Friday, August 30, 2013

Nakajima E8N 'Dave' Navy Type 95 Reconnaissance Seaplane

The Nakajima E8N 'Dave' Navy Type 95 Reconnaissance Seaplane was a biplane that replaced the earlier Nakajima E4N Navy Type 90-2-2 Reconnaissance Seaplane and was a very similar design.

Nakajima E4N

The Nakajima E4N was a reconnaissance biplane that went through two very different designs before entering service with the Japanese Navy during the 1930s.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Nakajima E2N

The Nakajima E2N was a sesquiplane reconnaissance aircraft that served as a catapult based short-range reconnaissance aircraft and as a training aircraft for several years after entering production in 1927.

Nakajima D3N Experimental 11-Shi Carrier Bomber

The Nakajima D3N Experimental 11-Shi Carrier Bomber was designed to replace the Aichi Type 97 Carrier Bomber, but lost out to the Aichi D3A1.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Greece and Rome at War, Peter Connolly.

Greece and Rome at War, Peter Connolly.

 An excellent military history of Ancient Greece and Rome, including an outline of military events and a detailed examination of the organisation and equipment of the armies of the period, based on a mix of documentary evidence, art and archaeology, hands-on reconstructions and visits to the battlefields.
[read full review]

The Birth of the Royal Marines 1664-1802, Britt Zerbe.

The Birth of the Royal Marines 1664-1802, Britt Zerbe.

A study of the formation of the Royal Marines, focusing on the fifty years from 1755 when the current Marine Corps was formed. Organised thematically, looking at the formation, administration, manning and uses of the Marines, both as a police force (onboard ship and on shore) and as a military force.
[read full review]

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Siege of Darum (Mid December 1170)

The siege of Darum (Mid December 1170) was part of Saladin's first major offensive against the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, and was abandoned after a relief army appeared on the scene.

Siege of Damietta (25 October-19 December 1169)

The siege of Damietta (25 October-19 December 1169) was the main event in a failed Crusader and Byzantine attempt to conquer Egypt and undo the Syrian occupation of that country.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Panzerkampfwagen Neubaufahrzeuge

The Panzerkampfwagen Neubaufahrzeuge was a design for a multi-turreted medium-heavy tank that was produced in 1934-35 but that wasn't accepted for production.

Sonderkraftfahrzeug or Sd.Kfz numbers

Sonderkraftfahrzeug or Sd.Kfz numbers were ordnance numbers allocated to German military vehicles during the period of German re-armament in the 1930s and throughout the Second World War.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Battle of the Horns of Hamah (13 April 1175)

The battle of the Horns of Hamah (13 April 1175) was an important battle during Saladin's campaign to gain control of Syria and saw him defeat a combined army from Aleppo and Mosul.

Siege of Aleppo (30 December 1174-March 1175)

The siege of Aleppo (30 December 1174-March 1175) was Saladin's first attempt to capture Aleppo and take control of Nur ad-Din's young son and heir.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Nakajima-Fokker Ki-6 Type 95-2 Crew Trainer

The Nakajima-Fokker Ki-6 Type 95-2 Crew Trainer was based on the Fokker Super Universal and was designed to train the crews of multi-place bomber aircraft.

Nakajima C2N

The Nakajima C2N was a reconnaissance version of the Fokker Super Universal passenger transport aircraft, produced under license in Japan by Nakajima.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

15cm sIG33 (Sfl) auf Jagdpanzer 38(t)

The 15cm sIG33 (Sfl) auf Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer was a modified version of the standard Hetzer anti-tank vehicle that carried a 15cm heavy howitzer.

Panzerkampfwagen 38(d)

The Panzerkampfwagen 38(d) was a modified and expanded version of the Panzer 38(t) that was to have been used as the basis for a family of new weapons during 1945 but that never reached production.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Carve Her Name With Pride, R. J. Minney.

Carve Her Name With Pride, R. J. Minney.

 The classic biography of Violette Szabo, one of the most famous SOE operatives of the Second World War, tracing her life from her childhood in Britain and France to her brief tragic wartime marriage and her career in SOE, which saw her captured on her second mission, imprisoned, tortured and finally executed in the last days of the war.
[read full review]

Airway to the East 1918-1920 and the collapse of No.1 Aerial Route RAF, Clive Semple.

Airway to the East 1918-1920 and the collapse of No.1 Aerial Route RAF, Clive Semple.

An account of the disastrous failure of the RAF's first attempt to move large numbers of aircraft over a long distance by air, in this case from France to Egypt in 1919. Eight men were killed and many of the aircraft were lost before the attempt was abandoned, but it did provide some invaluable experience in the long-distance movement of military aircraft.
[read full review]

Monday, August 19, 2013

Nakajima Ki-68

The Nakajima Ki-68 was a design for a four-engined heavy bomber based on the Douglas DC-4E.

Nakajima Ki-34 Army Type 97 Transport

The Nakajima Ki-34 Army Type 97 Transport was a twin-engined light transport that was originally developed as a smaller version of the Douglas DC-2 for use on short range, low traffic civil airline routes.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Flammpanzer 38(t) Hetzer

The Flammpanzer 38(t) Hetzer was the designation given to twenty Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzers that were converted to carry flame throwers instead of their normal 7.5cm guns

Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer

The Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer was by far the best in a series of tank hunters based on the Panzerkampfwagen 38(t) and was a totally redesigned version of the vehicle that carried a powerful 7.5cm tank gun that was carried in the superstructure of the vehicle, just as in the more famous StuG family.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Italian Rapier Combat: Capo Ferro's 'Gran Simalcro', ed. Jared Kirby.

