I remember when they talked about how quiet the Abrams engine was. Then when I heard the Abrams engine start I thought “that isn’t quiet at all”. Then someone fired up a M88 and I was like, “Oh”. 😁

@Soulessdeeds

2 жыл бұрын

Truth is you will hear an Abrams tracks before you hear the engine as it comes at you. But you will hear a Bradley's engine for you hear its tracks. That's the difference between a turbine and diesel engine in a combat setting. If both are setup along a tree line or in a urban setting. You will hear the Bradley idling allot sooner than you will hear an Abrams at idle. Its just the startup that's damn loud lol. Or when we ground hopped them for maintenance.

They were so easy to fall asleep in,the drone of the tracks knocks you out although any tracked vehicle has that effect.

@Soulessdeeds

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah one of my maintenance teams had a 113 driver that would fall asleep. It got spicey when we loaned him out to 1SG for a week lol.

@dce21b59

2 жыл бұрын

I slept in one for a couple hours, don't even remember it, or the crew or anything. Just that piece of shit ACE we were towing behind us that broke down on me during a convoy.

@myselfremade

2 жыл бұрын

My dozer and excavator make a very nice clackclackclackclack

@TouringRSX

2 жыл бұрын

Don't forget the smooth ride these can have over rough terrain will rock you to sleep

@timmartin858

Жыл бұрын

I was in the 1/37 Armor in 1972-74, I thought our M-88s were gasoline engines?

He’s a great presenter who really knows his stuff. I really like that you just let him talk and asked a few well-informed questions to keep the conversation going.

@bobcostas6272

2 жыл бұрын

This. Sofilein is a treasure

@thatguy7085

2 жыл бұрын

The guys at the museum there have hundreds of years of knowledge.

I would add the Supe to a list of people I’d like to sit and listen to over a beer and a campfire. Thanks for presenting this.

The M88 A1 or A2 are the "backbone" of the tracket vehicles maintenance units sections, not only for recovery but heavy lifts (power packs) fineldrives, sprockets, track repairs as well as impact wrench hydraulic power supply. Loved my M88, she would work her heart out for me and my crews. Spent over 20 years in tracket vehicles in the Marines.

@williamgibb5557

2 жыл бұрын

Everything evidently breaks so repairs are needed even under fire actions! Thank you for keeping my freedom intact!

@irongunner1221

2 жыл бұрын

This is the most important comment here. You haven't really earned your experience as a Bradley crew member until your mechanics get tired of you taking too long to do something; changing/removing track pieces, road wheels, idler arms, or armor plates and they come along with their 88's and show you how to really get work done. You can use a Bradley to recover a Bradley.... sometimes. But an 88 can pull your pack (engine and transmission) in the motor pool at NTC or at your FOB in Iraq.

@slateslavens

2 жыл бұрын

we didn't call ours "Big Wrench" for nothing!

@garyboardwine3349

2 жыл бұрын

Yep same here , loved it

Sounds like the M88 is an unsung hero of the army! Thanks for shining a light on it!

@FirstDagger

2 жыл бұрын

Logistics win wars.

@aaronloyd2706

2 жыл бұрын

It's the hero that never gets glory.

I love the choppy idle the M88 has. It's like it chuckles at whatever challenge is in front of it.

