Upcoming Stream: Maus - Fail Big
The weekend of 9 August we are streaming live on the biggest of them all, Maus.
Proving that Germans can have a sense of humour after all.
Set your notifications at: https://www.youtube.com/live/RfmvrdC1Xcc
We love seeing your delightful witty comments in the chat!
Pins for AusArmour!
We’ve got pins to give away.
The first 20 people to say hi at AusArmourFest25 can choose their pin!
Meanwhile if you wear one of our shirts to the pub we will buy you a pint!
AI sees us
Certainly some good company to be in, although we note that Listen Note has our noses in front,
“Totally Tanked:
Hosted by John and Rob, this podcast offers a more casual and accessible approach to tank history, covering a wide range of topics and periods. Listeners appreciate the hosts’ engaging style and in-depth discussions, even noting a focus on the social, economic, and political factors surrounding tanks. ”
Guess the tank for August?
You chance to shine tank people!
Drop us a comment if you know what it is!
AMX-30 - Episode page
When the going gets tough, the french get weird
The ancestor of all failed Franco-German military procurements the AMX-30 was a strange result of meeting the requirements of its moment precisely, while being birthed into a world that had changed from the time of its design.
Despite seeming strange to us in 2025 it enjoyed a great deal of success in markets too odious for the Germans to sell Leopards to.
Episode images:
Links:
The Big Fix: Rebuilding Australia's National Security Amazon.com
China develops low-cost alternative to Russian T-90 Defence-blog.com
Malaysia lashes out at Trump’s pick of ‘Zionist’ envoy Nick Adams: ‘not welcome here’ South China Morning Post
Could the US demand Australia pays more under the AUKUS pact? ABC Radio National
The Enshittification of American Power Wired.com
Marine Corps kills Tomahawk plans, goes all-in on NMESIS Straight Arrow News (YouTube)
Mysterious Vehicles Rolling Through Beijing Spur Speculation Of New Chinese Tank TWZ.com
UK to buy nuclear-capable F-35As that can't be refueled from RAF tankers TheRegister.com
Army Wants Cope Cage-Like Armor To Protect From Drone Attacks On Its Tanks TWZ.com
Standalone Interview:
Find us at AusArmourFest 2025
With not many sleeps to go before AusArmourFest 2025 we’ve set up a facebook event to keep track of meetups in town once the tanks have been put to bed.
Sign up at: https://www.facebook.com/share/18z3BtBVu7/
AMX-30 - When the going gets tough the French get weird
The ancestor of all failed Franco-German military procurements the AMX-30 was a strange result of meeting the requirements of its moment precisely, while being birthed into a world that had changed from the time of its design.
Despite seeming strange to us in 2025 it enjoyed a great deal of success in markets too odious for the Germans to sell Leopards to.
Join us for the livestream and engage with a global community of tank nerds, or watch at your leisure.
Set your notifications now at: https://www.youtube.com/live/LqrVbL9-zIY
Can you guess the July tank?
It's your time to shine! What's coming up in July?
Leave us a comment with your best guess!
Matilda II Revisited - The Tortoise of War
From Northern France to the gates of Moscow, to the jungles of the South Pacific one tank kept rumbling slowly on.
A vastly superior sequel; the Matilda II was a true tortoise of war.
This is our second episode featuring Matilda II as the expanded format of the current show made it worth coming back to.
Links to videos used in the background:
Halftime Interview
Featuring Peter Samsonov of the Tank Archive talking about his book: British Tanks of the Red Army.
Number 1 tank podcast! In the world!
We’ve gained a point on ListenNote and that has lifted us out of the crowded top 2.5% space into the clear aire of a top 2% podcast.
New Merch - The Tortoise of War
This amazing photo is of Australian engineers and a Matilda II tank crossing a bridge in Papua New Guinea in 1945.
We liked the cover art for our upcoming Matilda II episode that we had to have it on a T-shirt.
