Furphy. A great Australian tank of the First World War
It's little known that Australia deployed a fleet of tanks to the middle east in 1915.
Noting the date, we present to you the history of this underappreciated vehicle.
SOMUA S35. The best tank in the worst time
The best tank in the world in 1936 is not such a great thing to be in 1940.
In this episode we take on the many tragic failings of what was on paper a very good tank, and the way it demonstrates the crucial weakness of France at the start of the Second World War.
We also talk later in the episode about recent events in Ukraine, and as for the beer we review the Lindemans Pecheresse.
T15. A very dangerous tank from China
In this episode we talk about China's shiny new light tank, and John talks to a private tank owner about the joys of this very expensive hobby.
Also some thoughts on the Ukraine, and a review of Tsingtao beer.
Valentine. Spectacularly adequate in a war winning sort of way
We roar into the new year with a tank that was downright bad, but was built to be just good enough in an extremely cheap way.
It's the sten gun of tanks, it's the tank we'd have covered in February if we were smarter, it's the British Valentine!
Arjun. A good tank to have if you have 2000 T-72's as well
What happens when a country with thousands of very good Russian tanks decides to build something different for themselves?
You get yourselves Arjuns!
IS2. Big Cat Safari Vehicle
As the sun set on the end of the world for Nazi Germany the Soviets made a super tank of their own to counter the wonder weapons.
With the armour to defeat German 88s, and the biggest gun ever mounted in a tank (until then) it was only relevant for a year, but it won the final battles of the Second World War.
This episode is about the IS2.
M551 Sheridan. When tanks go bad.
All tanks are supposed to be dangerous, but the M551 Sheridan was a killer even before it made contact with the enemy.
An excellent concept with desperately poor execution.
The S Tank, or the Stridsvagn 103. And some talk about Australian submarines
Rob and John talk about the madcap innovation of the Swedish turretless tank that still represents a high point of design brilliance.
And then because we're Australians talking on defence issues we cover the weirdness of our submarine procurement.
Centurion aka: The GOAT. Also some talk about Kabul
John stuffed up his expensive audio rig while Rob sounds delightful on a cheap headset, the end result being that Rob talks for 80 minutes with a Dalek about the tank which showed the British could build a decent one when they tried.
This episode is all about Centurion!
Hetzer, or Jagdpanzer 38, or Panzerjäger 38(t). The tank of defeat
So you've declared war on the whole world and you can't build proper tanks fast enough to keep the Red Army out of Prussia.
What do you come up with to slow down the enemy as much as possible, without actually changing the course of the war?
It's the tank that isn't a tank, the little armoured vehicle which no two tank nerds can even agree on the name of.
LeClerc, and a good old laugh about the AJAX debacle
Rob and John talk through the very clever French offering to the world of tanks, the LeClerc main battle tank.
And then we have a laugh about how badly the British have stuffed up their AJAX program.
M-60, and Challenger 3
This episode focuses on the great Cold Warrior, the American M-60, why you shouldn't call it a Patton, and why anti-tank missiles ended up being a dead end.
Then we turn our attentions to a very nice Imperial Stout, and discuss the abject foolishness of the Challenger 3 announcement.
We've got an alternate theme music this episode thanks to Etienne Chartrand reworking the amazing Luke McGrath.
T-34 The Tank of Annihilation
Mistakes were made.
We should have split this tank up over two episodes, we should have bought a Russian beer, not a dutch beer that was sitting on the Czech beer shelf.
But in terms of speaking glowingly about the most produced tank of WW2 for over an hour.
Nailed it!
K2 Black Panther
What would a tank look like if it was designed with all the most modern features, with no expense spared?
What if it was intended to shred antiquated armour?
Wonder no more! Instead come and listen in to find out about the most advanced tank in the world!
M13/40 - Italian Tanks in WWII
The world's favourite tank podcast is back to figure out what went wrong with Italian armour in the second world war.
Featuring the Carro armato M 13/40
The Universal Carrier
In our first episode of 2021 we take on the most produced armoured fighting vehicle of history, the father of the technical, and yet the almost utterly unknown Universal Carrier!
T-55 (and how to steal a tank)
Rob and John take on the most produced tank in the history of the world with special help from a guest who has lived the dream of commanding a stolen tank in a dystopian war-zone.
It's a special bumper episode on the kalashnikov of tanks, the T-55!
T-95 Ha Go
Rob and John start off with the modern state of tank conflict in the caucasus before teeing up on what Japanese armour had to offer the world in 1942.
Bringing us back to the point that the best tank is the best tank you've got.
Challenger
A tortured development, a weird anglo-iranian heritage, a tank designed to invade Iraq, that got to do it twice.
The wrong gun with the wrong engine, and an armour scheme that no-one understands.
And yet if we had to choose one tank to go to war in, in 2020, it's this weird beast.