This week on the channel +12M views this week

Mr Hewes recovers a whole Conqueror for its turret

The Tank Museum project takes the crew to a Norfolk firing range, where the trackless tank cannot simply be dragged away.

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Mr Hewes Story of November 7, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.

WE RECOVERED A 65 TON TANK ABANDONED FOR 58 YEARS!

Video summary

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0:26Mr Hewes introduces the sunken Conqueror and the recovery project on a Norfolk MOD range.
1:16The extraction plan requires fitting tracks to minimise disturbance of ground that may contain unexploded ordnance.
4:21The crew rotates and secures the turret so it cannot swing during recovery.
7:11Heavy cables and shackles connect the tank to the recovery winches.
10:06The team clears packed sand and tree roots from around the road wheels and suspension.
19:40A telehandler brings a roll of steel tracks to the excavation site.

They only wanted the turret. Getting it meant recovering the whole Conqueror, because the Ministry of Defence would not allow the tank to leave its Norfolk range in pieces.

That is the wonderfully awkward premise of Mr Hewes' sole upload this week, "WE RECOVERED A 65 TON TANK ABANDONED FOR 58 YEARS!" It has reached roughly 1.4 million views, following the crew's effort to retrieve a British tank that has sat on the range since 1968.

The complication is beneath their feet. Potential unexploded ordnance means limiting ground disturbance, so the team must fit tracks before extracting the vehicle. Two Foden recovery trucks, an Oshkosh transporter and a JCB telehandler make up the supporting cast. The crew secures the turret, rigs heavy cables and begins easing the hull out of its sandy resting place, clearing roots and packed earth around the wheels. Eventually, the telehandler arrives carrying a roll of steel track: not the sort of delivery most restoration projects require.

Viewers keep returning to the two Fodens working together, particularly the Welsh truck previously rescued by the channel. Others discuss the unusually generous running time and the mechanical details left in the edit. For this audience, the getting-it-done is very much part of the story.

The channel added around 14,000 subscribers over the week, with daily viewing above its usual pace. Its weekly views were the highest among the nearby aviation and machinery channels, while letsdig18 and Francis Bourgeois are also enjoying above-usual daily viewing.

Away from Norfolk, October's enormous engine revival remains busy. The Short "Starting a 102.4 litre engine #fyp #reels #shorts " supplies most of the channel's daily views, while the longer Mirrlees Blackstone restoration continues drawing viewers to its stuck valves, seized injectors and eventual return to life.

Published on Trari

Where next?

Also in Aviation and machinesViews jump 5.9x the channel's usual pacePilot Debrief returns to the Florida Learjet investigationHoover's follow-up passes four million views as daily viewing across the channel climbs to nearly six times its usual pace.Channel: Pilot Debrief · Story of November 7, 2026

A different discovery todayVideo taking off 29x its usual first dayJimmy Kimmel meets a 19-year-old clerk-elect who is "not just any 19-year-old"Before Sebastian Matta's video call, Kimmel offers a $129 Doomsday Food Bucket and a countdown of Trump's unkept pledges.Channel: Jimmy Kimmel Live · Story of November 7, 2026

What viewers say

Something special watching the 2 Fodens team up.
@horsham2966See it on YouTube
It’s amazing to think that it was only a few weeks ago we were watching the Welsh ‘lichen’ foden being rescued itself, now it’s back doing the business again 👏🏽
@jenandsteve1999See it on YouTube
'Welsh Foden' enjoying being back on duty making a solid contribution to the mission.
@Woffy.See it on YouTube

6 more comments

The sound of the two Fodens working side by side, pure gold! Epic recovery video lads, well done.
@seanspainSee it on YouTube
And that ladies and gentleman is what the Foden's were designed to do. It's cool to see them in their natural element doing what they were designed to do.
@littlewingpsc27See it on YouTube
I love it when a near 1.5hr video is so engrossing it feels like it was only 30 minutes. Good show.
@86abaileSee it on YouTube
This is what Sundays are for lads 👍
@garethjones9205See it on YouTube
As an old Conq driver that was brilliant, I was chuckling to my self when you mentioned puting it back on some tracks I remember tracks comlng in a flat pack I didn't expect yours to come in a reel, the whole job was well done, just entertainment from start to finnish.
@lawrencecaileSee it on YouTube
That was superb viewing. Kudos to whoever does the editing because you told the story of rescuing that beast without chopping out all the details that make it so enjoyable. 1hr 24min of joy 👌
@jfro5867See it on YouTube