About the Author

Historian and author Alexander Lüdeke's main interests are the military and the history of technology. He has an extensive image library, which includes numerous illustrations, a selection of which can be found in this Fact File.

Overview

A great upheaval in tank construction took place in the 1970s, as new combat techniques, helicopters, weaponry and new types of ammunition reduced the value of a conventional combat battalion. Nevertheless, complete new developments are rare and in this book, Alexander Lüdeke looks at the most important developments that have taken place since 1970.

Contents

There are 127 pages in this file, and almost every page includes a color image of a tank from a specific first or second world country. All of the major military powers are included along with several other nations that have tanks in their military arsenal. Countries such as Egypt, Argentina, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Yugoslavia, Croatia, Pakistan, Polen (Poland), Rumania, Sweden, Serbien (Serbia) South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey. The color images often include some interesting camouflage schemes and details unique to that vehicle.

Many of the nations with smaller armies either purchase new or used vehicles from major military powers and add upgrades to meet the needs of that particular country, or purchase a license to manufacture the vehicle or major components on their home turf. Other countries have taken on the challenge of designing and building their own armored vehicles, such as India and the Arjun, Israel and the Merkava, and Turkey and the Altay. Sometimes the vehicle never makes it into production due to budget restraints or political changes.

Each country's subject vehicle is covered with a detailed description of the vehicle and its specific upgrades or modifications, and a comprehensive description chart lists the vehicles specifics, including height, width, length, weight, armaments, etc. Often more than one color image is included with the text.

Conclusion

This fact file was an informative read and may be a useful tool and reference for those armor builders who wish to tackle something different. Many of the lesser know military organizations use tanks from major military powers, and model kits of those vehicles are available in several scales. With some additional research, imagination and scratch building a unique model just might be created with the information contained within the covers of this publication along with further research on the internet. Definitely recommended for those armor enthusiasts interested in the "lesser" known military powers.

I wish to thank Casemate Publications and IPMS/USA for the opportunity to review this publication.