Weapons of the Waffen SS

Author: S. Hart, R. Hart, Paul Wood
Publisher: Motorbooks(MBI) International
ISDN : 0760306834
Hardcover - 176 pages (April 1999)
Dimensions (in inches): 0.72 x 9.73 x 7.70

Notes:

Table of Contents:

Ed's Analysis:

This book covers the main weapons used by the Waffen SS during World war 2. It`s very well illustrated with photos and drawings of the weapons. It`s not a book that studies the subject in depth so you don´t have to be an expert to appreciate it.

Decription:
The Waffen-SS was one of the finest fighting forces of world War II, but what is often forgotten is that its military record was due in no small measure to the hardware it was allocated. Weapons and Fighting Tactics of the Waffen-SS redresses the balance and examines in detail the military equipment used by Hitler's elite in World War II, and how they were used on the battlefield by Hitler's Praetorian Guard.

Weapons and Fighting Tactics of the Waffen-SS lists all the most important types of' small arms, support weapons, anti-tank weapons, and armored personnel carriers employed by the death's head soldiers between 1939 and 1945. Each major weapon featured in the book is accompanied by a detailed artwork (many of which are cutaways) and a specifications table giving caliber, weight, length , range, feed, and muzzle velocity (all weights and measures in imperial and metric). However, the book is far more than a simple compendium of specifications It looks at how the weapons were used by the Waffen-SS in action, including the 88mm Pak 43, the deadly '88' which took an awesome toll of Russian tanks on the Eastern Front. Weapons and Fighting Tactics of the Waffen-SS also includes accounts of the SS anti-tank aces in action, such as Remi Schrijnen who in one action with his Pak 40 gun single-handedly destroyed seven Red Army tanks.

Above all, the elite divisions of the Waffen-SS, such as Das Reich, Totenkopf, Wiking, and the Leibstandarte, are associated with armored fighting vehicles - panzers. Weapons and Fighting Tactics of the Waffen-SS therefore has detailed chapters of the panzers used by the Waffen-SS, such as tile Panzer III, Panzer IV, Panther and tile mighty Tiger and King Tiger. It explains and analyzes the SS armored tactics, such as the armored wedge, the Panzerkeil, and tank-destroying tactics. Read about the actions of' the great panzer aces, such as Ernst Barkmann and the greatest ace of all, Michael Wittmann. From the MP 40 submachine gun to the massive King Tiger tank, Weapons and Fighting Tactics of the Waffen-SS is a complete and comprehensive record of the deployment and use of the hardware in the service of the armed SS.