Waldemar G ralski – illustratör

A compelling account of the heavily armed and highly mobile Soviet river gunboats which took on the Germans during World War II.Russia''s enormous river system has long been its highway and, as early as 1908, the Tsar''s armies were developing armoured riverboats that brought tank-like mobility, firepower and survivability to Russian battlefields.This book, the first history of these vessels in English, explains how this concept led to one of the most remarkable naval weapons of World War II, the Soviet ''river tank'', or Armoured Motor Gun Boat (AMGB). Highly mobile, capable of carrying up to 20 infantrymen directly into action and providing immediate firepower from their tank turrets, machine guns or Katyusha rockets, their military value was widely recognized. They were versatile enough to be used in naval landing operations off the Gulf of Finland, the Azov Sea and the Black Sea, and their capabilities were prized by local commanders.Using meticulously researched new colour profiles, rare photos and spectacular artwork, this book uncovers the history of river warfare on the Eastern Front, and the boats that played such a key part in the fighting.

A compelling account of the heavily armed and highly mobile Soviet river gunboats which took on the Germans during World War II.Russia''s enormous river system has long been its highway and, as early as 1908, the Tsar''s armies were developing armoured riverboats that brought tank-like mobility, firepower and survivability to Russian battlefields.This book, the first history of these vessels in English, explains how this concept led to one of the most remarkable naval weapons of World War II, the Soviet ''river tank'', or Armoured Motor Gun Boat (AMGB). Highly mobile, capable of carrying up to 20 infantrymen directly into action and providing immediate firepower from their tank turrets, machine guns or Katyusha rockets, their military value was widely recognized. They were versatile enough to be used in naval landing operations off the Gulf of Finland, the Azov Sea and the Black Sea, and their capabilities were prized by local commanders.Using meticulously researched new colour profiles, rare photos and spectacular artwork, this book uncovers the history of river warfare on the Eastern Front, and the boats that played such a key part in the fighting.

In the 1920s and 30s, aircraft designer Andrey Tupolev designed a series of advanced torpedo boats for the USSR. Superbly illustrated, this is their first history in English. The Soviet Navy''s fast attack craft were inspired by the 1919 Kronstadt raid, conducted by British hydroplaning, torpedo-armed Coastal Motor Boats (CMBs). The first were to be CMB copies, but with Soviet shipbuilding incapable of the project, it was handed to the Aerodynamic Institute, headed by Andrey Tupolev. Built with aircraft engines and technology, his 50kt boats were as photogenic as they were bumpy and noisy, and made a vivid impression on propaganda newsreels. Some were adapted with remote control guidance, a pioneering development of the naval drone. Written by a former Soviet naval architect, this book is the first in English to offer a history of these fascinating, dashing craft. He explains that, technically advanced but flawed, the Sh-4 and G-5 had no opportunity to act in their designated role in World War II. Instead, some were employed instead as landing craft, while others were rearmed and used as minelayers or subchasers. Many were adapted as fire support craft with Katyusha rocket launchers installed. Packed with superb new artwork and unpublished photos, it examines Tupolev''s torpedo boats as well as the handful of other MTBs the Soviet Union fielded. It is an account of a rare impressive design in the prewar Soviet Navy.