Good Email. British tank names pretty much all start with a "C". Cromwell, Churchill, Comet, Cheiftain, Challenger, Cruiser, Centurion.....and no, I don't know why.
Blow me down with a feather, I’m the Guy who filmed this back in 1991, I was a main battle Tank crewman and can categorically say that none of this was scripted full stop, everything was off the cuff. One day I decided to go up to the Tank park with a Sony Camcorder and asked the Sergeant who I knew but happened to stumble upon that day to say a few words about the Chieftain tank and lo and behold it just happened. Many thanks for the kind words you said about us guys back then, much respect.
Was the first tank i crewed when i joined in 1989, remember during an Operational Ready Test our Regiment consisting of "57 tanks" set off to our laying up positions from camp. Was about a 2 hour travel to that location. We made it but half of our regiment's tanks broke down en route to the training area. Due to the high break-down rate, crews who trained on this found when they moved onto Challenger 1 a breeze and when we moved onto Challenger 2 to be such a delight. We called the Chieftain the old smelly's, it was a wonderful piece of oblivion held together by rust and bodged repairs.
"Praise HESH and all his eternal glory. May he purify thine sins and extinguish the soviet atheist through his divine light!" -excerpt from the church of HESH 2017...
Love the old footage of the Tank Commander Sergeant, I never got posted to an armoured unit, but the garages and coveralls brought back some memories from my time back in the day!! 👍 love your videos Matt! Keep up the good work! And thanks for the nostalgic footage at the end!
Lived in Dodesheide Osnabruck in the 70's... hearing the Chieftains yahooing up the tank road at 02.00 was a waking call ill never forget ! I'd could never be a tanky though too scary, joined the RM's instead... great vid !
YES! That brings back a lot of good memories to me.... I worked for nearly 20 years at a REME Workshop of the British Rhine Army (as a lathe operator and a mechanic) where the "Chieftain" Mk5 & Mk6 was our daily business until the "Challenger" arrived at the end of the 1980´s. I love this tank! Although this warrior was not perfect (primary because of the engine), but the sound of the L60 is awesome and unique and gives me a pleasant shiver until today when I hear it roar. While I was on duty at the German Bundeswehr I learned to know our "Leopard"-Tank - this cat is great, too - but my heart belongs to the "Chieftain"😍 . Thank you very much for this video👍 and many greetings from Germany!
I love playing the Chieftan's in War Thunder. Next patch we get a Mk10. :) Growing up as kid in Germany...one day on the school run a Chieftan rolled up next to us on our bus at a intersection. A poor German lady in a golf in front of the tank shit herself and shot off and screamed through the red light to get away from the big lump of metal....always remember that fondly. :)
Thanks again Matsimus for your review of this Great British institution. When I was at school this was THE tank! We knew nothing abt T64's&Leopard 2's weren't nearly so numerous. My best mate joined but was with a recon unit driving a Fox,while I was at Poly. I remember the Army came to my part of London with a Chieftan parked near the shopping centre..The Commander was just like those you've featured: Competent, warm,with a dry humour. The British Army is the best but let down by politicians of all descriptions. I've the utmost respect for ALL those serving their national armed forces and it gets me how little respect there is online. Ppl don't realise its a privilege to serve in the armed forces. At least it should be. Back in the day,you couldn't get much information about our hardware,&even less abt the Soviet Bloc,so now it's good to see what we would have faced if it went pear-shaped in Central Europe.
Brought back some good and bad memories of my time as a armoured engineer, I used to drive the chieftain "fridgelayer" as we lovingly called it from September through may. Most of us used to drive it inside our sleeping bags as it got that cold, it had an amazing ability to suck the heat out your body.
When I joined my Regiment (2RTR) in 1968 we had the MkII (the 11th Hussars down the road in Hohne had MkIIs also) - crappy engine but fantastic gun, even using the .50 ranging gun. In the gunner seat I eventually got to the level of hitting anything I shot at... unlike in the beginning when I regularly got a good kicking in the back by my not very tolerant/patient troop corporal Tank Commander. Like everyone I cross-trained with the other crew positions but my B1 was in gunnery. Loved it.
It basically is the early prototype for the modern western MBT. AMX30 and Leo I, just not enough protection based on a false pretense about armor. M60 terrible terrible dated profile. The Chieftain could essentially be called an experimental design that was not really ready for service with it's pathetic l60 engine, that was mass produced anyway.
What's also worth mentioning is that upon Chieftain's appearance in Germany the Soviets went into a panic. They thought of it along with the American M60 Patton (which they didn't think was as good as the Chieftain) as an unstoppable tank. They believed not only could it punch right through the armor of the T-62... but also that the T-62 was incapable of going through the Chieftain's armor. (Especially that beautiful turret that's influence is still seen on modern MBTs such as the M1A1 Abrams and German Leopard 2A5) they rushed to develop the T-64 which IMO was the best Soviet tank. You should do a video on the T-64, while most of the other Soviet tanks are well known i.e. T-54/55, T-62, and the T-72... the T-64 was never exported and was only meant for the most elite tank regiments of the Red Army. It's also the forerunner to the famous T-80.
Michael Mac Donald well.. it's was unstoppable against t62s. It's gun would've most likely made short work of them. Similar to early war ww2 Sherman's vs German tanks
ARandomTH-camr yeah the Challenger 1 and 2 were newer and better so they replaced it but it's still a fantastic beast of a machine in it's own right, just needed a better engine
I love the Chieftain tank my dad was in the British army and had one in north, west Germany he was in the second royal tank division and nice to see you got the footage from bovington where he used to train
Big, Noisey,Dirty, smelly Bastards but I loved serving on them! LOL the video at the end is 4/7th Dragoon Guards, they were serving in Hobart Bks Detmold, the same time we (15th/19th, The Kings Royal Hussars) were in Lothian Bks, Detmold. Many a scuffle was had in the NAFFI BOP. lol Great memories, Great Times!!! Even Greater Hangovers!!!!!!
