American Firepower Series Volume Two, The M-1 Garand

by Tom Laemlein

Armor Plate Press, no ISBN, 78 pages

Like Volume One on the M1 Carbine this is a splendid collection of NARA photographs showing the rifle in service use. Some are posed publicity shots, of course, but most of those were taken in training and quite valuable for the way they show uniforms in the US to back up those on active service in France, Germany and the Pacific theatre as well as Korea. Tanks fans will especially note the shot of an M5 Stuart with sandbag armour, evidence that this was not only applied to Shermans. To round the book out there’s a eight-page section of colour reproductions of US propaganda posters from WW2, interesting to all of us though perhaps a bit naïve to modern eyes, and very useful for anyone modelling US troops in training.

It is available direct from Armor Plate Press at www.armorplatepress.com, price not known at the time of writing.

Highly recommended!

Armor Plate Press has further volumes in preparation, including one on the M-1 .50 machine gun, and a DVD with two WW2 AFV recognition films: Recognition of the Tiger Tank, featuring Tiger 131 of 504 sPzAbt as captured in Tunisia, and Tank Quiz, an guide to recognition of Allied and German tanks. Unfortunately this is only in Region 1 format at present so I cannot give a detailed review until I find a multi-region DVD player to borrow, but US readers should find it worth buying and a European Region 2 version will be produced if enough of us ask for it.

John Prigent