The Anti-Tank Rifle (Weapon) - Softcover

Zaloga, Steven J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1472817222 ISBN 13: 9781472817228

Publisher: Osprey Publishing, 2018

Synopsis

The emergence of the tank in World War I led to the development of the first infantry weapons to defend against tanks. Anti-tank rifles became commonplace in the inter-war years and in the early campaigns of World War II in Poland and the Battle of France, which saw renewed use in the form of the British .55in Boys anti-tank rifle--also used by the US Marine Corps in the Pacific. The French campaign made it clear that the day of the anti-tank rifle was ending due to the increasing thickness of tank armor.

Nevertheless, anti-tank rifles continued to be used by the Soviets on the Eastern Front with two rifles, the 14.5mm PTRS and PTRD, and were still in widespread use in 1945. They served again with Korean and Chinese forces in the Korean War, and some have even appeared in Ukraine in 2014–15. Fully illustrated and drawing upon a range of sources, this is the absorbing story of the anti-tank rifle, the infantryman's anti-armor weapon during the world wars.

About this title

About the Author:

Steven J. Zaloga received his BA in History from Union College and his MA from Columbia University. He has worked as an analyst in the aerospace industry for over two decades, covering missile systems and the international arms trade, and has served with the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federal think tank. He is the author of numerous books on military technology and military history, with an accent on the US Army in World War II as well as Russia and the former Soviet Union. He lives in Maryland.

Johnny Shumate works as a freelance illustrator. He began his career in 1987 after graduating from Austin Peay State University. Most of his work is rendered in Adobe Photoshop using a Cintiq monitor. His greatest influences are Angus McBride, Don Troiani, and Édouard Detaille. He lives in Tennessee.

Alan Gilliland was born in Malaya in 1949, and spent 18 years as the graphics editor of The Daily Telegraph, winning 19 awards in that time. He now writes, illustrates, and publishes fiction (www.ravensquill.com), as well as illustrating for a variety of publishers (alangillilandillustration.blogspot.com). He lives in the UK.

Review:

"Steven Zaloga provides a very readable text that is well supplemented with photographs and illustrations from Johnny Shumate and Alan Gilliland. I was able to read the book easily over two nights, even with my wife repeatedly telling me to go to sleep. -- Frank Landrus" - IPMS / USA

"Steve Zaloga does an excellent job of dividing the book into two sections of information. The first section is concerned with the mechanical and procurement aspects of the anti-tank rifles that each country produced. While the second section deals with the actual effects in combat that each rifle had, both positive and negative." - The Firearms Blog

"Fully illustrated and drawing upon a range of sources, this is the absorbing story of the anti-tank rifle, the infantryman’s anti-armor weapon during the world wars." - American Gunsmith

About this edition

• Publisher: Osprey Publishing
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1472817222
• ISBN 13: 9781472817228
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 80
• Illustrator: Shumate Johnny, Gilliland Alan