In 1945 the allies saw the IS-3 for the first time, and their jaws dropped. It would be about a decade before they finally picked their jaws back up.
In that time the US and UK produced their counters to it in the form of the M103 and Conqueror, while the French and Swedes designed and then abandoned their own (the AMX 50 and the Emil). So, say that West Germany is remilitarized much earlier (perhaps the Czechoslovakian coup is a messier affair that sets off louder alarms in the west?), early enough to get wrapped up in IS-3mania.
What could a post war German heavy tank look like? Would it be broadly inline with the M103 and Conqueror or would it be more of a successor to the Tiger series? Would it be produced or would it end up like its French and Swedish peers?
In that time the US and UK produced their counters to it in the form of the M103 and Conqueror, while the French and Swedes designed and then abandoned their own (the AMX 50 and the Emil). So, say that West Germany is remilitarized much earlier (perhaps the Czechoslovakian coup is a messier affair that sets off louder alarms in the west?), early enough to get wrapped up in IS-3mania.
What could a post war German heavy tank look like? Would it be broadly inline with the M103 and Conqueror or would it be more of a successor to the Tiger series? Would it be produced or would it end up like its French and Swedish peers?