ARM: Book Review -- The Great Book of Tanks by David Miller
AMPSOne
World War I to the present day (soft covers with flyleaf flaps) by David
Miller; Salamander Books, London, 2003; 512 pp. Price $24.98 US (ISBN
1-84065-539-9)
Advantages: Great selection of pictures, many fresh or presented in large
format making them super for modeling
Disadvantages: So-so text with many errors; many, many mistaken identification
errors in photos, some minor, some major and inexcusable; lame paintings look
to be recycled from old Salamander books
Rating: Recommended with Reservations
Recommendation: for hard-core modelers or armor fans only
The best thing for many of us in recent years is the fact that all major
national archives – with the exception of China – are open to researchers
and analysts, and as a result a wealth of new material has poured out onto the
market on many subjects of interest to modelers. This book appears to be
another one, as it is a real treasure trove of clear, large size photos (the
book itself is 9" x 12" (227 x 305mm) and well rendered.
The subject of the book is armor, and after a 40 page background on the
history of the tank, the author presents 100 tanks in chronological order which
he sees as the most important and most deserving of chronicling. Each subject
rates from 2 to 12 pages of text and photos, but in some cases the subjects are
ill-served.
T-62, for example, rates two pages and a poor water-color painting (as does
Leopard 1) whereas M60A2 gets 8 pages and color photos to boot. Likewise, some
early British tanks such as A11 Matilda and A9 Cruiser rate coverage out of
proportion to their effect on the development of the tank.
But what is really puzzling are the errors in the text and photos. Mr. Miller
is noted on the end flyleaf as having been a British Army officer with
extensive service in Europe, an IDR staff journalist and an editor of Jane's
Major Surface Warships, but one would be hard pressed to tell that from the
goofs and flubs. These are not just "typos" not caught in editing, but real
off-the-beam blunders.
They start on the cover: the author identifies the head-on shot on the front
as an M60A1; it is not, being clearly (since it is head-on, no opportunity for
mistakes) an M48A5 with T142 track.
Some of the text errors show poor research and knowledge of the prototypes.
Under the KV series tanks, Mr. Miller notes that 13,500 heavy tanks and SP
gunss were build during WWII. The actual numbers are around 4,771
KV-1/KV-2/KV-1S/KV-8/KV-85 tanks and over 600 SU-152 guns. The rest of the
tanks were all IS-1/IS-2 or ISU-122/ISU-152 types, which were on a completely
different chassis. This is readily available information, so he should have
separated it out rather than glossing over the tank. AMX-13, on the other hand,
is noted as carrying a standard 90mm gun. Most information indicates that the
AMX-13s were upgraded to this after their KwK 42 based 75mm guns were no longer
felt capable of standing on the modern battlefield, but I have no references
which say that was the standard weapon. AMX-30B2 is covered, but it rates two
pages and all they doe is basically cover AMX-30, not the B2 variant, which
merits one paragraph. This tank did see combat (in Desert Storm) unlike others,
so again the coverage is erratic.
But it is in the photos that most of the errors come out. Most egregious of
the ones I saw was what happened to M41. The first picture – cited as M41 in
combat in Korea 1952 – is actually an M46, not M41. The next photo is that of
an M24(citing the bow gun as a feature of M41 to make matters worse); after
that, the author does get them right. T-54/T-55 fare a bit better: the photos
there are (in order) T-55 Model 1958; T-55 Model 1958; T-62 Model 1966; T-55
Model 1970; T-54A or Type 59; T-55 Model 1970; T-54A or Type 59; Israeli Tiran;
T-62 Model 1966; T-55AM Model 1970; T-55 Model 1958. Now ignoring the specific
identification given here, nearly all are called "T-55" in text less the
Israeli tank.
The list goes on: M3 Stuart – page 226-7, M3 not M3A1; page 230-231, M2A4
not M3; page 231, M5 not M3; M3 Lee-Grant – page 238, M3 Lee as modified by
the Australians with no cupola and driver's viewer (sometimes called Grant VI
by some sources) not M3 Grant; M4 Sherman, all listed as M4 regardless of
sub-variant; Panther, all listed as Panther regardless of sub-variant; M48 –
page 375, M60 with Blazer not M48 with Blazer; T-72, paintings look like they
date to 1975 or so and are very poor; all photos are of T-72 Model 1972 tanks;
Merkava – page 468-469, what appears to be the prototype; M-1 Abrams – page
478-479, a painting of a developmental tank, not "an early model M-1"; only one
photo separates M-1A1 from M-1s even though photos tend to alternate.
Likewise, some of the omissions seem odd. T-80 – a turbine powered vehicle
which shocked NATO and has seen combat, does not make the book. Likewise, some
tanks which were more instrumental in either changing policy and tactics or
showed more stretch than others get shoved into one segment whereas two would
have been better, e.g. M4 Sherman 75mm and 76mm, Pzkw. IV short 7.5 cm and long
7.5. cm; T-34 with 76mm guns and T-34-85; Pzkw. III with 3.7 cm and short 5 cm
and later with long 5 cm; Centurion in UK service and Centurion in foreign
service. The possibilities are endless, but given the extraordinary amount of
coverage some backwater vehicles get and the scrimping on others which did see
combat and had an effect on the development of tanks is puzzling.
The book is worth it just for the photos – for those not aware of it, three
good photos from the Tank Museum or IWM Archives in the UK can set you back the
retail price of this book. For those of us in the US, it seems to be making the
rounds of the "warehouse club" type stores. I picked this copy up in Sam's Club
for just $11.94 making it a real bargain. As to why, case in point: a clear
shot of a 10th Cavalry M551 Sheridan firing a Shillelagh missile. The photo has
been around for a while, but the reproduction here is crystal clear and for
once the markings can be clearly seen. There is a silhouette of a buffalo in
the red/white colors of US cavalry guideons on the rear of the tank, and as it
is a 3/4 front shot, all of the vehicle's tac markings can also be read
clearly. (Now to hope for a new styrene M551 kit!)
Overall, this is a great book for the serious modeler who has good research
knowledge and is only looking for markings or finishes. For the newcomer to
armor history or modeling, it is a very confusing book and will cause more
frustration than it will cure. If you consider that when buying it, it's not
bad.
Cookie Sewell
AMPS