The history of the little-known yet controversial T-80 and its subsequent variants. The Soviet T-80 Standard Tank was the last tank fielded before the Soviet collapse, and the most controversial. Despite having the most sophisticated fire controls and multi-layer armor ever fielded on a Soviet tank, its turbine power plant (rather than a conventional diesel) remained a source of considerable trouble throughout its career. Steven J Zaloga charts the little-known history of the T-80, covering the initial construction, through the development to the subsequent variants, the T-84 and Russia's enigmatic “Black Eagle Tank.” Accompanying detailed cut-away artwork illustrates the unusual design features that made the T-80 so controversial.

The T-55 is one of the most iconic weapons created by the Soviets during the Cold War and also one of the most widely deployed weapons in history. Like its younger brother, the T-54, the T-55 enjoyed a long career in the Red Army and even into the early days of the reformed Russian Army. Under their control it saw very little combat use or deployments, but it was widely sold to other nations and participated in many of the wars and combat operations from the mid-1960s to the present. The T-55 has been employed in almost every conflict in the Middle East and Africa from its introduction into service. Even today the tank is still employed by both sides in the Syrian Civil War, and they are also in service with Kurdish forces in the struggle against ISIS in the northern part of Iraq. Containing more than 400 stunning contemporary and modern photographs, and written by two experts on Soviet armour, this authoritative book tells the complete story of the T-55, one of the most widely produced tanks of all time.

The T-62 is one of the most widespread tanks used by the Soviets during the Cold War. Developed from the T-55, the T-62 enjoyed a long career in the Red Army and even into the early days of the reformed Russian Army. It was the principal tank used by Soviet forces in the Soviet-Afghan War, and went on to see service with Russian forces in Chechnya and South Ossetia. It has also been employed in almost every conflict in the Middle East and Africa from its introduction into service. It remains in service with many countries throughout the world and has seen a great deal of use in the Syrian Civil War. Containing more than 400 stunning contemporary and modern photographs, and written by two experts on Soviet armour, this authoritative book tells the complete story of the T-62.

"Organized chronologically by type, Russian Tanks of World War II offers a highly illustrated guide to the main armored fighting vehicles used by the Red Army during World War II. The book offers a comprehensive survey of Soviet AFVs, from the prewar T-18 light tank and BT fast tank series to the heavy Joseph Stalin tanks and self-propelled guns of the final months of the war. All the major and many minor tanks are featured, including every significant variation of the T-26 light tank, KV series and T-34 to see action on the Eastern Front. There are also chapters on the many types of self-propelled guns developed by Soviet industry, as well as Allied Lend-Lease AFVs, such as the British Churchill and Valentine tanks and American Sherman and Stuart tanks. Each featured profile includes authentic markings and color schemes, while every separate model is accompanied by exhaustive specifications. Packed with 120 newly commissioned, full-color artworks with exhaustive specifications, Russian Tanks of World War II is a key reference guide for military modelers and World War II enthusiasts."--Publisher's description.

At the start of the campaign on the Eastern Front, in the earliest days of Operation Barbarossa, it was the German armour that swept all in front of it as the Wehrmacht drove eastwards in an unrelenting advance on Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad. The ill-prepared and under-resourced Russian forces were forced to retreat. Gradually, the balance of the war swung in favour of the Russian forces, whose strength both in numbers and equipment proved decisive in the ultimate defeat of the German forces in the east. Critical in the Soviet victory was its armour; tanks such as the T-34 proving the equal, if not better than, some of the tanks available to the Germans. This authoritative history of the Soviet forces before and during World War 2, reveals the development of their tactics in the early post-revolutionary era right through to the ultimate victory in Berlin in May 1945. The dramatic struggle of the tank crews against the German advance is told through some 200 contemporary photographs, many of which have never been seen before.The photographs include images of tank training in the 1920s and 1930s, on active service, and many compelling pictures from some of the major tank battles of the day. Over the past five years, aided by the opening up of archives in Russia previously closed to western experts, there has been a massive growth in interest in the events that occurred on the Eastern Front. Russian Tanks is an important addition to the literature currently available, exploring as it does, the vitally important Soviet armour of the period.

A highly illustrated study of the T-54 Main Battle Tank and its variants that formed the backbone of the Soviet Army during the years of the Cold War. The menacing silhouette of the T-54 tank prowling down streets of Eastern European capitals or roaring across fields in massive exercises remains one of the most enduring images of Soviet power in the early years of the Cold War. Its sleek and unmistakable shape was a warning to any nation that wanted to stand against the USSR. Yet all of this masked a flawed, outdated design, and when T-54s began to clash with the Western armoured vehicles in proxy wars in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, they were found to be on the losing side of many of the battles. Containing over 500 stunning contemporary and modern photographs, and written by two experts on Soviet armour, this authoritative book tells the complete story of the T-54, one of the most widely produced tanks of all time, including many previously unheard of variants.

Packed with 250 full-color images with exhaustive specifications, this compact volume offers a comprehensive survey of Soviet-employed armored fighting vehicles by campaign, and covers the sample unit structures and orders of battle from company to corps level. Organized chronologically, it begins before the German invasion of 1941 and continues through the final defeat of Axis forces, featuring the major and many minor tanks that saw action on the Eastern Front.

A highly illustrated study of the T-10 Heavy Tank that served from the 1950s through to the end of the Soviet Union. When it was introduced into service in 1953, the T-10 represented a return to the “classic” Soviet heavy tank. Although considered a major threat to NATO tank forces, it also represented the end of an era. All gun heavy tanks like the T-10 would eventually be made effectively redundant by later models like the T-62 which had powerful next generation armament and new ammunition types. The tank was gradually withdrawn from service in the 1970s, though the last tanks would only leave Russian service, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, in 1997. As such the T-10 outlived the Soviet state that had created it. Never exported outside of the Soviet Union and rarely used in combat, the T-10 has remained a mysterious tank, with many of its variants unknown in the West until very recently. This study, written from original Russian and Ukrainian primary source documents that have only recently been made available, uncovers the history of this enigmatic tank using 130 stunning contemporary and modern photographs of the T-10 as well as full colour side-view artwork.

The Soviet T\-34 medium tank needs no introduction, being the most famous tank ever built especially as has seen service across the globe throughout the twentieth century’s most brutal wars. However, despite this fame, little has been written about its design changes. While most tank enthusiasts can differentiate between the ‘T\-34\/76’ and the ‘T\-34\-85’, identifying different factory production batches has proven more elusive. Until now. With nearly six hundred photographs, mostly taken by soldiers who both operated and fought against the T\-34, this book seeks to catalogue and contextualise even the subtlest details to create a true ‘T\-34 continuum’. The book begins with the antecedents of the T\-34, the ill\-fated BT ‘fast tank’ series and the influence of the traumatic Spanish Civil War before moving to an in\-depth look at the T\-34’s prototypes. After this, every factory production change is catalogued and contextualised, with never\-before\-seen photographs and stunning technical drawings. Furthermore, four battle stories are also integrated to explain the changing battle context when major production changes take place. The production story is completed with sections on the T\-34’s post\-war production (and modification) by Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the People’s Republic of China, as well as T\-34 variants.