Russian Weapons of World War II

The weapons used by Soviet forces during World War II were some of the most reliable, robust and in some cases revolutionary military hardware employed by any army, providing archetypal models that were developed for decades after the end of the war. The iconic T-34 proved to be the most versatile medium tank of the war, while artillery such as the 152mm M1943 howitzer was still being used well into the 1990s by forces in Africa and the Middle East. The PPSh-41 submachine gun and Tokarev SVT-40 formed the basis for the famous Cold War-era AK-47 assault rifle, while the Katyusha multiple rocket launcher has been copied and improved upon by military forces the world over right up to the present day. Russian Weapons of World War II features every weapon deployed by the Red Army during World War II, divided into chapter by type: tanks and armoured fighting vehicles, artillery, small arms, aircraft and naval weapons. There is also a chapter on the numerous lend-lease vehicles supplied by the Western Allies, including the Matilda, Sherman and Churchill tanks, Douglas A-20 and Handley Page Hampden bombers, and the many trucks and support vehicles built by General Motors, Chevrolet, GMC, Austin and Ford. Packed with easy-to-understand diagrams, graphs and illustrations, Russian Weapons of World War II is an essential reference guide for anyone interested in the military technology of World War II.