The_Chieftain
Published on 6 Apr 2019A fun, and rather dangerous, little softskin which will easily fit in your garage.
May 11, 2019
Inside the Chieftain’s Hatch. M151 Series
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April 24, 2019
Vickers Heavy Machine Gun
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 14 Dec 2016http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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I may be a bit biased here, but I believe that the Vickers gun is one of the best all-around firearms ever made. It was designed during an era of experimentation and craftsmanship, with a quality and care that would make it today prohibitively expensive. It was exemplary in action, and served in every environment on earth through six decades and in the hands of 50 different nations. It was an infantry gun, an aircraft gun, an armored vehicle gun, and a shipboard gun.
Captain Graham Hutchison recorded this account of the Vickers in action during an attack on High Wood in August 1916 (exerpted from “The Grand old Lady of No Man’s Land by Dolf Goldsmith):
“For this attack, [ten] guns were grouped in the Savoy Trench, from which a magnificent view was obtained of the German line at a range of about 2000 yards. These guns were disposed for barrage. On August 23rd and the night of the 23rd/24th the whole Company was, in addition to the two Companies of Infantry lent for the purpose, employed in carrying water and ammunition to this point. Many factors in barrage work which are now common knowledge had not then been learned or considered. It is amusing today to note that in the orders for the 100th Machine Gun Company’s barrage of 10 guns, Captain Hutchison ordered that rapid fire should be maintained continuously for twelve hours, to cover the attack and consolidation. It is to the credit of the gunners and the Vickers gun itself that this was done! During the attack on the 24th, 250 rounds short of one million were fired by ten guns; at least four petrol tins of water besides all the water bottles of the Company and urine tins form the neighborhood were emptied into the guns for cooling purposes; and a continuous party was employed carrying ammunition. Private Robertshaw and Artificer H. Bartlett between them maintained a belt-filling machine in action without stopping for a single moment, for twelve hours. At the end of this time many of the NCOs and gunners were found asleep from exhaustion at their posts. A prize of five francs to the members of each gun team was offered and was secured by the gun team of Sgt. P. Dean, DCM, with a record of just over 120,000 rounds.”
The attack on the 24th of August was a brilliant success, the operation being difficult and all objectives being taken within a short time. Prisoner examined at Divisional and Corps Headquarters reported that the effect of the Machine Gun barrage was annihilating, and the counterattacks which had attempted to retake the ground lost were broken up whilst being concentrated east of the Flers Ridge and of High Wood.
In 1963 in Yorkshire, a class of British Army armorers put one Vickers gun through probably the most strenuous test ever given to an individual gun. The base had a stockpile of approximately 5 million rounds of Mk VII ammunition which was no longer approved for military use. They took a newly rebuilt Vickers gun, and proceeded to fire the entire stock of ammo through it over the course of seven days. They worked in pairs, switching off at 30 minute intervals, with a third man shoveling away spent brass. The gun was fired in 250-round solid bursts, and the worn out barrels were changed every hour and a half. At the end of the five million rounds, the gun was taken back into the shop for inspection. It was found to be within service spec in every dimension.
During its service life, the Vickers was made in .303 British, .30-06, 0.50 Vickers, .50 High Velocity, 7×57 Mauser, 7.65×53, 8mm Mauser, 8mm Lebel, 7.7 Japanese, 6.5×54 Dutch, 7.9x57R Dutch, 7.62 NATO, 7.62x54R, 8x52R Siamese, 11mm Vickers, and three different 40mm cartridges.
The Vickers was retired from British military service in 1968, having finally become obsolete. Its GPMG role was taken over by the FN MAG, and its long range indirect fire role performed by 3″ mortars. The Vickers was a weapon which required training and dedication to master, but rewarded its users with phenomenal endurance and a wide range of capabilities. Among all contenders, only the Browning machine gun can attempt to compare to the outstanding qualities of the Vickers, and even the Browning fails to match the elegance of the stalwart Brit.
