Hey Tank Nuts! What do you think of the Hellcat?

@rakalakeneshgiuseppinahoys8909

Жыл бұрын

Veery niice

@lucitribal

Жыл бұрын

I love the Hellcat. Very cool vehicle!

@micahmurphy4546

Жыл бұрын

Favorite armored vehicle ever, despite almost no armor

@VowToThee

Жыл бұрын

i like it but overused and overrated for what it is

@admiraltiberius1989

Жыл бұрын

From what I remember alot of crews didn't care for it because the armor was so thin. But they appreciated its high mobility and great gun. It was an improvement over the M10 or pulling a towed piece through the mud.

This is one of those vehicles that just has attractive proportions in my opinion. It's just a good looking vehicle.

@briandumas9975

Жыл бұрын

Yes for sure, it's got the look. This chassis recovered with a say 8v-71T diesel and twin 40mm before L-70 GUNS. and on board radar would have been excellent as a anti helicopter system. I've seen video of the 57mm before and this is potent.

@deejayimm

Жыл бұрын

@@briandumas9975 they used the m24 chassis for that. It's a similarly attractive vehicle.

@Pau_Pau9

Жыл бұрын

Stug III for me!

@SimplyReformed

Жыл бұрын

I agree, very clean lines. Merely for WW2 appearance, I would go with the Jagdpanther. Post WW2, the Chieftain or the Tanque Argentino Mediano.

@johngetty3839

Жыл бұрын

Just completed the Tamiya M18 kit. I can see how it might be mistaken for a German Mk III or MK IV. I've heard the M24 was also mistaken for a German tank.

My dad was the main gunner on a M18 with the 661rst in the last few months of the war. His tank's name was the Coup de Grace and it appears at 12:33 in the video. That sure looks like him in the center top looking at the two women. Great picture. Great Dad.

@k.v.7115

8 ай бұрын

That's suppper cool man .

@ScottTheBot07

5 ай бұрын

Very cool. Unfortunately my grandfather will only show up when someone asks the question: ‘what was going on with aviation in Malawi in the middle to late 20th century?’

@georgegarcia1445

3 ай бұрын

My dad was Recon Company of the 661st TD Bn.

@stevep5408

Ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing your dad's story.

@nicholaswimborne

Ай бұрын

Thanks for that story. Coup de Grace. What’s great name for a tank.

Props to the designers. The Hellcat looks modern even by today standards.

@andrewtaylor940

Жыл бұрын

This is what you get when you let Harley Earl and his staff design a tank. A timeless classic that looks like a tank should.

@jeffg1524

Жыл бұрын

I was going to say the same thing! Love the M-18. It's design is 80 yrs-old and it still looks terrific today.

@alocassia

Жыл бұрын

Not sure about it looking modern but it does look good

@christiandauz3742

Жыл бұрын

The Allies wished they had Hellcats back in WW1 With these tanks they easily beat the Central Powers. No Armenian Genocide, No Soviet Union, No Great Depression, No Nazi Germany and No WW2!!!

@PanzerChicken69

Жыл бұрын

Not sure it looks modern but it sure looks like it means business!

I saw an article about someone who restored one, he then entered it in car shows as a ‘43 (‘44?) Buick.

@shatbad2960

Жыл бұрын

Close enough I suppose...

@hoilst

Жыл бұрын

Like that bloke who turns up to Lamborghini meetups with his tractor!

@markfryer9880

Жыл бұрын

@@hoilst That's legit!

@nomar5spaulding

Жыл бұрын

He won every car show due to superior firepower and 76mm HVAP Tungsten balls.

@ProfessorChops

Жыл бұрын

He was really gunning for that door prize. 😁

My great grandfather was part of a US Army tank destroyer battalion from June of 1942 until the fall of 1945 and he drove tank destroyers. He originally was a chauffeur for officers until they found out he had experience driving crawler tractors from before the war. He originally drove the M10 Wolverine in Africa, Italy, and Western Europe until his M10 got replaced by the M18 Hellcat in December of 1944. He would drive his Hellcat until the end of the war in Europe before being sent back home.

@ruzziasht349

Жыл бұрын

apart, a part of? two different words, two different meanings.

@bradb33

Жыл бұрын

Great presentation the glasses are cool . He'd make a great drinking buddy.

