Two new books

When I bought my first car, I was keen to do my own basic maintenance ... so on the advice of a friend, I bought a copy of the relevant Haynes Owner's Workshop Manual. As I bought newer cars, I bought more of these very helpful manuals, and this continued until electronic ignition systems et al came along. No longer could I fix my car using a few simple tools; it now needed a computer!

Until recently, I've never had to buy another of Haynes's publications ... but in recent years they have begun to branch out and produce a range of Owner's Workshop Manuals about a range to non-car topics, and I have begun to buy them again. To date, I have bought:

• German Infantryman: The German soldier 1939-45 (all models)
• T-34 Tank: 1940 to date (all models)
• Panzer III: Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf A to N (Sdkfz 141)
• Panther Tank: Panzerkanpfwagen V Panther (Sdkfz 171)

I can now add a further volume to my collection, FLAK 88: 8.8cm FLUGZEUGABWEHRKANONE (MODELS 18/36/37/41).

This follows the same pattern as the earlier books, and is split into eight chapters, endnotes, and appendices:

• Introduction
• Development
• Design and basic operation
• Ammunition
• Crew roles and gun operation
• At war - anti-aircraft operations
• At war - anti-tank operations
• Transportation and maintenance
• Endnotes
• Appendices

It contains a wealth of information and illustrations, and was well worth the £5.00 I paid for it in the Tiverton branch of THE WORKS.

The other book I recently acquired was THE NAVAL WAR OF THE PACIFIC 1879-1884: SALTPETER WAR.

This is the second book by this author that I have bought (the first was RUSSO-TURKISH NAVAL WAR 1877-1878), and it is an excellent history of the naval side of the war.

The book is very well illustrated, and is split into eighteen chapters and a number of appendices.

• The origin of the conflict
• Opponents
• Invasion of the Bolivian costa and the outbreak of the war
• Blockade of the southern coast of Peru and the battle of Chipana
• Battle of Iquique
• Naval operations in the period between the battle of Iquique and the battle of Angamos (May-October 1879)
• Battle of Angamos
• Landing at Pisagua and the Chilean capture of the province of Tarapaca
• Capture of the gunboat Pilcomayo
• Change of leadership in Peru and Bolivia
• Landing operations at Pacocha Bay and the battle of Tacna
• The blockade and fall of Arica
• Blockade of Callao
• Lynch expedition
• Battles of Chorillos and Miraflores and the fall of Lima
• Military operations following the fall of Lima and the end of the war
• Naval operations on Lake Titcaca
• Outcome of the war
• Appendices

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FLAK 88: 8.8cm FLUGZEUGABWEHRKANONE (MODELS 18/36/37/41) was written by Chris McNa and published in 2018 by Haynes Publishing (ISBN 978 1 7521 133 1).

THE NAVAL WAR OF THE PACIFIC 1879-1884: SALTPETER WAR was written by Piotr Olender and published in 2020 by Stratus (ISBN 978 83 65958 77 8)