Forming the Panzers I

AFV Germany 15 Min Read

France’s horsed cavalry divisions were not very different from the German models. Contemporary Polish mobilization plans projected mobile or “mixed divisions.” In the course of the decade, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria would collect their respective tank and motorized elements into ad hoc “fast divisions,” though these reflect available forces rather than any real doctrine. But the German stress on…

T-34 series

AFV Soviet

ISU-122/152 GUNS

AFV Soviet

Newsletter

Get the latest from Weapons and Warfare right to your inbox.

Follow Us

Most Recent

AFV 13 Min Read

Israeli Armor Pre-1973

Following World War II the opposing Arab and Israeli armies were among the primary practitioners of armored warfare, largely because the terrain and conditions were so suitable. Long before the partition of Palestine, Israeli agents began the covert purchase of heavy weapons including ten old French R39 light tanks. The…

AFV 8 Min Read

Light Tank, M5 Series, General Stuart

Light Tank M5 stemmed from a suggestion by Cadillac Division of GMC to the Ordnance Department that they should try the M3 light tank with twin Cadillac engines installed and the commercial Cadillac Hydramatic transmission which was produced for automobiles. In the fall of 1941, a standard M3 was converted…

AFV Germany 11 Min Read

King Tiger

LINK August 1944 The Tiger II combined the heavy armour of the Tiger I with the slopped armour of the Panther. It was a completely different tank to the Tiger I and weighed 70 tons compared to the 56 tons of the Tiger I. The King Tiger was first used…

AFV 25 Min Read

M36 Tank Destroyers in Combat

A decision that altered the war for the tank killers emerged from the FĂĽhrerbunker under the ruins of Berlin during February 1945: 1,675 tanks and assault guns (new or repaired) were sent to the Eastern Front, while only sixty-seven went west. Hitler also stripped the Western Front of half its…

AFV China 9 Min Read

Chinese ZTQ-15 Light Tank

The process of re-equipping the PLA Army continues, with a focus on the objectives of completing basic mechanisation and improving informatisation by 2020. Legacy equipment, such as the ZTZ-59 tank and PL-59 howitzer, is now being cycled out of frontline units, although it is unlikely that all of it will…

AFV Doctrine German Units 21 Min Read

Panzer Force 1940: A Major Restructuring

Though there had been no significant tank-versus-tank engagements during the Polish campaign, German planners were aware that against the French and British, they would face superior numbers, better armed and armored vehicles, and not least stronger antitank defenses. As the Wehrmacht began the process of deploying westward, the armored force…

Most Popular

76mm Gun Motor Carriage T86, T86E1, and T87 (Amphibious)

T86 GMC (Amphibious) showing new flotation hull on M18 chassis. T87 GMC (Amphibious) with 105mm…

Tigers – The Heavy Punch II

German commanders kept them back as a reserve to counterattack against Soviet breakthroughs, and only…

General Motors XM-1

General Motors XM1 prototype Congress canceled the MBT-70 in November and XM803 December 1971, and…

The Survivability of Tanks and Crews

This latest Soviet heavy tank was adopted and then deployed during the Winter War with…