I was a Bradley mechanic for 15 yrs. My first unit was 3rd ACR back when they had just got to FT. Carson in 96'. I was assigned to 2/3's recovery section and I was assigned an M88a1 my first week with my unit. My 2nd week I was pulling M1 packs for services. It was from that point on that completely shaped my service career. When ever I was transferred to a new unit I just had to say yeah I am M88 qualified and I was assigned to the M88's lol. Rarely was I not assigned on one and that being when I was posted over in Germany. My 2nd tour in Iraq is where I put every ounce of my experience and recovery knowledge of M88s to the full test. That was the deployment every recovery operator prays they never see but trains for. Of the 13 Bradley's the 101st ABN 1/32 Cav had (Pre-po Brads from Kuwait). 11 were coded out for IEDs. I recovered all but one of them. And I did every recovery mission that was in between. For 8 months I was a wrench slinging. track changing. mile burning fool lol. I had to change the track on that M88 two times due to the amount of miles I was putting on it. That one tour was my THE tour. Even though my first tour was when the Insurgency kicked off and all the hell and chaos that brought. But the M88 I had during my second tour was at first owned by another unit that already had a M88a2. And the M88a1 was theater property. It was basically a hand me down from the invasion units. The unit that had it said it was junk and they didn't want it. Well I needed it to do my job. So I talked to the 101st CO and he agreed to sign for it. Now I had a recovery and lift track to do my job. The "JUNK" M88a1 drove and ran like a damn dream. She gave me many reliable miles. And never let me down outside the wire during a mission. Hell the old gal had to go recover the fancy M88a2 lol. Allot of people think the M88a1 is old and junky. That's only because they don't know how to work on them correctly and keep them running. The M88a2 has allot of issues the a1 doesn't. The a2's brakes are hydraulic. So they have to warm up before they start working good. Which is a god awful thing to have to do during the winter months. The a2 has allot of problems that comes with "Modern" upgrades. That the older versions simply never had to deal with. I was always grateful I was never assigned an a2 version. The a1's were are incredible machines and honestly one of the vehicles the US Military got RIGHT. And I always felt allot safer riding in an M88 than nearly any other vehicle we had over there including the M1s. I wish I had never been injured during my 3rd Iraq tour. I would have happily gone to work as a civilian contractor just so I could keep working on Brads and M88s. I miss that kind of work.

From 1976 to 1979 I operated the M88 VTR witch had the 12 cylinder supercharged gas engine what a beast🇺🇸

I was crew on one of these in Vietnam 69-70. Name on the front was , Iron Butterfly, ours had a 5 man crew, a top turret with a 50 cal, a 30 for the TC on the right hatch and another 30 mounted at the back. I slept many nights exhausted passed out with my face stuck on the diamond plate floor. Diamond face ! Lots of memories .

@derekhinger1343

Жыл бұрын

I’d imagine a face of diamond plate was much more desirable than being in the vulnerable dirt outside with the insects 🐜 🕷️ Thank you for your service 🙏

Fun times in tank recovery....fixing all the joyrides the boys up front take.

M88 the hero of the US army.

This is one of the most amazing vehicles I've ever had the opportunity to work with, M88. The power of this vehicle is unmatched.

Just so happens that today a Young man in one of the tank groups I'm in on facebook was sharing that his Father was a mechanic on one of these and he was wondering where he could go a ride in one to get the experience that his father had. I shared this video and some of your other M88 videos with him.

@aaronloyd2706

2 жыл бұрын

Join the army or go to work with BAE System.

Saw a M88A2 lift a Bradley and that same 88A2 did a dead drag of 2 M1A2's( tracks locked ) Demo for Armor Conference.

I am old enough to remember the M51 and that was a beast. On Qkinawa in 1969 a P5 Amtrack bottomed out in our back lot of Eng Maint. The M51 could not pull it our so we assisted with several of our heavy bull dozers. It was a struggle and the work was hot and the lot muddy. When they finally were able to recover the P5 . Suction held it firm. Hahahahaha! The M88 is a nice piece of equipment. They left when out armor left last year. I cried when I seen them at the railhead headed for parts unknown.

@Sofilein

2 жыл бұрын

Holy moly what a story! The M51 is an absolute BEAST and I wish I could see one operating someday. They have one at the NACC collection and it's amazing. Big respect to you! Thanks for sharing, I really appreciate it

@garyjcsizmar4636

2 жыл бұрын

@Ford yes! Sorry for not being clear! Did you crew on one!

@garyjcsizmar4636

2 жыл бұрын

@@Sofilein I was lucky enough to be given a MOS of 2161 repair shop machinist. Even thought the field was in Ordnance I could go anywhere they required my MOS. I been to both Marine Corp ground depots, I&I duty working with reserves, teaching at the Ordnance School itself at Quantico at the time, 4 different FSR/ FSSG and two MAG’s. So I seen and worked on a lot of equipment. I worked for and had many talented Marines that made me look good. I am entirely grateful to the Marine Corp for training me and when I retired I went to work at NADEP CP NC working on the AC I worked on in the service.

