Me I'd much rather develop the Pz-II into a light tank with 11-12 ton tank and 37mm 2-3 man turret and build them through out the 1930s. Total production could run into thousands , with 10,000 built by 1940. In the meantime the Pz-III & IV can be research into a mass producible common chassis for the 1940s - Ie the Pz-III/IV chassis. By 1940 the emergency decision would have to be made with smaller Pz-III over the Pz-IV as an interim tank to supplement the Pz-II tank force, while that light tank chassis production is widened to become a "StuG II" for the infantry forces . The 75L24 turret would fit on the 19 ton Pz-III from the start as would the PAK/KWK 50L60 gun.
Instead of developing Tigers/Panthers in early 1940s, the Pz-III/IV would be developed with moderate sloped hull armor to face the Matildas & Char-B of the European tanks. This could readily be adapted to fit a Pz-IV turret with 80mm frontal armor plus a 75L43 tank gun by 1942/43 . After this you steadily increase the 75mm gun length through out the war and tweak the armor to match.
If there are no heavy Nazi tanks there is NO NEED for the enemy to mess up there own production lines -to develop much bigger anti tank guns/tank guns until the end of the war. To that end the Nibelungenwerke could be seen as the bridge developing the Pz-III/IV [75L43] instead of the Porsche Tiger and put it into mass production through 1942. In 1943 instead of building Elephant improved models of this tank [75L60 or 75L70 turret] could be developed and put into mass production , later that year .
Instead of developing Tigers/Panthers in early 1940s, the Pz-III/IV would be developed with moderate sloped hull armor to face the Matildas & Char-B of the European tanks. This could readily be adapted to fit a Pz-IV turret with 80mm frontal armor plus a 75L43 tank gun by 1942/43 . After this you steadily increase the 75mm gun length through out the war and tweak the armor to match.
If there are no heavy Nazi tanks there is NO NEED for the enemy to mess up there own production lines -to develop much bigger anti tank guns/tank guns until the end of the war. To that end the Nibelungenwerke could be seen as the bridge developing the Pz-III/IV [75L43] instead of the Porsche Tiger and put it into mass production through 1942. In 1943 instead of building Elephant improved models of this tank [75L60 or 75L70 turret] could be developed and put into mass production , later that year .
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