Hello Tank Nuts! We hope you enjoyed this Tank Chat with David Fletcher - don't forget to give it some love by sharing it with fellow enthusiasts and let us know your thoughts.
A few errors: I live in Wolverhampton not Birmingham and the turret is original to the hull. It was removed and cut up in 1948 and later welded back together. It was not imported although the replacement bearing was. The 6 crewmen that drowned were not all drivers. There was a Lieutenant, a Sergeant, a Corporal and 3 troopers. It is only the last 3 that could have been drivers but they could alternatively been gunners.
Those DD pioneers were brave men. I swam a Scorpion in the Weser in 1975, we had a bilge pump fitted, totally useless, and all wore life jackets. As driver I had to sit up with the bulk of my life jacket draped over the driver's periscope. You could see the green water swirling through a transparent plastic section in the front of the wading screen. It was the only time I was ever worried when crewing an armoured vehicle. Thankfully the screens were abandoned not long after that, they were very prone to damage in normal (stowed) use.
Another terrific video from the legend! The Valentine is a bit of an oddity as outside of tank enthusiasts it is largely unknown yet it was built in quantity (compared to German tanks especially) and despite its faults it seems to have been reliable. I have always found it to be a good looking little tank.
Thanks to the private collectors who share their toys with the other boys and girls. I strongly feel we should keep history alive by keeping old hardware working as long as possible, then display when not possible. Nothing brings history more alive to a kid/adult than to be there and watch one of these things rumble past. It's as close to a time machine as you can get. You can see, hear, and smell exactly what it was like back then.
I'd love to watch someone follow Mr.Fletcher around the tank museum around with a beer and talk/chat about what ever he wants for hours on end. I'm sure he's got story for days.
I've always really enjoyed the aesthetics of the Val. It's a very sexy and very British tank. I especially like the look of it with the upgraded 6pdr and turret. I've built 2 model kits of them so far and might have to upgrade one to a DD with my 3d printer.
The russians _loved_ it, and received over 3000. Even asked the UK for it's production to be kept going till war end. Apparently it was used as a scout tank. In 1945 it even participated in the invasion of Manchuria.
Hello Tank Nuts! We hope you enjoyed this Tank Chat with David Fletcher - don't forget to give it some love by sharing it with fellow enthusiasts and let us know your thoughts.
Great video. I lived close to a man named Jacques Littlefield who unfortunately passed away in 2009. He had an amazing collection of military vehicles that were mostly tanks. I was at his place many times and watched his team recreate the turret for a Panther tank he had retrieved from a river bed in Poland. Jacques also had a propeller from the Lusitania on the property. Amazing collection.
There are a few of these tanks in the sea around Aberdeenshire and Moray. The beaches in the area were used for training and one at Findhorn is listed as a war grave. The things tended to sink quite easilly and getting out of the drivers seat was difficult.
Still one of my all-time Fav's, the Valentines is such a sweetheart. Though the Chieftain did have a devil of a time getting his 6-4 frame into the driver's compartment. ^~^
Gould is my last name, and it seems to be a very common one. Because the first poor driver on that memorial is a Gould. Although he's not any direct relation to my immediate family. My granddad was a horse soldier in WW2 towing artillery guns, his brother a tail gunner on a bomber, and I think one of my great uncles was in the airforce as a mechanic after the war. There was also another relative we lost in WW1. But none who where in tanks. There are a lot of people that share the name Gould I see it everywhere, in books, credits for films. My thoughts go out to the families of those 6 men of the DD tanks.
There's at least one on the bottom of Fritton Decoy. Incidentally, it's about a mile north of Somerleyton, where Christopher Cockerill did his first experiments while he was developing the hovercraft (in between his day job of running a boat yard with motor cruisers for hire on the Norfolk Broads).
Condoms were very useful for this type of thing. Back in the late '60s I was a Vehicle Mechanic in REME and a member of 15 Field Workshop in Plymouth which was part of the then 24 Brigade (Airportable). We didn't only practice airportability though; because we were in Plymouth, where HMS Fearless was based, our Workshop also had to be able to provide a seaborne capability. As a result, we had to prepare a number of vehicles for shore landing exercises, which was where the condoms came in useful for sealing battery filling caps!
