A7V's better speed and ease of steering but used the Mk.IV because it was also quite good and because the British made them so widely and easily available by abandoning them in large quantities on the various battle fields of WWI. In fact one of the rarely mentioned facts about the battle of Cambrai is that the German counter attack (which most books on the battle dedicate only a few pages to), apart from making extremely effective use of ground attack aircraft, also led to the capture of large numbers of knocked out or broken down Mk.IVs which were refurbished and used by the German army. Two other German favourites were the British Whippet and the French Renault because they were fast, rough terrain capable and could keep up with fast moving 'Stosstruppen', although captured ones were not much used. However, both were major sources of inspiration for features of the 'Leichter Kampfwagen' series being developed at the end of WWI. The French Saint-Chamond and Schneider on the other hand were written off as so uniformly awful that no captured examples were ever refurbished and used despite many being available. So as candidates for worst tank of WWI go, the Saint-Chamond and Schneider are a good place to start since they were regarded at the time as demonstrably worse than both the A7V and the Mk.IV.
Very good comment! The tank was a brand new weapon and both sides had to learn the hard way what it could do or not. Some of the flaws of the A7V can be explained by the fact that its track system was designed for use both as a tank and as a transport carrier (A7V Überlandwagen "cross-country transport"). This caused some compromises. Yes, some A7V broke down, got stuck or toppled over, but the same is true for large numbers of British and French tanks. That's why so many were captured. After the first "tank shock" the Entente tanks were rather ineffective for quite a long time despite their large numbers and that's why the German high command didn't spend much ressources for their own tank production. Taken in consideration that the A7V was designed very quickly, got low production priority and had to be suitable for the transport role as well, it was not too bad.
Yes the Queensland Horse captured the only surviving "Mephisto" A7v. It was at the Brisbane Museum for many years & I visited it many times. Now it's at the Canberra War Museum.
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"It's quite an effective vehicle, apart from the unfortunate habit of falling over"
Ah, the English turn of phrase, please don't ever change!
Michael Coulter Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond
joomanburning agreed
The A7V was a successful tank. Over 95% of the western front was flat ground that presented no problem.
"The A7V was really a lesson in tank construction, following our attempts to show them a tank on the 15th September 1916"
David Fletcher dishing out the savagery again.
Well showing the first good tank goes for the brits - but somehow they started constructing only questionable stuff at ww2 (ok to be fair cromwell and comet are good) and germany had the higher ground ;-)
Jerry did his homework back then!
Success makes people rest on their laurels and the failure is a motivation for progress.
nah, fireflies are good, and churchill too.
Fireflies are american. And churchill... kinda ok, but mobility...
fireflies while used sherman chassis, is uniquely british; americans didnt use them.
I live in Brisbane Australia where the last one of these tanks is located, I remember back the late 80's you could still climb over it as it was parked out the front of the museum, it has since been moved to the new museum nearby, & last I heard they were doing some restoration work on it, I had no idea how rare it was.
It was at the Ipswich railway workshops for a while.
A friend who is a reenactor in Brisbane got together with 17 friends, dressed up in reproduction WW1 uniforms with 08 Maxims and they manned the tank for a photo shoot.
I was lucky enough to see it in Canberra in 2016
I was a child living in Brisbane and used to love going to the old Queensland Museum. The main drawcard for me was Mephisto and likewise I had no idea that it was the only one of it's kind.
Same! Born & bred in Brisbane and remember climbing over Mephisto at the old Museum opposite the Royal Brisbane Hospital. Only now do I realise how unique it is !
5:54 I think the most amazing thing about this video is how much tanks have changed, and how much crescent wrenches have stayed the same.
The original Crescent wrenches were made in Jamestown, NY. Of course they were American and used inches. Now, however, metric crescent wrenches are common.
Hey if it ain't broken don't fix it.
That was an Aussie Sidchrome (now made in China).
I came for the tank and stayed for the mustache
both are quite huge
I'm so glad I happened across the mustache.
That needs to be on a t-shirt. Immediately.
I want a tache like that
It's an interesting moustache and only 20 were built.
Mephisto Chassis 506 was on display in the grounds of the Queensland Museum for many years. As a boy it was a treat on a Sunday to travel into Brisbane to spend the day at the museum & to pay the mandatory visit to see the tank & stare at it in awe of its size. Fortunately it was housed under a "car port" out of the weather which certainly helped in preserving it in a reasonable state for the length of time it stayed there following its transportation to Australia.
