Sprocket Tank Pack: Cavalier Designs

Background

Cavalier Designs was an American company established in 1924 by two southerners, Harlan Marshall Prendergast and Richard Hugo Harrigan, who had fought in WWI together. The two men toured the world during the 1920s and 1930s, gaining audience with foreign engineers to learn from them. Consequently, many of their tanks had eclectic, though highly efficient designs.

In a strange turn of events, President Herbert Hoover was able to convince the public to wait out the Depression. After all, he said, depressions were simply reactions to malinvestment, and the economy would eventually fix itself. Winning re-election against Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hoover was able to carefully restore the American economy to greater heights in a span of a few years.

Sensing war with the socialist governments of Europe coming over the next decade, Hoover moved to subsidize materiel development with some of the federal government’s newfound surpluses. Prendergast and Harrigan had already undertaken the invention of several tanks by this time, and used grant money to hire on engineers to fine-tune their designs.

When war finally came, this Alternate America was surprisingly ready for it. Many Cavalier Design tanks found high success in Europe and Asia. However, the Republican stance of isolationism had two effects: without American economic and materiel aid, the USSR was forced to sign a truce with Germany in 1943; furthermore, Japan became a more fearsome opponent, being unburdened by sanctions in the years leading up to WWII. However, as far as Cavalier Designs was concerned, war was its business, and business was good!

Americans were not patient enough to wait out the post-war recession as they did with the Great Depression, and in 1948 elected Roosevelt to the presidency. The Roosevelt government would nationalize Cavalier Designs, and the company’s engineers would flee to other businesses or start their own. Afflicted by a most peculiar mania caused by the stress of nationalization, Prendergast would subsist entirely on cheese grits until his death in 1974. He was buried in his favorite beige seersucker suit.

Below is the download link in a YouTube video. I would have attached the link itself, but Steam Guides seem to give me an error when including Mega links. I made these tanks during my first 30 hours, so bear that in mind before making comments on their quality.

https://youtu.be/f5r42a6c-bc

Light Tanks

CD33 “Pickett”Cavalier Designs’ first tank to make it to production, the CD33 was visually a marriage of the Stuart and Panzer II tanks. Though fast and with an armor thickness standard for light tanks of the time, the CD33 nonetheless suffered where penetration was concerned. Its fast-firing 37mm gun was only able to penetrate 40mm of armor, and for this reason the CD33 was relegated to anti-air and anti-infantry purposes. In these contexts, it excelled.

CD34 “Beauregard”Almost identical to the CD33, the CD34 swapped the 37mm gun for a 50mm one. The new gun was able to penetrate 100mm of armor and reloaded in just 2.2 seconds; the tank was finally serviceable for use against most vehicles of the earlywar.

Tank Destroyers

CD37 “Longstreet”As Cavalier Designs’ first tank destroyer, the CD37 was serviceable enough for the earlywar. Its long-barreled 90mm gun could penetrate 149mm of armor at range, and reloaded in under 5 seconds. The tank destroyer also weighed in at a decent 21 tons. However, the odd, long hull which had poor armor in certain places obsolesced the tank during the midwar with the advent of the CD2 and the CD5. The CD37 would remain in service, though, to the end of the war with many rear-guard units.

CD2 “Hill”One of the most successful tank destroyers of the war, the CD2 was highly mobile with a fast-traversing turret housing a 90mm gun capable of penetrating 200mm of armor. Well-armored from the front, the CD2 could double as a medium tank; however, the rather large size of the turret and the poor armor of the sides and rear of the CD2 restricted this to specific circumstances. Weighing only 25 tons, the CD2 punched above its weight and clearly outclassed the CD37 in terms of efficiency.

CD5 “Johnston”Intended for use as a heavy tank destroyer, the CD5 also found a purpose as an impromptu howitzer. Its 120mm gun could penetrate 260mm of armor. Nicknamed the “Slug” by troops, the CD5 had a very well-armored casemate hull that could shrug off virtually anything thrown at it from the front, though its sides were greatly armored as well.

CD2-2 “Hill”A latewar update to the CD2, the CD2-2 wielded a 120mm gun capable of penetrating 269mm of armor. Affectionately called the “Two-Two” by troops, it sported armor up to 200mm thick on the front, meaning that it could double as a medium tank, though this was a role best left to the CD13, which was developed specifically for this purpose.

CD5-2 “Johnston”The CD5-2 was a latewar update to the rarely seen CD5. It boasted a 151mm gun capable of penetrating 332mm of armor at extreme ranges. It was one of the most well-armored tank destroyers of the war, with armor up to 240mm thick. Surprisingly, the CD5-2 was one of the fastest of Cavalier Designs’ AFVs, capable of reaching speeds over 34 mph. However, weighing a massive 55 tons, the CD5-2 was expensive to produce and fielded by few divisions.

Medium Tanks

CD13 “Mosby”Taking design cues from a captured Panther tank, the CD13 was Cavalier Designs’ answer to the call for a latewar replacement to the Sherman. It could reach speeds of 36 mph, and its thick, sloped armor could shrug off rounds even from heavy tanks. The CD13’s long-barreled 80mm gun reloaded in 4.6 seconds and could penetrate 205mm of armor. Its turret was high-profile but roomy. The CD13 outclassed the Panther in many respects, and even weighed nearly two tons less than it.

Heavy Tanks

CD39 “Forrest”The CD39 was the first generation in a line of legendary tanks. Charged with creating a heavy tank, Cavalier Designs’ CD39 took after British infantry tanks. Resembling a marriage between the German Panzer III and the British A20, the CD39 was a cut above any other tank of its time. Its 100mm gun, designed for both infantry and anti-tank support, could penetrate 138mm of armor; and its hull was exceptionally armored on every side. More, the CD39 weighed only 31 tons, and, like all Cavalier Designs tanks, had exceptional cross-country capability, capable of reaching speeds over 26 mph and of climbing steep inclines. Though it would receive upgrades at each stage of the war, the first, earlywar model of the CD39 series would remain relevant throughout the conflict, capable of defeating both Panthers and Tigers.

CD39-2 “Forrest”The CD39-2 was a midwar update to its vaunted predecessor. It retained the 100mm gun, though its cartridge received an increase in its propellant’s length. The CD39-2 could penetrate 200mm of armor. The tank was also uparmored, receiving armor up to 140mm thick. However, it suffered from a slightly longer reload time. The CD39-2 was capable of engaging the King Tiger.

CD39-3 “Forrest”The CD39-3 was a latewar update to the CD39-2. It was upgunned to a 120mm cannon capable of penetrating 250mm of armor. The tank itself had armor up to 185mm thick. However, this tank was less well-received by crews than previous iterations were due to its longer 8.9-second reload time. The arrival of the CD39-3A, a main-battle tank which addressed the needs of commanders and tank crews, meant that the CD39-3 was produced in small numbers.

Main-Battle Tanks

CD39-3A “Forrest”The CD39-3A was the apex of Cavalier Designs’ creations. It enjoined the formidable CD39-3 chassis with a larger turret allowing for a faster firing rate. More hatches were added to increase crew survivability in the rare event that the tank was ever destroyed. Though much heavier than the first of the CD39 series, the 3A retained first-class cross-country capability. The CD39 tank series, which raged onto the scene of the earlywar in 1941, now outperformed purpose-built main-battle tanks, shrugging off their rounds and penetrating them from several sides.

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2982057419

Tank Pack: Cavalier Designs