Broadcast last night, 6 Jan, on BBC2 in the UK:

Tankies: Tank Heroes of World War II - Episode 1

Available on iPlayer until 20 Jan; Episode 2 on 13 Jan.

The Second World War was the ultimate conflict of the machine age, and the tank was its iconic symbol. The "tankies" who fought inside had experience of much of the conflict from the fall of France, to the deserts of Africa, from the invasion of Italy to D-Day, and on to the final victory in Germany.

In this two part series, historian, BBC Diplomatic Editor, and former officer in the Royal Tank Regiment, Mark Urban tells the story of six remarkable men from one armoured unit - The Fifth Royal Tank Regiment, also known as the Filthy Fifth.

Using first hand testimony from the last surviving veterans alongside previously unseen letters and diaries, Mark Urban brings the story of an extraordinary "band of brothers" to life, and in visceral detail. At the same time he analyses the evolution of Tank production in Britain and illustrates how we fell far behind our German enemies, in both technology and tactics, relying instead on dogged determination and a relentless drive to victory, whatever the costs.

In part one, Mark begins his journey in Northern France introducing our band of brothers in the midst of the Fall of France and the retreat to Dunkirk. Characters such as "rookie" tank driver Gerry Solomon join veterans, themselves still only in their twenties, such as and Jake Wardrop and Harry Finlayson.

Mark Urban then follows in the Tankies footsteps across the deserts of North Africa. Here he looks at the game changing tank battles of Sidi Rezegh, Alam Halfa and of course the battle that changed the course of the Second World War, Alamein. He then takes us back to England where the "Tankies" expect a well-earned rest; instead they are confronted with the news that as battle hardened troops they must fight again, this time on the beaches of Normandy.

With spectacular archive footage, including rarely seen colour footage, "Tankies" brings to life the Second World War from a unique point of view.

Hi Matthew,

Saw it and have it saved to see again, excellent programme and lots of ideas for Western Desert models. I had a friend who was an RSM in the RTR, originally the 8th Armoured Division (I am honoured to have his division flash) and then in the 23rd Armoured Brigade, he said they tried to repair and keep their Valentines as they would be remounted with a 'Honey', which they hated. This ran to filling pentration holes with cement and painting over them so the tank wouldn't be scrapped.

Really looking forward to the next episode.

All the best,

Paul

Paul, yes interesting that they didn't mention Valentines at all, perhaps just not issued to 5RTR.

Excellent shot where Mark Urban held up the shells fired by the Honey and the 88mm.

Only happened to catch this programme because I was watching the one about Neil Armstrong just before it (planiacs would have liked that).

Partly bumping this to prepare anyone in the UK to rewatch this episode on iPlayer, or the next one which will be Sunday, BBC2 @ 9pm.