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emckinney writes:

Description of the book on spigot weapons, from Amazon (the Caliver site has nothing):

Weapons of myth and scandal, that is the best way to describe the spigot weapons deployed by the British in the Second World War.

Unlike conventional mortars, a spigot mortar does not have a barrel through with the round is fired. Instead, the general concept involves a steel rod – the ‘spigot' – onto which the bomb is placed before it is fired. This design was, as David Lister reveals, the basis of a number of successful weapons used during the Second World War.

The myth of the PIAT man-portable anti-tank weapon is, for example, tied closely to British paratroopers struggling in the ruins of Arnhem with an inadequate design, one inferior to the German equivalent. Similarly, the myth of the Blacker Bombard is of a useless weapon, one of dubious quality, that was dumped on the unsuspecting Home Guard.

In reality, neither scenario is the case. Both weapons were devastating creations of war, often superior to any other nation's counterpart.

At sea, the Hedgehog anti-submarine weapon was another powerful spigot weapon. It was undoubtedly capable of sweeping the U-boats from the sea and even winning the Battle of the Atlantic before it had really begun. That it did not is one of the great scandals of the Second World War, one hidden by wartime secrecy until now.

In Defeating the Panzer-Stuka Menace the author explores a large number of spigot weapons from the Second World War, many of which were created by the fertile mind of one of Britain's great weapon inventors, Latham Valentine Stewart Blacker.


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Ancients
18th Century
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World War Two on the Land
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Dave Ryan of Caliver Books writes:

We are still getting through the Duncan Macfarlane Book Collection, but we do have a smattering of new books and rules.

H29521 – Wargaming: Nineteenth Century Europe 1815-1878 / Thomas. Mint includes rules etc. £14.50 GBP

Defeating the Panzer-Stuka Menace

H29522 – Defeating the Panzer-Stuka Menace: British Spigot Weapons of the Second World War / Lister. Mint illustrated hardback. Detailed study of the improvised Home Guard weapons and a re-evaluation of the PIAT – (We also sell facsimiles of the original instruction manuals). £19.95 GBP

Miniature Wargames 462

H29523 – Miniature Wargames 462: Seven scenarios + rules and two scratch builds – includes SYW scenario by Charles S. Grant, Indian Mutiny scenario by Jon Sutherland and Aussie Bushranger game by Chris Swan, all Partizan Press authors. £5.99 GBP

H29524 – Sensory History of Ancient Warfare: Reconstructing the Physical Experience of War in the Classical World / Whately. Mint illustrated hardback. Very interesting approach studying how it felt to be in battle, what you could see, hear, smell and taste. £18.50 GBP

H29525 – Lovers, rakes and rogues / Wardroper. Very good condition paperback, 370 pages. 325+ Bawdy and love songs from 1560 to 1860. £4.50 GBP

H29526 – War of 1812 in the West: Fort Detroit to New Orleans / Kirkpatrick. 220 pages. Hardback. Near disaster for the young republic brought about by Britain and its Indian Allies in the first years of war. £22.50 GBP


The List Below Includes Dome of the Duncan Macfarlane Book Collection With Proceeds Going to the Gurkha Welfare Trust


51677 – Uniforms of the French Revolutionary Wars, 1789-1802 / Haythornnthwaite. Near mint paperback, 100 + color illustrations. £11.50 GBP

51678 – Masters in Miniature: Military History recreated / Perry, Alan & Michael. 150 pages. Large format full-color near fine hardback. Superb color shots of Perry Miniatures in action. £29.50 GBP

51679 – British Infantryman: The British and Commonwealth Soldier 1939-45 (Operations Manual) / Forty, Simon. Near mint large format. Very well illustrated, uniforms, weapons, equipment etc. £13.99 GBP

51680 – Gunsmiths Manual: A complete handbook for the American Gunsmith. Stelle and Harrison. Hardback. 376 pages. Illustrated in black-and-white. Condition very good. Spine faded. £23.50 GBP

