@@wbertie2604 : Groundskeeper Willie: "Lunchlady Doris, have ya got any grease?" Lunchlady Doris: "Yes. Yes, we do." Groundskeeper Willie: *rips off his shirt* "Then grease me up, woman!"
You should have seen the gent I went through Basic and AIT with at Fort Knox back in 1980....He was 6ft 8in tall and weighed in at just over 200lbs....And we were trained on M-60A1s....As drivers....I'm just a tick over 6ft 4in tall and tipped the scales at 185lbs back then. I had to basically wedge myself into the Drivers Position and bend at the waist while driving "buttoned up" to see to drive.....Now in 2021 my back and neck still hurt despite the fact that I later transitioned into the "First Edition", Chrysler produced, M1 Abrams MBT with it's high class reclining drivers position.
@@ColdWarShot A ball turret gunner? Ah hell....I am so truly humbled. Compared to your friend I was working in the lap of luxury for more than one reason.
I met the chieftain once, he really is a man you can look up to. I'll never understand how he became a tank commander and not a M.O.S more fitting his stature, like Humvee hurler.
Did you consider asking anyone who actually drove these about their experience? My step-dad was a 6-footer who drove one of these in the Irish Guards. He’s sadly passed away, but there must be others.
@@andrewduncan3487 one of my sponsors for my P.E. was a Sherman tank commander for the Israeli defense force. He said very little. He only shared the story of how his tank died. It was hit, detonated, and he and the turret were thrown away from the detonation. He was really quiet after that. That's my only tanker story, I have many more Navy and Air stories.
Chieftain - Veteran, provided years of expert knowledge and presentations into almost all armored vehicles that have graced a battlefield. Given lectures on common and uncommon doctrines, situations and points of view from the complete history of armored warfare, Including a collaboration on a project to provide the most in depth documentary of the second world war that has ever existed. Community - Yes, but dose the big man fit?
I find it rather amusing that anytime you watch a movie featuring a tank, there is always room for the crew in the turret to stretch out, reach for things at arm's length, invite in some guests, do a little dancing between battles, etc.
It takes courage to throw with signs put there by the people who you may end up putting in a position where they have to decide whether to cut you out of their Carrier or wait a few weeks until you're thin enough to be removed without damaging a valuable museum piece.
The only reason they'd get him out instead of waiting is that humans need to use the bathroom. That would destroy the vehicle in a way that's much harder to reassemble...
@@88porpoise It's a bit of spatial-awareness gymnastics though - you're facing forward but you're also lunged over so "forward" is more toward the floor, and you can't get too far away from the floor or else you'll get shrapnel in the noggin but that's not "back", that's "up". Also, you're driving an armoured vehicle.
watching this, I very quickly went from worrying about the Chieftain breaking something in the carrier to worrying that the carrier would break something in the Chieftain. c.e. typo
@@paullyczak9916 they are, but they dont involve the personal pain and discomfort of jamming a large person into a small, pointy, space that most armoured vehicles have..... Probably helps that I'm 6'2" and a bit bulky so can imagine the issues.....
When I was in the CF we had a Bren Carrier that was used on parades. It was tiny driving with the 113s. The only fellow I ever saw drive it was one of the maintainers. He was about 5' 7.
Seeing him 'driving' from the gunner's seat reminded me of the scene from "Police Academy" where Mahoney is giving Hightower a refresher in driving, having stolen Copeland's car (a subcompact), and after being unable to fit in the driver's seat, Hightower rips out the driver's seat and drives from the back seat. Then, too, there are some surprising "how?" moments from WWII -- in Martin Caidin's book "Flying Fortresses", he recounts a B-17 pilot who was 6'7" tall. Having been in the Collings Foundation's "Nine-O-Nine", I couldn't fit in the pilot's seat, and I'm two inches shorter. Perhaps the seat was movable to account for it, but "Twelve O'Clock High" lies through its teeth -- there is nowhere *near* the space in the cockpit that it portrays.
OK, now I really want to see Chieftain in the CMP. I know they had a reputation to be cramped (as I recall the British specified a certain size for the cab without considering the size of the engines), but surely a full on truck isn't worse than the Universal Carrier
It’s a squeeze in my Cab 13 CMP at 6’2” and fat & it’s worse getting in with the Australian ones with the canvas door inserts in the door way but once you’re actually in they’re cramped but no worse than a modern small car. The real issues arise from the amount of noise & heat in the cab thanks to the engine being right next to you under 3mm of steel cover. The warning signs go out when a vehicle with no side or back windows is equipped with kick vents and windscreens that fold out.
It's all that Irish fresh air Nick had when he was a nipper! Universal Carriers are designed for men who grew up in the 1930s smog of London, Manchester and Glasgow and were fed coal as kids!😂
Chieftain with all due respect we all know you're true nemesis is the AMX ELC BIS at the museum of saumur in France. Now that would be epic. Perhaps you could prove me wrong it would make it all the better
Is that promise a political promise? Core or non core political promise? It's an Aussie thing, it came up in a Federal Election Campaign a few years ago probably 20 years, now that I think about it.
My friends dad was a bren gun carrier driver - the Germans nailed him in the NL and he lost an eye. I didn't realize how tight it was to drive. Interesting video, thanks Chieftain!
I gotta say this.... Nicholas, you are the bestest dude ever! Not ashamed for your humility (esp with pronunciations), your great sense of humour, and your dedication to educating people on the subject you know best, and your service to your country.... Nicholas Moran is a "Man Among Men"....and now.... Oh bugger...the tank is on fire!
