Tanks (since 1945) - USA: Illustrated History Books & Guides

M103 Heavy Tank, 1950-74 (Osprey)

The T43 design represented the pinnacle of U.S. Army tank engineering of the late 1940s. The heavy tank proved fairly popular with its crews, who above all respected the powerful armament it carried. The outbreak of war in Korea brought a rush order in December 1950 which led to a complete production run of 300 vehicles.
After 1951, the Marine Corps alone retained confidence in the heavy tank program, investing its scarce funds in the improvements necessary to bring about its fielding after a hurried production run in midst of the 'tank crisis' of the year 1950-51. The eventual retirement of the M103 in 1972, over 20 years after manufacture and after 14 years of operational service, demonstrated the soundness of its engineering. It may have been the unwanted 'ugly duckling' of the Army, which refrained from naming the M103 alone of all its postwar tanks. For the Marine Corps, it served the purpose defined for it in 1949 until the automotive and weapons technology of the United States could produce viable alternatives.

This book describes the development, technology, variants and use of the M103 Heavy Tank.

Contents: Introduction - Design & Development - Operational History - Variants - Bibliography - Index.

Product details

Author:	Kenneth W. Estes
Details:	48 pages, 9.8 x 7.3 x 0.12 in (25 x 18.5 x 0.3 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	photos and drawings (in b&w and color)
Language:	English
Publisher:	Osprey Publishing (GB, 2013)
Series:	New Vanguard (197)
ISBN:	9781849089814

Encyclopedia of Modern U.S. Military Tactical Vehicles

In the past two decades the modern U.S. Army underwent an enormous and unprecedented transition from a Cold War doctrine towards counter-terrorism assymetrical warfare. Within this transition the vehicle pool of the U.S. Army changed constantly since the NATO mission of defending Central Europe in the late 1980s to the ongoing U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan 2007.

This publication grants a full overview over the U.S. tactical vehicle fleet in service during USAREUR days in Europe up to the present Operation Iraqi Freedom, providing a never before published comprehensive survey into the motor pool of the world's leading superpower.

Chapters:
1. Introduction
2. Light Tanks and Main Battle Tanks
3. Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Armored Personnel Carriers - Tracked
4. Armored Personnel Carriers - Wheeled
5. Amphibious Vehicles
6. Light Trucks
7. Medium Trucks
8. Heavy Trucks
9. Engineer Vehicles and Mine Protected Vehicles
10. Armored Recovery Vehicles, Cranes and Material Handling Equipment
11. Artillery and Air Defence
12. Special Forces and All-Terrain Vehicles
13. Miscellaneous Vehicles
14. Camouflage and Markings.

Product details

Author:	Carl Schulze
Details:	160 pages, 11.6 x 8.25 in (29.5 x 21 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	416 color photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Tankograd Publishing (D, 2007)
ISBN:	9783936519044

Tanks, 76-MM Gun M41 and M41A1 Walker Bulldog - Field Manual (FM17-80)

The M41 Walker Bulldog was a U.S. light tank developed to replace the M24 Chaffee. While the M24 Chaffee was a successful design, its main gun was not effective enough against well armored opposition. Although the primary mission of a light tank was scouting, the U.S. Army wanted one with more powerful armament. The development of the new tank, T37, began in 1947. The vehicle was designed to be air-transportable, and the desired anti-tank capabilities were provided by installing a long 76-mm gun with an advanced rangefinder. In 1949, with the adoption of a less ambitious rangefinder, the project's designation was changed to T41. Production started in 1951 at Cadillac's Cleveland Tank Plant, and by 1953 the tank replaced the M24 in the United States Army.

Initially the M41 was nicknamed "Little Bulldog", then renamed "Walker Bulldog" after General Walton Walker, who was killed in a jeep accident in Korea in 1950. The Walker Bulldog saw limited combat with the U.S. Army during the Korean War, but for the most part, the conflict served as a testing ground to work out the tank's rangefinder. In 1954, the M41A1 variant was produced with a hydraulic turret traverse instead of an electrical one. The more compact system allowed for increased ammunition.
Created in 1956, this field manual reveals a great deal about the M41 and M41A1's design and capabilities. Intended as a manual for those charged with operation and maintenance, it details the sighting equipment, crew formations, firing duties and more. Originally labeled restricted, this manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form. Care has been taken to preserve the integrity of the text.