I was in 4RTR 1970/74 Hohne on Mk2 and W.Berlin Mk5s. I left the Army for 18 months (gap year and a bit) Found myself re-enlisting to REME (long story) Because of my background while in training at Bordon I was continually asked to go "A Mec" You can imagine my answer. Ended up as a "B Mec" working on FV 433 and 432 mostly. I have the skint knuckles and can still recite the part number of a 43 series starter motor to prove it. Good video thanks!
you must have been at bordon round same time as me, B mech also, ( 146 vmb* course) but first posting was 3RTR fally, and first job on exercise was a chiefy, lol. spent lot of time in 7 armd and was in FRG alpha as the only B mech in an frg. my opinion of A mechs was pretty low haha, they had ONE vehicle to remember, we on the other hand had EVERY other vehicle in the british army to maintain and keep up to speed with. IMHO we were the ones who should have been paid MORE. arte et marte
@@williamgordon2919 My postings were (4RTR) Hohne, W. Berlin (gap) REME Dortmund RA FV433 Abbots, 3RRF Fally, 432s, 1 Royal Scots Ballykinler, 1 Royal Scots Kirknewton (Falklands tour) compared to others tank regiments treated REME best. I liked 432s and Abbots. worked on them for 7 years. Not so keen on things with wheels.
Ethan Thomson グミ they'd still be able to knock out most more reliable tanks with that gun and take a lot of the return fire with that armour though. The engine was it's Achilles Heel true but that was the only major problem it DID have
Hi Matt, love the TCs no-nonsense presentation. My father was part of the team that went to Israel. At that time he was a gunnery instructor on Chieftains. Did the tanks fire on Syrian tanks during the trials,? Who knows, my dad never talked much about the trial, except that they learned a lot about the tank's capabilities during their time in Israel. One of my earliest memories ( I was about 3) of him with the tank, was when we lived in Detmold, Germany. The ranges were just behind the flats, and you'd regularly see the tanks parked outside, sometimes with a deer strapped to the back. I know your presentations need to be kept short, but you didn't mention anything about of the tank's combat experience from the Iran-Iraq war, especially how they fared against the new T62s, or how the Kuwaitis used them during the invasion by Iraq that led up to the First Gulf War? Also, I think you needed to mention the additional Stillbrew armour that was added following investigations from the Iran-Iraq war. Perhaps scope for a Part 2?
Nothing but love for that BAOR stationary armored gun emplacement known as the Chieftain! If the balloon had gone off, a row of stationary chieftains would be a fierce opponent.
Tom Meakin the Conquer's gun is an American M58 120mm (British designation L1A1), so technically he's right in regards to it being the first indigenous developed 120mm gun for the U.K.
He didn't say it was the first 120mm gun he said it was the "first of its type". AIUI it used two part ammo with a caseless charge whereas the Conqueror's gun used single part ammo.
The tank that set the standards for all MBTs to come. If there's one thing the Chieftain wins at is looks especially with stillbrew. Its such a shame the designers had to fuck up the power pack in the early models. What a beast.
The main reason we finished up with a rubbish power-plant was that at the time the USA was pushing the " multifuel engine idea for all NATO countries and we ( the british )went ahead and designed one the L60 ( subsequently German went for a diesel engine for its leopards and the USA went for a turbine engine for its M1's) so we were left trying to make the disaster that is the L60 work (which it never really did). As a matter of interest when leyland began working on the design of the L60 they visited the science museum in London to take a look at a German opposed piston diesel engine made by Junkers for use in one of their world war 2 bombers so i think our experience in designing this type of engine at the time was limited, They should have just gone to Rolls Royce and have them build a diesel for them.I know how bad the L60 was i was a chieftain crewman throughout the 1970's.
@@harrywilding4420 Leyland and design arent in the same room mate, the L60 was designed by ROLLS ROYCE, who sold the patent to leyland to produce them, the emgine was amazing, it was the shoddy cooling system that let the whole thing down. Another engine almost identical but smaller was the K60 powering the 430 series vehicles, it was much more reliable as it had a different pack setup and the cooling worked better.
Bullet4MyEnemy most militaries still pay soldiers lower than minimum wage often. 95$ CAD a day for a Canadian private. US marines lance corporals make around 70$ US. I'm pretty sure it's comparable for Brits
Thank you Matsimus for another great video. The video of the chieftain commander seemed like a great NCO. We need more like him, knowledgeable and the like.
I worked on this tank for 10 years as well as the ARRV and bridgelayer. I loved it and still do, yes there were problems with the engine but it was still the best tank of its time
Chieftain was my favourite Airfix tank . Just looked better than the rest . Sleek and with a stonking great rifle of a gun . God bless the lads who crewed them .
The one time I can remember seeing Chieftains when I was in Germany there was a lot of smoke and a banshee-like scream coming from the pair that I saw.
Never having served in the army l suppose any tank is frightening when you're in a lesser vehicle, or even no vehicle at all, but somehow the silhouette of the Chieftain is especially menacing
I will be honest, it will be a few months as I am soon moving to Canada myself - when I settle down I'll be supporting you. *I* appreciate the content you create and you're hands down the only creator I keep regular tabs on. Cheers my friend!!
In wartime my country stopped using this tank in favor of the M60, sadly the armor was not good enough for the 80s and the agility was bad especially in desert areas, they still had a nice cannon tho for the time it was really nice so they were mainly used in defense. I remind you that at that time we Had not enough of anything so deciding on dropping a tank was really hard.
