How did tank guns get so deadly? | Evolution of Firepower
2024 ж. 24 Сәу.
1 620 569 Рет қаралды
The evolution of the tank gun from WWI to present day, presented by Chris Copson.
In this new series, “Evolution”, we’ll be taking a look at different aspects of the progress of tanks and tank technology from WWI to the present.
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00:00 | Intro
01:08 | WW1
05:37 | WW2
16:35 | Post War
25:11 | Conclusion
#tankmuseum #evolution #tankguns #firepower #ChrisCopson
Hi Tank Nuts! Let us know what you think of this new series in the comments below.
Awesomeness 💯🤟🇬🇧🇺🇲🙏
Awsome vid I think though that is not the end of it. I'm guessing the next vid will be on the evolution of armor protection and then the next one mobility. Which will complete the iron triangle of a tank.
Love it!
Honestly, im not subbed and i dont donate to your channel. I might peek in occassionally. But videos like this, that discuss actual tactics and strategic decisions in re: to tanks and their development would probably get me to sub and donate. There isnt a lot of this content, at this level of detail, available.
Fantastic, thank you. Great presenter.
This is an excellent, concise introduction to tank gunnery introduced by a clear spoken and knowledgeable presenter. A really first class production all round and a great credit to the tank museum and production team.
Right? How do the History channel stay in business when these youtuber accounts are just killing it with quality!
@@altinnovation because on a tv the production quality doesn't stand up.
Simp
@@altinnovation TV Production has far better in-detail and an easier experience to understand, whereas KZhead channels that do the same, cut to the chase, missing a lot more, in a lesser easier experience is the best way i can put it.
@@zae2193 uhm, I watch these history documents on KZhead about various civilizations and conflicts, and some of these videos are like four hours long, talking about just ONE civilization. But that's the magic of KZhead. You want to cut to the chase, you can find it, on demand. You want in-depth, youtube has that too.
Absolutely brilliant as you folks say. All of the museums presenters do a good job but this persons knowledge, presence, and gravitas, made this perhaps one of the best chats yet. Really great job, and I look forward to more. The production value is as good as anything I have ever seen from the museum.👍
I appreciate the gravitas too.
The way this gentleman comports himself; the gravitas, the quiet competence and knowledgeability, his turn of phrase when describing grisly scenes, his directness and his understatement; all give him the air of a former British Army officer. Upon meeting someone like him here in Britain, you know immediately he's an officer!
Yes very informative. It begs a question though where did the British come up with their tank names? Compare Matilda, Valentine and Firefly with Panzer, and Tiger from the Germans or the straightforward T34 of the Soviets. I know a name doesn't make it any less dangerous but psychologically I'd rather be driving a Tiger than a Matilda.😁
@@chrisparnham Well, Panzer, is just the German word for 'armour' - the fact it may sound badass to Anglophone ears is probably just a result of us living in the post-WW2 cultural milieu. When pronounced in German, the Tiger and Panther don't sound quite so cool - "Teega" and "Panta"..! 🤭 Remember it was the British who came up with the names of all the American tanks too. The Yanks just called them M4 and M5 etc, it was us Brits who came up with the naming scheme after US generals like Grant, Sherman, Stuart etc. Also the British had badass tank names of their own: Conqueror, Comet, Centurion, Churchill (named after Winston's ancestor John, 1st Duke of Marlborough, who was a famous general), Crusader, Covenanter, Tetrarch and many many Cruisers. But to answer, "where did the British come up with their tanks names?" I would guess it's a bit like our language: it's a bit haphazard with no general rules, at least early on. But as you've probably noticed, after a while, and to this very day, they start to all begin with the letter C...
@@RoganGunn Yes fair enough and I know the present tanks are the Challenger 2 and 3 which are easily the coolest names among modern tanks. I wasn't having a go I was just interested in the reasons why. Thanks for the info, it was very kind of you.
