United Earthlings wrote:To vague to give a good assessment. Basic specifications are fine, see below as way of comparison.
Basically I didn't want to figure out the details too much because I feel numbers would be pointless due to the fact that like all its contemporaries this tank is going to evolve and change during its period of service so that the armor values and stuff changes over time too much for me to pin numbers down. Like, the 1936 version isn't going to be comparable to the 1942 version in absolute numbers but their relative stats remain constant because the relative role remains constant. So I'd rather have vague descriptive values that tell you about that role and what to expect as a result as opposed to absolute armor values or weights that I'd have to list on a year by year and version by version basis. And which would still be semi useless even if I did on account of the fact I am not fighting real WW2 and thus am facing different AT guns and armor than I would IRL.
So in light of that let me just spell out my 30's armor doctrine and see if that helps. Basically I have this idea for how tanks are to be used. In particular, they are cavalry and cavalry alone. But not light cavalry. Tanks are Napoleonic cavalry. So you have your light cavalry (armored cars and light tanks) and your heavy cuirassiers (this tank). Light cavalry is supposed to screen, scout and do that sort of thing. Heavy cavalry on the other hand has two roles, that being penetration and advance.
In advance, heavy cavalry is meant to drive forward as part of cavalry formations in support of dragoons (motorized infantry) as they advance in front of the main army taking important positions like bridges, transportation hubs etc. where they dig in and wait for the infantry to catch up. So it's basically a mobile advancing force like a Panzer Division.
In penetration the cavalry is supposed to drive up to a detected weakpoint in the enemy lines and than charge through it lances fixed to overrun and rout the enemy there. It than turns sideways and rolls up the enemy front line forcing them to retreat and allowing my infantry and artillery to inflict casualties as they do. Notice that there is no plan for massive encirclement here. That's because in the 30's there isn't enough motorization to go around to make good on massive sweeping maneuvers. By 1941 or so there is, and doctrine changes to reflect that.
Finally, one thing you newer, ever, ever do with cavalry is throw them against a fortified strongpoint. Ask the light brigade how that works out. Thus, these tanks are not going to carry the armor needed to do that. They are breakthrough vehicles and thus need to resist some AT fire. But they are not meant to do the job of a Churchill or Tiger. If you have a line of concrete bunkers and dug in AT guns with good flanking fire facing you just have infantry pin it down with artillery so it can't reinforce the next sector where they ain't and these tanks will be.
Also, note the strict separation of infantry and cavalry. Only cavalry get tanks. Infantry get gun carriers. At the beginning of the war these are basically Zis-30/
this sort of thing meant to bring field and AT guns quickly up to the front without needing horses. The idea being they need mobility but not heavy armor because
infantry does not break through. If you hit a solid front line there is just no sense bashing your troops against it WW1 style and thus heavy armored assault guns just aren't required. But you do need and want to give infantry the ability to bring up the firepower they need to defend or sweep aside enemies that haven't had time to entrench yet quickly.
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This being said. This tank does not die in 1942. It just changes form too much. Think a T-34-85 style overhaul. It includes a new 63mm L63 gun that can basically kill anything (it's based off the ZiS-2 in inspiration). And than later in the war it gets reclassified as a support/light tank whilst the role of medium gets taken over by the first of the Vikingr series. And those culminate in 1948 with the Vikingr 50 which is basically a MBT-ized AMX-13 (autoloader and all) meets T-55 with a 93mm main gun.
For reference my war is 1940 - 1950. So near the end you have massive armored offensives with MBT's and IFVs fighting it out cold war style with jet fighters flying over and chemical weapons everywhere.