The structure was surrounded by a low wooden fence which we lads were able to climb over & then clamber up all over the outside of the tank when no one was looking. We couldn't get inside but were able to look through the gun ports at the machinery and think how claustrophobic and smelly it would have been for the crew. I also remember seeing a number of dents in the amour made by small caliber rounds.
Never realized then what a prized military possession it would eventually turn out to be. To us it was the "old German tank at the museum".
Ditto. The old Museum building next door to the Ekka was one of my favourite sights when mum took us into the Valley on the tram. Spent a number of days at various times checking out the old tank. Hey, do you remember the lung fish in the aquariums?
I had similar experiences as a kid. Visiting the old museum next to the Ekka was one of my favourite things to do. Dinosaur fossils, old aeroplanes and a tank!
@@mikeyhau I still remember my first ever trip to the old museum. Very exciting! And the tank was the first tank I ever saw ... even though it didn't "look" like a tank. :)
@@vk2ig I agree, especially in those days when it was missing its guns
I'm from Brisbane, as a kid I did similar things, Check Mephisto on the way to the Ekka
Later as an adult I worked for the Cultural Center (including the museum) Where Mephisto was & is now stored
I heard that the Germans came to the Museum to measure the tank so they could make a replica.
I went to a model train show at the Ipswich Workshop (railway Museum near Brisbane) & in a large plastic bag was Mephisto.
This may have after it was cosmetically restored after if got caught in one of the Brisbane floods & had a visit to Canberra
"If you see it coming keep out the way, won't you?" No worries, Mr Fletcher. I don't plan on making a 1918 style Tienanmen Square moment.
but nothing happened in Tiananmen Square
the man needs to be declared a world heritage site, so knowledgeable, so wonderful.
and a statue
I remember David Fletcher from the 90's. Lord, he is such a welcoming sight and brings back warm and fond memories from my childhood. I was and still am an avid fan of military history and technology and David Fletcher played a large part in igniting and sustaining that passion.
Where in the 90s did you see david fletcher?
@@engie3953 I am still waiting for the answer.
Nice lies
He was in tv documentaries and bbc productions in the UK..
"You couldn't use them [machine guns] all, because some of them are pointed at your own troops out the back which is not a terribly good idea" --- Fletcher always gives the best tank design advice.
Meanwhile Soviet Generals are listening up ;)
"They had a nasty habit of falling over, and you spent a lot of time looking at the underside of it for that reason." : ))))
Hammond has gone over...brought to you by Pepsi.
@@davidtuttle7556 nice grand tour/top gear reference
@@neoandroid4203 i see you are a man of culture as well.
Imagine seeing one of these on the battlefield all the smoke the noise and all those guns, how utterly frightening... till it falls over 😂
Actually proved very very effective for the germans on fronts that wasn't like the somme
"uh... Was it supposed to do that? ... Maybe we shouldn't go near that thing to be safe?..."
*OOFS IN GERMAN*
Feo
*OOFS IN AUSTRIAN*
AT-ST falling over on Endor comes to mind.
Jingles is right, listening to David Fletcher is amazing
Sounds as if he is speaking with a mouthful of marbles.
Lmao ^
When did he say that? When did jingles say that? Can you tell me when? I want to listen to him saying that lol, very interested
cream crackered ..jolly good
we knew this a long time ago
Shows how much more advanced the German tank was it has a camera and a TV in the back!...
If you go and watch TGW's video at deutsches panzermuseum with their A7V, it was actually a very well thought out piece of kit that solved some of the problems with the early British tanks. Introduced just as many new problems, but hey, that's the Germans for you :P
Ultimately if your weapon of war keeps falling over you kinda failed more then you succeeded. The real irony is the A7V as it's suspension and tracks where designed was for a mobile warfare where the terrain isn't as messed up as the western front. While on the flip side the British designs kept being focused on the idea of that style of warfare repeating itself again post war. A1 independent and TOG, Infantry tanks etc.
On the flip side you say?
It was designed to lay on it's side and fool the allies into thinking the tank was out of commission.
hvymtal This is the worst tank ever designed period! Particularly when you consider the conditions demanded by the Western Front.
I love the way David describes the vehicles. Very witty
It doesnt get much better than a talk from David such a marvel !
David Fletcher is amazing. I could listen to him forever.
Once again a lovely history lesson by the venerable David fletcher
wood1155 oooooh even more knowledge thank you sir I appreciate it
In fairness we won the war, and as the victors write history it means it's our battle our rules so we won.
