Download or read book United States Tanks and Tank Destroyers of the Second World War written by Michael Green and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2021-12-30 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive and superbly illustrated book describes in authoritative detail the characteristics and contribution to victory of these formidable American fighting vehicles. Only after the Nazis invaded Poland and France did the United States Government authorize mass production of tanks. By the end of the War American industry had built nearly 90,000 tanks, more than Germany and Great Britain combined. The first big order in May 1940 was for 365 M2A4 light tanks, the initial iteration of the Stuart series, with almost 24,000 constructed. The Stuart series was supplemented by almost 5,000 units of the M24 Chaffee light tank. There was also the failed M22 Locust light tank intended for airborne operations. The M4 series of medium tanks, best known as the Sherman, were the most numerous with some 50,000 in service with not only the American military but British and other Allied armies. It was not until later in the war that the M26 Pershing heavy tank was built. Initially the US Army doctrine saw tanks as primarily for the exploitation role. Later the concept of tank destroyers evolved to counter large scale German armored offensives. These defensive AFVs included the half-track-based 75mm Gun Motor Carriage M3 and the full-tracked M10, M18, and M36. This comprehensive and superbly illustrated book describes in authoritative detail the characteristics and contribution to victory of these formidable fighting vehicles.
Download or read book Faint Praise written by Charles M. Baily and published by Hamden, Conn. : Archon Books. This book was released on 1983 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Toward the end of World War II, newspapers revealed what American soldiers had discovered months before - when Sherman tanks tried to slug it out with the heavier German Panzers, they came out second best. Historical argument has it that the hidebound conservatives of the Army effectively blocked the introduction of superior fighting vehicles based on their tactical dogmas that tank destroyers - not tanks - should fight German armor. "Faint Praise" disagrees with this notion, and instead reveals that problems in tank development resulted from a complicated and often confusing melange of technology, doctrine, combat experience, intelligence, and personalities. Further, it dispels the myth that soldiers were pleading for a better armed Sherman throughout the war. The demand for big guns did not start until mid-1944, leaving little time for a technological solution to Panzer-killing. Using new, fascinating sources and a fresh look at some old ones, "Faint Praise" considers the full spectrum of historically relevent facts, from technological capabilities to operational history, to provide a new answer to the tank question of World War II."
Download or read book American Tanks AFVs of World War II written by Michael Green and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 2014-07-22 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stuart, Sherman, Lee, and Grant tanks dominated the US Army and Marine Corps armored warfare effort versus Nazi Germany and Tojo's Japan. This book details the full range of these vehicles, giving technical specifications and development features as well as describing how they were manned and fought in battle. The equipping of the United States military with the weapons it needed to prevail during World War II was an unparalleled example of America's industrial might at the time. Among the many weapons produced by America's workers, tanks rate as an important example with 88,140 built between 1939 and 1945. This was almost twice what Germany and Great Britain built combined during the same period. These tanks not only equipped America's ground forces but saw service with many allied armies. In addition to the 18,620 tank-based variants, such as armored engineering vehicles, self-propelled artillery, armored recovery vehicles, and tank destroyers, American factories went on to design and build thousands of wheeled armored cars for reconnaissance purposes and armored half-tracks to transport the infantry into battle behind the tanks. Like the tanks, American armored half-tracks were modified to serve a wide variety of jobs including self-propelled artillery, tank destroyers and antiaircraft vehicles. So useful were these vehicles that they would remain in service with foreign armies for decades after World War II. To complement its inventory of tanks and armored fighting vehicles the American military industrial complex also designed and built over 18,000 amphibian tractors. Appearing in both unarmored and armored variants they went into combat with a wide variety of armaments. Referred to as the Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT) they would serve not only with the U.S. Marine Corps who often called them "Amtracs" but the US Army who referred to them as the "Water Buffalo." They would allow the American military to take the fight to the far flung Japanese Empire wherever it had established itself in the vast reaches of the Pacific Area of Operations. These same vehicles would also see service in the ETO with the US Army and allied forces when it came time to cross various water obstacles used by the German military as defensive barriers.
