Book Review of
U.S. Army Ambulances & Medical Vehicles of WWII
Author: Didier Andres
Casemate Illustrated Special
MSRP: 978-1-61200-865-3
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: #37.95
MSRP: 978-1-61200-865-3
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: #37.95
HISTORY:
Of all the forces involved in WWII, the U.S. Army developed the most sophisticated system for the transport and treatment of injured and sick soldiers, pushing the boundaries of available technology to give their men the best chance of survival and recovery.
Vehicles formed a crucial part of the Medical Detachment’s equipment. Transporting wounded troops from the battlefield and between aid stations and hospitals, and also repatriating the most seriously injured back to hospital in the states.
Vehicle also enabled the treatment of routine medical, dental, and optical issues in the field, and enabled laboratory testing and surgery to be undertaken in almost any location.
THE BOOK:
Casemate Publishing is based in Pennsylvania. They are both a distributor of all brands of book and their own books.
The book is hardcover of 160 pages in 8 ½” x 11” page format.
The cover art has 4 black and white wartime photos on it.
At the top is a photo of a line of jeeps with carrying racks on them with stretchers on them of the 261st Medical Battalion, 1st Engineer Special Brigade are shown heading for the open doors of a LST at Normandy 1944. This was the preferred way to transport wounded back to England.
The photo on the left below is of a M29C small half-track with a metal frame on it for carrying wounded. It was with 102 Div., crossing the Roer, February 1945. A red cross has been painted on its sides and a crewman is washing it.
The next photo on the top right shows 21 medics unloading wounded from jeeps with litter frames on them
The last photo at the bottom right shows a field with 13 Chevy panel truck ambulances in 1939 Hawaii.
The back cover gives 4 more black and white wartime photos.
The top one shows a GMC DUKW 353 off the coast of Iwo Jima painted with a red cross and 14 white rescue score marks on its sides.
The second one down shows a 1 ½ ton 4x4 Dodge ambulance panel van. It was the first ambulance of its kind and only 3 were built.
The third one down shows a medical bus in Taegu, Korea waiting for its load.
The final one at the bottom shows a British policeman directing the driver of a WC54 ambulance. It is proudly displaying the group’s insignia of a red cross with a white eagle’s head on it wearing a red, white and blue top hat. No fewer than 2,196 volunteers filled the ranks of the A.F.S. 700,000 wounded soldiers and civilians alike were transported in these ambulances.
There are 678 black and white photos of ambulances. Two photos of horse-drawn ambulance wagons, two trailers, 15 ambulance buses, 8 pick-up truck ambulances, 9 photos of the M28 tacked “Weasel” ambulance, two photos of a M3 half-tracked ambulance, a amphibian pulling a wood boat and 3 of it alone, 46 photos of jeep ambulances,, 2 photos of a M7 snow-tractor ambulance – one with a trailer, 16 photos of a stake-side truck ambulance, 2 of trailers, 2 photos of B-17’s being loaded with wounded, a C-54 being loaded with wounded and 2 photos of a C-47 being loaded with wounded.
There are also 10 color photos, 4 color profile illustrations and 8 color illustrations of emblems.
This book will be of great interest to modelers planning to build a ambulance or medical vehicle and to military historians alike.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
All Casemate books and the books of other publishers that they distribute can be viewed on their website at:
Of all the forces involved in WWII, the U.S. Army developed the most sophisticated system for the transport and treatment of injured and sick soldiers, pushing the boundaries of available technology to give their men the best chance of survival and recovery.
Vehicles formed a crucial part of the Medical Detachment’s equipment. Transporting wounded troops from the battlefield and between aid stations and hospitals, and also repatriating the most seriously injured back to hospital in the states.
Vehicle also enabled the treatment of routine medical, dental, and optical issues in the field, and enabled laboratory testing and surgery to be undertaken in almost any location.
THE BOOK:
Casemate Publishing is based in Pennsylvania. They are both a distributor of all brands of book and their own books.
The book is hardcover of 160 pages in 8 ½” x 11” page format.
The cover art has 4 black and white wartime photos on it.
At the top is a photo of a line of jeeps with carrying racks on them with stretchers on them of the 261st Medical Battalion, 1st Engineer Special Brigade are shown heading for the open doors of a LST at Normandy 1944. This was the preferred way to transport wounded back to England.
The photo on the left below is of a M29C small half-track with a metal frame on it for carrying wounded. It was with 102 Div., crossing the Roer, February 1945. A red cross has been painted on its sides and a crewman is washing it.
The next photo on the top right shows 21 medics unloading wounded from jeeps with litter frames on them
The last photo at the bottom right shows a field with 13 Chevy panel truck ambulances in 1939 Hawaii.
The back cover gives 4 more black and white wartime photos.
The top one shows a GMC DUKW 353 off the coast of Iwo Jima painted with a red cross and 14 white rescue score marks on its sides.
The second one down shows a 1 ½ ton 4x4 Dodge ambulance panel van. It was the first ambulance of its kind and only 3 were built.
The third one down shows a medical bus in Taegu, Korea waiting for its load.
The final one at the bottom shows a British policeman directing the driver of a WC54 ambulance. It is proudly displaying the group’s insignia of a red cross with a white eagle’s head on it wearing a red, white and blue top hat. No fewer than 2,196 volunteers filled the ranks of the A.F.S. 700,000 wounded soldiers and civilians alike were transported in these ambulances.
There are 678 black and white photos of ambulances. Two photos of horse-drawn ambulance wagons, two trailers, 15 ambulance buses, 8 pick-up truck ambulances, 9 photos of the M28 tacked “Weasel” ambulance, two photos of a M3 half-tracked ambulance, a amphibian pulling a wood boat and 3 of it alone, 46 photos of jeep ambulances,, 2 photos of a M7 snow-tractor ambulance – one with a trailer, 16 photos of a stake-side truck ambulance, 2 of trailers, 2 photos of B-17’s being loaded with wounded, a C-54 being loaded with wounded and 2 photos of a C-47 being loaded with wounded.
There are also 10 color photos, 4 color profile illustrations and 8 color illustrations of emblems.
This book will be of great interest to modelers planning to build a ambulance or medical vehicle and to military historians alike.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
All Casemate books and the books of other publishers that they distribute can be viewed on their website at:
Highly recommended.