T-34-85 Medium Tank 1944-1994 (New Vanguard , No 20)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Overview of Russia's Medium Tank
Review: Since the 1970s, Steven Zaloga has been one of the acknowledged experts on Soviet and Russian armor, and this latest volume allows him to take advantage of all the declassified material on Russia's World War Two tank development, clearing away a good deal of confusion and myth. The T-34 was the most important Russian tank of World War Two, and thanks to its almost brutal simplicity, was produced in greater numbers than any comparable British, German or American design. The T-34 remained in production in Russia after the war, and was later built under license in Poland and Czechoslovakia. This tank saw combat all over the world, including Korea, Hungary, the Middle East, Vietnam, and Africa, a few remain in service in the Third World today. This is the second Osprey New Vanguard volume on the T-34 (the first is the T-34-76 from the same authors), and it offers an excellent variety of photos, multi-view scale drawings, and a concise but detailed history of the development and use of the T-34 from the latter half of World War Two through the early 1990's. There is also coverage of self-propelled gun and recovery vehicles based on the T-34 chassis. As with all Osprey books, there are excellent color plates (by Peter Sarson) depicting vehicles in service, as well as a color cutaway of the vehicle interior. This title would be a good companion to the photo books on the T-34 series that Zaloga has previously written, published by Squadron and Concord. A terrific value for money for the historian or model builder.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Treatment of the T34/85 Tank
Review: Steven Zaloga is one of my favorite authors on AFV/Tanks. He gives a very complete description of the development, the combat performance, and the production numbers of the T34/85. The T34/85 is regarded by many as the best all-around medium tank of WWII. What I enjoyed reading the most in this book were the combat performances of the T34/85 in WWII (especially against the Panther and Tiger tanks), in the Korean War and in the Middle East conflicts. Zaloga also gives helpful charts throughout the book which describe the production numbers, the armor penetration of the 85 mm gun, and the countries which adopted the T34/85. There are numerous B & W photographs as well as colored illustrations of the tank as well as notes on the colored plates. I really enjoyed reading this excellent treatment of the T34/85. Zaloga packs in a lot of information in just 48 pages. Highly recommended!