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Best Military history & warfare videos, as recommended on Hacker News

79 videos about military history & warfare that Hacker News commenters keep recommending, mentioned between 2008 and 2026. Mostly documentary, other, explainer. Channels that come up most: SmarterEveryDay, VICE, Veritasium, TheCGBros. Sorted by how consistently HN recommended them over the years.

The most recommended is Mechanical Computer (All Parts) - Basic Mechanisms In Fire Control Computers: HN commenters repeatedly recommend it as a beautiful, approachable explanation of analog mechanical computation, and many have rewatched it.

• documentaryMechanical Computer (All Parts) - Basic Mechanisms In Fire Control ComputersExcelsior10000 · 13 HN recommenders · 2014–2025
• tutorialU.S. NAVY BASIC MECHANISMS OF FIRE CONTROL COMPUTERS MECHANICAL COMPUTER INSTRUCTIONAL FILM 27794PeriscopeFilm · 11 HN recommenders · 2018–2026
• documentaryThe Secret WarSergio IQ · 4 HN recommenders · 2019–2025
• documentaryThis Is What Winning Looks Like (Full Length)VICE · 7 HN recommenders · 2014–2023
• lectureTiedustelueverstin arvio Venäjästä | 3.12.2018fin_topsu · 14 HN recommenders · 2022–2024
• lectureSecret History of Silicon ValleyComputer History Museum · 6 HN recommenders · 2010–2026
• podcastDavid Fravor: UFOs, Aliens, Fighter Jets, and Aerospace Engineering | Lex Fridman Podcast #122Lex Fridman · 8 HN recommenders · 2020–2022
• documentaryThe Battle of Midway 1942: Told from the Japanese Perspective (1/3)Montemayor · 7 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• otherThreads (1984) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]HD Retro Trailers · 5 HN recommenders · 2019–2024
• talkThe Secret History of Silicon ValleyGoogle TechTalks · 5 HN recommenders · 2008–2016
• explainerGimbal UFO - A New AnalysisMick West · 8 HN recommenders · 2022–2025
• documentaryOperation InfeKtion: How Russia Perfected the Art of War | NYT OpinionNew York Times Opinion · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• lectureNuclear 101: How Nuclear Bombs Work Part 1/2Belfer Center · 4 HN recommenders · 2018–2024
• explainerSuper Pointy Sprint Missile - 0 to Mach 10 in 15 Seconds - 100Gs & 6000°FDark Footage · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2024
• otherSlaughterbotsStop Autonomous Weapons · 4 HN recommenders · 2018–2026
• commentaryNuclear Weapons: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)LastWeekTonight · 4 HN recommenders · 2014–2026
• documentaryWar - Part Two: Anybody's Son Will Do (1 of 6)Ingsoc75 · 3 HN recommenders · 2013–2017
• otherSci-Fi Short Film “Slaughterbots” | DUSTDUST · 5 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• interviewThe Future of War, and How It Affects YOU (Multi-Domain Operations) - Smarter Every Day 211SmarterEveryDay · 4 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• lectureRichard Feynman Lecture -- "Los Alamos From Below"The Quagmire · 3 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• documentaryDesert Storm - The Air War, Day 1 - AnimatedThe Operations Room · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• interviewCIA Officer in Charge of Taking Down the AQ Khan Network | James Lawler | Ep. 125The Team House · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2024
• lectureWhy our generals were more successful in World War II than in Korea, Vietnam or Iraq/AfghanistanUC Berkeley Events · 3 HN recommenders · 2018–2024
• documentaryA4 / V2 Rocket in detail: TurbopumpAstronomy and Nature TV · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• lectureKursk: The Epic Armored Engagement (2013)The National WWII Museum · 3 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• documentaryDropping the Bomb: Hiroshima & NagasakiShaun · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2025
• tutorialCelestial Navigation (instruction video)NathanielsCAD · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2025
• documentaryAmerica's Iron Giants - The World's Most Powerful MetalworkersMachine Thinking · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2024
• talkDaniel Suarez: The kill decision shouldn't belong to a robotTED · 3 HN recommenders · 2013–2025
• talkUniversity of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement Address - Admiral William H. McRavenTexas Exes · 3 HN recommenders · 2017–2026
• explainerHow Kodak Exposed Nuclear TestingVeritasium · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2025
• documentaryThe Fallen of World War IINeil Halloran · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2025
• documentaryAmerica's Nerve Gas ArsenalPeter Klusman · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2020
• comedyPentagon Wars - Bradley Fighting Vehicle Evolution66NOVA66 · 3 HN recommenders · 2014–2024
• lectureOODA Loop & Evolutionary Epistemology of John Boyd by Chuck Spinney52 Living Ideas · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2025
• commentaryNo, The Tank Is Not Dead.The Chieftain · 5 HN recommenders · 2022–2022
• documentaryARROWS vs ARMOUR - Medieval Myth BustingTod's Workshop · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2025
