Kingtiger Heavy Tank 1942-45 (New Vanguard) [Paperback]

Tom Jentz (Author), Peter Sarson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: New Vanguard | Publication Date: January 28, 1993

As World War II entered its later stages and Germany was forced increasingly onto the defensive, the need for fast-moving mobile forces lessened and the Wehrmacht required better protected and more powerfully armed tanks. After debacles against the T-34, Hitler and the Panzerwaffe were determined not to be unprepared again. The result of this determination was the production of the heaviest and largest tank to see combat during World War II, the Tiger II or Konigstiger (Kingtiger). This title examines this formidable weapon, covering the problems and controversies surrounding its design and production as well as a detailed listing of every unit that was equipped with the Tiger II.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The unrivalled illustrated reference on fighting vehicles, transport and artillery through the ages. Each volume is illustrated throughout, making these books uniquely accessible to history enthusiasts of all ages.

About the Author

Tom Jentz, born in 1946, is one of the World's leading AFV researchers and is best known for the Encyclopedia of German Tanks. Tom lives in Maryland with his German wife and two children. Hilary Louis Doyle, born 1943, has written numerous books on AFV's including the Encyclopedia of German Tanks. Hilary lives in Dublin, Ireland, with his wife and three children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (January 28, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 185532282X
• ISBN-13: 978-1855322820
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #669,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book for modelers!, December 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Kingtiger Heavy Tank 1942-45 (New Vanguard) (Paperback)

This book is an invaluable source of information for plastic modelers building the German Tiger II.Color illustrations together with cutaway drawings provide accurate details of the interior layout of the tank.For future reference to the author, the addition of RAL numbers of paint colors as indexed to the colors in the illustrations in the book would be a possible improvement to be considered on this work.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TII book friendly to your pocket, August 10, 2000

By 

F. J. Azpiroz (Den Haag, Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kingtiger Heavy Tank 1942-45 (New Vanguard) (Paperback)

This book is a small gem. Reference on this tank is as complete as can be packed in 48 pages. Not only development history is included, but also are packed gun tables, direct comparisons to opposite tanks, and unit history with order of battle. Unless you plan to buy Jentz and Hillary more complete books, this is a must for the modeller and historian!

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre as an overview, good on development, March 14, 2005

By 

Lawrence Dunn "LawrenceADunn" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kingtiger Heavy Tank 1942-45 (New Vanguard) (Paperback)

When the casual reader buys a Vanguard book, it's for a general history -- some notes on development, some notes on deployment, some notes on upgrades and color schemes through the life of the vehicle, some notes on combat history, a short assessment of the vehicle's performance, and finally, if there's any space left over, a "where are they now" section for current service or where to find them in museums.

This book, which masquerades as an overview, is remarkably shallow on everything but development. In my opinion, that's a rather odd decision to make regarding a small folio-style overview with some color paintings in the middle of in-action vehicles. Most modelers will not be interested in knowing that on so-and-so a date, this experimental hull was modified in this-or-that way. The color plates are nice but there's little on the vehicle's usage to tie them into the text.

It doesn't help that the text is very dryly written.

Many of the other Osprey Vanguard books do a much better job at providing a good overview of the vehicles they cover, particularly the titles written by Zaloga. I'd pass on this one unless you are primarliy interested in the development of the vehicle.