Ryton Schwere Panzer in Detail

A.J. Carrington

Authors: Bruce Culver and Uwe Feist
Publisher: Ryton Publications, 1998 ISBN 0-9633824-9-7

Dimensions: 9" x 13", 170 Pages

Schwere Panzer is the latest release from Ryton Publications covering the Tiger II, Jagdtiger and Elephant
panzers. In the style of recent Ryton "In Detail" releases its emphasis is on providing close-up photographs of each
vehicle.

Review

Schwere Panzer starts off with a brief introduction (10 pages) covering the development and history of the Tiger
II. This is then followed by approximately 90 pages of photographs. The majority of the photos are detail shots of
various existing museum vehicles, with a number of combat shots. Most combat shots can be found elsewhere, in
other publications. The detail shots are excellent, covering virtually every inch of the vehicle, inside and out. Finally
the section closes off with a COLOUR photo of Tiger II "332", originally captured during the Battle of the Bulge,
in storage at Aberdeen. Of note also is the KV-I in the background of this shot - check out the shade of green
(black).

Following the Tiger II section is 36 pages covering the Jagdtiger. While there are few combat shots there are
some excellent detail shots including those of the chassis during manufacturing, a Porsche wheel pack that broke
off during testing, the interior, the mantle and, again, virtually every inch of the exterior. Finally, to close out, there
are 34 pages covering the Elephant. There are a small number of combat shots and a number of detail shots of the
Elephant on display at Aberdeen.


Colour Plates and Drawings

There are 6 colour plates of the Tiger II, 3 line drawings and 6 line drawings with colour added for contrast.
There is 1 colour plate of the Jagdtiger and 2 line drawings. There are 3 colour plates of the Elephant and 2 line
drawings.

The colour plates are of reasonable quality, however their accuracy raises some questions - i.e. one colour print
shows a Tiger II used by SS 501 during the Ardennes Offensive with zimmerit. In all cases the line drawings are
fair. However, much cleaner and more detailed drawings can be found in other publications. The line drawings
with colour added provide a good sense of the armour arrangement on the Tiger II, however, the colouring seems
'sloppy', diminishing from their effect.

Summary

In conclusion, this book is somewhat of a 'mixed bag'. While it has some excellent detail shots, and a reasonable
coverage of combat shots, nothing here is really new - except for the colour photo of the Tiger II. The colour
prints are of good quality, however some are older, dating back to the late seventies and not very accurate. The
line drawings are of fair quality.

Against it, the Fedorowicz "Tigers in Combat" series provides much greater coverage of combat shots and the
colour prints can't compare. Conversely, the material available from Japanese publications such as "Panzer at
Saumur #1" and the "Ground Power" series provide equal coverage in detail shots, and better quality
reproductions. As well, the line drawings in these Japanese publications are far more detailed and of better quality.
Finally, the title by Tom Jentz "V.K.45.02 to Tiger II" and its sister publication "Tiger I & II: Combat Tactics"
provide far more detailed information on the development and deployment of the Tiger II.

In the book's favour, it provides a good mix of "everything" and would be a smart choice for those looking for
information on Germany's heaviest panzers who are on a tight budget, or have only a mild interest in these
vehicles. Of course those of us who are Tiger fanatics will probably want to pick this title up simply to fill out our
collection.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5