Italian Rapier Combat: Capo Ferro's 'Gran Simalcro', ed. Jared Kirby.
A translation of a classic Italian manual on fighting with the rapier, complete with reproductions of a mix of illustrations from two early editions of this famous work. Most technical terms have been left in Italian, with clear explanations at the start, so the book is best suited to someone with an interest in fencing or authentic period fighting methods.
 [read full review]

Walcheren 1809, Martin R. Howard.

Walcheren 1809, Martin R. Howard.
A history of one of the great disasters of British military history, when a large army was sent to try and capture Antwerp but stalled at Walcheren where disease destroyed the army. A good study of a failed amphibious expedition and an example of how not to carry out a large scale expedition
[read full review]

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Nan Shui ('Blessing of the South')

The Nan Shui ('Blessing of the South') was one of two fast cruisers built in Germany in the 1880s for the Chinese Nanyang fleet.

Nan Ch'en ('Ornament of the South')

The Nan Ch'en ('Ornament of the South') was one of two fast but unarmoured cruisers built in the 1880s in Germany for the Chinese Nanyang fleet.

Nan Ch'en ('Ornament of the South')

The Nan Ch'en ('Ornament of the South') was one of two fast but unarmoured cruisers built in the 1880s in Germany for the Chinese Nanyang fleet.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Nakajima Ki-19

The Nakajima Ki-19 was a twin-engined heavy bomber that was developed in 1936-37, but that lost out to the Mitsubishi Ki-21.

Nakajima Ki-8

The Nakajima Ki-8 Experimental Two-Seat Fighter was a single-engine two-seat fighter produced as a private venture in the hope that the Japanese army would be interested.

Monday, August 12, 2013

The Waterloo Archive: Volume IV: British Sources, ed. Gareth Glover.

The Waterloo Archive: Volume IV: British Sources, ed. Gareth Glover.

A splendid selection of sources, mainly letters written just before and after the battle of Waterloo, describing the campaign, the battle itself and its aftermath. Provides a mix of personal accounts of the fighting, rumours from the period before and after and the mundane concern of the soldiers in the field. A fantastic source for anyone interested in Waterloo or in Napoleonic warfare in general.
 [read full review]

Operation Barbarossa - The German Invasion of Soviet Russia, Robert Kirchubel.

Operation Barbarossa - The German Invasion of Soviet Russia, Robert Kirchubel.

An excellent operational history of Barbarossa based on the three Osprey Campaign books, but with the text entirely reorganised and expanded where necessary. Supported by the usual excellent Osprey maps and illustrations, the result is a detailed but readable account of Operation Barbarossa, the biggest German gamble of the Second World War.
[read full review]

Friday, August 09, 2013

Sixteen new Second World War pictures

Today we add sixteen new pictures (http://www.historyofwar.org/recent_pictures.html), all related to the Second World War and including a collection from Norway in 1940.

Thursday, August 08, 2013

Munitionsfahrzeug 38(t)

The Munitionsfahrzeug 38(t) was an ammunition carrying vehicle produced to work alongside the 15cm sIG Grille.

15cm sIG33 (Sfl) auf PzKpfw 38(t) Grille (Bison)

The 15cm sIG33 (Sfl) auf PzKpfw 38(t) Grille (Bison), SdKfz 138/1 was a self-propelled artillery gun that mounted the standard German 15cm heavy howitzer on the chassis of the obsolete Panzerkampfwagen 38(t).

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Siege of Alexandria (April-August 1167)

The siege of Alexandria (April-August 1167) was Saladin's first recorded independent command, and he managed to hold the city until both sides were exhausted and a peace treaty could be negotiated.

Battle of Babain (18 March 1167)

The battle of Babain (18 March 1167) was an inconclusive battle during Nur ad-Din's second invasion of Egypt that is best know for being Saladin's first recorded major battle.

Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Somme Success: The Royal Flying Corps and the Battle of the Somme 1916, Peter Hart.

Somme Success: The Royal Flying Corps and the Battle of the Somme 1916, Peter Hart.

A compelling account of the aerial battle fought alongside the more famous fighting on the ground during the long battle of the Somme. Focuses on what the air forces were attempting to achieve and how successful they were, with the more familiar duals between air aces and technological developments placed more firmly in context than is normally the case.
[read full review]

Stalingrad The Infernal Cauldron, Stephen Walsh.

Stalingrad The Infernal Cauldron, Stephen Walsh.

A good medium length of the battle of Stalingrad, covering the build-up to the German siege, the siege itself, the Soviet counterattack and German attempts to break through to the trapped Sixth Army. Well illustrated and supported by clear useful maps both of the fighting in the city itself and of the wider campaigns.
[read full review]

Friday, August 02, 2013

Australian Campaign on Bougainville

The Australian Campaign on Bougainville lasted from November 1944 until the Japanese surrender on the island in August 1945 and saw fighting renewed on the island as the Australians attempted to clear the last Japanese strongholds.

Operation Blissful, the Choiseul Raid of 27 October-4 November 1943

Operation Blissful, the Choiseul Raid of 27 October-4 November 1943, was a diversionary attack designed to distract Japanese attentions away from Bougainville, the next American target in the Solomon Islands.

Thursday, August 01, 2013

Nakajima C6N Saiun (Painted Cloud) 'Myrt'

The Nakajima C6N Saiun (Painted Cloud) 'Myrt' was a fast long-range reconnaissance aircraft that entered service in the summer of 1944 and was almost immune to Allied interception.

Nakajima D2N

The Nakajima D2N was Nakajima's last attempt to design a dive-bomber, and was developed in cooperation with the Japanese Navy.