AH Osprey

[MacCaulay]

Here's the pitch: you give the title of the Osprey book you're wanting to see, and a short (one paragraph at most) description of what it is.

For example...

United States Camel Corps 1855-1920: Covers the history of the USCC from it's receipt of several dozen camels for operations in the southwest deserts in the mid-1800s and it's operations in the Civil War, the Indian conflicts, and the Punitive Expedition in 1916.

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Originally Posted by MacCaulay

Here's the pitch: you give the title of the Osprey book you're wanting to see, and a short (one paragraph at most) description of what it is.

For example...

United States Camel Corps 1855-1920: Covers the history of the USCC from it's receipt of several dozen camels for operations in the southwest deserts in the mid-1800s and it's operations in the Civil War, the Indian conflicts, and the Punitive Expedition in 1916.

Canadian Indigenous Military Units 1812-1900: Covers the history of the various Indigenous military units from Tecumseh's irregulars in the war of 1812 to the Navajo scouts of the Boer War. Fascinating description of the organization, raising and operation of these units, their ethos and modes of operation. The use of 'Canadian' in the title is a bit of an oversimplification, as some of the units (like the Choctaw and Chickasaw units of the War of 1842 were in and from parts of British North America that had not formally become part of Canada yet.)

[Thande]

Good thread idea. Before anyone else says it: Byzantine Airships, 1870-1930

[RogueBeaver]

Canadian Fleet Air Arm, 1945-1991: Covers the history of the CFAA during the Cold War. Fascinating description of the squadron histories, complete with photographs of operations from Korea to Panama.

[Polish Eagle]

German Rocket Forces 1945-1980: Development of the German Missile and Space Programme following the end of the Zweite Weltkrieg. Covers Von Braun's early work, from the A-4 to the A-20, and then the Bismarck rockets, specially designed to lift Germans into orbit. Coverage of the early capsules designed by Messerschmitt, and the Lunar Landing Craft built by Heinkel. It concludes with Von Braun's dream, the Nova, capable of lifting 250 tonnes to orbit and with a nuclear upper stage. With this rocket the Swastika was planted on Mars in 1980. (OOC: Not advocating the Third Reich. Just imagining what Von Braun's boys could have done with funding from a Reich that had propaganda and technology interests in it.)

[truth is life]

I was thinking V-22 and all it is is books...

That said...

Ottoman Imperial Army, 1917-1942
Covers the evolution and final modernization of the Ottoman Army from the end of World War I to the beginning of World War II.

(It's supposed to be a neutral-Ottomans scenario)

[lounge60]

Italian black shirts in Vietnam War,1965-1969
Covers the history of Italian intervention along to the USA and allied forces in the victorious invasion campaign of North Vietnam.

[Bill Cameron]

Originally Posted by MacCaulay

Here's the pitch: you give the title of the Osprey book you're wanting to see, and a short (one paragraph at most) description of what it is.

MacCauley,

An interesting and endless idea. For example, you could spin dozens of Osprey books featuring uniforms, military units, battles, and campaigns out of Jared's Decades of Darkness alone.


Bill

[mowque]

What is an Osprey book?

[The Kiat]

Originally Posted by mowque

What is an Osprey book?

Osprey is a publishing company that publishes all sorts of military history.


VOC Frigates, 1970-2013: Covers Guided Missile Frigates owned and built by the United East India Company.

[DD951]

Originally Posted by mowque

What is an Osprey book?

Osprey is a publisher of military history books, most notably a series of illustrated histories of assorted types of units from various nations across history, including info about their uniforms, training/tactics/doctrine, operations, equipment, and so on. The quality of the series is, shall we say variable, as some of their authors produce very good work, but others have been caught making significant errors in their books, or not actually providing a whole lot of information.

[Bill Cameron]

Originally Posted by DD951

The quality of the series is, shall we say variable...

DD951,

That's an understatement.

