In November 1944, Krupp sent a batch of projects to the Inspector-general of the tank force (Panzertruppen), proposing to re-arm existing tank designs. We have basically three options (with a few more bit obscure ones). We are looking at 1944+ vehicles to keep at least some historical continuity (T6 VK2801 is a late 1943 project while T7 scout Panther was concieved in early 1942). It is about the possible alternatives to the T7 Aufklärungspanzer Panther.

Looks like Wargaming has gone eco friendly and is into recycling right now :) When you look at the 8.5 patch - what will we get: a recycled Panther, RU251 (new, granted), 2 Leopards, 1 recycled VK3002DB(v1) and the (new, granted) Indienpanzer.īut this is not what this article is about. Oh yes, and the second FV215b with a remodelled turret. Let's recap 8.4 then - 2x Panzer I, Panzer II (remodelled existing Panzer II), Valentine AT (Valentine hull already existed), Churchill GC (well, Churchill hull model was also already there), the whole AT series with vehicles looking similiar - less modelling work, then there's the AT-15 model used for AT-15A and (modified) for Tortoise. making new patches (including vehicles) as cheaply as possible. By the way, a friend told me that he believes at this moment Wargaming is in the cost-cutting phase, eg. The costs of creating such a vehicle are kept to a minimum. Of course this design has one big advantage for Wargaming: pretty much no new modelling work is needed, as the hull and turret models are already there (Panther hull, Leopard and VK2801 turret).

completely unhistorical with the VK2801 turret potantially bad depression (long hull, low turret) considering its speed and its size, its armor is probably insufficient

the vehicle is potentially underpowered (850hp will most likely not cut it, the 1150hp turbine would perhaps help) the vehicle is potentially undergunned (50mm L/60 as stock, tier 5 105mm howitzer and the gold-requiring konisch gun) the vehicle is bulky, hard to hide (eg. Let's quickly sum up the (potential) bad sides: I think that a lot of people (if not most) will agree that the choice of the Aufklärungspanzer Panther for the tier 7 light tank in its supertest incarnation was not a good one.

Modern light tank alternatives