Böcker i Duel-serien

During the later stages of the Vietnam War, the US-made M41 Walker Bulldog light tank fought the Soviet-designed T-54 main battle tank in a series of battles in Laos and Vietnam. Fully illustrated, this engaging study investigates the origins, combat record, and legacy of these two armored fighting vehicles.Illustrated with full-color artwork as well as rare and revealing photographs from both sides, this book studies these two iconic tanks in Vietnamese service, examining how their differing designs and fighting doctrines affected their performance in this unique theater of combat.During the Vietnam War, both the United States and the Soviet Union supplied all manner of weapon systems to the opposing sides, including tanks and armored vehicles. Two tanks in particular took momentary prominence in the later years of the conflict. On the South Vietnamese side, it was the US M41 Walker Bulldog; for the communist North Vietnamese, the Soviet-supplied T-54 main battle tank was the core of their armored power. In their first major engagement, during Operation Lam Son 719 (FebruaryΓÇôMarch 1971), it was the Walker Bulldog in the ascendant, but in later battles the T-54s inflicted heavy losses on their lighter opponents, taking the advantage through their superior maneuverability and gunnery.

The Six-Day War in 1967 was a lightning Israeli campaign that changed the face of the Middle East. Israel's armoured brigades, despite being heavily outnumbered on paper by Arab AFVs, managed to dominate the Arab forces tactically and technologically, through excellent gunnery and decentralized battlefield leadership. The fighting took place on three different fronts: the Sinai Front, the Jordanian Front and the Golan Heights. Each presented its own unique set of tactical and terrain challenges, from the long-range battles between massed Egyptian and Israeli armour in the scorching flatlands of the Sinai Desert, to relatively close-quarters engagements across steep and narrow terrain in the Golan Heights. Not only did the Six-Day War see the direct clash of opposing Cold War tactical approaches, but also the direct confrontation of Western and Soviet MBTs. On the Israeli side, the IDF had the British Centurion, the American M48 Patton, the M51 Super Sherman, and the French AMX-13, although they focused their armoured spearheads on the Centurions and Pattons. The Arabs' armoured power was expressed through T-34/85s, T-54/55s, PT-76s and JS-3s (IS-3s). Each vehicle brought its own set of advantages and disadvantages, although ultimately it was the long-range tank-killing gunnery of the Centurion that often took the day. Drawing on compelling first-hand accounts from both unit commanders and individual crews, this Duel title explains the tactical and mechanical dynamics of one of history's greatest post-war armoured engagements.

An exploration and analysis of the tactics, equipment, and effectiveness of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, the US Navy''s primary strike weapon during the war in Vietnam, and its main adversary--North Vietnam''s antiaircraft artillery network. While the F­105 Thunderchief was the USAF''s principal strike weapon during the Rolling Thunder campaign, the US Navy relied on the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk for the majority of its strikes on North Vietnam. First flown in 1954, the Skyhawk entered service in 1956 and remained in continuous production for 26 years. Throughout Operation Rolling Thunder it was the US Navy''s principal day­time light strike bomber, remaining in use after its replacement, the more sophisticated A-7 Corsair II, began to appear in December 1967. During the 1965--68 Rolling Thunder period, up to five attack carriers regularly launched A-4 strike formations against North Vietnam. These formations faced an ever-expanding and increasingly coordinated Soviet-style network of antiaircraft artillery missiles and fighters. Skyhawk pilots were often given the hazardous task of attacking anti-aircraft defenses and to improve accuracy, they initially dropped ordnance below 3000 ft in a 30-degree dive in order to bomb visually below the persistent low cloud over North Vietnam, putting the aircraft within range of small-arms fire. This illustrated title examines both the A-4 Skyhawk and the Vietnamese AAA defenses in context, exploring their history and analyzing their tactics and effectiveness during the conflict.

