Tankograd: LVTP7 – AAVP7A1
The Amtrac of the U.S. Marines – Development, Technology, Operational Use
The Landing Vehicle Tracked Personnel Model 7 is an amphibious fully tracked vehicle designed for the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The lightly armoured floatable LVTP7 has the mission of deploying Marines, their equipment and supplies ashore during amphibious operations from ships several kilometres off the coast through the surf zone, even when the sea is rough.
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In addition, the vehicle serves as an armoured personnel carrier (APC) during tactical operations on land, and is used to deploy Marines close to their objectives. This publication offers for the first time an extensive coverage of the technical development of the LVTP7-AAVP7A1 family and shows it in action worldwide. In addition the different versions and upgrade kits are described in unprecedented detail with many hitherto unpublished photographs.
Quantity Photos and Illustrations: Illustrated with 106 colour photographs, 21 b&w photographs and 6 graphics Text – Language: English text Number of Pages: 64
Tankograd: LARS 2 – MARS Modern German Army Rocket Artillery
For several decades, rocket artillery of the German Bundeswehr was shaped by the use of US-manufactured weapon systems with nuclear capabilities. This changed with the fielding of the Raketenwerfer 110 mm SF rocket launcher, a conventional rocket artillery system used to engage area targets.
The LKW 7 t gl (6×6) KHD Jupiter truck-based self-propelled Leichtes Artillerie Raketen System (LARS 1) light rocket artillery system proved itself well in service. After a new generation of vehicles had entered service in 1981 with the Follow-On-Generation, LARS 1 was modernised and the rocket launcher was integrated onto a new chassis, the LKW MAN 7 t mil gl (6×6) KAT I truck.
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From 1990 the Mittleres Artillerie Raketen System MARS (MLRS) started to replace the LARS 2. Today, MARS is still in active service shaping the backbone of German missile artillery and will be modernised soon. This publication covers the LARS 2 and MARS in great detail.
Quantity Photos and Illustrations: Illustrated with 14 b&w photos and 136 colour photographs Text – Language: English text Number of Pages: 64
Concord Publications: Battles of Smolensk & Roslavl 1941
The invasion of Russia in June 1941, Operation Barbarossa, was an enormous affair. It involved around 3 million German soldiers divided into 105 infantry and 32 panzer divisions. Initially, the German assault knifed through Russian resistance, and huge numbers of Red Army soldiers were surrounded. This latest volume from Concord Publications examines part of that attack, specifically the battles of Heeresgruppe Mitte. This central army, the largest of three participating in the attack, was commanded by Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock.
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This volume by Hans Seidler is brimming with black and white photographs showing soldiers from Heeresgruppe Mitte. The focus is on the Battles of Smolensk and Roslavl, conflicts that readers may not be terribly familiar with. The city of Smolensk commanded the route to the Russian capital of Moscow, and as German forces closed in on it, Russian forces launched a counterattack. This resulted in a large clash in early July 1941. However, the German juggernaut could not be halted, and Smolensk eventually fell on 16 July, with half a million enemy soldiers caught in the Smolensk pocket. Soon after this, General Guderian sought to defeat Soviet forces further east around the town of Roslavl. He launched a sudden and powerful attack on 1 August, and within two days the town was taken. These twin battles were among the most decisive and swiftest of all German successes on the Eastern Front.
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The sharply reproduced photographs in the book show soldiers involved in the aforementioned fighting. Each photo is well captioned with pertinent details about uniform and equipment. The centerpiece of the book is four color plates by the illustrator Dmitriy Zgonnik. These pictures show infantrymen in typical dress as they fight the Red Army, with detailed explanation given about their equipment and dress. This is a most informative work on a location and period that is not well covered in other volumes about the German Army, and it will provide a useful reference for history buffs as well as military modelers.
Tankograd: JGSDF Vehicles of the Modern Japanese Army
All around the globe Japan is well known as one of the major industrial nations. One of the core industries of Japan today is car production. When compared with Japanese commercial cars, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) military vehicles are not so well known.
One reason is that the Japanese government prohibits the export of weapons, and another is that the JGSDF has been dispatched to foreign countries only for peacekeeping missions or to use firing ranges in the USA. Besides, most articles about the JGSDF only ever appear in Japanese-language publications. It is therefore hoped this book will deepen the reader’s understanding about the JGSDF and its unique range of vehicles.
Quantity Photos and Illustrations: Illustrated throughout with 138 colour photographs and 8 graphics Text – Language: English text Number of Pages: 64
With the introduction of the Centurion MBT in 1945 the British Army tank transporters of World War Two, the Scammell Pioneer and the Diamond-T M19, were outclassed. From 1951 they were replaced by the Thornycroft FV12000 Antar. More than three decades later, in 1984, the Antar was replaced by the Scammell Commander that was capable of transporting the Challenger 1 MBT.
The most recent British Army tank transporter generation is since 2003 the Oshkosh HET Heavy Equipment Transporter. This publication covers these three tank transporter types, tells the story of their development and shows their technology and active army use in many hitherto unpublished photographs.
Quantity Photos and Illustrations: Illustrated with 18 b&w photographs and 122 colour photographs Text – Language: English text Number of Pages: 64
Perfect Scale: Leopard 2 A5/A6 in Germany DVD Part #1.
This DVD presents yet unpublished footage of the “Leopard 2A5 / A6” of the German “Bundeswehr”.
The film shows the “Leopard 2A5 / A6” on maneuvers with various “Panzerbattalions” participating in “Field Training Exercises” ( FTX ), or in well known training areas like Bergen – Hohne or the “Combat Maneuver Training Center” ( CMTC ) in Hohenfels.
This DVD presents yet unpublished footage of the US. Army´s “M1 A1 Abrams” Main Battle Tank stationed in Germany over the recent 20 years.
The film shows the “M1 A1 Abrams” on maneuvers with various Armor- and Cavalry Regiments participating in “Field Training Exercises” ( FTX ), or in well known training areas like Grafenwöhr or the “Combat Maneuver Training Center” ( CMTC ) in Hohenfels.
Tankograd: Tankograd In Detail – DRAGON WAGON Tank Transporter M25
Reflecting on the development and active wartime service of the M25 makes it clear why the Dragon Wagon finally made it into the hall of fame for trucks and why it became a legend: It was the first mass-produced (1,372 in armoured and unarmoured versions) tank transporter and the first vehicle in its class solely developed to haul tanks and to recover them from the battlefield.
All other heavy trucks that also served this purpose were either built in smaller numbers, were technically not that well advanced, or were not so well suited for either task. The M25, either with the armoured M26 or unarmoured M26A1 tractor truck, was the first of its kind at a time when tank transport was still in its infancy, certainly compared to what eventuated after World War Two.
While the wartime M25 can be considered the ancestor of all modern tank transporters, the post-war M26A1 with M15A1 semitrailer would set the ultimate standard. All post-war designs are principally based on technical parameters the Dragon Wagon set, and indeed the overall design is still valid today, if the development of engines is taken into consideration.
This publication closes one of the major gaps in the Dragon Wagon’s bibliography: it is a technical high-quality photographical walk-around of excellently restored M26 tractor trucks and M15 / M15A1 semitrailers.
96 pages, large A4 landscape fomat, illustrated with 10 b&w and 212 colour photographs
Complete English Text
