Rob Bell | Bottom 5 Tanks | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | The Tank Museum

Rob Bell, TV Presenter and Engineer, presents The Institution of Mechanical Engineering's Bottom 5 Tanks at The Tank Museum, looking at what makes a tank an engineering disaster!

00:00 - Intro
00:31 - Bottom 5 tank
06:59 - Bottom 2 tank

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#tankmuseum #tanks

[TriggrHippie]

The Covenanter achieved one of it's design goals. It was impossible to hit because it never got to the battlefield.

[keithorbell]

I do like your contributions, Rob. You don’t just say “this is bad/good because….” but you go on to give a moral in the lessons we can learn.

[digitaIgorilla]

I never knew Richard Hammond was interested in tanks 😶

[gkeh]

Chieftain's failings with the engine are largely to do with the fact that the powers to be couldn't bring themselves to admit the engine was crap and replace it, struggling along for years.
It's ok to make a mistake as Rob rightly says, the real tragedy is not to suck it up and make changes when it happens.

[gregedwards]

As a (half engineer, half scientist depending on the project) Rob's presentation was excellent. I look forward to watch more of his presentations! Well done Rob!

[BazilRat]

In complete fairness to people thinking you're The Hamster, your face is the right sort of shape and you've got his animated, cheerful expressions.

[hughschwartz]

I cannot praise this presentation enough. As an engineer for over 35 years, what Rob Bell stated should be presented to every engineering student and every newly minted graduate. These are important lessons that literally cannot be emphasized enough. Good design is hard because you are always balancing and compromising. The tank's iron triangle of protection, mobility and firepower is a crucible for any engineering team.

[Count_Gustav]

"The world needs more engineers"

As a Frostpunk player, I approve that message.

[michaelhowell]

Rob Bell is the man. He really gets into what he's presenting. Like a young Tony Robinson

[Josephpesoj]

There was 0 chance the Covenanter wasn't gonna be this list haha

[chriskortan]

Multi-fuel vehicles were seen as a necessity for the atomic war. With the challenges of WWII logistics in nit to distant memory, being able to operate on whatever you could find sounded great.

[comstr]

I have heard that the Chieftain makes an excellent firing platform if it happens to break down in a good gunnery position.

[kyphe.]

People forget that the L60 engine was extensively used by the Indian army in the 42 ton Vijayanta tank. A variant of the vickers Mk1. The engine proved to be reliable when rated at 534 bhp rather than the early Chieftains 585 bhp

[christopherreed]

People need to start walking up to Richard Hammond and asking him if he's Rob Bell.

[nonamesplease]

My compliments to Rob. This is the most interesting Top/Bottom 5 episode yet.

[stuartvasepuru]

Yep, an absolute essential at the start of every project is to question ALL of its requirements/assumptions and see if they pass the "real world sanity test."
In the final anaylsis, it's an engineer's job to deliver products that work properly, and if you manage to incorporate some future upgradability, that's a bonus.

[richardsteed]

My late father in law was a major in REME, knew as much about the Chieftain as anyone and was part of the team that tried to sort out its engine problems. He agreed that it wasn't a good tank.

[mycroft]

Superlative engineering analysis and principles. And a Shakespearean quote! Henry V Act 1 Prologue: "Oh, for a muse of fire that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention!" Now that's what I calls a Top or Bottom 5 Tanks presentation, mateys. Thank you very much RB.

[karlbrundage]

Loved this list and the reasoning behind it. The engineer always needs to be free to say "Wait, you want it to do what????.... No."

[derekp]

Thanks Rob and Tank Museum, that was an excellent presentation, which some great engineering lessons.