Crewing the Cold War Chieftain tank (265)

<p>Alan Hodges was a Royal Tank Regiment Chieftain tank commander and troop SGT in West Germany. Mick Hadfield was his 17-year-old gunner. The affection between the two is still apparent even today and Mick still calls Al his army Dad.<br/><br/></p><p>Mick met Al in 1987 straight out of his armoured corp gunnery training at Catterick.  They served for 3 years together in 1st Royal Tank Regiment in Hildesheim from August 87 to December 90. <br/><br/></p><p>They share detailed insights into the operations of the Chieftain, the training, the camaraderie of a crew as well as important details like how you go the loo in a tank..<br/><br/></p><p>As part of 1st Royal Tank Regiment they were at the time (the most forward-facing Tank unit in BAOR  and given a 2-hour life expectancy. They were told that if the Soviet 3rd Shock army crossed the border, each Chieftain would have to knock out a minimum of 10 Soviet tanks before they got overrun.<br/><br/><b><em>Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll become part of our community and get a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank you and you’ll bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history. <br/></em></b><br/></p><p><b><em>Just go to </em></b><a href='https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/'><b><em>https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/<br/></em></b></a><br/></p><p>If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link.<br/><br/></p><p><b>Extra videos and photos  here </b><a href='https://coldwarconversations.com/episode265/'><b>https://coldwarconversations.com/episode265/<br/></b></a><br/></p><p><br/></p><a rel="payment" href="https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/">Support the show</a><p><br/><b><em>Support the project! </em></b><a href='https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/'><b><em>https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/</em></b></a></p> <p><b>Follow us on Twitter here </b><a href='https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod'><b>https: