Germany opts for VK24.02 (MAN) in 1942

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stg 44
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Re: Germany opts for VK24.02 (MAN) in 1942

#16

Post by stg 44 » 09 Sep 2014, 17:58

ChrisDR68 wrote:
stg 44 wrote:The Panther was too much tank for its design. A 30-35 ton tank was needed and what was designed, but the Panther ended up weighting 45 tons. Really a 25 ton chassis could have done the job against the T-34 and Sherman.
I agree about the Panther. It was an excellent tank but over engineered for the job it was designed to do (and for the short life expectancy a front line battle tank had in WW2).

Perhaps the best solution would have been the Panzer III/IV hybrid gradually replacing the Panzer III and Panzer IV in 1942 and 1943. At the same time the DB Panther could have been chosen instead of the MAN version and introduced in early 1943.

The hybrid Panzer III/IV could have taken on the Shermans and T-34's while the DB Panther would have battled the heavier JS2's and Pershings.
Technically the II/IV was a failure. The tank version, not just the gun chassis, was only proposed in 1944. Really they needed a new design to make it work, like the VK2801.
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David1819
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Re: Germany opts for VK24.02 (MAN) in 1942

#17

Post by David1819 » 09 Sep 2014, 21:03

If Germany when't ahead with this it would make little difference it would only put one other project out of production onto the shelf

The problem was they never seemed to be able to make up their minds. Look Below they where planning a 50 ton Panther II and
a 75 ton Tiger III. The Tiger I was more than enough. Talk about over the top 8-)

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