Gypsy 122 history should be remembered for ALL sides not just the side who won that’s how it repeats itself
This chap is amazing, could listen to him all day
Seems a bit more like H.G. Wells imagined tanks to be in his short story, The Land Ironclads.
I think you’ve hit the right nail on the head.👌🏼
Yep, the Germans were more thinking of an ironclad warship on land, where the British had the greater foresight and inventiveness with their tank.
Love every video with David Fletcher.
Indeed, that man is a national treasure!
TheMetalfreak360 indeed he's a great chap
he needs a spectical in one eye ...and a good pipe to chew on ..just saying
😂😂😂
"Some [guns] were pointed at your own troops out the back - which is not a terribly good idea!" Brilliantly stated!
You don't have to fire them (and should not fire them) at your own troops, you know? And in case you are surrounded by infantry (which is pretty easy considering a well-trained person could outrun it) you'll feel much safer.
Looks like those things out of the first Star Wars... the little buggers in the desert on Tattoine who sold the droids
YES A SANDCRAWLER
Add some legs and you got yourself a AT-AT
@X X No joke, the radio-controlled miniature sandcrawler that was actually used for Filming star was made using parts from a scale model kit of an M4 Sherman.
I thought the same!!
I am always happy when i see a tank chat with David Fletcher appear in my notifications. Could listen to him even longer than Jingles!
"If you see it coming, do your best to get out of the way."
Words to live by.
After one video I had to search David Fletcher to watch all of his videos. I can't get enough of this. He reminds me so much of my favorite u.s. history teacher. I can't quite place it though, maybe it's like a responsible wit? The perfect amount of humor for sure.
The Conqueror in the museum is the one I actually drove. I was stationed there from sept 1962 - dec 1964.
Good job SIR🙏🙏🙏
By far one of my favourite tanks, when i saw this vid come up in my subscribers list it made my day. David Fletcher, give that man a knighthood, if hes already got one, give him another.
Comparing it to the M60 beside it. Shows how tank technology came on in the 40 or 50 years between them.
Looks like an M103 to me. The large overhang on the back of the turret, the M60 doesn't that does it?
Lavrentivs its an M60A1/A3 if you look closely the turret is actually facing backwards and the back of the turret is hanging over the front armor, looking closer you can see the front armor is not a rounded hull which the M103 has at the front. M60’s had angles.
Good eye for the front of the hull, missed that part completely.
Wonderful to see you again, David Fletcher. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, and insights. Wishing you continued health and happiness in your "retirement". Tank Museum, thanks kindly for having these created. Wishing you continued success. :)
"Ah yes, box."
- Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert 1917.
One of my favourite channels. I look forward to every new video and could listen to David Fletcher talk tanks all day.
I am planning to visit The Tank Museum at early 2019 but until then:Thank you guys at The Tank Museum to make short,yet wonderful videos about armored vehicles like this one. And special thanks to Mr. David Fletcher,who give us some of his precious time for presentations like this one.
David Fletcher is top notch. Considering every A7V ever built, lined up side-by-side could not extend the length of a football pitch, this isn't worth much consideration for things that impacted the battlefields of World War I. The British produced almost exactly 1,900 Mk I and Mk IV tanks while the French produced 2,780 Renault FT light tanks before the Armistice. That's 234 Allied tanks for each one of the A7V's.
So I wonder who would win in a fight. 2,780 FT tanks vs 20 A7V's. Or heck, could a dozen FT tanks take out a A7V? I know the FTs only had a gun that was about as powerful as a M203 grenade launcher, but would that be enough to hammer down a A7V from all sides?
The Germans captured and operated well over 100 British tanks during WWI, yet tank-vs-tank was pretty rare. If I were the French, I would weave around, get close enough to throw gasoline bottles, and then watch the fireworks. The six pounder on a male Mark IV could clobber around 25mm of armor on an A7V.
Funny that the A7V has similarities to the overengineered, overweight, oversized Tiger tank of WWII. In the only tank-vs-tank engagement involving the A7V, it won. Like the Tigers usually would win heads up in WWII. However, like the 1300 Tigers built in WWII, there were just not enough German tanks to overcome huge Allied numbers in either war.
Well, Germany was blockaded both times in both wars, so it could be that they just didn't have the materials to build overwhelming numbers, so they instead try to make due with a fewer, better tanks. Still, they succeeded in Poland and France with mobility, not heavy armor or heavy guns.
