In a recent episode we took a trip back to the 1950s into the works of a man by
the name of Frank Tinsley. Due to the interest shown from that first video we’ll be doing it
again this week as we take a look at probably the most insane tank concept I have ever seen.
Join me as we take a look at the crazy vehicle known as the baby assault tank.
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Although the idea of a submersible tank is equal parts insane and fascinating it doesn't hold
a candle to the absolute acid trip of some of the other tank concepts from the 20th century.
Out of all the ones I’ve seen over my years of learning about tanks,
the baby assault tank stands as probably the single craziest piece of machinery ever devised.
Although it might not be quite as crazy as some of the non-tank concepts like the plan to use
manmade geysers to transport water to southern California. For the low low price of 300,000 per
station you too can own a water blaster capable of putting your neighbors supersoaker to shame
with its capability to shoot water at 400 miles per hour. Being honest though I think what killed
that particular idea wasn't the fact that no one in their right mind would see it as a viable
means of transporting water, but rather because they decided to refer to it as “California's big
squirt” which just looks like something you’d find in the adult section of the store.
Terrible jokes aside though today's topic isn't about the California adult entertainment industry
this is a tank channel and it's finally time to stop blue balling all of you and get into the
subject of our video. Just like last time I’ll be reading the original article first
then we’ll go through and dissect exactly what it is my boy Frank was suggesting.
“We are living in a machine age and our wars have become mechanical, but it’s still the muddy,
tired infantryman who must storm the enemy’s stronghold in bloody assault.
In some cases the tactical situation and nature of the terrain make this necessary.
In many others, however, the brunt of the attack could just as well be absorbed by light,
heavily armed machines. Why, then, can’t we send in a first wave of baby assault
tanks and use our irreplaceable GI’s for the less hazardous chore of mopping up?
The primary consideration for such a tank is mobility. Our baby battle-buggy must be
able to scuttle rapidly over rough ground, scale steep banks and bridge shell-holes and trenches.
In the design shown here the armored hull is supported by three independently sprung track
gears which are joined to the body by long, self leveling legs. In order to span wide gullies the
front leg telescopes and is capable of feeling around for a foothold like an insect’s antenna.
It can be raised, or lowered and swung in a 180° arc. It also can be extended and steered. While
all these movements are taking place, a jack is necessary to give temporary support to the apex of
the triangle. This can be of the hydraulic type, retractable and operated from within the hull.
Some sort of rear buttress is needed to prevent our buggy from tumbling over
backwards while scaling extra steep slopes and banks. Again we borrow from the insect world.
A universally mounted tail “feeler,” similar to the front rig, does the trick. Extended and
lowered on uphill grades, it props up our buggy like the tucked-down tail of an insect on a twig.
The hull is cigar-shaped, 12 feet long, swelling to a 3-1/2-foot maximum diameter. It is capped
by a revolving turret in which the armament is mounted. This raises its overall height to 7 feet,
a minimum for clear vision in high grass or bushy terrain. The width of the main
tracks is 12 feet and the machine’s overall length can be extended from 24 to 32 feet.
The two-man crew consists of a driver and gunner. The former sits in a bucket seat in the nose
and drives by means of two miniature control sticks, one for the main tractors, the other
for the nose unit. Other controls, like those found in the cab of an electric power shovel,
permit him to manipulate the telescopic nose and tail gear.
The gunner sits behind and above the driver in a hanging seat that revolves
with the turret. The latter is mounted on a circular track with a full 360° traverse
and is fitted with ear-like extensions on either side. These are really smaller
turrets which revolve in a vertical plane to elevate or depress the guns mounted in them.”
I hope you now understand why I made such a big deal about this concept being the most
insane tank I have ever seen. Nevertheless let's discuss what exactly is being proposed. We get
a much more in depth look at the vehicle in this article compared to the previous one we discussed
including a detailed cutaway of the internals. To start with we’ll look at the overall hull.
I’m really not sure how this design can be called a baby assault tank when the overall length of up
to 32 feet puts it just shy of passing the Char 2C. The hull itself is cylindrical and contains
two crew. Unfortunately armor thickness is left out of the description but given the design of the
arms I can’t imagine it would have very much. With the shape of the hull being fairly rounded though
I could see it being resistant to most, if not all, small arms fire with only things like anti
tank guns or RPGs being a major threat to it. We’ll get more into the obvious
issues with the design later though since we have more to unpack about the concept first.
Situated behind the commander gunner we can see the engine compartment as well as what looks to
be ammunition and a fire extinguisher. Below him is a fuel tank and to his side is a large door.
In front of him sits the driver who actually looks to be in a fairly comfortable position
aside from the extendable jack between his shins. Above him is an escape hatch and to
the front he also has a viewport as well as a pair of large headlights on the hull front.
With the main hull covered we now move into the really wacky portion of this vehicle.
Starting at the front we have a set of tracks powered by an electric drive on a complex strut
system. On either side a similar set of tracks stick out giving the tank a 12 foot overall width.
These rear tracks would also act as the primary suspension for the tank with the struts acting
as giant leaf springs to stabilize the hull. At the very back the tank has a final set of struts
leading to a so-called “tail” which consists of a pair of wheels for steadying the tank on steep
slopes and other obstacles. This would also have the ability to be lifted if not needed.
Both the front and rear struts are also fitted with teeth to slice through wire.