We had alot manouvres in our Region USLAR/Solling when i was a boy, it was pure fun for us Boys standing at the walkway watching centurion (mostly brits but sometime Dutch) columns marching thru our city , the vibrations, sounds and the smell, when they stopped and camped in the Forrests we played in the Tanks, then i saw the first Chieftains in early 70s, maybe , 72 or 73 a Company of an northern irish Tank Regt moved thru the narrow City Streets ripping the curbs out or destroying it, the column could not pass a bridge on way from Uslar to Bodenfelde/Railwaystation because workers made a new Asphaltlayer they drove a circle thru the narrow inner City streets. When i came home i refused Lunch went for my bike and followed the Tanktracks on the Road in Solingen i went on a dirt road and after 1Km there was a sharp narrow curve 90 degree there i spotted the first Tanks a Centurion ARV with a Chieftain stuck in the Curve , the whole dirtway and curve was destroyed, i spoke with the brits entered the Tanks but then a Stalwart appeared and the soldiers refueled the ARV started the Tanks and manouvred out of the curve, i followed with my bicycle up to a hilltop near Wiensen were the whole company was. We kids played in the Chieftains and spoke via Tankintercom with some Soldiers while other soldiers stored the Box with Searchlight onto the enginedeck and secured it for the Railloading in Bodenfelde later that day, i spoke with one Soldier and he told me that they are from a northern irish Tank regt. Even today i remember the names of the 2 Tanks in which i was inside , "Brigadier Gerard" and "Belfast", after completing their task with the search lights the Company moved to Bodenfelde railwaystation for transport back to Garrison and we followed with bicycles hilldown to Bodenfelde behind the column. in the next years Chiefs moved every autumn thru our City and villages, two times we found parts of sideskirts from Chiefs when we were out hiking in the forrests Last time i saw Chiefs was in 89, i was on visit to my Grandma in Uslar and saw a late mark Chieftaincolumn with extra armour moving thru uslar later that day i saw another lone Chieftain limping slow and far behind the column thru Uslar with engine misfires what a fu... noise. next days i was back in Göttingen City to foot on way to buy chrome rings for my Cartires, a column came down the street and past me at slow speed, i loved the noise, smell and vibrations of Tanks so i made the military Handsign for doublestep/accelerate, the young driver smiled at me then the Tanks engine roared and the neraly 60 ton beast accerlerates full speed for a short time. Chieftain were a spectacular sight, forget Leos, M-60 or M-48s, we Boys loved this heavy weight monster Tank.
My father was head examiner at Chilwell depot in regard to Engines. One of his jobs was to offer a solution to any problems, from day one he argued the "floating" cylinder liners should be scrapped and replaced by std pressed in cast iron liners. This was poo pooed by the top brass as it would be too expensive to change the production process. Almost every engine failure had this remedy applied by my father, to the point that he was ordered to stop putting that on his reports. He refused as it was part of his remit to advise solutions to engine faults this went on for years. Many years later a young engineer proposed "believe it or not " making the cylinder liners solid pressed in components. The resulting engine lasted 3-4 times the life of a STD L 60 engine, in fact they stripped it down while it was still a perfectly performing engine to try and discover why it was so good! He never received any credit.
This tank in nato service would have been used much like the German tiger 2 of ww2. Low mobility meant in offense it would be used as a short range "break through" tank quickly left behind by the more mobile m-48s m-60s and leopard 1s. In defense it would have engaged the enemy from hull down positions at extreme ranges using its limited mobility to change position. The tank had an exeptional gun and great armor, but poor mobility.
Part of the problem with engine reliability was that each squadron REME fitter section was supposed to carry a spare chieftain power pack in the back of the FV434. If a Chieftain broke down it was supposed to be old power pack out new power pack in carry on fighting. The reality was that there were never any spare packs they were all in the workshops. So it was old (broken) pack out spend several hours fixing the damn thing (usually in the dark and pissing it down) and refitting the old pack. No wonder that the REME fitter crews were constantly knackered. The upside of not having to carry around a spare pack was that it left plenty of room for "the Penthouse" A bedford canopy fitted to the 434 that contained bunk beds and other creature comforts. "Any feckin idiot can be uncomfortable" (Alternative REME moto)
Thanks for that. It would be nice to see a video of the 43 series particularly 432, 433 & 434 not as glamorous as a MBT but good workhorses and lots of them. There is also that stalwart of the BAOR the FV620 which never gets mentioned. ;-)
Loved seeing these beasts in Reign of Fire and The Walking Dead. It's a muscular and aggressive looking tank that looks perfectly at home in a post apocalyptic setting.
I was a panzer paddy, serving on Chieftain, with 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards. It wasn't a 12.7mm, it was the Browning .50 M2, firing a controlled burst of 3 rounds. For ranging it was 1 strike on target or 1st burst plus for HESH, or for sabot 2 strikes on target or 1st burst plus. The tank with the Chinese eyes is from 4RTR
Thanks for the video, broh. I really enjoyed the first half, but had to stop about the 17-minute mark when that guy started speaking a foreign language I cannot understand. :)
Hiya mate, another fantastic vid. Yes, the L60 was a pain, but I finished my time in Warminster on Chieftain. By then, a LOT of the service Chieftains had undergone many, many engine mods and was actually a pretty decent engine, with much better reliability, although still underpowered. I would disagree with your assesment that we've never got the power train right. I did 2 years on Challenger in W Germany, and the power was phenominal, with us regularly "getting air" especially on the infamous pylon route on SLTA. The "auto rammer" is something I have never heard of, so not entirely sure they were ever fitted in service tanks, as I have no memory of "old sweats" mentioning them. The job of "Operator" is one I did on a few exercises, its not as busy as it sounds, once the crew is tuned in, you're all busy, and all covering your responsibilities, no big deal. I totally LOVED gunnery, its all I wanted to do, and luckily, I did a hell of a lot of it in 4 short years........but operating was a pretty decent job too :) Keep the superb vids coming!
We jumped into Wild flecken for reforger exercise in the late 70s... (78 or 79 ) 1/509th ABCT from SETAF out of Vicenza Italy ... we found a couple of chieftains in the field on our Starlight scopes ( broken down. Go figure?)... And we went up and I remember them letting us up on their vehicles where I talked to the blokes about the tank and I mentioned the turrets oblong shape and was told about the 18 nches of concrete on the frontal armor..... Concrete?
