A type of weapon that does not frequently pop to mind is truck-mounted artillery. Yet it was rather widely used during WWII by several of the protagonists. Undoubtedly the best were developed by the Italians, who mounted a considerable array of weapons on an equally considerable different types of trucks.

This started in WWI with Krupp guns, but once Italy entered on the side of the British and French, this supply source dried up. These guns were initially used as anti-aircraft guns, for the Italians, more than anyone else, had experience with using aircraft in combat prior to WWI and realized that a good gun was needed to overcome the threat.

As time wore on, it was realized that these guns were equally useful against ground targets and since Italy had a large number of African possessions, their trucks were more and more build to handle desert conditions. When WWII came around, Italy was still in the forefront of this category and used a considerable number of captured truck chassis on which to use their guns.

Authors Riccio and Pignato cover the full use of these vehicles from its inception prior to WWI through the capitulation of Italy in 1943 and the use of these vehicles by the Germans and by the British. Superbly illustrated this edition covers all the various guns and chassis used. As is the norm with these books, there are four pages of color profiles.  Historical background info is minimal but sufficient to cover the subject, also relying on the photo captions to help tell the story.

Overall, an excellent book that I can easily recommend to you.

March 2010

Thanks to Squadron Products for the review copy. Get yours today at your favorite shop or on-line retailer.

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