What if the Americans licensed some British technology in 1939 to jumpstart their own pre-war prepar

1. Sir Henry Carden was a decent tank designer who had a line of development. It is true that Gladeon Barnes was a genius and he did eventually oversea the M4 Sherman and its derivatives, but in 1939 this is what passed for a US tank and it was garbage.



One would prefer a more balanced and practical design, right away which would / could be made to fit in with US motorized warfare doctrine. The A10 cruiser or an evolved Valentine would do well until something like a fast US cruiser tank (T-27) could develop and be deployed. The M4 was a very compromised design that had many design faults which were not resolved until 1944... late 1944. The post-war Shermans which served so well and upon which WWII Sherman reputations are built, was the result of 145 separate iterations of that piece of garbage (M2 Medium) that one sees above. Part of those many steps was the Coffin for Seven Brothers...



2. The equivalent to a Beaufort was the Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon or B-34 Lexington. It could do everything the Beaufort could do, but was not developed out of the Ventura until 1943. By then the P-38 was also in service able to scout, recon photo and drop torpedoes. But again; that is 1943.

3. The White half track might be a substitute.

4. The Americans never had a squad machine gun worthy of the name. They tried...



It is called the T23E1 and is a practical part for part predecessor of the M240 machine gun. Not ready until 1944. By then, it was too late and was shelved for the FG42 / MG 42 bodge that would become the M60. Fabrique National duplicated Ruger's work and built their own version in 1950. Guess what the Americans adopted in the late 1970s?