Failure to exploit the potential of an original idea is a recurring phenomenon in our national history. Few failures, however, can have been so costly in human life as that of our military commanders early in 1916 to appreciate that the tank was a war winning weapon. The slaughter of the Somme, Passchendaele and Ypres salient had to be endured before accepted conventional methods were abandoned and the tank given a chance. Bryan Cooper describes the early tank actions in vivid detail, with many eye-witness accounts. He tells of the courage and endurance of the crews not just in battle but in the appalling conditions in which they had to drive and fight their primitive vehicles. Scalded, scorched and poisoned with exhaust fumes, constantly threatened with being burned to death, these crews eventually laid the foundation for the Allied Victory in World War I. The book is well illustrated with many original photographs which give the present day reader a glimpse of the infancy of a dominant weapon of modern war.

This is the most up-to-the minute survey of the vital subject of sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs) to appear in ten years. It systematically analyzes the technological promises and weaknesses of SLCMs, especially conventionally armed, land-attack versions, explaining sophisticated technologies in language accessible to the general reader. Eric H. Arnett presents a cogent assessment of the crux of the SLCM issue for U.S. security, examining the coastal nation concept of the U.S. defensive position and investigating whether technology can adequately compensate for geography as Tomahawks and their Soviet counterparts give way to more advanced progeny. Arnett weighs the trade-offs in a frank discussion of the technologies and missions envisioned for current and future SLCMs. This well-researched, authoritative study evaluates both U.S. and Soviet SLCM arsenals, examines the role of arms control and unilateral initiatives in managing the dangers of SLCMs, and critically assesses the claims made for the Tomahawk conventionally armed cruise missile. The relevance of a changing international scene and domestic fiscal chaos to SLCM issues is fully appraised.

The book's eight chapters lead the reader through all aspects of this complex field with admirable lucidity. Early chapters describe missions envisioned for U.S. conventionally armed SLCMs, and assess actual SLCM technology. Chapter 4 addresses the reciprocal problem of Soviet SLCMs, describing possible and likely roles of Soviet nuclear and conventionally armed SLCMs and the importance of offering responses. The increasingly important question of how SLCMs might be used in the developing world, both by and against U.S. forces and security partners is considered in Chapter 5--an especially relevant discussion in light of the apparent success of the Tomahawk SLCM in the 1991 war with Iraq. The next two chapters describe SLCM arms control as it has been practiced and discuss, from two vantage points, the roles of future arms-control and unilateral disarmament initiatives in addressing the disadvantages of SLCMs. Finally, the immediate implications of the previous chapters for policy practitioners are developed in a chapter that focuses on specific policy recommendations. This timely contribution is a reliable source of information on SLCMs for the interested public, the non-government arms control community, naval personnel, and members of both Congress and the administration.

Countries around the globe are continuously investing money into weapon development and manufacturing. While weapon design has been a relevant topic, from the Middle Ages to today, the morality of this practice is not commonly presented in research. The Morality of Weapons Design and Development: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential scholarly resource that presents detailed discussions on ethical dilemmas in weapons design and innovations. While highlighting relevant topics including projectile and nuclear weapons, the true costs of war, design in peacetime, and weapons development and justification, this book is an ideal resource for researchers, engineers, graduate students, and professionals who have an interest in weapons design, development, and ethics.

