Were WWII Mine Clearing Tanks Any Good?

since their creation landmines have played an important role in Warfare for defending armies the first world war would see mines deployed but it was during the second world war where machines in particular tanks would be used to clear large areas of these devastating weapons but how effective were they in today's video we look at the flail tank and see if these World War II mine clearing tanks were any good if you enjoy this video and want to see more hit that subscribe button it's free and really helps the channel reach more history lovers like you in 1941 the extensive use of landmines by the Germans became such a problem for the Allies that the British began experimenting with different ways of clearing these large Mine Fields previously the only way to clear a path through was with Manpower each Soldier using his bayonet or anything else long enough to prod into the ground in order to locate each individual mine this was an effective way to clear the area but it was incredibly slow not only that it was also very risky for the soldier metal detectors were another step in the right direction but there needed to be a quicker way to remove multiple mines in a shorter time experiments had been carried out using tanks with large rollers fitted to the front these had some advantages but ultimately when the roller took enough hits the whole thing needed to be changed out enter the fla tank this was first designed by a South African soldier named dutoit who assisted in the final draft the main design was a fixed to a Matilda tank with a rotor on two arms set a few feet in front of the tank the rotor consisted of a metal drum with chains attached and metal balls on the end of each chain as the drum rotated the chains would spin around striking the ground the idea was for the tank to drive into a Minefield and once rotating the chains would hit a mine and detonate it away from the tank when it was safe to do so a replacement chain would be affixed trials for the flow tank weren't without issue firstly what direction should the rotor spin spinning away from the tank would cause some mines to be struck and flung back towards the tank spinning the opposite direction through dirt and sand ahead of the tank and buried other mines much deeper a mesh was erected to stop mines being thrown backwards and that solved the main issue huge amounts of dust were thrown up into the air when the flare was moving this caused obvious issues with visibility and several Solutions such as exhaust fans were attempted but nothing completely solved the problem the US version was mounted onto a Sherman tank and known as a crab these were just just as effective but had the problem of needing to point the main gun away from the flail while it was spinning this meant that when operating the tank couldn't defend itself the solution to this was to work in teams five flow tanks would be sent out to clear a Minefield three would move forward side by side and two in reserve to provide covering fire the crab had some extra features Cutters were added to the rotor which allowed it to cut through thicked barp wire with without becoming Tangled the arms were able to move up and down with the ground in order to clear up mines hidden in ditches two bins at the rear of the tank were filled with chalk and dripped out slowly to Mark the outer edges of the safe area for troops and vehicles to move along it also had the ability to drop smoke grenades or push illuminated poles into the ground for visibility in the dust in combat flow tanks performed well for the for the most part the majority of their disadvantages related to the slow pace they needed to move as they performed their work this made them an easy target for enemy fire in North Africa the sheer amount of sand and dust thrown up caused overheating and engine issues but come the invasion of Europe in Italy and France the flails were invaluable in clearing the extensive German minefields towards the end of the war minefields of any decent size weren't late down so these fla tanks eventually became obsolete many had their rotors removed and they were used as regular tanks but nonetheless these incredibly interesting looking weapons of war were certainly effective tools when used in the right conditions even in modern times similar vehicles are still used to clear large scale minefields a throwback to the Ingenuity of World War II what did you you think of the World War II mine clearing tanks how would you react if you saw one driving towards you let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below as always guys thanks for watching be sure to hit that subscribe button if you want to expand your knowledge and join the growing Premier history community