I am interested in German weapons of World War II. Planned, prototyped and in service. What books would you recommend? Please bear in min that I only speak English. Thanks in advance. Mike.
Hi Mike, I reckon it is hard to beat anything by Ian Hogg, partcularly 'Twentieth Century Small Arms', its a great book, I really wish I had got a copy when I saw one but I had already spent all my money
Mike : It depends on what type of arms you are interested in. Here are a few on my shelves. German Sniper by Senich.....covers the 98k and variants. German Artillery of WW 2 by Ian Hogg. Covers artillery by caliber and flak/anti-tank guns. GErman submachineguns and assault rifles. OOP from We, Inc. and still one of the best ! German Tank and Anti-tank by Hoffschmidtt and OOP and one of the best ! Check for some of the old Ballantine illustrated series weapons books. All OOP but available though. Running aroudn $15.00 US, and many on e-bay.com Check different publishing/distribution firms such as: JJF, Angelray books, Tollehausbooks and Schiffer Publications. Mike, I think Otto has many of these on the links pages of this web-site. viele Glück ! E
Stefan I have that book, its in 3 pieces and has no cover anymore, but its still a wealth of information
Try "Backbone of the Wehrmacht vols 1 and 2" by: Richard Law. The first one covers only Mauser rifles, second is on Mauser Sniper rifles and variants, plus prototype stuff much like my Mauser prototype rifle. Then there is a thin but very well done book on Lugers, but I forget who the author is I think it sells for $10.00, and has a mint Artillerry Luger on pictured its cover. A GREAT book for Luger collectors. All three of these books are highly recommended.
A few recommended books about German smallarms : - 'Guns of the Reich' by 'George Markham' - actually John Walter ( Arms&Armour Press 1989/91) Very comprehensive with useful bibliography. 'The Luger Book' by John Walter (Arms&Armour Press 1986 ). Incredibly detailed, 'everything you ever wanted to know' and almost as handsome as the weapon itself ! 'German Automatic Weapons of World War II' by Robert Bruce in the 'Live Firing Classic Military Weapons' series. Published by Windrow & Greenein 1996 just before they went bust ! One of my favourites. A 're-enactment' book with plenty of good colour photos and enthusiastic comment; a true 'buffs' book. 'The German Assault Rifle 1935-1945' by Peter R Senich ( Paladin Press 1987 ). Expensive, but the standard reference work for the MP43/44. It's been translated into German - quite a compliment ! There are many trashy books around with eyecatching covers but inside the same old photos and no insight into the subject - be careful !
Nearly forgot I'm sure someone else must have mentioned it somewhere but my all-time indispensible World War II gun book is 'Small Arms of the World - A Basic Manual of Military Small Arms' by W H B Smith. First printed in the USA in 1943 and regularly updated, it took me years to find a battered old 1955 copy and it is an absolute goldmine for enthusiasts of military smallarms. Each gun from every combatant nation gets a mini-history, service use, users' opinions and even detailed field-stripping instructions/diagrams. If you see a copy - I'd recommend a buy !
dasreich : do have an author and ISBN # for the book you mentioned ? was this an Ian Hogg release possibly ? danke E
Erich Brown: It was by Chris Bishop and Adam Warner ISBN: 0-7858-1344-6 As for Ian Hogg...I couldnt find the name anywhere. This book not only describes the weapons, how they were used, etc. but has an incredible amount of pictures and diagrams.
