Cars (WW 2) - Germany: Books - History and Models (1/4)

Rare Wheels (1) - A Pictorial Journey of Lesser-Known Soft-Skins 1934-45

This book presents many of the lesser-known vehicles that served without glamour or fame around the battlefields of World War Two. Rarely did they receive the headlines from war correspondents, nor were they the stars of the propaganda newsreels, as were the famed Tigers, Panthers and Shermans.

Fortunately, many of these anonymous workhorses were captured in photos taken by the soldiers serving alongside them, and thereby preserving a piece of history.

The book will take the reader on a journey starting with pre-war preparations and then across the early campaigns in France and Poland, through Ukraine, Russia and North Africa. The final section is dedicated to the dramatic unfolding of the German surrender in Czechoslovakia in May 1945.

A variety of cars, trucks, buses and other soft-skins are presented, mainly in large-format photos, serving both as a reference and as a source of inspiration for modellers. Manufacturers such as Krupp, Büssing-Nag, Horch, Adler, Mercedes, BMW, Steyr, Opel, Henschel, ZiS, GAZ, Praga, Ford, Citroen and Matford are all represented, to mention a few.

Information

Author:	Petr Dolezal
Details:	112 pages, 22 x 28.5 x 1.3 cm / 8.7 x 11.2 x 0.51 in, hardback
Illustrations:	120+ b&w photos
Publisher:	Canfora Grafisk Form (S, 2015)
ISBN:	9789198232516

Cars of the Wehrmacht - A Photo Chronicle

Covers the use and design of the numerous cars used by the Wehrmacht during WWII.

Information

Author:	Reinhard Frank
Details:	192 pages, 26 x 17.5 x 1.7 cm / 10.25 x 6.9 x 0.67 in, hardback
Illustrations:	over 300 b&w photos
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing Ltd (USA, 2004)
ISBN:	9780887406874

Staff Cars in Germany - WW 2 (Vol. 1) (Camera On)

This photo-album in the "Camera On" series contains over 150 photographs of private cars adapted for military use by the German forces during WWII. With mobilization of the German armed forces in 1939, the lack of motorized transport was identified as a critical issue.
In order to partly remedy this, the military commandeered much of both Germany's and its satellite dependencies' passenger car stock; thus the military motor pool was supplemented by thousands confiscated civilian passenger cars, which were partially adapted to military use.
Commercial and private limousines as well as hard tops and cabriolets cars were used.

Information

Author:	Alan Ranger
Details:	80 pages, 30 x 21.5 x 0.6 cm / 11.8 x 8.5 x 0.24 in, paperback
Illustrations:	150 b&w photos
Publisher:	MMP Books (PL, 2018)
Series:	Camera On
ISBN:	9788365281869

Staff Cars in Germany - WW 2 (Vol. 2) (Camera On)

This latest photo-album in the "Camera On" series contains 150 more photographs of private cars adapted for military use by the German forces during WW II.
The remainder of the Opel motor company major production types are covered - the car types that were not covered in volume 1 - such as the Opel P-4 that was also used as the basis of many of the pre-war mock-up training tanks used by the German army due to the lack of real tanks to train with. The Opel Kadett (cadet), the Opel Super 6, the Opel Kapitan (Captain) and at the top of the range, the luxurious Opel Admiral.

In this volume the author provides a detailed impression of these vehicles through original photographs, taken both during and before the war by the normal German soldiers who both used and served with these now classic automobiles.

Information

Author:	Alan Ranger
Details:	80 pages, 29.5 x 21 x 1.1 cm / 11.6 x 8.25 x 0.43 in, paperback
Illustrations:	150 b&w photos
Publisher:	MMP Books (PL, 2020)
Series:	Camera On (23)
ISBN:	9788365958808

Personenkraftwagen der Wehrmacht - Kübelwagen, Einheits-PKW, eingezogene und erbeutete Personenwagen im Einsatz

The development of passenger cars in the Wehrmacht and their wartime use are comprehensively documented in this illustrated book using historical documents and images, mainly from the private collections of former soldiers.

Cars with a wide variety of bodies had to fulfil their role as command and communication vehicles, as radio, communications and reconnaissance vehicles, as anti-tank towing vehicles, combat vehicles or motorcycle infantry vehicles, among others. The large number of civilian domestic and foreign cars summarized here clearly shows that the Wehrmacht had a notorious shortage of vehicles.

In addition to the various Kübelwagen versions, this book also presents the army's own "standard cars", light, medium and heavy types, with their all-wheel drive standard chassis in detail.
The first standard cars came to the troops in 1937 and were intended to ensure more efficient production and easier replacement supplies through their standardization and type classification. The fact that standardized vehicle equipment remained only a dream for most units is not only illustrated by the many German civilian vehicles from Adler, Audi, BMW, Hanomag, Hansa, Horch to Phänomen, VW and Wanderer, which were confiscated as "supplementary vehicles" from private owners, companies and authorities, but also by the large number of captured vehicles used.
The cars are expertly described with over 300 photos and brief technical information.

Information

Author:	Reinhard Frank
Details:	196 pages, 24.5 x 18 cm / 9.7 x 7.1 in, hardback
Illustrations:	300+ b&w photos
Publisher:	Dörfler Verlag GmbH (DE, 1999)
ISBN:	9783895558580