Rhino Tanks and Sticky Bombs Volume 79

GI Ingenuity in World War II

Robert P. Wettemann

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English

University of Oklahoma Press
30 June 2025

20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Second World War; Military vehicles

Series: Campaigns and Commanders Series

Coming of age during the Great Depression, the American boys who fought in World War II had, through necessity, developed a unique brand of technological resourcefulness. This proficiency, Robert P. Wettemann Jr. contends, provided GIs with another weapon in a distinctly American way of war. Rhino Tanks and Sticky Bombs is Wettemann’s eminently readable account of how this hard-won “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” mentality was critical to America’s success, giving servicemen the know-how and can-do spirit to creatively engineer solutions to wartime problems.

More than all the other soldiers in the conflict, American servicemen grew up in a society where the machine was ubiquitous—where enduring an unparalleled period of financial distress meant learning to keep their Model Ts, Fordson tractors, or other machinery operational. Wettemann describes how this tinkerer’s mentality promoted a technical aptitude and willingness to adapt unmatched by other armies fielded during World War II. At the same time, the US command structure demonstrated a willingness to evaluate, accept, and employ such efforts to improve both fighting capacity and the general comfort of US servicemen. Seamlessly blending social, military, intellectual, and technological history, Rhino Tanks and Sticky Bombs weaves an engaging narrative about the roots of American ingenuity during WWII—and makes a compelling case for a specific instance of American distinctiveness that proved crucial to Allied victory.

By: Robert P. Wettemann
Imprint: University of Oklahoma Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
ISBN: 9780806195391
ISBN 10: 0806195398
Series: Campaigns and Commanders Series
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 30 June 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Robert P. Wettemann, Jr. is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the United States Air Force Academy.

Reviews for Rhino Tanks and Sticky Bombs Volume 79: GI Ingenuity in World War II

""Robert Wettemann has written an amazingly readable book about how American culture encouraged young men to tinker, invent, and make do with whatever they could find, making them unique among their allies and enemies on the battlefield. From Popular Mechanics to Palermo, The Radio Boys to Berlin, and Tom Swift to Tokyo, the American fighting man's ingenuity and the military's encouragement of creativity helped win World War II. The breadth of Wettemann's research is matched only by his storytelling ability. Highly recommended.""--Kevin M. Hymel, author of Patton's War: An American General's Combat Leadership