• documentaryAlways/Never: The Quest for Safety, Control, and Survivability - Part 1Sandia National Labs · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• newsSoyuz Launch Escape Tower SystemBruno Leal · 1 HN recommender · 2011–2018
• explainerHow Corruption Destroys Armies - Theft, Graft, and Russian failure in UkrainePerun · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2023
• explainerThe US Military’s Massive Global Transportation SystemWendover Productions · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2025
• explainerWhy Japan had NO Chance in WW2Military History Visualized · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2023
• documentaryHow I Boarded a US NAVY NUCLEAR SUBMARINE in the Arctic (ICEX 2020) - Smarter Every Day 237SmarterEveryDay · 2 HN recommenders · 2020–2022
• explainerThis 1970s tank simulator drives through a tiny worldTom Scott · 2 HN recommenders · 2024–2025
• otherSlaughterbotsFuture of Life Institute · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2025
• other🏆Award Winning🏆 CGI 3D Animated Short Film: "LAST DAY OF WAR" by Dima Fedotov | TheCGBrosTheCGBros · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2023
• otherA Time-Lapse Map of Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945 - by Isao HashimotoaConcernedHuman · 2 HN recommenders · 2013–2025
• explainerDefeating Microwave Weapons! - Part 1Tech Ingredients · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2025
• otherEisenhower Farewell Address (Best Quality) - 'Military Industrial Complex' WARNINGEwafa · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• demoMinuteman III attacks KwajaleinEureka · 2 HN recommenders · 2019–2025
• explainerHow Do Night Vision Goggles Work?Veritasium · 2 HN recommenders · 2023–2024
• otherBen Marking's Fake BBC Nuclear Attack Broadcast (Full Resolution, Uncut, Unedited)Tooth · 2 HN recommenders · 2022–2025
• otherThe Pentagon Wars - 1998 Full MoviePremium Movies · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• talk30c3 - Trevor Paglen - Six Landscapes - 131228 2300KraftZeitung · 2 HN recommenders · 2013–2022
• otherThat scene from War GamesGreg Granito · 1 HN recommender · 2010–2025
• otherA CGI 3D Short Film: "Dead Hand: FortressFortress/Крепость" - by Dima Fedotov | TheCGBrosTheCGBros · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2023
• interviewNavy pilots recall “unsettling” 2004 UAP sighting60 Minutes · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2022
• documentaryMcNamara meets with Castro (Fog of War)8bitRicky · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2024
• demoAK47 (AKM): Mud TestInRangeTV · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2024
• documentaryThe Gun Markets of Pakistan with Suroosh AlviVICE · 1 HN recommender · 2014–2020
• otherDuck And Cover (1951) Bert The TurtleNuclear Vault · 1 HN recommender · 2013–2022
• commentaryPutin's new Russian MHD weapons explained (1st part)Jean-Pierre PETIT · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2023
• demoMissile defense multiple kill vehicle hover testtheworacle · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2026
• otherMICRO DRONES KILLER ARMS ROBOTS - AUTONOMOUS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE - WARNING !!CS Consulting · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2025
• interview1/6 F-35 JOINT STRIKE FIGHTER IS A LEMONBELAIR2000 · 1 HN recommender · 2014–2021
• interviewCIA Officer Frank Snepp Discusses Planting Stories in VietnamWitness to War · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2023
• explainerHow to Surface a Submarine in the Arctic Ocean - Smarter Every Day 260SmarterEveryDay · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2023
• comedyYes Prime Minister, Discussing TridentJBVids000 · 1 HN recommender · 2014–2025
• demoAR15: Mud TestInRangeTV · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2024
• interviewSarah C. M. Paine — Why dictators keep making the same fatal mistakeDwarkesh Patel · 1 HN recommender · 2023–2025
• demoUSS Forrestal C-130 Hercules Carrier Landing Trialsjaglavaksoldier · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2023
• explainerCan A Metal Bowling Ball Survive Inside a Nuclear Explosion?Scott Manley · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2026
• musicTom Lehrer - We Will All Go Together When We GoThe Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel · 1 HN recommender · 2017–2022
• interviewAAA THE F-35 IS A LEMON PIERRE SPREY (RUNAWAY FIGHTER) FIFTH ESTATE EXTENDED INTERVWBELAIR2000 · 1 HN recommender · 2014–2015
• newsAustralian Sub defeats US Navy in exerciseLiberalism4Australia · 1 HN recommender · 2014–2016
• comedyTom Lehrer - Who's Next - with introThe Tom Lehrer Wisdom Channel · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2024
• newsAdmiral Jeremiah Denton Blinks Morse Code Warning as P.O.W.Audie Murphy American Legend · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2023
• talkObesity is a National Security Issue: Lieutenant General Mark Hertling at TEDxMidAtlantic 2012TEDx Talks · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2026
• explainerHow to Win an Interstellar WarKurzgesagt – In a Nutshell · 1 HN recommender · 2023–2025