Kenneth W Estes – författare

Designed in the 1950s, the US Marines' M50 Ontos and the US Army's M56 Scorpion were both intended to be fast, light, air-droppable tank-killers for the Cold War battlefield – an answer to the cumbersome and ineffective World War II-vintage tanks that had taken to the battlefield during the Korean War.Although they shared the aim of bringing light, mobile and lethal antitank firepower to the infantry the two vehicles varied wildly in design to cater for their unique mission demands. They first saw service in the Lebanon intervention of 1958 but it was in the Vietnam War that they made their name, with the M50 Ontos seeing intense combat action in the Battle of Hue in 1968.Featuring detailed illustrations and expert analysis, this is a comprehensive history of these deadly antitank vehicles, from early development through to their combat history and the eventual disbandment of the Marine Corps' last antitank battalion with M50A1s in 1971.

Designed in the 1950s, the US Marines'' M50 Ontos and the US Army''s M56 Scorpion were both intended to be fast, light, air-droppable tank-killers for the Cold War battlefield – an answer to the cumbersome and ineffective World War II-vintage tanks that had taken to the battlefield during the Korean War.Although they shared the aim of bringing light, mobile and lethal antitank firepower to the infantry the two vehicles varied wildly in design to cater for their unique mission demands. They first saw service in the Lebanon intervention of 1958 but it was in the Vietnam War that they made their name, with the M50 Ontos seeing intense combat action in the Battle of Hue in 1968.Featuring detailed illustrations and expert analysis, this is a comprehensive history of these deadly antitank vehicles, from early development through to their combat history and the eventual disbandment of the Marine Corps'' last antitank battalion with M50A1s in 1971.

Designed in the 1950s, the US Marines'' M50 Ontos and the US Army''s M56 Scorpion were both intended to be fast, light, air-droppable tank-killers for the Cold War battlefield – an answer to the cumbersome and ineffective World War II-vintage tanks that had taken to the battlefield during the Korean War.Although they shared the aim of bringing light, mobile and lethal antitank firepower to the infantry the two vehicles varied wildly in design to cater for their unique mission demands. They first saw service in the Lebanon intervention of 1958 but it was in the Vietnam War that they made their name, with the M50 Ontos seeing intense combat action in the Battle of Hue in 1968.Featuring detailed illustrations and expert analysis, this is a comprehensive history of these deadly antitank vehicles, from early development through to their combat history and the eventual disbandment of the Marine Corps'' last antitank battalion with M50A1s in 1971.

Robert Neiman, perhaps the most experienced combat commander of the U.S. Marine Corps’ tank arm, was one of the rare USMC officers to serve in both Iwo Jima and Okinawa battles. In Tanks on the Beaches, Neiman and his coauthor, Kenneth Estes, relay vivid accounts of fighting in the Pacific War, as well as Marine Corps service during the entire World War II period, devoid of idolatry and mythmaking. The result is a war story told from the unique perspective of men fighting from armored machines in desperate battles against a determined enemy. After the capture of Guadalcanal, Neiman endured Japanese bombardments there to gather information for his assignment as operations officer of a new tank school being formed in California. He eventually led his own tank company through four island battles culminating in the cauldron of Iwo Jima. Later, he finished the war as executive officer and commanding officer of the 1st Tank Battalion on occupation and security duty in North China in 1945–46.Neiman and Estes take the reader from prewar training at Quantico and in North Carolina through the delights of a New Zealand bereft of men, the horrors of Saipan and Iwo, the peculiar situation in China after the war, and then the trip back to the States for Neiman’s successful postwar career as a lumber retailer. Through it all, Estes translates Neiman’s eye for the interesting and the human into a multifaceted tale of a young Marine going to war. This is an adventure story with many novel turns that will attract the interest of military experts, military history aficionados, Marine Corps members in general, and veterans of armored fighting vehicle units. Neiman is not a USMC icon, just one of the unheralded thousands of officers who did the real fighting. This is their story, as much as it is his.

In April 2003, after brief combat, Baghdad fell under US control and the Coalition Provisional Authority was formed to maintain order until a new Iraqi government became a reality. This book details the stabilization operations and the experiences of US Task Force 1st Armored Division (TF 1AD), whose soldiers lived and fought under extreme conditions and whose activities were center stage in the controversial debate surrounding the initial occupation of Iraq. Soldiers'' personal experiences from recruitment, training, and armed combat to their aftermath and effects emerge from interviews and new documentation by author Kenneth W. Estes in his account of this crucial military campaign.

In April 2003, after brief combat, Baghdad fell under US control and the Coalition Provisional Authority was formed to maintain order until a new Iraqi government became a reality. This book details the stabilization operations and the experiences of US Task Force 1st Armored Division (TF 1AD), whose soldiers lived and fought under extreme conditions and whose activities were center stage in the controversial debate surrounding the initial occupation of Iraq. Soldiers'' personal experiences from recruitment, training, and armed combat to their aftermath and effects emerge from interviews and new documentation by author Kenneth W. Estes in his account of this crucial military campaign.