They did, it was called ATEA: amphibious tank escape apparatus. It gave maybe 7 minutes of oxygen with a small cylinder of oxygen reserve that gave another 5 min.
Better not have claustrophobia if you're manning a Valentine, gods those things are cramped -- I can't imagine how bad it was with a 75-mm gun in there!
The LVT was purpose designed to operate in water or on mud and sand. Valentine was adapted to purpose and a very nice job it was. LVT was a great, nominally armored, landing vehicle. Valentine? Not so much. On the other hand, LVT made a terrible tank: LVT(A)1 and LVT(A)4 were only useful against enemies without 13.2mm or larger weapons at hand. Valentine made a dandy little tank* once it dropped the screen. *More or less.
Funny, showing a tank with an extra fuel barrel attached, but then deploying some textile skirt, to make it waterboyurne. The normal thinking would be: attach as many empty but sealed fuel barrels, to make it float as a raft. And of course: use a sufficient bilge pump. This is therefore astonishing, since England at that time had a considerable naval and maritime history and knowledge.
When these tanks sunk during operation Smash on 4 April 1944, were those poor souls trapped and lost because the turret being rotated 180 degrees blocking their only way of escaping?
That is a lot more than I ever realised. That is why the Russians relied upon the Arctic Convoys though they conveniently forget about those and the many losses. The Russians did NOT like the Spitfire though, not sure why, probably trying to use it for ground attack?
I wonder how Mr. Fletcher is doing? It seems he has to catch his breath a lot. I suffer from asthma and had COVID a couple of times so my breathing is horrendous and I tend to pick it up on others when I hear it. I hope Dave is doing well.
When is the tankfest this year? Im sposed to be taking my mum up to monkey world at some point and might combine that with a visit to tankfest. I always like to imagine a combination of the two museums. heh
@@danielcruz8347 He is my father. I should know! Every birthday without fail, I got a tank (as a kid). It was a blessed time. Of course the lectures were a bit dull (I was too young) but the tanks were great! Later I joined the army :)
I remember seeing the Valentine DD at ..The one at Hop Farm, War and Peace?...NO, the other one I'm sure of it down in the New Forest...It was superb to see then back in 2010?...ish. I remember seeing it with the rear brake/clutch wheel spinning profusely whilst stationery. I hope this is the same Tank and if so, total respect to the owner for keeping it running for so long.
David is not quite accurate, 32 tanks (2x squadrons worth) were launched, 6 sank and 1 was abandoned. In all there were about 40,000 practice launches and less than 20 were lost in total in training.
I'm a big fan of David Fletcher . You have to enjoy his candid presentation of these vehicles that he knows so much about. Reminds me of my 11th grade History teacher .
My war experience only encountered tanks of S. Korea and the USA. Either as a battery group or single tanks posted along a supply route. Both had infantry for defense. I saw no tanks in field assault roles. Also noted pimping had more access to single tank postings than battery strength personnel. Public display of such is advised to include a 200 cc motorcycle on which to mount an Asian pimp (any gender) and touted female.
The valentine, was it a good tank for its time and use? I rarely ever hear about it when reading history. It seems to have good armour but it seems rather small and cramped and with a underpowered engine.
I did my apprenticeship at Vickers, trained by old men who built Valentines as young men. They used the local roads as part of the testing grounds, and would charge down a steep hill and change gear down to test the clutch and gearbox. One failed one day and shot through a building to block the main east-west rail line, not a happy result. Also I’m told that if you park a Valentine in gear with no handbrake, you can turn those final drive drums by hand and move the whole vehicle, though I’d imagine it would take a lot of turning to get a small movement
Nice, informative video. Thanks. Looks like I'm too late to enter the always-popular "Comment with the Most Effusive Praise for the Host in order to Garner Likes" contest. Oh well, maybe next time 😁
The pair of Valentine DD’s off Swanage are great little dive. When you swim above them you can see how small they are. I’m curious to know what training the crews got with Desa/Atea. Must have been bloody awful to have to use those escape sets to get out quick in freezing water, loss of visibility, disorientation and so many obstructions.
