Social sciences

This book continues with the overview of the Waffen-SS units that fought during WWII. It follows each unit as it was raised and then where it fought. Within each of the various battles covered, the book focuses specifically on each Waffen-SS soldier that was awarded the Knights Cross to the Iron Cross (and higher grades where applicable).

This guide showcases knives used by America's clandestine military in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. It provides the collector and others interested in the period a way of identifying honest SOG (Studies and Observations Group) specimens and separating them from counterfeits.

The 7th Waffen SS Mountain Division was raised for war in the rugged terrain of Yugoslavia. The unit included a huge number of Volksdeutsche, ethnic Germans recruited from outside the Reich. After numerous anti-guerrilla operations in Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia, towards the end of the war it was employed against units of the Bulgarian Army and Red Army forces in the difficult mission ...

This book chronicles the history, training, and operations of United States Army Special Forces, including never before published photos and insignia that were designed and worn by the men of the United States Army Special Forces. The modern United States Army Special Forces was formed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on June 19, 1952.

Volume VI of the series covers the unit emblems and tactical aircraft markings of the forty-eight USAAF combat groups and eight squadrons that served in the China-Burma-India Theater and Western Pacific Area of Operations during WWII. Additional units covered include the Chinese-American Composite Wing and special AAF Air Task Forces that also served in the CBI.

USS Yorktown (CV-5) was the US Navy's first battle-worthy, purpose-built aircraft carrier. Her crew, already accustomed to wartime conditions by maintaining Neutrality Patrols during 1941 in the Atlantic, quickly adapted to the Pacific Theater, having been dispatched there immediately after Pearl Harbor.

Albert Schwenn was called up by the SS Cavalry Replacement Battalion in Warsaw in October 1942, and in March 1943, was seconded to the SS Cavalry Division. Schwenn gives a vivid account of the brutal combat on the Russian front, and especially operations against partisans, where he took part in so-called “pacification actions” behind the front lines.

This book is a rare memoir from a Waffen-SS soldier who fought for six years in some of the most savage fighting on the Russian front during WWII. A volunteer, initially in the SS-Heimwehr Danzig, which became part of the SS-Totenkopf-Division in 1939, he took part in the campaign against Poland as a motorcycle messenger, and was wounded for the first time during the France campaign of 1940.

The Panzerkampfwagen IV, or Panzer IV as it is more popularly known, formed the backbone of Germany’s tank formations during WWII. With production totaling more than 8,500, the Panzer IV was the most plentiful German tank of the war, and the only German tank that remained in production for the duration of the conflict.

With the international success of the classic film Das Boot, U-96 is arguably the most famous of all German U-boats. Here is the true story of U-96, and its legendary commander Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock. In continuous combat from September 1940 to March 1945, follow the crew of U-96 from their bases in Kiel, Germany, as well as Lorient and St.

The M40 Gun Motor Carriage and M43 Howitzer Motor Carriage are featured in over 200 photographs, providing a detailed study of the conception, development, testing, and combat use of these key vehicles. As the US entered WWII, the nation lacked heavy self-propelled artillery, instead relying heavily on towed artillery, much of it WWI-surplus.

The USS Iowa (BB-61) was the lead ship in the United States Navy's last, and most battle-worthy, battleship class, which also included the New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Missouri. This volume explores Iowa's design, construction, launching, and commissioning, as well as its extensive wartime activities in both World War II and Korea.

This comprehensive, full-color guide features dozens of images of slings from various cultures, both ancient and contemporary. Slings had great significance in many cultures, particularly in the Andes, and were often used as both prehistoric weapons and herding tools.

This book is a concise, illustrated history of the US Navy and Marine Corps’ most versatile jet strike fighter, the Boeing F/A-18 A-D Legacy Hornet. Presenting a historical perspective of the Legacy Hornet from its origins through today’s use in the fleet, this edition explores the aircraft’s various model upgrades and variants.

The Nuclear Age properly began with the discovery of the nucleus by Ernest Rutherford in 1911, but its impact on civilization began with the use of atomic bombs against Japan in WWII. The development of atomic bombs forever changed the world.

The 17th Waffen-SS Panzergrenadier Division “Götz von Berlichingen” was one of the few SS formations to be employed exclusively on the western front during World War II. From the time of its formation in France in 1943, “Götz von Berlichingen” saw bitter and bloody fighting in Normandy, the Seine front, Metz, the Saar, the Palatinate, and later the defense of the west wall until the final battles ...

America’s famous and influential WWII submachine guns (SMGs) are all featured in this fully illustrated book. Beginning with the legendary Thompson submachine, its design, construction, and testing in the early 1920s, as well as its use by the US Marine Corps, the Irish Republican Army, and Prohibition-era gangsters, are presented in detail.

The legendary British, World War II STEN submachine gun is featured in this concise, illustrated book. Famous for its use by British elite forces, as well as the French underground during WWII, variants of the STEN were manufactured and used by many countries during the war and up through the 1970s.

Germany’s World War I– and World War II–era submachine guns are all featured in this fully illustrated book. Early Bergmann models are presented first showing their development from the MP18, through to the MP35, followed by discussions of the Schmeisser MP28, Steyr MP34, and Erma “EMP.

The F4U Corsair, designed by Vought and produced by that firm, as well as, Goodyear and Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, would not only rack up an impressive 11:1 kill ratio against its foes in WWII, but go on to serve through the Korean War as well. The iconic inverted gull wing of the aircraft, along with its distinctive whistling sound made the Corsair unmistakable to friend and foe alike.