I usually like to make a 3D line of the project I am undertaking, one, to give me an idea of what is and isn't possible scale-wise and two, to give me a rough plan to work from when scaled to 1/35.
Example of my Tracked Sky Sabre:
Sometime, however, I just like to draw up random ideas to see if it piques my interest and occasionally, I get asked to draw up someone else's ideas from a TL they are working on - all are great sources of inspiration. This is one such effort produced for one of the forum members of my thread on the Alternatehistory.com site...
I added a bit of a backstory to give credibility to the design. The important design requirements were that it be based off of the Cromwell series of AFVs and that it mounted a QF 28 pdr main gun (a RL experimental gun). Normally, I would only do a side and front elevation drawing but, as I got into the groove, I decided a plan and rear elevation would be fun to do.
BackstoryAs the Allied advance closed in on Germany, the likelihood of encountering significant heavy fortifications increased and, consequently, the need for an armoured vehicle capable of breaching those same fortifications was never far from the minds of the Allied Commanders. The Churchill was a good infantry support tank but its somewhat obsolete design severely limited its potential for upgrading and, in particular, its limited firepower. Several attempts had been made during 1942-43 to produce a heavy tank but all had meat with limited success, outright failure or were stuck on the drawing board.
In late 1943, in a fit of desperation, the Tank Design Board commissioned the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company (BRC&WC) to design a heavy based on the hull of their A30 Challenger/Avenger. The new tank (designated A40 Coniston) was to incorporate only existent technologies in order to limit production delays but would have the authority to dip into any and all on-going design projects. Other than the basic hull, the only other specified design criterion was that it should carry the QF 28 pdr as the desired weapon for its intended assault function.
To the purists, the end result was a bit of a ‘cobble pot’ affair but, the Coniston was, nevertheless, ready for field testing within the year – an achievement unheard off in the annuls of British tank design.
A40 Coniston Type: Heavy Assault Tank
Place of Origen: United Kingdom
Service History In service: 1944-1946
Used by: United Kingdom
Wars: World War 2
Production History Designer: Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company
Manufacturer: English Electric
Produced: 1944
No built: 12
Specifications Mass: 50t
Length: Hull only 7.37m (24’ 2”), with gun forward 9.03m (29’ 7.5”)
Width: 3.37m (11’)
Height: 2.88m (9’ 5”)
Crew: 5 (Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver)
Armour: 50-140mm (2.0-5.5”)
Main armament: QF 28 pdr, 94mm (3.7”) rifled gun; 72 rounds carried
Secondary armament: 2 x 7.92mm Besa machine guns
Engine: Rolls Royce Meteor 4B 650hp (480kW) at 2550rpm
Power/weight: 13hp/t (9.2kW/t)
Suspension: Modified Horstmann
Ground clearance: 0.5m (1’ 8”)
Operational range: 100km (62.5mi)
Maximum speed: 36km/h (22.5mph)
Drawing design breakdown Upper hull: A30 Challenger/Avenger
Lower hull: A45/FV201 Universal Tank (later became FV214 Conqueror)
Front hull: A34 Comet
Rear hull: A30 Avenger and A45/FV201 Universal Tank
Suspension: A45/FV201 Universal Tank
Roadwheels: A45/FV201 Universal Tank
Tracks & front idler: A41 Centurion
Turret: A43 Black Prince
Main gun: A43 Black Prince stretched to QF 28 pdr dimensions
