Modern Armored Fighting Vehicles: From 1946 to the Present Day

An illustrated A-Z guide to armoured cars, armoured personnel carriers, self-propelled guns and other AFVs from the Cold War to the present day, with over 330 photographs.

This reference book opens with a history of armoured fighting vehicles, covering the 60-year period from the start of the Cold War to the present day. The first section focuses on the vehicles that were developed when nuclear and chemical weapons were first introduced on the battlefield. Modern AFVs needed not only to deliver these new weapons, but were also designed to protect their crews and infantry from these unseen threats. The author highlights the most significant developments of the era, such as the "battlefield taxi", the birth of the infantry fighting vehicle, AFVs that could be delivered to the battlefield by parachute, and Future Combat Vehicles. Illustrated with over 330 photographs, this expertly written book provides key information about the range of armoured fighting vehicles.

About the Author

Jack Livesey's love of armoured fighting vehicles was sparked off by a visit to the Imperial War Museum in London at the age of twelve. In his twenty years in the British Army, most of them spent with the Parachute Regiment, he not only learned to drive them but also trained as a specialist in Soviet military vehicles. Now retired from the Army, Jack works part-time for the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, which has the largest collection of Soviet military vehicles in Britain and a comprehensive collection of British military vehicles. In his spare time he is a freelance military historian, giving talks and lectures on AFVs and taking part in television programs.