Great presentation. I was with the US Army in Desert Storm and saw how the 120mm depleted uranium sabot round from the M-1 Abrams would at 1K+ penetrate the front of a T-72 and blow its engine right out the back. It was like God smiting the enemy.
You mean Assad Babil tank or some T-62
@@xmeda There were some T-62s (and Chinese versions) but the unit I was with squared off against brand new Russian T-72s.
@@marioacevedo5077 bye bye Ivan!
@@marioacevedo5077 How could you fight brand new russian T-72 if Russia or USSR at the time didn't export brand new T-72 to Iraq
@@marioacevedo5077 I know that they were equipped with T-72 :) But not with brand new Russian. Iraq used either exported variants made mainly by Poland or their own modification of them. Neither of them were on the level of Russian made
I always find it fascinating that with all this immense in technology, increase in killing power, revolutionary changes in tactics, a modern tank gun is still in essence just a massive ballista, hurling bolts at the enemy as in Roman times.
Just like almost all power is generated by moving a turbine with steam :D
We've just been throwing rocks at each other with improving technology and effective for 10's of thousands of years
@@harvyhun We are slowly entering the solar age but its taken a minute!
@@elias_xp95 i don't think we will be getting 100% from solar unless we invent some battery that can keep our energy needs for a month, but liquid salt/metal battery seems promising there!
@@thisiswhereidied3054 We've got batteries like that in concept already. Check out gravity batteries.
Very good video. One inaccuracy. First production gun stabilization was fielded on the Sherman 75MM, vertical stabilization only. Took a good trained gunner to use effectively but helped a Sherman crew get a round or two on target before a reply.
As a very longstanding visitor and member of 'Friends', I pride myself on having viewed all the Tank Museum's KZhead content. This is one of the very, very best. Thank-you and very well done to the writer, director, camera & sound operators, editor, excellent presenter and indeed the entire production team. I am greatly looking forward to the next one.
When I was a 7 year old lad in Germany we have had a bunch of British Soldiers on a big Nato exercise, possibly one of the Reforger ones or maybe even Able Archer. Anyhow I got to check out the guns, sit on and in one of the tanks and they were overall all a bunch of very nice lads and could clearly see the shine in my eyes looking and touching all that equipment so they went out of their way to show me around. Sadly I did not get to keep any trophies but I still remember it to this day.
This format was very informative. I appreciated the ability to explain the progression over a century of development using tanks at the museum. I hope you are able to make a future video like this discussing drivetrain and track systems.
A very well presented, well-rounded video. You are summarizing many decades of progress in 30 minutes, but you keep it flowing well and found a consistent level of detail to touch upon. I enjoyed it!
Another great presenter. Love these videos they have everything, technical, historical, and personal.
The evolution of tank design in just the few years of World War 2 is mindblowing. When you consider we started off with Matilda I and the American M2 light tank and ended up with Centurion tanks being tested in May 1945 and M26 Pershing.
I still find it kinda funny that is Americans in the Cold War and today even the Russians still keep using the same basic for all their tanks. Every US tank from the Pershing to the M48 Patton used the 90mm AA gun from the M26. The Russians used variations of the T-64’s 125mm gun on every tank they have up the T-14s currently being tested.
@@emberfist8347yeah, but is there a tank on the planet that can beat the Abrams 1v1. nope. so something is being done right... also, t14 doesn't exist
@@mikeprimm4077 The T-14 does exist we see it.
@@mikeprimm4077the t14 very much exists. There's been confirmed use of it in Ukraine
Very impressed with Mr. Copson's German pronunciation, neat idea for a series as well, looking forward to armor and mobility.
agreed. I'd love to see the three soft qualities of a tank addressed in more detail too - visibility, ergonomics, and communications. They are so frequently ignored but for example if you look at the German tanks against the early war French, British, and Soviet tanks, the biggest difference isn't armor, mobility, or firepower, but radios (communications) and 3-man turrets (ergonomics) that allow the commander to focus on situational awareness (visibility).
