A comprehensive and detailed illustrated examination of the development and combat performance of US battle tanks from the end of World War II through to the present day.
This is the second of two volumes examining the development of US Army and USMC battle tanks, covering the period from the end of World War II through to the present day. It covesr many of the designs prepared for the war, but never put into serial production before going into the “Tank Crisis” of 1950, caused by the surprise attack in Korea. The initial phase of the Korean War was dominated by tank warfare and is covered in detail.
US tank development in the 1950s and 1960s was dominated by the Cold War confrontation in Europe and US–Soviet rivalry, and the US Army’s attempts to come to grip with the nuclear battlefield included the design of the famous Patton tank series, as well as short-lived attempts to develop more radical tanks such as the T95. Later attempts to develop a tank with Germany led to the overly ambitious and failed MBT-70 tank program. In the wake of that fiasco, the Army was forced to accept a more austere design – the M1 Abrams. In spite of the price cap placed on this design, the M1 Abrams proved to be the best US tank design of the post-World War II period and is still in service today. The role of this tank in the 1990–91 Gulf War is covered, along with the US Marine Corps use of older types such as the M60A1. This story is brought up to the present day with the attempts to develop a light tank for rapid deployment that have resulted in the M10 Booker Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle in 2023.
Packed with dozens of intricate color profiles and isometric views, vivid battlescene artworks, technical illustrations, and superbly clear period photographs, this work provides a wide-ranging and essential reference work on the tanks and machines at the cutting edge of armored warfare.