I like the tank museum because it's just facts. It's an interesting subject and a great way to get away from the horrors of the world. I can watch a video and rest assured it'll be very british and a pleasant discussion about a machine, nothing upsetting, nothing overly exciting, just some history. Thanks for the escape folks.
Never Heard the Story of the Valentine DD. Until today, I thought only the Sherman was the only DD version. I had the impression the Valentine was a Disappointment in the Field. So the idea of Sinking it was prob'ly the Best use of it..!! Feel sorry for the Poor Buggers who Died trying to make it work..! But Great Video and information. Cheers kim 😎
30May-612a maybe the tanks should have 3 functions with gun to support infantry, stingers available to defend itself against enemy aircraft helicopters and anti tank to get javelin or just the barrel gun, and good protected against enemy drones. and the option as artillery
What they should have done I think, is remove the turret and replace it with a light, low profile open topped turret mounting twin .50 cals. I think with the lighter weight it would have handled better in the water and more useful than a solid shot 2 pounder on the beach. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know, but it would have put more armour on the beach than just the Sherman DD's.
Audio and Video Lighting dont seem to be of the usual standard? David Fletcher is tough, may we have him for a long long time :) and as usual the info in the video is great in his usual style :D
I don't think so. 1. Crew of 3, and 3 men on top at launch. 2. Not enough panic for there to be a drowning man inside. Looks like they launched with the crew on top, sensibly, and presumably once they were certain it was floating the driver would get into the driving position.
Unfortunately it was a necessity of war...... the Dieppe raid showed the need for tanks to get to the beach individually, rather grouped together in a LCT which was a big, easy target. It was felt that it lowered the risks of the tanks being knocked out before they hit the beach. In the war it was felt it improved survivability and got support to be beaches where it was needed..... The idea has to be put into the context of the time..... this would never have been allowed in peacetime....
The main armament was arguably the thing the British were best at. The 2 pounder was obsolete early in the war but in its day it was a superb gun and at least as good as foreign contemporary guns. The 6 pound gun was again a superb gun in the anti-tank role. The 75mm wasn't as effective as an anti-tank gun gun but arguably a better all around gun and more appropriate for an infantry tank. And of course the 17 pound gun was a bit of a legend. Of all the elements of British tank design the guns seem to be the bit hardest to criticize. The 2 pounder HE round was pretty useless but that was true for other early war anti-tank guns.
![ผัวเถื่อน - ยูริ โตเกียวมิวสิค [ OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/P08ORRVDGl8/mqdefault.jpg)
Hello Tank Nuts! We hope you enjoyed this Tank Chat with David Fletcher - don't forget to give it some love by sharing it with fellow enthusiasts and let us know your thoughts.
David's voice sounds a bit scratchy; I hope he is well.
"It's not a good idea to go swimming in a tank that isn't water proof!" - David Fletcher, 2022
Okay will do thank you for the information
A few errors: I live in Wolverhampton not Birmingham and the turret is original to the hull. It was removed and cut up in 1948 and later welded back together. It was not imported although the replacement bearing was. The 6 crewmen that drowned were not all drivers. There was a Lieutenant, a Sergeant, a Corporal and 3 troopers. It is only the last 3 that could have been drivers but they could alternatively been gunners.
Good job on the restoration john!
@@JCRichardson117 thanks very much.
Excellent work on the restoration and great to see the Black Country flag flying too. Much respect from Brum to our neighbourhood DD Tanker.
Those DD pioneers were brave men. I swam a Scorpion in the Weser in 1975, we had a bilge pump fitted, totally useless, and all wore life jackets. As driver I had to sit up with the bulk of my life jacket draped over the driver's periscope. You could see the green water swirling through a transparent plastic section in the front of the wading screen. It was the only time I was ever worried when crewing an armoured vehicle. Thankfully the screens were abandoned not long after that, they were very prone to damage in normal (stowed) use.
Interesting 👍🏻
David sounds a little rough. Hope he’s ok
After a night out I sound the same.
Maybe Mr. Fletcher had some fun the night before.
@@palisadenhonko4962 exactly
I was thinking the same thing.
