HISTORY:
** During the summer of 1944 a series of massive Soviet offensives threatened to destroy the entire German army on the Eastern Front. As the Wehrmacht scrambled to hold what ground it could, many formations simply disappeared and the available armoured units were used to plug the gaps in the frontline. One of the most important elements of the defence was the newly raised IV.SS-Panzerkorps which contained the veteran Totenkopf and Wiking divisions. Although both were well equipped, their real striking power lay in the battalion of Pzkpfw V Panther tanks with which each was outfitted, perhaps the most effective armoured fighting vehicle produced by Germany during the Second World War. In Dennis Oliver's latest volume in the TankCraft series he uses archive photos and extensively researched colour illustrations to examine the Panther battalions of these famous units that fought to hold back the Soviet advance during the last months of 1944. A key section of his book displays available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic tanks. **
** Quoted from the back cover of the book.
THE BOOK:
Pen and Sword Books has released Panther Medium Tank IV. SS-Panzerkorps Eastern Front, 1944 as Number 32 in their TankCraft series. It is a 64-page soft cover book, 11.7 x 8.25 inches in size. Included with the text are black and white and color photographs, black and white and color illustrations, information charts and more. It has a 2021 copyright, a publication date of March 22, 2021, and the ISBN is 978-1-5267-9126-9.
CONTENTS:
- Introduction
- The Eastern Front, 1944
- IV. SS-Panzerkorps Units
- Camouflage & Markings
- Model Showcase
- Modelling Products
- Technical Details and Modifications
- Product Contact Details
THE TEXT:
Author Dennis Oliver provides a well written and informative text detailing the history of the German Panther medium tank in use by the IV. SS-Panzerkorps on the Eastern Front in 1944 during World War II as well as detailed text for the scale modeling section of the book. The text goes into great detail in all areas of the book as outlined on the contents page, please refer to the contents listing for the areas that are covered through the book. The book begins with a five-page chronological list of events by date starting with the events of January 6, 1944, and ending with the date of December 27, 1944. The text then goes on with a more detailed history of the listed events and discusses SS-Panzer-Regiment 3 and SS-Panzer-Regiment 5, their actions and their use of the Panther medium tank. The text provides information on specific battles and actions taken by both sides, numbers of tanks involved, number of tanks and other armored vehicles destroyed, successes, failures, individuals killed and the outcome of the fighting. Also discussed is the manufacturing of the Panther and the changes and upgrades made to the different models such as going from 16-bolt road wheels to 24-bolt roadwheels, the upgrading of the machinegun ball mount, the removal of the radio operator’s periscope as well as orders given to the manufacturing facilities to add items such as rear mounted tow hooks and to apply Zimmerit before the tanks left the factories. A section of the text I found particularly interesting was the detailed information regarding Zimmerit and what was used to make it, how sawdust was added as a binding agent, how it was applied, the patterns used and other such information. The author has done an excellent job of providing the information on the German Panther and the IV. SS-Panzerkorps in a well written and easy to understand manner. The text in the book is nicely written and well detailed. As I read through the text, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Anyone wanting to add an excellent reference, history and modeling book on the German Panther medium tank used on the Eastern Front during World War II to their personal library will be pleased with this informative and detailed book.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS:
A total of 67 black and white photographs and 87 color photographs are included in this volume. The photographs are a combination of in-action photographs, photographs removed from motion pictures to photographs that have been staged for the photographer. The photographs range from wide angle photographs of the Panther as a whole to close-up detailed photographs of specific parts on the Panther such as the various exhaust types, the external storage of items such as the gun-cleaning rod tube, track tensioning cable, armoured periscope cover, Bosch headlight, Schürzen, external storage attachment points as well as things such as various camouflage, unit and individual tank markings, Zimmerit patterns and other items of interest that the detail minded scale modeler will appreciate. The majority of the photographs are clear and easily viewable; however, a few of the historical photographs have an out-of-focus look to them and some appear to be too dark, and others appear too light. This is typical for the period of history being discussed and the quality of some of the photographs do not take anything away from the book. The photographs of the modeling related subjects are nice and clear and provide close-up detailed images of several different modeling companies Panther models in varying stages of completion and they also show subjects such as after-market sets and decal sheets. Author Dennis Oliver stuck to the title of the book and chose subject specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject of the book. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be a wealth of information to the scale modeler as well as anyone interested in the German Panther medium tank in use by the IV. SS-Panzerkorps on the Eastern Front in 1944 during World War II due to the details they contain.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS:
There are 5 black and white illustrations and 32 color illustrations included in the volume. The illustrations are very well done and nicely detailed. The illustrations are mostly side view illustrations of various Panther medium tanks showing various colors and camouflage techniques used as well as vehicle numbers, and unit markings. Each of the illustrations are accompanied by a detailed caption describing the vehicle shown, the military unit to which it was assigned, details of the unit markings, modifications that were made dates, locations and other such information. All of the illustrations will prove to be a valuable reference for the scale modeler as well as the German tank and military historian and enthusiast.
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs and illustrations in great detail. For the period photographs the captions go into very specific detail as to the version of the Panther shown, which company the Panther was assigned to, specific parts shown on the Panther such as the commander’s cupola, pistol ports, road wheels, smoke dischargers, gun mantlets, exhaust heat guards, etc., camouflage and unit markings, dates, locations and other such pertinent information. For the scale modeling photographs, the captions go into very specific detail as to the manufacturer and scale of the model shown, manufacturer of after-market detailing sets used, colors and brand of paint used and other such specific information. As I read through the captions, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Dennis Oliver’s captions will be helpful to the reader due to their detailed content as opposed to other captions that I have seen that are very brief and lack detail.
MAPS:
There is 1 black and white map included in this volume.
The map is of:
- The Eastern Front.
- The map shows the natural boundaries and frontiers as of 1944.
INFORMATIONAL CHARTS:
There are 3 informational charts included in this volume and they provide data on the following:
- IV.SS-Panzerkorps. August-September 1944 (One page of information)
- I. Abteilung, SS-Panzer-Regiment 3 Totenkopf, July-August 1944 (One page of information)
- II. Abteilung, SS-Panzer-Regiment 5 Wiking, July-August 1944 (One page of information)
The charts are extremely detailed and take a full 3 pages to list all of the information that they contain including flow-charts and silhouette images of various armored vehicles.
CONCLUSION:
As with the other volumes in the TankCraft series from Pen & Sword Books, I was impressed with this book. This is a very nice reference book that contains well written informative text, many subject specific photographs, several photographs of scale models with detailed captions and more, all detailing the German Panther medium tank in use by the IV. SS-Panzerkorps on the Eastern Front in 1944. with the other Pen & Sword Books titles, I would have no hesitation in recommending this book to others as it will be a welcome addition to one’s personal military history, and scale modeling reference, library.
PRICE:
UK £16.99 / US $22.99
https://www.casematepublishers.com/
This book, from Pen & Sword Books, was provided to me by Casemate Publishers. Please mention that you saw the book reviewed here on the KitMaker Network when making your purchase. Thank you.