[MarkSheppard]

Some more thoughts...

I'd rather use SPWW2 because that gives us all the OOBs, Icons and stuff already preloaded for WW2, saving development time vs porting SPWW2 stuff to MBT.

But this would require some changes to the Turtledovian "Race" OBAT.

In his classic OBAT, everything has built in MANPADs; capable of shooting down helicopters to fighters; but there's no built in MANPAD or SAM weapon class for SPWW2.

We can just abstract the lack of SAMs away; by explaining that the heavy SAM stuff (S-300-PMU equivalent) is kept well away from the frontlines, and assigned to guard supply depots, using their extreme range vs low flying, low performance WW2 planes to shoot down stuff like paratrooper transport formations from 200 miles away.

What we could do is do some more "thonkery" and modify things a bit; and keep things in line with Turtledove's "roads less travelled" path that he likes to do.

Since 1945, everyone from time to time keeps proposing autocannons for coaxial armament in tanks (Centurion prototypes in 1945, AMX-30 early run, and serious proposals to have the M1 armed with 105mm and a 25mm Bushmaster).

So what if the Race did that? I mean, we already have real world examples with the BMP-3 weapons module which has a 100mm gun plus a 30mm autocannon.

The way it could be explained is that they could use advanced blue force networking so that a group of tanks can slave their autocannons together and pre-slew their turrets so as to deal with incoming enemy aircraft.

So you'd have weaponclass 4 "AA Capable FLAK MG/AUtocannon" as the coaxial on their tanks, and as a primary weapon on their IFVs.

Since we're drifting from Turtledove's original concepts, we could have their 30mm stuff firing advanced combined VT/time fuzes to increase their efficiency vs aircraft or against ground targets such as infantry in foxholes via airburst, or delayed detonation to kill targets behind walls. So the 30mm autocannons would have about 20-25% more HEK than what they normally would have for their calibre.

Further, since we're drifting even further, what if for large caliber guns such as tanks or artillery, they use liquid propellant since rate of fire will be low enough with those that refilling it between shots won't be bad, and it will ease the resupply burden of these 4.5 foot lizards loading their tanks.