Tank and AFV News

Publisher Ampersand Group has announced some upcoming additions to their Visual History line of books.  For those not familiar with the Visual History series, these are high quality soft cover photo history books.  Ideal for modelers looking for reference photos.  Ampersand also publishes Allied-Axis Photo Journal, a quarterly publication of high quality WW2 AFV photos.

German Panzer II by David Doyle

The Panzer II was Germany’s first cannon-armed tank in the post World War I era.  Designed and initially produced under the code name of 100-horsepower Farm Tractor, owing to the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, the Panzer II remained in production, and in the field, well after it had been surpassed by better engineered, more heavily armed and armored vehicles, and indeed played a key part in the early victories achieved by the Blitzkrieg.

The third in our expanded Visual History series features nearly 200 scarce wartime photos, illuminated by detailed captions. Coverage includes the Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. A; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. B; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. c and A-C early; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. c, A, B, C modified Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. D; Pz.Kpfw. II (F) Ausf. A & B; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. F; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. G; Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. J and the Pz.Kpfw. II “Lynx.” All of the photos have been carefully selected to showcase the many details of the variants. Many “Panzer rarities” will be found within the 168-pages of this hardbound volume. ISBN: 978-1-944367-11-4 $28.95, plus applicable postage.

M10/Achilles: A Visual History of the U.S. Army’s WWII Tank Destroyer by David Doyle

In late 1941 the concept of a separate tank destroyer force began to jell. This force would be armed with specialized weapons. While the army’s primary antitank weapons of the late 1930s were 37mm towed anti-tank guns, these were soon deemed to be inadequate against enemy armor. Accordingly, the quest for larger weapons began, as did the desire for a self-propelled antitank gun, or Gun Motor Carriage. The initial efforts, which involved adapting 3/4-ton, Dodge trucks to mount antitank weapons (the M6, née WC-55), which were intended as interim and training vehicles. In the same manner, half-tracks were fitted with cannon, yielding the M3 75mm Gun Motor Carriage. But, the quest was on to create a specialized and ideal tank destroyer, utilizing a tank chassis as the basis.

By January of 1942 a prototype was in the works to mount the weapon in an open topped turret on the chassis of the twin GM Diesel-powered M4A2 Sherman Medium tank. After some months of development a design was finalized for a vehicle sharing the suspension, lower hull, and engine with the M4A2 but with an upper hull made up from thinner, but sloping, armored plate. Initially designated T35E1, when the design was standardized it was redesignated M10. In addition to the 6,700-plus Diesel-powered M10 tank destroyers, a further 1,700 M10A1 vehicles were built, these being driven by Ford GAA gasoline engines.

While the 3-inch weapon of the M10 was superior to that found on earlier U.S. tank destroyers, it was inadequate against the ever-increasing weight of German armor. The British addressed this by rearming some of the 1,700 M10s that they received with the superb Ordnance Quick Firing 17-pounder antitank gun. These vehicles were designated by the British as 17-pdr. SP M10 Mark 1c. After the war the name Achilles was given these vehicles.

Photo coverage includes plentiful period shots and copious amounts of detail photos of the M10, M10A1 and Achilles. This title will be indispensable to anyone building the Tamiya M10. One hundred twenty-eight pages. ISBN: 978-1-944367-19-0. $22.95, plus applicable postage.