He is 92!
@@williamwilliam5066 Ahhhh - he is "only" 80! Lots of good videos left in him yet (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Fletcher_(military_historian))
Another terrific video from the legend! The Valentine is a bit of an oddity as outside of tank enthusiasts it is largely unknown yet it was built in quantity (compared to German tanks especially) and despite its faults it seems to have been reliable. I have always found it to be a good looking little tank.
We love David Fletcher!
Sorry, but "David Fletcher is a national treasure" will always beat "We love David Fletcher" in the neverending contest to garner likes.
Thanks to the private collectors who share their toys with the other boys and girls. I strongly feel we should keep history alive by keeping old hardware working as long as possible, then display when not possible. Nothing brings history more alive to a kid/adult than to be there and watch one of these things rumble past. It's as close to a time machine as you can get. You can see, hear, and smell exactly what it was like back then.
I'd love to watch someone follow Mr.Fletcher around the tank museum around with a beer and talk/chat about what ever he wants for hours on end. I'm sure he's got story for days.
I've always really enjoyed the aesthetics of the Val. It's a very sexy and very British tank. I especially like the look of it with the upgraded 6pdr and turret. I've built 2 model kits of them so far and might have to upgrade one to a DD with my 3d printer.
Cheap, rugged and reliable. Not an ideal tank, but useful and available at the right time.
The russians _loved_ it, and received over 3000. Even asked the UK for it's production to be kept going till war end. Apparently it was used as a scout tank. In 1945 it even participated in the invasion of Manchuria.
Not Mr. Right but definitely Mr. right now
I thought you were referring to David Fletcher to begin with.
It's major problem was that, as intimidated, it was a bit small.
@@SirVainglory 😀👍
Hello Tank Nuts! We hope you enjoyed this Tank Chat with David Fletcher - don't forget to give it some love by sharing it with fellow enthusiasts and let us know your thoughts.
Great video. I lived close to a man named Jacques Littlefield who unfortunately passed away in 2009. He had an amazing collection of military vehicles that were mostly tanks. I was at his place many times and watched his team recreate the turret for a Panther tank he had retrieved from a river bed in Poland. Jacques also had a propeller from the Lusitania on the property. Amazing collection.
He could do a video on a valentine every week and I would watch every single one of them with joy
Thank you David Fletcher. A very fascinating tank.
David Fletcher is a national treasure!
That’s original
More like international since some of us yanks like him
@@cpconner93 do you feel lucky…well do ya muggle?
International.... 🥺
@@Masada1911 i may have said leviosà instead of leviosá, but im not sure anymore ....
What an awful thought that a driver could actually drown inside a tank. ❤️🙏
There are a few of these tanks in the sea around Aberdeenshire and Moray. The beaches in the area were used for training and one at Findhorn is listed as a war grave. The things tended to sink quite easilly and getting out of the drivers seat was difficult.
I've met him. He and his Valentine were at Stoneleigh one year. He has done a fantastic job.
The speed with which the one sank immediately after leaving the landing craft was... disconcerting.
whatever floats your TANK
I've dived on 2 of the DD Valentine wrecks off Swanage. There are 2 local dive charters out of Swanage that regularly visit the wrecks :)
16:42 This is why the Tank Museum exists.
That and the old bloke that runs the shop.
Finn. Squirrel, squirrel, squirrel,
Still one of my all-time Fav's, the Valentines is such a sweetheart. Though the Chieftain did have a devil of a time getting his 6-4 frame into the driver's compartment. ^~^
Gould is my last name, and it seems to be a very common one. Because the first poor driver on that memorial is a Gould. Although he's not any direct relation to my immediate family. My granddad was a horse soldier in WW2 towing artillery guns, his brother a tail gunner on a bomber, and I think one of my great uncles was in the airforce as a mechanic after the war. There was also another relative we lost in WW1. But none who where in tanks. There are a lot of people that share the name Gould I see it everywhere, in books, credits for films. My thoughts go out to the families of those 6 men of the DD tanks.
The Gould on the memorial was a Lieutenant, he was the troop commander. David F is wrong to say that they were all drivers.
