A new book by WWII historian Charles Messenger has been released and is available for sale. The Tanks: The History of the Royal Tank Regiment, 1976-2017
Publisher’s Description:
The Royal Tank Regiment celebrates its centenary this year (2017). This, the fourth volume of the Regiment’s history, begins in the midst of the Cold War, with the four RTR regiments mainly based in Germany. They experienced NATO’s rearmament in the early 1980s and the implementation of General Sir Nigel Bagnall’s revolutionary new concept for the defense of the NATO Central Region. The Troubles in Northern Ireland were also at the height and the RTR served there on numerous occasions. In addition, the Regiment saw service with the United Nations in Cyprus.
The Berlin Wall came down at the end of 1989, signaling the end of the Cold War. Yet, President Bush’s New World Order proved anything but. Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait resulted in the First Gulf War, in which the Regiment played its part in many ways. However, the so called Peace Dividend meant that the RTR was reduced just two regiments. Then came the horrors of the civil war in former Yugoslavia, in which the Regiment also became involved. While it did operate in tanks in Kosovo, it was also demonstrating its versatility in many other roles in this increasingly uncertain time. Not least was the formation the Joint NBC Regiment, made up of 1 RTR and the RAF Regiment.
The RTR was at the forefront of the assault on Basrah in the 2nd Gulf War and thereafter served a number of tours in Iraq. Indeed, the Regiment was among the very last troops to withdraw from the country at the end of Operation Telic in 2009. By this time, the British Army was heavily committed to Afghanistan and the Regiment would spend the next five years deploying on Operation Herrick. As in Iraq, it carried out a variety of missions and in many different types of vehicle. The book makes plain how tough conditions, as in Iraq. The Army, however, faced further reductions and the RTR was cut to a single Challenger 2 regiment.
This History not only covers the Regiment’s numerous operational tours. It details the vehicles it has used and provides an idea of how life in the RTR has changed over the past forty years. It does not duck controversy and allows the voices of all ranks to be heard. ‘The Tanks’ reflects an ever changing British Army, the one constant being the character of the RTR soldier, the Tankie.
Available on Amazon here.
In the video above, The Chieftain makes a reference to his book as a “Hunnicutt for tank destroyers.” This is an apt description. Those familiar with the works of Richard Hunnicutt will know that his ten volume work contains a detailed history of US armored vehicle development, each volume dedicated to a specific vehicle type, such as Medium tanks, Heavy tanks, halftracks, etc. However if you scan through the titles of his books you will find one title conspicuously absent, US tank destroyers. To be sure, tank destroyers are included in his books, but scattered over about five different volumes and generally regulated to the later pages of the volume. For example, if you want to read about the tank destroyers that saw service during WWII war, you will need to go to the Hunnicutt Sherman book for the M10 and M36, the Stuart book for the M18, the Halftrack book for the M3 GMC, and the Armored Car book for the various wheeled tank destroyer models.
The US Marine Corps’ (USMC’s) two-pronged amphibious vehicle modernisation effort will include some significant survivability upgrades to its legacy AAV7 amphibious assault vehicles, and be complemented with a new personnel carrier with mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP)-levels of protection.
German media reported on 16 November that only 95 of the 244 Leopard 2 main battle tanks (MBTs) in service with the Bundeswehr are operationally ready. A further 53 vehicles – thought to be Leopard 2A6Ms – are being converted to the new Leopard 2A6M+ standard, and 86 are in a state of disrepair without any spare parts. The German report states that “the unavailability of the required replacement parts would be detrimental”.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has placed an order with the Kiev Armoured Plant for BTR-3DA vehicles, Ukraine-based industry sources reported on 30 October. The order is for an unknown quantity of BTR-3DA infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), a locally developed upgrade for the BTR family of armoured fighting vehicles. The order follows a series of delays because of MoD concerns that the vehicle was not suitably priced.
NEW DELHI — India has launched a $4.8 billion program for the domestic production of 1,770 multipurpose future ready combat vehicles by private companies partnered with overseas original equipment manufacturers, but some leaders in the local industry are hesitant about what they consider an overly ambitious program that lacks clarity.
The Ministry of Defence has spent £381 million upgrading the army’s ageing infantry fighting vehicles even though half of them could now be scrapped to cut costs. Lockheed Martin was hired six years ago to overhaul and fit new gun turrets to Britain’s ageing fleet of Warriors, which have served in the Gulf, Bosnia and Iraq. But Ministry of Defence documents forecast the Warrior upgrade is a year behind schedule, with the programme incurring extra costs as a result of delays.
The regiment, based at Tidworth in Wiltshire, has commemorated the anniversary of the Cambrai battle. Formed out of the Tank Corps, the tanks broke the stalemate of trench warfare in World War One. Lt Col Simon Ridgway said the soldiers “changed the course of the war” with their courage.
Russia has boosted its arsenal of tanks and armored vehicles by more than 25,000 over the last half a decade, one of its deputy defense ministers boasted on Wednesday. Russia’s Deputy Minister of Defense and Army General Dmitry Bulgakov told army newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda: “Over the five years between 2012 and 2017, the army has received more than 25,000 units of new armored tank and automobile kit, as well as 4,000 modern items of rocket and artillery weaponry.”
A Staffordshire Moorlands welder has helped TV presenter Guy Martin build a replica of a WW1 tank for the Armistice Day commemorations in France which marked 100 years since tanks were first used in battle. Welder Chris Shenton, from Leek, has been part of excavator giant JCB’s team to help TV personality Guy Martin to engineer a tribute to the role tanks played in helping change the course of the First World War.
Echo Point is pleased to partner with World of Tanks again for this Limited Edition Hardcover edition of Can Openers by Nicholas Moran, aka 
. This is an 80 page softcover volume containing both black and white and color photos. For a preview of the book, check out the video preview posted below.
Tank and AFV News 