THE SUNDAY TIMES NON FICTION BESTSELLER WHSmith NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018 'The best book you will ever read about Britain's greatest warplane' Patrick Bishop, bestselling author of Fighter Boys 'A rich and heartfelt tribute to this most iconic British machine' Rowland White, bestselling author of Vulcan 607 'As the RAF marks its centenary, Nichol has created a thrilling and often moving tribute to some of its greatest heroes' Mail on Sunday magazine The iconic Spitfire found fame during the darkest early days of World War II. But what happened to the redoubtable fighter and its crews beyond the Battle of Britain, and why is it still so loved today? In late spring 1940, Nazi Germany's domination of Europe had looked unstoppable. With the British Isles in easy reach since the fall of France, Adolf Hitler was convinced that Great Britain would be defeated in the skies over her southern coast, confident his Messerschmitts and Heinkels would outclass anything the Royal Air Force threw at them. What Hitler hadn't planned for was the agility and resilience of a marvel of British engineering that would quickly pass into legend - the Spitfire. Bestselling author John Nichol's passionate portrait of this magnificent fighter aircraft, its many innovations and updates, and the people who flew and loved them, carries the reader beyond the dogfights over Kent and Sussex. Spanning the full global reach of the Spitfire's deployment during WWII, from Malta to North Africa and the Far East, then over the D-Day beaches, it is always accessible, effortlessly entertaining and full of extraordinary spirit. Here are edge-of-the-seat stories and heart-stopping first-hand accounts of battling pilots forced to bail out over occupied territory; of sacrifice and wartime love; of aristocratic female flyers, and of the mechanics who braved the Nazi onslaught to keep the aircraft in battle-ready condition. Nichol takes the reader on a hair-raising, nail-biting and moving wartime history of the iconic Spitfire populated by a cast of redoubtable, heroic characters that make you want to stand up and cheer.

There is probably no area of more crucial concern nor one more subject to possible misunderstanding and riddled with paradox than nuclear weapons and their use, not only in war, but as deterrents to war. In Strategic Impasse, Cimbala examines the critical issues, problems, and paradoxes inherent in the current nuclear situation. It is from a fundamental contradiction--the usefulness of nuclear weapons versus the undesirability of nuclear war--that nuclear deadlock arises. Their usefulness as deterrents is based on their destructive potential and the balance of power in Europe cannot be adjusted until the inflexible, bipolar "balance of terror" is addressed. Ironically, superpower sovereignty in nuclear first strike/retaliation capability, shared across the divided East-West political buffer zone, created the impetus for improvements in "conventional" warfare. To the extent war can be contained below the nuclear threshold, conventional weaponry contributes to "deterrence by denial." One difficulty lies in the improbability of completely isolating the nuclear from the conventional battlefield in a European scenario. Also, a level of superpower force perceived to be adequate in peacetime might prove to be an inadequate intrawar deterrent. Because of the underdevelopment of conceptual frameworks, "credible deterrence"--the creation of nuclear campaigns designed to prevent war--remains conjectural. Highly usable weapons require a command system that can provide for simultaneous fighting and escalation, but escalation beyond a certain level conflicts with control and therefore usability. In turn, low expectations of weapon usability may weaken deterrence. In Gorbachev's "defensivesufficiency," forces for aggression and surprise attack would be diminished, while forces for defense would be strengthened. The problem lies not only in differentiating between offensive and defensive weaponry but in achieving a consensus on such a definition by NATO's member countries. The book is divided into three parts: the first section, "Issues of Theory and Strategy," scrutinizes the relationship between offense and defense and examines SDI and more inclusive strategic defense matters. It also questions the connection between policy objectives and force, and explores the "complication of externalities," such as relations with allies. In section two, "Stretching Deterrence," Cimbala reviews the "operational art" likely to be employed by the Soviets in a conventionally fought European war and defines and appraises the "sensor-cyber" revolution in technology and its impacts on preferred strategies. The final part, "Beyond Deterrence," considers war termination scenarios and related issues, including sociopolitical aspects, surveys the part nuclear weapons play in superpower competition in the Third World, and explains how issues of sovereignty effect deterrence, avoidance, and future super power relations. Strategic Impasse will enable scholars and students of military affairs as well as political scientists and government officials to see beyond current "nuclear rhetoric" and to make informed judgments on an issue that fundamentally affects this nation's and the world's future.

This book focuses on Biopreparat, the Soviet agency created in 1974, which spearheaded the largest and most sophisticated biological warfare programme the world has ever seen. At its height, Biopreparat employed more than 30,000 personnel and incorporated an enormous network embracing military-focused research institutes, design centres, biowarfare pilot facilities and dual-use production plants. The secret network pursued major offensive R&D programmes, which sought to use genetic engineering techniques to create microbial strains resistant to antibiotics and with wholly new and unexpected pathogenic properties. During the mid-1980s, Biopreparat increased in size and political importance and also emerged as a major civil biopharmaceutical player in the USSR. In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, an acute struggle for control of Biopreparat's most valuable assets took place and the network was eventually broken-up and control of its facilities transferred to a myriad of state agencies and private companies.

