British Tanks The Second World War (Images of War), Wydawnictwa anglo i rosyjskojęzyczne

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
//-->First published in Great Britain in 2011 byPEN & SWORD MILITARYan imprint ofPen & Sword Books Ltd,47 Church Street,Barnsley,South YorkshireS70 2ASText copyright © Pen & Sword Books, 2011Photographs copyright © as credited, 2011A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.ISBN 978 1 84884 500 8eISBN 978 1 78303 837 4All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage andretrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.Typeset by Chic Media Ltd.Printed and bound by CPI UK.Pen & Sword Books Ltd incorporates the Imprints ofPen & Sword Aviation, Pen & Sword Family History, Pen & SwordMaritime, Pen & Sword Military, Pen & Sword Discovery, WharncliffeLocal History, Wharncliffe True Crime, Wharncliffe Transport, Pen &Sword Select, Pen & Sword Military Classics, Leo Cooper,The Praetorian Press, Remember When, Seaforth Publishing andFrontline Publishing.For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contactPen & Sword Books Limited47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, EnglandE-mail: enquiries@pen-and-sword.co.ukWebsite:www.pen-and-sword.co.ukContentsIntroductionChapter OneThe Development of the TankChapter TwoLight TanksChapter ThreeCruiser TanksChapter FourInfantry TanksChapter FiveHeavy TanksChapter SixAmerican Tanks in British ServiceChapter SevenSpecials, Engineers’ Tanks and ‘Funnies’IntroductionThe tank made its first appearance on the Western Front in 1916, but it was to be another twodecades before the strategies of tank warfare reached some sort of maturity. By 1939/40, GermanBlitzkrieg tactics showed what tanks and infantry could achieve in the hands of well-trainedcommanders who understood their strengths and weaknesses. Although theWehrmachtweregenerally the masters of tank warfare, it is interesting to consider how each of the majorcombatants approached the question of tank design during this period.As you might imagine, theWehrmachttook a rational and organised approach. Between 1939 and1945, disregarding captured enemy tanks, Germany deployed just six major types of tank, designatedPanzerkampfwagen (PzKpfw) ItoVI,with logical modifications and improvements bringing changesin firepower and protection. For example,PzKpfw Iwas a light tank armed with two 7.92mmmachine guns, whilst thePzKpfw IIwas equipped with a 20mm gun. The mediumPzKpfw IIIof 1937was the primary weapon of the German Panzer divisions and was armed with a 37mm, and then a50mm, gun. It remained in production until 1943. The medium-weightPzKpfw IVand theheavy/mediumPzKpfw VPanther, were both armed with a 75mm gun, as was the first variant of thePzKpfw VITiger. The second iteration of thePzKpfw VI,theKönigstiger,was equipped with thefearsome 88mm gun.The US Army was possibly even slower off the mark in developing modern tanks than Britain,and in 1939/40, the standard US tanks were the light M1 and M2, and the medium M2. However, formost of the war, production was concentrated on the M3/M5 Stuart light tank and the M4 Shermanmedium and, as the war progressed, the US Army preferred to continue to produce large numbers ofwhat were, generally, compromised designs rather than disrupt production in search of perfection.Although some M2 light tanks came to Britain for training, the type never saw combat and wassuperseded by the M3/M5 Stuart, armed with a 37mm gun, even before the USA was involved in theconflict. By 1943, the M3/M5 was obsolete and was superseded, in turn, by the M24 Chaffee, whichmounted a 75mm gun. The medium M2, also armed with a 37mm gun, quickly gave way to the curiousM3 Lee/Grant with both 75mm and 37mm guns, but best known in this class, and the second mostnumerous tank of the conflict, was the M4 Sherman. Early Shermans mounted a 75mm gun, but thiswas subsequently replaced by a 76mm weapon; the British also mounted a 17-pounder (76.2mm) gunon the Sherman in a new turret. US heavy tanks included the M6, armed with both 3in and 37mm mainguns, but built in very small numbers, and the M26 Pershing, with a 90mm gun, but which came toolate in the war to see any action in Europe.The Soviet Union was similarly slow to respond to the challenges of designing modern tanksand, although the Red Army received Lend-Lease supplies of both British and American tanks, withone notable exception, the Soviet-designed tanks of the period were essentially pre-war designs. TheBT series were fast medium tanks based on the designs of the American J. Walter Christie, and wasarmed with a 37mm, and then a 45mm, main gun; the design dated back to 1935, but the BT-7remained in production throughout the war. The T-28B medium tank was inspired by British multi-turret machines of the 1930s and was armed with a 76.2mm main gun, but was inadequatelyarmoured. The T-32 and T-35 were heavy tanks, with a 76.2mm main gun, but were unsuccessful dueto their sheer size. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
  • zanotowane.pl
  • doc.pisz.pl
  • pdf.pisz.pl
  • lemansa.htw.pl