My ex father-in-law has a Been gun carrier in his yard in northern Ontario. I was working on restoring it to drivable. I am 5'9" and I had trouble fitting in the drivers area. Gunners seat is far more comfortable.
As a big man with a fair amount of claustrophobia I admire people who can go in into a tank, very small compartments and most daring, into caves there they have to squeeze themselfs trough small orfices and even go under water and do this. Cudos to the Chieftain and people like him!
Tell me about it. Trying to explain to all the creepy white supremacist closet Nazi fan boys that the Bren beat the MG42 hands down because it had infrastructure is getting old.
To the point that even this guy who enjoys history has difficulty finding interviews explaining why it was so good. Is it just the fact that it was a cheap, reliable vehicle that could be adapted to do nearly anything?
@@BjornTheDim My family had one of these on the farm in Ontario Canada. 65 horse power flat head ford V8. we used it for pulling a disc. 1st was a little slow , 2nd a little fast. cut most of the armour off to lighten it up. My brother and I had a lot of fun doing things that we shouldn't have.
One of these days you are gonna get stuck and will have to live the rest of your life knowing a poor tank had to be blowtorched into pieces to get you out :p
What a hoot, Chieftain. I'm the short man in my family (i.e., I'm the only man in 3 or 4 generations who never reached six foot even. Bothered me all my life until I savored this video. Thanks. "I prefer the ferret ..." wow, did that come out of left field or what?
Considering there is an ‘extra’ half metre or so of vehicle forward of the armour plate, why they didn’t just run flat sloping armour up from the front ‘bumper’, instead of almost horizontal and then vertical just in front of the driver, significantly increase the internal volume, for minimal increase if any in armour weight or area (expensive stuff at the time, me thinks).
Slope damfour takes more time and effort, both to design and to build. You don't get 113 000 armoured vehicles built in 2 and a half decades by faffing around with sloped armour or roofs.
@@watcherzero5256 A sloping plate of the same thickness would have weighed less & given more protection than as designed, would have required less cutting & less welding too.
I think everybody who has seen one since just after the war has wondered that to some extent. The actual design as built doesn't really save much in the way of materials over your suggestion and when you look at the amount of complexity in the shape of the driver and gunner's compartment I really can't see how it's any easier or quicker to build.
I’ll be completely honest I saw the video title and went, “What a Chieftain surely can’t fit inside a Uni. Carrier!” I was just entirely confused. Great video! I love it and I will probably start watching them again now.
Chieftain's videos show us so much about historical vehicles that most books and certainly TV documentaries never mention. I've seen photos and films of people driving a UC, but not getting in or out of the thing. Now we know that driving a UC all day long must have been a challenge for most people.
"Can you imagine driving with your head down like this?" I take it you've never been to Miami Beach or the Villages? Many 80 year old drivers who have to look through the steering wheel. And their turn signals were never changed from the left indicator.
I appreciate these videos. I am about the same height and build as Chieftain and it's nice to have a vague idea of what I could or couldn't operate when I finish my time machine.
This almost required KY. Never met a tanker taller than 5'8" except my Platoon Sgt in the 101st MP Co. 6'4" (same as me) went tanks in Vietnam to get out of the Infantry, then switched to MP.
Attention all tank enthusiasts! The Australian armor and artillery museum has recently started a video series called "workshop Wednesday". So each Wednesday a fantastic video about tank restoration shows up. They are working on a StuG, Jagdpanther and Goliath now. They really show the restoration, not just pictures before and after. Definitely worth checking out! And no, they didn't send me here, I just like their channel so much.
After i saw MasterMilo's homemade tankette again the other day, i realize how small it is compared to this massive machine. AND YET, Chieftain would probably fit into that one just fine. Maybe one day he can come and take a look at their VMP and Type-69-II, along with their tankette. Would be interesting to say the least.
Considering that @MasterMilo is not only Dutch, but also of a pretty decent height, even by Dutch standards, that says very little about how well the Chieftain would fit in both Milo's homemade tankette or T-69-II.
@@walthanas True, but the tankette looks pretty spacious when he's sitting in it, and its got room to the rear whereas this carrier just ends with a metal plate. As for T-69-II, its a proper tank designed long after the Soviets learned harsh lessons with T-34, i'd expect it to fit him like most MBTs.
A carrier section was one of the most heavily armed infantry squads in the war. 3 carriers with 12 guys, 3 Sten SMG, 3 Bren LMG, and 6 rifles. A carrier section could dismount in the blink of an eye. A heavily armed infantry squad with their own battle taxis. What is not to love?
This cavalry soldier always preferred the mobility of wheels/tracks and having a crew served weapon (of the non-dis-mountable variant) everywhere I went.
One thing I've always wondered with the Universal Carrier, did anyone (even as a field expedient mount) attempt to mount one of the US M45 Quadmounts on the back?
How would you mount it? You'd have to move the engine (which normally runs down the middle) and then come up with some way of making the whole thing stable while the gun platform turns, let alone while it fires. I don't think you realise how small the Universal is. It's about the same size as a modern Mini - the Mini is longer and a little taller, but the UC is wider by ~10cm (~4 inches).