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 104 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 The Tank Killers written by Harry Yeide and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2005-01-19 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fantastic read . . . Whether your interest is armour or history I would highly recommend this book” (Military Modelling). The tank destroyer was a bold—though some would say flawed—answer to the challenge posed by the seemingly unstoppable German Blitzkrieg. The TD was conceived to be light and fast enough to outmaneuver panzer forces and go where tanks could not. At the same time, the TD would wield the firepower needed to kill any German tank on the battlefield. Indeed, American doctrine stipulated that TDs would fight tanks, while American tanks would concentrate on achieving and exploiting breakthroughs of enemy lines. The Tank Killers follows the men who fought in the TDs, from the formation of the force in 1941 through the victory over the Third Reich in 1945. It is a story of American flexibility and pragmatism in military affairs. Tank destroyers were among the very first units to land in North Africa in 1942. Their first vehicles were ad hoc affairs: halftracks and weapons carriers with guns no better than those on tanks, thin armor affording the crews considerably less protection. Almost immediately, the crews began adapting to circumstances, along with their partners in the infantry and armored divisions. By the time North Africa was in Allied hands, the TD had become a valued tank fighter, assault gun, and artillery piece. The reconnaissance teams in TD battalions, meanwhile, had established a record for daring operations that would continue for the rest of the war. The story continues with the invasion of Italy and, finally, that of Fortress Europe on June 6, 1944. By now, the brass had decreed that half the force would convert to towed guns, a decision that dogged the affected crews through the end of the war. The TD men encountered increasingly lethal enemies, ever more dangerous panzers that were often vulnerable only to their guns, while American tank crews watched in frustration as their rounds bounced harmlessly off the thick German armor. They fought under incredibly diverse conditions that demanded constant modification of tactics, and their equipment became ever more deadly. By VE-Day, the tank destroyer battalions had achieved impressive records, generally with kill-loss rates heavily in their favor. Yet the army after the war concluded that the concept of a separate TD arm was so fundamentally flawed that not a single battalion existed after November 1946. The Tank Killers draws heavily on the records of the tank destroyer battalions and the units with which they fought, as well as personal stories from veterans of the force.
Download or read book US Tank and Tank Destroyer Battalions in the ETO 1944 45 written by Steven J. Zaloga and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-03-15 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Overshadowed by the United States Army's armored divisions, the separate tank and tank destroyer battalions had the difficult mission of providing armored support for US infantry divisions in the 1944–45 campaigns. This book details the organizational structures and deployment of these units: the standard tank battalions, tank battalions (light), tank battalions (mine exploder) and tank battalions (special), self-propelled and towed tank destroyer battalions. It also covers the tactics used by these units in their attempts to assist the infantry, as well as providing a listing of all the battalions that took part in the Northwest Europe campaign.
Download or read book The Combat History of German Heavy Anti Tank Unit 653 in World War II written by Karlheinz Munch and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2005 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hundreds of photos, many never published before, of Germany's rarely seen tank destroyers, including the Ferdinand, Elephant, and JagdtigerColor illustrations focus on unit markings, numbering, and camouflageAccompanying text chronicles the unit's combat operations plus there are personal accounts from the men who rode in these mechanical monstersGerman Heavy Anti-Tank Unit 653 was equipped with the heaviest tank destroying vehicles of the German armed forces. Initially activated as an assault gun battalion and redesignated in April 1943, the 653 received its first Ferdinand heavy tank destroyers (later modified and renamed Elephants) in May 1943 and went into action on the Eastern Front a month later. In 1944, the unit converted to the even more massive Jagdtiger. The seventy-five-ton, heavily armored Jagdtiger was the behemoth of the battlefield and boasted a 128mm gun-as opposed to the Ferdinand's 88-with a range of more than thirteen miles, making it deadly despite its limited mobility. Outfitted with these lethal giants, the 653 saw service in Russia, Italy, Austria, and Germany.
Download or read book Seek Strike and Destroy written by Christoper R. Gabel and published by www.Militarybookshop.CompanyUK. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the collapse of the French army in 1940, the U.S. Army quickly moved to develop a doctrine, organization, and weaponry to deal with a large-scale mechanized attack such as the German Blitzkrieg. The result was the development of a "tank destroyer" concept that combined an aggressive doctrine, an elite spirit, and highly mobile, heavily gunned weapons - and which proved to be seriously flawed in practice. "Seek, Strike, and Destroy: U.S. Army Tank Destroyer Doctrine in World War II" provides a case study of how General Lesley J. McNair, at the direction of Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, developed the tank destroyer doctrine and its resultant antitank quasi-arm, and how the program's flawed once it was implemented. Even aside from the failure of the Germans to use massed armor in the latter part of the war, the rapid evolution of armor technology as the war went on, and the piecemeal use of tank destroyer battalions by field commanders, "Seek, Strike, and Destroy" shows that, given the largely offensive nature of the Army's mission, an strong anti-tank program assumed a defensive strategy which, if implemented, conceded that mission's failure. The misunderstanding of the mission, threat, and technology, combined with branch rivalries and obstruction within the Army, produced a tank destroyer hamstrung by tactical misuse and a technology woefully inadequate in the face of rapidly improving German armor technology. "Seek, Strike, and Destroy" not only explains the failure of a particular doctrine, but illuminates the more general problem of doctrinal development based on an inadequate understanding of technical and strategic realities. Strategists and scholars alike will find much to ponder in this valuable book. Originally published in 1985: 100 p. ill.
