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Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare, The: Volume 2
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 6, 2018
Being as this is an encyclopedia set the pages are numbered in a series. This volume, which is the second one, starts with page 113 and ends with 224. In the last volume is an index that tells you what page to go to in order to find the topic of interest. That said, here is a list of some of the weapons listed from the twentieth century.
This first one I will go into a little detail with so you will not only get a flavor of what is in store here but also maybe teach you something. The Soviet air to air missile Anab (AA-3) had a range of about 8 to 10 km (5-6 miles). (This was important to know.) It had a solid fuel rocket motor (liquid, like in ICBMs unstable), and there were two versions: infrared guidance (that could possibly be countered by launching flares) and semi-active radar homing (possible counter by jamming). They usually carried two of each kind.
Also listed are the World War II Italian tanks made by Ansaldo, which were effective against Ethiopian tribesmen in 1936 but death traps when going up against any and every Allied made.
Several examples of Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) are given. Regardless of what the bleach blond says on the evening news, APCs are not tanks. APCs carry infantry. The only tank that could possibly carry a few infantry was the Israeli Merkava.
The first jet bomber, the German Ar 234 Blitz, is covered.
Many ships listed, including the USS Arizona.
The Japanese Arisaka bolt action rifle had one of the strongest actions ever made, in spite of all the Allied wartime propaganda of "cheap Jap stuff."
Britain's most famous aircraft carrier, the Ark Royal, is there.
Of course the Armalite is listed. That gave us the AR-15 and the M16 rifle of Viet Nam fame.
The first cruise missiles, the ASALM, were made to knock out enemy radar and communication sites so the bombers could get through.
Asdic was submarine detection gear for ships.
The A10 Avenger's General Electric GAU-8 30 mm (shell diameter) can fire at 4200 rounds per minute. Already a potent tank buster, later depleted uranium rounds were even more devastating.
The WWII TBF Avenger plane is there. (And I saw 8 of them at a recent airshow!)
There is a special section on various German artillery on the last few pages.
A very interesting book for anyone interested in history.
This first one I will go into a little detail with so you will not only get a flavor of what is in store here but also maybe teach you something. The Soviet air to air missile Anab (AA-3) had a range of about 8 to 10 km (5-6 miles). (This was important to know.) It had a solid fuel rocket motor (liquid, like in ICBMs unstable), and there were two versions: infrared guidance (that could possibly be countered by launching flares) and semi-active radar homing (possible counter by jamming). They usually carried two of each kind.
Also listed are the World War II Italian tanks made by Ansaldo, which were effective against Ethiopian tribesmen in 1936 but death traps when going up against any and every Allied made.
Several examples of Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) are given. Regardless of what the bleach blond says on the evening news, APCs are not tanks. APCs carry infantry. The only tank that could possibly carry a few infantry was the Israeli Merkava.
The first jet bomber, the German Ar 234 Blitz, is covered.
Many ships listed, including the USS Arizona.
The Japanese Arisaka bolt action rifle had one of the strongest actions ever made, in spite of all the Allied wartime propaganda of "cheap Jap stuff."
Britain's most famous aircraft carrier, the Ark Royal, is there.
Of course the Armalite is listed. That gave us the AR-15 and the M16 rifle of Viet Nam fame.
The first cruise missiles, the ASALM, were made to knock out enemy radar and communication sites so the bombers could get through.
Asdic was submarine detection gear for ships.
The A10 Avenger's General Electric GAU-8 30 mm (shell diameter) can fire at 4200 rounds per minute. Already a potent tank buster, later depleted uranium rounds were even more devastating.
The WWII TBF Avenger plane is there. (And I saw 8 of them at a recent airshow!)
There is a special section on various German artillery on the last few pages.
A very interesting book for anyone interested in history.
September 10, 2016
This series is quite dated, but if you are looking for information about WW 1 and WW 2 weapons it is loaded with information. Nothing past 1974 is listed. I will be reading a few of the other volumes.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews