• La modernisation des Main Battle Tanks (the modernisation of the Main Battle Tanks)

The MBT of the new generation are hevily costly and maintenance is also very onerous. So, many countries are choosing to « retrofit » tanks of the previous generation(s), reinforcing protection, adding new systems, upgrading guns, etc. The article presents the options chosen by different countries for different types of MBT.

(8 pages, 16 color photos)

• Karl Heinz Turk

In de « Des Panzers et des Hommes » (Panzers and men) serie, this short article depicts the last days of the defence of Berlin as a Tiger tank commander.

(2 pages 2 b/w photos, color drawings of Tiger II n°100)

• Koursk : Panzers versus tanks soviétiques (Kursk : Panzer versus Soviet tanks)

All the most important tanks that took part in the Battle of Kursk are presented and compared between them. The new, technologically advanced Panzers struggled against a Soviet army that was finally free of his obsolete T-26 and BT-7. Comparrison and presentation of the medium tanks, heavy tanks, tank hunters, heavy tank hunters, assault guns/tank hunters, self propelled artillery, flamethrower tanks and also the Allied tanks that were present at Kursk.

(14 pages, lot of drawings)

• A22 Infantry Tank MK.IV – Churchill MK.IV NA75

How did the captain Percy Hulme Morell to upgrade the A22…

(Two pages, 1 color profile, 1 b/w drawings page)

• Comment la Panzerwaffe a perdu la guerre (How did the Panzerwaffe manage to loss the war)

Subtitled « L’illusion de la supériorité technologique » (The technological superiority illusion), this long article tries to explain why the germans won lots of battle when they had inferior material, and loosed battles when they had the technological superiority. Reasons are presented and argumented. A very interresting article that is a must to read !

(24 pages, 43 photos, 5 pages of profiles)

• Autocanone DA75/27 C.K. Itala X

This Autocanone appeared during the First World War and was an advanced vehicle at tha period.

(2 pages, color drawings and b/w drawings)

• Le Krupp Protze : un tracteur d’artillerie atypique (The Krupp Protze : an atypical artillery tractor)

Wit hits special design (the front of the vehicle being low), the Protze was a very successfull product from Krupp. Not only he served as artillery tractor, but some crew adapted some systems on the Protze ; by example fixing on it a 3,7cm Pak 36

(12 pages, 19 photos, drawings)

• AMX 30 Brennus : le char réactif (AMX 30 Brennus : the reactive tank)

With the experience of the Gulf War, and awaiting the production of the Leclercq MBT, France constated that a better protection was needed for the AMX-30. So was realised the Brennus, equipped with explosive reactive armour. The tank did not take part to any war but was ready to do that before the arrival of the Leclercq.

(9 pages, 22 photos, technical datas, 1 color profile, 1 page of b/w drawings)

• Actualité BD : Cette machine tue les Fascistes (Comics news : This machine kills Fascists)

The comic presented this time depicts the history of a JS-1 during the 50 years of service he made ; first in Russia against Nazis, then Prague, the African civil wars, Afghanistan.

(1 page, covert art of the comic book and 5 images)

• Débat d’actulalité (comments on actuality)

A French reader of TNT reacts after the article of TNT54 about the 10 best MBT of the world. He disagree that the Leclerc occupies the 4th place. Interresting !

TNT is as always warmly recommended !

Daniel Clamot

Let see what we have to read :

• Des tankettes et des hommes : Roman Orlik (tankettes and men : Roman Orlik)

The article is consacred to the polish tanker Roman Orlik that obtained with its tankette TKS some kills against the German Panzers.

Very interresting and I must say I had no knowledge about the scores of the Polish tanks…

(2 pages, 1 photos, 2 color drawings of the TKS tankette)

• 1946 : Panzer vs Tanks alliés (Panzers vs Allied tanks)

The « paper panzer » are initiating a big interrest amongst the people that like tanks.

What is really interresting here is that we have not only a description of the German « paper » panzers of 1946 but also of the tanks that the Allied forces would have opposed to those Panzers ! More than that, article focuses on medium tanks but also on heavy tanks and even super heavy tanks.

Medium tanks : for the Germans, Panther Ausf. F would have faced the US T26E3 ; the Soviet T34/100 and T-44A, and the British Centurion Mark I.

The arrival of the E-50 could have been countered by the Soviet T-54 mod. 1946 ; the uS T26E4 and the Centurion MK II.

Heavy tanks : German side : E-75, facing the British Black Prince ; the US T29 and the Soviet IS-3 & IS-4.

Super heavy tanks : the German E-100 and Maus are relatively well known today. Potential adversaries would have been the British A39 Tortoise ; the US T30, t34 & T28 and the Soviet ISU-152, Objekt 704 & IS-7.

(16 pages, lots of details and color drawings)

• Le canon de 75mm modèle 1897 (the 75mm gun mod.1897)

The article speak about the French 75mm gun modèle 1897 that was very efficient during WWI. Interresting to note that he served also during WWII ; was used by the Germans after the capitulation and was even in use during the Indochina war !

(4 pages, 8 photos, 1 page of b/w drawings)

• Dossier : les 10 meilleurs Main Battle Tanks du monde (the best 10 MBT in the world)

The special article this time compares the 10 best MBT of the world. Each MBT is described  with a short history, its protection, armament, mobility and other various characteristics. The future of the MBT is also evoked.

The MBT are : German Leopard 2A7+, Chinese type 99 (ZTZ-99), US M1A2 SEP, British FV4034 Challenger 2, Korean K2 Black Panther, French Leclerc, Japanese Type 10, Israeli Merkava IVm Trophy, Russian T-90A, Russian T-14 Armata.

Finally conclusion of « who’s the best » is given to conclude that long article.

(34 pages and lots of color photos)

• PAK 97/98(f) Auf Beute Panzer T-26(r)

Trying to use « Beute » material, the Germans realised that tank hunter with a Soviet T-26 chassis armed with a 75mm French gun…

(4 pages, colors and b/w drawings)

• Les motorisations du M4 Sherman (the engines of the M4 Sherman)

The different engines that were used for the M4 Sherman. Technical but good to know…

(4 pages, 8 photos)

• Les chars de dépannage allemands (The german rescue tanks)

Presentation of those WWII tanks : VKZ 35.01, Bergepanzer VI, Bergepanthers, Bergepanther Ausf .A, Bergepanther Ausf.G, Bergepanzer III, Bergepanzer IV, Bergepanzer 38, Bergepanzer Tiger I

(14 pages, lots of photos and drawings)

Excellent magazine as always that I recommend warmly !

Daniel Clamot

• Les chenillés de la famille Kurganets-25 (the tracked vehicles of the Kurganets-25 family): the Kurganets-25 family is a new family of AIFV for the army forces of the Federation of Russia. The article depicts the different models with all their characteristics.

(6 pages, 12 photos)

• Wermacht 1946: E-25. The E-25 was conceived to replace the Jagdpanzer IV with a better standardization of material of excellent quality, that was for the Wehrmacht the best solution to counterbalance the number of enemy tanks. But the E-25, if better than the jagdpanzer IV, was not a big amelioration…

(8 pages, 5 photos – 4 for the Jagdpanzer IV and 1 of Dr Hermann Klaue – 8 color profiles, 2 pages of b/w drawings)

• Armoured cars AEC: the light reconnaissance vehicles of the British army were poorly armed in 1940. The AEC family was conceived to resolve that problem, being more heavily armed and armored. A variant was also etudied with a flamethrower.

(10 pages, 9 photos, 3 page of b/w drawings, 1 profile)

• Analyse opérationnelle du Panzer VI Tiger (Operational analysis of the Panzer VI Tiger): this is a very long but also very interesting article depicting the advantages but also the weaknesses of the Tiger. The goal of the article is to answer to the following question: was the Tiger a real need for the Wehrmacht, or is it a project that was too costly and asked for supply and logistic that could have be used on a better way with Panzer IV?

It’s really the type of article I love to read about armament…

(18 pages, 33 photos, 4 color profiles)

• 40M Nimrod: le tueur de Chtourmovik (40M Nimrod: the Sturmovik killer) : the Hungarian 40M Nimrod proved to be a good weapon against the ground attack aircrafts like the Sturmovik.

(8 pages, 11 photos, 1 page of color drawings, 1 page of b/w drawings, 1 technical datafile)

• Les véhicules lance-roquettes de la Wehrmacht (the rocket launcher vehicles of the Wehrmacht): the Nebelwerfer is one of the most redoubted weapon for trhe allies. Their efficacity asked for a good deployment so for a better mobility there are placed on the Sd.Kfz.251. But the Germans used also “beute” vehicles (captured vehicle or vehicles from occupied countries like France) that were modified to embark rockets.

(20 pages, 9 photos, lots of color profiles and drawings)

• T-34/76 mod 1940 versus Panzer III: the traditional article that compares two opponents. Which was the best? Well, to read in TnT…

(6 pages, drawings, data files)

• And finally, two pages are reserved to the DVD news; this time: Fury.

As always, I warmly recommend TnT.

Daniel Clamot

• Les véhicules transports de troupes de l’armée belge (The transport carrier vehicles of the Belgian army): after WWII and at the beginning of the Cold War, the Belgian army received material from the USA thanks to the MDAP (Mutual Defense Assist Program). So Belgium received M2A1 and M3/M3A1 half-tracks. Being always limited by budget reasons, the Belgian army transport carriers evolved with that point taken into account. After the half-tracks, Belgium bought successively M75, French AMX-13, M113, CVRT Spartan, AIFV, MPPV Dingo II and the most recent Pandur and Piranha FUS.

(8 pages, 20 photos)

• Balthasar “Bobby” Woll: in the “Panzer and People” serie, the magazine focuses this time on Balthasar Woll that was first a crewman of Michael Wittman before to become himself a tank leader. Woll survived to the war.

(2 pages, 1 photo, 4 view color drawing of Tiger I “212” of the 1.Zug 2.Kompanie Schwere SS. Panzer-Abteilung 101)

• Medium Assault Tank M4A3E2 “Jumbo”: After the Gazala battle in 1942, the US Army constated that the Medium tank M3 (Lee/Grant) were unable to resist against the German antitank weapons. The arrival of the M4 Sherman did not ameliorate the situation because it was not well protected. So the Americans decided to develop an over-protected Sherman…

(6 pages, 6 photos, 1 technical data, 1 color drawing, 1×4 view b/w drawing)

• Les meilleurs engins de combat de la seconde guerre mondiale (the best combat vehicles of the WWII): answering to the question “which side had the best combat vehicle”, this is the most important article of the magazine. After an introduction, the article reviews, each time for Germany, USA, USSR and UK and sometimes for other countries, the different vehicles: light tanks, medium tanks, tank hunters, armored tank hunters, assault guns that were heavy tank hunters, heavy tanks, medium assault guns. Stunning!!!

(34 pages, lots of photos, drawings and data sheets)

• Wehrmacht 1946, Umberwaffnung der Panzer: in November 1944 Krupp AG begun to work on the amelioration of armament of the most important German tanks. The article depicts the projects that could have been applied and illustrates how the Panzer of 1946 could have been like.

(14 pages, 3 photos, lots of b/w and color drawings)

• Mark VIII Tank: the international tank. After having realized in 1916 that their technology was from far below the level of the one of other belligerants, the USA tried to develop a better armament and of course: tanks! With the help of France and UK, the USA developed the Mark VIII.

(8 pages, 9 photos, 1 technical data, 1x4view drawing, 1×4 view b/w drawing, 1 “inside view”)

• Panzer IV mit 7,5cm KWK L70 Panther Schmalturm: this tank was an attempt to upgrade the Panzer IV with a turret destined to the Panther

(3 pages, 1×4 view b/w drawing, 1 color drawing)

• The last article presents some new DVD releases : “Lebanon”, “Saint and Soldiers” and “Patrol”.

TnT magazine is undoubtfully a must for anyone being interested by armored vehicles and combat vehicles in general…

Daniel Clamot

In TNT #51 you will find:

• L’armée argentine: l’Ejercito Argentina fête ses 205 ans! (The Argentinian Army : the Ejercito Argentina haves its 205th birthday !) : the article presents the actual material used by Argentina: M113, Gaucho, Norinco, Polaris amongst other things and the TAM VC & Patagon tanks. (4 pages, 12 photos)
• Lafayette G Pool: in the “men and tanks” serie, this time the article presents Lafayette G. Pool, an American soldier that operated on Sherman tanks that claimed 258 kills (2 pages, 1 photo, 5 drawings)
• Le cuirassé terrestre Schneider C.A.1 (the land cruiser Schneider C.A.1): that long article depicts the genesis of the Schneider C.A.1. The idea to create such a tank emerged when the front was stabilized and the war becomes a trenches war. The goal was to create a vehicle able to cross the trenches to go to fight more far in the enemy dispositive. The Schneider had to face the concurrence of the Renault FT and will not have any descendance… (8 pages, 14 photos, 1 technical date, 1 page of b/w drawings)
• Les half-tracks 3è partie: les variants anti-aériennes (The half-tracks part 3: the anti-aircrafts variants):  when the Ameriacn army analysed the campaign of Poland and the Battle of France, they constated the importance for the Germans of the air-t-ground attacks (Stukas). So the US Army decided to counter the menace and developed an anti-aircraft platform on half-tracks. (12 pages, 5 photos, 2 color drawings, 9 pages of b/w drawings)
• Le Koweit (Kuwait): durong the Gulf War, the Free Kuwait decided to modernize his army, and to replace their Chieftains with M-84AB bought from Yugoslavia. But American lobbying intervened and the Kuwait Army bought also M1A2 Abrahms in 1994… (4 pages 8 photos, 2 technical datas)
• Les monsters de Porsche (Porsche’s monsters): Dr Ferdinand Porsche conceived amongst other things the popular Volkswagen (or DKF-Wagen) to give to civilian people the opportunity to buy a low cost vehicle. But he was also involved in the concept of military material (Kübelwagen, etc) and close to Hitler. His vision of tanks was axed on very big and heavy ones His projects were: VK 30.01, Ferdinand, Maus, and derivates, but haves also some unsuccessful projects like the VK.45.02(P), the Porsche Type 245-010 Leichter Panzer mit 5.5cm vollautomatischer Waffe and the Schwere Kleiner Panzer mit 10,5cm. (22 pages,  15 photos,  13 color drawings, 8 pages of b/w drawings)
• Les Istrebitelnaja Samokhodnaya Ustanovka – Une famille de chasseurs de fauves (The Istrebitelnaja Samokhodnaya Ustanovka – a family of beast hunters) : the USSR was impressed by the heavy Panzers Tiger and Jagdpanzer ferdinand and was is need of such material. That resulted in the ISU family, nicknames “Zveroboy” or beast hunters. (18 pages, 21 photos, 7 pages of b/w drawings,  2 technical datas,  4 color drawings)
• Cruiser tank MK. VIII Cromwell MK.IV versus Panzer IV Ausf.H : the traditional article comparing the equivalent material of two armies. (6 pages, 2 pages of color drawings, one for each vehicle, drawings for comparison of armor, speed and abilities)
• Actualité du livre (new books): two pages about the new books in French.

Very interesting as always…

Daniel Clamot

La famille ARMATA: les blindés russes font leur revolution! (The Armata family : Russian tanks make their own revolution !) – After having not been fully satisfied with their MBT T80 and T90, the Russians envisaged a new MBT more adapted to urban fight and that can be declined in different versions like MBT but also troop transport, etc. The performances of that new family are just estimation but somewhat stunning and the ARMATA sounds to be superior to his NATO equivalents… (6 pages,  13 photos)

Des Panzer et des homes: Rudolf von Ribbentrop (Pnazer and men: Rudolf von Ribbentrop): Rudolf von Ribbentrop was the son of the Foreign Affairs Minister of the 3^rd Reich. He was a skilled tanker that became an ace. The article resumes his career and depicts some of his tanks. (6 pages, 2 photos, 4 pages of drawings + another drawing) – I must say I particularily like that serie of article concerning the men who served during the war…

Medium Tank Mark A Whippet : the Whippet was conceived to exploit the breaches created by the Mark I, II, IV assault tanks. There were more faster and their machineguns very effective against enemy troops. Despite of the lack of place and other inconvenience, he was a good element of the British arsenal. To be noted that after the WWI, Japan bought some Whippets to create their own tank force. (8 pages, 12 photos, 5 drawings)

Jagpanzer E-100: As always with the German projects of the end of WWII (the famous “Paper Panzers”, it’s not easy to collect good informations about that tank hunter. It would have been mounted on a Panzer E-100 chassis and armed with a 17cm StuK L/50 gun. (2 pages, 1 color drawing, 4 B/W drawings)

Les chars moderns: l’Autriche (Modern tanks: Austria) : Becoming neutral after the war, Austria nevertheless was in need of tanks to protect his territory. During the ‘60s, the <Austrian army will equip themselves with the SAurer 4K 4FA, derivated from the French AMX-13. To be noted that the Austrian tank will also become successful for export… Then Austria bought US M60 and finally since 1982 is equipped with Leopard 2A4. (4 pages, 7 photos, technical data for Leopard 2A4)

8,8cm Waffenträger: At the end of the war, one of the needs of the 3^rd Reich was to have antitank guns easily moveable and that can be produced in a short time. The Waffenträger is developed with that goal but the end of the war came and there were only a few Waffenträgers produced;  two at least were engaged in the struggle for Berlin. (12 pages, 12 photos, 4 pages of B/W drawings, 1 color drawing)

Les chars lourds japonais: les Kaiju du Soleil Levant (The Japanese heavy tanks: the Kaiju of the Rising Sun) :  Even with a limited industrial potential limited for that kind of tanks, Japan developed during the ‘30s a serie of heavy tanks. It can be surprising that Japan develops such tanks, taking into account that the most important theatres of operations that are China and the little islands is better adapted for light tanks, but Japan wished to maintain that technology, being afraid to be distanced in that domain by other nations…  (10 pages, 3 photos,  1 technical data and 1 page of B/W drawings each for the Type91, Type95, Type100 0-I, Type120 0-I)

Les TIRAN 4 et 5: de Tsahal aux milices chértiennes (TIRAN 4 and 5: from Tsahal to the Christen militias): During the Arab-Israeli wars, Israel captured lot of T54/55 tanks that were used by Israelian army (Tsahal) after some adaptations.  There were even used in combat during the attrition war (1967-1970). The tanks are also given to the Army of South Lebanon and the Christian militias. (8 pages, 17 photos, 1 page of B/W drawings)

