Tank Chat
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- David Fletcher looks at this curiosity from the 1970's, a Land Rover with tracks. Currently housed in The Tank Museum's Vehicle Conservation Centre.
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I know English good manners are a stereotype but I'll take "If you *do* enjoy this then do please like and subscribe" over "remember to smash that like button!" any day lol.
It costs nothing to be polite. and the benefits are tangible
Good point well made
"And do be certain to sound that notification chime, won't you, there's a good fellow."
@@ZGryphon you reminded me!
The landrover half-track, that would make for a fun safari.
Imagine it painted white with zebra stripes. Cool!
I would like the one with the 50 cal mounted on it for hunting with extreme prejudice.
"What was your first car?"
David Fletcher's niece: *This thing.....*
Tank commander: how are you already doing good at driving the Scorpion
Niece: I drove one when it had a land rover welded to the front
Doing good*
Impressive it she was on Top Gear.
Going to a school dance,
Would be interesting......
I learned to drive on a couple of cool cars but man, Fletchers neice dunks on me with this.
When a Land Rover and Scorpion fall in love...
David Fletcher: "...if she could cope with it, I reckon almost anybody could."
Melanie: "Gee, thanks uncle." /sarc
Melanie
@@SMlFFY85 Good point, corrected.
@@kikufutaba1194 There is no need to bring up misogyny; there was no suggestion of hatred or mistrust of women in either his words or demeanor.
@@Akm72 Thank you as it was meant as humor and I am happy the comment police have arrived I am sure you feel better about yourself already
@No Name yeah I am sorry, he was probably correct but was a bit of a jerk. I did mean it as humor I love David Fletcher a wonderful presenter
This video makes me want to see what David Fletcher looks like after weeks of isolation.
Also, starting his niece on a military vehicle before road vehicle. I wish he was my uncle.
I started on an agricultural tractor. I was spoiled by always seeing where the front wheels pointed.
@@vaclav_fejt & i bet the low gears were allot easier to get going :P , moving from tractor to a road vehicle can be a bit of a challenge if your not used to it.
@@blackdeath4eternity Well, they would be, but the tractor does not have synchroniser gears and the gear lever has a strange shape and operating pattern, so if you want to get going, you need to stomp on the clutch twice and slam in the first...I was to little to be even physically able to do it, I only steered and tickled the throttle.
I don't even have a T category licence (but I feel I should know at least a little how to drive it, for the moments of need.
@@vaclav_fejt ah, i see, a nice old tractor then most likely , i have driven quite a few tractors myself with square cut gears & the like, timing is essential to get from first to second,second to third, but getting the tractor moving in first is way easier than getting a car to move in first (much smaller chance of stalling in the tractor if your not used to a manual transmission) .
@@blackdeath4eternity You can't stall a powerful diesel, that much is true. It is a Zetor from the Unified Range I, series 9. I don't remember which model exactly.
Imagine someone driving around with one of these and you see the "student driver" sticker on the back.
It's perfect for training first-time drivers, really. If you accidentally veer off road with it, no problem, just keep going.
worse.... the dreaded "P" plates!
Driving that monster down the road, suddenly a cop stops you and asks for licence!
- Mr Fletcher said that anyone could drive this thing!
- OK, carry on then!
I remember when this was trialed. Great idea, excellent for crew served weapons. Great to see David Fletcher getting an airing. Stay safe old chap!
Have people been checking on Mr Fletcher? Must be lonely being all alone in the museum for months.
I'm sure he's happy and finding plenty to keep him occupied!
you know that, at night, the tanks come to live... they should be quite entertaining to someone like sir david.
Just give him a wall plug camera with a SIM card to trans-fare the data. But it needs big "RECORD" "pause" buttons on it. HE will talk for months ;)
He has all the exhaust fumes he needs for a balanced diet.
@@TheDiner50 I think that there should be only 'RECORD' button on the camera. I never got enough of Sir Davids talk!