The importance of technology in our day to day lives is something that few people would deny. At home and in the office, in business and in politics, the effects of technology are pervasive. In this important new study, Anthony DiFilippo examines one specific aspect of this issue: the forces of political economy that direct the course of industrial technology. The book thoroughly analyzes the topic both empirically and comparatively and assesses the impact the political economy of technology has on the nation's standard of living, its quality of life, and its long-term prospects for economic and democratic advancement. In addition, DiFilippo concludes with a practical and rational alternative to confront many of the economic problems described. The book's primary thesis states that recent U.S. industrial policy, which has emphasized continuous advancement of military capabilities, has absorbed large amounts of capital and technical personnel. At the same time, foreign nations have improved their technological capacities through comprehensive, civilian-supported industrial policies. To improve U.S. competitiveness, manufacturing, productivity, and, ultimately, the standard of living, DiFilippo shows that technological resources must be shifted to the civilian sector. He examines a wide range of issues surrounding the topic, from the demise of the post-industrial economy and the conventional explanations for competitive decline to the resource drain of advanced warfare and the industrial policies of Japan, West Germany, and France. An extensive set of charts and tables support DiFilippo's argument and point out some of the serious economic problems the U.S. approach to high technology has caused. A bibliography of selected works is also provided. With its pertinence to current economic, political, and technological issues, From Industry to Arms will be a valuable resource for courses in government and business, political economy, policy analysis, and science and technology. Public and academic libraries will also find it to be an important and timely addition to their collections.

The legendary SR-71 Blackbird spy plane was, and still is, the world's only operational Mach 3 aircraft, and was designed, built, and tested by Lockheed's famed "Skunk Works." This new book covers all fifty Blackbirds built, from the first flight in 1962, to the last in 1999. As a replacement for the venerable U-2 spyplane, Lockheed went from contract signing to first flight in only thirty-two months starting in April 1958-from the beginning of design studies to the signing of a contract from the CIA to build the initial batch of A-12s in February 1960, to first flight in 1962. From the A-1 design through the completion of the very first Radar Cross Section models of the A-12, to the testing of every major system and subsystem, this book describes and illustrates the SR-71 as never before, using images from a variety of sources, as well as the author's own superb, new photography.

From the dawn of the atomic age to today, nuclear weapons have been central to the internal dynamics of US alliances in Europe and Asia. But nuclear weapons cooperation in US alliances has varied significantly between allies and over time. This book explores the history of America's nuclear posture worldwide, delving into alliance structures and interaction during and since the end of the Cold War to uncover the underlying dynamics of nuclear weapons cooperation between the US and its allies. Combining in-depth empirical analysis with an accessible theoretical lens, the book reveals that US allies have wielded significant influence in shaping nuclear weapons cooperation with the US in ways that reflect their own, often idiosyncratic, objectives. Alliances are ecosystems of exchange rather than mere tools of external balancing, the book argues, and institutional perspectives can offer an unprecedented insight into how structured cooperation can promote policy convergence. -- .

This valuable addition to the G.I. series is an illustrated guide to America's armoured forces from the use of prototypes tanks sputtering their way forward in 1918, to the complex technology of Operation Desert Storm. With detailed commentary by John P. Longellier, this book demonstrates just why these lethal troops were known as 'Hell on Wheels'.

This handbook provides critical analyses of the theory and practices of small arms proliferation and its impact on conflicts and organized violence in Africa. It examines the terrains, institutions, factors and actors that drive armed conflict and arms proliferation, and further explores the nature, scope, and dynamics of conflicts across the continent, as well as the extent to which these conflicts are exacerbated by the proliferation of small arms. The volume features rich analyses by contributors who are acquainted with, and widely experienced in, the formal and informal structures of arms proliferation and control, and their repercussions on violence, instability and insecurity across Africa. The chapters dissect the challenges of small arms and light weapons in Africa with a view to understanding roots causes and drivers, and generating a fresh body of analyses that adds value to the existing conversation on conflict management and peacebuilding in Africa. With contributions from scholars, development practitioners, defence and security professionals and civil society activists, the handbook seeks to serve as a reference for students, researchers, and policy makers on small arms proliferation, control and regulation; defence and security practitioners; and those involved in countering violence and managing conflicts in Africa.

