Introduction

The following introduction is taken from the Tankograd website:

RAC Germany

Armoured Vehicles of the Royal Armoured Corps during the Cold War in West Germany 1950-90

Almost 85 years ago, the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) was formed and it can be found today in every theatre of operations of the British Army. One of the most important episodes in the RAC’s history was the deployment of units to West Germany during the Cold War in 1950-90. Still today tanks such as the Centurion, Conqueror, Chieftain and Challenger are recognised and honoured among experts in the field.

This publication shows these icons of British tank design in impressive and often even dramatic exercise photographs taken during their duty with the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). An additional chapter covers the wheeled armour of the armoured reconnaissance regiments of the RAC.

Review

This offering from Tankograd is a soft backed publication, with a glossy card cover protecting 64 A4 sized glossy pages within. The card cover judging from older copies of titles I have does in my opinion stand up to reasonable handling very well. This book is one of Tankograds duel language offerings, with German on the left and English on the right of each pages. The photographs provided in the book are also provided with dual language captions in German and then English. The British armed forces have up until recently had a constant presence in Germany since the end of World War 2, and this means that armoured vehicles in use with the British army have been seen in Germany almost to the present day. Initially many of these armoured vehicles would have been of WWII vintage, however, this title looks at 1950 onwards to 1990 and so life begins with the Centurion and ends with the Challenger II. In addition to these main battle tanks, you also get a look at the smaller reconnaissance armoured vehicles used to locate enemy forces for their bigger brothers. The photographs begin with black and white images, and progresses through to modern colour images depicting the Challenger I main battle tank. 

 Main battle tanks in use with the British army between 1950 and 1990 consist primarily of the Centurion, the Chieftain and Challenger. However you also need to include the Conqueror which pleasingly does get coverage in this title. The reconnaissance vehicles concentrate on the Ferret as a wheeled vehicle and the Scimitar family as tracked reconnaissance.

Conclusion

Modellers interested in British armoured vehicles following the end of WWII will find this release a pleasing edition to their library. The photographs throughout are of a good quality that are each accompanied by good captions. To my mind, it is pleasing to find the post war British armour covered in reasonable detail in a single title. I have no obvious negatives as regards the title and its contents, and despite a small price increase which can only be expected I am still pleased with what is provided for the cost.