Wasn’t needed so wasn’t done. British Army had plenty of Crusader AA tanks to provide rapid heavy fire like that. Carriers were more infantry workhorses - some had detachable Vickers MG mounted in them but they were mainly meant to transport heavier kit (MG’s, mortars) or as towed anti-tank for inf battalions. Otters carried artillery observers & team, or local recce. Each inf battalion would have a Carrier Platoon too that was sort of fast assault (speed to objective, jump out etc). Just little workhorses really, every job every theatre of war every year of the war.
Here ya go, Nick; a gift for the armored warrior who has everything . . . except short legs. On Soviet Red Army use of the Universal Carrier: Six men in a Bren are sleeping again, but only one is warm. The radioman hides, the TC chides, and the burp gunners share the storm, The loaders have welts from the ammo belts and the MG man's cold as heck, Only the driver smiles as they shiver(!), he sleeps on the engine deck! -WBC
If that's a carrier I have to ask what does it launch? drones for airstrikes? Also the ants that crew the flight deck do they still have to wear the brightly colored jackets like they do on American aircraft carriers
The carrier did basically everything in the way of infantry support, admin, logistics etc. Mortars, MGs, artillery observers, wireless monitoring, antitank tow, recce, some assault, forward light resupply. A real workhorse. Some tasks got phased out by different vehicles (ie Kangaroos as a jury-rigged early APC). Could go anywhere, served in every theatre of the land war from 39-45. Any story of British & Commonwealth armies in WW2 can’t ignore the universal carrier.
My father drove one of the Australian pattern in the early 1940s. He was 6’2” and did mention the tendency to burn his leg on the engine, but did not otherwise complain. Pity he’s not around to ask...
Whatching you sit on the left reminded me of scene from the movie Police Academy 1. Mahony was teaching the tall guy to drive. He didnt in a Pacer so they removed the front seats and sat in the back :D
Reminds me a bit of my local mail-lady. She is a contractor with the USPS and delivers with her own personal vehicle. Of course, a traditional left-hand steering wheel location isn't optimal to deliver mail since almost all mailboxes will be on the right side of the vehicle... so he just sits in the passenger seat and steers/accelerates/brakes like that while having her mail to deliver in the driver's seat. Also, now I want a drawn image of Chieftain sitting in the machine gunner's seat of a UC furiously shooting and driving all at the same time on par with that one British tank commander commenting on the M3 Lee about someone handing him a cheese sandwich while he's telling the driver to move forward but he's reversing, the 37mm turret is firing the wrong way, etc.
You gotta hand it to the british though, the universal carrier was basicly world war 2s only viable tankette because the ability to carry cargo and troops actualy gave it purpous.
According to Wikipedia the Universal Carrier was built from 1934 to 1960. The size constraints could be possibly attributed to the fact that most people were a bit smaller in the 1930s. Did later models have more ergonomic designs to adjust to average heights and weights increasing after WWII?
The first BMW Mini is more or less the same length. The latest one is a bit longer. But that's because it's a bloated monstrosity compared to Issigonis's classic design.
When I built the old Tamiya Bren Carrier model kit I cut/bent the driver's legs in several places to make him fit. Fortunately, that wasn't necessary for the Chieftain!
I hope you one day do a video where you go over various track link designs. Most people about the tanks themselves, but nobody really talks about some of the more basic components that might be somewhat unique on a tank to tank or even country by country basis.
For those who wish to laugh, its small size made it an excellent recon vehicle, it provided mobility for the battalion's 3 inch mortars and Vickers machine guns and was the tractor for the 6 pounder (57mm) AT gun which could kill anything up to a Mark IV - see the battle of Snipe - plus it was easy to build in quantity en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_of_Outpost_Snipe#Analysis
It was determined I am too tall to have flown a Hawker Hurricane. I have never been too tall for anything in my adult life. Makes me glad I never tried to be a tanker. I'm probably a few inches wider across the shoulders than you too...
3:41 "Can you imagine driving with your head down like **this**?" Uh, you should see the older people I see driving here in Scotland, I think they'd be happy with it.
My father drove a universal carrier when he served in the Australian Army during WW2. The vehicle was designed by a British committee to be able to be manufactured by the most basic factory anywhere in the British Commonweath. Mechanically it's a Ford Model A. My father reckoned it was designed by a committee of not very bright midgets. My father was 5 foot nine tall.
You must know that in the '30s and '40s, most men were quite a bit smaller; in height and frame. This was particularly true in Europe. Maybe you CAN drive one but how would you get out in a hurry? Thanks for the video.
The museum staff will walk past in a year and see a big lanky skeleton wearing a cavalry hat sat in the carrier 😀 Though so awesome you tried. Do like a carrier, me. The ultimate Commonwealth workhorse from 39-45. Troops, reinforcements, kit, resupply, recce, platoon assault, diversions, mortars, MGs, anti-tank, flame-throwers (look up the Wasp for the small tracked fiery messenger of death), rockets once, artillery observation, line laying, wireless relay - the carrier will do it all (not at the same time though…).
YEESSSS!!! the CMP!! Finally the poor old girls get some recognition, of all the things produced in Canada for the war they would stand among the most important. I love mine I have a General Motors Holden built late production C60L or 3 Ton Chev at 6’2” and a general round shape it’s a bit of a squeeze to get in but like the ferret once you're actually in its not that bad nice big thick seat cushions a sprung backrest the cab itself is sprung there's worse things to ride in. Cab 13 is a vast improvement over the Cab 12 however you’ll have more fun squeezing into that Cab 12 next to it.