51681 – Gustavus Adolphus: A History of Sweden 1611-1632. Volume 2 1626-1632 / Roberts, Michael. Hardback. 847 pages. Illustrated with black-and-white illustrations. Condition very good. Ex. library. Spine faded. £70.00 GBP

51682 – Gustavus Adolphus: A history of Sweden, 1611-1632. Volume 1 / Roberts, Michael. Hardback. 585 pages. Illustrated with black-and-white illustrations. Condition. Ex. library. Very good. £125.00 GBP

51683 – Guns Illustrated 2004: The Standard Reference for Today's Firearms / Ramage, Ken. Paperback, published 2003, 336 pages, illustrated in black-and-white, good condition, shelf-wear with a slight bend on the cover, some small engravements on the cover. £9.50 GBP

51684 – Gunpowder Armies / Newark, Tim. Paperback. 47 pages. Illustrated with full-color illustrations throughout. Condition unread. Mint. £7.50 GBP

51685 – Guns: An Illustrated History of Artillery / Jobe, Joseph Edition. Very large hardback, published 1971, 217 pages, illustrated in color and black-and-white with some uncommon illustrations. Very good condition. £9.00 GBP

51686 – Daimler Armored Cars Marks I and II – Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Near mint paperback reprint. 188pp illustrated. £17.50 GBP

51687 – Grand Fleet 1914-1916: Its Creation, Development and Work / Jellicoe Original 1919 Edition. 520 pages. Charts and illustrations. Very Good condition hardback. £19.19 GBP

51688 – Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain from the year 1727, to the present time. Volume II. £45.00 GBP

51689 – Roman Soldier: Daily Life. Fighting Tactics. Weapons. Equipment. Kit (Operations Manual) – Near mint large format well illustrated hardback. £11.50 GBP

51690 – Battle Notes for Wargamers / Featherstone. Very good condition hardback. No Jacket. Fifteen small battles suitable for tabletop gaming. Many maps and diagrams, index, several appendix. £9.50 GBP

51691 – German Influence on British Cavalry: Childers, Erskine (yes, him) near fine POD paperback. First published in 1911, this vintage book contains an fascinating account of how British cavalry was influenced by German practices and techniques at the turn of the Twentieth Century. £8.95 GBP

51692 – Napoleon's Last Victory and the Emergence of Modern War / Epstein. Near mint hardback. 220 pages. Franco-Austrian war 1809. £19.50 GBP

51693 – Baron's War: Medieval Skirmish Rules – Near mint paperback. £12.00 GBP

51694 – Recollections of Colonel De Gonneville – 600 pages. 2 Volumes in one. near mint facsimile hardback. £34.50 GBP

51695 – Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana: Minute by Minute / Peers. 190 pages. Near mint hardback. £11.50 GBP

51696 – Campaign of Waterloo: A Military History / Ropes. 400 pages. Near fine quality facsimile copy (Worley pubs). £17.50 GBP

51697 – History of the British Expedition to Egypt: To which is subjoined, a sketch of the present state of that country and its means of defense. Volume 2 / Wilson, Robert Thomas. Paperback. 318 pages. Condition new. Very slight shelf-edge wear. £8.25 GBP

51698 – Russian Hussar: A Story of the Imperial Cavalry 1911-1920 / Littauer. 300 pages. Near fine hardback. Served during WWI and in the white armies during the revolution. £34.50 GBP

51699 – Horseman for the Emperor: A Cavalryman of Napoleon's Army on Campaign Throughout the Napoleonic Wars (Eyewitness to War) / Gazzola, Jean Baptiste. Hardback. 285 pages. Condition new. Mint. £6.50 GBP

51700 – Napoleon's Cavalry and Its Leaders / Johnson. Near fine hardback. £10.00 GBP

51701 – Hussar Rocca – A French Cavalry Officer's Experiences of the Napoleonic Wars and his views on the Peninsular Campaigns Against the Spanish, British and Guerilla Armies / Michel de Rocca, Albert Jean. Paperback. 177 pages. Condition new. Mint. £13.50 GBP

