Faeelin said:
My, my. I have a hunch the tank is a postwar French design, but no real evidence for it. Hrmm.
The French did some tests based on the blueprints of E-50, but then abanoned them and focused to the AMX-13.
Faeelin said:
Is America ahead in anything again? The Luftwaffe has better fighters, the Wermacht has better tanks...
Well, since the end of WWII the West has retained many technological advantages and is quickly closing the gap in other critical techs and weapon systems.
Few examples of areas where Western countries retain clear technical superiourity include carriers and destroyers, ASW technology, radar designs, electronic countermeasures and code-breaking technology, computer designs and their applications, strategic bombers, tactical cooperation systems between airforces and ground troops, supply systems and nuclear weapons design.
And as for the fighters and tanks:
Sabre and other Western jets are appearing few years later than OTL due the lack of captured German blueprints and prototypes (Sabre used many originally German design features, such as Me 262-type airfoil and Me 262 HG II wing sweep), but now when the Sabre is finally being brought into service it employs a hydraulic system for the movement of the flight controls, eliminating the excessive control stick forces necessary to maneuver other types of airplanes at high speeds. When combined with the better American G-suits, this basically means that Ta-183-pilots will have to avoid direct dogfights where the Sabres will be able to outmanouver them. And when it comes to tactical bombers, the RAF continues the success of Mosquito with the introdution of their excellent Electric Canberras.
In tank combat the situation is even worse from the German point of view. In the Italian Front during late WWII German panzers were actually somewhat outgunned or at even odds (with inferiour numbers) after the introdution of British Comets and US M26 Pershings - and then the British fielded Centurions. The Pz VII is thus in many ways just like the Panther - specifically designed to once again give the German Panzerwaffen equal chances to fight against the previously superiour enemy AFVs. But now the US forces are allready using Pattons and British have updated their Centurions - their tanks now have quite adequate infrared sights as well, allthough the German models are still little bit more sophisticated. So no Wünderwaffen here either.
Faeelin said:
Anyway, it strikes me as sad that the best hope for Europe are a bunch of technocrats led by a former architect.
If this seems bad enough, just wait for the stagnated Hoffner era.
Zauberfloete said:
Well it is the evil-twin sister of nowadays europe! The only "sane" people left are the technocrats and well the military. With no von Brauns in the US, the allies have to work more or less from scratch.
Well there Navy should be up to notch.
Edit: Is it the AMX 30?
Yep, Germans are relying on their superiour U-boats mainly because that´s the only field where Kriegsmarine still has some kind of technological advantage left.
And no, it´s not the AMX 30 either.