In an Osprey book covering ACW riverine warships, the illustrator couldn't be bothered to determine that the strange object projecting above a Union tinclad's bridge windows was a pair of moose antlers so he drew a radio direction finding loop in instead.

Osprey, where slapdash is more than just a promise!


Bill

[DD951]

Originally Posted by Bill Cameron

DD951,

That's an understatement.

In an Osprey book covering ACW riverine warships, the illustrator couldn't be bothered to determine that the strange object projecting above a Union tinclad's bridge windows was a pair of moose antlers so he drew a radio direction finding loop in instead.

Osprey, where slapdash is more than just a promise!


Bill

Hadn't heard that one before, apart from the general slagging of some of their products on other sites. RDF gear on a ACW ironclad? Makes one wonder what's next- a Napoleonic-era British 74 mounting 5"/38 where the carronades should go? A German Type VIIC/42 U-Boat equipped with a Talos missile system mounted on the cigarette deck ILO of the normal AA guns? The armies of the Duke of Marlborough armed with SMLEs?

[TheMann]

African Water Warriors
The stories of the South African, East African and South West African Navies from their births in the Depression, their distinctions earned in World War II and their entries into the world of naval aviation, to their actions in the Cold War era. Focus segments on famed units like HMSAS Pretoria "The Kriegsmarine Hunter" and HMEAS Mwamumzenti "Ghost Warrior" in WWII, to one of the longest serving carriers ever in HMSAS President Kruger to the ultramodern vessels produced by the modernizations of the 1980s and 1990s, and the people who led them both in peace and war.

[Bill Cameron]

[QUOTE=DD951;3244913RDF gear on a ACW ironclad?[/QUOTE]


DD951,

More like a "tin" or "timber" clad, but yes.

It's an illo of the General Price if memory serves. There's a well distributed old tintype of the steamer in question that the artist used as a guide for his color plate. The photo shows a vague blobby something just above the bridge windows which has sparked questions for over a century. The answer to those questions has been around just as long and was given either by the photographer, publisher, or the boat's pilot himself. The vague blob was a pair of moose antlers(1) the pilot mounted.

The Osprey illustrator didn't even bother to look at anything other than the old picture and "interpreted" the blob as an RDF loop instead.

Seeing as the Osprey line started out as a series of painting guides for modelers, I'm not especially surprised at the shaky level of research beyond anything having to do with the color of the sleeve buttons on the Moronikan Imperial Horse Marine dress uniform during the Sim-Sala-Bim Campaign of '03.


Bill

1- A Spruance-class DD, the Moosbrugger, sported a pair of moose antlers below her bridge windows. I saw her and her antlers in Charleston, SC in '81.

[DD951]

Originally Posted by Bill Cameron

DD951,

More like a "tin" or "timber" clad, but yes.

It's an illo of the General Price if memory serves. There's a well distributed old tintype of the steamer in question that the artist used as a guide for his color plate. The photo shows a vague blobby something just above the bridge windows which has sparked questions for over a century. The answer to those questions has been around just as long and was given either by the photographer, publisher, or the boat's pilot himself. The vague blob was a pair of moose antlers(1) the pilot mounted.

The Osprey illustrator didn't even bother to look at anything other than the old picture and "interpreted" the blob as an RDF loop instead.

Seeing as the Osprey line started out as a series of painting guides for modelers, I'm not especially surprised at the shaky level of research beyond anything having to do with the color of the sleeve buttons on the Moronikan Imperial Horse Marine dress uniform during the Sim-Sala-Bim Campaign of '03.


Bill

1- A Spruance-class DD, the Moosbrugger, sported a pair of moose antlers below her bridge windows. I saw her and her antlers in Charleston, SC in '81.

Even still, it's really strange that nobody pointed out that RDF gear hadn't yet been invented during the ACW (- we really need a 'WTF' smilie on this board), which makes me more than a bit leery of grabbing anything of theirs when I'm in that part of the local Borders....

