Military Model Scene

Title: Tanks at the Iron Curtain 1975-90
Author: Steven J. Zaloga
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-4728-5380-6

New Vanguard 323 from Osprey Publishing, 'The ultimate generation of Cold War heavy armour' and the third and final part in this small series exploring the development of the tank throughout the Cold War, from the end of WW2, through the next generation and eventually to this final element as the opposing tanks of the Warsaw Pact and NATO developed. A 48-page soft-cover book in the established style for this popular series, exploring some of the 'what ifs' of the capabilities of the potential sides of the Cold War which, thankfully, never did turn Hot.
After the introduction, the 3 main sections then consider the Tanks, Doctrine and Organisation of each of the 5 main countries who manufactured tanks, those of the Soviet Union, the US, Germany, the UK and France. Things were moving on, as the Soviets moved on from the T-55 and T-62 to the T-64, T-72 and T-80, while the US moved from the M60 series to Abrams, Germany to the Leopard 2, Britain from Chieftain to Challenger I, and France from the AMX-30 to the Leclerc. Thanks to developments that arose from other conflicts in the period, outside Europe, such as those in the Middle East, there were other developments with new armour and improved ammunition as a couple of examples, which are covered under the heading of Tanks in Battle, and a Technical Analysis which tackles Protection, Firepower and Combat Effectiveness.
Plenty of data tables used throughout, including some Soviet assessments, along with archive images and more great artwork from illustrator Filipe Rodriguez. The author is a subject matter expert so this makes interesting reading and which now adds to round off this Cold War trilogy. Another great title for the armour enthusiast and modeller alike.
Thanks to Osprey Books for our review copy.

Robin