My new book,
Fire! The 25-pdr in Australian Service, covers in detail the various forms of the 25-pdr manufactured in Australia - as a field gun, self-propelled gun, a jungle pack gun, and a tank gun. There is also a chapter on the development of the Australian 17/25-pdr, a stepping stone on the way to the Australian 17-pdr anti-tank gun. Other chapters cover the ammunition trailer, and the introductory chapters provide details of the 25-pdr's predecessors, the 18-pdr and 4.5-inch howitzer.
Just as important as the gun itself is the ammunition, and I provide details of the ammunition, the various types including those developed in Australia, how and where the ammunition was manufactured and how it was packed for storage and shipment.
Professional artist Krystii Melaine (
www.krystiimelaine.com) has done a fantastic job of the many colour illustrations of ammunition markings and cross sectional views. Ok, yes, I'll admit I'm married to her,
so I might just have had some preferential treatment, but the many, many hours Krystii put into the images has resulted in a truly unique set of illustrations.
I'm very grateful to Major General Paul Stevens, a highly experienced gunner, for writing the Foreword, and to the many contributors for their expertise and access to their collections and images. A couple are members of MLU.
The publisher, Trackpad Publishing, has done a magnificent job of designing the book. Below is the cover and under that a link to the flier from Trackpad. Pre-orders are now being taken via the Trackpad website at
https://www.trackpadpublishing.com/fire-the25-pounder
Enjoy!
Mike
Trackpad FIRE! flier.pdf