Background

This book, part of Pen and Sword’s “Images of War” series, traces the development of naval aviation in the United States from the late 1890’s through the end of World War II. Starting with balloon development, which became a military issue during the American War Between the States, the Navy’s leaders became interested in this field towards the end of the 19th century.

It became clear to the founders that the free balloon was of little use to the Navy, and that a mechanical aircraft would be necessary if anything significant was to be achieved. Although the Wright Brothers had flown their airplane by 1903, it was only a few years later that Navy officers began to take interest in the heavier than air airplanes that were being developed throughout the world. A major issue was the question, “exactly what are we trying to achieve, and what will be using these aircraft for”?

American Panther Tanks: An Examination of the Five Surviving Panzer V Tanks Including the Rare Panther II might be considered as a strange title for a book; however, there are five Second World War examples in the US. It is believed that fourteen captured Panzer V Panther tanks were shipped to the United States after hostilities ended in 1945. Most were cut-up and scrapped after being used for testing and target practice on live firing ranges. The Panzer V Ausf.A Panther tank at the American Heritage Museum, Hudson, Massachusetts, near Boston, has been completely restored to an extremely high standard. The other four Panther tanks are at Fort Benning, Columbus, Georgia, under the care of the U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection (U.S. AACC). They are awaiting their turn to be restored. The first four chapters briefly cover the development and production of the Panzer V Panther tank from the first version, the Ausf.D, to the second version, the Ausf.A.

Contents

• Introduction - 1
• Design & Development - 3
• Humvee in Detail - 19
• In Service & In Action - 25
• Humvee Variants - 29
• Camouflage & Markings - 33
• Model Showcase - 41
• Modelling Products - 53

This is my second review of one of the Land Craft series books (the prior one covering the Land Rover and it’s many uses. This is the sixth in the series called “Land Craft”. As I read and reviewed the earlier book, this book covering HUMVEE no less rewarding in its comprehensive coverage of this ubiquitous vehicles. While I have seen a great many HUMVEEs I had no idea about the total numbers in service with Army (120,000) and the Marine Corps (20,000). These are very heavy, with the base weight of approximately 5,200 pounds, and the many other versions even heavier.

This book covers the story of the development of one of Britain most famous Cold war fighters The English Electric Lightning. I become fascinated by this beautiful Cold War Icon when I was a child, and this was the front-line fighter for the RAF. The book is a incredibly deep dive into the design and development from the very beginning of the idea of a two engine cold war fighter plane.

The book is in two sections

Kiev-based ICM is back again with a new offering in its Einheits-PKW (“Uniform all-terrain passenger car”) line – this time with the light Anti-Aircraft version. This highly detailed and diminutive subject sports twin MG-34 machine guns and crew seat in place of the two rear seats.

History

Officially introduced at the end of February 1938, the Truppenluftschutzkraftwagen – “Air Raid Vehicle” - (Kfz. 4) had four doors and a spare wheel mounted at the rear of the car body like the Kfz. 1 & 3.

The units which were allowed to have Kfz 4’s had only one vehicle, each. A light tripod for each gun was stored at the rear. With the tripods, the MG 34’s could be used outside of the vehicle. Even though the guns were able to be fired in any direction from the vehicle, the practical effect of this weapon during combat was questionable.