A Very Brief History of the Tank

This is clearly one of the seminal tanks of the 19^th century with the total number of over 22,700 being constructed (both M3 and M5 versions) from 1941-1944 largely by four manufacturers (including Cadillac, American Car & Foundry Co. and Massey-Harris).

From an armor standpoint, the Stuarts were our several ‘starter’ tanks during the early 30’s. They were largely lacking in firepower and lightly armored. They also suffered regarding their ability to meet their opposition, the German tanks they often faced on the battlefield.

However, throughout their production and a great number of modifications and improvements, the M3 proved its worth on the battlefield.

Rather than ramble on further, here are some additional online references that I found most informative and interesting:

Cross & Cockade International is a non-profit UK-based group known as the First World War Aviation Historical Society that publishes their journal four times a year. Issues are available in printed and digital formats. They also provide a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front.

This is the 26^th edition of The Great War Aviation Society [Cross & Cockade International] calendar for 2025. Roger Tisdale has assembled this calendar since 1999 and it continues to sell out annually. Roger notes, “It’s a labor of love compiling the annual calendar, making sure that there is an eclectic mix of aircraft and styles to suit all tastes.” Roger Tisdale has selected twelve color paintings from a set of fantastic artists.

This is a very simple publication. The subject of this book is the Mustang III as deployed by the RAF in Europe during 1944-1945. The book is 16 pages long and features three view line drawings in 1/72 and 1/48 scale, profile artwork for 13 aircraft with English captions, and a final page of captions for the profiles in Polish. A scale is not given for the profile art but they appear to be close to 1/32. The three view drawings include rivet lines and these would assist the modeler in adding rivets to a given model. The profile art will provide the modeler with some artistic inspiration for weathering and painting effects. As stated above, this is a simple book with one theme, scale drawings, and profile art.

Thank you to Casemate for the review sample.