Technology of WW2
Technology of WW2 is an ongoing series by Nelson McKeeby that looks at the Second World War through the machines that had to be designed, built, and fielded under intense pressure. Each volume focuses on a specific slice of wartime engineering and production, combining narrative history with clear technical explanation and carefully chosen photographs.
Series Notes:
In the late 1990s while taking an M.A. and Ph.D. in History / Communication with a specialized focus in technology, Nelson McKeeby, wrote around 70 monographs on a Macintosh Classic computer using WriteNow and Nisus Writer, in a range of subjects but with a couple of clusters, including the technology of the Civil War, World War One, World War Two, and the Cold War. At 35,000 words each they were mind numbingly boring documented essays with hand drawings often cribbed from sources like NARA. They were printed out on an old Laser Writer II, photocopied, bound in simple covers, and given away in history conferences, NAB, to people sitting at bus stops, to tourists on the national mall, and to hitchhikers in Goffstown, New Hampshire. He abandoned them when marriage and the War on Terror demanded his attention elsewhere.
Recently a colleague was able to use a program called BBEdit to save the documents and I was able to, using modern technology, reformat these papers into modern popular books. These books are offered cubically for the first time in a popular format.
United States Tank Development in WW2 (1991)
A popular history of American armored development from World War I through the end of World War II. The volume examines how interwar politics, competing Infantry and Cavalry doctrines, government arsenals, and the mobilization of private industry shaped U.S. tank design and production. Rather than focusing solely on vehicles, the book situates American tanks within the institutional and industrial systems that produced them.
German Tank Development in WW2 (1992)
An examination of German armored development under the constraints of the Versailles Treaty and the clandestine efforts that followed. The book traces how German officers and engineers studied foreign designs—particularly early American and British tanks—and translated those lessons into the conceptual foundations of the Panzer force. It follows German armor from experimentation to battlefield dominance and finally to systemic failure driven by strategic overreach and industrial mismanagement.
United States Mechanized Transport in WW2 (1992)
A detailed study of the vehicles, production systems, and logistical doctrines that sustained American armies worldwide. This volume focuses on trucks, tractors, and halftracks, and the coordination between the Ordnance Department, Quartermaster Corps, and private industry. It frames mechanized transport as a central, war-winning technology rather than a background function.
American Airpower in WW2 (1992)
A narrative of institutional recovery and industrial transformation. The book traces how the United States entered the war with underdeveloped air doctrine and technology, then rapidly reorganized training, production, and logistics to field aircraft such as the P-51, B-25, and B-29. Emphasis is placed on mass production, logistics, and organizational learning rather than individual combat narratives.
UK Tank Development in WW2 (1993)
A comprehensive technical and historical account of British armored development from interwar doctrine through the end of the war. The book covers Cruiser and Infantry tank concepts, wartime improvisation, Lend-Lease adaptations, and the emergence of designs such as Cromwell, Comet, and Centurion. Factory records, War Office documents, and field reports are used to connect design decisions with operational outcomes.
Soviet Tank Development in WW2 (1993)
An analysis of the largest armored production effort in history, shaped by extreme loss, political pressure, and industrial relocation. The volume traces Soviet armor from early light tanks through the T-34, KV, and IS series, examining design bureaus, factories, and command structures. It combines technical data with an unsparing look at the human and industrial costs of Soviet mass production.
Japanese Airpower in WW2 (1993)
A comprehensive study of Japanese military aviation from its interwar development through its collapse in 1945. The book examines aircraft design, engine programs, pilot training, and the rivalry between the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy air services. It situates iconic aircraft such as the Zero and Ki-84 within the industrial and bureaucratic systems that ultimately failed to sustain them.
Italian Airpower in WW2 (1994)
A technical and historical account of the Regia Aeronautica from its prewar prominence to its wartime exhaustion. The volume explores Italian aircraft design, production limits, and operational experience across multiple theaters. Rather than treating Italian aviation as an anomaly, it analyzes the structural constraints that prevented Italy from converting innovation and skilled personnel into sustained combat power.
Series Discussion
This series represents a unified examination of World War II military technology as a systemic process, not a collection of isolated weapons. Across armor, airpower, and mechanized transport, the books emphasize institutions, industrial capacity, doctrine, and logistics as the decisive forces shaping wartime outcomes.
A defining feature of the series is its comparative approach. By examining multiple nations through a consistent analytical lens, the books highlight how similar technical problems produced radically different solutions depending on political structure, industrial maturity, and organizational culture. Tanks and aircraft are treated as products of bureaucratic negotiation and manufacturing reality rather than purely engineering achievements.
Another unifying theme is the rejection of retrospective mythmaking. The series consistently traces early design decisions forward to their consequences, showing how interwar assumptions, procurement shortcuts, and institutional rivalries constrained later wartime choices. Successes and failures alike are presented as cumulative outcomes rather than sudden breakthroughs or collapses.
Finally, the series reflects its origin in academic monographs while consciously adopting a modern popular format. Technical rigor is preserved—through production data, variant histories, and engineering analysis—but presented in a narrative structure accessible to general readers, historians, modelers, and serious students of military technology.
Taken together, the series functions as a modular reference library on World War II military systems, with each volume standing alone while contributing to a coherent, cross-national understanding of how modern industrial war was fought.