Les Half-tracks: les variants d’appui (Half-tracks: the support variants): this is the second part of the article published in TnT49. This time, the focus is all the different variants that were conceived and used for the logistic and other tasks of support. It is stunning to discover how the half tracks were useful and used. (14 pages, 11 photos,  7 color drawings, 6 pages of B/W drawings)

M7 Priest vs Wespe: the traditional article at the end of the magazine compares this time the 105MM Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 Priest with the Leichte Feldhaubitze 18/2 auf Fahrgestell Panzerwagen II (Sf.) Wespe. I let you discover which is the best of both… (4 pages, 2technical datas, datas for armour and mobility)

Well, I know that I say always the same anthem, but definitively, TnT is a must to have and to read. Thanks to the friends from Caraktere for sample publications!

Daniel Clamot

• Maneuver Combat Vehicle “Kidou-Sentou-Sha”: un engine polémique (a polemic AFV)

The evolution of political situation provokes the need for Japan of a good anti-tank vehicle, moving fast in reaction to an eventual landing. The choice was then a wheeled vehicle. The prototypes were delivered in 2008, 4 pré-série vehicles are actually tested. The global order could be of 200 to 300 vehicles.

The AFV is largely inspired from the Italian Centauro.

(4 peges, 8 photos)

• Les engins de l’Opération Daguet – Guerre dans le desert irakien (the Vehicles of the Operation Daguet – War in the Irakian desert)

The operation Daguet took place during the first Gulf War. The French Division Daguet fought with the Coalition against Irak.

(8 pages, 6 photos, 19 drawings)

• Le char d’assaut Saint-Chamond, la “bête à chagrins » (The Saint-Chamond tank, the « crying beast »)

The Saint-Chamond is the result of the will to give to the French army a strong material, able to give an end to the war in the trenches. But even if it was an impressing beast, it will be a disappointing tank.

The Saint-Chamond was based on the Caterpillar Baby Holt tractor. There will be a struggle between the army and the civilians for the ceonception of the tank.

(10 pages, 9 photos, 10 drawings, 1 technical datafile)

• Sturmgeschutz E-75

If the great lines of the Entwicklungstypen (= standard type) program have been decrypted, some vehicles of that serie that would have been operational in 1945-46, remains somewhat mysterious, like the E-75.

The E-program was conceived to allow the large production of standardized material.

(2 pages, 5 drawings)

• Auto Blindée Mitrailleuse T15: l’ersatz de char belge (The Armoured Machinegun Car T15 : a kind of ersatz of tank for Belgium)

At the beginning of the ‘30s, the belgian army wished to modernisate and replace their old Renault FT tanks that were acquired just after WWI. Being neutral and trying not to effend the strong neighbours, the material have to be a defensive one.

The T15 is based on a Vickers-carden-Lloyd chassis armed with an 13,2mm heavy machinegun. 42 exemplars are ordered. The crew are the driver and the tank leader-shooter.

During the 18 days campaign of 1940, the T15 will be used simultaneously with the T13, in little groups. Very few will survive the campaign to be recuperated and used by the German army.

(8 pages, 13 photos, 6 drawings, 1 technical datafile)

• Jagdpanzer, histoire des chasseurs de chars du III. Reich (history of the tank hunters of the third Reich)

The Jagdpanzers derivates from the StuG III. The good performances of the StuGs were equivalent to those of the tanks. Partisans and adversaries of the Jagdpanzer tried to influence the course of the production and that could have been resulting in a prematurate fall of the Reich, but the intervention of Guderian was decisive. The StuG III were under the command of the Sturm-Artillerie, and the Jagpanzers under the command of the Wehrmacht.

This long article is the principal file of TNT48, with good details of the historical situation.

(16 pages, 21 photos, 8 drawings)

• Chars occidentaux de la première generation (the first generation of tanks from the Occident)

At the time were Soviets are deploying their MBT T-54 and T-55, the Occidental countries are just trying to ameliorate the tanks developed during WWII. So are the British Centurion tank and the Ameriacn M47 and M48 Pattons…

(2 pages, 3 photos, 1 technical datafile)

• Le Stridsvagen 103: le char venu du froid (The Stridsvagen 103: the tank coming from cold)

All the MBT are of similar aspect but the STRV103. This one is radically different of conception with a low size without any turret. The concept of Sweden is to bet on mobility. The very low aspect of the STRV 103 permits ricochets without having a strong armour. The crew is reduced to 3 men so there is more place for benzene. The problem being on the counterpart that without turret the tank must stop before to fire…

(10 pages, 15 photos, 5 drawings, 1 technical datafile)

• Les camions Renault de la Wehrmacht : quand le Losange roulait pour l’Allemagne (the Renault trucks used by the Wehrmacht : when the Losange was riding for Germany)

Most important provider of the French army, Renault will see their trucks used by the Wehrmacht and the industrial facilities will work for Germany.

