This book is the second in a series that will delve in to the inner workings of Germany's most fearsome panzers of the Second World War, the Tiger and Tiger II. There are many books already in publication that deal with various aspects of the Tiger series of tanks but few include more than minimal biographical information of the men who crewed these battlefield behemoths. Based mainly on interviews, personal diaries, and recollections, the series will present to the reader the German Tiger and King Tiger crewmen as soldiers who had the opportunity to serve as a member of a crew and unit that fielded an extraordinary and deadly weapon. The series will include all levels of soldiers from the Tiger-abteilung commanders, down to the drivers, loaders, gunners, and radio-operators. As with the first book in this series covering the experiences of Alfred Rubbel, this second book is strictly the story of one man: Horst KrAnke. The story combines the experiences of KrAnke with approximately 400 photographs (most which are unpublished), hand-drawn maps, and original documents, to tell the story of a veteran of Germany's elite panzerwaffe and feared Tiger tanks. His initial experience was in training with Panzer Ersatz Abteilung 5. From there he was assigned to Panzer Regiment 6, of the 3rd Panzer Division and experienced the opening of the war in Russia. KrAnke was in action on the Eastern Front through the end of 1942 at which time he was sent back to Germany to attend officer cadet and then officer's schools. Upon his return to the front and Panzer Regiment 6 he was sidetracked by an old comrade and was incorporated into schwere Panzer Abteilung 503. At that point, Horst was introduced to the new Tiger tank and served with a Tiger unit, transferring to schwere Panzer Abteilung 505 to serve with his brother, until the end of the war.

In World War II, the U.S. Army not only supplied its soldiers with the most modern equipment and uniforms, suitable for any combat situation, but went as far as providing them with their favourite drinks or candy bars, and seemingly anything else they might require. This comprehensive reference book brings together all the equipment issued to American soldiers in the European Theater of Operations, 1943-45. Each item is presented with its catalog numbers, described in detail and fully depicted in photographs, including close-ups of the labels to aid identification of items. Graphics and diagrams offer additional information and context. This second volume of the G.I. Collector's Guide is fully revised with the addition of sections including personal equipment, trophies and souvenirs, the wartime draft and Stateside training, and the life of POWs in German camps. More than one thousand new artifacts with detailed captions are featured in this completely revised new work. Expert Henri-Paul Enjames describes all variations of uniform, insignia, badges, weapons, and equipment in detail. As a complete catalogue with high-quality photographs, this book is invaluable to both family historians researching grandpa's kit found in the attic and to assist collectors in their quest to find authentic items among the reproductions that flood the modern market.

This study looks at how the Soviet armed forces developed and deployed a range of machine guns that fitted with their offensive and defensive infantry tactics across six years of total war. In 1939, three machine guns dominated the Red Army's front-line infantry firepower - the DShK 1938 heavy machine gun, the PM M1910 medium/heavy machine gun and the Degtyaryov DP-27, a lighter, bipod-mounted support weapon. Confronted by cutting-edge German technology during the Great Patriotic War (1941-45), the Soviets responded with the development of new weaponry, including the RPD light machine gun, the 7.62x54mmR SG43 medium machine gun and the improved version of the DP-27, the DPM. Taken together, all these weapons gave the Red Army a more practical range of support weapons, better able to challenge the Germans for fire superiority on the battlefield. Fully illustrated, this study explains the technology and the tactics of these machine guns. Noted authority Chris McNab sets out how these machine guns were distributed and tactically applied and provides numerous examples of the weapons in action, from assault teams on the streets of Stalingrad to tank crews struggling for survival at Kursk. The book also reflects upon the weapons' post-war service; many of the machine guns remain in front-line use today. Illustrated with high-quality photographs and specially commissioned artwork, this is a deep analysis of these essential tools of warfare within the Soviet forces.

This book is a complete history of the Italian Model 1891Carcano rifle and variants that served as Italy's standard service rifle in World War I and World War II. It describes each major component of the weapon, as well as addressing the development of each variant in detail. One section of the book is devoted to all markings that have been identified, including those on the receiver, barrel, sights, magazine, and stock. Profusely illustrated, extensive appendices list serial numbers, production totals, inspection procedures, ammunition types, ammunition clips, ammunition boxes and packaging, ballistics data, accoutrements, and the Model 1891 as used by Italy's national marksmanship association.

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George Washington insisted that his portrait be painted with one. Daniel Boone created a legend with one. Abraham Lincoln shot them on the White House lawn. And Teddy Roosevelt had his specially customized.
"In this first-of-its-kind book, historian Alexander Rose delivers a colorful, engrossing biography of an American icon: the rifle. Drawing on the words of foot soldiers, inventors, and presidents, based on extensive new research, and spanning from the Revolution to the present day, American Rifle is a balanced, wonderfully entertaining history of the rifle and its place in American culture.