EMS and Fire Department Personnel: "We got nothin'....By the way, how the hell did he get THAT far into that thing?" Good Old Boy with plasma cutter: " Hell's bells....I'll get him out in a skinny minute....Hold my beer."
That was dangerously close to being less 'Can the Chieftain fit into...?' and more 'Will the Chieftain get stuck...?'
Followup series. Can Chieftain get out of ... feat. a hydraulic cutter.
@@Staarfury That would be called 'Can openers'
@@Staarfury Nah, you just need to grease him up beforehand.
@@wbertie2604 : Groundskeeper Willie: "Lunchlady Doris, have ya got any grease?"
Lunchlady Doris: "Yes. Yes, we do."
Groundskeeper Willie: *rips off his shirt* "Then grease me up, woman!"
@@hawkeye5955 I expect The Chieftan keeps in shape, but please, not on this channel.
Chieftain’s last words: “Oh Bugger, the Carrier’s on fire”
You should have seen the gent I went through Basic and AIT with at Fort Knox back in 1980....He was 6ft 8in tall and weighed in at just over 200lbs....And we were trained on M-60A1s....As drivers....I'm just a tick over 6ft 4in tall and tipped the scales at 185lbs back then. I had to basically wedge myself into the Drivers Position and bend at the waist while driving "buttoned up" to see to drive.....Now in 2021 my back and neck still hurt despite the fact that I later transitioned into the "First Edition", Chrysler produced, M1 Abrams MBT with it's high class reclining drivers position.
@@fdmackey3666 I had a friend who was 6’2” who was a ball turret Gunner, I don’t know how guys like him, yourself you’re friend did it!
@@fdmackey3666 I had a friend who was 6’2” who was a ball turret Gunner, I don’t know how guys like him, yourself and you’re friend did it!
@@ColdWarShot A ball turret gunner? Ah hell....I am so truly humbled. Compared to your friend I was working in the lap of luxury for more than one reason.
@@fdmackey3666 Frank Freeman. He was in the 301st Squadron, 97th Bomb Group. His plane was The Sandman. Boy did he have some fun stories to tell!
I met the chieftain once, he really is a man you can look up to. I'll never understand how he became a tank commander and not a M.O.S more fitting his stature, like Humvee hurler.
He became a TC because the only way to fit him in a tank was to let him stick half his body out of the commander's cupola.
In submarine parlance, he's a goon. Anyone over 6 feet in a submarine is a goon, and the Chieftain *certainly* qualifies.
Did you consider asking anyone who actually drove these about their experience? My step-dad was a 6-footer who drove one of these in the Irish Guards. He’s sadly passed away, but there must be others.
I, was a Humvee Hurler. --had my own M-1026. I am also 6'2". Never did fit into Leopard 2 or anything else properly armored.
@@andrewduncan3487 one of my sponsors for my P.E. was a Sherman tank commander for the Israeli defense force. He said very little. He only shared the story of how his tank died. It was hit, detonated, and he and the turret were thrown away from the detonation. He was really quiet after that.
That's my only tanker story, I have many more Navy and Air stories.
Chieftain - Veteran, provided years of expert knowledge and presentations into almost all armored vehicles that have graced a battlefield. Given lectures on common and uncommon doctrines, situations and points of view from the complete history of armored warfare, Including a collaboration on a project to provide the most in depth documentary of the second world war that has ever existed.
Community - Yes, but dose the big man fit?
And don't forget. "How fast does big man get out?"
That might me a punishment for emphasizing crew working conditions so much. The Chieftain has taught all of us, that ergonomics is a thing :)
And the classic; between these two big men, who is the biggest?
@@marmite8959 Who *has* the biggest it is.
"Oh bugger, the carrier's on fire."
Who would've guessed one of the hardest vehicles for Chieftain to operate can't even protect from rain?
It's British. The rain doesn't concern us.
The rain washed the blood out.
Theese are cool machines!
@@RawPower7 3 Ton rain bucket reporting for duty
or grenades
In the next episode: Can EMT's cut Chieftain out of a Carro Veloce with the Jaws of Life?
You're becoming an excellent contortionist sir!
Wouldnt be a can opener be enough to cut the chieftan out of a Carro Veloce? :P
@@thesayxx considering the thickness of the plates on the CV? a store bought can opener would probably be sufficient
I find it rather amusing that anytime you watch a movie featuring a tank, there is always room for the crew in the turret to stretch out, reach for things at arm's length, invite in some guests, do a little dancing between battles, etc.
Careful about driving a Bren Carrier from the gunner's seat Chieftain, you might give the French ideas that one-man tanks are a viable option.
That ship has already sunk.
Pierce Brosnan already did that.
You mean, again.
It takes courage to throw with signs put there by the people who you may end up putting in a position where they have to decide whether to cut you out of their Carrier or wait a few weeks until you're thin enough to be removed without damaging a valuable museum piece.
Did not realize option A was a choice. Emaciation is just a much easier prospect.
The only reason they'd get him out instead of waiting is that humans need to use the bathroom.
That would destroy the vehicle in a way that's much harder to reassemble...
His problem is that he's too tall, not too thick.
Nah Mate, just put him on Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers diet.
"Can you imagine driving with your head down like this?"
Not personally, but I think I've an idea of what Hans Moleman may have done in the War.
hehehe
I think he's small enough he wouldn't need to hunch down.
Probably got run over.