@jamesb4789

2 жыл бұрын

@@Sofilein I was one of the design and testing engineers on the M88A1E1 program that lead to the M88A2. I can give a very long winded history of the effort and detailed explanations for a number of things on the design if you want. I was directly involved in the hull, armor, all three winches and winch systems, the boom and various misc. items. Some of the things are amusing as trivia. Is there a way I can contact you directly? Too much to pass on via comments.

I'm from Hohenfels, Bayern. Always had nothing but respect for the fine and wellbehaved US Personnel stationed here. It's nice to see that this gentleman was here, too.

Really great hearing first hand accounts from the personnel that operated these vehicles, fascinating stuff Sofilein

Nice look around on the A2. They didn't have them when I was in. Back in AIT they still had a original gasser 88 operating. They would overprime the fuel system so it would blow flames out the exhaust. What a trip. Spent most of my time driving a M578 which is not exactly small but the 88 made us look tiny.

@daffyduck7336

2 жыл бұрын

The 578 was another well suited vehicle, I also spent some time as a maint chief in a Arty Bn. (self-propelled,M109,107and 110) every so often the maint. Chief of 2nd Tank Bn (USMC) would ask me to send my 578 and chew to help with his maintenance. How ever when a vehicle bogged down in heavy mud it nice to have tanks send over thier M51 heavy retever

@slateslavens

2 жыл бұрын

When I was in during the mid 90s our unit still had a Korean War era deuce. It was so old it didn't even have a turbo.

@iaenmor

2 жыл бұрын

@@slateslavens None of them did when I was there. Later in the A2 series if I recall correctly.

Loved getting behind the the gasser 88 on road marches during the winter, no tops or windshield so we would get behind the flame and thaw out German winters are a little more than just cold. 3AD 12 CAV. 65/67

The years in I spent the regular Army I was a crew member on an M88 A1: USA # 9B4418, serial #211, HQ 91 4/37th Armor 194th Armored BGDE, Fort Knox KY, 1972-1975. It had an AVSI 1790 supercharged engine that ran off of MOGAS 1,200 HP. My best friend Orlando Liani from Cleveland and I both 63C MOS. learned from SP Michael Mazur 63FMOS, From Philadelphia. Orlando and I added the 63F MOS working with SP Mazur. Our M60 A1 tanks were used by the Armored School in the training of officers. They had officers training officers to operate them. Every time they would be on the driving course we would be busy for days and nights on end recovering tanks!!!!! especially when there was days on end of rain!!!!! towards the end of my second year they decided to put NCOs in charge of training officers to drive. Guess what recovery missions pretty much ended from the driving course!!!!!!!!! We did many missions supporting the Armored Engineer Board when they were testing vehicles to choose for production the tests for the Bradley was one. Also GOER tests they sank a couple of them which we had to recover after that wed go to the test sight hook a cable to them to make sure they would float before they would turn them loose on the lake. We were also recovery support for night vision testing. We also towed many M48s and M106s out on the firing ranges, especially St Vith. Had a track blown into on St Vith after which they sent EOD personnel with us. I could go on and on. It was the most enjoyable job of my life!!!!!!! and the M88 A1 USA # 9B4418 is my favorite vehicle of all time!!!!!!!! I went straight from the regular Army to WVARNG 1st Bn 201st FA M109 as a 63C all they had was M578 it had issues towing the M109s. Got an ROTC commission 1979 as a Field Artillery officer in the 201st worked up to SVC Battery commander transferred to 265th Heavy Material supply Co. US Army Reserve as a company commander, that unit had an M88. Wanted to transfer back to the 201st FA they said my hearing was too bad The maintenance Warrant job was open hearing was ok for that so I spent my last 9 years as a Warrant. When I got back to the 201st FA some one had woke up the Battalion was assigned an M88 A1 no more hooking up a howitzer to the M578 to help pull a howitzer! M88 #1 most fun vehicle of all time to me!!!!!!!!!

@chrism4377

2 жыл бұрын

I drove an M88 at Ft Stewart, Ga. back in the mid 70's. Serial # 401, USA# 9B5851. 1/13 F.A. We had M110A1 8" Howitzers. I was glad to have the 88 over a 578. But the terrain at Ft Stewart seemed unforgiving at times. A lot of swamps on that post. Biggest problem I ran into was end connecters breaking...a lot! I always loved towing in a 110 to the motor pool. Just because the gun cheifs said I would NEVER be towing their guns! Best time was when I towed in two at the same time. Had our Lt. worried going over a series of three bridges on the tank trail. We were a bit over weight. It was either go that way, or 30 miles back around the perimeter of post to get back. Had some great times there, I will say that!