Hi , great content keep it up! But is there any chance of getting some content about the Swedish SPG's (Bkan1 or Archer), Or video of BONUS , Excalibur or STRIX munitions for artillery and mortars. Not a lot of videos of either of them.
My Dad was in the REME in the 60s. Joined up to see the world, spent five years swapping out engines from Chieftains on Salisbury Plain! If only someone had thought to put a decent engine in it in the first place...
Great videos. I have to say, I don't think your biased about loving this tank. At least not in aesthetics. When I was but a wee lad growing up in Montreal, I loved tracked vehicles as well as many other hardware as most boys do. I always liked the sleekest, most "futuristic" looking things and long before I even knew if certain things where "American" ,"British", "Russian" etc. almost every aircraft or vehicle I loved just ended up being British. Compare the looks: Centurion, Chieftain, Vulcan bomber to M-48, M-60 and the B-52. Now not to say those vehicles are lesser, however as a child of maybe 4-5 years old these where the miniatures I had, purely based on looks. I guess in my head I equated a certain sleekness with better functionality. Anyway..
definitely, has advantages in indirect fire allowing for more flexible use of the vehicle there is a good reason why that gun on the Challenge 1 still has the world record for the longest range anti tank kill at 3km. Naval guns are also still rifled as it is allot better at range. Its a trade off between flexibility of ammo vs tactical flexibility of the vehicle and personally I prefer tactical flexibility of the vehicle especially as their are occasions where artillery and air support just will not be there in time
Really good video Matsimus. Though it would have been nice to hear about some of the tanks actual combat history, though it was not used by Britain in Europe, it was used extensively in the middle east, (Kuwait, Iran). I know your not a fan of Iran, from some comments, and that's ok but it would have been nice to hear about its 8 year use in the Iran Iraq war, where it was used against numerous Russian tanks. You may not have known about its use in the as its not even mentioned on Wikipedia, and I hope so, because its kinda sad to me that even though many dislike Iran, there kills, and uses of western equipment, not used in that way anywhere else, is under-played. (Not saying its in your this is in your video, but in many US documentary's e.g. f-14 doc where it suggested Iranian f-14,s weren't even used)
Sorry about the typo folks. Chieftain not chieftan. My bad I'm a mong lol enjoy!
Yes, finally, I love this British armored beast! When it runs, at least... :)
I wonder if the Brits are gonna make a new MBT, How about "Caesar"
Good Email. British tank names pretty much all start with a "C". Cromwell, Churchill, Comet, Cheiftain, Challenger, Cruiser, Centurion.....and no, I don't know why.
Queeftain.
Karl P And Conqueror.
Blow me down with a feather, I’m the Guy who filmed this back in 1991, I was a main battle Tank crewman and can categorically say that none of this was scripted full stop, everything was off the cuff.
One day I decided to go up to the Tank park with a Sony Camcorder and asked the Sergeant who I knew but happened to stumble upon that day to say a few words about the Chieftain tank and lo and behold it just happened.
Many thanks for the kind words you said about us guys back then, much respect.
Was the first tank i crewed when i joined in 1989, remember during an Operational Ready Test our Regiment consisting of "57 tanks" set off to our laying up positions from camp. Was about a 2 hour travel to that location. We made it but half of our regiment's tanks broke down en route to the training area. Due to the high break-down rate, crews who trained on this found when they moved onto Challenger 1 a breeze and when we moved onto Challenger 2 to be such a delight. We called the Chieftain the old smelly's, it was a wonderful piece of oblivion held together by rust and bodged repairs.
we never had that pronblem, we lost tanks to breakdown yes but ours were well maintained
"Praise HESH and all his eternal glory. May he purify thine sins and extinguish the soviet atheist through his divine light!" -excerpt from the church of HESH 2017...
Many Miles Away *nerfed by gaijin*
NOOOOO
Many Miles Away hesh is as big as a religion as the hms hood
HESH nerf
War thunder memes
Lol the Soviet Atheist won.
Love the old footage of the Tank Commander Sergeant, I never got posted to an armoured unit, but the garages and coveralls brought back some memories from my time back in the day!!
👍 love your videos Matt! Keep up the good work!
And thanks for the nostalgic footage at the end!
I've always liked the look of the Chieftan to be honest
TheReal Lifehacks me too. I find it to be beautiful
I personally prefer the M60s
That's gotta be the ugliest tank ever
... it's "nose" or whatever you call the part connected to the barrel, is hideous.
@@grubbybum3614 but practical
Lived in Dodesheide Osnabruck in the 70's... hearing the Chieftains yahooing up the tank road at 02.00 was a waking call ill never forget ! I'd could never be a tanky though too scary, joined the RM's instead... great vid !
A gun emplacement that can move (sometimes)
I think that was the conqueror :)
Cough Ferdinan cough
That was the British cold War doctorin. Lots of armour, big fast hard hitting gun.... dig in and wait.
YES! That brings back a lot of good memories to me.... I worked for nearly 20 years at a REME Workshop of the British Rhine Army (as a lathe operator and a mechanic) where the "Chieftain" Mk5 & Mk6 was our daily business until the "Challenger" arrived at the end of the 1980´s.
I love this tank! Although this warrior was not perfect (primary because of the engine), but the sound of the L60 is awesome and unique and gives me a pleasant shiver until today when I hear it roar.
While I was on duty at the German Bundeswehr I learned to know our "Leopard"-Tank - this cat is great, too - but my heart belongs to the "Chieftain"😍 .
Thank you very much for this video👍 and many greetings from Germany!
I love playing the Chieftan's in War Thunder. Next patch we get a Mk10. :)
Growing up as kid in Germany...one day on the school run a Chieftan rolled up next to us on our bus at a intersection. A poor German lady in a golf in front of the tank shit herself and shot off and screamed through the red light to get away from the big lump of metal....always remember that fondly. :)
Miss when those tanks were viable in WT
Thanks again Matsimus for your review of this Great British institution. When I was at school this was THE tank! We knew nothing abt T64's&Leopard 2's weren't nearly so numerous. My best mate joined but was with a recon unit driving a Fox,while I was at Poly.