If you like it too then grab it now on a range of products at RedBubble.com
Matilda II revisited. The Tortoise of war
The next livestream is going out on the weekend of 14 June (your timezone will vary the exact date and time).
We’re going back to our first episode to revisit the Matilda II and bring the Queen of the Desert into our video era.
From Northern France to the gates of Moscow, to the jungles of the South Pacific one tank kept rumbling slowly on.
A vastly superior sequel; the Matilda II was a true tortoise of war.
Join us for the livestream and engage with a global community of tank nerds, or watch at your leisure.
Set your notifications now so you don’t miss out!
Can you guess the June Tank?
Go wild in the comments folks, what’s the tank we’re going to be featuring in June?
As a little bit of help we’re going to start revisiting the tanks we did back at the start of the show as our format has changed quite a lot, and we did some very interesting tanks before we started producing video.
Chi Ha - The Sword of Empire
We normally laugh at Japanese tanks in the Second World War. But when a Chi Ha came at you in the jungle it was no laughing matter. Just ten of them destroyed the British Empire.
The halftime show
If you’ve listened to the audio and want to see the halftime show on its own here you go:
M10 Booker - She Dead
Big thanks to everyone in the audience who’ve been updating us on the demise of the M10 Booker program, that is the US Army’s new light tank (that they refuse to call a tank). We’ll have a lot to talk about in the show but we’re just laying out what happened in the hope that some of you in the audience can drop a comment with insights for inclusion in the upcoming show!
Defense One had a good summary of the problems.
Failed to meet requirement for a parachutable infantry support asset.
As heavy as a T-72, far too heavy for the bridges at light infantry bases (or in other places light infantry will want to go)
Gun too small for fighting other tanks
Air Force load restrictions limit of 1 vehicle per C17, at which point you may as well take a full fat tank on that flight.
Lacks an APS, or effective counter drone capability
Meanwhile the planned M1A3, which really is a totally new tank from Abrams, is supposed to bring an autoloader, APS, partial autonomy, and a lighter weight (than a current western MBT at least).
This quote stood out:
“So now you have a vehicle that is the best idea of 2013, that has the best technology limitations of 2013—which are really technology limitations of 2000, because you're trying to be backwards-compatible,”
This was then followed with reporting by Breaking Defense of the Trump administration seeked a “comprehensive transformation” of the US Army. Including the demise of the M10.
“An Army official today confirmed that the service will stop producing Humvees and Joint Light Tactical Vehicles. And General Dynamics Land Systems will be told to stop producing its brand new light tank, the M10 Booker”
So what does the light tank of the future look like? Really we’re looking for something CVR(T) like. It has to be small and light enough to fit in a C130 Hercules, and to be deployable via parachute.
Support for infantry in the drone age is going to require it to be an air defence asset as much as a fighting vehicle. Fortunately fast firing high velocity cannons with explosive rounds are very useul in a variety of roles. And does it need the crew to be inside the vehicle at all? Right now the US is messing around with “Optionally Manned” systems, but that’s a bad comproise either which way.
Or should it be something else entirely, avail yourselves of the comment section and share your thoughts!
Reporting a meme theft
Sometimes they’re too good not to steal.
Personally I wait until my partner has fallen asleep before I put the podcasts on.
Upcoming Livestream - Type 97 - Chi Ha. The Sword of Empire
When Japan unleashed its armour against the British and Americans in South East Asia their spearhead medium tank had been honed with hard combat against the Soviets.
Join us to find out more about this poorly understood but highly effective tank.
Set your notification on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/live/xrlkPTU1Kpw
Set a calendar reminder with the below link:
New merch design - the Cover art collage
Having collaged the cover images why not put them on a shirt?
Or a very appealing coffee mug?
The world is your oyster.
Check them all out at: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/170108098?ref=studio-promote
Guess the may tank?
Here’s your chance for glory folks, can you guess the tank we’re covering in May?
Drop a comment and give us your best effort!
