Peko's WW2 Photobook series has become very popular amongst armor enthusiasts over the years. This is the 26th edition and concentrates on Panzer Regiment/Abt.18 during its war-time existence. The unit was formed in mid 1940 and continued in combat, mostly on the eastern front, until late 1943 when it was basically decimated and no longer could operate as a cohesive unit.

This unit operated a variety of tanks including Panzer II, III, and IV. Of interest is that a majority of their tanks were either tauchpanzers or flammpanzers. This means that they had some fairly unique fittings on them to be able to perform their specialized tasks. The tauchpanzers were originally built for the invasion of the UK, which never happened, so they were generally used as standard tanks. However, the flammpanzers were used in the flame thrower role and were able to shoot burning oil dozens of meters in front of the vehicle.

As with other books in this series, the photos have been carefully chosen not only for image quality, but for interest as well. What probably makes these books such a treasure is that often private collections are used to illustrate them. Such is the case with this one with few coming directly from the Bundesarchives. This book also provides an introduction that gives a brief history of the unit and its combat experience. 

It is, of course, the quality and size of the images that makes this such a desirable book. The landscape format is perfect for photo books like this and I'm surprised that more photo books don't do that. The introduction and captions of the images are in both Hungarian and English. Most highly recommended.

July 2024

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