1974-76,the M-88 s I worked around had a gasoline fired -turbo-charged engine whose block was a basic M-60 block-I saw one pull an M-60 plus a second M-60 who had tried to help out of mud up to turret rings.It would belch fire and smoke to beat the band, frying much nearby foliage Not sure how old those monsters were

@daffyduck7336

2 жыл бұрын

That's the 1790 SI..".S " stands supercharge not trbocharge, the twin superchargers were driven by shafts in the crankcase one on each side, the " I " stands fuel injected, and the crankcase was not inter changeable, output was 1,050 hp at 2,800 rpms...it was a "honey" of a engine, I loved building them!

Any of us that were stationed in Germany have at least one story from Hohenfels or Grafenwoher. And it always seemed to be cold and or muddy stories! LOL

I bet he could tell you every nut and bolt size on the entire vehicle. Big nuts at that.

Between Sofileins enthusiasm and the great knowledge of the presenters this is always a good channel to watch 😁

One subject that this trainer didn't talk much about was regarding their usage with the Corp of Engineers as makeshift combat engineer vehicles. They were not designed as such, but their dozer blade and A-frame accomplish much of what the old M728 CEV once did. Sadly the amazing M728 was retired despite it being an incredible swiss-army knife combat engineer vehicle with a 165mm demolition gun (with a snub-nosed barrel) that was perfect for urban combat when the vehicle was equipped with reactive armor. No replacement was ever made sadly. I still hope that the Army will listen to their combat engineers and realize that they need an M1 abrams version of the M728 with a snub-nosed 165mm demolition gun along with an A-Frame and the usual attachments of mine plows, dozer blades, and other tools. The current breacher vehicle is nice but it's not as versatile. As such, the M88A2 ends up getting hijacked to fill roles it was not originally designed for while lacking a good demolition gun. This huge gap in capability I believe seriously needs to be addressed. That being said, the M88A2 Hercules is an absolute beast. Everyone in the Army loves that vehicle when it shows up.

I was with the 2Bn/5th Arty in Grafenwöhr for Arty training in winter of 1967. The Tank Trail made a Y with a deep depression in the V of the Y. Going out to the Impact Area one snowy day we saw a M88 down in the bottom of the depression where it had slid off the trail, it seem like it was about 40 ft deep. It took 3 more M88's about 3 days to recover that track, but they did get it back. A lot of years gone by since then.

Man knows his recovery vehicles. Another really interesting video.

Great video! That good ol' boy knows his stuff.

I drove one for 6 years and loved it. We even hooked 2 together and had a tug of war. Man I miss those days 😢

Hello Sofi,, I joined the Army in 1977 and trained as a Turret mechanic 45 November and this was our Taxi. Thanks for the great walk around and great video.

Thank you for this Miss Sofi, gold as usual.

Call AAA, and the 88 shows up. Paid out a fair amount of "recreational beverages" for the service.

Another quality learning video. Lots of facts from top presenters. Respect for the folks who maintain and operate this heavy equipment. THANKS.

That is the real problem with tanks: For every tank you have in active service you need an assortment of heavy duty vehicles to maintain, recover and repair them. It sounds strange: But tanks are FRAIL. That is one reason why I like the 8*8 wheeled vehicles. They are generally build by truck manufacturers - and if you think they can sell trucks that need a recovery every 1000 miles - well if that was the case: They would have been out of business a LONG time ago.

@LongBinh70

2 жыл бұрын

It's not just tanks. The same could be said about combat troops. It is said it takes 10 soldiers in the rear supporting every front line troop. Think about it; cooks, mail room, various communications, payroll, supply, clerks, hospitals, air crews, PX, special services - the list goes on and on. All vital links in the chain.

@lshssprings

2 жыл бұрын

But the 8x8 vehicles are absolute garbage too. Lets discuss the Stryker. It is plagued with mechanical problems and is one of the most unreliable vehicles in the Military fleet.

