"The leichter gelandegangiger Personenkraftwagen, or l. gl. Einheits-Pkw - light off-road passenger cars - were manufactured by Stoewer, Hanomag and BMW from 1936 to early 1944. The superstructures were delivered by ten different companies and were identical from each manufacturer. Early versions had both 4-wheel drive and steering which later was dropped to just 4 wheel drive and front wheel steering. These off road cars were used by the German Army in four distinct versions with the design...
GMC DUKW: America's Amphibious Duck in World War II and Korea
by David Doyle
The General Motors Corporation DUKW was without a doubt the most successful amphibious military vehicle ever constructed. This is due in large part to the enormous amount of scientific and engineering talent that was devoted to the project. Included in the design team were America's Cup winner Rod Stephens, adventurer and environmentalist Dennis Puleston, and scientist and engineer Palmer C. Putnam. The DUKW was so successful and so widely used that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower described it as "one of...
Completely revised and expanded since its French publication, Armoured Trains: An Illustrated Encyclopedia 1825-2016 is the first English-language edition of the authoritative work on the subject.Military forces around the world were quick to see the advantages of railways in warfare, whether for the rapid deployment of men or the movement of heavy equipment like artillery. From this realization, it was a short step to making the train a potent weapon in its own right--a mobile fort or a battles...
The NVG covers all seven Marks of Churchill gun tank with variations and the curious self-propelled gun of 1941/42, but not the so-called 'Funnies' or the armoured recovery vehicle variants. It will begin with the prototype tank A20, which has not been covered in any detail before, then go on to look at all seven Marks of Churchill, in particular their different guns. This book will also look at the tank's service in Russia and later with the Irish, Jordanian and Australian Armies. It will also...
A hotly-debated topic amongst tank buffs is of the relative merits of the Soviet and American tanks of World War II. Using recently revealed documents, Steven Zaloga sheds light on the crucial tank battles of the Korean War as the rival superpowers' finest tanks battled for supremacy. The Soviet-equipped North Korean Peoples Army initially dominated the battlefield with the seemingly unstoppable T34-85. As US tank battalions hastily arrived throughout the late summer and early autumn of 1950, th...
First established in 1940, the Sturmgeschutz assault guns were purpose-built vehicles intended to support the infantry during the phase of attack and breakthrough of enemy positions. During the eastern campaign the Sturmgeschutz proved to be potent tanks destroyers, able to reliably defeat even T-34 and KV heavy tanks. Cheaper and quicker to produce than the German Panzers, it was deployed widely and with great success forming an integral part of armoured units, particularly in the final despe...
Land Rover: Military Versions of the British 4x4 (Land Craft)
by Ben Skipper
After the Second World War many American military vehicles become surplus stock and soon found their way into the hands of farmers and land owners across Great Britain. The subsequent heavy use and the real possibility of difficulties obtaining spares led Maurice Wilks, the Rover Car Company Chief Engineer, to design and build a replacement. Not only would the new Land Rover fill a gap in Rover's portfolio, but also bring in much needed post-war money. Intended as a stop gap, the Land Rover wou...
'A useful contribution to an overcrowded field of history by giving deserved attention to the ordinary men and unsung machines that aren't usually included in the dramatic narrative.' - The Times'A great read and a real eye-opener to anyone who thinks the Battle of Britain is only about Brits and Germans and Messerschmitts and Spitfires. The value in this account is also the way the back stories of many previously unheralded pilots come to life.' - General Sir David Richards, former Chief of the...
Armoured Warfare in the Korean War (Images of War)
by Anthony Tucker-Jones
After the Second World War military analysts thought that the only place significant armoured forces were ever likely to confront each other again was in central Europe where the Nato alliance would fend off the Soviet Red Army. But then during the Korean War of 1950-53 large numbers of armoured fighting vehicles were deployed by both sides, and this neglected aspect of the conflict is the subject of Anthony Tucker-Jones's photographic history. Korea, with its rugged mountains, narrow passes, st...
Combat Vehicles of Russia's Special Forces (New Vanguard)
by Mark Galeotti
Elite forces need elite vehicles. As Vladimir Putin has devoted effort and funds into modernising Russia's armed forces and turning them into an instrument geared not just for defending the Motherland but also projecting power beyond its borders, Russia has seen a growing emphasis on special and specialist forces. Traditionally, the elite Spetsnaz commandos had to make do with regular vehicles or civilian-based 'technicals', not least to conceal their presence (or, indeed, very existence). Now,...
This book is the story of the American Tank Destroyer Force in North Africa, Italy and the European theatre during World War II where it was thought to be an answer to the challenge posed by the seemingly unstoppable German blitzkrieg.
IS-2 Heavy Tank 1944-73 (New Vanguard) (Osprey New Vanguard S., #7)
by Steven Zaloga
The Iosef Stalin tanks were the ultimate heavy tanks developed by the Soviet Union and were popularly called 'Victory tanks' due to their close association with the defeat of Germany in 1945. Yet in spite of their reputation, the Stalin tanks emerged from a troubled design, had a brief moment of glory in 1944 and 1945, and disappeared in ignominy after 1960. This title covers the events contributing to the Soviet Union's need to design the new series, with particular reference to the unsuccessfu...
Autonomous Weapon Systems (Letort Papers)
by Jeffrey L Caton and Strategic Studies Institute
Sturmgeschutz III on the Battlefield 3 (World War Two Photobook)
by Matyas Panczel
This new photo-album in the ""Camera On"" series contains over 90 photographs of the French cavalry tank developed prior to WWII. The Hotchkiss H35 or Char léger modèle 1935 H was a slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank but was rejected by the infantry and instead adopted by the cavalry. From 1938 an improved version was produced with a stronger engine, the Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié 39, which from 1940 was also fitted with more powerful 37 mm gun. Over 500 Hotchkiss tanks...
In the summer of 2007 the British Army's 662 Squadron deployed its most potent weapons system in combat for the very first time - the iconic Apache attack helicopter. This is the definitive story of the aircraft and of the crew who fly her, and of their baptism of fire in the battle for Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Under the call-sign Ugly, four of the Army Air Corps' finest pilots flew a relentless series of missions during their 100-day deployment, stretching the aircraft, and themselves, to...
Light Trucks of the Italian Army in WWII (Green)
by Enrico Finazzer and Luigi Carretta
This book provides a detailed account of specialised light gun trucks produced by Italian industry in response to a specific request of the Regio Esercito between mid-1942 and mid-1943, known as the AS42 and the AS43, 'AS' standing for 'Autocarro Speciale' or 'Automezzo Speciale' (Special truck), or more currently, camionette. These vehicles were meant to be used in desert warfare, issued to the unit called the Raggruppamento Sahariano, (Saharan Group), to be used in action against the British L...