(10 pages, 15 photos, 1 drawing, 1 technical datafile)

• Comparatif: Nashorn versus Archer (Comparrison between Nashorn and Archer)

Comparrison of two anti-tank guns of the WWII, the first one being German and the second one being British (6 pages, 8 drawings, 2 tables).

The reading of that French magazine is warmly recommended! Great thanks to Caractere for sample publication!

Daniel Clamot

• Tank Biathlon 2014: les olympiades des chars (the tanks olympics) :

Russia organised that competition for the first time in 2013, with 4 participants coming from ex-USSR republics: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia. Each country participated on a T-72. There were painted in red, green, blue and yellow! Based on the ski biathlon principle, the competition included a race (sprint, pursuit, fire and sport for crew) and Russia was victorious.

In 2014 lot of other countries were uninvited including Occident, but due to the international situation, no occidental country participated. Again, Russia was the winner of that competition of 12 participants: Russia, Serbia, Angola, Armenia, Belarus, Venezuela, India, Kazakhstan, Kirghizistan, China, Mongolia, Kuwait. All used Russian T-72 except China that came with their Type 96A.

(4 pages, 8 photos)

• Les derniers coups de canon des Panzers: les blindés allemands sous couleurs syriennes (the last shots of the Panzers: the german tanks bearing Syrian colors)

Syrian army used WWII German tanks until the sixties. They participated into two conflicts against Israel. There used amongst other things: Hummel, PZ IV J, StuG III, Jagdpanzer IV.

(4 pages, 1 photo, 5 drawings)

• Schwerer Zukraftwagen 18T FAMO: le “buffle” de la Wehrmacht (the buffalo of the Wehrmacht)

The Schwere Zukraftwagen 18T FAMO is the result of a program that the reichswehr started in 1926 to obtain transport and specialized vehicles. The production of the 18T FAMO started in 1938 and was grandly helped by the experience acquired in the conception of the lighter versions. The 18T FAMO accomplished many tasks; amongst other things: artillery tractor. There will be 5 variants, 3 of them entering in more or less important production. It’s an exceptional vehicle that never had any equivalent in other armies.

(14 pages, 14 photos, 2 pages of technical drawings, 5 technical datas)

• Panzerauto Romfell: le RadPanzer austro-hongrois (the Austro-Hungarian RadPanzer)

That vehiocle was concepted in 1915 on the basis of a civilian chassis from Mercedes. There were only a few exemplars built.

(2 pages, 1 drawing, 1 technical drawing, 1 technical data)

NB: I particularily like that kind of article. TnT permit us to discover unknown vehicles situating them in historical context. Well done!

• Berlin 1945: les dernières cartouches du Troisième Reich (The last ammunitions of the Third Reich)

Stalin wanted the fall of Berlin at any cost, best date being 22 of april (birthdate of Lenin). The Red Army disposed of 908.000 men and 3.100 tanks; Germans had 129.000 men and 512 Panzers only. Even if the ratio was terrible, Germans will struggle and resist until the last moment, using all what could be available: some WWI tanks were taken in the museum and put into the battle! Tanks like Panther, Tiger I & II that were conceived to face the T-34 in Russian landscape, revealed very effective in the streets of Berlin.

That long article depicts all the material used by the Germans to defend the city. A very rich text with exceptional photos and documentation.

(22 pages, 29 photos, 18 drawings, 4 pages of technical drawings)

• M-84 Jugoslovanski osnovni bojni tank

During the seventies, the SRFJ wished to equip his army with a modern MBT. After long and hard negotiations with the USSR, SRFJ will obtain the license of the T-72. The MBT will be named “M-84” and will be presented to the public during a parade on 9 of may 1985. The article depicts the different versions. The M-84 will also be used by Kuwait.

(10 pages, 20 photos, 1 page of technical drawings, 1 drawing, 1 technical data)

• Faun ZRS : le camion rail-route allemande (the German rail-road truck)

Firstly conceived to be used on road, the Faun type ZR is declined into a rail-road version due to the immensity of Soviet territory. After the war, it will also be used by the French army.

(2 pages, 8 photos, 1 technical data)

• Le Panzer IV Lang sous toutes les soudures! (The Panzer IV Lang under all the weldings)

The first part of that article was published into TnT#46 and was based on the operational use of the panzer IV Lang. The second part is more oriented on the technical aspects of that tank.

