Books published by Pen & Sword Books Ltd

"[A] delight for modelers, history buffs, and people who are just interested in weapon." -- A Wargamers Needful ThingsWhile the Red Army's arsenal at the start of the Second World War included weapons dating back to the Great War or earlier, the 1930s' modernization program had introduced the automatic Tokarev pistol and self-loading Tokarev rifle.Its small arms were soon replaced by mass-produced sub-machine guns, such as the PPSh 1941, nicknamed the 'PePeSha, '. Supplementing the submachine guns, the Degtyarev Light Machine Gun DP-27. Fitted with a circular pan magazine, it received the not-unsurprising nickname 'Record Player.'New mortars and towed artillery pieces, ranging from 76mm to 203mm, entered service in the pre-war years. In addition to a wide range of towed, self-propelled and anti-tank guns, the Soviets fielded the Katyusha rocket launchers in 1941, nicknamed the 'Stalin's organ' by the Germans.The 1930s saw the introduction of the BT light tank series. The iconic T-34 medium tank series came into service in late 1940, joined by the IS-2 heavy tank from early 1944, the prefix letters 'IS' translates to Joseph Stalin. These formidable AFVs led the Red Army to victory in May 1945 over Nazi Germany.All these weapons and more are covered with numerous images in this authoritative overview of the subject.

In the early 1980s, I began to visit South Wales on a regular basis to photograph the railway scene. At that time, the collieries and steelworks were generating a lot of rail traffic with Class 37 diesels being the usual motive power.Passenger trains were in the hands of Class 47s and 37s, while 'Peaks' and Class 50s would also appear on occasion. HSTs, DMUs, Sprinters and Pacers were, of course, also common.As time went on, collieries closed and the coal traffic reduced, but there always something new and interesting. Rugby Internationals at Cardiff regularly produced a number of special trains which arrived from various parts of the country, often bringing interesting motive power to the Welsh capital.The Class 37s were slowly replaced by Class 56s, and later Class 60s, on many duties in South Wales, but the Rhymney Valley saw Class 37 diesels working passenger trains into the twenty-first century, and on Rugby International days, privately-owned Class 50s were also used on occasion.I also visited the Central Wales line a number of times and particularly enjoyed the time I spent at the small country stations, before the semaphore signals were replaced.This book contains a selection of photographs taken in the latter part of the 20th and in the very early 21st Century, covering the railways of South Wales and the Welsh section of the Central Wales line. A few photographs of the principal heritage railways in more recent times are also included.

The four seasons pass by like a gliding ship, each signalled by a transformation of changing colors and hues of light, thus providing a form of marker to these passages of time. Living in the temperate zone we experience four distinct seasons. The railway scene reflects such in its own special character - cold winter air enhances the bountiful steam escaping from the hissing steam locomotive impatiently awaiting its departure, while autumn enchants with trees that exude a variety of hues which embellish any image of even the most mundane suburban train. Springtime blossom and wild flowers bestow railway cuttings with a bounty of generous bright colors while coastal railways often look most inviting on warm sunny days as they pass alongside azure seas and golden beaches. The seasons each add their own dimension for the photographer to encapsulate, and railways passing through the ever-changing landscape provide their own tribute to this inspirational tapestry. As readers travel through each season, so they are invited to share this awe and constant source of inspiration from nature's kaleidoscope of color.Photographs are provided with captions and reflective commentary to enlighten the knowledgeable rail enthusiast alongside those who equally enjoy such a portrait of landscape and scenery through the seasons. The range of photographs ranges from the mid -1980's to the present with the majority from the last two decades.

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II was the most-produced American supersonic military jet with 5,195 aircraft being produced. By any standards the F-4 has been incredibly successful, used not only by the USAF and US Navy but many air forces around the world including Germany, Israel, Turkey and Japan.The F-4 was designed as a long-range fighter interceptor and fighter bomber, excellent in all roles assigned to it. The Phantom has performed leading roles in multiple conflicts around the world from the Vietnam War through to the Gulf War. Although the F-4 left US service in 1996 it has continued in service with other air forces, only just being retired in 2020 from the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force.This new title in Pen & Sword's highly successful Flight Craft series covers the development and operational use of the F-4 Phantom II and brings to life the variety of color schemes and markings applied by many of the multiple air arms that have operated the Phantom around the world by including quality color profiles.Multiple model projects are included covering significant variants of the F-4 like the F-4B, F-4D, F-4E, F-4F, F-4G, F-4J, F-4EJ-Kai; British FGR-2 and F-4J(UK). All the popular model scales are represented: 1:72, 1:48 and 1:32A first for scale modellers everywhere - a book aimed at scale modellers of all levels interested in building the F-4 Phantom II.

Modern historians have consistently condemned the Abwehr, Germany's military intelligence service, and its SS equivalent, the Sicherheitsdienst, as incompetent and corrupt. However, newly declassified MI5, CIA and US Counterintelligence Corps files shed a very different light on the capabilities of the German intelligence machine.

Spies have made an extraordinary impact on the history of the 20th Century, but fourteen in particular can be said to have been demonstrably important.

The Edwardian castles of north Wales were built by a Savoyard master mason, but also by many other artisans from Savoy.