If it put some steel between me and the MG-42, I think I could find a way to make do
@@88porpoise It's a bit of spatial-awareness gymnastics though - you're facing forward but you're also lunged over so "forward" is more toward the floor, and you can't get too far away from the floor or else you'll get shrapnel in the noggin but that's not "back", that's "up". Also, you're driving an armoured vehicle.
watching this, I very quickly went from worrying about the Chieftain breaking something in the carrier to worrying that the carrier would break something in the Chieftain.
c.e. typo
Nah he is tuff.
@@HanSolo__
And he ain't that young anymore.
We tend to break down as we age.
@@jintsuubest9331 the carrier or the chieftain? ;)
@@ElDesperado7 yes
I don't know why we all enjoy watching Nicholas torture himself trying to fit in small armored vehicles... But we do.😈
Schadenfreude... The Germans call it.
I know why, and to quote Homer Simpson - "It's funny because it isn't me!"
It's the best part of the channel......
@@alistairwhite2906 one of the best things. His tangents are even more legendary.
@@paullyczak9916 they are, but they dont involve the personal pain and discomfort of jamming a large person into a small, pointy, space that most armoured vehicles have.....
Probably helps that I'm 6'2" and a bit bulky so can imagine the issues.....
This is basically every man getting into the car after his wife was driving it.
🤣😂🤣😂💯
Me: 6' 2"
Wife: 4' 11"
The pain is real.
@@robertl6196 6'1" v 5'1" here. The pain is real.
Well why didn't you marry wives closer to your height?
Glad I don't have that problem me and the fiancee are a few inches apart
This means that Sofilein would have to drive Nicholas around in a UC one day. She'd like that. We'd like that.
His wife wouldn't if my memories of soufelien's interactions with him last time are anything to go by.
(Joke!)
@@JohnDoe-vm5rb are wives evil ?
@@abaialsa712 Depends on the wife. I just remember her flirting with the chieftain a bit :p
@@JohnDoe-vm5rb I think it was just doe-eyed (no pun intended) adoration. Which of us here who is male would be any different?
He fits better in the TKS; just wow.
To be fair, the TKS is one of the best designed tankettes, if not the best
When I was in the CF we had a Bren Carrier that was used on parades. It was tiny driving with the 113s.
The only fellow I ever saw drive it was one of the maintainers. He was about 5' 7.
Seeing him 'driving' from the gunner's seat reminded me of the scene from "Police Academy" where Mahoney is giving Hightower a refresher in driving, having stolen Copeland's car (a subcompact), and after being unable to fit in the driver's seat, Hightower rips out the driver's seat and drives from the back seat.
Then, too, there are some surprising "how?" moments from WWII -- in Martin Caidin's book "Flying Fortresses", he recounts a B-17 pilot who was 6'7" tall. Having been in the Collings Foundation's "Nine-O-Nine", I couldn't fit in the pilot's seat, and I'm two inches shorter. Perhaps the seat was movable to account for it, but "Twelve O'Clock High" lies through its teeth -- there is nowhere *near* the space in the cockpit that it portrays.
You could probably fit a Bren Carrier in the back of some modern APCs.
You could always try taking a Goliath for a ride...
Oh no non no nonono... *YESSS!*
As sitting on top is the only way of riding a goliath. Should be no problem.
@@Darilon12 would he fit though with his long legs
OK, now I really want to see Chieftain in the CMP.
I know they had a reputation to be cramped (as I recall the British specified a certain size for the cab without considering the size of the engines), but surely a full on truck isn't worse than the Universal Carrier
The Ford 12 cab on the right would be the real challenge.
I have a better suggestion: try one of those valentines fitted with 6pdr
ive sat and driven in a CMP and they are good(spacewise)... seat could be more comfortable tho
It’s a squeeze in my Cab 13 CMP at 6’2” and fat & it’s worse getting in with the Australian ones with the canvas door inserts in the door way but once you’re actually in they’re cramped but no worse than a modern small car.
The real issues arise from the amount of noise & heat in the cab thanks to the engine being right next to you under 3mm of steel cover.
The warning signs go out when a vehicle with no side or back windows is equipped with kick vents and windscreens that fold out.
It's all that Irish fresh air Nick had when he was a nipper! Universal Carriers are designed for men who grew up in the 1930s smog of London, Manchester and Glasgow and were fed coal as kids!😂
Bless The Chieftain for doing this for our amusement.
Chieftain with all due respect we all know you're true nemesis is the AMX ELC BIS at the museum of saumur in France. Now that would be epic. Perhaps you could prove me wrong it would make it all the better
*evilly laughs in M22*
@@titanfallgamerwithnotitanf8187 I've done M22...
@@TheChieftainsHatch so which one is worse then?
@@TheChieftainsHatch oh God... imagine 2 other people PLUS with the ammunition
@@TheChieftainsHatch How about the Badger, mini assault tank?
This week on "If Chieftain Fits, Chieftain Sits" (promise I won't recycle this joke again).
*Two weeks later.jpg*
@@TheArchaos :D
No, We demand that this become a thing.
Is that promise a political promise? Core or non core political promise?
It's an Aussie thing, it came up in a Federal Election Campaign a few years ago probably 20 years, now that I think about it.
@@markfryer9880 I think it sounds familiar. Either way, my answer will have changed by next week probably, so...
If he fits he sits
LOL
Glad Chieftain was able to determine that the carrier can be driven from the proper side.
My friends dad was a bren gun carrier driver - the Germans nailed him in the NL and he lost an eye. I didn't realize how tight it was to drive. Interesting video, thanks Chieftain!