David Fletcher: The half-track had it's day.
Military industrial complex: Challenge accepted!
($1.2 Trillion later)
Military industrial complex: Damn, he was right.
@@MFKR696 a half track of its time will have better mobility than a wheeled vehicle, especially off road.
The great example he used was his niece, the first vehicle she ever drove was this half track.
So we have a vehicle which is capable of superior off road handling and can be driven with absolute minimum training, also no size restriction on who can fit into the drivers seat.
@@MFKR696 But they get huge amount of style points and that makes up for it.
@@MFKR696 no, it must look good and everything else comes by itself. Function follows form
@@MFKR696 Remember the 18 ton German half-track prime mover? The USA captured and examined one...and came very close to outright putting it into production...because it did do an excellent job of towing heavy guns and carrying their crews on the battlefield. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sd.Kfz._9
David Fletcher is the best. Thanks.
Mr Fletcher. So good to see you doing well, considering the state of the world. Stay safe, old man!
Celtis Africana - David Fletcher MBE is a prize of a man.
Defense Department: "Do you want a tank or a jeep?"
Army: "Yes"
A Taep?
Landrovion or Scorpover
A Halfrover or Landtrack.
@@PeteCourtier better lol!
@Golden Eagle not a jeep, it's a great British landrover
For those wondering, half-tracks have two big advantages:
- They are easier to drive. Recruits require far less training than a fully tracked vehicle
- They are easier to make. Most normal car factories can make one, as the gearbox and transmission are much more conventional than a tank.
What you may notice therefore, is that the two advantages don't really apply to most countries anymore. Conscription is much rarer, as is total war production. Modern armies have small numbers of specialised vehicles, and professional full-time troops to crew them.
Absolutely bizarre vehicle for its time..... kind of want one not going to lie.
Well, you're not the only one. I kind of just want a tank but this would be a happy compromise being pretty practical for more daily use.
It would be neat if a limited track brake could be fitted so you could get over the issues on gravel. Maybe something like a clutch arrangement that cuts power to the inside track when the wheel's full over to one side so you don't eat through brake pads so quickly.
Back of the que Mr Fisher, back of the que
@@Vespuchian If you run it with an open diff you could run fiddle brakes fairly easily
@@cmotdibbler4454 You'd need a locking or limited slip diff to retain terrain performance but then you've found another way around the issue entirely.
This looks like something you may drive the Queen around in when she visits a warzone.
*This looks like something the Queen might drive when visiting the warzone
Bad idea, she'd probably get behind the wheel and force the entire guard unit to rush after her, desperately trying to keep up. She used to drive an ambulance in WW2 and is a notorious speed demon, old age doesn't appear to have noticeably slowed her down ;)
@@Dr_V yeah, apparently she scared the living lights out of the Saudi Crown Prince once with her driving.
@@glintwing you're incorrect, not only does the queen not drive herself, but it works in the term he stated more correctly than your's, on the basis the queen will be driven by a Chauffeur, meaning you or the Chauffeur would be escorting her to the "warzone".
lets all have a nice pot of tea and converse.
@@Dockhead just sayin
A land rover half track.... it doesnt get much better than that.
Uber unreliable
There have been fully tracked Landies and ones with tracks on front wheels and separate tracks on the rear
Just for a bit of context;
the Chad vs Libya war of 1986-87 was called "The Great Toyota War "
NOT "The Great Land Rover War "
Chad Chad vs virgin Libya?
@@andypants1000 Well Chad won so yeah, Chad was like totally Chad.
Absolutely perfect thread.
The only videos I press the like button before I even watch them!
That is so cool. Well, I know what I'm doing with my car if and when I get my grandmothers inheritance :)
The engine started out as the Buick 215 V8. Better known as the little Nailhead. Very durable and you can still get parts.
You need a 5 point harness to drive it off road. Back in 1989-90 at one of the last tank displays at gallows hill my brother was driving it over the knife edge. And being back heavy the driver was in midair until it was over balanced and came down quite fast. Good job only six where made.
