Libros

Although not as well-known as the V-1 buzz bomb and the V-2 missile, the first German missiles to see combat were anti-ship missiles, the Henschel Hs.293 guided missile and the Fritz-X guided bomb. These began to see extensive combat in the Mediterranean in 1943. In their most famous use, the (...)

Faced with an increasingly formidable anti-ship cruise missile threat from the Soviet Union in the early days of the Cold War, and with the recent memory of the kamikaze threat from World War II, the USN placed a great priority on developing air defence cruise missiles and getting them to sea to (...)

During the American War of Independence (1775-83), Congress issued almost 800 letters of marque, as a way of combating Britain's overwhelming naval and mercantile superiority. At first, it was only fishermen and the skippers of small merchant ships who turned to privateering, with mixed results. (...)

The Battle of the Bulge raises many questions which, until now, have not been adequately answered: How did the major tank types perform during the battle? What were the specific lessons learned' from the combat? And did these lessons result in changes to tanks in the subsequent months?Offering (...)

As the outbreak of World War II approached, Nazi Germany ordered artillery manufacturers Krupp and Rheimetall-Borsig to build several super-heavy siege guns, vital to smash through French and Belgian fortresses that stood in the way of the Blitzkrieg. These 'secret weapons' were much larger than (...)

World War II was a significant period of development for American missile programs, during which time the US built pioneering examples of guided weapons systems. However, whilst the German missiles of World War II are famous around the world, their American counterparts have remained shrouded in (...)

The last predreadnought battleships of the US Navy were critical to the technological development of US battleships, and they were the first tool of international hard power wielded by the United States, a nation which would eventually become the world's dominant political and military power of the (...)

In this highly detailed book, naval historian Edward Hampshire reveals the fascinating history of the nuclear-powered attack submarines built and operated by the Soviet Union in the Cold War, including each class of these formidable craft as they developed throughout the Cold War period.The (...)

The armoured car has an important place in the early history of Soviet armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) - they were the most important AFV during the Russian Civil War and figured prominently in the mechanization of the Red Army that began in late 1929. The 1930s saw the development and production (...)

The 'Soixante quinze', France's legendary 75mm Modele 1897, was the first modern field gun, pioneering several critical innovations in field artillery designs, including a fast action breech and a soft recoil system. Although some of these features had been incorporated into earlier guns, the 75mm (...)

The Royal Navy's battleships at the turn of the 20th century were the most powerful battlefleet in the world, and embodied one of the key periods in warship development--the development of the dreadnought battleship.The term "pre-dreadnought" was applied in retrospect to describe the capital ships (...)

The Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marine or RM) began the Second World War with one of the largest fleets in the world. Included in this was a total of 59 fleet destroyers, and others were added during the war. These were a diverse collection of ships dating back to the First World War, large (...)

The history of the US Navy's gunboats, their roles in building a worldwide American naval presence and in combat, from the Yangtze era through to World War II.For more than half a century, American gunboats were the ships often responsible for policing small crises and provided deterrence and (...)

A concisely detailed guide to the Allied tanks that fought from D-Day to the breakout from Normandy, their qualities, numbers, and performance, and how they were used on the battlefield.When Allied tanks began to roll off the landing craft on D-Day, it marked the start of one of the great periods (...)

The SAS, the world's most famous special operations unit, made its name in the desert of North Africa, shooting up Axis airfields from specially modified Willys jeeps. Following the start of the El Alamein offensive in October 1942, the SAS used jeeps effectively in reconnoitring and ambushing the (...)

Allied success in invading Fortress Europe (the area of Continental Europe occupied by Nazi Germany) depended on getting armor onto the beaches as fast as possible. This book explains how the Allies developed the specialist tanks it needed, their qualities, deployment and numbers, and how they (...)

A new study of the German Panzer forces that stood between the Allies' D-Day beachhead and victory in World War II how they compared, how they were organized, and how they fought.The German tank forces in Normandy in June August 1944 had the advantage of fighting on the defensive side, as well as (...)

One of the most remarkable mechanized campaigns of recent years pitted the brutal and heavily armed jihadis of Islamic State against an improvised force belonging to the Kurdish YPG (later the SDF). While some Kurdish vehicles were originally from Syrian Army stocks or captured from ISIS, many (...)

In July 1936, a pro-fascist coup orchestrated by General Franco tore Spain apart and plunged the country into a bitter civil war. Like Spain itself, the Spanish Navy was torn in two: crews and most ships remained loyal to the Republican government but many of the Navy's officers joined Franco's (...)

A study of the Soviet and NATO armored forces that faced each other off in Central Europe in the early Cold War, and how their technology, tactics, and doctrine were all rapidly developed.For 45 years, the most disputed point in the World was the dividing line between East and West in Europe; here (...)

The crossing of the river Rhine marked the beginning of the end of the Third Reich, but the Wehrmacht would fight ferociously on its home soil until the fall of Berlin. The Battle of Germany saw the most advanced tanks of the Allies pitted against the remnants of the once-formidable Panzerwaffe, (...)

This study explains how the armies of North and South Vietnam, newly equipped with the most modern Soviet and US tanks and weaponry, fought the decisive armored battles of the Easter Offensive.Wearied by years of fighting against Viet Cong guerillas and North Vietnamese regulars, the United States (...)

A beautifully illustrated history of the iconic ocean-going gunboats of British 'gunboat diplomacy', the hundreds of little warships that for 50 years demonstrated the power of the Royal Navy worldwide, and which maintained and enforced the rule of the British Empire at its peak.In recent years the (...)

This fully illustrated study details Germany and Italy's failed development of World War II aircraft carriers, and the naval aviation ships that the two Axis powers sent into action in their place.The quest for a modern aircraft carrier was the ultimate symbol of the Axis powers' challenge to (...)

Packed with illustrations, this is a study of the Polish warships such as the Grom-class destroyers that were developed and built in the interwar years.Newly independent Poland's naval force was created in 1920, initially with six ex-German torpedo boats. However, after German-Soviet exercises off (...)

This is the first history of the legendary US Army's HAWK missile system, the world's first mobile air-defense missile system, which saw service and combat around the world.Designed to counteract the threat posed by advanced 1950s Soviet-built aircraft, the first HAWK unit became operational in (...)

A history of the enduring Essex-class ships, the US Navy's finest and most numerous fleet carrier during World War II, which were modernized repeatedly and served with distinction.The Essex class was the USN's war-winning ship class of the Pacific War. Of the 24 ships completed, 14 saw action, (...)

A new history and analysis of the German and Soviet tank forces that battled on eastern German soil in the final months of World War II.The final months of World War II on the Eastern Front saw the Wehrmacht fighting with exhausted armoured divisions, albeit now armed with the most advanced and (...)