- Samuel: I'd just like to point out your comment directly contradicts what Fletcher said in the video at 2:35.
Yes, that A7V lost it's tank duel.
What a nice gentleman giving a relaxed talk about a very interesting topic!
Always a pleasure to listen to Mr. Fletcher. Thank you and God bless!
I've seen Mephisto in person at the Australian war memorial in Canberra. It is AMAZING. Well worth the extra trip there!
So did I..
trevorpom I sincerely hope that it is situated somewhere high above the river so that it won't get flooded out the next time the Brisbane River floods.
The Queensland museum is constructing a new display right now- Should be open soon!
buddy? You must be a yank, mate.
Yeah it's in Brisbane mate, it's got a big shell hole on the top!
"If you see it coming, keep out the way. Won't you?" Another excellent observation. Love this man.
This man is a national treasure. Learnt so much from him.
I saw Mephisto at the Australian War Memorial and it is staggering just how big these things are.
David Fletcher says it so well. Thank you.
This gentlemen is very knowledgeable and i like listening to him.
Fortunately, there are no trenches or shell holes on the Western Front.
Listening to him talk about tank is pure bliss.
Mephisto used to sit outside Brisbane museum for years, saw it recently in Canberra military museum,awe inspiring to see, one of the most amazing museums I’ve been in, would recommend anybody visiting Canberra drop in. , took me two days to see all of the exhibitions . An amazing tribute to all those brave men and women who served .
love these Tank Chats and David Fletchers way of telling you about them.
I’ve seen the real one at the Queensland museum in Brisbane. You can see where bullets had glanced off the side, leaving gouges. I was about ten when I saw it the first time and was blown away. I think it was called Mephisto but I could be wrong.
Yes, that is its name.
- Andy of The Great War channel uploads a video about A7V;
- A couple hours later so does the Tank Museum channel.
Not sure if a mere coincidence!
Right now 100 years ago was the mother of all German offensives where the A7V was firstly deployed.
Indy, not Andy...
Will be interesting to compare to the Panzer Museum Munster video on the Great War Channel.
Dylan Milne they talk about the tank like it's perfect, either video is pretty biased
When I watched the video, I heard several criticisms of the tank, meaning the obviously didn't think it was perfect. They noted that it wasn't well designed to cross trenches but worked well as a mobile bunker on flat terrain. They also said that the guns were so highely elivated that they couldn't see enemies several meters in front of them (around 10m). They also mentioned the fact that it rolled over on rough terrain. Also (like the british tanks) it wasn't very great being inside, noisy, hot, fumes. Explain to me how they said talked about it like it was perfect? They said some good things about it, like how it had a top speed of 12km/h which was quite quick for tanks of the day, also that it was well armored near the front. They said that the germans ultimately weren't that impressed with their designs of tanks, since they couldn't find much of a use for them and that the resources that required to make them could be used more effectively on other machines. Again, please explain how they talked like it was perfect?
The most glorious moustache in the world vs a handsome ponytailed german.
I think the Munster tank museum had it right, I feel the British like to oversimplify things at times!
Watch both; very good in different ways.
Outstanding video!
I WILL SIR DAVID!!! I WILL KEEP OUT OF THE WAY IF I SEE IT COMING!!! Quality advice from a legend of a man!
Excellent, while a replica I would have loved to have seen the inside.
It was great to see it running at Tankfest last year.
The inside of an A7V? Follow us, please: th-cam.com/video/ESKxi4EEDUQ/w-d-xo.html
@@DasPanzermuseum THIS IS EXCELLENT!
David Fletcher is amazing.
The story behind mephisto is brilliant.
I really enjoy listening to David Fletcher talk about tanks, praise the Grand Mustache.
I can't get enough of these videos. Even though i know about most of these tanks Mr. Fletcher has a very interesting way of presenting them and almost always from a unique perspective.
"... 22 men in there, coughing their guts up ..." I'm dyin' here!
That comment made me laugh too! 😁
I could listen to David fletcher talk about tanks all day
Very interesting vehicle and typically German. Nice to see the great Mr Fletcher MBE! Sir, you bring the subject alive, thankyou!
This is the best series on TH-cam
He is one of my favourite tank museum hosts with his magnificent moustache and cartoonish looks. I enjoyed the video, thanks!
this is one of the best tank chats ever. and that is saying something.
Seeing the original A7V in Brisbane a few years ago was awesome.
