Download or read book Panzer German WW2 Designs written by Claes Sundin and published by Gallantry. This book was released on 2019-01-08 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The stunning success of Adolf Hitler's ground offensives during the first year of the Second World War was due in no small part to the new tanks fielded by his armies. The Panzer III and IV were well-armed, relatively fast and equipped to work closely with motorised infantry. However, when Germany's armies invaded the Soviet Union they were shocked to encounter the revolutionary T-34 with its long-barrelled gun and sloped armour. Early battles against this machine sparked an arms race that would result in some of the Second World War's most powerful armoured fighting vehicles - the Tiger I, Panther and Tiger II. Also entering the fray were deadly tank destroyers such as the Jagdpanther, the StuG III and the monstrous Jagdtiger. All these vehicles and more are depicted in glorious detail by legendary profiles artist Claes Sundin in Panzer: German WW2 Designs.

Download or read book Panzer German WW2 Tank Profiles written by CLAES. SUNDIN and published by Tempest Books. This book was released on 2024-02-23 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The stunning success of Adolf Hitler's ground offensives during the first year of the Second World War was due in no small part to the new tanks fielded by his armies. The Panzer III and IV were well-armed, relatively fast and equipped to work closely with motorised infantry. However, when Germany's armies invaded the Soviet Union they were shocked to encounter the revolutionary T-34 with its long-barrelled gun and sloped armour. Early battles against this machine sparked an arms race that would result in some of the Second World War's most powerful armoured fighting vehicles - the Tiger I, Panther and Tiger II. Also entering the fray were deadly tank destroyers such as the Jagdpanther, the StuG III and the monstrous Jagdtiger. All these vehicles and more are depicted in glorious detail by legendary profiles artist Claes Sundin in Panzer: German WW2 Designs

Download or read book German Superheavy Panzer Projects of World War II written by Michael öhlich and published by Schiffer Military History. This book was released on 2019-11-28 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tank design bureaus first became involved in the development of very heavy tanks after WWI. In addition to the militaries of Germany and England, the Soviet Union was also fascinated by these monsters. Behind it was the concept of transferring the heavy armament of naval warfare to land warfare. These superheavy vehicles were to move across the land the way battleships moved on the sea, and were to be capable of simultaneously defeating enemy forces from any direction. In this follow-up to his highly regarded work on the Panzerkampfwagen "Maus," Michael Fröhlich turns his attention to the other superheavy Wehrmacht designs, such as the Grille 17, the Löwe VK 7001, the Räumer S, the Mörser Bär, the E-100 (successor to the Maus), and the 1,100-ton Urling armored howitzer. Fröhlich comprehensively describes their development, technology, and testing, and the eventual fate of those vehicles that were built or only projected. Many rare and never-before-published photographs and drawings of the vehicles complement this unique work.

Download or read book Panzer IV written by Thomas Anderson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-01-21 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Panzer IV programme was started in 1934, forming, alongside the Panzer IIs and IIIs, the schnellen Truppen, the force that was to become the Panzerwaffe. At first, German planners envisioned the tank in a secondary role, but during the invasions of The Low Countries and France, it took on a more central role. When the Panzerwaffe turned east to attack the Soviet Union, the Panzer IV initially fared poorly against the better-armed T-34. However, upgrades to its gun and armour protection saw it perform far better, not only against Soviet armour but also against British and American tanks in North Africa and Italy. In 1944, it was slowly replaced by the Panzer V Panther, but the dire strategic situation meant that it bore the brunt of the Allied D-Day invasion and its aftermath, and it remained in service until the end of the war. Fully illustrated throughout with contemporary photographs, this fascinating study from German armour expert Thomas Anderson tells the complete story of Germany's most widely produced tank of World War II, from its design and development to its many upgrades and variants.

