In my research, I sometimes photograph or scan primary sources. Up until now, they’ve sat on my hard drive, inaccessible to anyone else. On occasion,…
Military history and RPG books
Tag: Cold War
I’m pleased to say that The Bear’s Claws is now available as an AI-narrated audiobook. It’s over eleven hours long, but using AI narration means…
In contrast to the German army during the Second World War, the Soviet army did not have specialised recovery vehicles or tactics for using them.…
On 30th April 1980, terrorists stormed the Iranian Embassy in London and took twenty-six hostages. A six-day siege ensued, during which the embassy’s press attaché,…
On a visit to the National Archives, I ordered document AVIA 65/1540, “Project PRODIGAL: army vehicle with limited airborne capability”. I was expecting it to…
Introduced in the late 1960s, the SPG-9 was a light anti-tank gun mounted on a tripod. It had a four-man crew, and could be carried by two soldiers.
Rakovich’s Ride: The BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle In The Bear’s Claws, the main character, Praporshchik Vladislav Rakovich, rides in a BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle. Like…
After some difficulties and delays, I’ve finally managed to create a compendium paper edition of the first three books in my Weapons and Equipment of…
I read both fiction and non-fiction, but until recently, I’d only ever written non-fiction. A while ago, a writer friend and I decided it would…
The T-12 was developed as a replacement for the D-48 85mm anti-tank gun, and was the first smoothbore anti-tank gun to enter service, in 1961. The decision to adopt a smoothbore barrel led to improved HEAT performance, higher muzzle velocity, and longer barrel life than an equivalent rifled barrel. The kinetic energy penetrator was very long and thin, further improving penetration.