Download or read book American Thunder written by Richard C. Anderson Jr. and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2024-05-14 with total page 751 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If the machine gun changed the course of ground combat in the First World War, it was the tank that shaped ground combat in World War II. The tank was introduced in World War I in an effort to end the stalemate of the machine gun versus barbed-wire trenches, and by World War II, the tank’s mobility and firepower became a rolling, thundering difference-maker on the battlefield. In this detailed, deeply researched, and heavily illustrated book, tank expert Richard Anderson tells the story of how the United States developed its armored force, turning it into a war-winning weapon in World War II that powered American ground forces and supplied armies around the world, including the British and Soviets. For decades, American tanks of World War II have been undervalued in comparisons with German and Soviet tanks—and it’s true that the best of American armor tended to underperform the best of German and Soviet armor during the war. That’s because the U.S. had a different goal: not only to create battleworthy tanks like the Sherman, and to develop other tanks, but also to supply American allies with serviceable, combat-ready tanks. The United States did all this, but until now the complete story of American tanks in World War II has yet to be told. Anderson’s book is deeper and more thorough a chronicle of American tanks in World War II than has ever been done. This book is colorful, vivid, and thought-provokingly insightful on how the U.S. produced a tank force capable of conducting its own battlefield efforts and sustaining key allies around the world. This will be the go-to volume on American tanks for years to come.
Download or read book Data on World War II Tank Engagements Involving the U S Third and Fourth Armored Divisions written by David C. Hardison and published by Merriam Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Weapons of the Tankers written by Harry Yeide and published by . This book was released on with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A survey of the different types of tanks used by armored battalions in the United States Army during World War II.
Download or read book US Tank Destroyers of World War Two written by Steve Zaloga and published by Arms & Armour. This book was released on 1985 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Seek Strike and Destroy written by Christopher R. Gabel and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Tank Destroyer Field Manual Organization and Tactics of Tank Destroyer Units June 16 1942 FM 18 5 written by U.S. War Department and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2012-05-29 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This facsimile edition of the US 1942 field manual for tank destroyer units describes missions, organization, combat, and training. It scales its information from squad to company to battalion to group. Issued early during the United States' WWII experience, it predates the assignment of authorized tank destroyer gear: "It is prepared for the guidance of units that will be equipped with materiel now being developed..." Readers should recall that US WWII doctrine and the high command forbade tank vs. tank combat. The American tank was meant for targets other than Axis armor. However, tank destroyer units were specifically designed, equipped, and deployed to fight what we now think of as tank battles. This is an historic document that gives us deep insight into a long-forgotten military doctrine. For those who think of tank destroyers as cheap tanks or stopgaps, this will be an eye-opener.
Download or read book The Infantry s Armor written by Harry Yeide and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tanks, amphibian tanks, and amphibian tractors in action in all theaters, from Africa and Europe to the Pacific How the battalions fought the war, often in the tankers' own words Crystal-clear maps The U.S. Army's separate armored battalions fought in obscurity by comparison with the flashy armored divisions, but they carried the heavier burden in the grim struggle against the Axis in World War II. The battalions participated in every armored amphibious assault that the army conducted. They did most of the bloody work in Italy, made vital contributions in France, and constituted the entire effort in the Pacific.
Download or read book M10 and M36 Tank Destroyers 1942 53 written by Steven J. Zaloga and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-08-20 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The US Army had a unique tactical doctrine during World War II, placing the emphasis for tank fighting on its Tank Destroyer Command whose main early-war vehicle was the M10 3-inch Gun Motor Carriage, based on the reliable M4A2 Sherman tank chassis. This durable and versatile vehicle saw combat service from the North Africa campaign in 1943. By 1944, its gun was not powerful enough and it was rearmed with the new 90 mm gun, becoming the M36 90mm Gun Motor Carriage. This book details one of the only US armoured vehicles capable of dealing with the Panther and Tiger during the Battle of the Bulge.
Download or read book German Tanks of World War II written by David Porter and published by Technical Guides. This book was released on 2019-04-04 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From heavy tanks to self-propelled guns, this highly illustrated technical guide introduces all the main types of armored fighting vehicles used by Germany in World War II--organized chronologically and by type. Each of the 120 featured artworks displays authentic markings and color schemes, while the separate models include exhaustive specifications. This is a key reference for military modelers and World War II enthusiasts.