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April 23, 2019
The logistics of empire
Nigel Davies pops up on his blog after a lengthy period of inactivity to post his analysis of imperial logistical limits in World War Two:
There’s an old saying that David and Leigh Eddings paraphrased in one of their fantasy books: “any fool can raise an army, but you start running into trouble around suppertime.”
(Which is just a simplified way of saying that amateurs discuss tactics, but professionals think logistics.)
So let’s consider World War Two from the “who can afford what” perspective.
Any fool politician can promise Lebensraum, or a Mare Nostrum, or a Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere: the problem comes when your nation lacks the resources to buy the equipment you need to make your plan stick.
It would be correct to suggest that the most rag-tag of “governments” can raise and equip an infantry force, and possible give it some artillery support. Mao and Tito spring to mind, but the Hungarians, Bulgarians and Iranians wouldn’t be far off. (One particularly entertaining description of the vast Operation Barbarossa – the Axis invasion of Russia – describes hundreds of gaily painted peasant carts masquerading as the Rumanian logistics column.)
Perhaps your government is a bit more advanced in both your tax collection and your industrial base, and you can manage a few armoured cars or tanks, and maybe even a nominal number of fighters and bombers. Think Nationalist China, Finland, Belgium, Greece and Turkey. That still doesn’t mean that you can also manage more than a token number of destroyers or coastal defence ships to manage defensive support. Frankly Canada, Australia, India and possibly even South Africa were greater “powers” than any of those.
The actual capacity to project power to other parts of the world in your own right – rather than under the auspices of your allies – requires not only a developed army and air force, but a naval element of – at a minimum – a good balanced cruiser force with adequate resources to back it up. Think Spain and Brazil… and, again, Australia.
Actually protecting far flung imperial possessions requires even a bit more than that. (Spain had discovered this while losing a brief war with the United States – which had run out of land to imperially conquer from the French, native Americans or Mexicans, and – after a couple of abortive attempts to invade Canada – therefore turned a quick takeover of overseas bits. Mainly Spanish possessions like the Philippines, but also including otherwise independent states like Hawaii.)
In fact the best defence of a far flung empire if you couldn’t match other people’s battle fleets was a good submarine force. Think the Netherlands, and particularly its half dozen cruisers and two dozen submarines protecting the Netherlands East Indies.
But it is a big jump from a token overseas empire, to being able to play with the big boys. The financial and industrial resources necessary to developing military forces capable of fighting other major powers is simply beyond the resources of more than half a dozen nations at any time. Which is why the term “Great Powers” has always come down to those capable of standing their ground against other great powers.
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April 17, 2019
Lee Carbine: Gunmaking is not for the Faint of Heart
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 16 Apr 2019This rifle is lot #13868 at Morphy’s April 2019 auction:
https://www.forgottenweapons.com/lee-…James Paris Lee is known today as the inventor of the detachable box magazine, and the “Lee” in the “Lee Enfield” rifle system – a very significant contributor to firearms development. His first foray into the business of gun design and manufacture, however, was a rather ignominious failure.
Lee patented a single shot swinging barrel system in 1862, and hoped to win an Army contract for it. In February of 1864 he submitted a rifle version to the Army, and was promptly rejected – the Army was not interested in breechloading rifles. Lee came right back in April 1864 with a carbine pattern, and this was accepted for testing – the Army was indeed looking for breechloading cavalry carbines. It took a full year, but in April 1865 the Army came back and gave Lee a contract for 1,000 carbines at $18 each. Lee rounded up investors and capital, and created the Lee Fire Arms Company in Milwaukee to produce the guns. His first two samples were delivered in January 1866 – in .42 rimfire caliber.
At this point, there is some disagreement. Lee claims that his sample guns in .42 caliber were accepted, and thus his followup delivery of .42 caliber carbines should have been accepted. The government said that the contract specified .44 rimfire caliber, and his delivery of .42 caliber guns was unacceptable, and thus rejected. A court case would ensue, but with the rejection of the first 250 guns and the cancellation of their contract, the company had to look hard and fast for a backup plan. In March 1867 newspaper ads were placed in Milwaukee for sporting rifles and carbines from the Lee company. The parts planned for military production were used instead for civilian guns in a variety of configurations – carbines, light rifles, and heavy rifles in several barrel lengths and several calibers. By 1868 all production had ceased, and the Lee Fire Arms Company dissolved.
