I have finished M1921 production and have finalized the plan for assault guns moving forward. The 75 mm M116 light howitzer existed in a basically finalized form since 1927 (the current year, as of now) and will be selected at some point in the 1930s to rearm the M1921s.
I have decided to drop A1E1 Independent. It is too big and could not be procured in sufficient quantities.
It has come to my attention that the lengthened chassis of the Vickers Medium Mk II used for the Birch gun was very similar in size (slightly larger) than the Chi-Ha chassis. Later variants of the Chi-Ha (ShinHoTo Chi-Ha and the Chi-Nu) carried large guns, 47 mm AT gun and 3-inch L/40 field guns, in 3-man turrets. My estimate based on Wargaming's 3D model of the Birch gun is that the ring race diameter was at least 1,800 mm, similar in size to the Tiger and T-55. Using the chassis as a tank will require some alterations, such as a raised superstructure above the level of the tracks, but I think the width is there to support a 3-inch L/27 field gun in an armored turret.
The Vickers Medium Mk I and II hull had the driver front right, engine front left, and transmission at the rear. I intend to reverse the running direction of the vehicle, put the driver and co-driver in the front with the transmission, and utilize the space at the rear of the tank for a somewhat larger engine compartment with a 200+ hp engine. The size of the turret ring will probably be so large that the only solution for hull crew hatches will be in the front glacis, but this vehicle will have less than an inch of armor so that won't be a problem.
The SP artillery variant will use an approach similar to the M44 and M53/M55, with the engine front and the driver in an elevated position within the superstructure. This concept would be carried over from the Whippet SP artillery, which had the same powertrain arrangement. The gun will be an 18-pdr on a flex mount and the superstructure will have an open top.
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