@TheBob3759

Жыл бұрын

Very cool story.

@markfryer9880

Жыл бұрын

Civildefense, Nice story. Glad that your great-grandpa made it home safely. From the sounds of it, Nth Africa, Italy and Western Europe, he would have had enough points up to not get re-deployed to the Pacific for the final showdown with Japan.

@fleezy1579

Жыл бұрын

That is awesome! I wish i could have talked with him and see if he would tell me stories!

I read Hellcats were very successful fire support vehicles in Italy, because their high power to weight ratio allowed them to climb mountains where other armored vehicles couldn't go and the 76mm was accurate at long ranges. If you could get one on top of a mountain it could command all facing slopes within range. An armored vehicle doesn't have to be great if you have one and the other side doesn't.

I shake my head in bemused confusion at people who assess the effectiveness of armour by its performance in War Thunder.

@phil20_20

Жыл бұрын

😆😆

@WeirdSeagul

Жыл бұрын

M18 is GOAT in both WT and real life

@darnit1944

Жыл бұрын

Many people in war thunder always expected an enemy within a few hundred meters or so. Because it's a small map and you can estimate the number of enemies you would encounter in that match. In real life, you could have driven a tank for days without encountering enemies. Most of your time are spent driving, keep on lookout, and maintenance. Sometimes just an encounter with a small group of infantries, but thats not a big problem. But one day when you dont expect anything special, your friend's tank got destroyed by an enemy Panzer.

@rangehottv7254

Жыл бұрын

How to sound arrogant on the internet in 3 easy steps: 1. talk down on people 2. use big, out of style words to sound smart 3. profit

@tanksbutnothanks

Жыл бұрын

Welcome to 2022

“I need your clothes, your boots and your Armoured Vehicle” David Willey 2022 Looking very cool next to the hellcat with those shades!

@andreperrault5393

6 ай бұрын

It’s an unusual day for England - the sun is out 😂

I love how the staff at the tank museum can celebrate each tank for what it is, while still giving a realistic picture of the success or failure of the design. Thank you.

@markmuldoon805

Жыл бұрын

My thoughts exactly. I had believed previously that this was a real advantage to the Allies. Turns out that, except for a couple of notable examples, not so much.

@cavscout888

Жыл бұрын

@@markmuldoon805 It was the upgrade to the M10. Also, it was intended as a fast reaction counter to the German's previously highly successful tactics of fast armor breakthrough doctrine. It's more that the Germans couldn't hope to use the same tactics against American forces. Italy was simply too mountainous in many places for either side's favorite armor doctrines.

@cosmoray9750

Жыл бұрын

The real reason Pelosi visits T 🤔 kzread.info/dash/bejne/YqmemJKmnMrZXdI.html

There was a tv show that showed restoring tanks many years ago. They found an M18 and fixed it up. They then found an old WWII vet who had commanded an M18 in the war. He had a great time going for a ride. It was a "reality show" so who knows how much was true? Good Luck, Rick

@joelracicot

Жыл бұрын

Tank Overhaul

@b2spirit35

Жыл бұрын

Not just any old M18 vet. They found the actual guy who commanded that actual M18 from the serial number. And he lived close by.

@richardross7219

Жыл бұрын

@@b2spirit35 That's what they claimed but, I've learned not to totally believe what "reality tv" says. Good Luck, Rick

@ulrichkalber9039

Жыл бұрын

@@richardross7219 it is in the script to say it, so it must be real...

@AdventureswithTrains

Жыл бұрын

I know Salvage Squad in the UK restored an M10 tank destroyer.

I love it when good historical explanations of tanks include mention of "Kelly's Heroes."

@williamjohnson7963

Жыл бұрын

👍

@I_Don_t_want_a_handle

Жыл бұрын

oof oof!

@scottrobertson1235

2 ай бұрын

Drinking some wine eating some cheese😂

I was finally able to visit BTM a week ago... It was NUTS!!! I was especially impressed with the smaller part of exhibition, dedicated to WW1. Striking! And the cutthrough's of British Marks - just insane ❤️❤️❤️

@354sd

Жыл бұрын

I went before COVID it really is a great day out

During the Brest, France campaign, in August 1944, one M18 sank a German flak ship at a range of over a mile with only six shots.