I remember the Army came to my part of London with a Chieftan parked near the shopping centre..The Commander was just like those you've featured: Competent, warm,with a dry humour. The British Army is the best but let down by politicians of all descriptions. I've the utmost respect for ALL those serving their national armed forces and it gets me how little respect there is online.
Ppl don't realise its a privilege to serve in the armed forces. At least it should be. Back in the day,you couldn't get much information about our hardware,&even less abt the Soviet Bloc,so now it's good to see what we would have faced if it went pear-shaped in Central Europe.
Brought back some good and bad memories of my time as a armoured engineer, I used to drive the chieftain "fridgelayer" as we lovingly called it from September through may. Most of us used to drive it inside our sleeping bags as it got that cold, it had an amazing ability to suck the heat out your body.
When I joined my Regiment (2RTR) in 1968 we had the MkII (the 11th Hussars down the road in Hohne had MkIIs also) - crappy engine but fantastic gun, even using the .50 ranging gun. In the gunner seat I eventually got to the level of hitting anything I shot at... unlike in the beginning when I regularly got a good kicking in the back by my not very tolerant/patient troop corporal Tank Commander. Like everyone I cross-trained with the other crew positions but my B1 was in gunnery. Loved it.
The Chieftain is an iconic tank when it comes to the post-war western designs.
It basically is the early prototype for the modern western MBT. AMX30 and Leo I, just not enough protection based on a false pretense about armor. M60 terrible terrible dated profile. The Chieftain could essentially be called an experimental design that was not really ready for service with it's pathetic l60 engine, that was mass produced anyway.
What's also worth mentioning is that upon Chieftain's appearance in Germany the Soviets went into a panic. They thought of it along with the American M60 Patton (which they didn't think was as good as the Chieftain) as an unstoppable tank. They believed not only could it punch right through the armor of the T-62... but also that the T-62 was incapable of going through the Chieftain's armor. (Especially that beautiful turret that's influence is still seen on modern MBTs such as the M1A1 Abrams and German Leopard 2A5) they rushed to develop the T-64 which IMO was the best Soviet tank. You should do a video on the T-64, while most of the other Soviet tanks are well known i.e. T-54/55, T-62, and the T-72... the T-64 was never exported and was only meant for the most elite tank regiments of the Red Army. It's also the forerunner to the famous T-80.
Michael Mac Donald well.. it's was unstoppable against t62s. It's gun would've most likely made short work of them. Similar to early war ww2 Sherman's vs German tanks
I'm aware, truly it was the best MBT in the world at the time till the Abrams, Challenger, and Leopard 2 came to the scene.
Ehhh...
The Iran-Iraq War kind of put the M60 on the top list.
Chieftains performed worse than the M60 in Iranian service.
I think thats more due to the way they were being used rather than the tank itself
I have to agree with John, plus it's the Iranians... They're about as competent in a tank as my mini Dachshund.
*ooh that tank looks lovely...would be a shame if someone were to....challenge it*
ARandomTH-camr yeah the Challenger 1 and 2 were newer and better so they replaced it but it's still a fantastic beast of a machine in it's own right, just needed a better engine
🤦♂️
I love the Chieftain tank my dad was in the British army and had one in north, west Germany he was in the second royal tank division and nice to see you got the footage from bovington where he used to train
JackWar Gaming 2nd Armoured Div or 2 Royal Tank Regiment?
Chaz t I meant 2nd royal tank reg
The Chieftain, the finest battlefield implement ever devised that can, on occasion, move.
Based on my experience, only with a really strong wind or if it's downhill. Otherwise, completely correct. :-)
iatsd it wasn't THAT bad, was pretty bad I grant you but not THAT bad
Oh yes it was!
Ian Logan Then why didn’t they scrap it?
Beauty of a tank especially that turret. All but invincible when hold down.
We do have one in our land warfare museum in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Superb tank. Real beauty.
Big, Noisey,Dirty, smelly Bastards but I loved serving on them! LOL the video at the end is 4/7th Dragoon Guards, they were serving in Hobart Bks Detmold, the same time we (15th/19th, The Kings Royal Hussars) were in Lothian Bks, Detmold.
Many a scuffle was had in the NAFFI BOP. lol Great memories, Great Times!!! Even Greater Hangovers!!!!!!
Your not the only one who loves this tank I love it to bits
I was in 4RTR 1970/74 Hohne on Mk2 and W.Berlin Mk5s. I left the Army for 18 months (gap year and a bit) Found myself re-enlisting to REME (long story) Because of my background while in training at Bordon I was continually asked to go "A Mec" You can imagine my answer. Ended up as a "B Mec" working on FV 433 and 432 mostly. I have the skint knuckles and can still recite the part number of a 43 series starter motor to prove it.
Good video thanks!
you must have been at bordon round same time as me, B mech also, ( 146 vmb* course) but first posting was 3RTR fally, and first job on exercise was a chiefy, lol. spent lot of time in 7 armd and was in FRG alpha as the only B mech in an frg. my opinion of A mechs was pretty low haha, they had ONE vehicle to remember, we on the other hand had EVERY other vehicle in the british army to maintain and keep up to speed with. IMHO we were the ones who should have been paid MORE. arte et marte
@@williamgordon2919 My postings were (4RTR) Hohne, W. Berlin (gap) REME Dortmund RA FV433 Abbots, 3RRF Fally, 432s, 1 Royal Scots Ballykinler, 1 Royal Scots Kirknewton (Falklands tour) compared to others tank regiments treated REME best. I liked 432s and Abbots. worked on them for 7 years. Not so keen on things with wheels.
The chieftan was a great tank
Assuming it broke down in the right place
Ethan Thomson グミ they'd still be able to knock out most more reliable tanks with that gun and take a lot of the return fire with that armour though. The engine was it's Achilles Heel true but that was the only major problem it DID have
Hi Matt, love the TCs no-nonsense presentation.