Product details

Author:	U.S. Army War Department
Details:	190 pages, 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.43 in (23 x 15.5 x 1.1 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	many photos and drawings
Language:	English
Publisher:	Periscope Film (USA, 2013)
ISBN:	9781940453088

US Battle Tanks 1946-2025

This second volume of a two-part illustrated history covers the design, development, and use of US Army and US Marine Corps battle tanks from the end of World War II to the present. Military historian Steven J. Zaloga examines how the US adapted its armored forces during the Cold War and beyond, responding to new military challenges and technological advancements.
"US Battle Tanks 1946-2025" builds on material from Osprey's New Vanguard and Duel series, exploring key tank developments. It discusses the introduction of the Patton series, experimental designs like the T95, and the failed MBT-70 program. The book also covers the M1 Abrams, a more practical design that became the most successful American tank of the postwar era and remains in service today.
Published in collaboration with the AUSA Book Program, which supports literature on US Army history, military strategy, and security studies.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Wartime Legacy
Chapter 2: Tank War in Korea
Chapter 3: US Tanks of the Early Cold War Era
Chapter 4: Cold War Tanks: The 1960s Generation
Chapter 5: US Tanks in Combat 1965-75
Chapter 6: US Tanks Post-Vietnam
Chapter 7: Operation Desert Storm
Chapter 8: End of the Cold War
Chapter 9: The New World Disorder
Conclusion

Product details

Author:	Steven J. Zaloga, Association of the United States Army
Details:	272 pages, 10 x 7.9 x 1.06 in (25.5 x 20 x 2.7 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	150 b&w and color photos, 75 drawings in color
Language:	English
Publisher:	Osprey Publishing (GB, 2024)
ISBN:	9781472865687

US Cold War Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles - Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives (Images of War)

To counter the Soviet threat and that of their client States during the Cold War years 1949-1991, the American military deployed an impressive range of main battle tanks (MBTs) and armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs).
The Patton series of medium MBTs (including the M46, M47 and M48) supplemented by the M103s Heavy Tank initially formed the core of the US tank fleet. In 1960 the M60 MBT with its British designed 105mm gun entered service and, in turn, was replaced by the M1 Abrams in 1980.

In support were armoured reconnaissance vehicles, progressively the M41 Bulldog (1951); the M114 (1961), the M551 Sheridan (1967) and M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (1981). The armoured personnel carrier (APC) range included the ubiquitous M113 and its replacement the M2 Bradley, cousin of the M3.

Expert author Michael Green covers all these vehicles and their variants in this informative and superbly illustrated Images of War series work.

Product details

Author:	Michael Green
Details:	220 pages, 9.7 x 7.5 x 0.71 in (24.5 x 19 x 1.8 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	extensively illustrated
Language:	English
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Ltd (GB, 2019)
Series:	Images of War
ISBN:	9781526727213

Walker Bulldog vs T-54 : Laos and Vietnam 1971-75 (Osprey)

During the Vietnam War, both the United States and the Soviet Union supplied all manner of weapon systems to the opposing sides, including tanks and armoured vehicles. Two tanks in particular took momentary prominence in the later years of the conflict. On the South Vietnamese side, it was the US M41 Walker Bulldog; for the communist North Vietnamese, the Soviet-supplied T-54 main battle tank was the core of their armoured power.

In their first major engagement, during Operation Lam Son 719 (February-March 1971), it was the Walker Bulldog in the ascendant, but in later battles the T-54s inflicted heavy losses on their lighter opponents, taking the advantage through their superior manoeuvrability and gunnery.
Illustrated with full-colour artwork as well as rare and revealing photographs from both sides, this book studies these two iconic tanks in Vietnamese service, examining how their differing designs and fighting doctrines affected their performance in this unique theatre of combat.

Product details

Author:	Chris McNab
Details:	80 pages, 9.8 x 7.3 x 0.12 in (25 x 18.5 x 0.3 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	many b&w and color photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Osprey Publishing (GB, 2019)
Series:	Duel
ISBN:	9781472836120

US-Panzer - nach 1945 (Typenkompass)

While the USA had bought its tanks from Great Britain and France in the First World War, it had already become the main producer itself by the Second World War.
Due to the subsequent Cold War, it remained so. The battle tanks that the United States built from then on were always among the best in the world. This has not changed to this day.
Alexander Lüdeke, an expert in the field of tanks, presents all the models that have appeared in the USA from 1945 to today in this Typenkompass - from the M4 Sherman to the M48 Patton to the M1 Abrams, their current "Main Battle Tank".

Pages of the book "US-Panzer - nach 1945"

Each type is presented with a photo, a historical description and a technical data sheet.

Product details

Author:	Alexander Lüdeke
Details:	128 pages, 8.1 x 5.5 in (20.5 x 14 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	130 b&w and color photos
Language:	German
Publisher:	Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2018)
Series:	Typenkompass
ISBN:	9783613040601