There's at least one on the bottom of Fritton Decoy.
Incidentally, it's about a mile north of Somerleyton, where Christopher Cockerill did his first experiments while he was developing the hovercraft (in between his day job of running a boat yard with motor cruisers for hire on the Norfolk Broads).
Condoms were very useful for this type of thing. Back in the late '60s I was a Vehicle Mechanic in REME and a member of 15 Field Workshop in Plymouth which was part of the then 24 Brigade (Airportable). We didn't only practice airportability though; because we were in Plymouth, where HMS Fearless was based, our Workshop also had to be able to provide a seaborne capability. As a result, we had to prepare a number of vehicles for shore landing exercises, which was where the condoms came in useful for sealing battery filling caps!
That anybody didn't have the fookin sense to give the drivers some kind of oxygen tank and a mask is beyond me, what a travesty.
Bit of pipe with float one end and mouth piece other would have done at a pinch.
They did, it was called ATEA: amphibious tank escape apparatus. It gave maybe 7 minutes of oxygen with a small cylinder of oxygen reserve that gave another 5 min.
That poor Valentine at 13:13...
I do like the valentine. Simplicity at it's best. And built here in the Midlands 💪🏼. Mente et Manu.
Good to see the Black Country flag on the Valentine at 2m44 👍
Mr Fletchers not sounding to good himself here!
I hope all is well amd he's doing OK
Better not have claustrophobia if you're manning a Valentine, gods those things are cramped -- I can't imagine how bad it was with a 75-mm gun in there!
These tanks are Monthys hounds that chased "the desert fox" 1500km.
Gotta love David!
Gotta love the Valentine!
What a good looking tank!!
👍🏾🇺🇸🍻
He had to buy the turret from a woman of low class?
Oh, never mind. He had to buy the turret from abroad.😁
bet that took a lot of stamps to mail in.
Nicholas Straussler worked for various people including vicars. I wonder if he was a gardener or just a general handyman.
David is wrong. The turret is original, II did not get it from a broad! (The replacement turret bearing did come from foreign parts though)
Ah Yes, only The Tank Museum can do an educational video on DDs, without being politically incorrect. 😏
Tank, Fishing, and Culinary advice all in one video. You're a treasure Mr. Fletcher!
Excellent video 📹
If It looks DANGEROUS, it is !!!!!
Fletcher has little sympathy with the crewman who perished in the training excising, pull your socks up.
The LVT was purpose designed to operate in water or on mud and sand. Valentine was adapted to purpose and a very nice job it was. LVT was a great, nominally armored, landing vehicle. Valentine? Not so much.
On the other hand, LVT made a terrible tank: LVT(A)1 and LVT(A)4 were only useful against enemies without 13.2mm or larger weapons at hand. Valentine made a dandy little tank* once it dropped the screen.
*More or less.
Funny,
showing a tank with an extra fuel barrel attached,
but then deploying some textile skirt,
to make it waterboyurne.
The normal thinking would be:
attach as many empty but sealed fuel barrels,
to make it float as a raft.
And of course: use a sufficient bilge pump.
This is therefore astonishing, since
England at that time had a considerable naval and maritime history and knowledge.
When these tanks sunk during operation Smash on 4 April 1944, were those poor souls trapped and lost because the turret being rotated 180 degrees blocking their only way of escaping?
the studland dd's are still a great dive site
Hi. Were you in 3RTR in 1988? I was a member from 1988-1991. Drink some honey. Good for the throat.
The loader is not humble. He determines how quickly the tank can engage the enemy. He sets the pace
The Red army really liked the Valentine, over 3000 saw service on the Russian front.
That is a lot more than I ever realised. That is why the Russians relied upon the Arctic Convoys though they conveniently forget about those and the many losses. The Russians did NOT like the Spitfire though, not sure why, probably trying to use it for ground attack?
@@trevorhart545 by 1945 1 in 4 tanks used by the Red Army was made in the US or UK, plus 400k motor vehicles supplied as well.
I wonder how Mr. Fletcher is doing? It seems he has to catch his breath a lot. I suffer from asthma and had COVID a couple of times so my breathing is horrendous and I tend to pick it up on others when I hear it. I hope Dave is doing well.