My father was part of the team that went to Israel. At that time he was a gunnery instructor on Chieftains. Did the tanks fire on Syrian tanks during the trials,? Who knows, my dad never talked much about the trial, except that they learned a lot about the tank's capabilities during their time in Israel. One of my earliest memories ( I was about 3) of him with the tank, was when we lived in Detmold, Germany. The ranges were just behind the flats, and you'd regularly see the tanks parked outside, sometimes with a deer strapped to the back.
I know your presentations need to be kept short, but you didn't mention anything about of the tank's combat experience from the Iran-Iraq war, especially how they fared against the new T62s, or how the Kuwaitis used them during the invasion by Iraq that led up to the First Gulf War? Also, I think you needed to mention the additional Stillbrew armour that was added following investigations from the Iran-Iraq war. Perhaps scope for a Part 2?
Nothing but love for that BAOR stationary armored gun emplacement known as the Chieftain! If the balloon had gone off, a row of stationary chieftains would be a fierce opponent.
0:57 First 120mm gun used by the UK...? What about the Conqueror?
Tom Meakin the Conquer's gun is an American M58 120mm (British designation L1A1), so technically he's right in regards to it being the first indigenous developed 120mm gun for the U.K.
The way he said it I assumed he meant the first used
Tom Meakin still i would love to have min do a conqueror video
He didn't say it was the first 120mm gun he said it was the "first of its type". AIUI it used two part ammo with a caseless charge whereas the Conqueror's gun used single part ammo.
The 120mm Conqueror gun is the same gun in the US tank M103, ie it is US gun
One of the coolest looking tanks ever.
I recommend reading Chieftains by Bob Forrest-Webb. Fictional ww3 combat with BAOR. Gritty stuff.
I still got a copy. Aussie Trevor
So far ahead of its time in terms of design, by far the best looking tank of it's time as well.
The tank that set the standards for all MBTs to come. If there's one thing the Chieftain wins at is looks especially with stillbrew. Its such a shame the designers had to fuck up the power pack in the early models. What a beast.
The main reason we finished up with a rubbish power-plant was that at the time the USA was pushing the " multifuel engine idea for all NATO countries and we ( the british )went ahead and designed one the L60 ( subsequently German went for a diesel engine for its leopards and the USA went for a turbine engine for its M1's) so we were left trying to make the disaster that is the L60 work (which it never really did). As a matter of interest when leyland began working on the design of the L60 they visited the science museum in London to take a look at a German opposed piston diesel engine made by Junkers for use in one of their world war 2 bombers so i think our experience in designing this type of engine at the time was limited, They should have just gone to Rolls Royce and have them build a diesel for them.I know how bad the L60 was i was a chieftain crewman throughout the 1970's.
@@harrywilding4420 Leyland and design arent in the same room mate, the L60 was designed by ROLLS ROYCE, who sold the patent to leyland to produce them, the emgine was amazing, it was the shoddy cooling system that let the whole thing down. Another engine almost identical but smaller was the K60 powering the 430 series vehicles, it was much more reliable as it had a different pack setup and the cooling worked better.
Needed discussion of performance in combat with the Iranians, Jordanians, and Kuwaitis.
I love the Chieftain tank but the battle proven Centurion is my favourite and kicked butt in the 6 day war.
Should of sold the rights to the Israeli military because they know what they are doing and they would of improved the Chieftain.
Beautiful tank! Thank you for making this Video!
IMHO this is one of the most beautiful tank in service. Kudos to the Brit designers.
£30-40 a day?
Fuck me dead, when was this filmed? Minimum wage these days would be around £60.
Bullet4MyEnemy most militaries still pay soldiers lower than minimum wage often. 95$ CAD a day for a Canadian private. US marines lance corporals make around 70$ US. I'm pretty sure it's comparable for Brits
it was still £35 a day when I was in 7 years ago
Jon south I was on £81.03 a day when I got out in 2007
Thank you Matsimus for another great video. The video of the chieftain commander seemed like a great NCO. We need more like him, knowledgeable and the like.
can you do the S400 anti air system
crazy russian gopnik I'll think about it :-)
Matsimus Gaming yes you've reply
I worked on this tank for 10 years as well as the ARRV and bridgelayer. I loved it and still do, yes there were problems with the engine but it was still the best tank of its time
Legit best looking tank 11/10 would upgrade again
Chieftain was my favourite Airfix tank . Just looked better than the rest . Sleek and with a stonking great rifle of a gun . God bless the lads who crewed them .
The british have made some cool looking tanks.
The one time I can remember seeing Chieftains when I was in Germany there was a lot of smoke and a banshee-like scream coming from the pair that I saw.
I’ve never had any big problems in a challenger 2
Never having served in the army l suppose any tank is frightening when you're in a lesser vehicle, or even no vehicle at all, but somehow the silhouette of the Chieftain is especially menacing
I will be honest, it will be a few months as I am soon moving to Canada myself - when I settle down I'll be supporting you. *I* appreciate the content you create and you're hands down the only creator I keep regular tabs on. Cheers my friend!!
''don't worry, we moved the Border!
kek
Who doesn't love the Chieftain or the Centurion? 😉👍👌👏🥇
Still waiting for smoothbore vs rifled discussion
Arved Ludwig it will come :-)
You forgot to mention the mandatory tea maid.
Well no need to mention when its already well known and a must be in all British vehicles :P
TheMarineGamer IGGHQ but not many non British viewers may know about that requirement
Nonsense ;3 no such thing
I still chuckle about the nimrod mk3 that used a teapot to enact an emergency repair mid flight.
oh and also the bloke on the video spoke of it lmao
From a yank to a Brit...Hell yeah be biased CHIEFTAIN,CENTURIAN and CROMWELL are in my top ten!! Great video
Great video as always, thanks Mat!
Ahhh the king of break downs
In wartime my country stopped using this tank in favor of the M60, sadly the armor was not good enough for the 80s and the agility was bad especially in desert areas, they still had a nice cannon tho for the time it was really nice so they were mainly used in defense. I remind you that at that time we Had not enough of anything so deciding on dropping a tank was really hard.