To get back on topic, how about The Lexington-class Battlecruisers 1923-1947. Covers the operational history and modifications made to the Ranger, Constellation, and United States, which were completed to battlecruiser design, and operated alongside their former sisters converted to carriers in the pre-WW2 U.S. Navy, their service in the Pacific Theater both as part of carrier task forces and in surface engagements, the loss of the Ranger during the Guadalcanal campaign in a confused night action where Constellation used her radar to ambush and sink the Japanese battlecruiser Amagi, and their ultimate disposition. Includes extensive illustrations based upon the Constellation, preserved as a museum in New York City, having earned 18 battle stars and 2 Presidential Unit Citations for her WW2 service.

(Of course, a comparasion with Friedman's volume on cruisers, the USN's archives, and various historical studies of the class will reveal numerous factual errors as to the operations and technical characteristics of the ships, for which it was widely panned by book critics.)

[Simon]

Originally Posted by DD951

The armies of the Duke of Marlborough armed with SMLEs?

You say it like this would have been a bad thing.

[foresterab]

Originally Posted by Dathi THorfinnsson

Canadian Indigenous Military Units 1812-1900: Covers the history of the various Indigenous military units from Tecumseh's irregulars in the war of 1812 to the Navajo scouts of the Boer War. Fascinating description of the organization, raising and operation of these units, their ethos and modes of operation. The use of 'Canadian' in the title is a bit of an oversimplification, as some of the units (like the Choctaw and Chickasaw units of the War of 1842 were in and from parts of British North America that had not formally become part of Canada yet.)

I keep hoping to find some more information on the Cree radio talkers in Europe during ww2 from Canada. A fellow from back home served as a Forward Observer for artillery and was selected specifically because he could speak cree...however when he died he said he was the last member. Several years ago I did see a book on his unit...no money on that day and when I returned the next day it was sold .

[stevep]

The First Bernician Legion- AKA The Green Wolves
History of the Northumbrian Legion from their forming in 1067 to their final destruction in the English Civil war in 1283-87. The 1st of the legions formed by King Edmund as he assumed the throne in the troubled times after the year of the triple invasion. For long the elite force in the English regular army they served in Edmund's wars during the so called crusade of 1071 and then the operations on the continent during the formation of the Northern League. Most famous amongst non-historians for their last stand in defence of the Bernician dynasty in 1287, refusing to surrender and giving time for the survivors of the northern cause to flee England.

- This is from a time line I've played about with for a POD in 1018 that sees changes in both eastern and western Europe. The name comes from the fact green was the colour of the 1st legion while they used Edmund's wolf banner as their emblem.


The Seljuk Army
The elite cavarly units that played a major role in the revival of the Khazar empire in the 10th-11th century. Being converted to Judism after the success of King Issac's eastern campaign in restoring the empire's influence, they provided vital reinforcements in the wars to drive back the Rus invaders and restore Khazar dominance over the western steppes. Later they proved vital in defeating Muslim raids via Albania.

A century later they gained more fame in establishing their own empire further east and carving out an empire in Trans-Oxus and Afghanistan. This faultered under continued Muslim pressure and was only saved from complete destruction when the Seljuk state accepted the overlordship of the Mongols in 1218. This was politically important both for itself and because it established the contacts that meant the Mongol force that invaded the western steppes had experience of Judaism and after the defeat of the Khazer army at Sarat accepted the surrender of the Khazer state. Later to convert to Judaism itself.

The Seljuk state regained its independence after the collapse of the Il-Khan in 1384 and stayed so until 1437 when destroyed by the Buddhist empire of Tamelain. By this time however they were mainly a locally recruited infantry force with relatively little of the traditional horse archers.

- Something thrown together on the idea of a revived Khazar state that influences the Seljuks before they become converted to Islam.

Steve

[eltf177]

The Japanese 8-8 Plan Ships: 1918-1945

The history of the '13'-class super battleships, Tosa-class battleships, Kii-class fast battleships and Akagi-class battlecruisers from inception to destruction.