"To the Chief Engineer of TsAKB and TsAKB Chief, Lieutenant-General of the Technical Forces, comrade Grabin
April 18th, 1944
Valentine tanks armed with a 40 mm gun continue arriving from England in the USSR.
The penetration of this gun is low and, as experience shows, it cannot fight against modern German tanks in battle. In addition, the ammunition used with the 40 mm gun does not include a high explosive shell, making these tanks ineffective against infantry.
I ask you to determine the possibility of designing and producing an experimental Valentine tank with an 85 mm S-53 gun.
It is necessary to include a 7.62 mm machinegun with 360 degree range to combat enemy personnel.
GBTU USA Chief, Major-General of the Engineering Tank Service, Alymov."
CAMD RF 38-11369-284
85mm gun on a Valentine? How the hell were they going to cram that in? Make it a turretless TD? I mean that gun is nearly the size of the entire tank (17pdr archer is a good comparison), so even as an SPG its dubious.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Alymov probably didn't think his request through. I doubt that Grabin even tried to design this, but it would be interesting to see what he came up with if he did.
DeleteYeah, after thinking back and forth, with the exception of the archer design the most feasible idea I came up with was a Marder III H type construction with the gun mounted centrally and the gun crew on the engine deck. Not comfortable I imagine, but at least its not front-heavy with a mile overhang. Not as much anyway.
DeleteEven if they couldn't manage it, Wargaming will find a way!
ReplyDelete