@ConstantlyDamaged

Жыл бұрын

Guess they were trying to compete with the US submarine (Barb) that sank a train.

@Majorite

Жыл бұрын

That's a fun fact!

@digital_gaming8568

Жыл бұрын

Cool

@VosperCDN

Жыл бұрын

@@ConstantlyDamaged Have to keep the balance, can't let the Navy sink too many ground targets .. wouldn't be fair.

@danielaramburo7648

Жыл бұрын

Do not underestimate a tank, specially with today’s modern fire control systems. A ship near the shore could end up in the sights of a tank.

Absolutely gorgeous vehicle all dressed up. Great editing too, the black and white photos interspersed really add to the chat. Cheers boys

My great uncle was in the 705th td battalion as a m-18 driver. He talked with great pride about his tank and it carried the crew through many battles but usually only as supporting fire. Bastogne was a very different story.

@thunderbeard1617

11 ай бұрын

My great uncle was in the 705th too. He used to tell me a few stories about the war. And the Hellcat was what he drove as well.

Love the Boxing Gloves hanging on turret....Gives a new meaning to being prepared for Hand to Hand Combat.

@blackwoodsecurity531

Жыл бұрын

*drive me closer, I wanna sock em!"

@casematecardinal

Жыл бұрын

@@blackwoodsecurity531 driver, position the tank next to that panther so I may engage his commander in fisticuffs.

That moment when you've just finished writing an article on the M18 for your Tank Blog right before the Tank Museum uploads this video 😄

@AndyTernay

Жыл бұрын

Timing is everything! Where do I find your article? I’d love to read it!

I love these films about various armoured doctrines, always my favourites. Thanks tank museu.

M18 Hellcat was the Javelin ATGM of it's day.

That's a good looking unit right there. The tanks not bad looking either

My dad was a platoon leader in the 824th Tank Destroyer Battalion. Landed in Marseilles in Oct. of 1944 with half-tracks and towed 76mm. Months later they were upgraded to the M-18. The open turret design presented a close call for him, when a mortar round burst nearby. He brought home a piece of shrapnel that landed next to his foot. He saw action around the Siegfried line, in Heilbronn, and was part of the security detail at the surrender proceedings of Stuttgardt in April. Ended up the war in Austria. His TD's were mostly used as tracked artillery. He had commented how fast the M18s were, and he would tell soldiers hitching a ride to hang on tight.

@wills2140

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the stories from your dad. ☺

One of my favorites. I appreciated the great WWII period photos.

As a former Heavy Antiarmor Infantryman (TOW), we regarded the men of the TD Corps as our direct ancestors in concept and mission. My company was part of 2nd Brigade 3rd Armored Division, and our platoons would be tasked to each of the teams formed from the two armor squadrons and one infantry battalion (which we were organic to). The basic concept remained, but we were tasked as the stand off anti tank element in the defense.

@target844

Жыл бұрын

There is another weapons system with the same design goals as the tank destroyers, high speed to get into position to destroy advancing armored units. This is what the AH-64 Apache was designed to do. There is a reason they quickly ended up in units at the Fulda Gap when they become operational. It has not been used for defense like that so any large degree in combat, there have not been any large armored attacks against US units. We can all be glad the was not tested for the design usage in what would have been WWIII.

@sandynewman5533

Жыл бұрын

@@target844 Our unit had two primary targets, anything with multiple antennas and anything remotely close to being AAA. The former to cut the head off of the snake, the later to help air assets to have a better chance at making their attacks and surviving.

A wonderful and insightful video! A favorite armored fighting vehicle I remember reading about, the M-18 was well designed and *fast* ,even if did not often fight in its intended role. Thank you to David Willey and all at The Tank Museum !! ☺

Very effective shoot and scoot vehicle as proved in the Battle of the Bulge with the 705th .

@tonymanero5544

Жыл бұрын

The Germans were coming down the road. In the mainly offensive ops in Normandy, TD’s couldn’t support infantry and the 3 inch M10 and 76mm M-18 barely could deal with Panthers in ambush and were ineffective against the bigger tanks.

