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History Television

And we wonder why we have such a hard time explaining to people about the different tanks of WWII.



They are calling this a "Panther"

It has the Vietnam Tropical Kit fitted.

But they painted it the wrong color. It should be

PINK

History Channel 'FAUX PAS'....

I've noticed that 'they' like to use sound bytes of Abrams 'rolling' sounds on just about any type & era of Tank movement.

Also mis-IDing ,,,
the Challanger as an Abrams,
The M1 (105) as an M1A1,
The M1 (105) as an M1A2,
The M1A1 as an M1A2 SEP,.....
and most glaring of all, in 'Mail Call' (History Channel , mind you...)

,,,,Referring to the M50A1 Ontos as the M40 !!!!

I'm sure I could find more mistakes if I really tried.....

Don

Well, not so fast with the rude remarks. While the episode is about Panthers, the picture on the page is clearly not a Panther. I think there was a Tank Overhaul on the Comet (?); one of the first in the series. When I search for Tank Overhaul on the History Channel page every episode comes up with the same picture and a different text.

- Maple_Leaf_Eh

Well, not so fast with the rude remarks. While the episode is about Panthers, the picture on the page is clearly not a Panther. I think there was a Tank Overhaul on the Comet (?); one of the first in the series. When I search for Tank Overhaul on the History Channel page every episode comes up with the same picture and a different text.

He has a point. It's a pretty esoteric topic and we're pretty lucky they even chose to do it...and let's face it, this is a tough audience.

- Doug_Kibbey

- Maple_Leaf_Eh

Well, not so fast with the rude remarks. While the episode is about Panthers, the picture on the page is clearly not a Panther. I think there was a Tank Overhaul on the Comet (?); one of the first in the series. When I search for Tank Overhaul on the History Channel page every episode comes up with the same picture and a different text.

He has a point. It's a pretty esoteric topic and we're pretty lucky they even chose to do it...and let's face it, this is a tough audience.

OKAY.....MAYBE, but ....

I just expect a proper amount of research, and getting the facts straight before airing a program. There is an audience out there that deserves a certain level of authenticity & accuracy. Its the details that seem to be shortcutted.

...A tough audience? HELL YEAH. Nothing wrong with that....!!!

(stepping off my 'soapbox'...)

Don

I have a friend who is good friends and works with Jacque Littlefield on his restoration projects. He was interviewed for the Tank Overhaul episode on the Panther, but his interview was cut before the final airing. Anyway, the writer doing the interview admitted he knew nothing about tanks. Based on what I see on TLC, THC and the Military Channel, this is par for the course for not only the writers, but the editors, directors and producers.

I don't know how many times I've seen film of Pz 38(t)'s or Pz I's or II's driving across the country side when the subject of the show is D-Day or the Battle of the Bulge or some other late-war battle.

I would like to see a series done on AFV's of the same caliber as the Wings series.

I would like it if they'ed stick to things they are more familiar with like the history of popcorn and sodapop. what really tickled me was when the "experts" had the Spartans equipped with bronze shields while doing a "story" on the real 300. In my mind (military mind) all I could picture was this group of men with huge left arms that dragged on the ground while walking around leaning to the left when not carrying their shields, or the the one about how the Americans were the first to "snipe" against the Brits with their long rifles during the Revolutionary war, even the experts (serving militaty types) failed to read the historical diaries of American officers who remarked about their troops in formations taking loses from rifle fire from the Brits lines at 700 yards because of the german "Jagers" marksmen armed with their block rifles.

I can't speak much for the Wings series since they moved it from Discovery/History channels to The Military Channel (You have to have the digital 'add on' and I don't have that on the TV I use the most))

But I don't think most of the Aviation footage is any better than the Armor footage. In The 'Dogfights' series they seem to use the same mix of F-100, F-4 and F-86 footage whenever they are talking about jets and the same P-51 and B-17 footage when when ever the subject is WWII Europe. The Pacific is all TBM Avengers and late model Hellcats. Except when it should be Avengers of Hellcats. Then they dig out SB2C Helldiver or Korean War F4U footage!

It's not that I mind seeing the footage, but I really wish they could try and find more appropriate footage.

I'm actually glad when they show Pz38(T)s When I'm doing the tours at Aberdeen I make it a point to explain that many German uints were equipped with Czech 35 & 38 tanks during the Blitzkreig campaigns. I can tell doubters to look closely at the footage without thinking of the context of the show. The same goes for generic U.S. footage. look at the details, what and how equipment is hung on the vehicles, what soldiers are carrying on their web gear, etc. The footage is 'ground truth' for when it was taken. What we sometimes need to figure out is when and where it was taken and what we are actually seeing

I like the 'history of popcorn' and 'How outhouses are built' but I can only take so many repeats of it. What I really wish they would stop is all the UFO, Nostrodamus, and History of organized Crime shows they run over, and over and over

Best TV series I ever saw with appropriate use of footage was "The World at War" by the BBC many years ago and it had been done with the co-operation of the Imperial War Museum so just about every thing was right.

I am so tired of seeing T-6's, SBD's etc passed off as Japanese Zero's, it's ridiculous and when ever I see anything like that anymore I tend to discount the source
Jeff Lewis

- piney

Best TV series I ever saw with appropriate use of footage was "The World at War" by the BBC many years ago and it had been done with the co-operation of the Imperial War Museum so just about every thing was right.

Jeff Lewis

An OUTSTANDING SERIES.... YOU ARE CORRECT!!!

There was a PBS series called 'ANZAC' which I thought was an excellent show. It was about the Aussies in WWI from Gallipoli to 11/11/18. If I remember there was a tank attack supported by the Aussies, using FT 17s if I recall correctly.

Anyone know of this series?

Don

Why just this morning on the "Hitler channel" as my son calls it there was a "expert" and I quote "what kept the machine guns in action was a fresh supply of barrels" the only problem was the guns he was running his mouth about were M1917 water cooled. now I cut my "machine gun teeth" on M1919A3 air cooled which were a pain in the ass to change barrels, ya we carred one spare..theres nothing quick change about any of the 1917 or 19119 guns.