"Would the world,🗺 war,💥 two,2⃣ American,🇺🇸 built,🏢 M1. Bazooka anti-tank rocket 🚀 launcher or the 37 millimeter light,🚦 anti-tank artillery gun,🔫 and the british,🇬🇧 and the commonwealth of nations, built,🏢 boys anti-tank rifle and the PIAT mortar launcher or the Soviet Russian,🇷🇺 built,🏢 PTRD-41 and PTRS-41 anti-tank rifles, and the Polish,🇵🇱 anti-tank rifle, alongside the Finnish,🇫🇮 and Soviet Russian,🇷🇺 homemade built,🏢 burning,🔥 molotov cocktail,🍹 glass,🍸 bottle,🍾 grenades,💣 alongside the allied forces captured Nazi German,🇩🇪 built,🏢 Panzerbuchse 39 anti-tank rifle, and the Swiss,🇨🇭 built,🏢 Solothurn S18-1000 anti-tank rifle alongside the Finnish,🇫🇮 built, 🏢 Lahti 39 20mm anti-tank rifle,alongside the Nazi German,🇩🇪 built,🏢 hollowed explosive,💣 charge Panzerfaust disposable recoilless rifle, and the Nazi German,🇩🇪 reversed,🔀 engineered,🛠 built,🏢 version of the American, 🇺🇸 built, 🏢 M1. Bazooka anti-tank rocket,🚀 launcher called the Panzerschreck anti-tank rocket,🚀 launcher,could take out the world,🗺 war,💥 one, 1⃣ Imperial German,🇩🇪 built,🏢 A7V tank by putting it out of commission during the second,✌ world,🗺 war,💥 in the late year of nineteen forty-three to nineteen forty-four?"
i recently went thier over christmas and ill say i loved it thx for the experience
0:18 Mephisto lives!😀👍 if I am not mistaken, the latest Leopard 2 has a mark number of A7V.
I love how this tank hits 45kph in games! We need this tank in the next "Need for Speed" movie!
I love this channel, i have never in my long life seen that tank before. wow
I'd travel to UK just to see a Tank Museum tour by David Fletcher!!!
Since I live in Australia and this Covid crap is well almost over I'll be going up to visit the only one left in QLD. I havn't seen her in 44 years can't wait. It was the tank that made me a tank nut today.
I'm sure everyone here agrees that David Fletcher should do ALL the tank chats. As much respect I have for the other gentlemen, David Fletcher's unique narrative and humor, along with his encyclopedic knowledge, makes him a superstar!
0:45 That itch. I've had one of those where it just stops you dead in your track until you scratch it.
Awesome, thank you Mr. Fletcher!
Recently saw the last A7V, “Mephisto”, captured by Australian troops and currently held at the Queensland Railway Workshops Museum in Ipswich, awaiting restoration after a hundred years out in the weather.
"... liable to fall over, at a moment's notice!" LOL!
Bear in mind, the huge crew of the A7V did include a brass oompah band to keep morale up. :-)
we need more of this guy
Thank you so much guys I've waited for this video for a long time. Wonderful job
Thankyou and you team for the great story's off the tanks
I had no idea these WW1 tanks had so many crew on board!
“The British tank paused, and put three rounds through it”
God I love listening to Mr Fletcher!
I didn’t realize they were so large
David Fletcher looks so tiny compared to it (and also compared to the tank in the background for that matter).
With 22 people in there, it had to be large.
william pridgen
It's a MOVING FORTRESS.
It still would be freaking crumped, even for "just" 18 People.
Look up the K-Wagen. Even then the Germans had a thing for Go Big or Go Home.
my maternal Grandfater had an encounter with one while driveing his ambulance back from “the front”. while driveing though a barrage on a village, he was suddley infron on one of these, and squads of german troups. the commander in the tank on see his red crosses, orders all tropus to stop shootings, let a ricocket hit the veichle. he then got out (or hand outthe door) ofthe tank, and waved my garpop past, and as pop passed, saluted him. such honor was not the only time he met german chivalry during WW1.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge Sir! Much appreciated.
Very interesting how tank understanding has evolved.
For the crew it must have been hell in a box.
Today The Great War series makes a video about my favourite tank, then The Tank Museum makes a video about the tank as well, it has been a good day!
Thank you
I would love to hear more about the Italian tanks, or even some of the other prototypes that the tank museum holds. Maybe the fv4005 stage 2?
