This is the first book in what is a new series from the Oliver Publishing Group out of Australia. This edition of Combat Camera covers the British Cromwell and Centaur tanks. As many of you know, the British Cromwell series of tanks underwent a long and protracted development, being finally issued in time for the Normandy invasion. However, like most British tanks, it was already obsolescent by the time it entered unit service. Crews were aware that it was under gunned and unable to withstand the newer German Tiger and Panther tanks so used it judiciously and where it could do the most good.

Despite its short-comings, it was a useful vehicle and was part of the British push out of the Normady beachhead and into areas of Northern France, Belgium and Holland. As you might expect, once the war had reached its conclusion, the tank was quickly withdrawn from service in favor of more modern and more effective vehicles.

In this book, the author provides us a rather complete history of the Cromwell and Centaur tanks as well as its predecessors. We are given insights into its long development and the issues that were discovered and corrected before an effective tank was finally developed. We are also given a short historical background on all of the various units that operated the tank in combat. On the back cover are some superb color drawings of the tank's use by various units as well as unit markings on the inside of the back cover.

The rest of the book are page after page of well chosen period photographs of these tanks in action in Northern Europe. These offer modelers an excellent opportunity to see what these vehicles looked like while in use and provide a great deal of inspiration, which I have to assume is what these sorts of books are for. In this area they have succeeded quite well, making it a great book not only for the modeler, but for the enthusiast as well.

October 2009

My thanks to www.dragonmodelsusa for the review copy. You can get yours at your local shop or on-line retailer.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.