@cavscout888

Жыл бұрын

@@tonymanero5544 The M18's (IIRC) worked over a good number of Panthers in quick succession, which means they were plenty capable of dealing with them. There simply weren't any or many bigger tanks for them to deal with in the first place.

@cosmoray9750

Жыл бұрын

I saw PREY | Movie Review kzread.info/dash/bejne/epuAvNh7j62dZKQ.html

@lyndoncmp5751

Жыл бұрын

Terrible armour and open topped turret. Did they think that nothing was going to shoot back and hit it?

@cavscout888

Жыл бұрын

@@lyndoncmp5751 The amount of armor it takes to stop the armor piercing rounds you're talking about would mean making a Tiger or King Tiger, that moves slow, is more limited in production, and not there and can't get there when you need it.

Saw some abandoned ones in Bosnia in 1999 , at Gorazde . Engines had been removed. Seem much smaller in person. I understand that they fought on both sides, with other US and Soviet vehicles. In our area (UN) there were wrecks of T-34/85s, T-55s and Hellcats. At least two had been 90% buried by bomb hits nearby. I often wonder if they are still buried.

@arandomfawn5289

Жыл бұрын

Probably, if you find it you keep it

@cosmoray9750

Жыл бұрын

Pelosi, a confessed war criminal, Jimmy Carter said....... kzread.info/dash/bejne/gGmuzNiboMrfYtY.html 👍

@354sd

Жыл бұрын

Very interesting to hear from a real observation Thanks

Thanks! love to sit and watch these!

This is a good amount of research, many thanks for that, also, really great footage. Thank you David Wiley and team.

Yet another example of David Wiley's concise but hugely informative and apt explanations as to the 'why' of the subject vehicle that supplements and informs the presentation. He brings colour and nuance to something that could be "is tank, has gun, moves, works". Love his presentations.

Absolutely one of the most gorgeously proportioned armoured vehicles of all time!

My dad drove this in WWII. He told me that as the war went on the crew would rotate stations. He loved driving, the speed of M18 was its main grace. They would sit in a low spot take a couple of shots and run.

I love the anecdotes of them actually effectively shooting and scooting during the Battle of the Bulge while M4's were fighting as static and short-lived targets.

@ollep9142

Жыл бұрын

And that shows that the concept wasn't bad. The "problem" was that the Allies were on the offensive all the time while the Tank Destroyer units were to be used in defence at an operational and higher level. Wacht Am Rhine was the only German offensive large enough to allow them being used as intended.

@brucebarthold5359

Жыл бұрын

My dad was in B Company 602d TD Battalion and made the overnight march from France up to Belgium 20-21 Dec 44 to take up positions in the vicinity of Bastogne.

@brucebarthold5359

Жыл бұрын

He attended several unit reunions over the years and I have a copy of the 602d TD Battalion unit history. Excellent reading.

You know a man is serious about his passions when he has steeltoed boots under his sundays pants. Just the sheer amount of knowledge comming out of this man is staggering. Highly appreciated, love from Holland!

"Traffic problems? Drive away in the hot new 1943 Buick Hellcat, and leave those traffic jams behind! (Or at least in ruins.)"

Beautiful restoration job!

This looks modern compared to most ww2 tanks. Great design.

Harley Earl was also instrumental in the development of the first Corvettes(the car not the ships, although the car was named after the ships).

Loved seeing this at Tank Fest, one of my favourites!

Just started watching this channel. Noticed the Mighty Jingles in the top right corner. Been watching his videos for years. Glad to see a familiar face. You all have some great content. Thank you for what y’all do.

Both Looking good. Curator rocking those sunglases :)

Great video and presentation - Thank You!

Thanks

My Dad was in US ARMY from 12/08/1941 to 12/20/1945 in the 804TH , T,D, he was a Driver IN M 20 GMCM3 M10 & M18 he love it his M18 .

Thank you so much for this segment I find it very interesting how the US and the Yugoslavs seemed to be very interested in this style of thank the Australian tank museum has a M-36 that came from Yugoslavia and they switched out its power plant while in service there for a Russian T-35 diesel and it seemed to work very well. I’ve been trying to get them to do a piece on it but you beat them to it so to speak with this M-18 which is just an earlier version so thank you very much.