The ferocity of the Pacific war almost defied the available military technology. In this environment the evolving use of tanks by the US Marine Corps played a significant role; at the end of the Battle of Okinawa, Major General Lemuel Shepherd wrote in his report that ''if any one supporting arm can be singled out as having contributed more than any others during the progress of the campaign, the tank would certainly be selected.'' This book traces the history of the US Marine Corps tank crewman, including the significant changes in doctrine, equipment, and organization that the war brought, and his experience fighting in the Pacific theater.

The ferocity of the Pacific war almost defied the available military technology. In this environment the evolving use of tanks by the US Marine Corps played a significant role; at the end of the Battle of Okinawa, Major General Lemuel Shepherd wrote in his report that ''if any one supporting arm can be singled out as having contributed more than any others during the progress of the campaign, the tank would certainly be selected.'' This book traces the history of the US Marine Corps tank crewman, including the significant changes in doctrine, equipment, and organization that the war brought, and his experience fighting in the Pacific theater.

The super-heavy tanks of World War II are heirs to the siege machine tradition – a means of breaking the deadlock of ground combat.It is not surprising that the breakthrough tank projects of the period prior to World War II took place in the armies that suffered the most casualties of the Great War (Russia, France, Germany). Much as the casualties of World War I prompted the original breakthrough tank developments, as Germany found itself on the defensive, with diminishing operational prospects and an increasingly desperate leadership, so too did its focus turn to the super-heavy tanks that could turn the tide back in their favorThis detailed account to these vehicles is accompanied by specially-commissioned artwork.

The super-heavy tanks of World War II are heirs to the siege machine tradition – a means of breaking the deadlock of ground combat.It is not surprising that the breakthrough tank projects of the period prior to World War II took place in the armies that suffered the most casualties of the Great War (Russia, France, Germany). Much as the casualties of World War I prompted the original breakthrough tank developments, as Germany found itself on the defensive, with diminishing operational prospects and an increasingly desperate leadership, so too did its focus turn to the super-heavy tanks that could turn the tide back in their favorThis detailed account to these vehicles is accompanied by specially-commissioned artwork.

The super-heavy tanks of World War II are heirs to the siege machine tradition – a means of breaking the deadlock of ground combat.It is not surprising that the breakthrough tank projects of the period prior to World War II took place in the armies that suffered the most casualties of the Great War (Russia, France, Germany). Much as the casualties of World War I prompted the original breakthrough tank developments, as Germany found itself on the defensive, with diminishing operational prospects and an increasingly desperate leadership, so too did its focus turn to the super-heavy tanks that could turn the tide back in their favorThis detailed account to these vehicles is accompanied by specially-commissioned artwork.

The ferocity of the Pacific war almost defied the available military technology.In this environment the evolving use of tanks by the US Marine Corps played a significant role; at the end of the Battle of Okinawa, Major General Lemuel Shepherd wrote in his report that 'if any one supporting arm can be singled out as having contributed more than any others during the progress of the campaign, the tank would certainly be selected.'This book traces the history of the US Marine Corps tank crewman, including the significant changes in doctrine, equipment, and organization that the war brought, and his experience fighting in the Pacific theater.

In April 2003, after brief combat, Baghdad fell under US control and the Coalition Provisional Authority was formed to maintain order until a new Iraqi government became a reality.This book details the stabilization operations and the experiences of US Task Force 1st Armored Division (TF 1AD), whose soldiers lived and fought under extreme conditions and whose activities were center stage in the controversial debate surrounding the initial occupation of Iraq.Soldiers' personal experiences from recruitment, training, and armed combat to their aftermath and effects emerge from interviews and documentation by author Kenneth W. Estes in his account of this crucial military campaign.

The T43 design represented the pinnacle of U.S. Army tank engineering of the late 1940s.The heavy tank proved fairly popular with its crews, who above all respected the powerful armament it carried. The outbreak of war in Korea brought a rush order in December 1950 which led to a complete production run of 300 vehicles. After 1951, the Marine Corps alone retained confidence in the heavy tank program, investing its scarce funds in the improvements necessary to bring about its fielding after a hurried production run in midst of the 'tank crisis' of the year 1950-51. The eventual retirement of the M103 in 1972, over 20 years after manufacture and after 14 years of operational service, demonstrated the soundness of its engineering.Kenneth W. Estes explores the design, development and service record of this unwanted 'ugly duckling' of the Army, which refrained from naming the M103 alone of all its postwar tanks. For the Marine Corps, it served the purpose defined for it in 1949 until the automotive and weapons technology of the United States could produce viable alternatives.

The T43 design represented the pinnacle of U.S. Army tank engineering of the late 1940s.The heavy tank proved fairly popular with its crews, who above all respected the powerful armament it carried. The outbreak of war in Korea brought a rush order in December 1950 which led to a complete production run of 300 vehicles. After 1951, the Marine Corps alone retained confidence in the heavy tank program, investing its scarce funds in the improvements necessary to bring about its fielding after a hurried production run in midst of the ''tank crisis'' of the year 1950-51. The eventual retirement of the M103 in 1972, over 20 years after manufacture and after 14 years of operational service, demonstrated the soundness of its engineering.Kenneth W. Estes explores the design, development and service record of this unwanted ''ugly duckling'' of the Army, which refrained from naming the M103 alone of all its postwar tanks. For the Marine Corps, it served the purpose defined for it in 1949 until the automotive and weapons technology of the United States could produce viable alternatives.