Current and Finished Projects > Land
Claymore's AH AFVs: Take 2
Claymore:
Something nasty happened a couple of weeks back and my AH AFV thread disappeared from the forum. Apparently, I pressed something I shouldn't have and before you could say 'eh?', I had committed virtual hara-kiri - although I have no recollection of doing so. Sadly, the end result is that 57-odd pages of posts, general discussion and banter, not to mention 97,000 views, has slipped into the shadowy realms of internet oblivion.
I turned to a fresh page in my diary and made a new entry; it simply said, "Bugger..."
Whilst I have made offerings to the gods and called upon the mystical powers of the Admin gurus, it would seem that the devil has indeed farted in my face once again and there is nothing that can be done save start again...
So, with a word of caution against the inbuilt self destruct button, I present my collection of Alternative History AFVs: Take 2...
Claymore:
Panther III
This design started as a concept within an AH wargame that I designed way back in 2002 and which saw a Nazi Germany survive WW2 only to be embroiled in WW3 later in the early 1990s. I needed an AFV that filled the gap between the Panther I / Panther II and the Leopard I where IOTL the Germans used the US M-47 and M-48. (Note: I also posted this design as a suggestion for CalBear’s The Anglo-American - Nazi War Panther III)
The logic for my design is as follows:
· The original Panther's excellent combination of firepower, mobility, and protection served as a benchmark for other nations' late war and immediate post-war tank designs, and it is frequently regarded as one of the best tank designs of World War II. However, some design flaws, such as its weak final drive units, were never corrected. The Panther's suspension was also complicated to manufacture and the interleaved system made replacing inner road wheels time consuming. The turret was also relatively small and did not easily allow for upgrading its main gun.
· The Panther II was never really a development of the origenal Panther, rather it was a parallel development which intended to share many of the components of the Tiger II. It continued to have many of the same design flaws of the Panther I but was heavier and underpowered. WW2 finishes before any major advantages of the Panther II design are realised and as a design it is quickly dropped in favour of the more numerous and reliable Panther I.
· With the end of WW2, German defence plans call for an improvement in the quality of their AFVs over the need for mass production and so the design bureas look at improving the Panther I to meet and exceed Soviet and Western tanks.
· The Germans are first to embrace the MBT concept of a universal tank which will combine the very best aspects of armoured protection, firepower and maneouveability. The Panther III is conceived.
· The interleaved suspension is replaced with a more reliable single bogey and torsion bar system with return rollers for a better track ride.
· The turret ring is enlarged to accept an entirely new turret mounting a 105mm rifled cannon whch out performs the US 90mm, British 20pdr and the Soviet 85mm of the day. The turret also accommodates a sterioscopic sighting system.
· The bow gunner’s position has been removed to allow for more ammunition storage. Crew reduced to 4.
The end result is a tank that looks right. This particular Panther III is 2nd tank, 3rd platoon, 4th company of the 31st Panzer Regiment of 5th Panzer Division circa 1954. The Panther III was eventually replaced, in German service, by the Leopard 1 which, ITTL, starts life looking more like the OTL Leopard 1A3.
The model itself contains parts from a Tamiya Panther Ausf D (what I had available), Academy M-60 Patton, Italeri Leopard 1 and various bits of scratch build.
Claymore:
StuG Sherman
The StuG Sherman as a concept initially came to my attention from Life in Black as mentioned in Hairogs’s TL World War III in May 1946 although he also has his own thread, AHC: StuG Sherman which goes into greater detail and discussion. The idea immediately caught my imagination and rekindled my interest in AH AFVs.
Although I initially built and painted the model in US Army colours, I could not really come up with a good enough reason as to why the US would have gone down this particular route given their OTL preference for turreted tank destroyers. I could be persuaded though if someone can up with a TL where the US instead decided to copy the German concept and produced fixed larger gunned tank destroyers on standard tank chassis.
I eventually, repainted my model in IDF colours, postulating that the Israelis, with their ability to adapt just about anything to their needs, may have developed a StuG type Sherman as a relatively cheap way of utilising their existing stock of redundant Shermans to increase their AT defences. A similar use of old Shermans as the IDF Makmat 160mm mortar carrier and L-33 155mm SPG.
Just suppose that in the early 60s as the Centurion is entering front line service a number of Sherman hulls are made available for conversion into dedicated tank destroyers. Knowing that they face potential enemies on many fronts and that their armoured force cannot concentrate on more than one at a time, a plan is developed to increase the AT firepower of the Infantry formations who will have to conduct holding actions until relieved by the hard pressed armoured divisions. Enter the 90mm armed "StuG" Sherman; although not many were ever produced, they were a firm favourite of the infantry in the early phase of the 6-Day War.
Depicted is the 1st vehicle of the 2 platoon, 2nd Company, 2nd Battalion, Tank Destroyer Command attached to the Golani Brigade.
The model itself contains parts from an Academy Sherman M4A3E8, Revell Kanone Jadgpanzer, and various bits of scratch build.
The Big Gimper:
I'm not a zipper head but this is an amazing conversion. :)
Claymore:
T-50/M-47 Patton
This idea comes thanks to Mad Missouri who introduced the design into Hairogs’s TL World War III in May 1946.
The premise is that in a renewed war against the Soviet Union, the USA are not impressed with the poor performance of their M-26 Pershing (nicknamed the ‘Pushing’ after its numerous mechanical problems). In a radical move to improve their heavy armour, the US decide to adapt the new British designed Centurion to their own needs. With the already proven 90mm gun, the US blend a new turret design onto a modified Centurion hull.
Essentially, a T-42 turret (as was fitted to the OTL M-47) is mounted on a Centurion hull which has been modified to house a Continental diesel engine with side mounted air filters.
The model itself contains parts from a AFV Club Centurion Mk 5, Italeri M-47 Patton, Academy M-60 Patton and various bits of scratch build.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version