- Author
- Thomas Anderson
- ARRSE Rating
- 5 Mushroom Heads
The Author Thomas Anderson will be a familiar name to scale modellers. Many years of research in the USA ,Germany, and Europe, in long forgotten and dusty archives have enabled him to bring together the most comprehensive history of the Panzer III. The book starts with the earliest iterations of the Tank, and its initial trials, and subsequent modifications, and comparisons with other main battle tanks of the main combatants, then moves onto the pre production models , which oddly were delivered directly to front-line units for testing, so highlighting any problems that needed to be overcome, and surprisingly there were many, following on with its service on the battlegrounds of Europe and Russia.
The book is filled with high quality close up images of the inside and external views of the tank and the special equipment installed. Although spoken of with awe by British soldiers of the time, the beast did have a few weaknesses - the Polish troops finding that the cross on the turret provided them with an excellent aiming point for their ancient French 75mm Cannons ! If the front of the tank was hit the entire drive chain was crippled; these and other weaknesses were soon resolved with better armour-plate and structural changes.
Also highlighted in this book are tank transporters, so vital to the German army in moving damaged tanks back to the workshops behind the front lines. A great deal of time is given to explaining how these units worked, and showing repairs carried out in the field with specialised equipment. That is a credit to German engineering - the ability to quickly repair and service these tanks was the result of thorough organisation and a culture of fine engineering,
Many of the images are of crewmen with their tanks in more relaxed times, just young men at ease, and the book is all the better for it.
The book then covers further modifications and improvements, and the specialised tanks set up for underwater work. Here we see rare images of the diving and waterproofing equipment along with the tank crew practising escapes from sunken tanks.
All of the main battle fields are covered in detail, along with specialised modifications to suit the climate and terrain.
Finally with the tank rapidly becoming outdated, and newer more improved models coming on line, the Panzer III was reborn, its strong chassis providing a mounting platform for a wide variety of specialised engineering equipment, transport and artillery and flamethrowers.
The book runs to 300 pages, and is printed on top quality paper, hardback, and like its subject is very substantial. This fascinating and well researched book will be of interest to modellers, historians, and even modern day tankies for its wealth of information and images, all contained in one place,
Amazon product
The book is filled with high quality close up images of the inside and external views of the tank and the special equipment installed. Although spoken of with awe by British soldiers of the time, the beast did have a few weaknesses - the Polish troops finding that the cross on the turret provided them with an excellent aiming point for their ancient French 75mm Cannons ! If the front of the tank was hit the entire drive chain was crippled; these and other weaknesses were soon resolved with better armour-plate and structural changes.
Also highlighted in this book are tank transporters, so vital to the German army in moving damaged tanks back to the workshops behind the front lines. A great deal of time is given to explaining how these units worked, and showing repairs carried out in the field with specialised equipment. That is a credit to German engineering - the ability to quickly repair and service these tanks was the result of thorough organisation and a culture of fine engineering,
Many of the images are of crewmen with their tanks in more relaxed times, just young men at ease, and the book is all the better for it.
The book then covers further modifications and improvements, and the specialised tanks set up for underwater work. Here we see rare images of the diving and waterproofing equipment along with the tank crew practising escapes from sunken tanks.
All of the main battle fields are covered in detail, along with specialised modifications to suit the climate and terrain.
Finally with the tank rapidly becoming outdated, and newer more improved models coming on line, the Panzer III was reborn, its strong chassis providing a mounting platform for a wide variety of specialised engineering equipment, transport and artillery and flamethrowers.
The book runs to 300 pages, and is printed on top quality paper, hardback, and like its subject is very substantial. This fascinating and well researched book will be of interest to modellers, historians, and even modern day tankies for its wealth of information and images, all contained in one place,
Amazon product