Representative examples of swords from 8th-11th century, fully described and illustrated, with general overview. This beautifully illustrated work fills a gap in the literature in English on the swords made and used in northern Europe during the Viking age, between the mid eighth and the mid eleventh centuries. Ewart Oakeshott outlines the significance and diversity of these ancient heirlooms; co-author Ian Peirce, who handled hundreds of swords in his research for this book in museums across northern Europe, selects and describes sixty of the finest representative weapons. Where possible, full-length photographs are included, in addition to illustrations of detail; an illustrated overview of blade types and construction, pattern-welding, inscription and handle forms and their classificationprefaces the catalogue of examples which is the principal part of this work. IAN PEIRCE was a lecturer and museum consultant specialising in early swords; EWART OAKESHOTT was renowned for his pioneer studies on a wide range of medieval swords.

Making its debut in 1935, the Browning High-Power was the world's most widely used military pistol for much of the 20th century. Military and law-enforcement agencies in more than 90 countries have issued the High-Power and it has seen combat in conflicts from World War II through to the 'War on Terror'. After conquering Belgium, Nazi Germany produced more than 300,000 High-Powers for use by the Waffen-SS, Fallschirmjager and others, and after 1945 the High-Power became standard for most NATO-armed forces as well as scores of others. Chambered for the 9x19mm Luger cartridge, John Browning's High-Power improved on the classic Colt M1911 design, especially in its use of a far simpler takedown system. The pistol's innovative 13-round magazine, designed by Dieudonne Saive, staggered the cartridges for higher capacity without unduly increasing the grip size. During its 82-year production run at Fabrique Nationale (FN) in Belgium, the design evolved slightly, but a 2017 High-Power was still easily recognizable as a descendant of the original model. Packed with gripping material including detailed technical specifications, contemporary photographs and highly accurate artist's renditions, this title is a comprehensive and informative guide to the world's most iconic semi-automatic pistol.

A wide-ranging study of the significance of swords throughout the whole Anglo-Saxon period, offering valuable insights into the meaning of and attitude towards swords. Swords were special in Anglo-Saxon England. Their names, deeds and pedigrees were enshrined in writing. Many were curated for generations, revealed by their worn and mended condition. Few ended their lives as casual discards, placed instead in graves, hoards and watercourses as part of ritualised acts. Contemporary sources leave no doubt that complex social meanings surrounded these weapons, transcending their use on the battlefield; but they have yet to transcend the traditional view that their primary social function was as status symbols. Even now, half a century after the first major study of Anglo-Saxon swords, their wider significance within their world has yet to be fully articulated. This book sets out to meet the challenge. Eschewing modern value judgements, it focuses instead on contemporary perceptions - exploring how those who made, used and experienced swords really felt about them. It takes a multidisciplinary and holistic approach, bringing together insights from art, archaeology and literature. Comparison with Scandinavia adds further nuance, revealing what was (and was not) distinctive of Anglo-Saxon views of these weapons. Far from elite baubles, swords are revealed to have been dynamic "living" artefacts with their own identities, histories and places in social networks - ideas fuelled by their adaptability, durability and unique rolein bloodshed. Sue Brunning is Curator of European Early Medieval Collections at The British Museum.

This book is the first comprehensive and easy to use reference since World War II covering prominent German wartime plastics manufacturers and products. Aimed squarely at World War II German militaria, ordnance, and small arms collectors, the author provides a concise account of the constituents and manufacturing processes, markings, codes, trademarks and material identification techniques of wartime Kunststoff products.

Designed in 1942, Britain's innovative Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank (PIAT) provided British and Commonwealth troops with a much-needed means of taking on Germany's formidable Panzers. Replacing the inadequate Boys anti-tank rifle, it was conceived in the top-secret World War II research and development organization known colloquially as 'Churchill's Toyshop', alongside other ingenious weapons such as the sticky bomb, the limpet mine and the time-pencil fuse. Unlike the more famous US bazooka, the PIAT had its roots in something simpler than rocket science. Operated from the shoulder, the PIAT was a spigot mortar which fired a heavy high-explosive bomb, with its main spring soaking up the recoil. The PIAT had a limited effective range. Troops required nerves of steel to get close enough to an enemy tank to ensure a direct hit, often approaching to within 50ft of the target, and no fewer than six Victoria Crosses were won during World War II by soldiers operating PIATs. A front-line weapon in every theatre of the conflict in which Commonwealth troops fought, from Europe to the Far East, the PIAT remained in service after 1945, seeing action during the Greek Civil War, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Korean War. This illustrated study combines detailed research with expert analysis to reveal the full story of the design, development and deployment of this revolutionary weapon.