Download or read book Death Traps written by Belton Y. Cooper and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An important contribution to the history of World War II . . . I have never before been able to learn so much about maintenance methods of an armored division, with precise details that underline the importance of the work, along with descriptions of how the job was done.”—Russell F. Weigley, author of Eisenhower’s Lieutenants “Cooper saw more of the war than most junior officers, and he writes about it better than almost anyone. . . . His stories are vivid, enlightening, full of life—and of pain, sorrow, horror, and triumph.”—Stephen E. Ambrose, from his Foreword “In a down-to-earth style, Death Traps tells the compelling story of one man’s assignment to the famous 3rd Armored Division that spearheaded the American advance from Normandy into Germany. Cooper served as an ordnance officer with the forward elements and was responsible for coordinating the recovery and repair of damaged American tanks. This was a dangerous job that often required him to travel alone through enemy territory, and the author recalls his service with pride, downplaying his role in the vast effort that kept the American forces well equipped and supplied. . . . [Readers] will be left with an indelible impression of the importance of the support troops and how dependent combat forces were on them.”—Library Journal “As an alumnus of the 3rd, I eagerly awaited this book’s coming out since I heard of its release . . . and the wait and the book have both been worth it. . . . Cooper is a very polished writer, and the book is very readable. But there is a certain quality of ‘you are there’ many other memoirs do not seem to have. . . . Nothing in recent times—ridgerunning in Korea, firebases in Vietnam, or even the one hundred hours of Desert Storm—pressed the ingenuity and resolve of American troops . . . like WWII. This book lays it out better than any other recent effort, and should be part of the library of any contemporary warrior.”—Stephen Sewell, Armor Magazine “Cooper’s writing and recall of harrowing events is superb and engrossing. Highly recommended.”—Robert A. Lynn, The Stars and Stripes “This detailed story will become a classic of WWII history and required reading for anyone interested in armored warfare.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “[Death Traps] fills a critical gap in WWII literature. . . . It’s a truly unique and valuable work.”—G.I. Journal

Download or read book Panther Medium Tank 1942 45 written by Stephen A. Hart and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-06-20 with total page 109 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Panzerkampfwagen V Panther is one of the best-known German tanks in existence and is considered one of the greatest tanks of World War II. When in June of 1941, Germany invaded Russia, Panzertruppe encountered KV series and T-34/76 tanks, far superior in firepower and armour protection to any Panzer in service at the time. It was therefore decided to design a new more powerful medium tank, which could be quickly put into production. This book details the result, the Medium Battle Tank, available for service in January 1943. Later models ensured that it became one of the most feared tanks of WWII.

Download or read book German Panzers in WW II written by Chris Bishop and published by History PressLtd. This book was released on 2007-11-09 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A highly illustrated and essential reference guide organized by campaigns within each theatre.

Download or read book Panzer written by and published by . This book was released on 2015-08-01 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Axis Tanks of the Second World War written by Michael Green and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-07-30 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This pictorial history presents an in-depth study of the various tanks built and deployed by the Axis Alliance during WWII. Though Nazi Panzer tanks have become a ubiquitous symbol of Axis Alliance combat, the Japanese Army had more tanks than Germany in 1938. These included the Type 95 light tank and the Type 89 and 97 medium tanks. Other Axis powers, including Italy, Romania and Hungary also built their own tanks. The latter was responsible for the Toldi and Turan light tank series. In this informative collection of wartime photographs, military expert Michael Green discusses how the Axis powers drew on British and French tank designs in the period leading up to the Second World War. The Carden-Loyd tankette suspension was used as a model for the Panzer 1 series as well as the light Italian and Japanese tanks. German engineering talent then produced the ingenious designs of the Panzer II, III and IV series and, later in the War, the Panther Medium and Tiger heavy tanks.

Download or read book Tiger Battalion 507 written by Helmut Schneider and published by Greenhill Books. This book was released on 2020-04-29 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘May the army of millions of dead of all nations bear witness to humanity for the hope that future generations may learn to discard war as the best way to resolve their differences.’ - Helmut Schneider This is the little-known story of Heavy Panzer (Tiger) Battalion 507 told through the recollections of the men who fought with the unit. The book was conceived during a reunion of the ‘507’ at Rohrdorf in 1982, where it was agreed to set up an editorial committee under Helmut Schneider, himself a veteran of the battalion, to search for as many survivors of the unit as possible and gather their reminiscences. The resulting account is a treasure trove of first-hand material, from personal memories, diary entries and letters to leave passes, wartime newspaper cuttings, Wehrmacht bulletins and more than 160 photographs. The account follows the unit from its formation in 1943 and the catastrophic events on the Eastern Front, through battles on the Western Front and engagements against the American 3rd Armoured Division to the confusion of retreat, panic-stricken flight and Soviet captivity in the closing stages of the war. Honest and unflinching, this remarkable collection of autobiographies offers a glimpse into life in Hitler’s panzer division and is a stark testimony of a generation that sacrificed its best years to the war. This is the first English-language translation of the work.

