FOSS, Christopher F(rank) 1946-

PERSONAL: Born April 8, 1946, in Portsmouth, England; son of Frank Victor and Doris (Dorsett) Foss; married Elaine Jean Jenkins, March 11, 1972; children: Robert James. Education: Attended high school in Portsmouth, England.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—Jane's Yearbooks, Macdonald & Jane's Publishers Ltd., Paulton House, 8 Shepherdess Walk, London N1 7LW, England.

CAREER: Macdonald & Jane's Publishers Ltd., London, England, editor.

MEMBER: Fortress Study Group.

WRITINGS:

Armoured Fighting Vehicles of the World, Scribner (New York, NY), 1971, 3rd edition, Ian Allan (London, England), 1977.

Profile Number 51: Abbot S.P.G., Profile, 1972.

Profile Number 53: FV 432 Series, Profile, 1973.

Profile Number 62: Commando, Twister, and H.M.V., Profile, 1973.

Profile Number 65: PT-76 Light Amphibious Tank, Profile, 1974.

Artillery of the World, Ian Allan (London, England), 1974, Scribner (New York, NY), 1976, 2nd edition, Scribner, 1981.
Jane's Pocket Book of Modern Tanks and ArmoredFighting Vehicles, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1974, 2nd edition, 1978.

(And editor) Jane's World Armoured Fighting Vehicles, Macdonald & Jane's (London, England), 1976, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1977.

Military Vehicles of the World, Scribner (New York, NY), 1978, 2nd edition, 1978.

Infantry Weapons of the World, Ian Allan (London, England), 1977, 2nd edition, Scribner (New York, NY), 1979.

Jane's Pocket Book of Towed Artillery, Macdonald & Jane's (London, England), 1977, Collier (New York, NY), 1979.

(Editor-in-chief) The Illustrated Encyclopedia of theWorld's Tanks and Fighting Vehicles: A Technical Directory of Major Vehicles from World War I to the Present Day, Salamander Books (London, England), 1977.

(And editor) Jane's Combat Support Equipment, 1978-79, Macdonald & Jane's (London, England), 1978.

(Contributor) The American War Machines, Salamander Books (London, England), 1978.

Jane's Main Battle Tanks, Jane's (London, England), 1983.

Jane's Light Tanks and Armoured Cars, Jane's (London, England), 1984.

Jane's Armoured Personnel Carriers, Jane's (New York), 1985.

(Editor, with Ian Hogg) Battlefield: The Weapons ofModern Land Warfare, Orbis (London, England), 1986.

Jane's AFV Recognition Handbook, Jane's (New York, NY), 1987.

Jane's Tank & Combat Vehicle Recognition Guide, HarperCollins (Glasgow, Scotland), 1996, 3rd edition, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

(General editor) The Encyclopedia of Tanks andArmored Fighting Vehicles: The Comprehensive Guide to over 900 Armored Fighting Vehicles from 1915 to the Present Day, Thunder Bay Press (San Diego, CA), 2002.

Weapons correspondent for Defence, 1974—. Contributor to Encyclopedia of Land Warfare. Contributor of nearly two hundred articles to magazines, including Battle, Armour, Military Technology, Airfix, and Defence Africa.

SIDELIGHTS: Motorized combat vehicles first came into wide use in World War I and have been improved and modified in many ways by many countries ever since. Few authors know more about the subject of armored fighting vehicles than Christopher Foss, a British specialist who has compiled encyclopedias and other reference works on the topic. Foss's books include expensive reference volumes and more affordable "pocket guides" for the general reader. In both cases Foss makes liberal use of photographs, sketches, and even silhouettes to distinguish one make of tank from another. A Booklist reviewer noted of Foss's works: "Anyone interested in weapon systems will be delighted with them."