But... *what about the track tensioning?*
I think he did that in the other video this is just about fitting.
Worry not. He has a spanner nearby so could stick the hand outside and crank the tension from inside. Just like in 2S1 or Challenger
Couldn't be easier. You can do it with the steering wheel.
I gotta say this.... Nicholas, you are the bestest dude ever! Not ashamed for your humility (esp with pronunciations), your great sense of humour, and your dedication to educating people on the subject you know best, and your service to your country.... Nicholas Moran is a "Man Among Men"....and now....
Oh bugger...the tank is on fire!
Well, thank you, Sir!
My ex father-in-law has a Been gun carrier in his yard in northern Ontario. I was working on restoring it to drivable. I am 5'9" and I had trouble fitting in the drivers area. Gunners seat is far more comfortable.
As a big man with a fair amount of claustrophobia I admire people who can go in into a tank, very small compartments and most daring, into caves there they have to squeeze themselfs trough small orfices and even go under water and do this. Cudos to the Chieftain and people like him!
The carrier. Such a forgotten, mega-important machine in the commonwealth arsenal.
Tell me about it. Trying to explain to all the creepy white supremacist closet Nazi fan boys that the Bren beat the MG42 hands down because it had infrastructure is getting old.
To the point that even this guy who enjoys history has difficulty finding interviews explaining why it was so good.
Is it just the fact that it was a cheap, reliable vehicle that could be adapted to do nearly anything?
@@BjornTheDim th-cam.com/video/6H6TaztPvdA/w-d-xo.html
@@BjornTheDim My family had one of these on the farm in Ontario Canada. 65 horse power flat head ford V8. we used it for pulling a disc. 1st was a little slow , 2nd a little fast. cut most of the armour off to lighten it up. My brother and I had a lot of fun doing things that we shouldn't have.
I spent a number of years at CFB Borden growing up-loved it
One of these days you are gonna get stuck and will have to live the rest of your life knowing a poor tank had to be blowtorched into pieces to get you out :p
no he'll suck it up pull on a WWII uniform shirt and become a part of the exhibit.
That would upset the machine spirit, the Omnissiah would not be pleased
@@johnhoward7069 Ave omnissiah!
What a hoot, Chieftain. I'm the short man in my family (i.e., I'm the only man in 3 or 4 generations who never reached six foot even. Bothered me all my life until I savored this video. Thanks.
"I prefer the ferret ..." wow, did that come out of left field or what?
Considering there is an ‘extra’ half metre or so of vehicle forward of the armour plate, why they didn’t just run flat sloping armour up from the front ‘bumper’, instead of almost horizontal and then vertical just in front of the driver, significantly increase the internal volume, for minimal increase if any in armour weight or area (expensive stuff at the time, me thinks).
Because it was designed for far shorter people of the time and needed to be mass-produced stupid fast.
Balance, you dont want more weight ahead of the tracks/ground interface as it will cause the vehicle to tip forward.
Slope damfour takes more time and effort, both to design and to build. You don't get 113 000 armoured vehicles built in 2 and a half decades by faffing around with sloped armour or roofs.
@@watcherzero5256 A sloping plate of the same thickness would have weighed less & given more protection than as designed, would have required less cutting & less welding too.
I think everybody who has seen one since just after the war has wondered that to some extent.
The actual design as built doesn't really save much in the way of materials over your suggestion and when you look at the amount of complexity in the shape of the driver and gunner's compartment I really can't see how it's any easier or quicker to build.
I’ll be completely honest I saw the video title and went, “What a Chieftain surely can’t fit inside a Uni. Carrier!” I was just entirely confused. Great video! I love it and I will probably start watching them again now.
1:08
Chieftan: I am in...
Me: physical pain?
Chieftan: Barely
Oh
Chieftain's videos show us so much about historical vehicles that most books and certainly TV documentaries never mention. I've seen photos and films of people driving a UC, but not getting in or out of the thing. Now we know that driving a UC all day long must have been a challenge for most people.
it would be much easier in the 1940s though, depending on your diet and how many factories were around where you grew up
"Can you imagine driving with your head down like this?"
I take it you've never been to Miami Beach or the Villages? Many 80 year old drivers who have to look through the steering wheel. And their turn signals were never changed from the left indicator.
"And thus the Chieftain parted ways with his right foot. The Valiant way."
Long Irish lad tries to slide into smol British box thing on tracks.
Sounds interesting but also moderately suggestive.
Especially with all the grunting and heavy breathing.
@@wraithcadmus if he started hollering and cursing like he did in the Stewart video it would have really topped things off.
I appreciate these videos. I am about the same height and build as Chieftain and it's nice to have a vague idea of what I could or couldn't operate when I finish my time machine.
This almost required KY.
Never met a tanker taller than 5'8" except my Platoon Sgt in the 101st MP Co. 6'4" (same as me) went tanks in Vietnam to get out of the Infantry, then switched to MP.
Attention all tank enthusiasts!
The Australian armor and artillery museum has recently started a video series called "workshop Wednesday". So each Wednesday a fantastic video about tank restoration shows up. They are working on a StuG, Jagdpanther and Goliath now. They really show the restoration, not just pictures before and after. Definitely worth checking out!
And no, they didn't send me here, I just like their channel so much.
I want to see Chieftan go on a fieldtrip to the Polish Army museum and try and fit into their TKS.
