A Photo History of Tanks in Two World Wars

200 Pages·1984·30.939 MB·English

by  George Forty

George Forty
nORIN COUNTY FREE LIBRPlRY
lOTO HISTOR\
TWO WORLD WARS
IN
HigherinCanada
Fr^5rr,ea;!//.ttimes,manhassearchedforbetter
andI.o/fjjowerfulweaponswithwhichtodefend
himselfcftoattackanddestroyhisenemies.No
weaponsystemhashadmoreimpactonthe
battlefieldthanthetank.Itwasafearsomeand
revolutionarynewweapon,combiningthethree
basicessentialsoffirepower,protectionand
mobility.Thesecharacteristicscanbeappliedto
everytankanditisthedegreeofemphasisthe
designerplacesuponeachofthemwhich
determinesthesize,shapeandweightofthe
resultingarmouredfightingvehicle.Asthe
photographsinthisbookshow,theresultscanvary
dramaticallyandhavedonesoovertheseven
decadessincethefirsttankappearedin1915.
Thetankhas,duringtwoworldwars,
revolutionisedclosecombat,fromitsshakystartin
thebloodbathoftheWesternFrontin1916,
throughallthehesitancyandbitterargument
betweenthewars,toitseventualvirtual
dominationofthebattlefieldinWorldWar2when
itbecamethemainweaponofthelandarmy.
Thisfascinatingstoryisgraphicallytracedwithin
thewealthofphotographsinthisbook.They
containplentyofactionandhumaninterest,and
muchtoappealtothetechnicianandthemodeller.
Manyderivationsofthebasictank avebeen
deliberatelyincluded,suchastankdestroyers,
self-propelledguns,armouredengineerand
armouredrecoveryvehicles,togetherwithmany
examplesofspecialisedarmour,inordertoshow
theversatilityofthetankdesigner.
Inthiscollectionof500photographscanbe
foundexamplesofarmouredfightingvehiclesfrom
allovertheworld,coveringthehistoryofthetank
from1915tothepresentday.Thephotographsall
comefromaremarkablecollectionownedbythe
well-knowngraphicartist,JohnBatchelor,whose
cutawaydrawingsofships,aeroplanesandvehicles
aretobefoundinmanydifferentbooksand
magazinesallovertheworld.Theyarebutasmall
partofhisimmensecollectionandshowfarmore
clearlythanwordstheevolutionofthisamazing
weaponsystem.
ThetextandcaptionsarebyGeorgeForty,a
retiredtankofficer,whoiscurrentlyCuratorofthe
worldfamousTankMuseumattheRoyalArmoured
CorpsCentre,BovingtonCampinDorset.
Frontofjacket
ChurchillMarkIIof2RTRonexerciseintheUKin
1942.
Backofjacket
ThecrewofaChurchillMarkIIontheturret
discussingplansofoperationsroundamapduring
exercisesintheUK,22October1942.
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VA5

A
Photo History of
Two
World Wars
in

A
Photo History of
Two
World Wars
in
George Forty
BLANDFORD PRESS
POOLE DORSET
•
.
FirstPublishedintheUK1984byBlandfordPressLtd, Half-titlepage: British HeavyTank Mark IV Female in France
LinkHouse,WestStreet,Poole,Dorset,BH15 iLL duringWorldWari
CDiosptyrriibguhttedCin1t9h8e4UBnliatneddfoSrtdatPersebssyLtd. Fpcrlaoesnastriitsnhpgeitehcseeh:ecilPtlye-troosnrhni1n8gtAsopwroniflth1ah9lel45A.imnerMiacgadneb2unrdg,ArmGoerrmeadnyDi,viasfitoenr
SterlingPublishingCo.,Inc.,
2ParkAvenue,NewYork,NY10016
ISBN0713712163
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
Forty.George
Aphoiohistoryoftanksin—twoworld—wars.
1.Tanl<s(Militaryscience) History Pictorial
works
I.Title
623.74'75'0222 UG446.5
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybe
reproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyany
means,electronicormechanical,including
photocopying,recordingoranyinformation
storageandretrievalsystem,withoutpermissionin
writingfromthePublisher.
FilmsetbyKeyspoolsLtd,Golborne,Lancashire,U.K.
PrintedintheU.K.byBASPrintersLtd
Contents
Introduction 7 Part5 WorldWarTwo
GreatBritainandtheCommonwealth 98
PartI Evolution 8 BritishLightTanks 100
TheFirstTank 10 BritishCruiserTanks loi
BritishInfantryTanks 108
Part2 TheGreatWar 14 BritishHeavyTanks 122
BritishHeavyTanks 16 CommonwealthTanks 124
BritishMediumTanks 26
FrenchHeavyTanks 28 Part6 WorldWarTwo
FrenchLightTanks 30 Russia 128
AmericanTanks 34 RussianLightTanks 130
GermanandItalianTanks 37 RussianMediumTanks 133
RussianHeavyTanks 137
Part3 DevelopmentsBetweentheWars 40
British 42 Part7 WorldWarTwo
French 46 UnitedStates 140
American 49 AmericanLightTanks 142
Russian 53 AmericanMediumTanks 149
Itahan 56 AmericanHeavyTanks 175
Polish 59 AmericanTankDestroyers 179
Japanese 61
Swedish 64 Part8 WorldWarTwo
Miscellaneous 66 UnderNewManagement 182
AlliedTanksinRussianandChineseService 184
Part4 WorldWarTwo FrenchTanks 186
Germany 70 CapturedTanks 189
GermanLightTanks 72
GermanMediumTanks 79 Index 192
GermanHeavyTanks 90
Miscellaneous 96
Churchill AVRE. A graphic picture taken on the Normandy assaultengineers.Themaingunwasreplacedbyatypeofspigot
beacheson6June 1944,showingmedicstreatingacasualtyunder mortar, whichfire a40 lb bomb (knownas the FlyingDustbin)
theshelterofthecomfortingarmouredsideofaChurchillAVRE. some80yds. Itwasidealfordemolishingconcreteobstacles.This
TheArmouredVehicle Royal Engineers, wasaperfectAFVfor AVRE would have been in the ist Assault Brigade, Royal
Sapper's use, being roomy enough inside to carry plenty of Engineers,of79thArmouredDivision.
engineer's stores, while providing excellent protection for the