After 40 tank chats I can safely say that there are two problems with them... 1) I need them to be longer :) 2) There needs to be more of them :) They are simply great, discussing parts and history that you tend not to pick up from a book or other history resource.
David is easily one of the most interesting people ive ever seen... He is arguably the most well knowledged man on tanks ever, and he does it all without opening his mouth... (Mr.Monopoly likes your mustache)
In regards to tanks, Lindy is not the best (but he is very good at the ancient stuff)... Chieftain is very good, and his "Operation Think Tank 2012" with the panel from tank heaven (David Fletcher, Steven Zaloga with more) is about the best videos on ww2 tanks out there... But these clips with David Fletcher just talking about tanks, is more or less perfection (only thing that would make them better, was if they were longer, but that is only so I can hear more from David Fletcher)!
Built by Nufield! In New Zealand, there were many farms that had old Nufield tractors on them as a secondary tractor. Those old beasts were as reliable as you can imagine!
I play WT ground forces for Germans and the British (AB only, yet) and it seems to me all British tanks on tier 1 are undergunned. The 40 mm is good at the start, but when you go to the first Crusader, you're against 50mm PzKpfw. III's and 75mm PzKpfw. IV's.
Im a new subscriber, but i can tell you now i absolutely love the gentlemen that presents the video! Always great quality and great information. Thank you sir.
He's being a bit harsh on the 2pdr. He's even said himself in the past that it was easily capable of dealing with early war tanks (early Pz IV's 14.5mm armour lulz). It was the lack of HE that did for it.
My friends from California and Florida went to watch their Tank Fest last year. They had a blast!!! They are making plans to go there again later this year. I had my doubts about wanting to go with them , now I really have to make the time
I have to disagree (first time? OMG) with Fletcher a little bit on the effectiveness of the 2-pounder. Yes it was a relatively light gun, but the majority of German tanks in North Africa (as everywhere else) were not really very well armored at all early in the war. Not to mention the Italian tanks which were generally even lighter. Pz-II and the early versions of Pz-III and IV, the M13/40... All of these were prey to the 2-pdr even at long range. First upgraded versions were still vulnerable at combat range. The 'suicidal' range for the 2-pounder didn't really come into play until the later stages of the war when the most modern and best versions of Pz-III and IV and even Tigers started to be around and even so they STILL formed a minority of the Axis tank forces as a whole. IMO the lack of a HE shell was a much bigger disadvantage for these guns.
I concur. The biggest drawback was the lack of HE rounds, with the 40mm size really limiting any effectiveness of the explosive punch. That said, there WERE HE rounds available for 2pdrs, but the tankers were not given them. The other thing I disagree with on Mr Fletcher's comments regarding the Crusader is that this particular model (the Crusader III) was actually reliable, as most of the cooling issues had been fixed by the redesign of the system to do away with the cumbersome chain drive. However, the up-gunned 6pdr still lacked the HE capability, so after its job was done in the North African campaign, most Crusaders were not taken to Italy by the Eighth Army, who preferred to use the M4 and the up-gunned Churchill as they had the 75mm which had a good HE capability, even if it wasn't quite as good as a pure AT weapon.
British tank design in WW2 was an enigma. It seemed disjointed and unorganized as well as being too little, too late. Yet it showed flashes of brilliance and forward thinking in a lot of its design aspects.
Up through the Pz IIIh the 2 lber could indeed penetrate its enemy at 500 yds or so. The IIIj model with more armor was what made the 2 lber obsolete. Many German AFVs were still things like Marders and IIIh and even some Pz II's that the Crusader with the 2 lber could fight on equal terms.
I had a video game call Empires, dawn of the modern age, and when you played as England the Crusader was the tank you had to use. When you played as Germany you could either have the cheaper Panzer 4 or you could opt to make the more expensive King Tiger. In this game the King Tigers didn't breakdown or run out of gas. Very unfair advantage.
My Grandfather was crewed in one of these in North Africa during WW2 with the 3rd County London Yeomanry. I have his campaign medals and lots of photographs from his time in the desert. Unfortunately he never talked about his experiences there.
As someone new to the world of tanks, I think it would be interesting is there were videos about stories about tanks, instead of their technical details. I think this could also enlarge the target audience of the channel, bring more people into the subject.
The Crusader is a beautiful looking tank. It shows that some designers were heading the right way with sloped armour. Although the cruiser series of tanks seem to get a poor deal from most historians, they seem to miss the point of the nimble agility giving far more flexibility to the Tankers. Sadly the high command most were stuck in the past as well we know. Always great to listen to one of David's talks again.
