Casemate Publishing

World War Two Military Vehicles Transport & Halftracks

by  Pat Ware

Reviewed By  Mark Aldrich, IPMS# 39295

MSRP: $44.95 ISBN: 978-0-7110-3193-7 Review copy courtesy of Casemate Publishing (www.casematepublishing.com) This book, written by Pat Ware, is the study of the lesser known and often overlooked vehicles of the Second World War. It covers the transport and half-tracked vehicles that often followed, supported and sometimes accompanied the glorious fighting tanks that most books are written about. How far would the Panzers have gotten if not for the Opels, Krupps, and Volkswagens? Would the Eight Ball Express have existed without the GMCs, Fords, and Macks? How much of the Motherland would the T-34s have recovered if not for the Gazs, Urals, and Studebakers? This book is written in praise of these often unsung heroes of WWII, the transport vehicles, the cargo, specialty, and personnel transports used throughout the conflict. The book is hard bound with fly leaf and contains 192 pages. It also contains over 220 photographs. The pictures are a mix of black and white and color photographs. The black and white shots are of war time vintage while the color pictures are more modern and are of collector vehicles. Each photograph is accompanied by a caption explaining to the reader what the picture is about. Pat Ware discusses each major power and tries to portray to the reader the mind set that helped decide what type of vehicles were needed and why. Like all books I read, there is always at least one photograph that gives me a model or diorama idea. This actually had two. I have always heard stories of the British attempting to mount ladders in LCMs for the assault on Pointe Du Hoc but did not know they had also tried it on the DUKW. There is a great photo of a DUKM with a British Ladder truck ladder in the bed mounted with two British .303 Machine Guns. The other is of an armored jeep belonging to the 82nd Airborne. The caption states that the machine gun in the passenger seat is a .30 but it sure looks like a .50 caliber M2 to me. Either way, this would make a neat diorama idea. This book is a great one-stop reference for support vehicles and some diorama idea. I would like to thank Michael Harter and Tara Lichterman of Casemate Publishing, Casemate Publishing, and IPMS/USA for providing me the opportunity to review this unique book.

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