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WARNING: German tank technical thread ahead, bail out now if you're not interested in this stuff.
Alright hopefully that is enough due diligence to scare off any potential thread derailment.
Granted I recently did a very similar what if based on the Mehrzweckpanzer, which is different from what I am proposing here based on new information I've recently come across. Here is the 'old' thread though for reference:
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/mehrzweckpanzer-instead-of-panther.398103/

Based on discussions on other forums I've participated in around the utility of the Panther vs. just expanding Pz IV production, there seems to have been a middle ground I was unaware of:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VK_20

Instead of having to go up to a 30 ton tank that was supposed to leapfrog the T-34 using incomplete work on 30 ton chassis, there was already some work on 20-24 ton chassis that was nearly complete, including a Daimler model with leaf spring suspension, a diesel engine that was ready for mass production, and a rear drive that combined saved a lot of weight and height compared to traditional German tank designs.
Apparently these chassis were the basis for the VK3002 prototypes that yielded the Panther, not the Henschel or Porsche work on the VK3001 series:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VK_30_series

The problems of the MAN design Panther really seems to come back to the fact that it was based on a 24 ton design that ended up getting scaled up to 45 tons by production time.

So what if instead of going with the Panther OR more Panzer IVs (a 15 ton design was that was dying at 25 tons it scaled up to), Hitler sees reason and authorizes the nearly complete work on the VK20 to replace the Panzer IV and eventually Pz III too and form a 'standard' chassis for medium tanks for 1942?
This design would have a wider track than the pre-1941 VK20 series design to have low ground pressure, an L48 cannon (Pz IV had it in mid-1943, but it overwhelming the front suspension), 50mm thick sloped armor to 55 degrees (same slope as Panther, thinner armor, but better than T-34) on the front, 40mm thick sides (better than Pz IV). Effectively it would be the German T-34 ready to produce by June 1942 and have a weight range from 25-28 tons depending on the design (Daimler rear drive diesel being shorter and weighed less as a result, MAN being bigger and effectively look like a smaller Panther). It would phase out the Pz IV entirely by the end of 1942 (production in 1942 for the Pz IV was less than 1000 and roughly double the >400 of 1941). The Pz III would be phased out entirely and the chassis used for StuG production some time in 1943. The new Pz V (VK20 series) model would be the sole Panzer design for the Panzer divisions and the basis chasis for all SP gun designs (Hummel, Nashorn, heavier Jagdpanzer, etc.). Effectively it would be the 'Mehrzweckpanzer' Guderian proposed in 1943 IOTL or the Pz III/IV proposed by others, just much earlier in the first half of 1942.

Effectively the only changes from existing prototypes in testing is adding the upgunned Pz IV turret, wider tracks, and sloped armor, which bumps up the weight a few tons. The design changes wouldn't take very long though, as they were not that much more than was done to upgrading the Pz IV historically, but instead done before phasing in a new design. The benefit is that is is pretty much ready and happens at a time when Panzer production is expanding to new factories are converting from lighter models like the Panzer II, so they can phase it in without disrupting existing production of useful models in the meantime. The benefit is that is doesn't require the major upgrades to facilities that the 40 ton Panther requires, as existing Panzer III and IV facilities can produce a Panzer in the 20 ton range already, even if they have to swap out some of the machine tools for a different design.

Personally I'm partial to the Daimler Benz design (they designed and made the Pz III), as building off the lessons of the Pz III they opted for simpler suspension that is easy to make and maintain in the field (leaf spring, same as the Pz IV actually), has a rear drive which reduces height and weight, and has a diesel engine, but can field a gasoline one if needed. Diesel fuel engines were more fuel efficient, plus the fuel was easier and cheaper to make than gasoline/petrol. The only downside would be that production of engines would need to be retooled for diesel rather than existing Pz III or IV petrol engines, but considering that historically the Germans needed to tool up for the 650hp Panther/Tiger engine, they need to tool for new engines anyway. The new tank would be faster and more mobile than the existing Pz IIIs and IVs.

So thoughts about this quick, middle ground option to replace all existing Panzers? Pz IV chassis production would go away entirely because it was still very low and this new Pz V chassis then would then get all historical Pz IV and Panther production resources, while the Pz III chassis would be used entirely for StuG production, while some of it's factories would be used for the new, ATL Pz V. Production would start to a limited degree in June 1942 and ramp up over the course of the rest of the year as further production was brought on line and by the start of 1943 all Pz IV production would have converted, some of Pz II and III production turned into this new Pz V production, and all historical factory expansion, including the Niebelungenwerk used for the ATL Pz V. Tiger production is unaffected. By 1943 then there are two 20 ton range chassis, the StuG III, formerly Pz III, and everything else for the Panzer V from the VK20 series, I'm going to say Daimler Benz design.

Thoughts?
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