I remember being so cold driving my Chieftain in BATUS during the beginnings of a Canadian winter with every layer of warm clothing on I could muster whilst driving with my army sleeping bag (green maggott) wrapped around my legs and feet....-40c as I remember all the water bowsers froze up and in the morning after a night box leaguer we had to spray camping fire fluid on the suspension then set them on fire and shoogle the tracks to avoid ripping of the running gear etc....a Sqn of tanks with suspension on fire whilst carrying live ammo in the turrets...no health and safety back on the 1980s 😂😂
2 days ago
| 113
Armoured vehicles always tend to be like a fridge in the winter and an oven in the summer. And as you spend most of the time with the hatch open you still get wet when it rains. However, you can carry additional stuff to make life easier.
2 days ago | 43
A close friend of my father's from his wartime OCTU went into tanks and was full of stories about the unbearable heat of the Western Desert and the terrible cold of winter in the European campaign - although I think he was in Italy rather than NW Europe. Unsurprisingly, he became profoundly deaf in his fifties.... Nothing, I am sure, to do with the noise inside the turret for four years.
2 days ago | 18
The crew heaters in Bradleys failed so quickly they didn't bother to fix them, but the NBC system had a heating element. You could unzip your nomex suit from the bottom, insert the hose, and zip it back down into a convenient groove in the fitting on the end and enjoy the warm air lol.
2 days ago (edited) | 8
“Turns out the locals of this town dont know the difference between a poster board and a tank….”
2 days ago
| 8
The trouble with M4s is as that the cooling air for the engine was sucked through the crew compartment. The mushroom shaped thing on the forward hull is the air intake.
1 day ago | 1
“Wait why is the tank heating up?” I made a fire on the floor sir! “YOU MADE A FIRE ON THE WHAT?!” Oh 💥
2 days ago (edited)
| 9
I knew a guy that was in a tank crew, he said no matter how cold it was outside it was always colder in the tank
2 days ago | 3
My grandfather was a cavalry man in India and in WW1. My dad volunteered in WW2 and joined the East Lancs Regiment. His dad told not to join the infantry because he'd have to walk everywhere so he joined the 44th RTR as a driver. Then got to do the lot. North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Normandy, Market Garden and the Rhine crossing. Didn't get out until 46.
2 days ago | 1
The 113s we had in Baghdad, we felt gave us better protection than our Humvees. This was before Strykers are introduced. Except our only AC was to open the troop hatch and stick our heads out, into the blowing sand.
2 days ago
| 5
As an ex tankie I can confirm the "panzerlied" is spot on. "Whether it storms or snows, Whether the sun smiles upon us, In the scorching heat of the day, Or the freezing cold of the night, Dusty are our faces, But joyful are our minds, Yes, our minds. There our tank roars, Amidst the storm winds"
1 day ago | 0
Yup a fridge of war with a gun on it those with no pea shooters, just grease guns and a cannon that can speak for itself.
2 days ago | 1
The Tank Museum
Although having some level of shelter from the elements might make tank crews slightly more comfortable, they were not luxury machines.
Tank crews throughout the years have bemoaned the temperature of their tanks, too hot in summer and too cold in winter. This ‘Jumbo’ Sherman crew may have less walking to do than the infantry, but their freezing metal box is probably not much cozier.
Learn more about Shermans - tankmuseumshop.org/products/the-tank-museum-guide-…
2 days ago (edited) | [YT] | 4,738