Book Review: Allied-Axis: The Photo Journal of the Second World War; Issue =
28 (2012), 96 pp., no ISBN number; published by Ampersand Publishing, Delra= y Beach, Florida; price $16.95Disadvantages: few noted
Rating: Highly Recommended
Recommendation: for WWII armored vehicle buffs and fans of specific vehicle= s (see text)
Over the years I have become a fan of the =93Allied-Axis=94 series of book= s from Ampersand and the latest one upholds their tradition of excellent ph= otographic selection and presentation. This one covers the following vehicl= es: Sd.Kfz. 6 5-Ton Halftrack Prime Mover; 3-Inch Antitank Gun M5; US T1/M6= Heavy Tank; Sprengladungstraeger (Sd.Kfz. 301) Ausf. A and B; and Covenant= er Heavy Cruiser Tank.
The first 25 pages are dedicated to the Sd.Kfz. 6 and its development. It = covers the early (four road wheel) and full production (six road wheel) var= iants of the halftrack as well as its three main variants: Sd.Kfz. 6 engine= er (pioneer-aufbau) model with four banks of seats, Sd.Kfz. 6/1 artillery m= odel with three banks of seats and ammunition stowage, and Sd.Kfz. 6/2 self=
-propelled 3.7 cm Flak 37 antiaircraft gun. =93Diana=94 fans will be disapp= ointed that there is no coverage of that conversion, but the rest are sharp= , clear and very useful for modeling the vehicle.
The next 18 pages cover the 3-Inch Antitank Gun in its very early (straigh= t shield) and production (swept shield) variants. As usual the pictures are= large, clear and varied in their coverage of the gun in use for training a= nd in combat. Coverage shows both combat (universal pattern) and civilian p= attern tires in use on the gun as well, and details of a restored weapon in= cluding its auxiliary dolly wheel assembly.=20
The next section covers the ill-fated US T1 Heavy Tank series, both the pr= oduction M6 and M6A1 tanks as well as the T1E2 variant and even the T1E1 (= =93M6A2") version. Archival photos show the tank under test at Baldwin Loco= motive (the builders) as well as test models in action and posed for offici= al photos. (For anyone building the Commander Models kit - as I currently a= m - there is very little duplication of previous photos from the Hunnicutt = =93Firepower=94 book or other sources presented here.)=20
Next up is the Sd.Kfz. 301, also known as the Borgward B IV tractor. Both = the early (A) and later production (B) vehicles are shown, and most useful = are a selection of photos taken by the British showing one that had struck = a mine being loaded on transport for later evaluation which displays a weal= th of details of the vehicle.
Last is coverage of the seldom-seen British Cruiser Mark V or Covenanter t= ank. The photos show the tank used in training - it never saw combat due to= its mechanical problems and fickle engine - as well as a lovely color shot= of one on the back cover of the book. Any one planning to build the new re= sin kit of the Covenanter should think about this book as well.
Overall, this is another great effort and very handy for those modelers bu= ilding these vehicles, or just to fill in the blanks for the history buff.= =20
Cookie Sewell