Almost 30k views 16 hours after upload. Happy to see there's robust interest, I love the series.
Thank you , Mr Fletcher .
God save the David Fletcher
Keep him safe in the museum
Better than the forward control Landrovers of our mortar platoon which kept falling over and going to sleep.
The first thing I thought when I opened this video: "What? Sir Fletcher is starting to talk about cars now?! This world is really going crazy!". Then I saw it has tracks and I was "oohhh dear me!! Now, ok.l!".
Fascinating! And that brochure looked great.
Omg....i could listen to him tell stories all day...he's awesome
In Germany NSU answered the question about what happens if you steer with one wheel on the front and tracks at the back. In the UK, Land Rover answered the same question about what happens if you do it with two wheels at the front and tracks at the back - at least our driver didn't get wet when it rained.
Oooh nice shout out for the great dorset steam fair - a great couple days in the countryside at the end of the summer if you are ever in England. Me and a bunch of lads (all around 25) went there, camped, and had a bloody good time. Like a music festival but with more steam engines, cider and tractor pulling and less drugs and sex. Although as I understand it, if you brought a caravan that dynamic changed a little ;).
Thank you David’s.
Thanks David, I went and put on my t shirt with you on the front when I saw it was you presenting, cheers
The photo of the half-track carrying another vehicle in the bed is classic!
my first car was an ex aussie army series 3 , there was a place in silverwater in sydney called land vehicle spares they exclusively did landis i remember in their office they had a picture of one of these in civilian livery and from that point ive always wanted one just for the novelty but i always knew id probably never see one in the flesh
i love the tankchats so much i let all the ads roll (and this comment is good for engagment algorithm too)
As a lifelong Landy fan & driver, I have to say this is possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen.
I had no idea wow this could have been a farmers wet dream. You learn something everyday why this was not more popular god knows but man all I can say is epic.
Not that useful for farmers - for a start, unlike tractors, there are big restrictions against driving tracked vehicles on the roads because, among other reasons, of the damage they do to the road surface. And tracks don’t grip roads as well as tyres, not even as well as mud-pattern tyres, which are horrible on wet roads.
Then there’s the cost of maintaining the thing - lots of unusual parts to go wrong - and the need to do track things like checking and adjusting track tension frequently and properly. And if it ever did bog down in mud to the floor pan you’d need to fetch an AVRE or Chinook to get it out again.
Best videos out there in the Internet!
Impractical, but looks like great fun.
I want one.
maybe good for mud .
@@killerkraut9179 exactly. Or pushing old logging roads to find good camping spots.
@@lairdcummings9092 a moto hmoe version would be Good
@@killerkraut9179 it's good for the load, and looks like it's got a spacious footprint. Maybe modify the ambulance version?
Oh cool. I always found vehicles like this neat
Awesome vehicle! Just looks cool!
Thank you David.. You brightened up my day .
I will check that option box when I order my next Land Rover!
lol @ they quickly run away. Looks like a fun vehicle!
You're one of my favorite teachers Dave. Thanks for another session.
Grandads back . We all love to see you again .
In Australia we built the extended six wheel drive variant of the Land Rover, those things could go anywhere.
I saw one of these in the Highlands about 20 years ago. It was climbing almost a steep unpaved hill with no problems at all.
I would adore that as a camper
Have to say, it looks like a right laugh to drive.
Would love to have one, just to mess with people's heads doing the school run and going shopping.
Exactly why I want a Scorpion. The school run is boring and parking is a chore, but being able to park in top of other vehicles and deploy smoke at junctions makes both a problem solving exercise.