My dad was a tank mechanic, among other things, with the 903rd Heavy Ordnance Battalion during WW2 from the Normandy Invasion all the way through to the end of the war. His unit was attached to the 3rd Armored Division and fought in almost all of the major battles the 3rd Armor was engaged in. He hated the Shermans, but liked the M18 Hellcats.

I've been waiting forever for this one!

Thank you, very informative.

Awesome! And once again, you are Rocking those sunglasses good sir.

Saw that very same Hellcat at the Victory show this year too! Great vehicle.

Must've been early in the weekend: David had pretty bad sunburn by Sunday! It was an awesome show, and seeing a Hellcat frolicking about was really cool!

I have been building and painting a little model Hellcat, it is one of my favorite WWII vehicles

Thank you for this video from Canada

My grandmother welded on the M18 at the Buick tank plant in Flint Michigan

One of my fav WoT vehicles, gets in position quick and able to deliver a surprise, lethal first hit.

Loved it.

My grandfather was the tank driver in Company B 602 tank Destroyer Battalion.

Yes! I love the Hellcat!!

Thank you for some knowledge

I LOVE the detailed explanation of tank doctrine and design philosophy behind the development of the tanks you feature. Any book recommendations on tank design doctrine, etc?

The M18 has always been my favorite WW2 vehicle I think it’s just gorgeous looking

I was wondering when the M18 'Hellcat' would pop up, turns out the Museum don't have one apparently. Great video!

Great tank chat as usual, lots of cool information about the M18. Though I was left wondering what the bucket (15:21) was used for?

Its such a nice looking vehicle, I wonder how many are left?

@ruzziasht349

Жыл бұрын

Taiwan doesn't have any

@McC.444

Жыл бұрын

@@ruzziasht349 the only places outside of the US to have them I'd guess be the Balkans

@blackwoodsecurity531

Жыл бұрын

@@McC.444 some south American countries use modernized chaffees and m5 Stuarts as fire support vehicles, if the US had extra after WW2 someone somewhere probably has them left iver

@McC.444

Жыл бұрын

@@blackwoodsecurity531 good idea, but I know that the Croatians and Serbians used M-36s and M-18s throughout the 90s that weren't too different to their original form

That's one cool looking David Willey! 🙂

@sking3492

Жыл бұрын

Trying to attract a younger audience 😜😜

I love the lines of the Hellcat!

David looking sharp!

During the Korean War, Filipino Tank Ace Capt. Conrado D. Yap held the line with his M18 Hellcat against hordes of Chinese and North Korean soldiers at the Battle of Yuldong. He held the line until he was shot in the chest by an enemy sniper... He is credited for knocking out 13 Chinese and North Korean vehicles..

@GeorgiaBoy1961

Жыл бұрын

@ Bobbie Manuel dela Pena - One of the pleasures of studying history - military history in this case - is the chance to learn something new and hear someone's story you had not heard. Thank you for posting about Captain Conrado Yap and his amazing exploits. I was not familiar with it and now I am. Men of his caliber deserve to be remembered and celebrated down through the years of 20th century history. The Korean conflict was not, as a rule, a war of armor - but there certainly were exceptions to that trend. I would like to visit the Philippines someday; I have a great respect for her people. Thank you again....

@bobbiemanueldelapena4997

Жыл бұрын

@@GeorgiaBoy1961 🇨🇳: You can't defeat me. 🇺🇲: I know. But he can... 🇵🇭

@GeorgiaBoy1961

Жыл бұрын

@@bobbiemanueldelapena4997 - Very good! We Americans already know.... don't mess with Filipinos!

Excellent video 📹

Never knew about their service in Yugoslavia before. Interesting bit of information. Also I was wondering what that hole in the front might be good for until he said it was battle damage ...

Bloody beautiful vehicle the M18.

I had to look several times, because that vehicle and the buildings and outdoor pavilion look just like the Army War College in Carlisle, PA.

My grandfather was a hellcat driver in 771st TD battalion. Was wounded late in 1944 by a sniper while relieving himself, so the paperwork says.

@max420thc

Жыл бұрын

Unless the sniper shot his Peter off how would they know to put it in the paper work?

