Originally the German assault gun was designed as an infantry support weapon, but the changing conditions of the battlefields of the Second World War forced it to adapt to perform a number of different roles, most importantly as a tank destroyer, although the infantry support role was never wholly discarded. If the much-glamorised Panzer divisions were the sword of the German army then the assault gun and tank destroyer units were its shield. As the Panzers' grip on the battlefield began to fail, though, it was left to the assault gun and tank destroyer crews to take up the burden.

The US Army requirement for a light utility helicopter was formulated after the Korean War. Bell's Model 204 design won a competition in 1955, and was given the military designation H-40, later renamed the HU-1 Iroquois. The original design called for a helicopter that could be used for transport, airborne battlefield command and control, medical evacuation, fire support co-ordination and search and rescue. Later its missions would be expanded to include troop insertion/extraction, armed escort and special operations. This title details all the technological background behind the development...

The Panther Medium Tank was produced as a direct result of early experiences with the revolutionary Soviet T-34/76. Designers and military experts combined to produce a number of variations to provide armoured support for the many branches of the German army. Whether acting as a command communications vehicle, involved in mobile air defence as a flakpanzer, a Panzer division recovery vehicle, or utilising the turret as a static defence system, the Panther in its many forms was the mainstay of Germany's plan to keep her enemies at bay on two fronts. This book, the product of 25 years of...