James Lee returned to his former profession of watchmaking, but this experience with gun manufacturing would not keep him deterred for long. By 1872 he was back working with Remington, and would go on the produce the designs that we know him for today. The lessons of this rifle? Firearms manufacturing is a risky business, not for the faint of heart. And also, sometimes you can learn from a difficult experience to do better the second time.
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Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
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Tucson, AZ 85754
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April 16, 2019
World War 2 British Armour Doctrine & Tactics with David Willey of the Tank Museum at Bovington
Military History Visualized
Published on 8 Dec 2017David Willey the Curator of the Tank Museum at Bovington explains British Interwar and World War 2 Armour Doctrine and Tactics. Especially, about the Infantry and Cruiser tank “concept”. Additionally, we talk a bit about the 2nd Battle of El Alamein, Montgomery and Rommel.
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April 13, 2019
TAB Episode 43: QF 2pdr Anti-Tank Gun
The Armourer’s Bench
Published on Mar 10, 2019Introduced just before the beginning of WW2 the 2pdr AT Gun was more than capable of dealing with Axis tanks at the beginning of the war but as tank armour got thicker it became outgunned. Despite this the 2pdr remained in service and equipped a plethora of tanks and armoured cars including the Valentine and Matilda.
The 2pdr performed well during the Battle of France, in North Africa and during the defence of Malaya against the Japanese but it was eventually replaced by bigger and better guns. In this video Matt looks at the history, development and use of Britain’s first anti-tank gun.
Check out our accompanying blog on the 2pdr AT Gun over at: https://armourersbench.com
If you enjoyed the video please consider supporting our work via Patreon, TAB is a viewer supported, non-monetised channel and any help is very much appreciated!
Check out our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/thearmourersbench
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April 10, 2019
M37: The Ultimate Improved Browning 1919
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 8 Mar 2019http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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In November of 1950, the US Ordnance Department requested an improved version of the Browning 1919 air cooled machine gun for use in tanks. The new version was to be able to feed from either the left or right, a feature which was unimportant for an infantry gun but much more relevant when mounting guns into the tight spaces of an armored vehicle. An interim conversion of existing guns to the M1919A4E1 pattern came first, followed by manufacture of all-new guns by the Rock Island Arsenal and Saco-Lowell company from 1955 until 1957.
The design of the gun fell to Bob Hillberg at High Standard. He came up with a clever set of reversible plugs to change the bolt between left and right hand feed, as well as a captive recoil spring, manual safety, improved top cover and rear cover latches, and several other strengthened parts. He also incorporated a charging handle extension with integral manual hold open and a link ejection chute that could be mounted to either side of the gun. His T153 design was formally adopted as the M37, in caliber .30-06. A 7.62mm NATO version (the M37E1) followed as well. The M37 would serve into the late 1960s on the M48 and M60 tanks as well as several helicopters.
Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
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April 7, 2019
Epic Moments in History – The 9 Lives of Alexander the Great
Invicta
Published on 4 Sep 2017Alexander the Great is one of the most famous historical figures of all time. Yet many are unaware of the 9 times he cheated death over the course of his epic campaigns into the east!
Support future documentaries: https://www.patreon.com/InvictaHistory
Twitter: https://twitter.com/InvictaHistoryVideo Credits:
Research – Invicta
Script: Invicta
Narration – Invicta
Artwork – Robbie McSweeney (https://www.artstation.com/artist/rob…)Bibliography:
Alexander the Great by Phillips Freeman
The Campaigns of Alexander by ArrianMusic: “Rome: Total War OST” by Jeff van Dyck
“Total War: Rome II OST” by Richard Beddow
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April 5, 2019
The Carolean’s Prayer – Soldiers of the Swedish Kings – Sabaton History 009
Sabaton History
Published on 4 Apr 2019The Swedish Kings had to rely on the quality of their armies, often facing foes that had superior numbers. A special soldier class was created. Admired in Sweden and feared on the battlefield, the Caroleans were the secret weapon of the Swedish army. The Sabaton song “The Carolean’s Prayer” is about these remarkable soldiers and their heroic status.