This book] provides the kind of scholarly resource that educated citizens need to think for themselves, a rich digest of primary sources documenting--in their own words--the views, motives, and intentions of the Framers, historic commentators, legislators, and judiciary who have debated the right to keep and bear arms from the origins of our republic. "Preston K. Covey, Carnegie Mellon University "

Beginning with its origins in the English Civil War, Clayton Cramer traces the development in the United States of the right to keep and bear arms--through the Constitutional Convention, the ratification debates that followed, its inclusion by Congress in the Bill of Rights, to the present controversy over gun control. This book provides important background, analysis, documentation, and perspective for the ongoing national debate over arms.

This text considers the ethical credentials of the United States in branding various countries pariah states, and describes the background to the Iraq question (the role of Saddam, the genocidal sanctions regime, amongst other things). A detailed chronology of 1997-98 US/Iraq weapons inspections crisis is given, prior to a profile of the subsequent UN/Iraqi settlement and its aftermath.

The Editors would like to thank the authors of the papers at the Advanced Research Workshops for their excellent presentations at the workshops and the production of their drafts. We are indebted to those who helped in the preparation of this volume. We should particularly like to acknowledge the help of Piers Millett, who compiled the papers, set them into camera-ready format and produced the index and Dr. Simon Whitby who made the final changes to the manuscript. Any remaining errors are, of course, our responsibility. Malcolm R. Dando Cyril Klement Marian Negut Graham S. Pearson IX ACHIEVING SECURITY BENEFITS FROM TECHNICAL COOPERATION UNDER THE BIOLOGICAL AND TOXIN WEAPONS CONVENTION GRAHAM S. PEARSON Visiting Professor of International Security, Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD7 IDP, UK 1. Background l The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention which opened for signature in 1972 2 and entered into force in 1975 currently has 144 States Parties and 18 Signatory States Article I of the Convention is all-embracing in its complete prohibition of biological weapons stating that: Each State Party to this Convention undertakes never in any circumstances to develop, produce, stockpile or otherwise acquire or retain: (1) Microbial or other biological agents, or toxins whatever their origin or method of production, of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes; (2) Weapons, equipment or means of delivery designed to use such

Aircraft of World War II details the design and specifications of 75 of the most important warplanes used during the conflict, from the venerable Fairey Swordfish biplane, through legendary aircraft such as the Supermarine Spitfire and Douglas C-47 Dakota, to the Messerschmitt Me-262, the first operational jet fighter. Presenting the information in an innovative format, the book features three-view colour artworks of each aircraft along with informed text giving a detailed account of the aircraft’s development. Examining each featured aircraft over two spreads, full technical information is provided for each type, including maximum speed, range and powerplant. Arranged by country, expertly written and attractively presented, Aircraft of World War II is an accessible guide for any aviation enthusiast.

This book provides a rounded biography of Franz (later Sir Francis) Simon, his early life in Germany, his move to Oxford in 1933, and his experimental contributions to low temperature physics approximating absolute zero. After 1939 he switched his research to nuclear physics, and is credited with solving the problem of uranium isotope separation by gaseous diffusion for the British nuclear programme Tube Alloys. The volume is distinctive for its inclusion of source materials not available to previous researchers, such as Simon's diary and his correspondence with his wife, and for a fresh, well-informed insider voice on the five-power nuclear rivalry of the war years. The work also draws on a relatively mature nuclear literature to attempt a comparison and evaluation of the five nuclear rivals in wider political and military context, and to identify the factors, or groups of factors, that can explain the results.

Invented during World War I to break the grim deadlock of the Western Front trenches, tanks went on to revolutionize warfare. From the lightning Blitzkrieg assaults of World War II, to the great battles in the Middle Eastern desert, tanks have become one of the key components of the 'combined arms' philosophy of the modern battlefield. This pocket guide makes accessible to 'rivetheads' everywhere essential information to identify 40 of history's most fearsome tanks, including Germany's Tiger, Russia's T-34, America's Sherman and Panther, and France's FT-17. Each tank is presented with a detailed drawing to aid recognition.