Анонс Osprey октябрь 2023
birserg_1977 — 01.06.2023Featuring evocative artwork plates and carefully selected
photographs, this book assesses the US Marines and Japanese troops
who contested the islands of Tarawa, Roi-Namur, and Eniwetok during
1943-44.
On November 20, 1943, amphibious vehicles carrying Marines of the
2d Marine Division reached the shores of Betio Island in the Tarawa
Atoll, defended by a determined Japanese garrison that would fight
to the last man. This began a test by combat of over two decades of
US studies, analyses, and planning for capturing and defending
naval bases in Micronesia. The Tarawa assault was followed in
February 1944 by the rapid capture of the Kwajalein and Eniwetok
atolls in the Marshall Islands.
In these battles US Marines fought a mix of Imperial Japanese Navy
and Imperial Japanese Army ground units. All but a handful of the
defenders, whether they were organized ground combat troops or
infantry improvised from aviators and service troops, were
determined to die for the Emperor while killing as many of the
enemy as possible. In this study, Gregg Adams shows how the US
Marine Corps and US Navy drew upon these pivotal actions to improve
their tactics, organization, and equipment for the next round of
amphibious operations. He also explains how their Japanese
opponents - realizing that isolated island garrisons were doomed to
destruction or isolation if the Imperial Japanese Navy could not
defeat the US Navy at sea - moved from seeking to repel an invasion
to one inflicting maximum American casualties through prolonged
defensive fighting.
A fascinating story of a key turning point in the War in the
Mediterranean, as the island of Malta was thrown a vital
lifeline.
Since 1940, the island of Malta had been a thorn in the Axis' side.
It sat astride the direct sea route between Italy and its North
African colonies, and from 1941 the Royal Navy had used the island
as a base for its attacks on Axis convoys. The island, though,
relied on convoys to survive, and from early 1941 these came under
increasingly heavy air and submarine attack. As the situation
became critical in 1942, the decision was made to send through a
heavily protected convoy, carrying fuel and supplies, in an effort
to save the island. This mission was codenamed Operation
Pedestal.
This fascinating work describes how, after leaving Britain on 2
August 1942, the convoy was repeatedly pummeled by Axis air and
submarine attacks as it ground its way towards Malta, with most of
the merchant ships sunk during the passage, along with an aircraft
carrier and two cruisers. It also explores how despite this grim
toll, the sacrifice was worth it.
The specially commissioned illustrations in this work cover the
progress of the convoy step by step, the submarine and surface
naval actions during Pedestal's voyage, the Stuka attack on the
carrier Indomitable and the air attacks against the convoy, and the
broader strategic situation in the Western Mediterranean. The
result is a unique visual exploration of one of the most famous
episodes of the war in this theatre.
An illustrated examination of the role played by the Sunderland
as an antisubmarine aircraft during the Battle of the Atlantic,
focusing on the key battles in the Bay of Biscay during the
critical year of 1943.
The Sunderland was one of the RAF's most iconic combat aircraft of
World War II, with a silhouette closer to a bumblebee than a
raptor. Equally iconic for Germany was the U-boat - the 'steel
sharks' whose natural prey was Allied merchantmen. Yet as deadly as
the U-boat was to merchantmen and warships alike, the vessel had a
weak spot: it was vulnerable to air attack.
Packed with first-hand accounts, this book examines the typically
one-to-one classic duels between two maritime predators - the
U-boat and the Sunderland. It was an uneven fight, for the
Sunderland had several advantages over a U-boat, including radars
to detect U-boats while remaining unseen, and the ability to choose
the time of attack to best advantage. Yet the battle was not
totally unequal. Many Sunderlands were lost attacking U-boats.
This title is profusely illustrated with specially commissioned
artwork, including a three-view of a Sunderland, two-view of a Type
IXB U-boat, four armament views detailing the weaponry employed by
both protagonists, stunning cover and battlescene artwork, tactical
diagrams and maps. These perfectly complement authoritative text by
veteran Osprey author Mark Lardas.
Richly illustrated, this title describes Anglo-Saxon monarchs,
warlords and their warriors and households in Anglo-Saxon Britain,
from the first post-Roman mercenaries to the Norman Conquest.
In a country fragmented by Roman withdrawal during the 5th century
AD, the employment of Germanic mercenaries by local rulers in
Anglo-Saxon Britain was commonplace. These mercenaries became
settlers, forcing Romano-British communities into Wales and the
West Country. Against a background of spreading Christianity, the
struggles of rival British and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were exploited
by the Vikings, but eventually contained by the Anglo-Saxon king,
Alfred of Wessex. His descendants unified the country during the
10th century, however, subsequent weak rule saw its 25-year
incorporation into a Danish empire before it finally fell to the
Norman invasion of 1066.