@thomasborgsmidt9801

2 жыл бұрын

@@LongBinh70 You are quite right. There is a lot that could be streamlined in the supply chain. But as the USArmy is modelled on the preussian army - that won't happen. Have You ever heard of a german army with administrative simplicity? No! I thought not. The union army was heavy in infantry - because most of the soldiers were farm boys that KNEW how much WORK horses are!

@thomasborgsmidt9801

2 жыл бұрын

@@lshssprings That is because you do it wrong. Lets see if the Swiss MOWAG Piranha V is not better. Let truck manufacturers make 8*8 - they know that they are out of business if their trucks break down every few miles. Some parts need to be strengthend. What the Danish Army does: It slaps a bit of armour on their trucks - because they will do their driving. The trucks are made by Scania. If you look to the Danish Huitfeldt-class: They are build like car-ferries whereever possible - and it is a lot of places. They use MAN Diesels. They are just 1-2 knots slower than say a Sachen-class. Cost much less have a range about double - liveable quarters. And swap the crew and every position is to be handed over and signed for by the relieving crew - each one of them personally signs off. They are also designed to cater to the mechanical ineptitude of the navigational officers. For engine power they signal simply: 1, 2 or 4 diesels. Even an admiral can figure that out. But then Danish sailors have more sea-time than anybody else. They keep sailing in some of the worst arctic waters - or creepy shoaling waters of the Baltic - trust me they are creepy. What happens when the skipper runs aground - well, the entire crew gets a crash-course - how to handle a crash. The chief is the damage control officer. Esbern Snare smashed a gearbox, but for the purpose of the major exercise they only needed one engine. And when she needed to dock to get the gearbox fixed - the entire crew got on a crash-damage-control course (set up by the German Navy - trust me: No short cuts there). The captain - well he got promoted - now he had learned NOT to smash his ship. In the shipping line, I worked in - many years ago - a skipper had fumbled things up - went through a navigational course - and was brought back in service after that. I saw him in the office - he got the message.

@thomasborgsmidt9801

2 жыл бұрын

@@lshssprings kzread.info/dash/bejne/qp-skq-xe5C_nJc.html

Fantastic video this time, thanks. It reminds me of when I worked for a railroad. Everywhere you looked, possible instant death if you make a mistake. I knew people people on the railroad who died dealing with heavy equipment. I had a few occasions that were close.

I was in Germany in the 80s. I remember a M88 pulled out one of our 5ton Extra long bed trucks. Parking brake had popped out and it rolled down a 45 Degree hill and was wedged in some trees. It was loaded with 2 simulated Lance missile bodies.... it was heavy.

I'd watch hours of this guy doing voice-overs of recoveries. Just footage of real world M88's in action, and explaining what's going on. IMO that's the kind of thing that'd drive recruitment- not just showing the superficial level of tanks & jets- but getting into the details of how all this stuff comes together. Congratulations on your career, & thanks for the video

Thanks Sofi! Always good to have some stories about the unsung heroes (people & vehicles). If the man you interviewed got a medal, it was probably a lot more dangerous than he let on!

JMRC Hohenfels (former CMTC) is one of those places where the military plays laser tag under combat conditions and crews and their vehicles are pushed to their limits and above. When sleep deprivation meets bad weather, bad things happen. Just figured I'd add that tiny bit of information for those who might be wondering how a tank might end up stuck between trees. 😁

@ozzy7763

2 жыл бұрын

My first taste of Popeyes was in Hohenfels . Lol

@n5syr01

2 жыл бұрын

You got that right. I was on a tank that skated down an ice covered hill in Hoenfels. There was a Capt. standing in the back overhead hatch in a 113 at the bottom of said hill. Needless to say, when an M1A1 slides into the back of an apc at abouuuuuut 20 "ish" mph, stuff and bodies get broken.

I was a tanker from 82 to 86, and when I was stationed in S. Korea, we were in the field quite a bit and more than once an 88 and it's crew saved our bacon. More than once, they had to pull the pack due to some kind of engine issue, or when we crossed a small bridge that didn't hold us and it took 2 88's to pull our m48a5 out of the stream we fell into because we broke idler arms, torsion bars and even bent a drive sprocket shaft. The 88's were and are a God-send.

I never even thought about how necessary a vehicle like that is.

Had the privilege of repairing some of the M88 parts out of Fort Knox. Our machine shop was able to get several contracts to refurbish a bunch of gears and I learned to tig weld aluminum repairing their cooling fans. Got to hear a few run on the Dyno while I was dropping of parts and holy crap they are loud. Awesome machines

I had an M88A1 pull my track out of a swamp once. The cool thing about the night vision device in the driver's compartment of an M1 Abrams? It's so grainy that you can't tell the difference between a marsh and a field in the middle of the night. My TC with his PVS-14s apparently couldn't tell either. 😆

I was an m88a1 driver from 1997 until 2002 everything this guy said was legit. BEST M88A1 video I've seen

@Sofilein

Жыл бұрын

That's awesome!! Ty

Your videos like this are a great reference for armor modelers. Finishes, weathering/dirt, wear patterns and rust are all there. Excellent video as always!

Watching from Brazil, awesome video, couple years ago I repair an injection pump from one M88A1 and then we testing it. I think that is the best recovery vehicle ever made.

These old timers must be a little bit surprised when Sofi show up ... pleasantly surprised, of course.

@Sofilein

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, they're very perplexed in general as to my curiosity in the M88s. It's great fun to watch them open up and share what they know and share experiences!

Another great Vid. Fantastic stories from the sup. Thanks for the share SOF.

Thanks for bringing information usually overlooked by most.

Thank you for finally talking about recovery vehicles. While I served in the 3rd Sq/14th Cav, I spent almost 3 years in an M74. The largest vehicle that we ever pulled out of the mud was a M48A2. However, not to brag, but on one occasion, Tank Company's M74 blew an engine (500 cu-in Ford V-8) while towing an M48 as it neared our Kaserne in Bad Hersfeld. We hooked onto both of them and dragged them up the hill to the motor pool. Thank goodness for the 1st gear super low ratio. I never served on an M51 - or the M88, as that time it was still a gleam in the Ordinance's Eye

@Sofilein

2 жыл бұрын

That is awesome!!! Thank you for sharing. Love the recovery stories. Respect to ya

The M88A1 was my baby back in the 80's. Tough as hell and a blast to operate. Loved getting to play with it at 18 years old. Sure do miss those days.

Well done. being a mechanic I really enjoyed this video.

You need to check out the M728 Combat Engineer vehicle and the AVLB. They are over looked but very necessary tanks.

Funniest memory I had with an M88 was when I was a tanker, in the German Army ! They agreed to a "barter deal" to salvage one of our Leo 1 A5 and get "Fuel" in return! When they did their part and salvaged one of our tanks from the maneuver/shooting area and wanted their reward, and came to me and "refueled" their Tank after that they only got 20 meters away because our Leo's were refueling DIESEL and not standard army petrol ....! ;) PS : the tank engine " died" in a BIG CLOUD OF BLACK SMOKE !!!!!!

@derekhinger1343

Жыл бұрын

Someone somewhere got hellaciously chewed out for that one 😅 🤣

Awesome to see Sofi learning and to hear from the Real Experts! These guys know know the REAL DEAL with day to day care and feeding of these Big Beasts. Great stuff Sofi, keep up the flow of great content!

This brings back so many great memories. I went through Basic, AIT and Hotel 8 at Fort Knox back in the early 90’s. Spent a lot of time on one of those in a couple of NTC stays at Ft Irwin. I wish he had mentioned about the Onan generator system that would independently operate I believe the hydraulics, pump fuel from the large reserve, charge the batteries and run the heater.

Thanks for take me on a tour of such machine which i will never chance to see otherwise well done

Thanks for teaching us all about this underrated and interesting part of military history. Great video!

Love it, Sofi! Like many others, I've been waiting for this - love the M88 ARV! (and your eyes ;) )

A lot of movies about tankers, but not one about these guys. Just like tow truck drivers today nobody cares about them even laughs till they hit the ditch and then they become saviours, Well done. Great content as always!

Was in the Recovery Section for 6yrs at 2/69th Ar, Ft Benning. Great vehicle! Loved my M88A1. The one you have looks like it had some upgrades.....different headlights and an extra 90 ton snatch block mounted on the side.

That shirt rocks, Sofi!

