Dick Taylor

This book is not only intended for a general readership, but also for military researchers and historians who often find that they get lost in the huge and arcane raft of terminology employed by the army during the conflict. It is an essential guide resting on the elbow of every serious historian as they undertake research using primary and secondary sources, and of every reader exploring secondary sources about the war. No such reference book as this exists. The author is an experienced military historian with a background in British Army history, and yet even he often found himself stumped when reading War Diaries, National Archive documents, and other primary sources. The text consists of the following main sections: • Abbreviations and acronyms • Units, regiments and corps • A full glossary of military concepts and terminology • British army slang • Operational names As well as general military terms, a great deal of effort has gone into looking at the often deeply technical and even arcane terminology used not only by the commanders and their staff and the combat units, but also by the multitude of supporting organisations, including artillery, engineering, supply and transport, and medical. What's a BM? It's a Band Master, a Beach Master, a Brigade Major and a Bending Moment in bridging!

This is the second book in a series about weathering and designed with one main audience in mind – the military modeller. As we all know, there are many books concerned with weathering military models available, but they all concentrate on weathering techniques – pre-shading, washes, pin-washes, dry-brushing, hairspray, you name it, it has a name and a technique. This series is different: it does not tell the modeller how to achieve a particular finish. Rather, it is a reference series showing a range of real military vehicles and their components in real military environments. Each chapter focuses on different aspects of weathering, from wheels and engines to extreme rust and glass surfaces, providing invaluable insights for achieving realistic finishes.

This is a book about weathering and designed with one audience in mind – the military modeler. To be sure, there are many books concerned with weathering military models available, but they all concentrate on weathering techniques – pre-shading, washes, pin-washes, dry-brushing, hairspray, you name it, it has a name and a technique. This book is different: it does not tell the modeler how to achieve a particular finish. Rather, it is a reference book showing a range of real military vehicles and their components in real military environments.

The introduction into British army service of the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank (MBT) was originally intended to take a mere eighteen months from design to production, but in the event, it took something closer to ten years. Why this was so is an important part of the Challenger 2 story, and although on the face of it this might seem to be a clear failure, it actually produced the most thoroughly tested and reliable tank ever to enter service with the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC). The tank has now been in service for twenty years and can be expected to form part of the British army's inventory - albeit in low numbers - until around 2035, which would make it the longest-serving frontline battle tank ever used by the UK.

This book is intended to be the first in a short series looking at the major developments of battle tanks by the western nations in the period from the end of the Second World War to the present. During WW2 the tank came of age, and was probably the predominant land weapon of the period. However the tank was never perfected during the war, and the post-war decades have seen enormous resources expended on trying to do just that – to make the tank perfect. This of course is an impossible task, as threats evolve and mutate, and trying to design a vehicle (or indeed any weapon of war) to do a multitude of different tasks will inevitably lead to compromise. Notwithstanding this, the development of the modern ‘Chariots of Fire’ in the 1950s was an utterly fascinating process, with ten or more project and trial tank designs rejected for every design actually adopted. It was truly an era when technology was evolving rapidly, for if the specifications of the late 1940s differed little from the most powerful wartime designs; by 1960 the specifications for new battle tanks reflected every tactical implication of NATO’s nuclear strategy.

Challenger 2 (CR2) is the British Army's main battle tank. CR2 is based on the Challenger 1 tank, which served with distinction on operations in the Gulf War and the Balkans.

An insight into the design, construction and operation of the German Army's Second World War medium battle tank, When Hitler unleashed Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union in June 1941, the 23-tonne Panzer III was in the vanguard of the German assault. It saw widespread use during the Second World War in campaigns that included Poland, France, the Soviet Union, the Balkans, North Africa and Normandy. Centrepiece of the Haynes Panzer III Tank Manual is the Bovington Tank Museum's PzKpfw III Ausf L, which has been restored to running condition. Full coverage is given of the tank's design, construction, war service and the restoration of the Tank Museum's Ausf L version., Authors: Dick Taylor is a former British Army Challenger tank commander and now works fulltime as an author specialising in armoured fighting vehicles. Dick is author of the Haynes Challenger 1 MBT Manual and the forthcoming Chieftain Tank Manual. Mike Hayton is workshop manager at the Tank Museum and was closely involved in the restoration of the Panzer III to running order. He is co-author of the Haynes Tiger Tank Manual.