Military Model Scene

Title: Foreign Panthers
Author: M.P.Robinson & Thomas Seignon
Publisher: Osprey Publications
ISBN: 978-1-4728-3181-1

The Panzer V in British, Soviet, French and other service, 1943-1958, number 313 in the New Vanguard Series from Osprey. A 48-page soft-cover book looking at the Panther in service with nations other than Germany. Some were captured and put to use by their new owners, but the influence they had on future AFV developments are also included.
The initial Panthers that were captured were in Russia, during the battle of Kursk. It explains how they evaluated various aspects of the tank, all the early Ausf D at that time, such as armour, armament, ammunition and optics etc. The Western Allies were also then beginning to capture examples in Italy. Evaluations by Russia, Britain and the USA are all considered. There were some used in combat against their original owners, by the Red Army, by Resistance Groups, and a couple of well known examples (Deserter and Cuckoo) by British units. After WW2 there were more Panther operators, and these are detailed in service with Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and particularly France. The influence of the 75mm gun and ammunition was used as a template for their AMX programme designs.
As might be expected from an Osprey book, there are plenty of archive photos throughout the book, illustrating the Panther in use by various countries, and of course some fine artwork from Henry Morshead, which I think modellers will especially enjoy as they offer plenty of idea for those wanting to build a model Panther in an interesting and unusual set of colours and markings.
Thanks to Osprey for our review copy.

Robin