ISBN 1-85367-470-2
384 pages

Introduction; photos; diagrams; tables

   The Office of the Chief of Ordnance of the U.S. Army produced during the middle and late war years a serial "Catalog of Standard Ordnance Items" to identify, illustrate, and describe all the weapons and related equipment available to American ground forces. This catalog was originally reprinted commercially by Greenhill Books in 1996 with a Foreword by Ian Hogg, and that hardcover edition has itself now been reprinted, unabridged, in softcover.
   The book is a veritable Sears catalog of American weaponry, broken down into four main categories:

I. Tank and Automotive

II. Artillery

III. Small Arms

IV. Ammunition

   Each of these categories is divided into anywhere from seven to more than two dozen sub-categories. Under artillery, for example, these sub-categories appear:

Mobile artillery

Railway and seacoast artillery

Tank armament

Antiaircraft artillery

Sub Caliber guns

Harbor defense mines

Aircraft armament

   Given all these categories and sub-categories, the catalog neatly arranges not only big-ticket items such as tanks and "16 inch gun Mk. II, Mod. 1—Barbette carriage M5—standard," but also five-and-dime items like helmets (M1, M3, and M4), body armor (including M5 groin), bayonets, officers' M1907 saber and scabbard, and holsters. (Note, however, that since these are all weapons and weapon-related items, there's no coverage of clothing or other personal items such as canteens or binoculars.)
   Each entry provides official nomenclature for the item, one or more photos, description running anywhere from one paragraph to a page or more, occasional diagrams, and complete specifications. Specs on the "1.5 ton, 6x6, Cargo truck—Standard" amount to a full column of text and cover physical characteristics, armament, performance, battery, fire protection, engine, transmission, transfer case, steering ratio, suspension, master clutch, radiator, brakes, parking brakes, rear axle, and front axle.
   Here's what a typical full-page entry looks like:

   Quite the fascinating collection of merchandise, and lacking only an order form so readers can issue purchase orders and have these items delivered straight to the door.
   Available from online booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from Stackpole in the US or Greenhill in the UK.
   Thanks to Stackpole for providing this review copy.