@Deceit-hx7ey

5 ай бұрын

Wounded, not killed i suppose.​@max420thc

I think the real reason they didn't do their intended job except when the Germans were doing their masse armor breakthrough tactics they once so heavily relied on... was that the Germans were no longer capable of using those tactics against the American forces, and were stopped when they tried. It was the tactic the allies in general were worried most about, and they wanted to have it countered. The Germans had breakthrough armor doctrine, and the US had dedicated fast QRF to counter, which was eventually used with great success.

Nice!

Love the narrator. Great video.

An interesting vehicle. Even though not strictly a tank, there was an example of the M18 in the display collection at the Greek Armoured Cavalry Recruit Depot when did my national service.

@edcrichton9457

Жыл бұрын

Fight in the shade.

It looks way more menacing than a lot of video game representations make it look. Really cool to see one of these

Now this is the OG Hellkitty!

I noticed that the M-18 shown, "Bronx Bruiser", has a pair of boxing gloves hung on the turret. Cool attention to detail.

So beautiful.

One of my favorite armored vehicles, shame that the doctrine didn't work out.. Great video!

snazzy shades mr Willey

It's a gorgeous vehicle no doubt about it

The Rogal Dorn looks like a hell of a tank!

I'd love to have an M-18 AP Round. When I was tanker at Ft. Bliss, TX, I was able to find a practice sabot round that must have fallen off a truck, and it could use some company.

Mr.David is quite a bit an excellent seller of muscle cars with the sunshades a tie and lots and lots of secondhand muscle vehicles. This vehicle in particular the M18 Hellcat is one of my favourite WWII vehicles. The armour was a bit too light but it was so agile and fast. I bet it was better or at leas had some advantages than many TDs with a fixed gun. The Hellcat resembles a bit to the Walker Bulldog Light Tank. Or was it vice versa? During the civil war in Yugoslavia the Croats managed to shoot up a Yugoslavian Navy missile patrol ship with a T54/55. Remember the Falklands and a similar event with the Argentinian naval vessel?Lots of WWII stuff was used in the Yugoslav civil war tanks 88mm gun mounts MGs smgs entrenching tools. There were no Mosquitos or IL2s or P47s. Had it lasted longer who knows?Is there a piece of information to whom this particular vehicle belonged to? It seems there is some kind of resurgence of this category or type of vehicles in some armed forces. An excellent chat. Have a good one. I just had three cups of tea.

Best videos on the internet

Great stuff. The Battle of the Bulge does show how well they worked as intended but those situations were the exception not the rule. Really a sign of how successful D-day and the subsequent western offensive was.

@SlavicCelery

Жыл бұрын

The whole battle in the south of France shows how good they can be. People just forget about that part of the war.

@princeofcupspoc9073

Жыл бұрын

Well it was one of the few US armored vehicles with decent ground pressure. The M4 mediums (Shermans) were stuck in the snow.

@SlavicCelery

Жыл бұрын

@@princeofcupspoc9073 With the adoption of HVSS suspension and wider tracks, the later models of Sherman had decent flotation. Add on some grousers and it was relatively nimble on snow conditions.

Hope the museum can get their own.

cool stuff

I saw one of those run in Florida. Fast little bugger.

the hellcats did serve the US army in another way: as it became obvious the tank destroyers were no use, some were converted to APC. the infantry was not too happy with their normalAPC, the halftrack ("purple heart boxes") this was a good idea!

@mbr5742

Жыл бұрын

The M39 was a Armored Utility Vehicle sometimes (ab)used as an APC. More mobile than a half track but with many of the problems (open topped, thin armor, difficult to dismount under fire). It was "better than walking" but mainly used for developing doctrin. In the Us the results where M75, M59 and then M113. Germany went to the HS 30 and then Marder IFV

Love the shades ...

It looks sporty and fast. You can see the influence of the Buick guy.

The hellcat is so celebrated in other literature as a great anti tank vehicle but a closer look as given here shows that it was very situational. Might have still been very good in a supporting anti tank role together with other vehicles. Still great piece of engineering.

Imagine if they had a good stabilizer on this thing... That would be an absolutely terrifying weapon

Best looking tank ever. Fast, and hard hitting.

Notorious for fins? Genius sir! He was a genius.

@neilturner6749

Жыл бұрын

Yes DW should’ve said “legendary” rather than “notorious”!

That’s a good looking Tank 🇺🇸