Inside the Chieftain's Hatch M8 HMC Pt 2.

My uncle Bobby was a loader in a M 18 somewhere during the battle of the bulge. At dawn one morning a armored force was approaching and the commander poked his head up and it was taken off. The brain parts, skull fragments covered the turret and his body fell into the tank. The driver flooded it and it wouldn’t start. It was time to get out which they did. As they ran toward the trees the M18 was hit and totally exploded and my uncle got hit by machine gun fire in both legs. His buddies dragged him into the woods and were there for three days in the snow until the Germans were pushed back. He got to go home. My poor grandparents then had two recovering sons at home…. One from the Pacific recovering from malaria and wierd fungus. My dad was on a Liberty Ship on his way somewhere in the Pacific and another one was in the merchant marine I aske my uncle Bobby if I could see his scars as a little kid who loved GI Combat comics. I wished I never saw them! He pulled up his pant legs and his scars were large, dented, and chunks of muscle had been shot away. He died in his fifties from alcoholism and emphysema from heavy smoking. Today we would call it PTSD. I loved my uncle Bobby

I can’t believe how smooth and quiet that little bugger is. I used to go deaf when driving my semi restored M3 Stuart with radial... I eventually sold it and moved into Ferrets instead

I wish every restoration was as detailed as this one. It's great to see all the extra bits in the spots they're supposed to be in since it gives a real picture of what it would have been like in service. There are so many times you point out "spare rounds would be stored under the hull in this area," or point out the locations of other various things, but on video it's just an empty area and requires some use of the imagination. When it's restored like this tank is, you get to see what it would really be like.

I love your raw honesty, "this is indeed a marketing ploy" and your extremely mild pitch " if you feel like it, go ahead and go show your support". Love it man. The tanks are great too.

I have heard from several ex-tankers that the belly escape hatch on various types of tank was most commonly used as the "pee hatch"; as in not having to leave the tank in the rain to take a pee.

I like to think the sound of the siren at the end was not from the tank, but Nic himself

I dearly love seeing FULL restorations like this. I like to see the stowed ammo, hand weapons, fire extinguishers instead of "now imagine this rack is full of ammo and... ". 😁

I really enjoy these outdoor, daytime shots of the interior of a mostly functional vehicle (along with the driving footage), glad you get to have some fun with these (relative) rarities. (Yes, I know its a repost and didn't happen recently)

That looks like an exceptional reconstruction.

I don't know why I love this little coconut launcher so much. There's just something about pocket tanks like the M8 and M5 that is so cool!

A beautiful restoration. Looks like Chieftain hopped into a time machine and went back to 1944.

What an immaculately restored vehicle. Looks like it just came off the production line.

to quote the Chieftain: M8 everyone should get one... ^~^ Later that day: But honest honey, It followed me home... 0~o I just don't see Missus Chieftain buying that... ^~^

this is the first christmas in 7 years I didn't get massively absorbed into WoT and I'm say I'm not feeling twitchy and ready to re-install. The game really pissed me off in 2020-2021 but I still enjoy Chieftains videos !

The occasional video that pops up on YouTube clearly filmed in summer during these dank, drab winter months is nice.

I can't imagine sitting above all of that ammunition like that. Tankers and flight crew in WW2 really were a different breed.

They were especially valuable in Italy, where their small size, maneuverability, and high-traverse indirect-fire was incredibly useful in the rugged sloped terrain.

"WEEEOOoooo!" "That scared the crap out of me." I can see your grin Chieftain, you rascal. :D

Very well restored vehicle, kudos to the restoration crew and owner.

I won't say that this video is the reason I now own an M12 panoramic sight, but it's certainly a large contributing factor.