Tanks - Germany: books - history, types and construction

Axis Tanks of the Second World War - Rare photographs from wartime archives (Images of War)

The German Army used tanks to devastating effect in their Blitzkrieg campaigns during the early years of the Second World War and in the intense defensive battles leading up to final defeat in 1945.

It may be a surprise to many that the Japanese Army had more tanks than Nazi Germany in 1938; these included the Type 95 light tank and the Type 89 and 97 medium tanks. Co-belligerents in the Axis Alliance that built their own tanks included Italy, Romania and Hungary.
The latter was responsible for the Toldi and Turan light tank series.

As can be seen from the descriptions and images in this classic Images of War series work, the Axis powers had drawn on British and, in some cases, French design for their tanks in the period leading up to the Second World War: the Carden-Loyd tankette suspension was used in the Panzer 1 series and the light Italian and Japanese tanks.
German engineering talent resulted in the original and ingenious designs of the Panzer II, III and IV series and, later in the War, the Panther Medium and Tiger heavy tanks.

This latest work by author and expert Mike Green will fascinate and inform historians, engineers and war gamers.

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Panzers of the Wehrmacht 1933-1945 (Fact File)

A valuable reference on vehicles of the German Wehrmacht. During the Second World War the tank became the main weapon of every army. This Fact File edition provides a concise technical history of German WW2 tanks.

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Les panzers allemands de la Seconde Guerre mondiale

It is through the emblematic figure of the tank, and more specifically the German tank - the Panzer - that this book tells the story of the Second World War. Panzer is a word of Germanic origin meaning "armored" or "shell".
While the term is now applied to all German armored vehicles, from their origins to the present day, usage has it that it essentially refers to the tracked armored vehicles with turrets of the German army of the Second World War (Panzerkampfwagen "armored combat car", often abbreviated to PzKpfw). The latter have a particular design and tactical use that made the difference on many fronts.

Indeed, after the Great War, neither Great Britain nor the United States paid as much attention to the question of improving armored vehicles as the German Wehrmacht. The Allied powers therefore fell significantly behind in this area of research.
In 1944, German tanks such as the Panther or the Tiger were technically superior to Allied tanks such as the Sherman.

Through 300 iconographic documents including many period color photographs and very precise technical drawings, all the German panzers of the conflict are described, illustrated and contextualized, including the prototypes never used on the ground. The more recent developments of German tanks are also mentioned in the book.
Finally, a part of the book is devoted to the presentation of the collections of the main museums in the world which host tanks and participated in the development of this book.

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Deutsche Panzertechnik - Motoren und Getriebe 1925-1945

Nations experimented early on with different engine types and designs in tank construction. Germany initially lagged behind, but began adapting Maybach engines originally designed for trucks and luxury cars before the official start of rearmament. The question of maneuverability was crucial, and until now little detail was available on all of these factors.

Michael Fröhlich now presents the development of German tank engines, gearshifts and steering gears in a well-founded reference work. The volume contains numerous previously unseen illustrations, technical drawings and sketches.

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Deutsche Panzertechnik: Prototypen und Kleinserien 1920-1945

This reference work presents for the first time in detail the drive technology of the German armored fighting vehicles produced between 1920 and 1945 in small series or as prototypes, as well as special designs.
The focus is on the design, production and further development, including the internal structure and function of the engines, gearshift and steering gears used in these vehicles.

The book is completed with interior photographs of museum exhibits and a presentation of the attachments commonly used at the time.

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Enzyklopädie deutscher Panzerkampfwagen - Alle Modelle, alle Ausführungen 1939-1945

With this volume, the author team Doyle and Jentz present a comprehensive encyclopedia of German armored combat vehicles. Never before have all German tank types and variants been identified with such precision and described with their construction history, chronological classification and technical characteristics.
They devote themselves to all armored battlefield vehicles with wheels and tracks, from battle tanks to self-propelled guns to reconnaissance, command and radio tanks. The reader also learns how many tanks of each type the Wehrmacht had and which units used them.

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Fahrzeuge der Reichswehr - Panzerkampfwagen 1920-1935 (Spielberger)

The Wehrmacht did not officially exist again until 1936. But the foundations for the army's development had been laid long before that. Officially, the Reichswehr of the Weimar era never had more than 100 000 members, no heavy weapons and no armored vehicles. But secretly, research and work had long been underway.

This Spielberger volume presents the developments that were to become the Wehrmacht's first armored vehicles. With many photos, drawings and technical data and facts, the background to the covert rearmament in the Weimar Republic is also explained.

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