RobVarak Posted October 21, 1999 Share Posted October 21, 1999 My lurking here has alerted me to the fact that I need to brush up on the more intricate details of the weapons, equipment and vehicles in CM. Can anyone recommend a solid starting point for this material? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D Posted October 22, 1999 Share Posted October 22, 1999 Rob, At least for the German stuff there is a pretty good book called the "Handbook on German Military Forces" that was put out by the US War Dept. It goes into all manner of info on German tanks, artillery, machine guns, small arms, grenades, fortifications, etc. Even some info on various German tactics and other good stuff. A fairly good number of pictures and diagrams are also included. Mike D aka Mikester Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big Time Software Posted October 22, 1999 Share Posted October 22, 1999 A great source is about to go back into print. This is The Encyclopedia of German Armored Vehicles (er, or something like that. Charles has the copy). Supposed to be released this month I think. Another great source for German stuff is German Tanks of WWII by Hart. I have a slew of decent general books for Allied stuff, but all are out of print (I think). If you have money to burn, get Hunnicutt's book Sherman. ANYTHING you need to know abou Shermans is in there (or close to it ). Problem is that it is around $75, but WELL worth it. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSCAR Posted October 22, 1999 Share Posted October 22, 1999 Instead of paying $80, you can from HPS get an encyclopedia at $25 that contains over 3000 weapon systems. HPS claim (and I for one belive them) it covers virtually every single weapon that was used by, or in support of, ground operations in Europe, North Africa, China and the Pacific between 1936-45. look at http://www.hpssims.com ------------------ The HPS freak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 22, 1999 Share Posted October 22, 1999 Oscar, does it include such things as armor thickness and degree of slope? How in detail does the HPS book go? Thanks, Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobVarak Posted October 22, 1999 Author Share Posted October 22, 1999 Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I went to the HPS page, and their encyclopedia looks like a great place to start. They have a sample page up there for review. I've already ordered one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bil Hardenberger Posted October 22, 1999 Share Posted October 22, 1999 Oscar So, are you an HPS sales rep or something? The way you hock their wares I would have to guess that you are perhaps part of the HPS staff. I believe most people would like some reference material that has more information than one paragraph on each weapon system. Here is exactly what HPS says about the book (from their webpage) and a screenshot: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Scott Hamilton and Gregory "Sturmer" Smith have collaborated on a book which provides historical facts and reference notes on over 1,200 weapons systems used in Tigers on the Prowl II and Panthers in the Shadows. It includes numerous charts and over 400 illustrations.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> , Sounds awfully HPS specific to me. I do not see where it says: Oscar: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>. HPS claim (and I for one belive them) it covers virtually every single weapon that was used by, or in support of, ground operations in Europe, North Africa, China and the Pacific between 1936-45.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> [This message has been edited by Bil Hardenberger (edited 10-22-99).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon Posted October 22, 1999 Share Posted October 22, 1999 Up until Oscar popped up here, I was always playing around with the idea of giving HPS a chance and try out one of their games. Now Oscar has convinced me! I am NOT going to buy HPS products! If somebody as pathetic as this guy likes them, they simply cannot be worth my time. HPS - do you listen? Take that guy under under some kind of house arrest or something, he's hurting you really bad! BTW, Oscar, whenever I see one of your on-topic content-swollen posts, I am enjoying myself, too. The more you say, the more I have to laugh about you... Watch me laughing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big Time Software Posted October 22, 1999 Share Posted October 22, 1999 Not knocking the HPS collection, but if it doesn't cite real world values (i.e. angle of armor, mm of thickness, road/cross country speed, ammo types/quantities, etc.) it will only be valuable as an overview of what each vehicle is. For $25 it sounds like a good deal for this role. But obviously if you want to get more details, which CM simulates (turret rotation speed, weaknesses in armor types, etc.) you will most likely want to dig deeper. For example... I was just playing with a bunch of M18s against some heavy German armor. The shells kept hitting, but also kept shattering. I had 10 in a row! I asked Charles about this and he went into detail about the US 76mm gun/ammo combo having a terrible degree of effectiveness against thick armor. Seems the quality of the round and the high velocity of the gun conspired to make a penetration less likely than a shattered round. Don't worry, the 11th hit creamed the tank very nicely Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobVarak Posted October 23, 1999 Author Share Posted October 23, 1999 Steve hit it on the head. I'm only looking for an overview, at least for starters. I can certainly see the shortcomings in the HPS book, but it will definitely serve its purpose, and for only $25. I will invest in a more hardcore reference down the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guachi Posted October 23, 1999 Share Posted October 23, 1999 I bought a book at Barnes & Noble called The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. It's 540 pages long and has lots and lots and lots of pictures. Easily over 1000 pictures. And not some dinky little b&w illustration, either. Best of all, it was only $25. I have a couple tank books by George Forty who was curator at the Bovington Tank Museum so his books have wonderful color pictures in them. And I second the recommendation on The Handbook of German Military Forces. This book is massive in scope and, if nothing else, is great for its historical value. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobVarak Posted November 3, 1999 Author Share Posted November 3, 1999 Speaking of George Forty, I just picked up GERMAN TANKS OF WWII (Arms & Armour Press). It actually appears that HPS used this book as the source for much of the material in theirs. The Forty book has fundamental stats, very nice battle reports and great picture. It's very helpful. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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