(14 pages, 21 photos, 1 page of drawings, 3 technical datas)

• AMX-13 vs T-54A

As always in TnT, two vehicles are compaired for their performances: protection, mobility and firepower. To be noted that the AMX-13 is more a tank hunter than a MBT so its role is more defensive; the AMX-13 have to slow the enemy advance until the arrival of reinforcements from America.

(6 pages, 2 of drawings, 2 technical datas, 2 comparative datas)

The reading of that French magazine is warmly recommended! Big thanks to Caractere for sample publication!

Daniel Clamot

• Light Armored Vehicle Anti Tank prototype – le “sabre” des Marines (the “sword” of the Marines)
Entered in service in 1983, the LAV must remain active at least until 2035. Launched in 2012, the Program Manager LAV develops a new turret that will have the ability to launch a TOW missile. 118 ATWS will be delivered to the Marines.
(2 pages, 5 photos)

• Les camouflages du T-55 (the T-55 camos)
First used in 1958, the T-55 is still active today in some countries. It was used everywhere with different camos. Some of them are presented in that article
(6 pages, 1 photo, 20 drawings)

Drawings are for the following countries:

Africa: Egypt, Erythrea (2), Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Ethiopia (2), Sudan, Chad, Uganda
South America: Peru
Asia: Afghanistan (2), Syria, Yemen
Europe: Croatia, Finland, Georgia, Serbia

• Le PZ IV Lang: naissance d’un char de combat (The PZ IV Lang: birth of a war tank)
The PZ IV was produced at 9.000 ex during all the war. First conceived as a support tank (that was good enough for the Poland campaign but less during the campaign of France against the B-1 and Mathilda, and not good enough during the Russian campaign. Decision is made to equip it with a 7,5cm gun.
(10 pages, 18 photos, 3 drawings)

• Les “Schredder” de l’armée américaine – Les blindés moderns du genie américain (The “Schredder” of the US Army – The modern tanks of the Ameriacn Genie troops)
The tanks of the genie troops are playing an important rule preparing the terrain for infantry progress (mine removing, etc) but also as a support for the combat tanks. The US Army is using the M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle that is based on the M60 tank. It was intented to replace it by the Grizzly based on the M1 Abrahms chassis but due to budget restrictions it’s finally the M1 Assault Breaker Vehicle that will be used. It’s also based on the Abrahms but with less modifications.
(8 pages, 16 photos, 5 view drawings of the M728)

• L’arsenal de la Waffen-SS: être les meilleurs à tout prix (The arsenal of the Waffen-SS : to be the best at any cost)
Arguing that the best material is to be given to the best soldiers, the Waffen-SS tried to obtain the best equipment possible but the opposition of the Wehrmacht forced Himmler to try to obtain material everywhere and notabily using the materials produced in the conquered countries and working with the factories of these countries.
(14 pages, 17 photos, 18 B/W drawings, 4 color drawings)

• Les AEC Dorchester de Rommel – Les Mammouths et le Renard (Rommel’s AEC Dorchester : the Mammuths and the Fox)
In North Africa The Germans recuperated frequently captured British material for their own use. So did Rommel use two AEC Dorchester command cars that gived more space than the German command cars.. Thos Dorchester were nicknamed “Max” and “Moritz” (from a German comics dating from 1865).
(6 pages, 6 photos, 5 color drawings, 5 B/W drawings)

• Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 76 – Sukomi!
During the Great patriotic War the most important factories were reserved for the production of tanks able to struggle with the Germans, like the T34/76. The little factories producing cars during the peace time were reconverted in the production of light tanks.
So the chassis of the T-60 and T-70 were converted into self propelled guns. The ZIS-3 M1942 gun (nicknamed “Ratschboum” by the Germans) was successfully used on the SU-76. Even if production was big, the crew did not like the SU-76 and nicknamed it “Sukomi” (B.tch)
(12 pages, 12 photos, 5 profiles, 10 drawings, 2 datafiles)

• Les premiers tanks britanniques : l’épopée des chars rhomboédriques (The first British tanks – the story of the rhomboedrical tanks)

The first tanks entered in action at Flers, 15 of september 1916. The impulsion of their conception was given by Winston Churchill himself (that was actually First Lord of Admiralty). The rhomboedric design was especially conceived due to the conditions of the battleground: the trenches!

The article depicts how those tanks were fubnctionning, their internal organization, the role of all the crews and their emplacement, the motorization, the protections and reveals why guns and machineguns were placed in lateral prominences. It depicts also the 5 types of Mark tanks, from Mark one to Mark five.
(14 pages, 22 photos, 1 drawing of the inside of the tank, 6 schemes for transmission, 3 technical datafiles, 4 drawings)

• M4 Sherman Medium Tank versus Semovente DA 75/34 Su Scaff M42
When there entered in war, USa but also Italy were not using valuable tanks. If the USA can be helped by performing factories, it’s not the same for Italy that will prefer to use assault guns.
(6 pages, 2 schemes, 1 datafile, 8 drawings)

Excellent magazine and you can order it directly here! Special thanks to Caraktere for sample publication.

