Tank Overhaul

- Season 1

(2006)

Isle of Wight Museum Managing Director Dave Arnold and his team of restorers take on the task of refurbishing a 1944-era World War II British Comet rescued from an army ordnance firing range. Hoping to have it ready for the museum's Tank Fest, they have only 4 months in which to complete their task.

Tank restorer Jacques Littlefield labors to add a rare German Panzerkampfwagen V Panther to his collection of over 300 military vehicles. Recovered from a riverbed in Poland, the badly mangled hulk presents an incredible challenge to his crew of experts, but also offers clues to the events on the fateful day of its destruction back in World War II.

The Isle of Wight team attempts to pull off an unrivaled feat of restoration as they make one good tank out of two destroyed ones by rebuilding the damaged front quarter of a US M4 Sherman and welding on an intact hull section cut from a donor Sherman.

While covering the renovation of an m18 Hellcat in preparation for reuniting it with its original commander, Andy relates the history and features of this World War Two tank destroyer. Several innovations introduced in the Hellcat are still present in current state-of-the-art tanks such as the M1 Abrams.