The sword is an important and multi-faceted symbol of military power, royal and communal authority, religion and mysticism. This study takes the sword beyond it functional role as a tool for killing, considering it as a cultural artifact and the broader meaning and significance it had to its bearer. It should be on the bookshelf of anybody who claims to be interested in the importance of the sword in medieval life and thought and their cultural significance in the past - and present. Robert Woosnam-Savage, Royal Armouries. We see the sword as an object of nobility and status, a mystical artefact, imbued with power and symbolism. It is Roland's Durendal, Arthur's Excalibur, Aragorn's Narsil. A thing of beauty, its blade flashes in the sun, and its hilt gleams with opulent decoration. Yet this beauty belies a bloody function, for it is also a weapon that appears crude and brutal, requiring great strength to wield: cleaving armour, flesh, and bone. This wide-ranging book uncovers the breadth of the sword's place within the culture of high medieval Europe. Encompassing swords both real and imagined, physical, and in art and literature, it shows them as a powerful symbol of authority and legitimacy. It looks at the practicalities of the sword, including its production, as well as challenging our preconceptions about when and where it was used. In doing so, it reveals a far less familiar culture of swordsmanship, beyond the elite, in which swordplay was an entertainment, taught in the fencing school by masters such as Lichtenauer, Talhoffer, and Fiore, and codified in fencing manuals, or fechtbücher. The book also considers how our modern attempts to reconstruct medieval swordsmanship on screen, and in re-enactment and Historical European Martial Arts (or HEMA), shape, and have been shaped by, our preconceptions of the sword. As a whole, the weapon is shown to be at once far more mundane, and yet just as special, as we imagine it.

Ten years in the making with more than 1000 photographs, illustrations and documents covering the military headgear of twenty Central and South American countries. A fourth volume in a series from one of the world s authorities on the subject. A must resource for all serious collectors. In color and in French with Spanish- and English-language chapter summaries. Dix annees de preparation, plus de 1000 photographies patiemment rassemblees au sujet des vingt Etats d Amerique centrale et du sud. Cet ouvrage est un incontournable pour tous les collectionneurs de coiffures militaires et tous les amateurs de militaria d Amerique latine. Largement illustre en couleurs et redige en langue francaise, il comporte des resumes substantiels en langues anglaise et espagnole. Diez anos de trabajo, con mas de 1000 fotografias, ilustraciones y documentos, que cubren los cascos militares de una veintena de paises de Centro y Sur America. Un cuarto volumen, de una serie de una de las autoridades mundiales en el tema. Un recurso imprescindible para todos los coleccionistas serios. En color y en Frances, con resumenes de los capitulos en idiomas Espanol e Ingles.

For many years the magnificent color prints published by the firm of Rudolf Ackermann during the 19th century have been in the possession of lucky collectors. However, with the passing of many years these frail works of art have become damaged, or have perished, so that many are not available to those who wish to find and appreciate the work and care which went into these productions.

All the patterns used by the formidable troops of the Waffen-SS, from the first revolutionary designs of the late 1930s to little-known innovations of 1945, are explained and illustrated by means of more than 120 colour photographs of rare, original surviving specimens. The book also covers similar and derivative patterns used by German and foreign armies up to the modern day; and gives invaluable advice on the identification of original wartime uniforms. Useful for collectors, uniform historians and military modellers alike, this title aims to resolve the confusion surrounding this subject and establishes and complete and concise system of identification and terminology.

As the chief rival to NATO from 1955 - 1991, the Warsaw Pact was, and has since remained, a popular subject for military students and historians alike. On the collecting market the vast range of awards, badges and insignia produced during the Cold War has helped to make the national armies of the Warsaw Pact a popular choice with many military specialists. Surprisingly, even though a great deal has been written about the armour, weapons, uniforms and equipment, no comprehensive reference source on the subject of badges has been printed in the English language. Alongside the badges awarded by the land forces, many others are featured that were issued by the navies, air forces, border guards, militias and para-military sports associations of the USSR, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria between 1955 - 1991. For the first time, this book offers the collector a comprehensive reference source that will allow the accurate identification of Warsaw Pact badges, mentioning the various methods of construction employed, variations in design observed according to manufacturer or changes employed over time, and their general availability today.

One of the most feared weapons in the ancient world, the gladius was lethal both on the battlefield and in the arena. Literary sources tell of the terror it inspired, while archaeological evidence of wounds inflicted is testament to its deadly effect. By pulling together strands of literary, sculptural and archaeological evidence renowned expert M.C. Bishop creates a narrative of the gladius' development, exploring the way in which the shape of the short sword changed as soldiers and gladiators evolved their fighting style. Drawing together historical accounts, excavated artefacts and the results of the latest scientific analyses of the blades, this volume reveals the development, technology, training and use of the gladius hispaniensis: the sword that conquered the Mediterranean.

