M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank 1982–92

Osprey New Vanguard #2

by Steven J. Zaloga, Peter Sarson (Illustrator)

The M1 Abrams was the most radical departure in US tank design since World War II. Until the advent of the M1 in the early 1980s, the US Army had relied on the steady evolution of the M26 Pershing tank, through the M46, M47, M48 and M60. The M1 design came at a time when there were a host of important new tank technologies coming to fruition, in terms of structure and these were integrated into it. This book details the design, development and operational use of one of the world's best main battle tanks.

Genres: Military History, War, Military Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1985

About the author

Steven Zaloga is an author and defense analyst known worldwide for his articles and publications on military technology.  He has written over a hundred books on military technology and military history, including “Armored Thunderbolt: The US Army Sherman in World War II”, one of the most highly regarded histories of the Sherman Tank.  His books have been translated into Japanese, German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, and Russian. He was a special correspondent for Jane’s Intelligence Review and is on the executive board of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies and the New York Military Affairs Symposium. From 1987 through 1992, he was the writer/producer for Video Ordnance Inc., preparing their TV series Firepower.  He holds a BA in history from Union College and an MA in history from Columbia University.

Mr. Zaloga is also a noted scale armor modeler and is a host/moderator of the World War II Allied Discussion group at Missing-Lynx.com, a modelling website. He is a frequent contributor to the UK-based modeling magazine Military Modelling. He is a member of the Armor Modeling and Preservation Society.

Reviews

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of Osprey volumes in New Vanguard cycle, dedicated to military technology. This one deals, obviously, with M1 Abrams, USA:s standard main battle tank up to current time. The booklet itself covers the first decade of Abrams' existence an covers in reasonable detail development phase, inital deployment and upgrade to M1A1 version. Finally, last part is dedicated to the only armed conflict that Abrams participated in during the period covered by this volume - Kuwait War of 1991.

As with every Osprey, this booklet doesn't go into details, but strives to provide an overview. In this it succeeds quite well and is a worthy addition to the New Vanguard cycle.