May's Book Vote and April's Results

New Vanguard is the featured series of May's Book Vote, and as always we're showcasing five fascinating book ideas for you to choose from. Please take a read of the descriptions below, decide on which you'd like to see published, and make your vote by clicking the link below! Don't forget to discuss this month's options in the comments below.

Strategic SAMs of the USSR and Russia

Following the success of the high-altitude SA-2 system, the Soviet Union poured effort into developing longer-ranged and much more comprehensive systems. The S-200 of the 1960s could shoot down bombers at a range approaching 200 miles, and the famous S-300 family that followed in the late 1970s was – and remains – among the most capable air defence systems in the world. Variants have added capabilities against ballistic missiles, countermeasures, and low-level targets, and the S-300s have now been joined by the even more fearsome S-400. These systems have been important features of the modern wars in Libya and Syria, with both Soviet-era export systems and modern Russian-operated systems in action against Western air forces and missiles.

French Main Battle Tanks 1945-present: ARL 44, AMX-30 and Leclerc

France consistently developed and fielded its own tanks throughout the Cold War and afterwards. Learning much from captured Panther and Tiger tanks, it built a handful of ARL-44 tanks in the 1950s, followed by the successful AMX-30 – which brought the distinctive French philosophy of limiting weight in favour of better mobility. Its modern replacement, the Leclerc, refined this with a focus on active rather than passive protection, and both were exported, particularly to Middle Eastern states. This book would look at these significant Cold War MBTs, as well as the other French tank projects that failed to make it to production.

M4 Sherman in British Service

British troops were initially suspicious of their new American-built Lend-Lease tanks in the early part of the war. But by D-Day the Sherman equipped more armoured regiments than any other, and British tankers had almost come to think of them as British tanks. This book would focus on the ordinary gun tank versions of the Sherman, examining Britain’s preferred versions and adaptations, and how they were used in British Army service across Europe.

Pink Panthers: Land Rovers of the SAS 1950s-2014

For more than half a century the Special Air Service’s unique Land Rovers helped make the unit’s reputation. They were stripped down to the essentials, painted pink (surprisingly, the ideal colour for desert camouflage), extensively customised to operate alone in the most inhospitable environments, and heavily armed. From the first Series I conversion to be used in Oman through to the fleets of 110 DPVs that fought the Gulf War, his book uncovers the Land Rovers’ roles, their many versions, variants, and possible configurations, and what it was like to operate and fight them, deep inside hostile deserts.

Robot Tanks of World War II

Germany built the most famous remote-controlled demolition vehicles of World War II – the tiny Goliath, the medium-sized Springer, and the large Borgward IV. The Goliath and Springer were tracked, remote-controlled mines – built to survive only long enough to be blown up in the right place. The Borgward was heavier, and designed to emplace its charge and then withdraw relatively unscathed. But it was not alone. The USSR built and operated a series of ‘Teletanks’ for particularly dangerous operations, and Britain designed an unsuccessful Mobile Land Mine along the lines of the German Goliath.

Make your vote by clicking here!

It was the turn of our longest-running series, Men-at-Arms, to take the focus of the book vote last month. With an incredible selection to choose from, it was finally the Yugoslav Armies 1941–45 option that ended the month on top with 26.47%. See below the full results of last month's vote: