Shown are the various caliber heavy guns used by the German infantry during World Wars I & II.

Second World War British Military Camouflage offers an original approach to the cultures and geographies of military conflict, through a study of the history of camouflage. Isla Forsyth narrates the scientific biography of Dr Hugh Cott (1900-1987), eminent zoologist and artist turned camoufleur, and entwines this with the lives of other camouflage practitioners, to trace the sites of camouflage's developments. Moving through the scientists' fieldsite, the committee boardroom, the military training site and the soldiers' battlefield, this book uncovers the history of this ambiguous military invention, and subverts a long-dominant narrative of camouflage as solely a protective technology. This study demonstrates that, as camouflage transformed battlefields into unsettling theatres of war, there were lasting consequences not only for military technology and knowledge, but also for the ethics of battle and the individuals enrolled in this process.

This magnificent book traces the history of firearms and edged weapons in Greece and the Balkans during the Ottoman era. The early developments of firearms in the later Middle Ages coincided with the Ottoman occupation of these regions, and over the following centuries they became by far the greatest centre of arms manufacturing in the Islamic world. Each town developed its own style in weaponry, decoration and costume, often with spendid results. Traditional weapons were held in great pride, and surviving guns and swords are richly ornamented with silverwork, mother-of-pearl, coral or semi-precious stones. Over 19 chapters, Robert Elgood's masterful text weaves together the story of the weapons with the deeds of their owners and the history of the region. The book culminates in the stirring story of Greek national liberation in the 1820s. To Greeks the weapons used by the heroes of their revolution are quasi-sacred objects: they fill the museums of modern Greece and are highly collectible. Representing a decade of research by a world expert in oriental arms and armour, this book is being published to coincide with a major exhibition of Greek and Balkan arms at the National Historical Museum, Athens.

The Russian T-72 Ural tank is the most widely-deployed main battle tank of the current generation. Used by the armies of the former Warsaw pact and Soviet Union, it has also been exported in large numbers to many of the states in the Middle East. This book reveals the previously secret history behind the tank. Steven J Zaloga examines the conditions under which the T-72 was designed and produced. Technical aspects of the weapon are also discussed, including its EDZ reactive armour which, when it first appeared in December 1984, gave NATO a nasty shock.

Research and development in the emerging fields of biotechnology, including human enhancement and direct-effect genetic weapons, may very well change the nature of war and international politics. This biotech revolution in military affairs will offer great advantages to the United States and other technologically advanced states, but raises many new questions about just war and bioethics. Biotechnology and International Security contextualizes the militarization of biotechnology by examining its strategic uses, the nature of bioweapons, and the overall impact on warfare and security. The book looks at the many emerging military applications of biotechnology and provides a nontechnical assessment of how a wide range of technologies are influencing war fighting, international balance of power, and homeland security. It offers a thorough introduction to bioweapons and biosecurity challenges, along with the resulting ethical and policy dilemmas.

This book presents high-quality original contributions on new software engineering models, approaches, methods, and tools and their evaluation in the context of defence and security applications. In addition, important business and economic aspects are discussed, with a particular focus on cost/benefit analysis, new business models, organizational evolution, and business intelligence systems. The contents are based on presentations delivered at SEDA 2015, the 4th International Conference in Software Engineering for Defence Applications, which was held in Rome, Italy, in May 2015. This conference series represents a targeted response to the growing need for research that reports and debates the practical implications of software engineering within the defence environment and also for software performance evaluation in real settings through controlled experiments as well as case and field studies. The book will appeal to all with an interest in modeling, managing, and implementing defence-related software development products and processes in a structured and supportable way.

Military logistics is a relatively new word to describe a very old practice; the supply, movement and maintenance of an armed force both in peace time and under operational conditions. Logistic considerations are generally built into battle plans at an early stage. Without logistics, tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery pieces, aircraft are just numbers on a table of organization and equipment.Through this book an endeavor has been made to understand the logistics of People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China. An introduction to the theory of supply chain management and logistics of foreign Armies is discussed. Today 'Revolution in Military Logistics' (RML) is taking place in the People's Liberation Army. An attempt has been made to study this evolution, development and rapid modernization of the People's Liberation Army logistics.

A concise history of the development and use of incendiary weapons--flamethrowers, incendiary bombs, napalm, and more--by the American military in the twentieth century, with a focus on World War II. * Describes how the U.S. created its incendiary weapons program virtually from scratch during World War II * Pivotal episodes include Omaha Beach on D-Day and the skilled performance of an armored flamethrower battalion in the Pacific * Also covers the history of incendiaries from ancient times to World War II and through Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm

In 1993, the United States signed the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), an international treaty outlawing the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons. The chemical weapons stockpiles at five of the U.S. chemical weapons storage sites have now been destroyed. At those sites, the munitions were robotically opened and the chemical agent was removed, collected, and incinerated. One of the remaining sites with chemical weapons stockpiles is the Blue Grass Army Depot near Richmond, Kentucky. In this case, caustic hydrolysis will be used to destroy the agents and energetics, resulting in a secondary waste stream known as hydrolysate. Review Criteria for Successful Treatment of Hydrolysate at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant develops criteria for successfully treating the hydrolysate, identifies systemization data that should factor into the criteria/decision process, suggests potential modifications to suggested treatment that would allow continued onsite processing, and assesses waste disposal procedures. This study further examines the possibility of delay or failure of the existing technology and examines possible alternatives to onsite treatment. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary 1 Introduction 2 The Supercritical Water Oxidation and Water Recovery System Processes Planned for Use at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant 3 Stakeholder Interests and Issues 4 Regulatory Requirements for Offsite Hydrolysate Shipment and Treatment 5 Transportation of Chemical Materials 6 Hydrolysate Treatment Criteria for Success and Decision Framework 7 Underperformance and Failure Risks, Systemization, and Contingency Options Appendixes Appendix A: Chronology of Events at the Blue Grass Army Depot to the Present, With Focus on Public Involvement Appendix B: Public Interest and Input Documents Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members Appendix D: Committee Activities

In the past, an excavated musket ball might simply have been catalogued as either a ""spherical lead bullet"" or an ""impacted bullet."" But each recovered ball, far from being a mere lump of lead, is a part of history and has a story to tell. With the help of new equipment and research techniques, and an increase in the number of discoveries, these narratives can finally contribute exacting detail to the historical record. Battlefield archaeologist Daniel M. Sivilich provides readers with the tools and techniques to unlock the stories of small shot in this book, the first definitive guide to identifying musket balls, from the oldest formed to those fired in the early nineteenth century. Musket Ball and Small Shot Identification: A Guide traces the history of musket balls and small shot, and explores their uses as lethal projectiles and in nonlethal alterations. Sivilich asks - and answers - a variety of questions to demonstrate how a musket ball found in a military context can help to interpret the site: Was it fired? What did it hit? What type of gun is it associated with? Has it been chewed, and if so, by whom or what? Was it hammered into gaming pieces? By equipping historians and archaeologists with the information necessary for answering these questions, Sivilich's accessible work opens new views into firing lines, casualty areas, and military camps. It dispels long-held misperceptions about lead shot having been bitten by humans, offers examples of shot altered to improve lethality, and discusses balls made of materials other than lead, such as pewter. Coupling detailed analysis with more than 300 color and black-and-white illustrations for comparison and identification, this guide will prove indispensable to historians, battlefield archeologists, and collectors. It is a critical resource for understanding the full story of firepower.