The term camouflage only came into widespread use during the First World War, and the specialist camouflage units developed by the combatants at the time put the bulk of their efforts into the concealment of artillery, vehicles, observation posts and bunkers. It was not until the Second World War that all major combatant nations issued camouflage uniforms better designed to disguise profile, and also tailored to the appropriate theatre of war. Camouflage Uniforms contains nearly 400 color images showing how armed forces all around the world have developed their own methods of concealing troops, often in response to their unique local environments. Studio photographs clearly show the uniforms with their patterns and colors and with explanatory captions this is an essential volume for collectors and military historians.

The history, manufacture, and ancient and modern uses of swords in Europe from the 5th century to today can be found here in one convenient source. Learn sword nomenclature and classification, discover sword physics secrets, and compare the history of swordsmanship in Europe to that of Japan. Practical information on different sword types, including those used by Vikings and Samurai, broadens the reader's understanding of the technical diversity of and relationships between swords from different eras and cultures. Readers can also learn how to tell authentic swords apart from fantasy swords, or "sword-like objects" (SLO), which are commonly used in movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Also, follow the manufacturing process, from welding to pommel construction, and read about historical replicas. Join the authors and countless other featured sword masters and experts on a fact-based and fun-filled adventure from the Middle Ages to modern Europe.

Using modern tools not available to previous authors on this subject, Craig Gottlieb paints a comprehensive picture of the Totenkopf Ring and the man who was behind it - Reichsfehrer-SS Heinrich Himmler. Gottlieb draws on a body of over 200 examples to document currently believed notions about the ring. He offers never before seen photos and documents, and even develops many new well-reasoned theories about the Totenkopf (Death Head) ring. The book also covers the pre-history of the Totenkopf ring, placing its appearance onto the "SS Scene" in historical context. Also covered are design background, construction techniques, and an in-depth analysis of the physical characteristics of rings. Gottlieb also includes sections on award documents and frames, ring shipping boxes, and provides many never-before-seen photographs of rings in wear. Finally, he brings rings to life with an extensive "personality profile" chapter in which he illustrates several famous rings.

This book surveys the medals awarded to British personnel for military service around the world and in two world wars. The campaign medals awarded for the military actions have become a popular field for collectors, since the majority of British awards were officially named, thus making it possible to research the military career of an individual or regiment. This second edition has been extended to include the operations of the British forces in the opening years of the twenty-first century.

This is the absorbing story of the handguns credited to Nambu Kijiro, the principal personal-defence weapons of the Imperial forces. Featuring full-color artwork and carefully chosen photographs, this book charts the origins, development, combat use, and legacy of the Nambu pistols. Cutaway artwork reveals the inner workings of these important handguns, while specially commissioned battlescenes depict them in use in action. Influenced by the German C 96 and other semi-automatic pistols, the first Nambu model was never accepted for universal issue, being confined largely to purchase by Japanese officers. Adopted in 1925, the 14th Year Type was to become the best-known of these handguns, serving in every campaign undertaken by the Japanese in the 1930s and then throughout World War II. It served alongside the bizarrely conceived Type 94, intended as the weapon of airmen, tank crew, and anyone to whom its compact dimensions were useful. When World War II ended, thousands of Nambu pistols arrived in America with US veterans of World War II, while others were carried by insurgents and other armed groups across South East Asia for decades after 1945. Fully illustrated, this is the engrossing story of these distinctive pistols, from their origins to their legacy.

This indispensable resource, compiled by an expert, employs an alphabetized, dictionary-style format that makes it easy to locate material on an astonishing variety of weapons. Arquebuses, flintlocks, matchlocks, and other antique guns appear here, as well as German armor, French rapiers, Roman short swords, Turkish crossbows, all the Japanese bladed weapons, and much more. Over 4,500 individual photographs and drawings, plus 875 detailed figures.

The Field of Cloth of Gold was one of the greatest courtly spectacles of the sixteenth century. A carefully-orchestrated meeting outside Calais between Henry VIII and Francis I, it encapsulated Henry's imperial ambitions and confirmed the role of the tournament in international diplomacy. Here, Keith Dowen and Scot Hurst reveal the glamour and excitement of the Field of Cloth of Gold. Using surviving artefacts and important archival material, they illustrate how England began the transition from being a small nation on the edge of Europe to becoming a global empire with power and influence. The armour that was created for the event was made possible by Henry VIII's new armoury at Greenwich and his existing armoury at the Tower of London. Tudor Power and Glory explains the skill of the armourers as they prepared for the tournament, the fighting that took place on horse and on foot, and the significance of the Field of Cloth of Gold as a political event as England and France, two emerging nations of old Europe, took their places on the world stage.