Germany adopts the E tank plan pre war standardization

Standardize on a light tank (recce) then a medium tank (Panzer IV or Panther).
Medium with a long-barrelled 75mm could defeat all WALLIED and most Soviet tanks. Tigers were a huge waste of resources.

Captured factories (e.g. Czech) should focus on building light tanks, artillery tractors, etc. to German patterns.

Yes, standardizing trucks would also help. Start by standardizing common spare parts like tires, brakes, spark plugs, distributors, etc. Bodies can be specialized for different roles (general cargo, liquid cargo, ammo, radio, etc.).
 
The turret here is larger than the PZ.IV turret, its pretty much the same shape but larger and the gun mantle is closer to that of the Panther's gun mantle.



The PZ-IV chassis was ~20 tons and a KWK40 gun turret was 3 tons. But if a bigger gun is needed then the turret is also needed to be bigger or else the ROF falls off. A larger Pz IV/III chassis is likely to be 22 tons plus with the panther turret that's about 29 tons, which sounds to much. 27 tons was the biggest Pz-IV derivative AFV made workable. Sounds like too much. Something in between with 75L60 gun should have 5 ton turret. Combined that's just barely doable @ 27 tons. The enlarged chassis also had wider tracks normalizing the ground pressure.

The Panther KWK-42 gun turret was 7 tons . Even at this- the ROF was 7-8 RPM but had 100mm front round armor and 45mm all round armor..The Pz-IV turret was 3 tons -to work the KWK-40 gun. This still allowed a ROF of 8-10 RPM. This turret had 30mm all-round armor and 50mm front. Something in between would have to be 5 tons and 75L60 gun . Likewise the armor should be in between with 75mm curved front armor and all round armor of 37mm.
 
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An enlarged Pz-IV/III chassis should be ~22 tons and a KWK40 gun turret should be 3 tons. But if a bigger gun is needed then the turret is also needed to be bigger or else the ROF falls off.
A larger Pz IV/III chassis is likely to be 22 tons plus with the panther turret that's about 29 tons, which sounds to much. 27 tons was the biggest Pz-IV derivative AFV made workable.
Sounds like too much. Something in between with 75L60 gun should have 5 ton turret. Combined that's just barely doable @ 27 tons.

The Panther KWK-42 gun turret was 7 tons big and thus the chassis needed was bigger at 38 tons. Even at this- the ROF was 7-8 RPM but had 100mm front armor and 45mm all round armor..
The Pz-IV turret was 3 tons -to work the KWK-40 gun-and the chassis needed to be ~ 20 tons. This still allowed a ROF of 8-10 RPM. This turret had 30mm all-round armor and 50mm front.
Something in between with 5 tons and 75L60 gun . Likewise the armor should be in between with 75mm curved front armor and all round armor of 37mm.
You make some good points. I didn't draw the pic I posted, for this thread, its actually a fairly old pic of mine but I thought it would fit here.

I think the Germans would probably use an interleaved road wheel suspension for the tank your describing. For an idea of what that might look like, see post #7291 of this thread - https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...ured-fighting-vehicles-part-2.357730/page-365
The second pic of the set done by my friend Claymore, would fit the bill IMHO.
 
Perhaps Standardise the Panther ASAP instead of PZIV and Tigers - this could more than double the number of Panthers if a 1 for 1 ratio could be achieved
Might have worked if it was set for a 30 ton tank, it was just too heavy for it's drivetrain, and double acting torsion bars going into interleaved wheelsets was just nuts
 
The UK was also building quite a few different designs, though nothing like that of Germany.

IIRC David Fletcher says it was a pity fewer designs weren't made in his book 'British Military Transport 1829 - 1956'.
UK

AEC Marshall
Albion
Austin
Bedford
Bradford
Bristol
Commer
Crossley
Daimler
Dennis
ERF
Foden
Ford
Fordson
Garner
Guy
Hillman
Humber
James
Jowett
Karrier
Leyland
Maudslay
Morris-Commercial
Nuffield
Reliant
Rolls-Royce
Scammel
Standard
Thornycroft
Trojan
Vauxhall
Vulcan
Wolseley
 
Good idea but the Panther turret is about twice the size of the Pz-IV turret.
VMk.I (Tiger) 6000
Mk.V (Panther) 4700
Mk.IV (Panzer IV) 3000
Mk.III (Panzer III) 2000
Mk.IIb (Panzer II) 650
Turret weight in kg, less traverse motor
 
tiger turret was
VMk.I (Tiger) 6000
Mk.V (Panther) 4700
Mk.IV (Panzer IV) 3000
Mk.III (Panzer III) 2000
Mk.IIb (Panzer II) 650
Turret weight in kg, less traverse motor

sources say different things

https://forum.warthunder.com/index.php?/topic/286759-weight-of-tiger-panther-armor/

KwK 42 with muzzle brake and breech - 1000 kg
MG 34 - 12 kg
Mantlet - 1650 kg
Turret - 6850 kg
turret drive - 350 kg (russian estimate)

Tiger II tank turret was 13,500 kg.
KwK 43 appears to be 4380 kg of that. Tracks alone were 6,5 tons.

https://panzerworld.com/pz-kpfw-panther
 
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This is to complement posts 96 and 97.

Panzer II and Panzer 38 Production from Chamberlain and Ellis.png
 
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