Book Alert: German Heavy Fighting Vehicles of the Second World War: From Tiger to E-100

Fonthill Media has released a new title by author Ken Estes titled German Heavy Fighting Vehicles of the Second World War: From Tiger to E-100.  This is a 180 page softcover book.

Publisher’s Description:

The German army faced tanks of superior size, armor and firepower from the outset of World War II. Although their Panzerwaffen handled the Polish campaign, war with France meant confronting superior heavy and medium tanks like the Char B and Somua, with 47 mm high velocity cannon that penetrated German tank armor with ease. French infantry disposed of effective antitank weapons and a portion of their 75 mm field guns were detailed as antitank guns. Even greater challenges emerged with the Russo-German War, for the Germans had no initial answer to the KV-1 heavy tank and T-34 medium.

The successive technical shocks of superior tanks introduced by each side produced a gun-armor race that continued in some manner even after the war’s end. The Germans placed a premium on technological quality and superiority over mass production, for which their industry (and, arguably, their regime) remained rather unsuited. Not satisfied with the advantage they obtained with the Tiger and Panther series tanks, the army leadership and Adolf Hitler himself pushed for larger and more powerful tanks than had ever been built.

Available from Amazon here.

Book Alert: Soviet T-10 Heavy Tank and Variants

A new book on the Soviet T-10 heavy tank is now available courtesy of Ospry Publishing. To those that like reading about tanks, Osprey is primarily know for their 48 page softcover New Vanguard series.  This book however is an entirely different creature, being a hard cover volume of 232 pages.  This book certainly has to be the most exhaustive study of the T-10 published in English.  Two well established authors contributed to this book, the UK based author James Kinnear and US based author Stephen “Cookie”  Sewell.  As with other Osprey hardcover offerings, this is a very handsome volume with high quality paper and numerous photos and illustrations.  If you are a fan of Soviet cold war armor, this title is highly recommended.

Publishers Description:

When it was introduced into service in 1953, the T-10 represented a return to the “classic” Soviet heavy tank. Although considered a major threat to NATO tank forces, it also represented the end of an era. All gun-heavy tanks like the T-10 would eventually be made effectively redundant by later models like the T-62 which had powerful next-generation armament and new ammunition types. The tank was gradually withdrawn from service in the 1970s, though the last tanks would only leave Russian service by decree of the President of the Russian Federation in 1997. As such the T-10 outlived the Soviet state that had created it.

Never exported outside of the Soviet Union and rarely used in combat, the T-10 has remained a mysterious tank, with many of its variants unknown in the West until very recently. This study, written from original Russian and Ukrainian primary source documents that have only recently been made available, uncovers the history of this enigmatic tank using 130 stunning contemporary and modern photographs of the T-10 as well as full color side-view artwork.

Available from Amazon at Soviet T-10 Heavy Tank and Variants

Statement from the National Armor and Cavalry Museum on the T28 accident

As a follow-up to our Photo of the Day from yesterday about the T28 heavy tank that slide off a HET during transit, here is a statement from the facebook page of the National Armor and Cavalry Museum regarding the event.

Friends of the National Armor and Cavalry Museum,

16266196_1419707518093515_9051849803821822730_nLast Thursday we were very excited to show off the T28 leaving the yard. It was on its way to begin the first part of a clean-up, re-paint, and partial restoration. Unfortunately things do not always go as planned. During the journey across post to where it was to be painted, the contracted Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET) was traveling down a hill when it suffered an unexpected and massive brake failure. In order to keep the HET on the road, the contractor crew was forced to make an extremely sharp turn. This forcefully shifted the T28 (currently weighing about the same as an M1A2 Abrams as it is without its outer track set or engine installed) around the trailer. Despite the large amounts of chain used, the T28 broke completely free. In hindsight, this probably prevented a worse accident since the T28 was not left partially chained, which could have caused the tank to roll over and off. Instead the T28 slid off the trailer and hit the ground with both tracks. It then rolled rear first, into a ditch before stopping.

First and foremost, we are extremely thankful no one was injured in the incident. As for the accident itself, the appropriate departments are conducting their investigations. As for the T28, we are very lucky that it was built very tough! Considering the U.S. Super Heavy was definitely not designed to fly short distances, it landed in the best manner imaginable. The impact of the landing and subsequent stop in the ditch did cause some damage to the suspension, specifically two bogie stations. The good news is everything is repairable and will be incorporated into the painting and cleanup. While she spent a night in the ditch, she was recovered the next day with no issues by two M88A1 Hercules Recovery Vehicles. During this time, we did not put out information until all chains of command could be informed and a proper damage assessment could be completed. While this is an unfortunate setback, it is minor in the long run and the T28 will be back. In closing we’d like to thank everyone for their support during this process and hope you continue to follow our work in preserving and restoring the U.S. Army’s armor collection. Thank you!

Sincerly,

The NACM Staff and Volunteers