He already did the TKS
He did one in Canada or in the US
enjoy: th-cam.com/video/LNLxDP0omKs/w-d-xo.html
The curator must of loved watching this one.
After i saw MasterMilo's homemade tankette again the other day, i realize how small it is compared to this massive machine. AND YET, Chieftain would probably fit into that one just fine.
Maybe one day he can come and take a look at their VMP and Type-69-II, along with their tankette. Would be interesting to say the least.
Go watch him driving Polish puppy TKS tankette!
@@HanSolo__ The TKS is actually really well designed for what it is. He fits in it pretty well.
Considering that @MasterMilo is not only Dutch, but also of a pretty decent height, even by Dutch standards, that says very little about how well the Chieftain would fit in both Milo's homemade tankette or T-69-II.
@@walthanas True, but the tankette looks pretty spacious when he's sitting in it, and its got room to the rear whereas this carrier just ends with a metal plate.
As for T-69-II, its a proper tank designed long after the Soviets learned harsh lessons with T-34, i'd expect it to fit him like most MBTs.
@@cheyannei5983 Yeah. I know. We still got a few of these over here in Poland 😄
A carrier section was one of the most heavily armed infantry squads in the war.
3 carriers with 12 guys, 3 Sten SMG, 3 Bren LMG, and 6 rifles.
A carrier section could dismount in the blink of an eye.
A heavily armed infantry squad with their own battle taxis.
What is not to love?
Here's a question for an experienced armored infantryman. Would you rather be in a carrier or be in the line?
This cavalry soldier always preferred the mobility of wheels/tracks and having a crew served weapon (of the non-dis-mountable variant) everywhere I went.
@@ekscalybur Appreciate the reply. Thanks for your service.
"God said to Moses, this is what you are to say to the Israelites: A second class ride is better than a first class walk"
And it was written....
@@SnoopReddogg Good one m8.
I think some calibre rounds could come through the carrier. It’s not the thickest of armour. Good for splinters and most bullets but…
Nice to see you on again. Love all your videos !
Ahh, his lanky legs strike again!
Still, an MG in one hand, a steering wheel in the other and still able to reach the pedals, what's not to like?
Uni carriers are my favourite vehicle! Great 👍
One thing I've always wondered with the Universal Carrier, did anyone (even as a field expedient mount) attempt to mount one of the US M45 Quadmounts on the back?
How would you mount it? You'd have to move the engine (which normally runs down the middle) and then come up with some way of making the whole thing stable while the gun platform turns, let alone while it fires. I don't think you realise how small the Universal is. It's about the same size as a modern Mini - the Mini is longer and a little taller, but the UC is wider by ~10cm (~4 inches).
The Germans did mount a 2cm FlaK on them--as well as a 3.7 cm PaK.
Wasn’t needed so wasn’t done. British Army had plenty of Crusader AA tanks to provide rapid heavy fire like that. Carriers were more infantry workhorses - some had detachable Vickers MG mounted in them but they were mainly meant to transport heavier kit (MG’s, mortars) or as towed anti-tank for inf battalions. Otters carried artillery observers & team, or local recce. Each inf battalion would have a Carrier Platoon too that was sort of fast assault (speed to objective, jump out etc). Just little workhorses really, every job every theatre of war every year of the war.
Here ya go, Nick; a gift for the armored warrior who has everything . . . except short legs.
On Soviet Red Army use of the Universal Carrier:
Six men in a Bren are sleeping again, but only one is warm.
The radioman hides, the TC chides, and the burp gunners share the storm,
The loaders have welts from the ammo belts and the MG man's cold as heck,
Only the driver smiles as they shiver(!), he sleeps on the engine deck!
-WBC
If that's a carrier I have to ask what does it launch? drones for airstrikes? Also the ants that crew the flight deck do they still have to wear the brightly colored jackets like they do on American aircraft carriers
I don’t know what I was expecting…
The one called Wasp launches fiery napalm carnage.
The carrier did basically everything in the way of infantry support, admin, logistics etc. Mortars, MGs, artillery observers, wireless monitoring, antitank tow, recce, some assault, forward light resupply. A real workhorse. Some tasks got phased out by different vehicles (ie Kangaroos as a jury-rigged early APC). Could go anywhere, served in every theatre of the land war from 39-45. Any story of British & Commonwealth armies in WW2 can’t ignore the universal carrier.
Miracles never cease! Good on ya b'y!
Good Effort, Most amusing
No one suffers for his art more than Nick! 😁😁😁😁
My father drove one of the Australian pattern in the early 1940s.
He was 6’2” and did mention the tendency to burn his leg on the engine, but did not otherwise complain.
Pity he’s not around to ask...
I’ve watched the Chieftain squeeze in to many a wee space on these chats! Good thing he’s not claustrophobic ! He gives David a run for his money too.
Fits like a glove!
Thank you for sharing
Whatching you sit on the left reminded me of scene from the movie Police Academy 1. Mahony was teaching the tall guy to drive. He didnt in a Pacer so they removed the front seats and sat in the back :D
Reminds me a bit of my local mail-lady. She is a contractor with the USPS and delivers with her own personal vehicle. Of course, a traditional left-hand steering wheel location isn't optimal to deliver mail since almost all mailboxes will be on the right side of the vehicle... so he just sits in the passenger seat and steers/accelerates/brakes like that while having her mail to deliver in the driver's seat.