Thank you for such a great, informative video. I love your humble approach of stepping back, and fully focusing on what the experts have to say, allowing them to express their thoughts with minimal interruption. I wish you all the best and I hope that you never get tired of making these videos.

Greeting to my fellow Maintainers from the USA. Once you`ve pulled cable, its all downhill.

Fascinating look at a fantastic vehicle! Could listen to the Sup's stories all day.

Excellent. Whenever I have enough real downtime and I see one of your videos come up, it's an instant like and I make sure I carve out enough time to sit down and learn something new. Much appreciated Sofi.

Outstanding choice of subject and presenter. As a long time M-88 fan (1966) and a former Ordnance Officer you continue to amaze me with your presentations. Thank You!

Wow that brought back memories of my years as M88A1 operator in Germany. Oh the stories to be tolled.

I love Ms Sofis content it is fun and educational and worth the wait

Awesome! Thank you!

Outstanding video Tank girl. Keep up the good work and keep researching tank history.

Great video! Very interesting info. That thing is a beast!

Looking good Sofilein good stuff

He was great! Love the story time! Thanks.

Those were well chosen questions. Both of you together,the timing and pacing and level of information was well done. A genuine attagirl there. All the best.

Great video Sofie! Here’s to 100k subs. All the best.

He forgot to mention that IF a Tree was knocked over or pushed down, the US Army had to pay Germany a serious amount of cash because of their laws.

@robertklein1316

2 жыл бұрын

When those tracks tore-up the black- top also.

Thanks for showing us vehicles that deserve more attention.

GREAT VID! loved the mrap vids too. Keep er goin!

@Sofilein Congratulations on another in a series of great videos! Big like!

I just LOVE recovery vehicles Most don't get much love, because they're not flashy, but they are essential to ANY modern military.

Top notch video, a great way to start my Saturday. Also, give my regards to the editor.

Great presenter, great channel ty Sofilein

Also, epic vid as always, thanks sof

I was with B co 1-31 (M) in Korea in 1986. We had a 113 in my platoon that threw track to the inside, ya'll know how long that takes to fix, but we called in the 88 and he picked the track right up by the lifting points and the driver spun the track right back on. Did a retention and back on the road in no time. Just glad we didn't get caught doing it, but saved us hours.

@mikedougherty9773

11 ай бұрын

Same time 1_17 E co

They look awesome

Magnificent!

I went to track school at Ft. Benning and went to Baumholder, Germany, 4th armored, 69-70, loved the M-88.

Keep in mind the man hours and resources just to keep these things going for simple training exercises everyday around the world. The average citizen just does not comprehend it.

@robertcogan7109

2 жыл бұрын

Well said, it's not like these are your cars parked in the driveway you just hop in and go. Every hours spent operating means multiple hours keeping them going.

Thanks for sharing. Well done.

SWEET! The Direct Support Maintenance unit in Germany, that I was assigned to from 1986-1990, had TWO of the M-88a1s and TWO of the M-746 HETs. BOTH of which had that Continental AV1790 V-12 engine. That old 2-cycle Continental V-12 ( which has a VERY distinctive sound), is VERY different from the Detroit Diesels that Wikipedia says the M-88 and the M-746 has... We supported 2/75 FA. We didn't do Hohenfels, we did Grafenwoehr.

Great video 😊👍🏻

Very interesting. Thanks so much

Great video, enjoy your Saturday!

Good evening. Thank you for sharing this video. I am an aviation nut. I find armor interesting,but not fascinating; the recovery vehicles are another story. I am fascinated by heavy equipment. Thank you again. I really enjoyed the look at the M88 family. Enjoy your evening.

I was an M1A2 Tank Turret Mechanic in the Army. 88's Kick Ass!

Neat, i like this fella

Great vehicle, truly a work horse of the army

The 88 is the Death Star of armored vehicles. I remember well in February1973 after just arriving in Germany the first time I saw one. I was in CSC Infantry and we were sitting on the side of a tank trail and heard and felt the ground rumble. Asked one of the guys what was going on and he smiled and said, "It's an 88. Just wait a minute." Man was I ever impressed. In 2017 my son was a Corpsman in a Marine tank company. He rode in the 88. I told his mother not to worry about him.