Daniel Clamot

• First article: VBTP-MR Guarani – Un nouveau blindé au pays de la Samba (VBPT-MR Guarani – A new AFV for Samba’s country) presents the new AFV that will become the standard AFV for Brasilian armed forces EE-11 Urutu (6×6 transport vehicle) but also the EE-9 Cascavel  (reconnaissance vehicle). More than 2000 Guarani’s will be ordered by Brasil; first ones are in delivery phase. Argentina ordered also for 14, and other countries seem to have some interest for the Guarani (Chile, Colombia, Ecuador). (4 pages, 8 photos, 2 technical drawings)
• Graffiti of war: Blindés américains au Vietnam (American AFV’s in Vietnam): it’s an old tradition to paint some names or sentences on aircrafts, but also on AFV’s! That article describes some names and sentences indicated on AFV (M113, M51, M48, M109) by American soldiers. Some of them are war sentences; others are more “peaceful” or have some anti-military connotations… Instructive! (6 pages, only one photo but no less than 18 profiles)
• Flakpanzer IV (3,7cm Flak 43) Möblewagen:  during WWII and after the victorious beginning of the war, Germans face the rise of allied airforces (Allied from West but also Soviets) and the Luftwaffe was no more able to protect ground troops, being also involved in the protection of factories that were bombarded. So the need of a Flakpanzer was big. As always for their material during WWII, Germans tried some bad solutions and lost time before to prepare a good flak vehicle… That came too late to be very useful… (16 pages, 13 photos, 2 technical datas, 5 pages of drawings, 4 profiles)
• Autotransporto Blindato Fiat 665NM: At the beginning of the war, Italian army owned essentially hippotracted vehicles for their troop transport. First battles against France, but essentially against British troops in North Africa revealed the urgent need of a motorized transport vehicle. Some existing vehicles were transformed, but in 1942 Fiat is asked for the building of a specialized transport vehicle. 110 Fiat 665NM were constructed but too late for Africa: they served in ItalY… (2 pages, 1 photo, 2 drawings)
• ZiS-30: le Marder soviétique (the Soviet Marder) : on 22th of june 1941, the Germans encountered for the first time the very effective Zis-2 57mm gun that destroyed no less than 15 Panzers in a few time. Effectiveness of that gun was so great that Soviet Union decided to place it on a mobile platform. The possibility to place it on truck was rapidly abandoned and the gun was placed on a transport tankette, the T-20 “Komsomolet “. 101 were built and used, amongst other things, to protect Moscow. (5 pages,  4 photos, drawings, technical drawings, technical datas)
• Le Panther face au Sherman (Panther versus Sherman): the M4 Sherman was used in combat for the first time in North of Africa, 1942; the Panzer V Panther appeared at Kursk, in july 1943. That’s only one year later that those two tanks will meet in a big engagement: the Normandy. The Panther take advantage on the Sherman but tactical bombardments from Allied air forces destroyed the Panthers. Second big struggle rised during the “Wacht Am Rhein” operation and this time even if that can sound strange, the Sherman was the winner. How was that possible? It’s the subject of a long analysis made in that article… (24 pages, 29 photos,  5 pages of drawings)
• Buffalo: mine protected clearance vehicle: l’arme anti-terreur (the anti-terror weapon): anti-tank and anti-personal mines are a big menace in Afghanistan and Irak, so the United States Marines acquired specialized vehicles that can resist to mines and that can neutralize them. So is the Buffalo, also used by the French army. (8 pages, 12 photos, technical drawings)
• Etude opérationnelle du Jagdpanzer 38(T) : le Hetzer, un si mauvais chasseur de char? (Operational study of the Jagdpanzer 38(T) : the Hetzer, so bas as tank hunter ?) : the Hetzer was previously analyzed in an article in TnT#3 (august-september 2007). It was a technical analysis; this time the article explains why a so rustic tank hunter was developed. (6 pages, 8 photos, drawings)
• Cruiser Tank Mk.VI Crusader MK.II (A15) versus Panzer III Ausf. L: analysis and comparison of those tanks on tne specific theatre of operations of North Afrika. (no photos but drawings, s-datas and technical drawings)

The long article about the Panther facing the Sherman is of course the focus of TnT#45; but all the other articles are of big interest.

Warmly recommended. Even if you don’t read French, illustrations, technical drawings and photos are a must. Click here!!

Daniel Clamot