Just imagine the panic it struck on Italy's high command. "Oh no! The british finally developed something stylish! We cannot allow this or we gonna lose the war! Start celere sahariano project NOW!"
I actually liked the general design of the crusader. If they just made it slightly bigger with a little more armor and upgunned it would have been much better.
Like cruiser tanks in General, the Crusader was severely under armoured. The Brittish idea of driving fast and firing on the move came to grief time and time again against the accurate fire of stationary hard-hitting German panzers. The infantry tanks were in a better position to duel with these, though they usually carried the same hopeless 2 pounder gun. Things changed drastically in the desert war with the arrival of the Lee/Grant and especially the Sherman tanks. Still, the last and best Brittish tanks of the war, the Comet and Centurion were both derived from earlier cruiser designs and they were both excellent designs.
Why do most British tanks name start with a C (Cruiser, Crusader, Churchill, Cromwell, Comet, Centurion, Centaur, Challenger, Chieftain, etc)? Is it a tradition or something? If so, can somebody explain when did this naming custom start and by whom?
the C names come from when the British were building and designing tanks in the early stages of WW2 they had two different types, Cruiser (light) tanks and Infantry tanks, the Cruisers generally had C names to denote there type so you get Crusader, Covenanter, and later Cromwell, Churchill is different in that its an infantry tank and was named after a relative of the prime minister at the time Winston Churchill, when it comes to late/post war and modern tanks like Comet/Centurion and so on it basically seems to have gotten to the point where the higher ups said "hey what are we gonna call these new tanks?" and they decided "well we've got all these other tanks beginning with C's so might aswell carry it on"....there's some exceptions like the Valentine, built by Vickers who apparently like naming there vehicles with V names, and Matilda who its believed is named after a cartoon duck although according to David fletcher is just a myth as he's found drawings and designs for the Matilda which for some reason has "Operation Matilda" written across the top which some bod at some time decided to run with it, there's a video of a panel discussion on youtube called "Operation Think Tank" well worth a watch if you wanna know more :)
Not entirely. SPG's were named after clerical posts - Abbot, Sexton, Bishop, Deacon - due to the M7 GMC being nicknamed 'Priest' (allegedly because the machinegun mount was like a pulpit). Self propelled Anti Tank guns do seem to follow the "A" naming convention although their were never many of them and there are probably never going to be any more.
For all that the Crusader wasn't a great tank I have always thought it to be a great looking tank. British tanks seem to disprove the old adage that if something looks right it is right. These tank chat videos are brilliant, easily my favourite youtube channel.
Had to stop middle of the clip to answer the phone. Went back, started all over again. You never interrupt David Fletcher's chat. Never.
Was it David's moustache calling you? Warning you not to interrupt ever again, or else?
🤛
It was a sacrilege even to consider picking up a phone while David is chatting. What were you thinking?
David Fletcher is not a national treasure the man is a global treasure.
artanisnz
As is his mustache!
@@michaelcoulter1114
His mustache is beautifully majestic
@@michaelcoulter1114 His mustache should be in a museum.
@@FlowerKnight2
No argument here, mate!
He is an universal treasure. I bet, you wont find a guy like him in the entire Milky way and andromeda galaxy (combined)
After 40 tank chats I can safely say that there are two problems with them...
1) I need them to be longer :)
2) There needs to be more of them :)
They are simply great, discussing parts and history that you tend not to pick up from a book or other history resource.
ElcomeSoft for the longer version you have to go to Nicholas Moran at the chieftain's hatch!
ElcomeSoft I think many would appreciate talk on the combat performance and details of battles the vehicles in question took part in
Callum Gledhill most certainly for me. These videos are great but could be lifted up to astronomically phenomenal level with more details :)
I do wonder if mr. Fletcher ever visits youtube himself to see his work and our comments though
Dude that's gross
Crusader: I dont like sand. It's coarse... and it gets everywhere
Desert War vets watching Episode 2 when that scene happened: "(scoff) you're telling me"
David Fletcher! The man, The myth, The legend!!
GreenWolf There are even legends written about his mustache.
Jim Behr
It’s been reported that it’s very durable and well liked by its crew
The Moustache!
David is easily one of the most interesting people ive ever seen... He is arguably the most well knowledged man on tanks ever, and he does it all without opening his mouth... (Mr.Monopoly likes your mustache)
In my opinion it's the best looking British tank built in WW2
The competition is not exactly stiff. Nearly every British tank except the Crusader looks like a literal box with wheels.
