Chapter 178 The Choice of Tanks

These technologies of the Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighter have been verified and tested on other models, but they have never been used together. The aircraft is a precision equipment, and each design must be well-thought-out. The consequences of the cumulative combination of multiple technologies is not the same. One plus two is as simple. There is no doubt that Messerschmitt took a great risk. More precisely, he made a desperate gamble to save his Bavarian aircraft factory.

However, it is a pity that because no one cares about the prototype made in 1933 in history, Messerschmitt didn't even have the money to make the prototype. If it hadn't miraculously received a small amount of funding from the Ministry of Defense in 1934, the backbone of the German Air Force in World War II would have been dead. Simply put, the Bf-109 fighter is simply an unwanted fighter! It was the excellent performance of the sharp Soviet fighter in the Spanish War, which saved the Bf-109 fighter and the Bavarian aircraft manufacturing plant, and also made Meseschmitter famous.

The main reason why Zhang Xuewu likes Germany is that it is indeed difficult for Germans. Unlike the affluent British Empire, even if they have good things, they have to hide them. What they sell to others are second-rate goods to ensure their hegemony, but the Germans are different. Germany, where their family has difficulties, still expects advanced arms. Open up the international market, rely on the high quality made in Germany in exchange for customers' huge profits, and then use these profits to produce good recycling equipment. So since the Germans are willing to sell, why don't you spend money to buy good ones? Not only to buy the whole aircraft, but also to buy parts and production lines, and a large number of imported aircraft engines, these are all Zhang Xuewu's plans.

However, it's more than that that made Zhang Xuewu stagger. Hao Wenbin sent back a telegram from Germany, a 150mm German-made 32-fold FH18 Rhine heavy howitzer, 24 plus 12 105mm howitzers, 150mm howitzers, 150mm various types of howitzers 20,000 rounds, 105 20,000 rounds of millimeter grenades of various types, a total of 13 million German marks! About the equivalent of the national currency.

You should know that the German political axe has abandoned the gold standard policy under the auspices of German Chancellor Hitler and announced the foreign exchange control law, so it seems most appropriate to only trade with Germans in a matter-to-thing-thing way? Moreover, there is no fixed exchange rate between the national currency and the mark. It is completely subject to the unilateral exchange rate of Germany. Zhang Xuewu does not have the rare minerals needed by the Germans, and the rare earths he owns are completely useless now. Therefore, it was decided that Zhang Xuewu would buy arms from Germany by using silver and gold directly. The second transaction can only be made through the Ordnance Department of the Ministry of Military Administration, and the relevant payment can be made through the Ordnance Department. The process is very troublesome, and it is very prone to other problems! For example, Nanjing interception and so on!

The most important thing is that Zhang Xuewu almost shouted loudly. Isn't it too expensive? A standard German artillery regiment costs more than 13 million? No wonder the National Political Axe was only equipped with a cannon and ten regiments until the full outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War. It's really expensive to do it for a long time!

If I can have the financial support of Longtang and set up two such artillery brigades, I will definitely be a great surprise. However, Zhang Xuewu's main vision is still on the 75mm mountain cannons and wild cannons. After all, it is difficult to get effective assurance of domestic road conditions and towing vehicles. You should know It is difficult for heavy-duty howitzers to be hauled by animal force in the case of poor road conditions, so a 75mm mountain cannon that can be transferred is still Zhang Xuewu's first choice today. Heavy artillery must also be available, but it can't be too much, and it really can't be played.

Thinking of Zhang Tianpeng's sad eyes at every meeting, Zhang Xuewu has a chilling feeling, the drunkard's wine! Money from money fans! Zhang Tianpeng's heavy artillery promises something that can't be ignored!

However, compared with airplanes and heavy artillery, Zhang Xuewu is more difficult to deal with Tang Ziqiang, who has to eat and sleep with him. This time, Tang Ziqiang brought all his classmates, especially Chen Kebin, a trainee of the Munich Military Academy with golden eyes. Chen Kebin is the chief of staff of the mechanized brigade, and his major is war. In fact, the service synthesis should stay in the corps staff department, but considering that Chen Kebin has the experience of studying in Germany, if he imports tanks from Germany, he will definitely deal with the German side, so Zhang Xuewu finally transferred Chen Kebin to the mechanized brigade to the lieutenant colonel's chief of staff, but let Chen Kebin go. Later, Zhang Xuewu regretted it!