Check out the trailer for Sabaton’s new album The Great War right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCZP1…
Support Sabaton History on Patreon (and possibly get a special edition of The Great War): https://www.patreon.com/sabatonhistory
Listen to Sabaton on Spotify: http://smarturl.it/SabatonSpotify
Official Sabaton Merchandise Shop: http://bit.ly/SabatonOfficialShopHosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Markus Linke and Indy Neidell
Directed by: Astrid Deinhard and Wieke Kapteijns
Produced by: Pär Sundström, Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Executive Producers: Pär Sundström, Joakim Broden, Tomas Sunmo, Indy Neidell, Astrid Deinhard, and Spartacus Olsson
Maps by: Eastory
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound Editing by: Marek KaminskiEastory YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEly…
Archive by: Reuters/Screenocean https://www.screenocean.com
Music by Sabaton.An OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.
© Raging Beaver Publishing AB, 2019 – all rights reserved.
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March 28, 2019
Parker Hale M85: Traditional Sniper in a Modern World
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 27 Feb 2019http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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The 1985 competition to pick a new sniper rifle for the British military came down to a closely fought contest between the Accuracy International PM and the Parker Hale M85. The M85 was a fantastically accurate rifle, every bit the equal of the AI submission and to this day there are still people who were involved in the trials who insist that the M85 should have been selected. Ultimately, the decision came down to the logistical issues surrounding the rifle, where AI’s chassis system was superior to Parker-Hale’s traditional construction. Despite being defeated, Parker Hale sold some 800 M85 rifles – nearly as many as the military contract would have procured (and in fact, a few M85s were purchased by several military units).
If you are interested in learning more, I highly recommend checking out Steve Houghton’s newly released book, The British Sniper: A Century of Evolution. It can be found at:
https://www.swiftandboldpublishing.co…
Contact:
Forgotten Weapons
PO Box 87647
Tucson, AZ 85754
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March 26, 2019
Donning hoplite armour
Lindybeige
Published on 28 Sep 2016How long does it take a hoplite to get ready for action? Watch one incompetent one time himself as he dons his panoply.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Lindybeige
More weapons and armour videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Some game systems have rules on how long it takes to put on armour. Here I give you some practical hints as to how long it actually takes. Yes, the sword and shield are just mock-ups, but the time it takes to take them up is probably about the same as the real thing.
Was this really shot in ancient Greece? No, it was a park in Gosforth, near a primary school and with aircraft flying overhead and a breeze just strong enough to create constant rustling of leaves and occasional wind noise on the microphones.
Buy the music – the music played at the end of my videos is now available here: https://lindybeige.bandcamp.com/track…
Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.▼ Follow me…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lindybeige I may have some drivel to contribute to the Twittersphere, plus you get notice of uploads.
website: http://www.LloydianAspects.co.uk
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March 25, 2019
The Boston Massacre – Snow and Gunpowder – Extra History
Extra Credits
Published on 23 Mar 2019Boston, 1770. A frigid winter night. A British sentry strikes a local citizen. Civilians begins to gather. Reinforcements arrive to back up the young sentry. Insults and snowballs escalate. Then out of the darkness comes a shout: “FIRE!”
The Boston Massacre didn’t come out of nowhere — resentment between the early US colonies and the British army had been brewing for some time over the Stamp Act. A propaganda war ensued between the loyalists and the radicals. John Adams would get his revolutionary start as he worked to resolve this injustice…
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March 10, 2019
Prussian Infantry under Frederick the Great
Military History Visualized
Published on 6 Oct 2017Prussian Infantry during the time of Frederick the Great of Prussia. Basic background on infantry types like Grenadiers, Fusiliers, etc., organization and combat formations.
