This is the land equivalent of Jane's Battleships, a comprehensive encyclopaedia of all the combat vehicles of World War II from Somaliland to Japan. A nation-by-nation overview of each country's development of tanks and their involvement in World War II is before providing an A-Z of each army's tanks and fighting vehicles including armoured cars, personnel carriers, amphibious craft and mortar carriers. Quirkier profiles of vehicles such as the German TKS tankette are given.
Many thousands of different types of vehicles were used by the armies during the Second World War for various roles, including the fighting vehicles such as armoured cars and tanks. Today these are very popular with enthusiasts who restore these historic vehicles to their pristine state and attend specialist gatherings around the UK, Europe and the USA. This book explores original and reconstructed military vehicles from British, US, Russian, Italian and German forces using stunning colour photographs. It also provides a detailed history of each vehicle's development and use in the war, plus a wealth of technical information and rare internal shots. The range of vehicles includes trucks, ambulances, half-tracks, motorcycles, bulldozers, armoured cars and of course the impressive range of tanks, from tankettes to the fearsome German Tiger. Some vehicles are so rare that examples have been recreated using designs of the era and together with the original vehicles their fascinating wartime experiences are revealed. From the Moto Guzzi tricycle to the Schwimmwagen, the T-34 to the Austin ambulance, this is the perfect book for recreating, restoring and exploring the history of these classic military vehicles.
This book lists all the important tanks used in the Second World War, both by the Allied (England, France, Russia and the USA) and Axis Powers (Germany, Italy and Japan). Thomas Anderson, an expert on the history of the Second World War, offers an in-depth volume detailing the vehicles, their use in battle and relevant technical specifications. This comprehensive survey is full of authentic eyewitness accounts as well as being profusely illustrated with many photographs having never been published before.
This lavishly illustrated volume details the design, development and operational history of the British-made tanks in World War II. Plagued by unreliable vehicles and poorly thought-out doctrine, the early years of World War II were years of struggle for Britain's tank corps. Relying on tanks built in the late 1930s, and those designed and built with limited resources in the opening years of the war, they battled valiantly against an opponent well versed in the arts of armoured warfare. This book is the second of a multi-volume history of British tanks by renowned British armour expert David Fletcher MBE. It covers the development and use of the Matilda, Crusader, and Valentine tanks that pushed back the Axis in North Africa, the much-improved Churchill that fought with distinction from North Africa to Normandy, and the excellent Cromwell tank of 1944–45. It also looks at Britain's super-heavy tank projects, the TOG1 and TOG2, and the Tortoise heavy assault tank, designed to smash through the toughest of battlefield conditions, but never put into production.
From heavy tanks to self-propelled guns, this highly illustrated technical guide introduces all the main types of armored fighting vehicles used by Germany in World War II--organized chronologically and by type. Each of the 120 featured artworks displays authentic markings and color schemes, while the separate models include exhaustive specifications. This is a key reference for military modelers and World War II enthusiasts.
“A superbly organized, well-written, detailed history of the Sherman tank” with hundreds of photos and diagrams included (Armor Magazine). The Medium Tank, M4, better known to the British as the Sherman, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and western Allies in World War II. Reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and easy to maintain, thousands were distributed to the British Commonwealth and the Soviet Union by the Lend-Lease program. It first saw combat in North Africa, where it outclassed lighter German and Italian tanks. By 1944 the M4 was outgunned by the German heavy tanks, but it still contributed to the fight when deployed in numbers and supported by artillery and fighter-bombers. A detailed insight into the development and deployment of the M4, this book covers the design and construction of the chassis, turret, engine, armaments, and munitions, and differences between the variants of the M4. It covers the difficulties facing the crews who fought in this legendary tank, exploring the training they received and the different combat methods perfected by the Allies, including landing from a landing craft, maneuvering in the bocage of Normandy, and fighting in the snow. Fully illustrated with hundreds of contemporary and modern photographs and detailed diagrams, this complete account provides all the technical details of the construction of the M4, its maintenance and repair, and the logistics required to support it in combat. Whether you are a collector, a modeler, or simply passionate about military history, this book will provide you with an unparalleled insight into the M4. “Period photos, preservation shots, interior details, variant schematics, archival excerpts, armament and ammunition drawings, and more . . . Make it your introduction to this legendary tank family.” —Cybermodeler
At the start of the campaign on the Eastern Front, in the earliest days of Operation Barbarossa, it was the German armour that swept all in front of it as the Wehrmacht drove eastwards in an unrelenting advance on Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad. The ill-prepared and under-resourced Russian forces were forced to retreat. Gradually, the balance of the war swung in favour of the Russian forces, whose strength both in numbers and equipment proved decisive in the ultimate defeat of the German forces in the east. Critical in the Soviet victory was its armour; tanks such as the T-34 proving the equal, if not better than, some of the tanks available to the Germans. This authoritative history of the Soviet forces before and during World War 2, reveals the development of their tactics in the early post-revolutionary era right through to the ultimate victory in Berlin in May 1945. The dramatic struggle of the tank crews against the German advance is told through some 200 contemporary photographs, many of which have never been seen before.The photographs include images of tank training in the 1920s and 1930s, on active service, and many compelling pictures from some of the major tank battles of the day. Over the past five years, aided by the opening up of archives in Russia previously closed to western experts, there has been a massive growth in interest in the events that occurred on the Eastern Front. Russian Tanks is an important addition to the literature currently available, exploring as it does, the vitally important Soviet armour of the period.
Subtitle: The World's Most Important Tanks from World War I to the Present Day. Overview of all the world's tanks from WWI to today. covers history, battles, technology, design/development. Includes hundreds of photographs both historical black and white and contemporary color and color artworks. Also features diagrams explaining strategy and technology.
