In the mid-1960s, the Soviet Union unveiled the BMP-1, the first true infantry fighting vehicle. The BMP marked a significant departure from the traditional "armored personnel carrier", sporting a lower silhouette and a higher-caliber armament than rival APCs. This book examines the first time these Cold War icons clashed in the First Gulf War.
In the mid-1960s, the Soviet Union unveiled the BMP, the first true infantry fighting vehicle. A revolutionary design, the BMP marked a significant departure from the traditional armoured personnel carrier, with a lower silhouette and heavier armament than rival APCs. One of the most fearsome light-armoured vehicles of its day, it caused great consternation on the other side of the Iron Curtain as the Americans scrambled to design a machine to rival the BMP. The result was the M2/M3 Bradley. These Cold War icons first clashed - not on the plains of Europe, but in southern Iraq during the Gulf War of 1991. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork, this is the absorbing story of the origins, development and combat performance of the BMP and Bradley, culminating in the bloody battles of the Gulf War.