Brilliant ❤️👀👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
This is one i have been waiting for.
David Fletcher can always afford to be completely honest.
DD, like a schwimwagen just a little bigger... 😂😂😂
When is the tankfest this year? Im sposed to be taking my mum up to monkey world at some point and might combine that with a visit to tankfest. I always like to imagine a combination of the two museums. heh
4:33 How is it possible to fire both these shells from the same gun?? The dimensions are completely different.
David Fletcher's birthday next week. He'll be 92! Will you join me in wishing him happy birthday?
Certainly .Mr David Fletcher Happy birthday too you....by the way David is 80 years old and hanging in there ..Peace be too all
@@danielcruz8347 He is my father. I should know! Every birthday without fail, I got a tank (as a kid). It was a blessed time. Of course the lectures were a bit dull (I was too young) but the tanks were great! Later I joined the army :)
I see David Fletcher, I click reflexively
Rip drivers!! Sorry you got trapped!!
13:15 I’m assuming the driver went down with the tank?
I remember seeing the Valentine DD at ..The one at Hop Farm, War and Peace?...NO, the other one I'm sure of it down in the New Forest...It was superb to see then back in 2010?...ish. I remember seeing it with the rear brake/clutch wheel spinning profusely whilst stationery. I hope this is the same Tank and if so, total respect to the owner for keeping it running for so long.
I was a regular attendee at War and Peace and have also attended Beaulieu and Denmead.
this tank may not have the looks, but it does it's job well, hope to see this beauty when i go to the UK
How utterly stupid could they be, to have six men drown like that.
Testing made up by an idiot, clearly !
Thanks for the story.
David is not quite accurate, 32 tanks (2x squadrons worth) were launched, 6 sank and 1 was abandoned. In all there were about 40,000 practice launches and less than 20 were lost in total in training.
It's got a mile of ground clearance, hasn't it?
Maybe, but I wouldn't volunteer to ride one of these over the Marianas trench.
Yes,never realised that but that ground clearance is huge!
Hättet ihr nicht mal Lust gemeinsam mit dem Panzer Museum Munster was zu machen?
Did they bother to recover the bodies ?
Mr Fletcher sounded like he was a tad under the weather in this one.
Blast! Davey's wife has finally had the walrus off him. Hope he doesn't have dogs.....
I'm a big fan of David Fletcher . You have to enjoy his candid presentation of these vehicles that he knows so much about. Reminds me of my 11th grade History teacher .
I miss Sir David... God bless.
My war experience only encountered tanks of S. Korea and the USA. Either as a battery group or single tanks
posted along a supply route. Both had infantry for defense. I saw no tanks in field assault roles. Also noted
pimping had more access to single tank postings than battery strength personnel. Public display of such is
advised to include a 200 cc motorcycle on which to mount an Asian pimp (any gender) and touted female.
The valentine, was it a good tank for its time and use? I rarely ever hear about it when reading history. It seems to have good armour but it seems rather small and cramped and with a underpowered engine.
I did my apprenticeship at Vickers, trained by old men who built Valentines as young men. They used the local roads as part of the testing grounds, and would charge down a steep hill and change gear down to test the clutch and gearbox. One failed one day and shot through a building to block the main east-west rail line, not a happy result. Also I’m told that if you park a Valentine in gear with no handbrake, you can turn those final drive drums by hand and move the whole vehicle, though I’d imagine it would take a lot of turning to get a small movement
Nice, informative video. Thanks.
Looks like I'm too late to enter the always-popular "Comment with the Most Effusive Praise for the Host in order to Garner Likes" contest. Oh well, maybe next time 😁
The pair of Valentine DD’s off Swanage are great little dive. When you swim above them you can see how small they are.
I’m curious to know what training the crews got with Desa/Atea. Must have been bloody awful to have to use those escape sets to get out quick in freezing water, loss of visibility, disorientation and so many obstructions.
I like the tank museum because it's just facts. It's an interesting subject and a great way to get away from the horrors of the world. I can watch a video and rest assured it'll be very british and a pleasant discussion about a machine, nothing upsetting, nothing overly exciting, just some history. Thanks for the escape folks.
