A new addition to the Images of War series, covering the Patton tanks of the Cold War. This is a fascinating book that reveals the development from the M47 to the M60 and the specialist support variants. Good text and outstanding images, a Must Read book.
NAME: Images of War, The Patton Tank Cold War Warrior, Rare Photographs From Wartime Archives FILE: R2442 AUTHOR: Michael Green PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING: soft back PAGES: 207 PRICE: £14.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWII, World War 2, World War Two, Second World War, Cold War, US Armour, M47, M48, M60, British 105mm gun ISBN: 1-84884-761-1 IMAGE: B2442.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/j5a8rvj LINKS: DESCRIPTION: A new addition to the Images of War series, covering the Patton tanks of the Cold War. This is a fascinating book that reveals the development from the M47 to the M60 and the specialist support variants. Good text and outstanding images, a Must Read book. The US was not a leader in armoured technology and tactics, but it was good at producing generally competent fighting vehicles in very large numbers. Although the British developed very effective variants of the Sherman, including the Tiger-killer Sherman Firefly, and the specialist models for the Normandy Landings, the Sherman was rapidly known as the 'Tommy cooker' because the Germans had little difficulty in setting it on fire. At the end of WWII, the US only had the Sherman and the Pershings as main battle tanks with which to oppose the Russia hordes of much more effective tanks. There was a reluctance to adopt the British Centurion which arrived too late for WWII but was rapidly acknowledged as a major advance in tank design. Although the Centurion sold in large numbers for export and formed a key tank in the Israeli armoured forces, the US decided to continue with the development of the less effective M46. In spite of its failings, this conversion of the Pershing entered service in some numbers. Recognizing the deficiencies of the M46, the M47 development featured a 90mm main gun and new turret which was more effective against the Soviet threat but was still behind the British 105mm gun which had been developed for, and fitted to, the Centurion. However, the M47 was soon distributed mainly to NATO Allies and replaced by the M48 development. Initially, over 12,000 gasoline-powered examples were brought into service. These were followed by the M48A3 which was taken to Vietnam by the US Army and the US Marines. By the late 1950s, the M60 appeared with the British 105mm main gun and the M48A5 went into service with the British 105mm main gun and diesel engines. The missed opportunity was to go straight to the British Centurion with its 105mm gun and advanced fire control system, moving on in turn to the British Challenger tank with its 120mm gun, further improved fire control and advanced Chobham armour. Had the US negotiated a deal with Britain, NATO could have been rapidly equipped with a much more effective AFV than the opposing Russian tanks. The author has provided a very informative narrative to accompany the photo-captions and a excellent selection of images. This covers the four variants of M46 thru M60, and the specialist engineer, recovery, bridging and anti-aircraft versions.