Several years ago, I gave a talk at the New York Military Affairs Symposium. It was a good talk, but it was necessary to re-record it. There's no Q&A, but the presentation has been updated a bit with more recent work and references. The original, with the Q&A session at the end, is still availabl...

It may surprise people to know that the M4A3(76) was not the last gun tank variant of the M4 to be produced. This example is in Bastogne Barracks. Belgian Linkies: https://warheritage.be/en https://belgiumbattlefield.be/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChieftainArmor Twitter...erm.. X: http...

The War Heritage Institute facility at Bastogne Barracks is a military facility which has been in constant use since the 1930s. Belgian Linkies: https://warheritage.be/en https://belgiumbattlefield.be/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheChieftainArmor Twitter...erm.. X: https://twitter.com/Chi...

In this first of a long-ish series of videos from Belgium, we we meet Mr William Testaert who will be our guide over the length of the country, and we start at the Royal Military Museum in Brussels, and go over initial Belgian military history. This is the first batch where I have invested in bri...

The Vickers Utility Tractor started out life as a Carden-Lloyd design, eventually bought up by Vickers and continuing to be sold as the Vickers Light Carrier, Vickers Artillery Tractor, and other subvariants. This one is found in the Royal Military Museum in Brussels, and seems quite compatible w...

One of the CVR(T) Variants Belgium used was the Sultan, the command track. Small and compact, but the one they had handy was fully equipped inside. We'll come back to the vehicle for a more in-depth look at some future point, but this I thought was interesting enough. Belgian Linkies: https://war...

Before putting rounds downrange, it is far more cost-efficient to do training with various aids which develop skills in tracking and laying. These days, of course, we have computers and other simulators to help us do the job, but before then, or if you just want to save a bit of money, old-school...

At a now-closed War Heritage Institute facility near Antwerp (They will be re-opening at another location), we get a tour firstly of the various leopard variants the Belgians used, and then look at one which has been partially disassembled to learn the components. Finally, we go for a spin. Belgi...

The Belgian T-13 was a self propelled anti-tank gun combining a Vickers Carden-Lloyd chassis with the excellent Belgian 47mm, making it the most dangerous vehicle to armor in the Belgian inventory in the late 1930s. This, the only one which exists, is found at the Royal Military Museum in Brussel...

The Ateliers de Constructions Electriques de Charleroi Cobra was a series of AFVs based around a common diesel-electric power train. In the War Heritage Institute collection they have an APC and a de-armed light tank variant. Belgian Linkies: https://warheritage.be/en https://belgiumbattlefield.b...

The final interview with William Testaert of the War Heritage Institute, at the now-closed facility near Antwerp. (Don't worry, they will be re-opening the collection in Ypres), this episode focusing on the Belgian Army's experience in NATO. This is the first batch where I have invested in bringi...

Continuing the tour of this British-built armoured car, now focusing on the interior. This example is located in Bastogne Barracks, and is part of the Belgian military's War Heritage Institute collection. This is the first batch where I have invested in bringing along a cameraman/editor, goes by ...

[Error: In this case, red bolts = "Mechanic use only". I guess you had to remember which bolts were reverse-thread!] The Associated Equipment Company decided to make a wheeled tank. The initial version with a Valentine turret and 2pr gun was replaced in production by the Mk II, with a 6pr. This e...

The last of our major videos from the series filmed in Belgium, we finish with an upgrade of a WW2 -design carrier with a 90mm low pressure MECAR gun. This vehicle found in the Royal Military Museum in Brussels. This is the first batch of filming where I have invested in bringing along a camerama...

For some reason, people want me to review particularly small vehicles. The TKS isn't as small as they get, but it's only 2.2. tons and it's definitely shorter than I am. T-Shirts on sale until late November, see https://everpress.com/the-chieftain This filmed at the Wheels of Liberation collectio...

In the 1930s, Poland decided to develop an anti-tank rifle, and the young designer Józef Maroszek came up with the winning system be scaling up a bolt action service rifle he had already drawn up. The project was kept very secret, out of concern that Germany or Russia would up-armor their tanks i...

When the P-83 pistol went into production, the Polish military decided that it wanted a dedicated suppressed version of the gun, and the result was the PT-83. Thw P-83 was a 9x18mm pistol with a fixed barrel, so attaching a suppressor was not going to cause any problems with functioning. However,...

Watch latest videos, sometimes even early releases! Sign up for the newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/9HoleReviews or https://tinyurl.com/SlateBlack The karabinek szturmowy wzór 96 Beryl by FB Radom is the most combat proven 5.56 Kalashnikov, and THE 5.56 Kalashnikov to serve under the NATO banner....

Watch latest videos, sometimes even early releases! Sign up for the newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hkbJYn [or] slateblackindustries (dot) com 👉 Newsletter The Polish Wz. 96 Beryl rifle is a true witnesses of the integration of the former Warsaw Pact country into the NATO alliance. Not only does th...

The first version of the new MSBS "Grot" rifle purchased by the Polish government was actually a special version for ceremonial parade use. In order to make the gun suitable to that role, a surprising number of changes were made to it - almost every element is different than the standard service ...

Over the next couple weeks we will be looking at several Polish firearms, and the first one is today: the G29/40. When German forces overran the arms factory in Radom, Poland, they captured in nearly completely intact. One of the guns being produced there had been the wz. 29; a Polish version of ...

The Model 1895 Nagant revolver is pretty common in the US thanks to large imports of Russian revolvers, but we rarely see Polish Nagants. These were adopted as a sidearms for police organizations under the designation Ng30, and manufactured at FB Radom through the 1930s. Typical of FB Radom produ...

In the 1920s Poland began looking for a new standard military pistol, and tested a variety of compact .380s. The representative from FN brought along an early iteration of the High Power (along with their other entry) even though it was much too large and heavy to meet the Polish requirements. Af...

In the aftermath of WWI the newly-united Poland had a military equipped with a mishmash of leftover light machine guns, from Chauchats to MG 08/15s. They wanted to adopt a new standardized weapon, and trials in the 1920s found the FN BAR to be the best option. Unlike the American military BAR, th...