Osprey Publishing announces a new series dedicated to evaluating opposing sides in the ultimate operational environment—close combat. Duel is the name of a new series from the legendary military history house, Osprey Publishing. The new series retells the stories of the world’s greatest machines of war and the ace combatants who operated them.

Notes Osprey editorial director, Anita Baker, “It is the history of warfare stripped down to the single key denominator of attacker versus defender. Duel will place you in the cockpit of a fighter plane during the Pacific War or behind the gun-sights of a Panzer amidst the ruins of Stalingrad.”

Series editor, Kate Flintham adds, “Each edition in the Duel series analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents, including their arsenal of weaponry, their tactical knowledge and their performance during their trial by fire. Duel enables readers to step onto the battlefield and immerse themselves in the experience of real historic combat.”
First-hand accounts and detailed analysis of individual engagements place the reader in the midst of the action, whether dogfight, tank battle or submarine hunt.

Each title follows the design and development of the opposing weapon systems in wartime, with accessible analysis of the technological and tactical innovations that led to victory or defeat.
An array of technical drawings, photographs and full-color digital illustrations, including "gun sight views," depict the key aspects of these machines in wartime.


The key aims of the series are:
To provide detailed information drawn from first-hand accounts and describe what it was like to be in combat, with the emphasis on the drama of being in the front-line of war
To explore the differences between the theoretical expectations of war and how things play out in reality
To explain the technical detail and developmental history of each weapon and combine it with the personal histories of the warriors who used them. The technical details and first-hand accounts will then be placed within the specific historic context
To bring to life in one series the three different components of modern warfare: Air Duel, Sea Duel and Land Duel.

To date, Osprey has commissioned 16 titles for the Duel series. They are: (Aircraft titles are in bold)

P-51 Mustang Vs. Fw 190 (September 2007)
Sherman Firefly vs. Tiger (September 2007)
U-Boats vs. Destroyer Escorts (October 2007)
Panther vs. T-34 (October 2007)
Spitfire vs. Bf 109 (November 2007)
US Navy Carriers vs. Imperial Japanese Navy Carriers (November 2007)
Sopwith Camel vs. Fokker Dr1 (March 2008)
P-40 Warhawk vs. Ki-43 Oscar (March 2008)
British Ships of the Line vs. Napoleon’s Ships of the Line (May 2008)
M3 Grant vs. PzKw III (May 2008)
P-47 Thunderbolt vs. Bf 109G (August 2008)
F-4 Phantom vs. MiG-21 (August 2008)
Sherman vs. Panther (September 2008)
Confederate Ironclad vs. Union Ironclad (November 2008)
Russian Battleship vs. Japanese Battleship (February 2009)
Centurion vs. T-55 (November 2009)

Duel commissioning editor, Kate Flintham, has been obsessed with history for as long as she can remember. She studied military history at university specializing in the World Wars with research papers on the battle of Delville Wood, Arnhem and the Battle of the Britain.

Thank you to Osprey Publishing for kindly supplying the information.