I'd say it is the best looking tank of WW2
@@Zilant-lp2fx panzerjäger IV and the chaffee and the M10 tank Destroyer would disagree
hagamapama
Covenanter, Comet, Centurion
The rivets are absolutely appalling.
I have never been to the tank museum, but I already love it.
Jaak Sootak mate, you should definitely go, it's truly a wonderful place!
Bored at work, refresh subscriptions... Tank Chat! Thank the lord!
Programmer? xD
You got it! Ha! :p
Well, i am one as well xD
ditto
You could say: "Tank the lord." ^^
I love what you do. I'm thankful to Lindybeige for introducing me to your channel. Cheers.
Solid Rollin glad you found something with better history lindybeige! even more detailed Tank happiness try the chieftain's hatch
In regards to tanks, Lindy is not the best (but he is very good at the ancient stuff)... Chieftain is very good, and his "Operation Think Tank 2012" with the panel from tank heaven (David Fletcher, Steven Zaloga with more) is about the best videos on ww2 tanks out there... But these clips with David Fletcher just talking about tanks, is more or less perfection (only thing that would make them better, was if they were longer, but that is only so I can hear more from David Fletcher)!
This reminds me of going to a museum with my old dad, he knew a lot of stuff but seemed constantly confused.
Always seemed like a tank that should have been better than it was. Very cool looking. And as always. Fletcher rules.
Built by Nufield! In New Zealand, there were many farms that had old Nufield tractors on them as a secondary tractor. Those old beasts were as reliable as you can imagine!
Thank you for the internal view! It just adds something wonderful to the video to see the crew conditions Mr Fletcher is talking about ourselves.
crusader was one of my favorite vehicles in World of Tanks, it's fantastic to learn about the real machine.
Mine was favorite on War Thunder. :D
CommenterD Oh really? I was about to get that on WoT Blitz.
weesh ful It may be just me, but I find it cute as a vehicle.. btw, 3 marks :)
Crusader Mk III,natural enemy of the T-50 in AB,and the Japanese tanks in RB.
I play WT ground forces for Germans and the British (AB only, yet) and it seems to me all British tanks on tier 1 are undergunned. The 40 mm is good at the start, but when you go to the first Crusader, you're against 50mm PzKpfw. III's and 75mm PzKpfw. IV's.
Im a new subscriber, but i can tell you now i absolutely love the gentlemen that presents the video! Always great quality and great information. Thank you sir.
Fletcher is great, he's a brilliant presenter, he knows his stuff and he is occasionally really funny. Just an all round brilliant bloke.
Bless David Fletcher
He's being a bit harsh on the 2pdr. He's even said himself in the past that it was easily capable of dealing with early war tanks (early Pz IV's 14.5mm armour lulz). It was the lack of HE that did for it.
The 6 pdr was needed by then .
The man is a legend . Could listen to him all day about tanks .
thank you very much mr. Fletcher it's a pleasure watching your commentaries
Makes me feel warm inside to see all your patrons come from various backgrounds across Europe etc, keeping our history alive.
My friends from California and Florida went to watch their Tank Fest last year. They had a blast!!! They are making plans to go there again later this year. I had my doubts about wanting to go with them , now I really have to make the time
Always appreciate these tank chats. Short and punchy.
This tank has an awesome paint job.
It reminds me of my mircomachine toys as a kid.
I could listen to David Fletcher talk tanks all day long. The man is incredible!
Thanks for another informative video Mr Fletcher. Much appreciated as always :)
I have to disagree (first time? OMG) with Fletcher a little bit on the effectiveness of the 2-pounder. Yes it was a relatively light gun, but the majority of German tanks in North Africa (as everywhere else) were not really very well armored at all early in the war. Not to mention the Italian tanks which were generally even lighter. Pz-II and the early versions of Pz-III and IV, the M13/40... All of these were prey to the 2-pdr even at long range. First upgraded versions were still vulnerable at combat range. The 'suicidal' range for the 2-pounder didn't really come into play until the later stages of the war when the most modern and best versions of Pz-III and IV and even Tigers started to be around and even so they STILL formed a minority of the Axis tank forces as a whole. IMO the lack of a HE shell was a much bigger disadvantage for these guns.
