Conceived during World War I, tanks still play a crucial role on the modern battlefield providing excellent mobility, sophisticated communications, lethal firepower, and effective armor protection. Together, these assets provide the shock effect necessary to close with and destroy the enemy in most any condition. Modern U.S. Tanks & AFVs examines the development, capabilities, and service histories of some of the most important and interesting tanks, armored fighting vehicles (AFVs), wheeled armored firepower, and indirect armored fire-support vehicles used by the U.S. military today, including: amphibious assault vehicles (AAVP), the full range of M1 Abrams tanks, Bradleys, armored Humvees, and Strykers. Color photographs depict each type in training exercises. There will also be discussions of how the 1999 "Army Vision" transformation strategy calling for lighter and more maneuverable armed forces precipitated the development of some of the weapons covered.
Modern Tanks offers a colorfully illustrated guide to the main armored fighting vehicles used since 1990 in venues ranging from the Gulf Wars to Afghanistan, Chechnya to the Crimea and Ukraine, Yemen to the Syrian Civil War. It includes battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, and self-propelled guns. Each profile includes authentic markings and color schemes, and every individual model features detailed specifications.
In the seventy years that have passed since the tank first appeared, antitank combat has presented one of the greatest challenges in land warfare. Dramatic improvements in tank technology and doctrine over the years have precipitated equally innovative developments in the antitank field. One cycle in this ongoing arms race occurred during the early years of World War II when the U.S. Army sought desperately to find an antidote to the vaunted German blitzkrieg. This Leavenworth Paper analyzes the origins of the tank destroyer concept, evaluates the doctrine and equipment with which tank destroyer units fought, and assesses the effectiveness of the tank destroyer in battle.
China today has by far the largest number of armored fighting vehicles in the world, and this detailed reference explores the main battle tanks, AFVs, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled guns, and missile-launching platforms in service since 1945, with an emphasis on the latest technology. They're organized historically by type, and illustrated with expert profile artworks for each entry and complete with technical specifications.
Between the two World Wars, the US contributed significantly to the development of the tank, a weapon invented by the British and the French seeking a way to break through the lines of German trenches. From the employment of the French Renault FT and British Mark V during their involvement in World War I, the US branched out with their own indigenous designs including the M1 Cavalry Car and the M2 Light and Medium tanks, the precursors to the Stuart and Grant tanks of World War II. Tank designers in this period faced unique challenges and so the story of early American armour is littered with failures amongst the successes. Featuring previously unpublished photos and fully illustrated throughout, Early American Armor (1): Tanks 1916–40 is essential reading for anyone interested in American armour, or in the development of tank design.
Conceived during World War I, tanks still play a crucial role on the modern battlefield providing excellent mobility, sophisticated communications, lethal firepower, and effective armor protection. Together, these assets provide the shock effect necessary to close with and destroy the enemy in most any condition. Modern U.S. Tanks & AFVs examines the development, capabilities, and service histories of some of the most important and interesting tanks, armored fighting vehicles (AFVs), wheeled armored firepower, and indirect armored fire-support vehicles used by the U.S. military today, including: amphibious assault vehicles (AAVP), the full range of M1 Abrams tanks, Bradleys, armored Humvees, and Strykers. Color photographs depict each type in training exercises. There will also be discussions of how the 1999 "Army Vision" transformation strategy calling for lighter and more maneuverable armed forces precipitated the development of some of the weapons covered.
Tanks and armoured fighting vehicles have revolutionised modern warfare, dominating the battlefield in conflicts all over the world with their firepower, armour and mobility. Featured in this book are over 900 tanks, armoured personnel carriers, self-propelled guns, reconnaissance vehicles and armoured cars.
“An important contribution to the history of World War II . . . I have never before been able to learn so much about maintenance methods of an armored division, with precise details that underline the importance of the work, along with descriptions of how the job was done.”—Russell F. Weigley, author of Eisenhower’s Lieutenants “Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost anyone. . . . His stories are vivid, enlightening, full of life—and of pain, sorrow, horror, and triumph.”—Stephen E. Ambrose, from his Foreword “In a down-to-earth style, Death Traps tells the compelling story of one man’s assignment to the famous 3rd Armored Division that spearheaded the American advance from Normandy into Germany. Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged American tanks. This was a dangerous job that often required him to travel alone through enemy territory, and the author recalls his service with pride, downplaying his role in the vast effort that kept the American forces well equipped and supplied. . . . [Readers] will be left with an indelible impression of the importance of the support troops and how dependent combat forces were on them.”—Library Journal “As an alumnus of the 3rd, I eagerly awaited this book’s coming out since I heard of its release . . . and the wait and the book have both been worth it. . . . Cooper is a very polished writer, and the book is very readable. But there is a certain quality of ‘you are there’ many other memoirs do not seem to have. . . . Nothing in recent times—ridgerunning in Korea, firebases in Vietnam, or even the one hundred hours of Desert Storm—pressed the ingenuity and resolve of American troops . . . like WWII. This book lays it out better than any other recent effort, and should be part of the library of any contemporary warrior.”—Stephen Sewell, Armor Magazine “Cooper’s writing and recall of harrowing events is superb and engrossing. Highly recommended.”—Robert A. Lynn, The Stars and Stripes “This detailed story will become a classic of WWII history and required reading for anyone interested in armored warfare.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “[Death Traps] fills a critical gap in WWII literature. . . . It’s a truly unique and valuable work.”—G.I. Journal
This book is an authoritative history and directory of tanks and their immediate derivatives, such as ARVs (armoured recovery vehicles), tank destroyers, command versions, bridgelayers, mine-clearers and other Funnies, and AFVs such as armoured cars, armoured personnel carriers and self-propelled artillery, covering a vast range of wheeled, tracked and semi-tracked vehicles. From the world's first tank, Little Willie , to the contemporary M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank, the book examines a vast range of tanks and AFVs. This unique volume, with over 1200 wartime and museum photographs, brings together the most significant tanks and AFVs in military history.