Also, now I want a drawn image of Chieftain sitting in the machine gunner's seat of a UC furiously shooting and driving all at the same time on par with that one British tank commander commenting on the M3 Lee about someone handing him a cheese sandwich while he's telling the driver to move forward but he's reversing, the 37mm turret is firing the wrong way, etc.
You gotta hand it to the british though, the universal carrier was basicly world war 2s only viable tankette because the ability to carry cargo and troops actualy gave it purpous.
It's always fun to se Chieftain fit in small vehicles but nothing can compare to drivers spot in IS4
Posted 2 days ago, 4700 likes and *zero* dislikes.
Also, your film crew was very polite to not laugh at you getting stuck in the thing.
From one battle to another thanks for the video
May the force be with yo Chieftain🤣
Kind of reminds me of how I get into my Viper. Still love my Viper. :D
love the star on british vehicles, reminder of who's the boss.
Love to see him get into the 12 Cab Ford in the background
Just as cozy as a casket!
I feel your pain. At 6'2" I have to hunch over to drive my GPW and M3A1. Even the M35A2 I need to tilt my head forward to drive
I think the next step is a Renault UE Chenillette, and it's funky armored hoods
According to Wikipedia the Universal Carrier was built from 1934 to 1960. The size constraints could be possibly attributed to the fact that most people were a bit smaller in the 1930s. Did later models have more ergonomic designs to adjust to average heights and weights increasing after WWII?
Just for some proper context: a modern Mini is *bigger* than a Universal Carrier - the UC is slightly wider, but the Mini is longer and taller.
The first BMW Mini is more or less the same length. The latest one is a bit longer. But that's because it's a bloated monstrosity compared to Issigonis's classic design.
When I built the old Tamiya Bren Carrier model kit I cut/bent the driver's legs in several places to make him fit. Fortunately, that wasn't necessary for the Chieftain!
I hope you one day do a video where you go over various track link designs. Most people about the tanks themselves, but nobody really talks about some of the more basic components that might be somewhat unique on a tank to tank or even country by country basis.
I'd love to see "Oh bugger, the tank is on fire."
For those who wish to laugh, its small size made it an excellent recon vehicle, it provided mobility for the battalion's 3 inch mortars and Vickers machine guns and was the tractor for the 6 pounder (57mm) AT gun which could kill anything up to a Mark IV - see the battle of Snipe - plus it was easy to build in quantity
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_of_Outpost_Snipe#Analysis
One of the adverts at the end of this video was for a joint pain relief gel! 😀
The one question we don’t know we need that answer for :))
It was determined I am too tall to have flown a Hawker Hurricane. I have never been too tall for anything in my adult life. Makes me glad I never tried to be a tanker. I'm probably a few inches wider across the shoulders than you too...
3:41
"Can you imagine driving with your head down like **this**?"
Uh, you should see the older people I see driving here in Scotland, I think they'd be happy with it.
I don't usually get claustrophobic but watching this made me feel woozy?!?!?!? I envisioned the Fire Dept having to cut you out?
My father drove a universal carrier when he served in the Australian Army during WW2. The vehicle was designed by a British committee to be able to be manufactured by the most basic factory anywhere in the British Commonweath. Mechanically it's a Ford Model A. My father reckoned it was designed by a committee of not very bright midgets. My father was 5 foot nine tall.
I used to play in one of the those in the 1970s in the DLI museum in Durham North East England.
My uncles drove them in the desert. They thought they were great fun. But they were short, stocky types🇳🇿👍
You must know that in the '30s and '40s, most men were quite a bit smaller; in height and frame. This was particularly true in Europe. Maybe you CAN drive one but how would you get out in a hurry? Thanks for the video.
Having just recently been inside of a T-72 and barely fitting in the turret. I would recommend trying it yourself.
The museum staff will walk past in a year and see a big lanky skeleton wearing a cavalry hat sat in the carrier 😀
Though so awesome you tried. Do like a carrier, me. The ultimate Commonwealth workhorse from 39-45. Troops, reinforcements, kit, resupply, recce, platoon assault, diversions, mortars, MGs, anti-tank, flame-throwers (look up the Wasp for the small tracked fiery messenger of death), rockets once, artillery observation, line laying, wireless relay - the carrier will do it all (not at the same time though…).
Oh, the carrier is on fire
God bless the British engineers that put a huge steering wheel in one of the smallest vehicles of the war
A better than fair effort to do it, 10 out of ten for effort
That fits about as well as the driver in my universal carrier model kit, still regretting i glued the steering wheel in....
I hope the Chieftain never gets stuck in one of these small vehicles and require emergency extraction.
"Oh bugger, the Universal Carrier is on fire."
The good news is, Private Baldrick will be driving.
That’s also the bad news. Fortunately, it’s not an enclosed fighting compartment.
YEESSSS!!! the CMP!! Finally the poor old girls get some recognition, of all the things produced in Canada for the war they would stand among the most important.
I love mine I have a General Motors Holden built late production C60L or 3 Ton Chev at 6’2” and a general round shape it’s a bit of a squeeze to get in but like the ferret once you're actually in its not that bad nice big thick seat cushions a sprung backrest the cab itself is sprung there's worse things to ride in.
Cab 13 is a vast improvement over the Cab 12 however you’ll have more fun squeezing into that Cab 12 next to it.
EMS and Fire Department Personnel: "We got nothin'....By the way, how the hell did he get THAT far into that thing?"
Good Old Boy with plasma cutter: " Hell's bells....I'll get him out in a skinny minute....Hold my beer."
Now this one is humerous.