»» SUPPORT MHV ««
» patreon – https://www.patreon.com/mhv
» paypal donation – https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr…Military History Visualized provides a series of short narrative and visual presentations like documentaries based on academic literature or sometimes primary sources. Videos are intended as introduction to military history, but also contain a lot of details for history buffs. Since the aim is to keep the episodes short and comprehensive some details are often cut.
» SOURCES «
Guddat, Martin: Grenadiere, Musketiere, Füsiliere. Die Infanterie Friedrich des Großen
Fiedler, Siegfried: Taktik & Strategie der Kabinettskriege
Ortenburg, Georg: Waffen der Kabinettskriege
Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt: Friedrich der Große und das Militärwesen seiner Zeit. Vorträge zur Militärgeschichte. Band 8.
Chandler, David: The Art of War in the Age of Marlborough
Buchner, Alex: Handbuch der Infanterie 1939-1945
Bucher, Alex: Handbook on German Infantry 1939-1945
Haythornthwaite, Philip: Frederick the Great’s Army (2) – Infantry
Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt: Deutsche Militärgeschichte 1648-1939. Band 1.
Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt: Deutsche Militärgeschichte 1648-1939. Band 6.
Clark, Christopher: Iron Kingdom, The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947
Guddat, Martin: Kürassiere, Dragoner, Husaren. Die Kavallerie Friedrichs des Großen.
Hawkins, Vincent B.: “Frederick the Great”, in: Brassey’s Encyclopedia of Military History and Biography, p. 339-345» DISCLAIMER «
Amazon Associates Program: “Bernhard Kast is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.”
Bernhard Kast ist Teilnehmer des Partnerprogramms von Amazon Europe S.à.r.l. und Partner des Werbeprogramms, das zur Bereitstellung eines Mediums für Websites konzipiert wurde, mittels dessen durch die Platzierung von Werbeanzeigen und Links zu amazon.de Werbekostenerstattung verdient werden können.
» TOOL CHAIN «
PowerPoint 2016, Word, Excel, Tile Mill, QGIS, Processing 3, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Audition, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Animate.
» CREDITS & SPECIAL THX «
Song: Ethan Meixsell – Demilitarized Zone
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March 1, 2019
“To Hell and Back” – Audie Murphy – Sabaton History 004
Sabaton History
Published on 28 Feb 2019In “To Hell and Back” (on the Heroes album), Sabaton sings about an actor, singer and one of the most remarkable heroes of World War Two. Audie Murphy served and fought in many different locations of the Second World War, which resulted in him being the most decorated soldier in the US army during WW2. “To Hell and Back” is about his actions during and after the landings at Anzio during the Allied campaign in Italy.
Support Sabaton History on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sabatonhistory
Watch the official video for “To Hell And Back” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhmHS…
Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Written by: Markus Linke and Indy Neidell
Directed by: Astrid Deinhard and Wieke Kapteijns
Produced by: Pär Sundström, Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Executive Producers: Pär Sundström, Joakim Broden, Tomas Sunmo, Indy Neidell, Astrid Deinhard, and Spartacus Olsson
Maps by: Eastory
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound Editing by: Marek KaminskiEastory YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEly…
Archive by: Reuters/Screenocean https://www.screenocean.comMusic by Sabaton.
Dennis Henson – sirnossi@gmx.net
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SirNossi
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/SirNossiAn OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.
© Raging Beaver Publishing AB, 2019 – all rights reserved.
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Development of the British Tank Arm, 1918-1939
The_Chieftain
Published on 5 Jan 2019Supporting the World War Two channel, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP1A…
The second in the series of videos discussing how various nations spent the time in between the two wars analyzing what did or did not work for their tank doctrines, how they were developed, and what they came up with. This video (obviously) looks at the British, where budgets and votes were far more important than tank capability.
References:
Mechanised Force, David Fletcher
The Challenge of Change, Harold Winton
Military Innovation in the Interwar Period, Williamson Murray
The Business of Tanks, G. Mcleod Ross
Men, Ideas and Tanks, J.P. Harris
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