The Panther battalion of the 116. Panzer Division, during the Battle of Normandy. During the night of 19-20 July 1944, the I./Pz.Rgt. 24’s 76 Panthers set off in a one kilometer column, four yards between each tank. There would now be new battles for the veteran Panzerschützen; for the recruits, this would be their baptism of fire.

This book by Didier Lodieu – one of France’s foremost specialists on the fighting in Normandy – traces the odyssey of the 1st Battalion of Panthers of the 24th Regiment of the 116. Panzer Division, just back from the East… From the first engagements in July to the crossing of the Seine at the end of August…a day by day account of the terrible fighting during the “hedgerow” war.

The FG42 Fallschirmjägergewehr is Vol. VIII in the Propaganda Photo Series, a unique series of books on German small arms of World War II. This book gives a detailed description of the origin and history of the enigmatic Fallschirmjägergewehr (paratrooper's rifle), Germany's most famous, but also most mysterious small arm of World War II. Although only some thousands were produced, many postwar designs were influenced by the FG42, which greatly attributed to its reputation.

This book also describes and depicts its accessories, codes and markings, and the concurrents. As with the other volumes of this series, The FG42 Fallschirmjägergewehr features a unique selection of original German World War II propaganda photos, most of them never published before, depicting the Fallschirmjägergewehr in use.

An hour and a half before sunup, nine B-29s of the 307th Bombardment Wing lifted off from Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa on a bombing mission against Namsi, a North Korean airfield under construction in the heart of MiG Alley. Five and a half hours later they would engage in an air battle that would forever change the conduct of strategic aerial bombardment. Six of the nine would not return, the highest percentage of United States bombers ever lost on a major mission.

Astonishingly, virtually nothing has been published about this event. Official Air Force historical records mention it only in passing and literature of the period too often emphasizes the gung-ho aspect than the grim reality of war.

Black Tuesday Over Namsi chronicles the calamitous B-29 daylight-bombing mission flown by the 307th Bombardment Wing on 23 October 1951 against Namsi Airfield. What many experts consider the epic air battle of the Korean War and perhaps the greatest jet engagement in the history of aerial warfare has largely become another forgotten battle in a forgotten war. Here, Lt. Col McGill presents the facts and circumstances of the mission from first briefing to final landing.

This book also records, from verifiable historical documents, the broader events and conditions that led up to the confrontation, plus the firsthand accounts of aircrew members and ground personnel who were there. Allied and Soviet perspectives are examined; statements made by the MiG pilots describe the attack; and eyewitnesses to the event have supplied photographs of the mission and its aftermath, including the aerial photo of the Namsi Airfield that was used to plan the mission. This thoroughly researched narrative history is enhanced by numerous photographs, a bibliography, and an index to full names, places and subjects.

This is the story of the Americans and Russians who clashed in the skies above Namsi, the events leading up to it, Black Tuesday's historical impact on aerial warfare, and, for the first time, fresh conclusions based on a careful analysis of the specific factors that went into the execution of this and other bombing missions.

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In this very beginning of the 21st century, it is within BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) and other emerging countries where the latest combat tanks are being created, and more precisely to the east of a line that passes through Istanbul. In this second volume, the history of these new participants is recounted within the context of the long lineage of the Russian tanks.

Numerous technical details are provided here for the first time in print, giving the reader a complete understanding of the technologies utilized in tank development.

Both volumes on the modern combat tank represent the only encyclopedia to bring together the technical, historic, and operational aspects of the tank in the 21st century.

Marc Chassillan is an international specialist of combat tanks. Trained as an engineer, Chassillan has participated in the development of the Leclerc tank and has written numerous articles in the journal RAIDS.