I concur. The biggest drawback was the lack of HE rounds, with the 40mm size really limiting any effectiveness of the explosive punch. That said, there WERE HE rounds available for 2pdrs, but the tankers were not given them. The other thing I disagree with on Mr Fletcher's comments regarding the Crusader is that this particular model (the Crusader III) was actually reliable, as most of the cooling issues had been fixed by the redesign of the system to do away with the cumbersome chain drive. However, the up-gunned 6pdr still lacked the HE capability, so after its job was done in the North African campaign, most Crusaders were not taken to Italy by the Eighth Army, who preferred to use the M4 and the up-gunned Churchill as they had the 75mm which had a good HE capability, even if it wasn't quite as good as a pure AT weapon.
Tank you very much my good sir Mr David Fletcher! Always an informed and knowledgeable source of information!!!
I click like before I click play. Easy decision.
Agreed!
I'll give thumbs up to that!
Me too =)
Do you need a medic or psychologist, Philip? You appear to be in great pain.
lot's of likes and 3 blind people
Always liked the look of the Crusader.
British tank design in WW2 was an enigma. It seemed disjointed and unorganized as well as being too little, too late. Yet it showed flashes of brilliance and forward thinking in a lot of its design aspects.
Up through the Pz IIIh the 2 lber could indeed penetrate its enemy at 500 yds or so. The IIIj model with more armor was what made the 2 lber obsolete. Many German AFVs were still things like Marders and IIIh and even some Pz II's that the Crusader with the 2 lber could fight on equal terms.
Now that is one awesome looking tank.
I had a video game call Empires, dawn of the modern age, and when you played as England the Crusader was the tank you had to use. When you played as Germany you could either have the cheaper Panzer 4 or you could opt to make the more expensive King Tiger. In this game the King Tigers didn't breakdown or run out of gas. Very unfair advantage.
Was it 'England' or 'Britain'? 'Cuz one is factually incorrect and bloody infuriating, while the other is actually correct.
2:28 I want one for my daily commute
Tomah4wk hey its tomah4wk
I just love the crusader, by far my most favourite tank
Beautiful tank! It looks to me not so old in the shape.
David Fletcher, The Armoured vehicle God. Love your Mr. Fletcher. Thank you.
One of my favourite tanks ever despite it's faults.
I didn't even see the topic for the video, all I saw was Tank Chats and that was enough for me.
02:53 "now as to reliability....." God, I love the look on his face after that :D
Love these. Thanks David Fletcher!
My Grandfather was crewed in one of these in North Africa during WW2 with the 3rd County London Yeomanry. I have his campaign medals and lots of photographs from his time in the desert. Unfortunately he never talked about his experiences there.
"Lads, when you design the turret, make sure to make the front flat. Lets give them something to shoot at".
Front? Bugger the front... the entire bloody thing is a shot trap all the way about!
@@HM2SGT most early tanks where, it's only really by the end of ww2 that everything gets sloped.
@@HM2SGT Better than a bloody Sherman that was a death / fire trap!
@@timphillips9954 not really
As someone new to the world of tanks, I think it would be interesting is there were videos about stories about tanks, instead of their technical details. I think this could also enlarge the target audience of the channel, bring more people into the subject.
Maybe not the best tank at all, but it has a beautiful design: sleek and elegant.
They should have a hologram of David alongside every tank in the museum!
Wonderful video, thank you for posting it
The Crusader is a beautiful looking tank. It shows that some designers were heading the right way with sloped armour. Although the cruiser series of tanks seem to get a poor deal from most historians, they seem to miss the point of the nimble agility giving far more flexibility to the Tankers. Sadly the high command most were stuck in the past as well we know.
Always great to listen to one of David's talks again.
5 dislikes? Who are these people? Great video as always David.
always like these discussions...well done!
Thumbs up great information
There are times when I despair about my countrymen.
Love
Tom
Like this weeks papers. SCUMMY NEWS PAPERS
Most beautiful tank to look at ever made !
Brilliant, gentleman of knowledge.
Gotta love the Beezer machine gun. And "tin work" like it's an MG that has been in a crash.
in the entire internet these are my favorite videos
Great video - Thank you!
Thanks for the tremendously good videos :)
I really like the old guy, use to listen to him describing Tanks in the old History Channel.
If my wife knew how much I loved David Fletcher I might be in trouble.
as always spot on and interesting thanks
Certainly a cool looking, fast looking tank - like an early (military) version of the E-Type Jag.
There's only one thing not to like about these videos - TOO SHORT!!!
Always leave them wanting more!
Thank you. That was very educational indeed
Cheers Mr. Fletcher!