Last but not least let's talk about the turret on this monstrosity. The design actually somewhat
reminds me of the early French tanks having a similar overall shape. The armament on these
things is on a whole nother level though. On one side we once again see a recoilless cannon
leading me to think Frank Tinsley was a big fan of this style of armament. Next to that is a pair
of .30 cal machine guns in what looks to be a traditional style mount. Then on the opposite
side the tank not only has a flamethrower but also features a breech loading mortar. As if
the commander doesn't already have enough to use he would also get a large periscope, a radio set,
and another escape hatch above his head. Now that we’ve seen how this tank was to
be built let's talk about if there's any merit to this design. The obvious answer is of course
no. There are so many flaws to this design that it would probably make the Valiant look like
a marvel of engineering. Just looking at the wacky track system I have to ask how on earth you would
get power to the electric drives without leaving wires exposed for the enemy to just slice through.
Assuming they found some way to shield these you would still run into issues with mines.
You could likely get away with a few attacks with these but once the enemy catches on you’d better
expect that any place the tanks would be able to attack from would be absolutely covered in
mines. Normal tanks are already at risk of these damaging their suspension but the baby assault
tank having its entire drive system crammed into the tracks as well would likely result
in extremely costly repairs. This is before we even consider the weight of the hull having to
be supported by relatively thin struts. I also have to wonder how well the jack
would work to cross obstacles although I do think it could be made to work.
Moving back to the armament my opinion is mixed, on one hand the armament is designed in a way
where it doesn't place multiple breeches into the space the gunner would be operating in which is
good, but on the other hand reloading them would probably be an absolute nightmare. I assume the
main weapon would not be the cannons but more likely would be the two machine guns since those
would be far easier to reload and operate with the flamethrower also being used frequently. The
method of elevation is certainly interesting with the larger armaments being mounted in what are
essentially smaller turrets on either side of the main turret giving them a much wider firing arc
but how on earth would you sight them on target? Without the technology for digital sights I tend
to think these would be aimed purely by eye. Hopefully some sort of indicator to
show where the barrels were pointed could be fitted for the gunner though since otherwise
friendly fire becomes a much bigger threat. I noticed many comments on my last video which
were bashing the idea of a recoilless rifle in a closed turret and I can understand why. However,
I think the criticism is a bit misplaced since there are several real world examples of tanks
using the same type of weapon from within a closed turret. All the designers would need
to do it to ensure there is some way to vent the backblast either forward like what the
Germans did with the Sturmtiger, or have some sort of opening in the back like on the T114.
That being said I cannot as easily defend the choice of going with a two man crew for
a vehicle like this. The commander, like with the early tanks, would be responsible for so
many tasks just to direct the driver and identify threats that I don't see where he would find the
time to reload the 5 weapons at his disposal. That being said, it's interesting to consider
that somewhat similar designs were actually produced. These may have been far less crazy
than the baby assault tank but vehicles like the T114 and Ontos feature a similar concept
featuring recoilless rifles and small tracked chassis. Although, admittedly, the real world
designs weren’t intended for the assault tank role like the Baby Assault Tank. This may not
make the insect style we see in Franks art more practical but it does show that it wasn’t too far
from actual designs from that time period. Overall I think this particular design is best left to the
pages of a sci-fi novel or video game than the real world battlefield but I still adore it.
For that reason I want to take a second to do a bit of fantasizing and explore how I think these
vehicles would be used on the battlefield. Sit back, maybe close your eyes and let me
paint you a picture of these vehicles in action. All is quiet as the American forces prepare to
attack the fortifications constructed by the enemy forces. Pairs of tankers bicker as they find their
way to their new vehicles. Some show the signs of previous battles with numerous marks in the paint
along the front where bullets have struck the armor. Some others feature small inscriptions
showing enemy kills as well as the occasional scantily clad woman painted on the side.
With a roar these machines come to life and the weapons are loaded for battle. The gunners have
learned from previous battles that its best to save the shot from their cannon and mortar
for when they really need as the machine guns will deal with most of what they face.
With a slight crackle of static the order comes across their radios to begin the attack and the
drivers push forward on their control sticks as the machines respond by lurching forward.
As soon as they draw within sight of the enemy fortifications the firefight begins, artillery
begins to rain down as the tanks make their way towards the objective of today's attack. A few
quickly collapse into heaps on the ground as one of their tracks strike enemy mines causing the
mountings to snap off. The tanks still continue to fire in support of the assault though making use
of their mortars to suppress the enemy soldiers. As the tanks approach the first trench they extend
their rear wheels in preparation and open up with their flamethrowers burning anyone unfortunate
enough to be caught in the flames. Suddenly one of the tanks bursts into flames from a well placed
shot into its midsection which hits its ammunition quickly igniting the vehicle. “AT gun left!” yells
one of the commanders over the radio leading those near him to swing their guns on target.
This is exactly what they’ve been saving their cannon shot for and each tank fires into the
foliage concealing the foe. With no follow up shot it's clear that the target has been eliminated.
With the enemy trench taken the tanks move into covering positions to watch each other's back,
preventing them from having explosives placed on their vulnerable struts. Having completed
their mission it was now just a matter of waiting for the foot soldiers to reach them.
I hope you guys enjoyed that little bit of storytelling, if you did please be sure to
let me know in the comments. Videos on these wacky designs are super fun to make and bringing them
to life as much as I can is my goal so I’d really love to hear what you think. With that being said
we’ve reached the end of today's video. If you did enjoy it I highly recommend you follow it up
with the video on the submersible tank also created by Frank Tinsley. Don’t forget to try
out skillshare and send your crazy tank concepts in my discord. Links to both of those are in the
description of this video. Thanks so much for watching and I’ll see you in the next video.