The level of professionalism in your video editing, knowledge of the tanks (obviously), and the narrative you tell in these videos is just fenomenal!
It’d be cool to see a similar video on the evolution of tank gunner and/or the commander’s optics.
As to the video itself: what an excellent presentation! Charismatic and clear speech, along with good visuals, where needed.
Very well done. I’ve been a military history fan since the mid 70’s. I was impressed how well you compressed so many subjects, so well.
Fun fact: My Dad's first older brother, Uncle Cliff ord was a tank commander in a Firefly in the war. He survived it, and lived to be 99 and almost reached reached 100. Note: Dad's oldest brother Walter died at 83, Dad's sister Margaret i.e. my Auntie Betty reached 100, and Dad reached 97.
@Puzzoozoo your ancestors sound like a very determined bunch of survivors! It’s all in the genes so you’re going to be around for sometime! All the best!
Those are fun facts. Thanks for sharing them.
Okay for you, but who cares !!!!
@@ivatt442 Thank you.🤞I make it to at least 100 to become the first male member of my family to do so.
@@babathegoodmansamba8533 Well you for one, otherwise you wouldn't have replied. 😉
This is some of the best content this channel has ever put out (a very high bar) - informative, but sufficiently concise, and incredibly insightful.
A concise yet accurate summation of the technological improvements to the tank gun. It's Anglo-centric (unsurprisingly) but very well explained indeed. Thanks, TM!
?
Anglo centric?
@@icantthinkofaname4265 Focused primarily on English armor & guns
Chieftain had a thermal jacketed barrel and it introduced the MRS. Our tank was one of the first to get MRS, it dramatically improved our kill ratio as we could realign our sight during live firing.
Thank you for a very informative, insightful & explanatory basics into tank ammunition & evolution, it was really great & I enjoyed it immensely as always.
Chris really is a brilliant & knowledgeable presenter. Have him presenting more often please.
Really excellent presentation. Well thought out and easy to follow. It was a great blend of live presentations on or in (loved the interior shots!) the actual tanks when possible, animations and actual footage. And THANK YOU for not just showing the same stock footage over and over like a lot of other documentaries. On each tank mentioned I wanted more and more information, which means it's a great documentary. I appreciate the explanations of some of the smaller things like the fume extractor. I had always wondered what that bump was on the barrel. More please! 🙂
Well done and clearly presented. The conflicting demands in tank design are made clear, with an obvious emphasis on fire power. I look forward to more such videos.
Excellent presentation. Production values as good as anything from Discovery, Smithsonian etc. I'll always cherish the original 'Tank Chats' with David Fletcher et al but these videos should ensure the continued popularity of the Museum and this channel. Well done 👏
Awesome video! Thank you so much for taking the time to guarantee such quality.
Love this series guys! Incredible content. It is just an overview but if you turned this into a mini-series, i'd watch every episode.
Absolutely terrific content! Impeccable content like this easily replaces the complete lack of similar content that we used to find on terrestrial television networks such as Discovery and History channel. My sincerest gratitude, and please keep these coming!
Thanks very much for this really interesting video. I used to work at Chilwell Depot, so saw the chieftain, scorpion/scimitar and 432 first hand. Have yet to visit Bovington, but it's on my bucket list!
Wow you pretty much explained every question I had from my observations of modern tank designs, very informative thank you
Excellent, Chris and Tank Museum production team! As usual - a no-frills, hard information presentation. Thank you, for your work.
Very well presented, Informative video. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks Tank team. Keep up the great work
Great video, the quality of internal refurbishment and equipment in Tiger 131 is astounding and good to see.
Great video from end to end. Information, presentation, narration and illustration! I left this video much better informed than from any other tank video I've ever seen. 10/10.
Verrrry good presentation. And the audio quality is exquisit. Thank you for making content of this quality!
