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Thursday 3 May 2018

T-34 Owner's Workshop Manual

Back in what my wife likes to call 'eighteen hundred and frozen stiff'* (in other words, a long time ago) when I could still fix my old cars with some spanners, a couple of screwdrivers, and some swearing, I used to own copies of the relevant workshop manuals published by Haynes.

Over the past few years they have begun to publish a range of workshop manuals about a wide range of types of transport, including the RMS Titanic, the AVRO Lancaster bomber, and Saturn V rocket. One of this series that I had not come across before was the manual for the T-34 tank, but as I saw it on sale for only £4.00 in a local branch of THE WORKS, I just had to buy a copy.


The book is subtitled '1940 to date (all models)' ... and it certainly seems to do exactly that. Its chapters include:
  • The T-34 story
  • T-34 at war 1941-45
  • Operating the T-34
  • T-34s in post-war foreign service
  • Anatomy of the T-34/76
  • T-34 weaponry and firepower
  • Appendices
    • T-34 variants including SPGs
    • The T-44
    • T-34 turrets
I have several books about the T-34, but this one seemed to cover the technical aspects of the design and its variants better than the rest ... and at the price being charged, it was a bargain.

T-34 TANK: OWNER'S WORKSHOP MANUAL was written by Mark Healy and published by Haynes Publishing in 2018 (ISBN 978 1 78521 094 5).

* This expression was used in an episode of DAD'S ARMY by Private Walker when referring to Corporal Jones's service in the Sudan Campaign.

16 comments:

  1. I have the Tiger and Sherman versions of this book and they are pretty good. I'll have to add this one to my wishlist!

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    Replies
    1. Lee Hadley,

      I had no idea that there were Tiger and Sherman books in this series. I'll now have to see if I can find copies.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. They've even got one for the Death Star (which I just had to pick up when I saw it in The Works for a couple of quid).

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    Replies
    1. TansinP,

      Yet another book I had not heard about. I really must see what other titles they publish that might be of interest.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. Indeed. After all that trouble the Rebel Alliance went through to obtain the plans (sending a commando force to Scarif, getting the plans to Leia on one of the ships in orbit, getting them into a droid, getting the droid to "safety" before Leia's ship gets captured, the deaths of many Bothans) when all they had to do was pop into The Works and buy the book. Then again, the films would have been rather dull ;)

      Delete
    3. TamsinP,

      You are right, it would have made for a rather boring storyline ... but if they had gone to THE WORKS, they would had received some loyalty points!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. WW1 Tank (MkIV) and HMS Victory are also on sale at The Works in the same promotion.
    When I visited my local branch yesterday the Craft section had packs of "Wooden Discs" (actually 1.5mm/1/16th inch plywood HEXAGONS) at £2 for a pack of c110 (mixed sizes, approx 35 each of 35mm, 26mm and 17mm). Multiple wargames uses!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andy Callan,

      Thanks for the heads-up. The branch that I visited had neither of the books or the wooden hexagons on offer ... so I'd better fund another branch to visit do that I buy all three items.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/craft-sets/12-packs-of-110-wooden-hexagonal-discs/bun20686

      So £20 for 1,320 hexes...

      Delete
    3. https://www.theworks.co.uk/c/non-fiction-books/military-books?pageSize=200&page=1&orderBy=3

      No T-34 manual but a few other good offers.

      Delete
    4. Nigel Drury,

      That looks like a 'must have' bargain to me!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    5. Nigel Drury,

      There are certainly quite a few books on the list that I might buy.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    6. The paint brushes are good value too.

      Delete
    7. Nigel Drury,

      They are ... and I buy most of the acrylic paint that I use on my Napoleonic figures there as well.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. All I'll say is .. appeals to "Men of a Certain Age" ;)
    Enjoy, you have plenty of them

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    Replies
    1. Geordie an Exiled FoG,

      Absolutely ... and the last time I looked, I did seem to own quite a few T-34s!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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