He said an all welded construction..........looks all riveted to me !!!!!
Just imagine the panic it struck on Italy's high command.
"Oh no! The british finally developed something stylish! We cannot allow this or we gonna lose the war! Start celere sahariano project NOW!"
British Mario provides us with an excellent video, thanks!
I actually liked the general design of the crusader. If they just made it slightly bigger with a little more armor and upgunned it would have been much better.
The only tank thats appropriate for taking Jerusalem while blasting Sabaton
love the crusader, what a good looking tank, if we could win wars on good looks alone it would of been over in no time
Thank you .
How about a tank chat about the KV series of tanks?
Yes they do
Sammy B they have a kv1
A good looking tank nonetheless! Thank you for the video.
My favourite tank and I think David Fletcher has a soft spot for it too.
Like cruiser tanks in General, the Crusader was severely under armoured. The Brittish idea of driving fast and firing on the move came to grief time and time again against the accurate fire of stationary hard-hitting German panzers. The infantry tanks were in a better position to duel with these, though they usually carried the same hopeless 2 pounder gun. Things changed drastically in the desert war with the arrival of the Lee/Grant and especially the Sherman tanks. Still, the last and best Brittish tanks of the war, the Comet and Centurion were both derived from earlier cruiser designs and they were both excellent designs.
Sounds like the ghost of Jacky Fisher was in charge of the early cruiser tanks.
Good looking tank.
Why do most British tanks name start with a C (Cruiser, Crusader, Churchill, Cromwell, Comet, Centurion, Centaur, Challenger, Chieftain, etc)? Is it a tradition or something? If so, can somebody explain when did this naming custom start and by whom?
its the same with SPG beginning with A, Archer, Achilles, Avenger, Abbot
the C names come from when the British were building and designing tanks in the early stages of WW2 they had two different types, Cruiser (light) tanks and Infantry tanks, the Cruisers generally had C names to denote there type so you get Crusader, Covenanter, and later Cromwell, Churchill is different in that its an infantry tank and was named after a relative of the prime minister at the time Winston Churchill, when it comes to late/post war and modern tanks like Comet/Centurion and so on it basically seems to have gotten to the point where the higher ups said "hey what are we gonna call these new tanks?" and they decided "well we've got all these other tanks beginning with C's so might aswell carry it on"....there's some exceptions like the Valentine, built by Vickers who apparently like naming there vehicles with V names, and Matilda who its believed is named after a cartoon duck although according to David fletcher is just a myth as he's found drawings and designs for the Matilda which for some reason has "Operation Matilda" written across the top which some bod at some time decided to run with it, there's a video of a panel discussion on youtube called "Operation Think Tank" well worth a watch if you wanna know more :)
McPuff If only they'd mounted a Sexton turret on an Abbot chassis... Could've called it the Sexbot.
Fisto the SexBot is a lover, not a fighter.
Not entirely. SPG's were named after clerical posts - Abbot, Sexton, Bishop, Deacon - due to the M7 GMC being nicknamed 'Priest' (allegedly because the machinegun mount was like a pulpit). Self propelled Anti Tank guns do seem to follow the "A" naming convention although their were never many of them and there are probably never going to be any more.
Ah...the good 'ol Deus vult tank
deus what?
take back the holy land
another enjoyable video
🙂🙂🙂
“Our people”. Like it. 👍🏻
Liked. Very interesting thank you!
I say! This particular Crusader appears to be wearing a brodie helmet at a jaunty angle. What dashing, debonair rogue this fine machine is.
Yes it doubled the armour thickness at that area of the turret.
For all that the Crusader wasn't a great tank I have always thought it to be a great looking tank. British tanks seem to disprove the old adage that if something looks right it is right. These tank chat videos are brilliant, easily my favourite youtube channel.
One of my favorite tanks, thanks to Call of duty 2! Good old game
I LOVE this man, what else can i say!!!
Thanks.
Love to hear fletcher giving tank histories!😬
Jman👀
Sleek little vehicle. Classic.
I love the Crusader.
Been playing Warthunder for 2 weeks and suddenly I enjoy tank lore lol
I like it. Nice tank. The US really blundered not using Christie suspension.
"The" David Fletcher. Do not forget the prefix.
Good show!
Tank Santa has come early this year!!
one of my favourite British tanks. would have loved to see the design evolve further as the war went on
It did - in many ways, the logical extension of this was to become the Cromwell & Centaurs, then the Comet & finally, the Centurion.
Really like listening to him
Nice shot-trap turret.