Fitted with a Rover V8 petrol hog, no wonder that it didn't sell. Aussie Army Defenders were fitted with a 3.8 L four cylinder Isuzu diesel engine and the 6 x 6 came with a turbo.
we had to go diesel as a nato requirement , commonality of equipment and all that , the series 3 had a leyland long slide 6 petrol had more balls than the isuzu diesel but the isuzu was more common here so cheaper for parts , most s3's that got pensioned off ended up having the leylands swapped out for either the holden red or yellow motors for the fuel economy
Looks like something they'd cook up on Top Gear (the proper one)
The only mistake, but a huge one, is that they put TANK tracks, which probably weight more then whole rest. With light tracks it would be perfect. Just look at all these bolt-on rubber/aluminium tracks they put on ATVs and 4x4s these days. Costs a fraction, can be steered however you want, whole maintenance is to hose them down from mud/snow.
I had thought WWII saw the last of half tracks. What a cool truck! I’d love to see if any other companies toyed with the idea also!
Now that is a cool little vehicle.
I've seen this but I need a hit of David Fletcher.
Does someone do the catering for mr. Fletcher. You know, leave it at the door, ring the bell and wave from the APC when driving awy
I remember going to the south of England show in the early eighties and there was a stand selling these. I wish I kept their brochure now.
Always pleased to see a land Rover.
Interesting mishmash of old and new designs.
Very interesting, thanks for another great video!
The wider body was a good idea. A problem with the whole Land Rover series is that they are a bit too small. (Also on the old engine, under-powered)
Remember seeing this in the Airfix Magazine when the vehicle was previewed and thought it would be a great subject for a model. Never got round to building one though. One day maybe...
I remember in the 80s, or 90s, some entity named Alltrac was selling modules for track conversions for off-road vehicles.
These days there are some half-tracked sugar cane harvesters available.
In speculative fiction, especially in tabletop gaming, halftrack revivals are common. They often appeared in Anderson works. Then again, in speculative fiction they routinely have tanks upwards of 300 tonnes GVM...
My all time favourite vehicle.Top of my wish list ! But then, I am a dyed in the wool Land Rover guy.
In Thailand they have the half track tuk tuk!
British "Shed Engineering " at its best.
I wonder if it could have had success in the USA, not as a military vehicle certainly, but as a thing for sale to utility companies, mines, logging firms and rural fire departments and similar concerns? Halftracks are allowed on the road where full-track vehicles are generally not. This could be advantageous for vehicles that would spend most of their time off-road but could find significant utility with being able to use roads opportunistically or to move from work-site to work-site and to maintenance facilities.
Differential braking COULD be added, just a relatively few modifications to the steering.
I WANT ONE NOW!
The one in the picture looks like it's a stage one V8 (so 70's/80's vintage). The one featured by David looks like it's based on a later defender in stead.
started off from the p76 and range rover vogue
as i understand it mate it got a rebuild about 20 to 25 years back so as to make it roadworthy and to get it though an mot. but I would be happy if someone knows better and could tell us why it got a new front end.
tommy fred the frontend is all defender, I wonder if they based the centaurs first on the series and later on defender platforms
@@tommyfred6180 i was talking about the motor , but yeah i have seen pictures of a series 3 with tracks,they did a lot of funny things with landis back in the day
@@warci Only one was built with a coil sprung front end, that's the one the museum have, with wheelarch flairs and single piece windscreen. Earlier examples were on series III stage 1 V8. Only 5 or 6 were built in total.
The Australian army had a 6x6 landrover called the perentie , that is the largest monitor lizard native to AUS
There are two of these, (109 versions) up near York. One complete, one in parts.
"...you don't even notice the tracks are there. It handles just like a normal Land Rover." Classic low blow
Can you please do more odd tanks or trucks or military anything like this .You guys have some amazing stuff in storage i see .
I so want one of these, I’ve dreamed of turning a Land Rover into a half track and some clever fella beat me to it.
Welsh though, so maybe dial down the "clever" bit...
Does Melanie have a mustache like Uncle David?
Robert Klein you wish!
