The ships that dominate so much of the history of the Royal Navy in the Second World War are more often than not the carriers or battleships - Ark Royal, Warspite, Hood - and rarely do ships smaller than cruisers move centre stage. Apart that is from one class, the Tribal class destroyers, heroes of the Altmark incident, of the battle of Narvik, and countless actions across all theatres of operation. Yet there has been surprisingly little written about these critical ships, still less about the...
Hummel and Nashorn/Hornisse: German Self-Propelled Artillery in World War II
by David Doyle
The Hummel ("bumblebee") and Nashorn ("rhinoceros") are two of Nazi Germany's most widely recognized self-propelled artillery pieces. The Hummel, with its heavy field howitzer, was indispensable as heavy field artillery despite its open-top fighting compartment. The Nashorn, also known as the Hornisse ("hornet"), utilized the same chassis but mounted the formidable 88 mm antitank gun, becoming one of the most feared pieces of antitank artillery, or Panzerjäger ("tank hunter"). This book chronicl...
Sherman Tank Vol. 1: America's M4A1 Medium Tank in World War II
by David Doyle
This book documents the development and production of the M4A1 through its many variations, as well as its combat use around the globe. Produced by Lima Locomotive Works, Pressed Steel Car Company, and Pacific Car and Foundry, the M4A1 was the first of the famed Sherman tanks and preceded the welded-hull M4 into production. Powered by a nine-cylinder, air-cooled radial engine, the M4A1 fought in North Africa with both US and British forces, across northwestern Europe, and on Pacific Islands with...
Kampfpanzer Maus: The Porsche Type 205 Super-Heavy Tank
by Michael Froehlich
In 1944 the Maus giant battle tank, weighing almost 190 tons, was supposed to help turn the Wehrmacht’s fortunes of war on the Eastern Front. Just two prototypes of this monster were delivered, for its undeniable advantages—tremendous firepower and virtually impenetrable armor—were outweighed by the disadvantages of its slowness, excessive use of materials in construction, and fuel consumption so high that it was, by that time, far beyond the Germans’ ability to supply. With this volume, Michael...
Panzerkampfwagen IV: The Backbone of Germany's WWII Tank Forces
by David Doyle
The Panzerkampfwagen IV, or Panzer IV as it is more popularly known, formed the backbone of Germany’s tank formations during WWII. With production totaling more than 8,500, the Panzer IV was the most plentiful German tank of the war, and the only German tank that remained in production for the duration of the conflict. Through more than 180 photos, this volume chronicles the design, development, and operational deployment of this ubiquitous German tank. This material is arranged in nine chapters...
M24 Chaffee, Vol. 1: American Light Tank in World War II, Korea and Vietnam
by David Doyle
The M24 Chaffee was the finest light tank developed by the US during WWII. This tank was developed by Cadillac, which, along with farm equipment manufacturer Massey-Harris, produced the vehicles. These tanks were used by the US during WWII and Korea and, during the post-WWII era, were supplied to numerous allied nations. This book chronicles the development and use of the vehicle from concept to combat. Through dozens of archival photos, many never before published, as well as detailed photograp...
Stuart Tank, Vol.1: The M3, M3A1 and M3A3 Versions in World War II
by David Doyle
The Stuart light tanks were the first tanks taken into combat by US troops during WWII. Production of these vehicles can be broken into two categories: the early tanks powered by air-cooled radial engines, and late versions powered by twin V-8 engines. This volume explores the early, air-cooled vehicles, the M3, M3A1, and M3A3. Widely used both by the US Army and US Marines, as well as many Allied nations, these tanks, though lightly armed and armored, were mechanically sound and did much to ste...
T-34 on the Battlefield. Volume 2 (World War Two Photobook, #17)
by Neil Stokes
Between 1940 and 1945, more than 170.000 trucks, of all categories were delivered to the US Army by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors. Within this total output, 160.000 were 1,5-ton, 4x4 trucks in several variants: cargo beg, panel van for the Signal Corps, dump trucks for the engineers, tractors, bomb service trucks for the Airforce, etc. "Chevy" trucks were therefore present on all theaters of operations, where their durability and mechanical reliability made them ideal for their...
The Cretan Runner (Penguin World War II Collection)
by George Psychoundakis
The legendary story of a resistance hero'Full of death and excitement' - Sunday Times'Unique' - TLSGeorge Psychoundakis was a young shepherd boy who knew the island of Crete intimately when the Nazis invaded by air in 1941. He immediately joined the resistance and took on the crucial job of war-time runner.It was not only the toughest but the most dangerous job of all. It involved immense journeys carrying vital messages, smuggling arms and explosives and guiding Allied soldiers, agents and comm...