What a great vehicle it deserved its long service life was a revolution in British and world wide tanks I reckon btw also bias as British (Welsh)
We had alot manouvres in our Region USLAR/Solling when i was a boy, it was pure fun for us Boys standing at the walkway watching centurion (mostly brits but sometime Dutch) columns marching thru our city , the vibrations, sounds and the smell, when they stopped and camped in the Forrests we played in the Tanks, then i saw the first Chieftains in early 70s, maybe , 72 or 73 a Company of an northern irish Tank Regt moved thru the narrow City Streets ripping the curbs out or destroying it, the column could not pass a bridge on way from Uslar to Bodenfelde/Railwaystation because workers made a new Asphaltlayer they drove a circle thru the narrow inner City streets.
When i came home i refused Lunch went for my bike and followed the Tanktracks on the Road in Solingen i went on a dirt road and after 1Km there was a sharp narrow curve 90 degree there i spotted the first Tanks a Centurion ARV with a Chieftain stuck in the Curve , the whole dirtway and curve was destroyed, i spoke with the brits entered the Tanks but then a Stalwart appeared and the soldiers refueled the ARV started the Tanks and manouvred out of the curve, i followed with my bicycle up to a hilltop near Wiensen were the whole company was. We kids played in the Chieftains and spoke via Tankintercom with some Soldiers while other soldiers stored the Box with Searchlight onto the enginedeck and secured it for the Railloading in Bodenfelde later that day, i spoke with one Soldier and he told me that they are from a northern irish Tank regt.
Even today i remember the names of the 2 Tanks in which i was inside , "Brigadier Gerard" and "Belfast", after completing their task with the search lights the Company moved to Bodenfelde railwaystation for transport back to Garrison and we followed with bicycles hilldown to Bodenfelde behind the column.
in the next years Chiefs moved every autumn thru our City and villages, two times we found parts of sideskirts from Chiefs when we were out hiking in the forrests
Last time i saw Chiefs was in 89, i was on visit to my Grandma in Uslar and saw a late mark Chieftaincolumn with extra armour moving thru uslar later that day i saw another lone Chieftain limping slow and far behind the column thru Uslar with engine misfires what a fu... noise.
next days i was back in Göttingen City to foot on way to buy chrome rings for my Cartires, a column came down the street and past me at slow speed, i loved the noise, smell and vibrations of Tanks so i made the military Handsign for doublestep/accelerate, the young driver smiled at me then the Tanks engine roared and the neraly 60 ton beast accerlerates full speed for a short time.
Chieftain were a spectacular sight, forget Leos, M-60 or M-48s, we Boys loved this heavy weight monster Tank.
I'm generally partial to Soviet/Russian tanks, but I have to say the Chieftain is one of my absolute favorites, such a cool looking design!
That barrel camouflage though...
Who doesn't love a bit of British bias!
Could you make a video on the tornado, eurofighter typhoon or even the f35b seeing as you reviewed the QE carrier.
Does anyone else have a song/sound that disturbs you? Because the intro music is mine lol.
Great vid, very iconic British icon
British tank designs are amazing.
Who?
FS? i worked on the Chieftan mid to late 80's also as gunner, only ever saw the DS... did i miss something Matsimus?
My father was head examiner at Chilwell depot in regard to Engines. One of his jobs was to offer a solution to any problems, from day one he argued the "floating" cylinder liners should be scrapped and replaced by std pressed in cast iron liners. This was poo pooed by the top brass as it would be too expensive to change the production process. Almost every engine failure had this remedy applied by my father, to the point that he was ordered to stop putting that on his reports. He refused as it was part of his remit to advise solutions to engine faults this went on for years. Many years later a young engineer proposed "believe it or not " making the cylinder liners solid pressed in components. The resulting engine lasted 3-4 times the life of a STD L 60 engine, in fact they stripped it down while it was still a perfectly performing engine to try and discover why it was so good! He never received any credit.
The most beautiful tank ever built.
This tank in nato service would have been used much like the German tiger 2 of ww2. Low mobility meant in offense it would be used as a short range "break through" tank quickly left behind by the more mobile m-48s m-60s and leopard 1s.
In defense it would have engaged the enemy from hull down positions at extreme ranges using its limited mobility to change position.
The tank had an exeptional gun and great armor, but poor mobility.
Finally man, I've been anticipating this forever.
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! My favorite Brit tank! This beast set the standard folks.
SteelbeastsCavalry this is your fave?
well it is mine
The Cheiftain is (or was ) a great tank, I was on mark 2's from 69 to 71.
One big error, no heater!
Oh my goodness, I've eagerly awaited this tank analysis from you +Matsimus Gaming. Thank you for another fine overview and analysis! :)
Anodyne Melody thank you :-)
Love the walk around by the commander there. Brilliant.
Hey guys ! what is the music sound in background at 2.44 ? :)
Part of the problem with engine reliability was that each squadron REME fitter section was supposed to carry a spare chieftain power pack in the back of the FV434. If a Chieftain broke down it was supposed to be old power pack out new power pack in carry on fighting. The reality was that there were never any spare packs they were all in the workshops. So it was old (broken) pack out spend several hours fixing the damn thing (usually in the dark and pissing it down) and refitting the old pack. No wonder that the REME fitter crews were constantly knackered.
The upside of not having to carry around a spare pack was that it left plenty of room for "the Penthouse" A bedford canopy fitted to the 434 that contained bunk beds and other creature comforts. "Any feckin idiot can be uncomfortable" (Alternative REME moto)
Ian Logan best comment of this year for accuracy. Thanks for that info sir. I appreciate it!
Thanks for that. It would be nice to see a video of the 43 series particularly 432, 433 & 434 not as glamorous as a MBT but good workhorses and lots of them. There is also that stalwart of the BAOR the FV620 which never gets mentioned. ;-)
Loved seeing these beasts in Reign of Fire and The Walking Dead. It's a muscular and aggressive looking tank that looks perfectly at home in a post apocalyptic setting.