Is David ok? His voice sounds a bit croaky.
My favorite british man
Never Heard the Story of the Valentine DD. Until today, I thought only the Sherman was the only DD version.
I had the impression the Valentine was a Disappointment in the Field.
So the idea of Sinking it was prob'ly the Best use of it..!!
Feel sorry for the Poor Buggers who Died trying to make it work..!
But Great Video and information.
Cheers kim 😎
30May-612a
maybe the tanks should have 3 functions with gun to support infantry, stingers available to defend itself against enemy aircraft helicopters and anti tank to get javelin or just the barrel gun, and good protected against enemy drones. and the option as artillery
What they should have done I think, is remove the turret and replace it with a light, low profile open topped turret mounting twin .50 cals. I think with the lighter weight it would have handled better in the water and more useful than a solid shot 2 pounder on the beach. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know, but it would have put more armour on the beach than just the Sherman DD's.
David, I was surprised by the hair and 'stache trim, but well done! 🙂
Unused 🤔 the Wehrmacht would have hapily accepted any Tank "donation"
ive seen the VAl DD running at the Cleckheaton wartime rally
Conger Eels - if you like that sort of thing. Personally I prefer Cod or Plaice!
Condoms have many uses but most important use is telling whether a DD tank is afloat.
Audio and Video Lighting dont seem to be of the usual standard?
David Fletcher is tough, may we have him for a long long time :)
and as usual the info in the video is great in his usual style :D
Happy New Trousers Sir David.
Cheap, rugged and reliable. And so was the Valentine %~))
That tank we saw that sunk coming off the landing craft....at c. 13:18..............I take it the poor driver was lost?
I don't think so. 1. Crew of 3, and 3 men on top at launch. 2. Not enough panic for there to be a drowning man inside. Looks like they launched with the crew on top, sensibly, and presumably once they were certain it was floating the driver would get into the driving position.
@@thisnicklldo Let's hope so.
The sinking tank is a Sherman, not a Valentine. The film clip is cut short, a few seconds later the driver and the co-driver pop up like corks.
Fletcher's a LEGEND! :)
I bet my boy David loves the DDs just like me. Seems like a real mans man
That sink training (I assume they meant to sink) looks terrifying.
I'm a simple man, I see David Fletcher and I click the video.
Imagine a Valentine chassis with a Churchill tank turret, a 17 pounder gun, and larger caterpillars like the T34 😊
Doesn't this video say the turret ring was cramped? So upgrading wouldn't work.
He sounds a little sick and exhausted. I hope he is ok.
Whomever came up with floating tanks should be in prison.
Unfortunately it was a necessity of war...... the Dieppe raid showed the need for tanks to get to the beach individually, rather grouped together in a LCT which was a big, easy target. It was felt that it lowered the risks of the tanks being knocked out before they hit the beach.
In the war it was felt it improved survivability and got support to be beaches where it was needed.....
The idea has to be put into the context of the time..... this would never have been allowed in peacetime....
Most British tanks would have been able to take on the Germans if they could have been fitted with a proper gun.
And it was the 17 Pounder that enabled the Sherman to do so later in the war.
The main armament was arguably the thing the British were best at. The 2 pounder was obsolete early in the war but in its day it was a superb gun and at least as good as foreign contemporary guns. The 6 pound gun was again a superb gun in the anti-tank role. The 75mm wasn't as effective as an anti-tank gun gun but arguably a better all around gun and more appropriate for an infantry tank. And of course the 17 pound gun was a bit of a legend. Of all the elements of British tank design the guns seem to be the bit hardest to criticize. The 2 pounder HE round was pretty useless but that was true for other early war anti-tank guns.
Tanks tanks tanks. Great tank the valentine is iconic!!!
Looks like a toy tank...
looks like matilda tank ?
Am I correct in the assumption that DD stood for Duplex Drive? And if so, what is that?
Duplex essentially means "two parts" so duplex drive is referring to the fact that the tank has two methods of movement, the propellers or the tracks.
Very satisfying video
New Zealand keep our Valentines in service till we got thr Centurions