51702 – Hitler's Great Panzer Heist: Germany's Foreign Armor Action 1939-45 / Tucker-Jones, Anthony. Hardback. 216 pages. Illustrated in black-and-white. Condition new. Eye-opening study in how much armor the Germans obtained from other countries. £14.50 GBP

51703 – Navies of the Napoleonic Era / Von Pivka (Digby Smith). Very good condition. Well illustrated hardback. £13.50 GBP

51704 – Egypt 1801: The End of Napoleon's Eastern Empire: Reid, Stuart. Near mint illustrated hardback. Excellent campaign history. £14.50 GBP

51705 – General Thomas Cloney: A Wexford Rebel of 1798 / Joyce, John. Paperback. 70 pages. Illustrated in black-and-white. Condition very good. Deals with Wexford Rebellion. £35.00 GBP

51706 – To the Last Round: South Nottinghamshire Hussars / Hart. Near mint illustrated hardback. The unit was almost totally wiped out in the desert. June 1942. £15.00 GBP

51707 – German Army Uniforms of World War II in Color Photographs / Krawczyk, Wade. Hardback. 128 pages. Illustrated in full-color throughout. Very good condition but slight damp damage that has a few pages sticking together. £29.50 GBP

51708 – Greco-Persian Wars / Green, Peter. Hardback. 344 pages. Illustrated in some black-and-white. Condition very good. Dust cover curling along edges. Internally book is like new. Looks unread. £28.00 GBP

51709 – Glory Enough for All: Sheridan's Second Raid and the Battle of Trevilian Station / Wittenberg, Eric J. Paperback. 391 pages. Condition new book. 2001 printing. Light yellowing to pages. £17.00 GBP

51710 – Napoleon's Campaign in Egypt 1) French Army / Grant, SC S. All Color hardback. Over 40 uniform plates by Bob Marrion. Near mint. £19.50 GBP

51711 – Grand Old Duke of York, The: A Life of Prince Frederick: Duke of York and Albany 1763-1827 / Winterbottom, Derek. Hardback. 199 pages. Illustrated in black-and-white. Condition new. £13.95 GBP

51712 – Lace Wars: Wargaming the Period 1660-1720 & scenarios 1) France & The Wars of Gloire – Near mint large format. Skirmish, Tactical, & Grand tactical levels in one set, plus 14 scenarios (note: there are 5 volumes available on the main website. £22.50 GBP

51713 – Guide to Louisiana Confederate Military Units, 1861-65 / Bergeron, Jr. Arthur W. Hardback. New book in unopened shrink wrap. Mint. £85.00 GBP

51714 – Die etatmäßigen Dienstgrade und Dienststellungen in der französischen Armee 1804-1815 (ranks & services) – Very good condition paperback. German text. 64 pages. 25 pages of full-color uniform plates. £11.50 GBP

51715 – Uniforms of the Seven Years War: Prussia (Uniform reference series) / Greenwood & Ball. 24 pages. Very good condition paperback. 28 uniform and flag illustrations. £11.50 GBP

51716 – Generalship of Alexander the Great / Fuller, J.F.C. Paperback. 336 pages. Some black-and-white illustrations. Condition like new. Looks unread. Lightly yellowing pages. £6.25 GBP

51717 – Great Battles of Antiquity: A Strategic and Tactical Guide to Great Battles That Shaped the Development of War / Fuller, J.F.C. Paperback. 714 pages. Illustrated in black-and-white. Condition like new. Some shelf edge wear. £47.37 GBP

51718 – General James Grant: Scottish Soldier and Royal Governor of East Florida / Nelson, Paul David. Hardback. Still in unopened shrink wrap. Mint. £44.90 GBP

51719 – Greek and Roman Naval Warfare / Rodgers. 540 pages. Large hardback near mint, no jacket as published. £35.00 GBP

