Military vehicles - Great Britain: books - history

War on Wheels : The Mechanisation of the British Army in the Second World War

During the Second World War the British Army underwent a complete transformation as its number of vehicles grew from 40,000 to 1.5 million, ranging from tanks and giant tank transporters to jeeps, mobile baths and offices, and scout cars.
At the same time, the way in which the army was provided with all it needed was transformed - arms and ammunition, radio, clothing and places to sleep and wash.

In this fascinating volume, Philip Hamlyn Williams makes extensive use of archival material and first-hand accounts to follow some of the men and women who mechanised the British Army from the early days at Chilwell, through the near disaster of the BEF, the Desert War and the Italian invasion, to preparations for D-Day and war in the Far East.

Stunningly illustrated throughout, War on Wheels explores the building of the network of massive depots across the UK and throughout the theatres of war that, with creative input from the UK motor industry, supplied the British Army. It is truly an impressive work to be enjoyed by anyone intrigued by the machines and logistics of the British Army in the Second World War.

WW2 Allied Vehicles (1939-1945) - Brooklands Military Portfolio

Brooklands Portfolio book on allied military vehicles from the years 1939-1945. Describes the Humber Staff and Scout Cars, Morris Mk I, Daimler Scout and Armored Car, Jeeps, amphibious vehicles, American Staff Cars, DUKWs, half-tracks and Austin Light Utilities.

The articles, taken from contemporary British and American magazines, provide much information about history, variants and technology.

Click here to know more about the Brooklands Portfolio books

Les Véhicules Alliés du D-Day

Le débarquement allié en Normandie reste à ce jour l'opération militaire la plus importante de l'histoire. Le jour J et l'immense bataille qui s'en suivit a en effet mobilisé des hommes et du matériel que l'on ne peut compter que par milliers, sans oublier le rôle déterminant du fantassin au cours du débarquement.

"Véhicules alliés du D-Day" met en avant l'extrême mécanisation de cette armée alliée qui se déplace rarement à pied. En effet, la première des grandes victoires remportées par les Alliés est avant tout une bataille logistique.
Des dizaines de milliers de véhicules de tous tonnages vont s'étirer en immenses convois le long des grands axes français pour permettre aux divisions d'infanterie et blindées de bousculer l'ennemi jusqu'aux portes du Reich.

De la simple motocyclette au char d'assaut, de la Jeep au GMC, en passant par le half-track et les engins spéciaux, c'est tout l'arsenal militaire américain et britannique qui débarque en quelques jours sur les plages de Normandie que vous retrouverez dans cet ouvrage. La Libération de la France et celle d'une grande partie de l'Europe est avant tout la victoire du moteur à explosion...

British Forces Motorcycles 1925-1945

Perhaps the most far-reaching of the many changes wrought on the military by the First World War was the mechanisation of the armed services. After many centuries of use by the Army for patrols and communications, the trusty horse was finally supplanted by the newfangled motorcycle.
This process of mechanisation gathered pace during the interwar years and in particular for the military motorcycle between 1925 and 1939. By the outbreak of the Second World War the motorcycle had become an important part of the military inventory and was deemed 'suitable for WD (War Department) requirements'.

When it was first published in 1995, this fully illustrated book was unique in looking at all military motorcycles of British origin known to have been tested mainly by the Mechanical Warfare Experimental Establishment (later called the Mechanisation Experimental Establishment).
This edition is fully revised and updated and includes three new chapters, covering standard parts, bike markings and paint schemes.