This illustrated and detailed volume covers the capabilities and actions of two of the most compelling naval forces in history--the Imperial Japanese Navy''s carriers and their incomparably trained aviators, and the US ships which defended against them. The striking power of the Imperial Japanese Navy''s carrier-based attack aircraft was established at Pearl Harbor, and the IJN''s carrier-based torpedo­ and dive-bombers showed their prowess again at the Battle of Coral Sea when they sank the US Navy carrier USS Lexington and damaged the carrier USS Yorktown. Even at the disastrous Battle of Midway, the relatively small number of IJNAF attack- and torpedo-bombers that were launched against the US fleet proved that they remained a potent force by heavily damaging Yorktown again, which allowed an IJN submarine to sink the carrier. At Guadalcanal, IJNAF carrier-based aircraft sank the carrier USS Hornet and badly damaged USS Enterprise twice. However, throughout 1942, US Navy ship defenses brought down an increasing number of attacking IJNAF aircraft. The final major battle of the year, the Battle of Santa Cruz, exacted crippling losses on the IJN, setting the stage for the eclipse of the IJNAF''s highly trained and effective aviation attack forces.Packed with illustrations and contemporary photographs, this engrossing volume details the design, tactics, and operational records of both the US Navy ships and the IJNAF aircraft which attacked them over the year following Pearl Harbor.

During the struggle for the Mediterranean in World War II, British and Italian battleships entered combat on three occasions in 1940 and 1941. In this fully illustrated account of these battles, historian Mark Stille assesses the technology, crews, doctrine, and combat record of the capital ships that took part. During World War II''s battle for control of the Mediterranean, both the British and Italian navies planned to bring their battle fleets into play. At the center of both of these fleets was a core of battleships which both sides expected to play a decisive role in the conflict.On July 9, 1940, the two navies met in the central Mediterranean, as two Italian battleships faced off against three of their British counterparts. Christened the Battle of Calabria, the action allowed the ships to play to their strengths, engaging in a long-range gunnery duel, the very thing they had been designed for. Though both sides shot well, the only hit was scored by Warspite on the Italian battleship Giulio Cesare. The Italians were forced to withdraw, and the action ended up being indecisive, but it was the largest fleet action fought in the Mediterranean during the war. As well as this battle, there were other occasions during the war when both British and Italian battleships were present and influential, but during which they never engaged each other directly--the Battle of Spartivento on November 27, 1940, and the Battle of Cape Matapan on March 28--29, 1941. Packed with full-color artwork, carefully selected archive photographs, and expert analysis, this title explores in detail the role played by British and Italian battleships in these encounters and their influence in the Mediterranean theater of World War II.

Following Argentina''s military operation to take possession of the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher''s government launched a major naval operation to return them to British rule. Defending the Royal Navy task force were two small squadrons totalling 20 Sea Harriers (SHARs). Initial clashes between SHARs and Argentine Mirages and Daggers on 1 May 1982 failed to eliminate the Sea Harrier defenders. FAA fighter-bomber pilots relied on daring and courageous ultra-low level attacks, frequently escaping the Sea Harrier''s limited capabilities, against Royal Navy warships and auxiliaries, causing considerable damage during Operation Corporate, the large-scale amphibious operation to repossess the islands.Publishing 35 years after the end of the conflict, this fully illustrated volume offers a balanced and objective examination of the SHAR and the Argentine Mirage and Dagger aircraft, highlighting the attributes of both and the skills and courage of the pilots flying them.

The armour clashes in May 1940 were the biggest the world had yet seen, as the sweeping German advances of that period came to epitomize Blitzkrieg. The Wehrmacht's Panzer III was well matched by the French Somua S35 tanks. Fully illustrated, this work draws on research to provide a definitive analysis of the clash between these two tank designs.

As the Pacific War approached a crescendo, the clashes between swarming US Navy carrier aircraft, and the gigantic Imperial Japanese Navy Yamato-class battleships became symbolic of the fortunes of the two nations. This book presents views from US Navy Divebombers, and IJN anti-aircraft guns, during two of the most dramatic naval engagements.

Losses were high on both sides, but the determined RAF fighter force began to take its toll on the overextended, under-protected Kampfgruppen of Heinkel He 111s, Ju 87s and 88s, and Dornier Do 17s. This book offers a study which dissects the tactics and technology of the duels in this new kind of war.

By the early months of 1944 in the Pacific, the US Navy''s burgeoning force of carrier-based F6F-3/5 Hellcats had pretty much wiped the skies clear of Japanese fighters during a series of one-sided aerial engagements. However, starting in October they faced the superb Kawanishi N1K1/2 Shiden/Shiden-Kai, a formidable fighter with improved armament, a powerful engine, and excellent maneuvrability that in contrast to earlier Japanese fighters had the ability to withstand a greater degree of battle damage.Japanese pilots using this aircraft would claim more than 170 aerial victories over Kyushu and whilst escorting Kamikazes attacking Allied ships off Okinawa. US Navy Hellcat pilots in turn were credited with many of the scores of Shiden-Kais that were downed attempting to defend Japan. This fully illustrated book compares these two fascinating aircraft, using specially commissioned artwork, first-hand accounts, and a thorough technical analysis.

The opening months of World War II saw Britain''s Royal Navy facing a resurgent German navy, the Kriegsmarine. Following the German invasion of Denmark and Norway in early April 1940, British and German destroyers would clash in a series of battles for control of the Norwegian coast. The operational environment was especially challenging, with destroyer crews having to contend with variable weather, narrow coastal tracts, and possibility of fog and ship breakdowns.In two engagements at Narvik, the Royal Navy entered the harbor and attacked the loitering German destroyers who had dropped off mountain troops to support the German invasion. The raids were devastating, halving at a stroke the number at Hitler''s disposal. Employing specially commissioned artwork and drawing upon a range of sources, this absorbing study traces the evolving technology and tactics employed by the British and German destroyer forces.

Part of the best-selling "Duel" series, this title presents the horrifying aerial clash between a fighter and a bomber. Using artwork and first-hand accounts, it recreates the deadly drama in the skies above Germany in the closing stages of the war.

In this book Steven J Zaloga offers a fascinating comparison between the two most important tanks involved in the crucial fighting of 1944, the American Sherman and the German Panther. Placing the reader in the heart of this battle between quality and quantity Zaloga uses a compelling account of the ferocious fighting during the Battle of the Bulge to explain the successes and failures of each tank, highlighting the fact that a tank can only be as good as its crew, weighing up the impact of low morale, high cost and mediocre crew training on the Panther's superiority. With full-colour battlescenes, technical drawings, photographs, digital gunsight views, extracts from crew training manuals and real combat reports, this book brings the titanic battles between the Panther and Sherman to life.

At the outbreak of World War II, the four key Capital German ships comprised the Bismarck, Tirpitz, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Their primary threats where the Royal Navy's King George V­class battleships, the most modern British battleships in commission during World War II and some of the Navy's most powerful vessels. Five ships of this class were built: HMS King George V, Prince of Wales, Duke of York, Howe (late 1942) and Anson (late 1942). The powerful vessels in this class would clash with the pride of the Kriegsmarine in two major engagements: first, during the Battle of the Denmark Strait and subsequent pursuit of the Bismarck between 24 and 27 May 1941, and again at the Battle of the North Cape on 26 December 1943. Alongside the King George V class, the Royal Navy's two-­ship Nelson-­class (Nelson and Rodney), comprised Britain's only other battleships built in the interwar years. Both ships served extensively in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian oceans during the war, but their moment of fame came when Rodney (together with King George V) chased down and bombarded the doomed Bismarck in May 1941. This superbly detailed addition to the Duel series compares and contrasts the design and development of these opposing capital ships, and describes the epic clashes on the high seas that ended with the destruction of the Kriegsmarine's major naval assets.

Since the end of World War II, the strategic bombing of Germany has inspired numerous studies, countless books and several documentary films, and it is not surprising. With more than one million tons of bombs dropped, close to 300,000 civilians killed, 700,000 wounded and in excess of 3,500,000 industrial and residential structures destroyed, the Allied bomber offensive was industrial war on a grand scale. The air battle that raged over Germany has often been described as a battle between Allied and German fighters but what has been frequently missed by historians on all sides is the impact of German anti-aircraft defences (flak). Though often dismissed as ineffective and a waste of valuable material and personnel, the German flak arm made a major contribution to the defence of the Third Reich - at least half of the American aircraft shot down over Germany fell to flak, and according to the RAF Official History, it was estimated that flak accounted for 1229 of 3302 aircraft lost by Bomber Command between 1942 and April 1945. Additionally, the strategic role of flak extended beyond simply shooting down aircraft - its other, more important task was to force bombers to drop their ordnance sooner or from a higher altitude, thus reducing bombing accuracy. Both these roles are explored in depth in this detailed study of the German flak defences and of their adversaries, the Allied heavy bombers. Containing full-colour illustrations including cockpit scenes and armament views, this is the definitive guide to the much-overlooked conflict between Allied planes and German anti-aircraft defences.

Q-ships came in all shapes and sizes - coastal steamer, trawler, barque, yacht or schooner - but all had to look harmless in order to lure their opponents to the surface and encourage them to attack. This title deals with this topic.