51720 – Rebel Invasion of Missouri and Kansas, and the Campaign of the Army of the Border Against General Sterling Price (1865) / Hinton. Mint quality KHP Reprint (unlike current Pods) hardback still in shrink wrap. £39.50 GBP

51721 – Germanys Panzer Army in WWII / Dinardo, R.L. Paperback. 206 pages. Illustrated in black-and-white. Condition very good. Internally like new. £11.50 GBP

51722 – General William J. Hardee: Old Reliable (Southern Biography S.) / Cheairs Hughes, Nathaniel. Paperback. 329 pages. Some black-and-white. Campaign maps. Condition like new. Looks unread. £29.98 GBP

51723 – Galloping Guns: the Experiences of an Officer of the Bengal Horse Artillery During the Second Maratha War 1804-1805 / Young, James. Paperback. 263 pages. Condition new. £7.51 GBP

51724 – German Navy in the Nazi Era / Thomas, Charles S. Hardback. Published 1990. 284 pages. Condition very good. Shelf-edge wear. £16.50 GBP

51725 – Generals of Saratoga: John Burgoyne and Horatio Gates / Mintz, Max. Hardback. 275 pages. Illustrated in black-and-white. Condition very good. Internally like new. Looks unread. £7.00 GBP

51726 – German Order of Battle, 1944: The Directory, Prepared by Allied Intelligence, of Regiments, Formations and Units of the German Armed Forces / Hogg, Ian V. Hardback. Condition externally some creasing damage to dust cover. Internally looks new. Unread. £5.95 GBP

51727 – Irish Battles: A Military History of Ireland / G.A. Hayes-McCoy Hardback. 326 pages. Some color and black-and-white illustrations. Condition very good. £30.00 GBP

51728 – Last Invasion of Canada: Fenian Raids 1866-1870 (Canadian War Museum Historical Publications, No. 27) / Senior, Hereward. Hardback, published 226 pages, black-and-white illustrations. Like new. Knocks to corners of covers. £11.00 GBP

51729 – Life of General Sir Robert Wilson…: From Autobiographical Memoirs, Journals, Narratives, Correspondence, &c; Volume 2 / Wilson & Randolph. Paperback. Facsimile reprint. 444 pages. Condition like new. £11.00 GBP

51731 – If You Survive: From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II, One American Officer's Riveting True Story / Wilson. Very good condition paperback. £2.50 GBP

51732 – Illustrated Guide to the Anglo-Zulu War / Laband. Large format paperback. Well illustrated. The real value lies in the 30 + colour maps, and the plans of British forts and outposts. £15.00 GBP

51733 – Gamble. Bonaparte in Italy 1796-97 / Ferrero, Guglielmo. Hardback. Published 1990. 305 pages. Condition very good. £11.00 GBP

51734 – On the Roads of War: a Soviet Cavalryman on the Eastern Front / Yakushin, Ivan. Hardback. 180 pages. Illustrated in black-and-white. Condition like new. Light surface wear. Near fine. £13.00 GBP

51735 – Armies of England, Scotland, the United Provinces, and the Spanish Netherlands 1487-1609 / Heath, I. Large format very well illustrated. Mint but marks to cover. £85.00 GBP

51736 – Napoleon's Army in Russia: The Illustrated Memoirs of Albrecht Adam, 1812 / North, J. Large format near mint, 180 pages. 70 full-color plates. £45.00 GBP

51737 – American Civil War Sourcebook / Katcher. 320 pages. Very well illustrations. Near fine but some sun fading to spine. £7.50 GBP

51738 – Wargames Research Group Rulettes: C16th Naval Warfare / GC pamphlet. £12.50 GBP

51740 – Battleships and Battle Cruisers, 1905-1970: Historical Development of the Capital Ship / Breyer. 470 pages. Very large format hardback. very well illustrated. Internally near fine, tatty jacket. £19.50 GBP

51741 – History of the Art of War in the Middle Ages: Volume 1 (Library Reprint S.) / Oman, Sir Charles. Hardback. 526 pages. Condition very good. Internally near fine. £59.00 GBP

