German Tanks of World War II

By Dr. S. Hart & Dr. R. Hart
Barnes & Noble Books, 1999
ISBN 0-7607-1581-5
176 pages
$14.98

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

When I started building my 1/72 PzKpfw 38(t), I found myself wanting some basic references on that tank. I knew about a Squadron In Action on the type, but it has been out of print for a while. After I picked up a 1/72 PzKpfw IB, I REALLY needed some references. On a hunch I took a quick trip to the local Barnes & Noble bookstore (and local to me means a 3-hour drive) and went to see if they had anything. Sitting there in their bargain book section was this nice little book on German tanks of WW2.

On opening it up I discovered that not only are the PzKpfw 38(t) and PzKpfw IB covered, but also all of the other tanks used by Germany. While the coverage might not be comprehensive on any one tank, it does give a fairly decent synopsis of each tank's service history, as well as a good glossing over of some of the main subvariants. Operational shortcomings are also covered, and to add to each section is a decent selection of photos and color drawings.

While many armor modelers might already have piles of references on some of these tanks, having them all summed up and bound into one book is kind of nice, especially at the bargain price of only 15 bucks. For those who are just getting into armor modeling, like me, this book is an excellent choice, as it provides a little bit of everything and does a great job at whetting your appetite for more. The next time you're in your local Barnes & Noble, check it out and see for yourself.