If she does, send her my way... UwU
Do you guys know anything about the Citroën half-tracks that was used for the french expeditions in Afrca and Asia in the 20s and 30s? I believe they call them _Citroën Kégresse_ in french, and the expeditions are called _La croisière noire_ (Africa 1924-25), _la Croisière jaune_ (Asia 1931-32), and _la Croisière blanche_ (Canada 1934)
Please someone call up Doug. He's probably going to get nuts over this!
Most Centaurs were made on the "Stage One" 109" V8 leaf sprung Land Rover chassis. This one is made on a chassis of a coil sprung Land Rover 110".
I wonder how the performance of this setup compared to the triangular track unit that fitted in each wheel station. A photo I saw of a landrover with these fitted was marked as being with the RAF bomb disposal unit. There are clips on YT of modern 4x4s running on modern equivalents
I Remember coming across one of these for sale about 7 years ago. I was interested and confused about it at the same time but I wish I had the money to buy it back then.
Now imagine if someone half-tracked a Supacat Jackal...
I love how the love of tracks seems to run in his family
The Centaur is ridiculous and I love it, if I ever had the chance I'd buy or make one myself. I can't explain it, but I have a great affection for crap machines, the weirder and more useless the better
They quickly run away in fear at the devils work of a machine! 4:18
1:54 That guy in the back looks a bit like my father, where was this picture taken and what date? I know my dad told me that he driven a 'jeep with 3 axles and a jeep with tracks in the back" It could be that this is what he was saying. I never did hear him talk about possible photo's though, only photo's I seen of his time in the army was in a wooden building drinking beer with his buddies.
“Oh no. Another Landrover, quick, run away!”
They should try making these and selling them to people in northern areas for a really all weather vehicle. For a more fuel efficient model, combine a Carden-Lloyd with a Morris Minor 1000 front...
Pete Hall - They did. See my other comment.
There was a Land Rover fitted with tracked bogies in place of wheels used by RAF Bomb Disposal.
It's like the Chevy El Camino of half tracks. I'd like to see one customized as a low rider.
The Albert Einstein of The Tank Museum! lol. Cheers!!
on a prog i saw on tv a guy had borrowed that half track and it was very noisy he said and no suspension on the tracked wheels , the prog was military machines on discovery channel i tink a link .
2:03
We need a jeep that can carry another jeep!
🤦🏼♂️
This by is badass mate
Great videos! Is it possible to get a Tank chat on the A-34 Comet I ? That would be awesome.
Yes a Rover V8 @ 150bhp is a powerful engine, back in the 70's, should of put a great big diesel lump in it instead !
Also i;d buy one of these today if i could !
Land Rover de-tuned the V8 quite a lot. It was somewhere in the 90-100BHP area if memory serves and there’s a quite a lot of power loss due to friction in the complicated transmission in all Land Rover variants. I think because a lot of power coming down fast isn’t a good thing in slippery conditions, though rumour has it that it was to prevent a panicking squaddie trying a fast getaway under fire, slamming the throttle open and instead of moving sitting still with the wheels spinning. A similar rumour claims that’s why the army Defenders rarely had turbos.
The V8 was still a way better performer than the standard petrol version, though the 200TDI and onwards turbo-diesel engines produced more power than the V8, drank less fuel and had a more useful power curve with better low-rpm lugging power. Then again, if someone offered me a Defender with a properly tuned full-power big V8 in it at the right price I’d find it hard to say no.
Thank you for again making an episode on a vehicle I have never even read of. Is my suggestion that these should have been sold as surplus to Australian outbacker's too far off base? Might have found a market there.
This does seem like great fun, I like military vehicles like this where they're just a bit odd and don't have much history in battles etc.
You went to the Great Dorset Steam Fair? Did they do the WWI convoy then?
I want one to carry a pair of snowmobiles up into the backcountry.
The Eastern block kept making APC half-tracks up to the 1980s and some of the former communist states are still using them, especially for the mountain brigades.
You mean the BTR-152?! That's fully wheeled. What half-track was made by the eastern bloc since WWII?
Vladimir Efirmov Yes, the Czech OT-810