The Combat History of German Heavy Anti-Tank Unit 653 in World War II

Author: Karlheinz Munch
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 9780811732420
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 408

Book Description
Hundreds of photos, many never published before, of Germany's rarely seen tank destroyers, including the Ferdinand, Elephant, and JagdtigerColor illustrations focus on unit markings, numbering, and camouflageAccompanying text chronicles the unit's combat operations plus there are personal accounts from the men who rode in these mechanical monstersGerman Heavy Anti-Tank Unit 653 was equipped with the heaviest tank destroying vehicles of the German armed forces. Initially activated as an assault gun battalion and redesignated in April 1943, the 653 received its first Ferdinand heavy tank destroyers (later modified and renamed Elephants) in May 1943 and went into action on the Eastern Front a month later. In 1944, the unit converted to the even more massive Jagdtiger. The seventy-five-ton, heavily armored Jagdtiger was the behemoth of the battlefield and boasted a 128mm gun-as opposed to the Ferdinand's 88-with a range of more than thirteen miles, making it deadly despite its limited mobility. Outfitted with these lethal giants, the 653 saw service in Russia, Italy, Austria, and Germany.

Jane's World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles

Author: Leland S. Ness
Publisher: Collins
ISBN: 9780007112289
Category : Armored vehicles, Military
Languages : en
Pages : 237

Book Description
This is the land equivalent of Jane's Battleships, a comprehensive encyclopaedia of all the combat vehicles of World War II from Somaliland to Japan. A nation-by-nation overview of each country's development of tanks and their involvement in World War II is before providing an A-Z of each army's tanks and fighting vehicles including armoured cars, personnel carriers, amphibious craft and mortar carriers. Quirkier profiles of vehicles such as the German TKS tankette are given.

German Late War Armored Fighting Vehicles

Author: George Bradford
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811750523
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 104

Book Description
Filled with fine-scale drawings of Germany's late war armored vehicles including: • Pz. Kpfw. V Panther Tank • Pz. Kpfw. VI Tiger I and II • Pz. Jager Elephant Tank Destroyer • Sd.Kfz. 234/2 "Puma" Armored Car • Jagdtiger with Henschel suspension • And dozens more . . .

German Early War Armored Fighting Vehicles

Author: George Bradford
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 9780811733410
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 106

Book Description
Contains fine scale drawings of German AFVs covering the time period of the Blitzkrieg across Europe through the greatest tank battle in history, Kursk. Multiple angles provide a level of detail for the 8-wheeled Armored Car, Sd. Kfz. Panzer I Tank, Sd. Kfz. Panzer II Tank, Sd. Kfz. Panzer 35 T Tank, Sd. Kfz. Panzer IIIm Sd. Kfz. Armored Halftrack, and dozens more.

German Heavy Fighting Vehicles of the Second World War

Author: Kenneth W. Estes
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 299

Book 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.

German Military Vehicles of World War II

Author: Jean-Denis G.G. Lepage
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786428988
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 221

Book Description
This volume presents a cross-section of the most common transport vehicles produced and used by the German army. Tanks plus auxiliary vehicles such as cars, motorcycles, vans, ambulances, trucks and tractors made it possible for the troops to keep moving. These lightly armored or unarmored vehicles--aka "soft skins"--operated behind the front lines, maintaining supply lines, connecting armies with their home bases, and ultimately determining the outcome of battle. Beginning with the development of military vehicles in the early 1930s, this volume discusses the ways in which this new technology influenced and, to some extent, facilitated Hitler's program of rearmament. Nomenclature, standard equipment, camouflage and the combat roles of the various vehicles are thoroughly examined. Individual vehicle types are arranged and discussed by the following classifications: cars and motorcycles; trucks and tractors; half-tracks and wheeled combat vehicles. Accompanied by well-researched, detailed line drawings, each section deals with a number of individual vehicles, describing their design, manufacture and specific use.

German Tanks of World War II

Author: David Porter
Publisher: Technical Guides
ISBN: 9781782747260
Category : Tanks (Military science)
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Book Description
From heavy tanks to self-propelled guns, this highly illustrated technical guide introduces all the main types of armored fighting vehicles used by Germany in World War II--organized chronologically and by type. Each of the 120 featured artworks displays authentic markings and color schemes, while the separate models include exhaustive specifications. This is a key reference for military modelers and World War II enthusiasts.

The Combat History of German Tiger Tank Battalion 503 in World War II

Author: Franz-Wilhelm Lochmann
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0811769283
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 449

Book Description
This book tells—with firsthand accounts as well as numerous, never-before-seen photographs—the combat history of German Tiger Tank Battalion 503, the senior Tiger battalion of the German Army, equipped with both the Tiger I and the King Tiger. The unit saw action in the attempted relief of Stalingrad, the tremendous tank engagements at Kursk, and the bitter fighting to relieve German units encircled at the Tscherkassy Pocket. It then defended against the Allies in Normandy in 1944, and ended the war with desperate fighting in Hungary and Austria.

Achtung-Panzer!

Author: Heinz Guderian
Publisher: Arms & Armour
ISBN: 9781854092823
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Book Description
This is one of the most significant military books of the twentieth century. By an outstanding soldier of independent mind, it pushed forward the evolution of land warfare and was directly responsible for German armoured supremacy in the early years of the Second World War. Published in 1937, the result of 15 years of careful study since his days on the German General Staff in the First World War, Guderian's book argued, quite clearly, how vital the proper use of tanks and supporting armoured vehicles would be in the conduct of a future war. When that war came, just two years later, he proved it, leading his Panzers with distinction in the Polish, French and Russian campaigns. Panzer warfare had come of age, exactly as he had forecast. This first English translation of Heinz Guderian's classic book - used as a textbook by Panzer officers in the war - has an introduction and extensive background notes by the modern English historian Paul Harris.

German Tanks of World War II

Author: Ferdinand Maria Senger und Etterlin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780853680185
Category : Armored vehicles, Military
Languages : en
Pages : 214

Book Description