M3 & M5 Stuart Light Tank 1940-45: No. 33 (New Vanguard) Paperback – Illustrated, 18 Nov. 1999

Another excellent Osprey AFV book. Informative and interesting this book is in ideal starter for those wishing to know more about this American light tank. The book is well illustrated with black and white photographs, coloured plates and a cutaway drawing. Sold at a good price and delivered as scheduled.

I bought this book primarily as reference material for a construction kit build. I found the detailed description and the excellent colour illustrations of much help. Also, a very detailed and engaging description of the Stuart tank in operation. Highly recommended.

very well written and has lots of facts and some good pictures and photos of this tank,even though it was really obsolete it went all the way through world war 11 and further, well into 1950 ,with some south american states.

Very good condition and well written and I am very pleased with the book

Great overview of the Stuart/Honey series. Again, as in all volumes in this series, the colored plates are wonderful inspiration for modelers.

I bought it for a mate who served in one of this tin death traps. He loved the book. Also handy reference for geeks. Pretty pictures.

Good stuff.

Very informative

La monografia è in linea con le pubblicazioni Osprey e Zaloga è una sicurezza. Tuttavia, rispetto ad altre monografie, la documentazione fotografica e gli schemi tecnici sono di scarsa qualità, sia numerica che iconografica; sono riportati solo 2 o 3 schemi pittorici per un mezzo che, nelle sue versioni, ha servito in quasi tutti i i teatri della seconda guerra. Una stella in meno.

Livre livré en temps voulu et servant de base à un approfondissement.

a good book for those wishing to expand their ww2 knowledge, it is rather minimal but it is hard to find good content outside of 1944 Normandy or the eastern front

Great Book on the Stuart Light Tank.

M3 and M5 Stuart Light Tank 1940-1945This is a typical Osprey New Vanguard 48 page book by Steven Zaloga, concentrating on the M3 and M5 Stuart light tanks, with a brief mention of the derivatives such as the M8 Howitzer Motor Carriage, and the would-be M7 light tank. If you want a thick picture book this may not be for you - every page has at least 2 black and white photos or diagrams of moderate size (one is a bit too small but I've seen it elsewhere). There are 8 pages of interior color illustrations: the cutaway currently on the cover takes up 2 pages and is keyed with basic details.There are not tables of vehicle specifications nor are there intimate details concerning guns. Few books contain that.I buy these books for both pictures and moreso use and design details, and usually get a gem or two now and then in the text. While some authors (and even General Barnes head of Ordnance Department R&D) try to talk these tanks up as "sweet little machines", Zaloga points out that the reality is that they weren't suited for combat in 1943 let alone 1944. The thin armor resulted in higher casualties when the tank was knocked out by enemy fire. Some authors trumpet them as being "perfectly fine in the Pacific where Japanese tank armor was thin" - but Japanese tanks were hardly the major threat. Anti-tank guns, fanatic soldiers and common artillery were all the "rage" in Japanese island defenses. And the tankers needed "bunker busting" guns not the 37-mm pop-gun. Indeed, by 1943 the men in the Pacific had reached the conclusion that tankers in Africa had already learned from combat - that the M4 with a 75-mm gun was far more desirable. Allies who received the light tanks Lend Lease were fond of converting them to other uses since they weren't really worthwhile as tanks.That does not, though, keep me from being fascinated by the little Stuarts.For some reason tables seem to be the main issue with Osprey books. On page 41 the WARTIME STUART LIGHT TANK PRODUCTION table the total of M3A1 (gasoline) vehicles is put in the 1944 column and which doubled it in the totals. The quote for M5s (plain) in 1942 is likewise a doubled from 2074 to 4148. These things are annoying to anyone looking for details like that, but everyone does it, and it's hard to get accurate production figures from any source: Janes, Hunnicut, Wikipedia (whose authors can't do basic math), etc. Getting the M8 HMC production figures was a help, though.No book is perfect! This is worth the time and money if you enjoy reading about the old steel combat wagons of World War II.