Great Video! I would be interested in a deeper dive into the evolution of tank ammunition. Maybe in a future epidode. Thanks
It would be good to see the crossover from AP to other tank ammunition in WW2 by the British and others to overcome German tanks without getting crazy big guns and vehicles as the USSR did. Also the "fun" the Germans had gained materials/making their tank ammunition as the war went on.
That was first class, well done to you all. I particularly enjoy seeing whatever equipment using the ammunition
This again a very nice series, please continue with this. I absolutely love it! Thank you all for all this knowledge, tidbits etc... Many thanks from Belgium 🇧🇪
Absolutely superb commentary. Really informative and interesting. Concise is exactly what it is.
This was an awesome video, really enjoyed it! Would love to see something similar on armour 😁
incredible video and presentation. The presenter had a way of words that kept you engaged and wanting to know more of what they could potentially say next.
This is excellent. Thank you. I appreciate the detail packed into this short video. Well done.
Great presenter. Easy to follow and understand. A good blend of technical jargon mixed with layman terms. Learned a lot and enjoyed it.
Great video. Looking forward to more in this series.
Superb, against an already high bar. Thanks.
Thank you for this vid. Excellent coverage of the topic.
Great video, and very well presented / narrated Chris. We miss you up the road!
Thought this was very well made, with solid presentation, which can be trickier than some people think. Reminds me a quite a bit of the old documentaries that got me interested in this in the first place, back before Reality TV took over. Very well done!
Greetings from Germany! I really dig your videos as they are presented with dry facts but still with the english smirk in your voice. Really pleasant to listen to and highly educational. And adding to that you guys bring me the "outside view" on things. If there is documentary on tanks here, it mainly talks about the Leopard line or the Tiger, or the american tanks like Sherman and Abrams, but very few show the british machinery, even though the Challenger 2 is widely regarded as one of the most capable tanks in service.
An excellent new series , thank you to all involved
Fascinating insight and well presented. Thanks for clearing up a couple of questions I had about guns too!
Excellent. Looking forward to more vids on tank technology.
A really interesting and highly informative video. I learnt a lot of things I thought I knew but actually didn't. One day I'll have to scrape my rear off my swivel chair, cross the Channel and visit Bovington. For the time being I'll have to do with your brilliant vids! Thank you so much for sharing.
As always...such a good presentation of the material. Thank you sir. Learned about lbs in gunnery ) lovely job ❤
Thank you for a very informative, insightful & explanatory basics into tank ammunition & evolution, it was really great & I enjoyed it immensely as always.👍
Love the video! As a none brit I would have loved a little more talk on the new smoothbore guns like the rheinmetal 120
That would be classified.
great feature I know you touched on it but I would love to see a similar feature on the evolution and a little of the science of sighting systems, thanks for the guns.
Loved that! Brilliant work as always...
Fantastic. I love how your videos have become more in depth over the years. I can’t wait to get down to Bovington the next time we go to England.
Excellent. Many thanks from a former troop leader in 43 Tank Battalion of the Dutch Army in 1967/1968. I would have liked to hear a bit more about the Centurion tank we and numerous other countries used. The ranging HE round to establish the distance of a target over 1,000 yards seems outdated at the time as range finders had long been in use.
An engaging video covering a wide history of tank development. However as an American I was surprised that so little was mentioned about the Centurian tank. I was under the impression that it was the best tank developed in the immediate post-war period and not just among British tanks but across the world.
Brilliant video and the hole left by the legend David Fletcher is being filled in well!
Excellent work, lads! I'd definitely love to see more in-depth episodes (and perhaps a series, if possible), each focused on specific nations: their design choices, the rationale behind them and their associated components (like the turret characteristics, sensors, ammunition storage and handling, etc.). It would be awesome to see dedicated episodes about the evolution of tank firepower in the USA, the UK, the USSR, France, Germany, Italy, etc. As an example, an episode about German tank guns could start exploring the ones on the A7V from WWI, then the ones mounted on the Panzers II, III, IV, V (Panther), VI (Tiger) and VII (Königstiger) from WWII and finalize with the Leopard and Leopard II's main armament, from the Cold War to the present day. This is just a humble personal fantasy though 🙃; you guys are already doing a stellar job as it is! Cheers from Chile!