51742 – Pueblo Revolt: The Secret Rebellion That Drove the Spaniards Out of the Southwest / Roberts, David. Hardback. 279 pages. Condition like new. £30.00 GBP

51743 – Panzer Rollen!: The Logistics of a Panzer Division from Primary Sources / Carruthers, Bob. Paperback. 127 pages. With black-and-white illustrations. Condition new. £6.50 GBP

51744 – Japanese Tanks and Armored Warfare 1932-1945: A Military History / McCormack. 160 pages. Illustrated near mint hardback. Re-evaluation of their performance. Largely WWII. £13.95 GBP

51745 – Napoleon's Campaigns in Miniature: War Gamers' Guide to the Napoleonic Wars, 1796-1815 / Quarrie, Bruce. Very good condition paperback. Classic Rules and guide. £30.00 GBP

51746 – History of a Brigade of South Carolinians, Known First as Gregg's and Subsequently as McGowan's Brigade / J. F. J. Caldwell. Near mint hardback letterpress reprint of 1866 original. No jacket as published. 186/500 copies. £45.00 GBP

51747 – Fighting for Spain: The International Brigades in the Civil War, 1936-193 / Clifford. 250 pages. Illustrated near mint hardback. Military history of the brigades. £16.50 GBP

51748 – Report on the Russian Army and Its Campaigns in Turkey 1877-78 / Greene. 520 pages. Near mint hardback reprint. £0.00 GBP

51749 – Fighting Techniques of the Napoleonic Age, 1792-1815: Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics – 260 pages. Very well illustrated in color near fine Hardback. £20.00 GBP

51750 – EBB & Flow of Battle: 1) 1809 Campaign / Heath Rules and Orbats for big battle wargames from Anschluss. £10.00 GBP

51751 – Chain of Command: WWII wargames rules – mint slight shelf-wear. £19.50 GBP

51752 – Greek Historical Inscriptions From the Sixth Century BC to the Death of Alexander the Great in 323BC / Tod, Marcus N. Paperback. 343 pages. Condition like new. Unread. Mint. £40.00 GBP

51753 – Grey Wolf, Grey Sea: Aboard the German Submarine U-124 in World War II / Gasaway, E.B. Shelf wear. Yellowing pages. hardback. £15.00 GBP

51754 – Grenadiere – Musketiere – Füsiliere. Die Infanterie Friedrichs des GroĂŸen / Guddat, Martin. Hardback, published 1986, 116 pages, illustrated. German text. Good condition. £6.00 GBP

51755 – Gringo Rebel / Thord-Gray, General I. Hardback. Published 1960. Condition good. Signed by author. £49.00 GBP

51756 – Gunners of August 1914: Baptism of Fire / Hutton, John. Hardback. 215 pages. Condition new. Unread. Mint. £6.50 GBP

51757 – Guide Napoleonien – Descriptifs Des Musees Monuments Steles Cursiosites Sur L' Histoire de 1795, a 1815 En France Et A L'Etranger (hardcover) A. Chappet, R. Martin, A. Pigeard, A. Robe / Chappet, Martin etc. Hardback. 383 pages. Illustrated with black-and-white illustrations. Condition good. £26.00 GBP

51758 – Gun founding in the Weald in the Sixteenth Century (Royal Armories Monograph 2) / Teesdale, Edmund B. Paperback, published 1991, 142 pages, maps and diagrams. Very good condition. £14.00 GBP

51759 – Gunfire!: British Artillery in World War II / Moberg, Stig H. Hardback. 448 pages. Illustrated with black-and-white illustrations. Condition new. Unread. Mint. £14.75 GBP

51760 – Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom. A Challenge to a Mediaeval Society / Ayalon, D. 154 pages. Very good condition hardback. £35.00 GBP

Text edited by Personal logo Editor Dianna The Editor of TMP
Graphics edited by Personal logo Editor in Chief Bill The Editor of TMP Fezian
Scheduled by Personal logo Editor in Chief Bill The Editor of TMP Fezian