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Tank Books - History, Types and Construction

A book on tanks? Explore here illustrated books on the history, types and construction of 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.

Pages of the book The Tank Book: The Definitive Visual History (1)

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.

Pages of the book The Tank Book: The Definitive Visual History (2)

Information

Details: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 photos
Publisher:Dorling Kindersley Ltd (GB, 2017)
ISBN:9780241250310
The Tank Book : The Definitive Visual History of Armed Vehicles

The Tank Book : The Definitive Visual History of Armed Vehicles

Language: English

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Tanks - 100 Years of Evolution

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.

Information

Author:Richard M. Ogorkiewicz
Details:376 pages, 23.5 x 15 cm / 9.25 x 5.9 in, hardback
Illustrations:32 pages b&w and colour photos
Publisher:Osprey Publishing (GB, 2015)
ISBN:9781472806703
Tanks - 100 Years of Evolution

Tanks - 100 Years of Evolution

Language: English

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NATO and Warsaw Pact Tanks of the Cold War

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.

Information

Author:Michael Green
Details:242 pages, 25.5 x 18 x 2.2 cm / 10 x 7.1 x 0.87 in, hardback
Illustrations:200 colour photos
Publisher:Pen & Sword Books Ltd (GB, 2022)
ISBN:9781399004312
NATO and Warsaw Pact Tanks of the Cold War

NATO and Warsaw Pact Tanks of the Cold War

Language: English

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World's Greatest Tanks: An Illustrated History

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.

Information

Author:Michael E. Haskew
Details:224 pages, 30.5 x 23.5 x 2.1 cm / 12 x 9.25 x 0.83 in, hardback
Illustrations:numerous photos and drawings
Publisher:Amber Books Ltd (GB, 2014)
ISBN:9781782741084
World's Greatest Tanks: An Illustrated History

World's Greatest Tanks: An Illustrated History

Language: English

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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.

Information

Author:Jack Livesey
Details:128 pages, 28.5 x 23 x 1.5 cm / 11.2 x 9.1 x 0.59 in, paperback
Illustrations:370+ photos and illustrations
Publisher:Anness Publishing (GB, 2007)
ISBN:9781844763702
Armoured Fighting Vehicles of World Wars I and II - Armoured cars, armoured personnel carriers and self-propelled artillery

Armoured Fighting Vehicles of World Wars I and II - Armoured cars, armoured personnel carriers and self-propelled artillery

Language: English

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Panzer aus aller Welt

Long awaited, now it's here: the great tank book by Alexander Lüdeke, currently the most widely read author of tank books. Here he traces the path of this 100-year-old branch of the military. Organized by nation, the most important, best-known, most consequential and most spectacular tank developments are presented.

Combat vehicles from yesterday to today, legends from Germany, France, England, Italy, the USSR, the USA and other nations such as Austria, China, Israel and Argentina: over 500 spectacular images illustrate the century of the armored vehicle.

Information

Author:Alexander Lüdeke
Details:224 pages, 31.5 x 24 x 1.8 cm / 12.4 x 9 x 0.71 in, hardback
Illustrations:500 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2019)
ISBN:9783613041349
Panzer aus aller Welt

Panzer aus aller Welt

Language: German

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Meilensteine der Panzerentwicklung - Panzerkonzepte und Baugruppentechnologie

When the first tanks were built, the challenge was to invent usable engines, transmissions, steering systems and chassis.
While in the first 50 years of tank development, progress was achieved through improvements in mechanical engineering and electromechanics, in the last 50 years the performance improvements were based on the introduction of electronic components and the linking of mechanical and electronic elements with powerful data processing.
In this volume, Rolf Hilmes describes the technological development up to today's battle tanks.

Information

Author:Rolf Hilmes
Details:256 pages, 28 x 21 cm / 11 x 8.25 in, hardback
Illustrations:250 b&w and colour photos
Publisher:Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2021)
ISBN:9783613042773
Meilensteine der Panzerentwicklung - Panzerkonzepte und Baugruppentechnologie

Meilensteine der Panzerentwicklung - Panzerkonzepte und Baugruppentechnologie

Language: German

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Related titles:

Rise of the Tank

Rise of the Tank - Armoured Vehicles and Their Use in the First World War

Michael Foley | English | hardback | 256 p. | 2014

Armoured Warfare in the First World War

Armoured Warfare in the First World War - Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives

Anthony Tucker-Jones | English | paperback | 144 p. | 2016

Panzerkampfwagen - Technik, Tanks und Taktik

Panzerkampfwagen - Technik, Tanks und Taktik im Ersten Weltkrieg

Wolfgang Fleischer | German | hardback | 224 p. | 2015

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Last update: 2024-12-16