This book, the last in a four-part series on British Battle Tanks covering the whole history of British armoured warfare, concentrates on those vehicles that have served following the end of World War II up to the present day. Starting with the Centurion, the title explores those types that equipped the armoured divisions lined up on the German plains to resist any potential Soviet offensive, as well as in Korea and Suez, including the Chieftain and Conqueror, and modern tanks such as the Cha...
During the Vietnam War, both the United States and the Soviet Union supplied all manner of weapon systems to the opposing sides, including tanks and armoured vehicles. Two tanks in particular took momentary prominence in the later years of the conflict. On the South Vietnamese side, it was the US M41 Walker Bulldog; for the communist North Vietnamese, the Soviet-supplied T-54 main battle tank was the core of their armoured power. In their first major engagement, during Operation Lam Son 719...
Over the last 30 years, the 'technical' or armed pick-up truck has become arguably the most ubiquitous military land vehicle of modern warfare. Harking back to the armed Jeeps and Chevrolet trucks of the SAS and Long Range Desert Group in North Africa in World War II, the world's first insurgent technicals were those of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army in Algeria in the late 1970s, followed by the Chadian use of technical in the so-called Toyota War against Libya. Since then, technicals ha...
Sherman Tanks, US Army, North-Western Europe, 1944-1945 (Tank Craft)
by Oliver, Dennis
Following his first book in the TankCraft series on the British army's Shermans during the battle for Normandy, Dennis Oliver has compiled a companion volume on those used by the US Army throughout the campaign in Western Europe. These were the tanks that made up the bulk of the American armoured forces that swept across occupied France and advanced into Hitler's Germany. Wartime photographs and carefully researched, exquisitely presented colour illustrations show in detail the types of Sherman...
The PanzerjäGer Tiger(P) (Sd.Kfz. 184) Ferdinand (Topdrawings)
by Slawomir Zajaczkowski
The German heavy tank destroyer Panzerjäger Tiger (P) (Sd.Kfz. 184) Ferdinand was based on the chassis of the Tiger (P) tank designed by Ferdinand Porsche. The vehicle was not accepted by army, but because 90 chassis have already been produced at the Nibelungenwerke plant, it was decided that they could be usefully developed. This is how the tank destroyer based on the Tiger (P) chassis was born.
Rocket-firing Typhoons were the scourge of the Normandy battlefields after D-Day in 1944 and were responsible for inflicting catastrophic losses on the German Army. Typhoons continued with their hazardous tactical support sorties during the Allied advance into Germany, striking at enemy tanks and dog-fighting with German fighters defending the Reich. Author Tony Hoskins had rare and privileged access to the restoration to flight by the Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group of surviving Typhoon air...
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'An inspirational read celebrating the incredible young people who gave so much for this iconic British aircraft'. John Nichol, bestselling author of Spitfire: A Very British Love StoryDespite the many films and television programmes over the decades since the end of the Second World War that portrays our allied heroes as grown-up men and women, the Battle of Britain was in the main actually fought and won by teenagers. The average age of an RAF fighter pilot was just...
The T-62 is one of the most widespread tanks used by the Soviets during the Cold War. Developed from the T-55, the T-62 enjoyed a long career in the Red Army and even into the early days of the reformed Russian Army. It was the principal tank used by Soviet forces in the Soviet-Afghan War, and went on to see service with Russian forces in Chechnya and South Ossetia. It has also been employed in almost every conflict in the Middle East and Africa from its introduction into service. It remains in...
Armoured Warfare in the Italian Campaign, 1943-1945 (Images of War)
by Anthony Tucker-Jones
The SU-76 assault gun was the second most widely manufactured Soviet armoured fighting vehicle of World War II, out-numbered only by the legendary T-34. Inspired in part by the German Marder series of tank destroyers, Soviet designers realized that the chassis of the obsolete T-70 light tank could be adapted to a much more substantial gun if it was placed in a fixed casemate rather than in a turret. This led to the design of the SU-76, which saw its combat debut at Kursk in the summer of 1943. T...
The Russian T-34 was possibly the best medium tank of World War Two, and was a major influence on all subsequent tank designs. It served in huge numbers with the Soviet Army and its allies, and was also used by their enemies! This book continues the story of the T-34-85, this time in post-war service. Information is included about post-war production in the USSR, and licensed versions made in Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Poland. A brief summary of the T-34's involvement in conflicts and active...
The IS (Iosef Stalin) heavy tanks were the ultimate heavy tanks developed by the Soviet Union. They evolved from the earlier KV series and were some of the most widely used tanks ever produced by the USSR. First developed in 1942 and entering combat in 1944, this series of heavy tanks saw action in World War II, going head-to-head with German tanks such as the Panther. Tiger and King Tiger. Post war IS-2s and IS-3s were exported to China, Cuba and North Korea. With numerous kits available of alm...