Introduction

The following introduction is as supplied by Tankograd Publishing:
Trucks of the Kategorie I (Kat I) family produced by MAN are tactical vehicles with extreme off-road capabilities that can follow the vehicles of combat forces, such as the Leopard 2 main battle tank or Schützenpanzer Marder 1 armoured infantry fighting vehicle. The trucks are very powerful, robust and reliable. Procured by the Bundeswehr from 1977 onwards, they are employed to transport personnel, material, ammunition, fuel and different types of shelters. In addition to vehicles with a cargo body in the 5-ton, 7-ton and 10-ton payload classes, the truck family also includes special-purpose variants such as dump truck, bridge transporter, rocket launcher and radar vehicle.

A large number of the more than 8,000 trucks of this type procured are still in service with the Bundeswehr today, 30 years after the end of the Cold War.

This publication looks at Bundeswehr MAN Kat I trucks during Cold War exercises and thus supplements the technical volume published as Militärfahrzeug Special 5027.

Review

Tankograd Publishing Takes a look at one of the support vehicles that has more than proved its worth to its users by still being in service 42 years later. This is a soft backed book having a robust card cover and containing 64 pages. This offering is one written by Carl Schulze for Tankograd Publishing and looks to offer the high standards I have come to expect from them. This offering from Tankograd is one of their duel language books having German text on the left and English text on the right side of each page and that aspect also includes the captions that accompany each photograph.

The dedicated text provided here by Carl Schulze offers a nice grounding into a family of trucks that has kept various elements of the German army going for the last 40 years, a length of service rarely achieved by military equipment. The text is written in an easy going format allowing for an easy read and for the reader to decide what they want from it is some ways. The text is all at the start of this title and is broken down in a logical manner and so pleasing. After this we are presented with the eye candy of the title with a good breakdown of the various trucks that have been utilised by the German Army.
Cargo Truck 5 ton 4x4 with Winch
Cargo Truck 5 ton 4x4
Cargo 5 ton 4x4 with Winch and Engineers Section Special Kit
Cargo Truck 5 ton 4x4 with 4.600 ltr Bulk Refuelling Equipment
TA 4.600 L Bulk Refuelling Equipment
Cargo Truck 7 ton 6x6
Cargo Truck 7 ton 6X6 with Winch
Cargo Truck 7 ton 6X6 with Winch and crew Special Mission Kit for the FH155mm Field Howitzer
Cargo Truck 7 ton 6X6 with Winch and Crew and Ammunition Special Mission Kit for 203mm M10A2 SF SPH
Cargo Truck 7 ton 6X6 with Winch and Crew and Ammunition Special Mission Kit for the 105mm Field Howitzer and 105mm Mountain Howitzer
Cargo Truck 7 ton 6X6 with HEP decontamination Equipment
Cargo Truck 7 ton 6X6 with and without Winch employed as Tractor for the Minenverlege system 85 mine laying trailer
Dump Truck 7 ton 6x6 with Winch
Dump Truck 7 ton 6x6 with Winch transporting the Floatation Bridge System
Dump Truck 7 ton 6x6 with Winch Transporting the Medium Girder Bridge
Bridge Transporter 7 ton6x6 with Winch for the Ribbon Bridge
Cargo Truck 10 ton 8x8 with Winch and 1 ton crane
Cargo Truck 10 ton 8x8 with Winch
LARS 2 light rocket Artillery System
FERA Artillery Fire Control System based on the Cargo Truck 5 ton 4x4
CL-289 Surveillance based on the Cargo 7 ton 6x6

As you can see from the list above the MAN Kat I truck family serves a large and varied role with the German Army. By using the same basic truck in several set ups it greatly reduces the amount of stores that need to be kept to keep the fleet moving and thus an economical truck series. The photographs in this book cover all of the aspects listed above and so create a one stop visual reference of a truck that has served as a basic cargo truck through to a weapons system in its own right; a truly universal soft skinned vehicle that offers the basic transport through to a rocket firing weapons system.

Conclusion

This offering from Tankograd Publishing provided by Carl Schulze offers a unique one stop visual reference on a soft skinned truck series that has over 40 years of service with the German army. The text is well written and even offers excellent captions with each of the photographs that clearly tell the viewer what they are looking at. The photographs in themselves are clear and provide pleasing angles of the trucks that provides visual interest.