Conqueror Tank: Design the Best British Medium Tank in time for D-Day

I'd say (unless the timing's way off) start with M3 Lee/Grant running gear & add Chrysler multibank engine, & design for 6pdr with an option to fit 17pdr later. Given the lathes for 57mm exist, & given there are some fairly obsolete 75mm/3" around, couple the breech mechanisms of these with 57mm bbls (as the U.S. did, IIRC, with the 3"), improve the power of the ammo, & put the 17pdr on the front burner; install the better 17pdr as it begins entering service. To do this, tho, requires not re-equipping with 2pdr AT (after heavy equipment losses at Dunkirk), so simply refit with 6pdr, instead... (You will probably need more Canadian:cool: production to make that happen, tho.:D:cool:)
 
I'd say (unless the timing's way off) start with M3 Lee/Grant running gear & add Chrysler multibank engine, & design for 6pdr with an option to fit 17pdr later. Given the lathes for 57mm exist, & given there are some fairly obsolete 75mm/3" around, couple the breech mechanisms of these with 57mm bbls (as the U.S. did, IIRC, with the 3"), improve the power of the ammo, & put the 17pdr on the front burner; install the better 17pdr as it begins entering service. To do this, tho, requires not re-equipping with 2pdr AT (after heavy equipment losses at Dunkirk), so simply refit with 6pdr, instead... (You will probably need more Canadian:cool: production to make that happen, tho.:D:cool:)
In effect a Ram and/or a Sentinal...
 
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Oh, please not that 30 cylinder abortion. IMO there are far better options for your power plant. And they all come out of the aviation side of powerplant design. Specifically the radial engines. They can stay aircooled although they could be converted to liquid cooling http://www.enginehistory.org/featured_engines.htm In general a radial engine is going to require simpler machine tools to build rather than specialized purpose built machinery.
 
Easy build the Comet with a sloped glacis plate, thicker belly armour, a better turret mantlet and a 4 man crew.

Forget about the Cromwell and the Challenger and start work on the Comet in 1941 as soon as the post Dunkirk rush for anything with a gun has died down. Should be able to get pre production models out to North Africa in 1943 for some combat testing, giving some time to work out any wrinkles for D-Day. Comets were reliable and with these modifications should have been a good tank for north west europe.
 
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