Download or read book Seek Strike and Destroy written by Christopher Richard Gabel and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the seventy years that have passed since the tank first appeared, antitank combat has presented one of the greatest challenges in land warfare. Dramatic improvements in tank technology and doctrine over the years have precipitated equally innovative developments in the antitank field. One cycle in this ongoing arms race occurred during the early years of World War II when the U.S. Army sought desperately to find an antidote to the vaunted German blitzkrieg. This Leavenworth Paper analyzes the origins of the tank destroyer concept, evaluates the doctrine and equipment with which tank destroyer units fought, and assesses the effectiveness of the tank destroyer in battle.

Download or read book Panzer IV Medium Tank written by Dennis Oliver and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2022-03-18 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fully illustrated guide to Germany’s use of Panzer IV Tanks during the Normandy campaign, perfect for WWII buffs, modelers, and wargamers. When the Allied armies landed on the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944, they met a reaction force anchored by 758 Pzkpfw IV tanks. The first models of these tanks had entered service in 1937 and the original design remained in use, continually up-gunned and up-armored, throughout the conflict. 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 color 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 this 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 modeler needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic vehicles.

Download or read book The Blitzkrieg Myth written by John Mosier and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-02-01 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many military tactics during World War II were based on the assumption that new technologies would lead to decisive battlefield victories, demoralization of the enemy by intensive bombing, or even a quick surrender. Political and military leaders, Allies and Axis alike, believed that “blitzkrieg” was the best way to victory. But in The Blitzkrieg Myth, John Mosier argues that this was not the case. Mosier examines the major European campaigns, including Germany’s invasion of Poland in the fall of 1939 and the fall of France in 1940, and demonstrates that they were, in fact, not blitzkrieg victories. Mosier asserts that new technologies clashed with the realities of conventional military tactics, and battle outcomes often depended on traditional warfare, in this bold reassessment of the military history of World War II. John Mosier is the author of The Myth of the Great War. He is a professor of English at Loyola University in New Orleans. His background as a military historian dates from his role in developing an interdisciplinary curriculum for the study of the two World Wars, a program funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. From 1989 to 1992, he edited the New Orleans Review. “Should be valued as essential reading on the great conflict.” — Washington Times

Download or read book Panther Tank in Action written by David Doyle and published by MMD-Squadron Signal. This book was released on 2018-04-17 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though not as celebrated in literature (or propaganda) as the much feared Tiger, the Panther tank was arguably the more effective of Germany's two World War II-era "cats." Sometimes known as the Panzerkampfwagen V, the Panther was introduced in 1943 as Germany's new medium tank, intended to replace both the Panzer III and Panzer IV, both of which proved outclassed by the Soviet T-34 and KV-1. The tank had excellent firepower and protection for its day, but early Panthers especially were plagued with mechanical issues, many of which were the result of the vehicles being rushed into production and into the field where they were manned by troops who lacked adequate training on the tanks - all in a feverish effort to stem the Soviet counteroffensive in 1943. While some issues, such as troop training, were corrected - at least in the short term, some of the mechanical issues, notably problems with the transmission, continued to plague the Panther to the end of the war. These issues were compounded by the incessant Allied bombing not only of the tank assembly plants, but also of the factories that made key parts and subassemblies. A further problem for the Panther arose as a result of the use of slave labor to manufacture the tanks and their components. Intended in part to lower the 117,100 Reichmark vehicle cost, the use of hostile prisoners in industry resulted in frequent instances of sabotage that, a 1947 study showed, were effective. With its sloping armor, both to deflect shot and to increase effective thickness, even 75 years later the Panther still has a modern appearance. Nevertheless, the tank failed to live up to its potential. Originally designed as a 30-ton vehicle, with an engine and transmission sized accordingly, as typical of German tank designs, the Panther's weight soon began to climb, ultimately soaring to over 45 tons, which astoundingly is nearly the original design weight of the massive Tiger tank.

