Preview: Four new titles of popular subjects from Pen & Sword...
Tank Craft 37: M60
Main Battle Tank America's Cold War Warrior 1959-1997
By David Grummitt
Published by: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 64
Illustrations: 100 colour and 100 B/W
ISBN: 9781399096454
Price: £13.50
The M60 was a second-generation American main battle tank, the last in the line of Patton tanks that had first been developed at the end of World War. It entered operational service with the US Army in 1960 and some 15,000 M60s were manufactured by Chrysler at the Detroit Tank Arsenal Plant between then and when production ceased in 1983. It served with both the US Army and the US Marine Corps and was the principal tank deployed in Europe in the ‘sixties, ‘seventies and early ‘eighties, providing NATO’s main armoured force at the height of the Cold War. It became one of the most widely used armoured fighting vehicles of the twentieth century, serving in the armies of over 25 countries. It continued to serve alongside the M1 Abrams into the 1990s before this venerable Cold War warrior was finally retired from active service with the US military in 1997.
This volume charts the development of the M60 from its origins in World War II to the Cold War. It focuses on its service with the US military and other NATO armies, examining its combat service in the First Gulf War and also with other armies in the Middle East. The book gives a full account of the wide range of kits and accessories available in all the popular scales and a modelling gallery features builds covering a range of M60s in service with various armed forces. Detailed colour profiles provide both reference and inspiration for modellers and military enthusiasts alike.
Tank Craft 34: Panther Medium Tank
German Army and Waffen SS Eastern Front Summer, 1943
By Dennis Oliver
Published by: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 64
Illustrations: 100 colour & 100 B/W
ISBN: 9781399017961
Price: £13.50
In July 1943 the German army launched what was to be its last major offensive on Soviet soil. Codenamed Operation Citadel, the attack had initially been scheduled to commence in May but was postponed by Hitler on a number of occasions to allow the divisions in the East to be reinforced and to ensure that the new Panther tanks could be deployed. In the fifth book on the Panther in this series Dennis Oliver examines the first vehicles that left the assembly plants to go into service against the Red Army as part of Operation Citadel and the units that arrived in the late summer and early autumn of 1943.
In addition to archive photographs and painstakingly researched, exquisitely presented colour illustrations, a large part of this book showcases available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined, providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of the Panther tanks that fought in the East in 1943.
Tank Craft 35: Panzer IV, Medium Tank
German Army and Waffen-SS Normandy Campaign, Summer 1944
By Dennis Oliver
Published by: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 64
Illustrations: 100 colour & 100 black and white illustrations
ISBN: 9781399018043
Price: £13.50
When the Allied armies landed on the Normandy beaches on 6 June 1944 the backbone of the armoured reaction force awaiting them was made up of 758 Pzkpfw IV tanks, a number which represents almost half the fully-tracked vehicles available for the defence of the West. The first models of these tanks had entered service in November 1937 and although replacements had been considered, the original design was continually up-gunned and up-armoured. Perhaps lacking the glamour of the Panther and Tiger, the most recent variant, the Pzkpfw IV ausf H, was at least the equal of the best British and American tanks.
Drawing on official documentation and unit histories Dennis Oliver investigates the formations that operated these deservedly famous vehicles and uses archive photos and extensively researched colour illustrations to examine the markings, camouflage and technical aspects of the Pzkpfw IV tanks that served on the Western Front during the critical summer of 1944. A key section of his book displays available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined, providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic vehicles.
Tank Craft 33: Scorpion and Scimitar
British Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicles, 1970-2020
By David Grummitt
Published by: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 64
Illustrations: 200 colour illustrations
ISBN: 9781526774149
Price: £13.50
The British Scorpion and Scimitar are among the most successful armoured reconnaissance vehicles ever built and, almost fifty years after the initial design was introduced, updated versions are still in service today. These compact, manoeuvrable and fast-moving light tanks played a significant peace-keeping role in conflict zones around the world and went into action during wars in the Falklands, the Gulf and Iraq. They are also a popular subject with tank modellers and enthusiasts which is why David Grummitt’s expert history and guide is such a valuable source of reference.
As well as describing in detail their technical development and operational history, he gives a full account of the wide range of modelling kits and accessories available in all the popular scales. Included is a modelling gallery which features six builds covering a range of Scorpions and Scimitars serving with different nations and a section of large-scale colour profiles which provide both information and inspiration for modellers and military enthusiasts alike.
All of these four new releases are now available through the Pen & Sword Website & their distributors worldwide...