In the opening days of the Blitzkrieg campaign, few aircraft could invoke as much terror as the Junkers Ju 87. Nicknamed the "Stuka” (an abbreviation of Sturzkampfflugzeug - the German term for "dive-bomber”), the Ju 87 was perhaps the most...
Developed to replace the Model 1892 Krag-Jørgensen rifle, the Model 1903 Springfield was a five-shot bolt-action rifle that introduced the .30-06 cartridge - the standard US round until the introduction of the 7.62mm NATO cartridge - and gave the...
In 1938 the US Chief of Infantry requested that the Ordnance Department develop a carbine to be used by service and support troops, artillerymen, machine-gun crews, tankers, mortar crews and other troops not needing the power of the M1 Garand rifle....
The Kalashnikov AK-47 is the most ubiquitous assault rifle in the world, with more AK-47s and its variants in use than any other individual small arm. Created by Senior Sergeant Mikhail Kalashnikov, and first adopted by the USSR soon after World War...
The Thompson submachine gun, or Tommy gun developed an almost iconic status during the 20th century. It had an unusual beginning, for it was developed during the dying days of World War I as a 'one-man, hand-held machine gun.' The war ended before...
The Uzi submachine gun is one of the most recognizable weapons in history. Its familiarity stems in part from the sheer diversity of its users. Uzis have been seen being wielded and fired by US Secret Service agents and SWAT teams, Israeli soldiers,...
The world's first self-powered machine gun, the Maxim gun became a potent symbol of Victorian colonialism in the closing years of the 19th century. It was the brainchild of Sir Hiram Maxim, the American-born firearms inventor who founded the company...
This is the definitive study of British light tanks of the Second World War. The author draws upon a vast and comprehensive body of archival information and research to explore their technical characteristics and combat performance. The title...
The Red Army suffered such catastrophic losses of armour in the summer of 1941 that they begged Britain and the United States to send tanks. The first batches arrived in late 1941, just in time to take part in the defence of Moscow. The supplies of...