Where do you guys recommend buying Tech Manuals? I have done some internet searches and they crop up all over the place esp. on eBay, but I get the feeling from a lot of those that you don’t really know what you’ll get. Isn’t there a good source somewhere that specializes in those?
Thanks,
Bill
I picked up one on eBay for the M110 SPH, for photos and reference. It onlyhad like, one crappy generic photo, and the res was all just maintenance and operational technical-talk. Worst $25 I ever spent!
My research skills were drilled into me well before Google ever came along, so I tend to be pretty old fashioned in my approach. The library is still a vital resource for me, so I recommend hitting up the Library of Congress for Field Manuals. They have a large selection of material, including materials on enemy equipment. It can be costly to request photocopies, but if your local library (particularly college libraries) participates in Inter-Library Loan programs, you can “order” a particular manual in print or microfiche for delivery. Try the link posted below for details: http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGuides/technicalmanuals4.html
Thank you both.
Many many are scanned and available as PDFs. What subjects are you looking for?
or www.ibiblio.org/…/TM If you have particular questions, post them. I have saved tons of PDFs and can tell you what’s useful for modelers or not.
M 48 A nothing.
Specifically the gas fed ones.
There was an auxiliary fuel tank system composed of four 55 gallon drums on a rack on the rear, that could be released.
TMs are geared for users and maintainers. There are varying levels of TM for each piece of equipment. A -10 manual is probably most useful to folks like us as that is for the operator of that item. A -20 level manual will be for unit and next higher echelon maintainer, while a -30 will be for an even higher level of maintainer. The -20 and -30 manuals are strictly technical repair type stuff so don’t bother with them. Think of the -10 like the owners handbook that comes with your new car, but with a whole lot of other stuff in there. I would highly recommend finding them online versus buying one. Of course for an older piece if equipment that may not be an option. But generally speaking, the diagrams in TMs may not be as helpful as a good photo or two. Where TMs are great for us as modelers is for things like stowage and load plans.