My favorite British tank of all time!
I was a panzer paddy, serving on Chieftain, with 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards.
It wasn't a 12.7mm, it was the Browning .50 M2, firing a controlled burst of 3 rounds. For ranging it was 1 strike on target or 1st burst plus for HESH, or for sabot 2 strikes on target or 1st burst plus.
The tank with the Chinese eyes is from 4RTR
Thanks for the video, broh. I really enjoyed the first half, but had to stop about the 17-minute mark when that guy started speaking a foreign language I cannot understand. :)
Hiya mate, another fantastic vid. Yes, the L60 was a pain, but I finished my time in Warminster on Chieftain. By then, a LOT of the service Chieftains had undergone many, many engine mods and was actually a pretty decent engine, with much better reliability, although still underpowered.
I would disagree with your assesment that we've never got the power train right. I did 2 years on Challenger in W Germany, and the power was phenominal, with us regularly "getting air" especially on the infamous pylon route on SLTA.
The "auto rammer" is something I have never heard of, so not entirely sure they were ever fitted in service tanks, as I have no memory of "old sweats" mentioning them.
The job of "Operator" is one I did on a few exercises, its not as busy as it sounds, once the crew is tuned in, you're all busy, and all covering your responsibilities, no big deal. I totally LOVED gunnery, its all I wanted to do, and luckily, I did a hell of a lot of it in 4 short years........but operating was a pretty decent job too :)
Keep the superb vids coming!
An anvil will "get air" if you drop it off a cliff.
We jumped into Wild flecken for reforger exercise in the late 70s...
(78 or 79 )
1/509th ABCT from SETAF out of Vicenza Italy ...
we found a couple of chieftains in the field on our Starlight scopes ( broken down. Go figure?)...
And we went up and I remember them letting us up on their vehicles where I talked to the blokes about the tank and I mentioned the turrets oblong shape and was told about the 18 nches of concrete on the frontal armor.....
Concrete?
Jeez British Leyland made the engines 😳 The head gaskets must have been a nightmare.
That walk around was fantastic. I've learned more in 3 minutes from Darth Farmer than I did in years of education.
Great tank in its day 💥💯
The.Ranging Machine Gun is the Browning M2 .50 cal, firing in controlled bursts of 3 rounds.
First vehicle I was taught to drive on joining the Army at Catterick in 1972, was only 17 and a bit
Got the opportunity to drive 1 of these next month, really looking forward to it
Hi , great content keep it up! But is there any chance of getting some content about the Swedish SPG's (Bkan1 or Archer), Or video of BONUS , Excalibur or STRIX munitions for artillery and mortars. Not a lot of videos of either of them.
Carl Hallberg Archer on the way ;-)
woho! :)
i live down the road from 3 of these wonderful tank of the past
My Dad was in the REME in the 60s. Joined up to see the world, spent five years swapping out engines from Chieftains on Salisbury Plain! If only someone had thought to put a decent engine in it in the first place...
Can you do the South African Olifant MBT?
Thanks matsimus this is a great birthday present mate!
Zachary Thompson happy bday!!
Zachary Thompson happy birthday dude!
HBD
Great videos. I have to say, I don't think your biased about loving this tank. At least not in aesthetics. When I was but a wee lad growing up in Montreal, I loved tracked vehicles as well as many other hardware as most boys do. I always liked the sleekest, most "futuristic" looking things and long before I even knew if certain things where "American" ,"British", "Russian" etc. almost every aircraft or vehicle I loved just ended up being British. Compare the looks: Centurion, Chieftain, Vulcan bomber to M-48, M-60 and the B-52. Now not to say those vehicles are lesser, however as a child of maybe 4-5 years old these where the miniatures I had, purely based on looks. I guess in my head I equated a certain sleekness with better functionality. Anyway..
This one had something special, starting with the looks.
Nothing wrong to be biased!! With your own materiel
You’d find plenty of people who’d criticise it, but no one who’d want to fight it.
such a powerful looking tank, i think it was facing the T64 and T72s would have made mincemeat of them.
Thanks for the vid sir. Great looking tank.👍🏼👍🏼
Don't bash rifled guns ! It got flaws but also huge advantages ! There's a reason why artillery still use rifled barrels !
definitely, has advantages in indirect fire allowing for more flexible use of the vehicle there is a good reason why that gun on the Challenge 1 still has the world record for the longest range anti tank kill at 3km. Naval guns are also still rifled as it is allot better at range. Its a trade off between flexibility of ammo vs tactical flexibility of the vehicle and personally I prefer tactical flexibility of the vehicle especially as their are occasions where artillery and air support just will not be there in time
you know and HESH
Especially when paired with HEAT rounds ;)
@@jonsouth1545 4.7km not 3km, maybd you read it in miles, not exact conversion but much closer.
Rifled barrels and HEAT rounds doesnt like eachother.
Really good video Matsimus. Though it would have been nice to hear about some of the tanks actual combat history, though it was not used by Britain in Europe, it was used extensively in the middle east, (Kuwait, Iran). I know your not a fan of Iran, from some comments, and that's ok but it would have been nice to hear about its 8 year use in the Iran Iraq war, where it was used against numerous Russian tanks. You may not have known about its use in the as its not even mentioned on Wikipedia, and I hope so, because its kinda sad to me that even though many dislike Iran, there kills, and uses of western equipment, not used in that way anywhere else, is under-played. (Not saying its in your this is in your video, but in many US documentary's e.g. f-14 doc where it suggested Iranian f-14,s weren't even used)
And hopefully Warthunder gives this tank the power it deserves ! It rekts everything it encounters !
Claudy_Focan After the new update it's a beast.
Will wt ever add and higher tier tanks like tier 11 to tier 20
Thanx for your work man :)
My second favourite tank after the Conqueror. Love it and good vid like usual, Mat.
My all-time favorite tank. Just looks perfect.