Where would the British have used their M6's?

Would the Americans be able to have the M6 in any available numbers by 1940.

No, the specifications were not yet complete on paper in 1940. Prototypes were built in 1941, and production not started until 1942, about the same schedule as the M4 Sherman.

The US Army having any modern tanks in 1940, other than the M2 medium tank, requires first changing the doctrinal debates in the 1920s, then retaining money for development in the Depression years of the 1930s.

Technically most of the components of the M6 heavy tank, or the M4 Medium were possible in the 1930s. A few parts used during WWII were not well developed in 1930 or 1935, but items like the main guns, the engines, tracks, hull structure, were fairly well developed in technical terms in the 1920s & could have been in limited production by 1935 or shortly after. France had such prototypes tested in the 1930s as did the USSR.
 
The 32pdr was not ready in time. The 17pdr was. The 3'' to 17pdr was done in the M10 and lead to a most succeful vehicle. It could probably be done in the M6 with minimal fuss.

True, the 17 pdr in there would not have been hard at all, as some M6 testing had the 90mm in that turret

the 3" M7 gun was based off a WWI design, so it was big and heavy, nearly to that of the later 90mm that replaced it with little modification.

The 3.7"AA gun the 32pdr was based off of, been in production since before the war started, while the 17 pdr was still on paper. No rush to make a Tank gun of the 3.7", since zero platforms in UK (or anybody)could carry it in 1939.

Enter the M6, with its oversized turret that had room for the 3", a coax 37mm, and a 50 cal in the rear, all on a 69" in turret ring, same as the Sherman and later Pershing. In Israeli service, the French 105mm Medium velocity gun was fitted to Sherman turrets.

The M6A2E1 had a 80" inch turret ring to test turrets for Super Heavy tanks, with the largest being a high velocity 155mm gun in 1945
The just missed the war Centurion had 74"

So yes, the M6 was a beast of a big tank, able to carry any cannon the Allies could conceivably come up with.

So the British have an undergunned heavy Tank, and know the Germans have a Tiger. Early in 1942, the 17 pdr just isn't ready yet.

But there are 32 pdr gun tubes, with a lot of AA paraphernalia hung around it, that isn't needed for direct fire

Much faster to change an existing gun, than make new.

And the British were good at shoehorning cannons into existing turrets, like the Churchill NA75

Big Tank with decent armor + Big Gun = happy UK tankers

Sure a 17 pdr would be good, 32 pdr much better



 
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