This continues Dataview's publications on material drawn from the US Patent Office. I find these to be very cool and well worth the time and cost to browse through. Though the descriptions get quite dry, it is the illustrations of the equipment that is so fascinating.

There are six major sections of this 289 page book:

1.    Late 1800s/Early 1900s
2.    WWI era
3.    1920s - 19030s
4.    World War II
5.    Postwar era
6.    Modern era.

Within these sections, you'll find some things that are familiar and some of the most unusual designs that I've ever seen for modern land combat. There are a plethora of armored cars and tanks of every size and shape. There is a bicycle with a carbine mounted to the front and an armored side car with a machine gun (no protection for the poor motorcyclist). There are submersible tanks, suspension designs,  and a very futuristic SPG with the gun on a gantry that could be lifted high in the air. Not sure if the designer figured out what to do about recoil. As the designs get more modern, they get less fanciful, which is sort of a shame as I really liked some of the more interesting ones, regardless of how impractical they would probably have been.

I think you will find it just as fascinating as I did.

March 2007

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