Fantastic video - really enjoyed the presentation, particularly seeing inside one of my favourite MBTs, the Chieftain. Lots more like this please!
Very comprehensive information. This video will be a hit with the tank community.
Superb video. Can we have matching ones on self protection / armour and future of the tank please.
That was a lot of good information. Thank You for taking the time to make this video.
Utterly first class presentation, it sets the benchmark for whatever ( and whoever ) follows. Well done !
As someone who was lucky enough to serve as an armored crewman on both the M60A3 and the M1A1, I had a chance to compare apples to oranges. I and all my buddies agree that the rifled 105mm on the 60 was much more accurate than the smooth bore 120mm on the Abrams. You'd think the obvious reason would be the spin imparted on the round, which makes sense. We think it's because that old hog of a tank took and held a good boresight. The gunner on an M-1 get to choose between the hull and the turret when calling his shot. The 60 gunner picks what road wheel he wants to hit.
That was an excellent overview on the evolution of the tank gun. Will you be doing similar episodes on the other two sides of the triangle? One on the evolution of anti-tank ammunition would be quite welcome as well. The changes to armor arrangement and materials forcing rounds from relatively low velocity solid shot to APFSDS and tandem warhead ATGMs is a fascinating subject.
Yeah I'd second the request for a video on the evolution of AT weapons
Also could have needed a section about the invention of smoothbore guns to gain additional boost in kinetic energy, not to mention enhanced endurance the gun. Only the British currently use rifled guns.
Thank you for producing such a wonderful and informative doco on tanks. Kudos and much appreciation for your efforts!
More than doubled my acquired life-long understanding of tank technology; super-well done presentation, thanks!
nice video i love the tank museum
I like the "Bigger Picture" overview. Seems like this would work for other topics like Combined Arms tactics or describing updates and improvements in various Marks across different eras. Also consider a bit of storytelling describing tank battles from the perspective of the crews and individuals involved. The war in Ukraine has likely sparked a renewed interest in not only tanks but other modern armoured fighting and support vehicles....a good way to bring enthusiasts into the world of current weapons and systems.
Thank you for the video. It was fascinating to see the development of the tank gun, but also explaining the “lumps and bumps” was very interesting too.
Loving this new series. Well done!
Would it be possible to do a comparison of guns with their ammunition its balistics/effectiveness maybe ww1, ww2, cold war. Sort of a top tumps for the period would be intresting to see how regardless what they were mounted in how the different guns compared
It would have been rather fitting to include a moment or two on the how, when and why of the migration from hull-mounted guns to the currently ubiquitous turret mounted armaments and the mix of main-gun and auxiliary weaponry like coaxially mounted and Turret-top machineguns etc.
that happened between WWI and WWIi
@@mvfc7637 Not so. The French applied the fully rotating turret in their miniscule , but quite effective Renault FT tank in 1916 onward and were experimenting with heavier types and models during the the war.
Fascinating. Thank you for all your hard work.
Great video! I love seeing how technology advances exponentially over time
It might be useful to graph with a line graph the increasing size of typical tank main guns in medium tanks and MBTs starting in 1940 to illustrate how they grew from 40mm at the start of WWII to 76mm plus at war's end and then to 90mm, 105mm, and today 120 mm. This would be a very useful chart for the conclusion of the presentation.
Weird to ignore the FT17, but maybe it'll turn up in the Armour or Mobility videos.
What an amazing video! Clean, concise and got to the point. Well done!
Thanks for that, very interesting as it answered a lot of my own questions with what's going on at the moment. Nicely presented
I don't always Triforce, but when I do, I prefer depleted uranium armor piercing fin stabilized discarding sabot, tracer.