Download or read book The Panzer IV written by Anthony Tucker-Jones and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-04-30 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This pictorial history of the infamous Nazi tank presents a full account—in words and photographs—of Hitler’s most fearsome and versatile war machine. Throughout the Second World War, the Panzerkampfwagen Mk IV proved to be the one constant in Hitler's Panzerwaffe. It was the German equivalent of the American Sherman and the Soviet T-34. In this pictorial history, military expert Anthony Tucker-Jones provides a concise account of the Mk IV's design, development and performance in combat. The Mk IV served on every major front: in France, the Balkans, North Africa, the Soviet Union and, at the end of the war, in Germany itself. It was a key weapon in the blitzkrieg attacks and in the later desperate defense of the Reich. Using more than 150 rare wartime photographs, plus a selection of specially commissioned color images, Tucker-Jones illustrates how the initial design of the Mk IV was refined throughout the war to counter the design advances in Allied tanks and anti-tank guns. While the Mk IV was never produced in the same numbers as the leading Allied tanks, it was one of the most important armored vehicles of the Second World War.

Download or read book The Panzers written by Charles River Charles River Editors and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-05-16 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading World War II was the culmination of a quarter century of tank development, and it would also be the first major test of tanks in mobile warfare, during which they had to face other tanks. However, many of the tanks were constructed with the static warfare of the Western Front in mind and were thus slow and had short operational ranges. Others were too light to face opposing tanks or the new generation of anti-tank weapons that hadn't existed in World War I. The unsuitability of these tank models for this new kind of warfare was quickly recognized, and the belligerent powers scrambled to create better designs. As each new, improved model came off the assembly lines, the opposing powers rushed to create a tank that could beat it. In that regard, World War II was also a war between rival engineers. At the same time, German military officials were at the forefront of developing new ideologies when it came to utilizing their tanks to maximum effect. Heinz Guderian even published a book on the topic before becoming one of the Third Reich's most effective tank commanders. Moreover, during the German invasion of Poland, Nazi forces gained experience they would use across Europe and in Russia. After all, it was in Poland that the Wehrmacht saw action for the first time, conducting what was not only an invasion but also a trial run of its new equipment and tactics. The Polish invasion proved invaluable in providing the German high command with a low-risk, high-value live fire exercise for their newly minted war machine, while the actual combat experience highlighted the remaining flaws in the system. During the campaign, the Germans honed tactics and weapon systems for the massive struggle with the Soviets, British, and United States that loomed on the horizon. The beginning of World War II found the major powers developing tanks to some extent, but lingering ideas from World War I affected the development of tanks during the Interwar period. As a result, aside from the blitzkrieg doctrine developed by the Nazis, tanks were still used in terms of infantry support, and there were few wars during this period to give strategists the chance to develop better uses for the new armored vehicles before World War II started. Commanders soon found that many of the tanks fielded in the campaigns of 1939-1941 lacked the necessary armor, guns, and designs. Inevitably, tactics evolved throughout the war. The Germans were early leaders in tank tactics, as their successes from Poland through the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa demonstrated. The main German tank tactic was the so-called Schwerpunkt ("center of gravity"), in which a concentration of tanks achieved a local superiority, broke through, and drove deep behind enemy lines, carving up frontline enemy forces that could then be surrounded and taken out by support tanks, infantry, and artillery. This is why German tanks were built for speed while maintaining good armor and weaponry. Germany's first great victories against Poland and France were due more to the shortcomings of their enemies than the preparedness of their own military, and this was especially the case with the Panzerwaffe, the armored arm of the German forces. At the outbreak of war, their tank designs lagged behind Russia and even France, both of which had superior heavy tanks. The medium-sized Panzerkampfwagen III and IV models were already in production, but delays meant that relatively few saw frontline combat in the opening campaigns. Thus, the bulk of the effort had to be taken on by light Panzer I, which had never been intended for combat service, and the slightly more powerful Panzer II. The Germans strengthened their tank corps with captured Czech models and, later, French tanks.

Download or read book Tiger Tanks at War written by Michael Green and published by Zenith Press. This book was released on 2008-02-15 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The full history, design and mechanics, and checkered record of one of WWII's most formidable weapons, with photographs, diagrams, and maps.