Reference, Firefly Collection, Combat Camera 1, Cromwell & Centaur

FIREFLY COLLECTION

Combat Camera 1, Cromwell & Centaur. By Ian Carter. Soft covers, 34 pages (including inside and outside rear covers), 8.25 x 11.75-inches. Contains 69 B&W photos, one page of color plates and two pages of charts. ISBN 978-0-9806593-2-0.

With the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, the Cromwell Cruiser Tank and its close relative, the Centaur, began their combat careers. These two AFVs were used by a variety of British units either as the full compliment of an Armoured Division (the 7th) or as the equipment of the Reconnaissance Regiments of the 11th and Guards Armoured Divisions. The Poles and the Czechs also used Cromwells, as did the British 6th Airborne Division. The Royal Marines used Centaurs in their RMASG (Royal Marines Armoured Support Group). In short, this Cruiser Tank saw relatively widespread use with a variety of disparate formations, for a bit less than a year, in North-West Europe.

Until recently, photo books detailing the use of British AFVs had been few and far between, mostly due to the relatively extreme expense of sourcing Crown Copyright images. This seems to have changed in the last few years as more and more books have been released covering British AFVs. At the forefront of this trend has been Dennis Oliver, with several titles from Concord as well as his former company, The Factory. Now what is called The Oliver Publishing Group has come along with what is entitled the Firefly Collection. Within this organization, two new groups of books have been made available; this one is called Combat Camera.

The first title in the Combat Camera series, authored by Ian Carter, is devoted to the afore-mentioned Cromwell and Centaur. It is basically a photo study that is preceded by several pages of text. The text briefly details the concept and development of the Cromwell and Centaur, and then goes into quite a bit about organization and unit deployment. This is followed by notes describing camouflage colors and markings. All of this is competently laid out in an easy style, which is at times quite dense with information, particularly relating to the units that used these tanks. And, thats simply wonderful as far as I am concerned!

This is complimented by a table that shows the typical organization of a Cromwell-equipped Armoured Regiment as well as the organization of the RMASG in Normandy.

The photographs are a mixture of the familiar and the new. Several images show these tanks in the UK either under test or being prepared for combat. Then the Normandy landings are detailed, as are the actions that led up to the surrender of Germany. Several images depict Polish and Czech tanks, while several (including some new ones) show the RMASG in action. All are extensively captioned, especially in regards to the markings seen, which is a tribute to the author and his sharp eye.

Unfortunately, the reproduction of most of the photographs suffers from lack of contrast. In far too many cases the images are a bit muddy without any bright whites or clean blacks. This is a shame, especially since so many of the images have loads of interesting things going on. Since some images are well-reproduced, I would suspect that some work in Photoshop was overlooked, rather than it being an issue with the books printer. This relegates a potentially excellent bit of work to the category of very good.

There are no pages of color plates as apparently, thats not the main focus of the book. Instead the front and rear covers depict seven vehicles in color, complete with descriptive notes. The inside of the rear cover has another chart, printed in B&W, that details specific markings, with the emphases on Arm-of-Service (AoS) and divisional insignia. There are extensive notations, to include info on the colors used. At the bottom of the page is yet another organization chart, this one devoted to depicting a typical Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment as it would have appeared in June of 1944.

In conclusion, this is a very well-done effort, chock full of interesting images and detailed information. Only the spotty quality of the reproduction of the images detracts from what could have been an excellent book. Hopefully, the publisher will strive to do better next time. Regardless of that, if the modeler has a Cromwell or Centaur kit ready to go, this book should prove to be invaluable.

Recommended.

Frank V. De Sisto

Firefly Collection books are available in North America from DragonUSA, at: www.dragonusaonline.com.

Visit frankdesisto.com

Delete abwehr 2x from email