Something missing from this otherwise extraordinary video is L7 gun. I think it would deserve its own episode. It seems its derivatives are still in service, and with deployment of Leopards (1) in Ukraine the gun will be revived.
Mentions the 17pdr on Firefly but totally misses out the Centurion tank which went from 17pdr to 20pdr to, via a great story about the British Embassy in the Hungarian Uprising, the L7 105mm gun. Misses out a huge slice of the development of the tank main gun and erroneously says we hadn't reached a universal tank by the end of WW2. Centurion was a universal tank and was produced before WW2 ended. It's like doing a series on bomber aircraft and going straight from WW2 heavies to the V bombers without mentioning of the Canberra!
@@DraigBlackCat Ever thought about doing your own vids Stephen?
@@thewomble1509 I would be too much in awe of David Fletcher and The Chieftain (Nicholas Moran)
@@DraigBlackCat Me too!
Really clear and precise with your information 👌👍. A breath of fresh air on KZhead I tell you...
The quality of this series is exceptional, I’m looking forward to more!
The 'male' and 'female' tank distinction always makes me chuckle. "You see when a Mommy Tank and a Daddy Tank love each other very much.." "And that's where tankettes come from!"
And how in these woke times did he miss out the hermaphrodite!
Mr Picky here.. firstly Chris refers to a "round" and a "charge" when describing 120 TK ammunition. Not quite right.. the term "round" applies to all the ammunition components needed for a shot. He should have said "projectile" not "round". A round for an L30 consists of a projectile, charge and tube! Secondly, the description of the fume extractor is again not quite correct. There is no vacuum involved during firing. The fume extractor fills up with high pressure propellent gas as the projectile passes it and before it exits the muzzle. When the projectile exits the muzzle, the pressure in the barrel drops as it vents to atmosphere. The high pressure gas in the fume extractor now vents out through a series of forward facing holes in the barrel creating a gas flow blowing the remaining fumes in the barrel out of the muzzle. As the barrel returns to battery after recoiling, the breech block is opened automatically allowing clean air from the turret to flow up and out of the barrel. If the tank is closed down and the CBRN pack is operating, the turret will be at a positive air pressure assisting the barrel fume clearance process. The use of a combustible charge bag with the L30 gun also reduced the fume load as there was no smoking cart case ejected into the turret. This was a significant source of fume with the L7 gun and needed to be removed from the turret.
Absolutely facinating. Many thanks.
This was very well explained, excellent speaking voice, very thorough, and I really enjoyed it.
I play War Thunder im just a kid but i love this so much and ive seen through the history of tanks and there firepower everyone hates British solid shot but we were just right! We used solid shot right up to everyone using APFSDS and that shrapnel is crazy in my WW2 British tank german tanks dont stand a chance
Awesomeness 🇬🇧💯🤠 amazing looking game ,I'm old 🎅 but I still have my xbox360E ,I play an awesome game called Airborne 🎮
@@ianmangham4570 sound like a cool game Santa emoji :)
@@FuriousFire898 And Ace Combat Assault Horizon with lock on missiles,I need to get a Tank game 🤟🙏
Haha. Boys and their toys. Brilliant!!
@@dazofthemoo1531 AMEN 🙏 for TOY'S, I'm 52 and I have an rc land rover mn99s and a rc su35 fighter 🤣🤠💯🤟🇬🇧 you gotta always have TOYS 👍
That's a great vid thanks for taking the time to produce it
Brilliant! Honestly a really great watch
Thank you very much. I consider myself knowing a lot about tanks, but still I learned so much. HESH only through a rifled barrel. Didn't know. Thank you again for a very nice and informative 26min, paired with some footage I haven't seen.
Really nice: showing tank interiors, good editing and graphs! Best video you ever did. One small nitpick if u don't mind, be consistent with unit subtitles.
Fantastic presentation. Great transfer of knowledge. You give a very professional presentation but make us feel relaxed listening to you. Thku very much.
That was incredibly interesting and informative. It answered questions that I had not even thought of.
Exceptionally well put together.