http://www.alternatehistory.com/discuss ... p?t=308653
http://www.alternatehistory.com/discuss ... stcount=16
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panther_tankIts hard to get the VK series into production due to the political atmosphere, just as altering things to get the VK will probably prevent the invasion of the USSR! The thought that the Panther would be ready by late 1942 prejudiced the VK3001 projection in favor of the 3002 that became the overweight Panther. So I think someone would need to be realistic with Hitler about the overweight Panther and Tiger's development cycle timeline to get a regular weight VK3002 in production. In fact a Panther that stuck t the original design would basically be a VK3001 with sloped armor and would have been an excellent tank, pretty much a 1940s version of the Leopard 1, which was originally 40 tons.
We should do a thread or turn this one into what if the original VK3002 spec was stuck to; in that case it would be in production by late 1942 without the mechanical issues of the up-weighted and -gunned OTL Panther; it would have taken the L48 75 and been 35 tons, only to be upgraded to probably around 37-8 tons in early 1943 with the 75mm L70 main gun. That's not a bad option either and probably a good 'split the difference' solution. A lighter Panther in late (October-November) 1942 that is later uparmored and gunned by early 1943 with the OTL Panther turret (designed for the VK3601 or VK4501 originally) would have been ideal and a nice balance between technological superiority, numbers, timeliness, and mechanical reliability. It could phase out the Pz IV chassis in 1942 if ready by late 1942 and have been the MBT that should have been.
Assuming the original MAN design for the Panther VK30.02 been maintained around the 35-38 ton mark and kept the same engine as IOTL, what would the effect have been? Historically the design was ready by September, perhaps earlier ITTL due to having less need for increased armor and weight development, but it was delayed due to the lack of specialized machine tools until January. IOTL it was delayed for several more months until May 1943 due to the mechanical issues stemming from the up armoring and increased weight. Had it stuck to the original spec it would have had weaker armor, but far less mechanical issues, so would have been in mass production from January 1943 on and in service by March. Due to being mechanically reliable and more maneuverable it would be a far better gun platform than the historical barely mobile pill box that was the Panther tank in 1943 and even part of 1944.The Panther was a direct response to the Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks. First encountered on 23 June 1941,[4] the T-34 outclassed the existing models of the Panzer III and IV.[5] At the insistence of General Heinz Guderian, a special Panzerkommision was dispatched to the Eastern Front to assess the T-34.[6] Among the features of the Soviet tank considered most significant were the sloping armor, which gave much improved shot deflection and also increased the effective armor thickness against penetration, the wide track, which improved mobility over soft ground, and the 76.2 mm gun, which had good armor penetration and fired an effective high explosive round. Daimler-Benz (DB) and Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg AG (MAN) were given the task of designing a new 30- to 35-ton tank, designated VK30.02, by April 1942 (apparently in time to be shown to Hitler for his birthday).
Albert Speer recounts in his autobiography Inside the Third ReichSince the Tiger had originally been designed to weigh fifty tons but as a result of Hitler's demands had gone up to seventy five tons, we decided to develop a new thirty ton tank whose very name, Panther, was to signify greater agility. Though light in weight, its motor was to be the same as the Tiger's, which meant it could develop superior speed. But in the course of a year Hitler once again insisted on clapping so much armor on it, as well as larger guns, that it ultimately reached forty eight tons, the original weight of the Tiger.[8]
Historical production numbers:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzerkamp ... nfertigung
Some examples are included in the links below, but it pretty much looks the same, but with less armor:
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2 ... anther.htm
http://blogtanker.ru/tank-vk-30-02-m-v-wot.html
http://www.frost-zone.eu/category/all/s ... k-30-02-m/