Tanks: books - history, development and deployment
A book about armoured vehicles? Explore here our selection of illustrated books on the history, development and deployment of battle tanks.
The Tank Book : The Definitive Visual History of Armed Vehicles
From the birth of the tank to unmanned vehicles and the tanks of the future, The Tank Book offers a truly definitive look at over 400 different tanks, produced in association with The Tank Museum.
Take an up-close look at British, US, Russian, and French tanks, meet key designers such as Mikhail Koshkin and Sir William Tritton, and understand the complex mechanisms behind such vehicles as the Centurion, Hellcat, SV Scout, and T-14 Armata.
Incredible photographic tours take you inside a variety of tanks, putting you in the seat of some of the most formidable vehicles to ever go to battle in World War II, the Cold War, and beyond. Perfect for anyone with an interest in military history, The Tank Book is the ultimate guide to tanks and their unique past.
Specs:
256 pages, 31 x 26 x 2.3 cm / 12.2 x 10.25 x 0.91 in, hardback
Illustrations:
numerous b&w and colour photographs
Publisher:
Dorling Kindersley Ltd (GB, 2017)
The Tank Book : The Definitive Visual History of Armed Vehicles
Offers a detailed, analytical and comprehensive account of the worldwide evolution of tanks, from their inception a century ago to the present day. With new ideas stemming from the latest academic research, this study presents a reappraisal of the development of tanks and their evolution during World War I and how the surge in technological development during World War II and the subsequent Cold War drove tank developments in Europe and America, transforming tanks into fast, resilient and powerful fighting machines. From the primitive, bizarre-looking Mark V to the Matilda and from the menacing King Tiger to the superlative M1 Abrams, Professor Ogorkiewicz shows how tanks gradually acquired the enhanced capabilities that enabled them to become what they are today - the core of combined-arms, mechanized warfare.
Contents: Introduction - Acknowledgements - The Origin of the Species - The 'Invention of the Tank' - First World War Battlefield Debut - Post-War Anticlimax - Britain's Lead and Failings - Tank Development in Europe and America - Creation of the Armoured Forces - Panzers and their Second World War Opponents - The Cold War's Five Dominant Countries - On the Peripheries of Major Powers - Asia Catches Up - Epilogue - Appendixes - Notes - Index.
Led by the USA with Western European partners, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in 1949 to counter the Soviet threat. In response the Soviet Union assembled and dominated the Warsaw Pact in 1954. The mainstay of both alliances' groundforces were their main battle tanks (MBTs).
Initially both sides relied on Second World War MBTs; in NATO's case the Sherman medium tank and its successor the M26 Pershing together with the British Centurion and the heavy Conqueror.
The Soviets originally fielded the T-34-85 medium tank and the IS-2 and IS-3 heavy tank replaced by the T-10. Next came the T-54 followed by the T-55 and 155mm armed T-63 (1965). The final WP Cold War MBTs were the T-64, T-72 and T-80 all with 122mm main armament.
By contrast, NATO nations increasingly deployed a range of MBTs; the widely used American Patton series (M46 through M48), British Chieftain (1963) and Challenger (1982), French AMX-13 (1950) and AMX-30. From 1963 the Bundeswehr was equipped with the homegrown Leopard 1 and 2. The US M60 series and M1 Abrams came into service from 1980.
These and more MBTs and variants are covered in expert detail in this superbly illustrated book.
Author:
Michael Green
Specs:
242 pages, 25.5 x 18 x 2.2 cm / 10 x 7.1 x 0.87 in, hardback
Lange erwartet, jetzt rollt es an: das große Panzerbuch von Alexander Lüdeke, dem gegenwärtig meistgelesenen Autor von Panzerbüchern. Er zeichnet hier den Weg dieser 100 Jahre alten Waffengattung nach. Nach Nationen geordnet, werden die wichtigsten, bekanntesten, folgenreichsten und spektakulärsten Panzerentwicklungen präsentiert.
Kampffahrzeuge von gestern bis heute, Legenden aus Deutschland, Frankreich, England, Italien, der UdSSR, den USA und weiteren Nationen wie Österreich, China, Israel oder Argentinien: Über 500 spektakuläre Abbildungen illustrieren dabei das Jahrhundert des Panzerfahrzeugs.
Author:
Alexander Lüdeke
Specs:
224 pages, 31.5 x 24 x 1.8 cm / 12.4 x 9 x 0.71 in, hardback
From the Soviet T-34 and German Panther tanks of World War II to the M1A2 Abrams, Challenger 2 and T-90 of the present day, "The World's Greatest Tanks" is an expert examination of the most successful tanks of the past hundred years. Beginning with the prototype Mark V Male in 1917, this book features 52 of the best armoured fighting vehicles from World War I, World War II, through the Cold War and up to the highly sophisticated tanks that have seen recent service in wars in the Balkans, Caucasus, and Middle East.
Each entry is examined over two spreads and includes a brief description of the tank's development and history, a colour profile artwork, photographs, key features and specifications tables.
Packed with more than 200 artworks and photographs, "The World's Greatest Tanks" is a colourful guide for the military historian and military technology enthusiast.
Author:
Michael E. Haskew
Specs:
224 pages, 30.5 x 23.5 x 2.1 cm / 12 x 9.25 x 0.83 in, hardback
Meilensteine der Panzerentwicklung - Panzerkonzepte und Baugruppentechnologie
Bei der Realisierung der ersten Tanks bestand die Herausforderung darin, brauchbare Motoren, Getriebe, Lenkeinrichtungen und Fahrwerke zu erfinden. Während in den ersten 50 Jahren der Panzerentwicklung die Fortschritte durch Verbesserungen im Bereich des Maschinenbaus und der Elektromechanik erreicht wurden, beruhten in den letzten 50 Jahren die Leistungssteigerungen im Einzug elektronischer Komponenten und der Verknüpfung von mechanischen und elektronischen Elementen mit einer leistungsfähigen Datenverarbeitung. Rolf Hilmes schildert in diesem Band die technologische Entwicklung bis zu den heutigen Kampfpanzern.
Author:
Rolf Hilmes
Specs:
256 pages, 28 x 21 cm / 11 x 8.25 in, hardback
Illustrations:
250 b&w and colour photographs
Publisher:
Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2021)
Meilensteine der Panzerentwicklung - Panzerkonzepte und Baugruppentechnologie
Armoured Fighting Vehicles of World Wars I and II - Armoured cars, armoured personnel carriers and self-propelled artillery
Features 90 landmark vehicles from 1900-1945 with over 370 colour and black-and-white archive photographs. Armoured cars, armoured personnel carriers and self-propelled artillery, including the Gun Carrier, Jeep, Sturmmörser Tiger Assault Rocket Mortar, and many more.
Author:
Jack Livesey
Specs:
128 pages, 28.5 x 23 x 1.5 cm / 11.2 x 9.1 x 0.59 in, paperback
Illustrations:
370+ photographs and illustrations
Publisher:
Anness Publishing (GB, 2007)
Armoured Fighting Vehicles of World Wars I and II - Armoured cars, armoured personnel carriers and self-propelled artillery