By exploring the wide range of interconnected factors that influence the results of battles, the authors broaden the study of this aspect of military history from a narrow focus on isolated episodes of conflict.

The opening battles on the Western Front marked a watershed in military history. A dramatic, almost Napoleonic war of movement quickly gave way to static, attritional warfare in which modern weaponry had forced the combatants to take to the earth. Some of the last cavalry charges took place in the same theatre in which armored cars, motorcycles and aeroplanes were beginning to make their presence felt. These dramatic developments were recorded in graphic detail by soldiers who were eyewitnesses to them. There is a freshness and immediacy to their accounts which Matthew Richardson exploits in this thoroughgoing reassessment of the 1914 campaign. His vivid narrative emphasises the perspective of the private soldiers and the junior officers of the British Army, the men at the sharp end of the fighting.

Loos is a small mining town between Lens and La Bassee in northern France. But on 25th September 1915, and for a few days after, it was the center of one of the most intense and bloody battles of the First World War.

The fighting in the Gallipoli or Dardanelles campaign began in 1915 as a purely naval affair undertaken partly at the instigation of Winston Churchill, who, as First Lord of the Admiralty, had entertained plans of capturing the Dardanelles as early as September 1914.

Here, Dr Jeremy Armstrong traces the development of Rome's military might from its earliest discernible origins down to the First Punic War.

Bernard Paget enjoyed a hugely successful military career which culminated in his top level appointments in WW2.

Adolf Hitler's Great War military experiences in no way qualified him for supreme command. Yet by July 1940, under his personal leadership the Third Reich's armed forces had defeated Poland, Czechoslovakia, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium and France. The invasion of Great Britain was a distinct reality following Dunkirk. Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania had become allies along with the acquiescent military powers of Mussolini's Italy and Franco's Spain. These achievements prompted Field Marshal Willem Keitel, the Wehrmacht's Chief of Staff, to pronounce Hitler to be 'the Greatest Commander of all time'.Storm clouds were gathering, most notably the disastrous decision to tear up the treaty with the Soviet Union and launch Operation Barbarossa in 1941. As described in this meticulously researched and highly readable book, Hitler's blind ideology, racist hatred and single-mindedness led him and his allies inexorably to devastating defeat. How far was it good luck that gave Hitler his sensational early political and military successes? Certainly fortune played a major role in his survival from many assassination attempts and sex scandals. The author concludes, from 1941 onwards, the Fuhrer's downfall was entirely attributable to military misjudgments that he alone made.Lucky: Hitler's Big Mistakes exposes the enigmatic Dictator for what he really was - incredibly lucky and militarily incompetent.

Nazi UFOs tells the strange tale of how, following the first alleged flying saucer sightings made in the USA in 1947, a series of fantasists and neo-fascists came forward to create a media myth that the Nazis may have invented these incredible craft as a means for winning the Second World War.

The bundle of 31 letters, the pages of which had long yellowed with age, had lain hidden in the attic where they were found for over a century. Only when the razor-sharp script was examined further did historians discover just who had written them - and that person, Alois, was Adolf Hitler's father.

Warfare was a crucial aspect of Celtic society, deeply linked to the spreading of their culture through all Europe.

This book looks at Elizabeth's life through some of the many artifacts, buildings, documents and institutions that survive to this day.

This collection of vivid essays examines some of the most fascinating aspects of the German resistance to Hitler. It includes the first translations into English of pioneering studies on the role of a leading Nazi in the July Plot, the flight of Rudolf Hess to Britain and the vigorous controversy over Hugh Trevor-Roper's investigation of Hitler's death. The book also explores vociferous Catholic dissent in Franconia and the conspiracies against the Third Reich of the revolutionary New Beginning movement. Through the study of important personalities and dramatic events this book explores the possibilities and challenges faced by Germans in attempts to frustrate and defy Hitler's tyranny.

For a great deal of the 1930s, Don Bradman was considered the most famous sportsman in the world. By any measure - stats, acclaim - it appeared to be a straightforward decision. The same could be argued for Mohammad Ali in the 1960s or Lionel Messi in the 2010s. But when, exactly, did they take their titles, from whom, and when did their reigns come to an end? For boxers it might be possible to narrow it down to the actual date, but for other sportsmen - and women - it is more difficult. Athletes have been feted for their sporting prowess since ancient times, and since the advent of professional sport in the early 18th Century there have been champions celebrated throughout the world. This book aims to give a clearer idea of who was - at any point in time - the greatest athlete in the world - even if the world was unaware of it at the time.

A History of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts: Brownies, Rainbows and WAGGGS charts the evolution of the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from its early days as a movement started before WW1 right through to the modern day. With real life interviews with Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from their 90s down to young children, this book looks at what being a Girl Guide has meant through the ages up to the present day. With dramatic and often emotional stories of what it was like to be an evacuated Brownie in the Second World War, a disabled Girl Guide and with tales of girls' heroism throughout the two great wars both in the UK and the United States, this book extols the Guiding and Scouting movement as one that has evolved with women and girls' rights and its hopes for the future.

This beginner's guide to growing your own food is the perfect introduction to homegrown planting and growing.

This book explores the trials of war and daily life for women in the United States during the War of Independence.