I still maintain that David Fletcher is a national treasure and must be protected at all costs.
This was awesome! I learned quite a bit!
When deployed on level ground, they were quite effective.
Something he failed to mention, is that thia driving toaster wasn't meant to take on british tanks. It was mainly designed to drive over a trench, clear out the trench using the mgs on the side and then deploy the Sturmtrupp carried inside to take over the trench. More of an Armored transport.
An all terrain armored transport you might say....
Oh if only we had given it legs....
The Great War channel just did a tour of one of these yesterday.
So what we've learned is, the Germans have been overengineering their tanks since the very beginning, not just with the well known ones. They're such wonderful monstrosities of steel, aren't they?
He exaggerates the instability of the A7V and it wasn't quite the biblical disaster he makes it out to be. It is best to think of the A7V and Mk.IV as both being a something of a disaster but for different reasons. It's also worth keeping in mind that nobody really knew what the optimum layout of a tank was in 1915/16. The Germans generally liked both the A7V and the Mk.IV (which they also operated in large-ish numbers since British army generously donated several hundred examples of it to the German army) but acknowledged that both tanks had severe limitations and flaws. One major criticism of the Mk.IV from the German side (apart from the thin armour) was the fact that it was colossally under-powered to the point where it could not evade artillery fire. This was a problem the A7V did not have despite all its other problems with rough ground and needing pioneers to cross trenches (which the Mk.IV didn't). Another German criticism of the Mk.IV was that it was steered by two steersmen and two brakemen so driving the Mk.IV required the commander to communicate with no less than four other crewmen. In fact this was considered such a major flaw in the Mk.IV that the German army motor vehicles command, responsible for refurbishing British donated Mk.IVs, even tried to modify a Mk.IV to be steerable by fewer crewmen (two IIRC). The A7V on the other hand could be steered by one man and was equipped with an internal signal system the commander could use to communicate with the driver (failing that he could also just kick the driver's shoulder to get his attention). These were major reasons the Germans liked the A7V despite its faults. Thus I would argue the A7V was not *that* much more of a disaster than the Mk.IV was. The interesting thing about the Germans during WWI is that they either operated or extensively tested (often in combat) a specimen of practically every kind of tank used in any numbers during WWI. They are therefore the most reliable source on which WWI tanks were any good and which ones were *truly* a disaster. In general the Germans liked the A7V somewhat better than the Mk.IV, largely because of the A7V's better speed and ease of steering but used the Mk.IV because it was also quite good and because the British made them so widely and easily available by abandoning them in large quantities on the various battle fields of WWI. In fact one of the rarely mentioned facts about the battle of Cambrai is that the German counter attack (which most books on the battle dedicate only a few pages to), apart from making extremely effective use of ground attack aircraft, also led to the capture of large numbers of knocked out or broken down Mk.IVs which were refurbished and used by the German army. Two other German favourites were the British Whippet and the French Renault because they were fast, rough terrain capable and could keep up with fast moving 'Stosstruppen', although captured ones were not much used. However, both were major sources of inspiration for features of the 'Leichter Kampfwagen' series being developed at the end of WWI. The French Saint-Chamond and Schneider on the other hand were written off as so uniformly awful that no captured examples were ever refurbished and used despite many being available. So as candidates for worst tank of WWI go, the Saint-Chamond and Schneider are a good place to start since they were regarded at the time as demonstrably worse than both the A7V and the Mk.IV.
Very good comment! The tank was a brand new weapon and both sides had to learn the hard way what it could do or not. Some of the flaws of the A7V can be explained by the fact that its track system was designed for use both as a tank and as a transport carrier (A7V Überlandwagen "cross-country transport"). This caused some compromises. Yes, some A7V broke down, got stuck or toppled over, but the same is true for large numbers of British and French tanks. That's why so many were captured. After the first "tank shock" the Entente tanks were rather ineffective for quite a long time despite their large numbers and that's why the German high command didn't spend much ressources for their own tank production. Taken in consideration that the A7V was designed very quickly, got low production priority and had to be suitable for the transport role as well, it was not too bad.
Yes the Queensland Horse captured the only surviving "Mephisto" A7v. It was at the Brisbane Museum for many years & I visited it many times. Now it's at the Canberra War Museum.
David Fletcher doing a tank chat on a German tank! Miracles do happen after all ;-)
great video. thanks for posting.
Great show indeed most interesting and informative.
I only watched because that tank is a beast!