Scholars of the early Church have long known that the term 'Dark
Ages' for the 5th to 11th centuries in Britain refers only to a
lack of written sources, and gives a false impression of material
culture. The Anglo-Saxon warrior elite were equipped with
magnificent armour, influenced by the cultures of the late Romans,
the Scandinavian Vendel people, the Frankish Merovingians,
Carolingians and Ottonians, and also the Vikings.
In this volume, co-authors Raffaele D'Amato and Stephen Pollington
access their extended knowledge to paint a vivid picture of the
kings and warlords of the time with the aid of colour
illustrations, rare photos and the latest archaeological
research.
A comprehensive, illustrated account of the new generation of
advanced tanks to emerge during the last 15 years of the Cold War,
showcasing major improvements in armor protection, gunsights, and
fire-control systems.
Focusing on the technology of the period, author Steven J. Zaloga
explains how the demands of a potential Cold War battlefield
spurred the development of the 20th century's most advanced tanks.
He considers the final versions of the Soviet T-72, T-64, and T-80
and assesses their strengths and weaknesses. He also explores how
the failure of the US-German MBT-70 project led to America's
development of the M1 Abrams tank, and to Germany's all-new Leopard
II. The British development of the Challenger tank is also
considered, as is the lesser-known Leclerc tank developed by
France, the smallest and lightest of any of the western
designs.
Featuring superbly detailed new illustrations and many photos, this
volume pinpoints the key technology of the era, including turbine
engines, APFSDS ammunition, advanced armor and high-tech
fire-control systems, and describes how the rival tanks compared in
the final stretch of the Cold War arms race.
This book examines the role of the Grumman F4F Wildcat, the US
Navy's standard carrier fighter at the start of the Pacific War,
and its clashes against the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force's
Mitsubishi A6M Zero-sen.
The US Navy went to war in December 1941 with the tubby Wildcat,
the first of Grumman's famed 'cats', as its principal carrier
fighter. Ruggedly built and well armed, the F4F's performance was
inferior to the Japanese Zero-sen, yet in the carrier battles of
1942 between the US Navy and the IJN the Wildcat pilots more than
held their own against some of the finest naval aviators in the
world. Many of the Wildcat pilots that saw action in the South
Pacific comprised what respected naval historian John Lundstrom has
called the 'First Team' - the small group of highly trained prewar
pilots who manned the bulk of the US Navy's carrier fighter
squadrons.
Illustrated with specially commissioned artwork, including armament
views and ribbon diagrams, the book examines the carrier battles
that took place in August and October in the South Pacific around
the first American offensive of the war - the amphibious assault on
the island of Guadalcanal, and the actions of the Wildcat in combat
with IJN carrier aircraft. The key combat actions are described and
accompanied with rare and original photographs and diagrams, as are
the training and tactics that contributed to the Wildcat's
success.
An illustrated history of the long Cold War careers of the US
Navy's last gun destroyers, from the modernized World War II-era
Fletcher-class to the Forrest Sherman-class.
The finest American destroyers of World War II had surprisingly
long careers into the Cold War and the missile age. The 175-strong
Fletcher-class was the largest class of US Navy destroyers ever
built, and most received some modernization after World War II. A
handful were converted into ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) escorts
and one was even converted into the US Navy's first guided missile
destroyer. Many Sumner-class destroyers were also kept in service,
with the last decommissioned in 1973.
The Gearing class was the classic US Navy wartime destroyer to have
a second Cold War career, some being modified into picket ships and
others into ASW escorts. Ninety-five were extensively modernized
under the Fleet Modernization and Rehabilitation (FRAM) program
which allowed them to serve until 1980. The majority of these ships
then saw service with foreign navies.
However the story of Cold War gun destroyers is not just one of
World War II relics. Commissioned in the 1950s, the 18 ships of the
Forrest Sherman class were the US Navy's last all-gun destroyers,
and were considered to be the pinnacle of US Navy gun-destroyer
design. Later in their careers, most were modernized for ASW and
antiair warfare. The virtually unknown Norfolk class was originally
built as a destroyer leader and maximized for ASW but only two were
modernized and the other three retired early. Many of these ships,
such as USS Edson, Cassin Young, and Turner Joy, still survive as
museum ships today.
Using battlescene artwork, detailed illustrations and photos, this
book explores the careers, modernizations, and roles of all these
unsung Cold War stalwarts, the last gun destroyers of the US
Navy.