Because Tang Ziqiang has a scheming and effective assistant to help him deal with the commander of the army, the five divisions under the Rehe Legion have been full. Nanjing political axes are supplemented, Zhang Xueliang's private supplies, self-purchase, annexation of the 34th Army and other ways. Basically, each division now has a two battalion of seven. Wushan Wild Artillery Regiment. Although Zhang Tianpeng's artillery brigade is crying, the 108 guns of the three artillery regiments under its formation can arrive one after another.

Looking back, my mechanized brigade has only one anti-tank artillery regiment trained with wood anti-tank guns, and the two armored tank regiments and an armored infantry regiment in the formation only have nine old chariots that survived the battle of Chengde as training vehicles. In order to achieve the purpose of resting, Tang Ziqiang will The members of the department took turns to train in batches. The efforts of the officers and soldiers quickly achieved amazing results, that is, there were only two training vehicles left. Whenever Tang Ziqiang saw his officers and soldiers carrying cardboard tanks to rehearse the coordinated attack, he couldn't wait to dig into the ground and get in.

In order to reduce the number of times he dug the ground, Tang Ziqiang had no choice but to take Chen Kebin to find Zhang Xuewu. What surprised them was that there were tank drawings on the commander's desk? And it's a brand-new tank drawing?

Zhang Xuewu saw that the two of them even forgot to salute as if they had received the most precious treasure, so they coughed. Only then did they find that the commander of the army was also in the room, so they saluted happily and said, "Commander of the army, you are really our relatives! You are my own father!"

Poo! Zhang Xuewu's mouthful of coffee sprayed out, and Chen Kebin beside him also stared at Tang Ziqiang, who was unscrupulous. Tang Ziqiang didn't care at all and said, "It doesn't matter who can give me a tank, he is my uncle!" I'll introduce my sister to him!"

Chen Kebin said with a black face and confusion, "But I heard that your sister doesn't seem to be very beautiful? It is said that you can't get married after getting married several times? You are not a reward. I feel that it is a punishment!"

"Bullshit! I'm so handsome. Can my sister be too far away? Obviously, Tang Ziqiang's confidence is not very strong, because many people in the mechanized journey have seen Tang Ziqiang's precious girl, which is very strong and alternative!

Tang Ziqiang lay on the drawing for a long time before he was puzzled: "Commander? What kind of tank is this? Doesn't it look like any model that is known now? This is not the style of Soviet Russia. It feels a bit like a German design? In particular, if the tank on this drawing can be made, all the models of the small notebook are scrap iron, with a 50mm thick inclined high-quality steel plate and two layers of protection in the front! At least 50mm long tube or 75mm short tube artillery are provided to cover the infantry attack. It is definitely a sharp weapon to quickly assault and divide the enemy!"

Zhang Xuewu glanced at the drawings in Tang Ziqiang's hand and said nothing. In fact, he was also wandering between the Soviet and German chariots. Zhang Xuewu realized that light chariots in Chinese chariots were completely enough. Medium-sized chariots were a waste. He needed good defense, light self-weight, strong adaptability and firepower. The fierce fast light chariot, but he also knew that several of his requirements were actually very contradictory.

Originally, in terms of the current situation, Zhang Xuewu would not come up with any T-34 design to please the Soviet Union at all. Because from a long-term perspective, the threat brought by the Soviet Union to China is far greater than that of Germany, so in the end, Zhang Xuewu made a compromise consideration, that is, to design a suitable one from the known World War II famous car. According to the road conditions in China, I can also produce, assemble and maintain light chariots in small quantities in Baotou.

The TB series of the Soviet Union is not bad for the Type 8 and 9 of the Japanese Army, but it seems to be too weak for the Type 95 and even the Type 97 light battle vehicle that has replaced the long-tube 50mm gun. Therefore, Zhang Xuewu is more inclined to the German design concept of complete craftsmanship. The large-scale machining of the Soviet Union makes the two effective. The combination of.

Zhang Xuewu clicked on the overlooking lane in the three views in the first chapter of the drawing: "The sources of these drawings are to a certain extent top secret. I'm going to name this tank the Honor Type I tank, which is mainly designed to deal with enemy armored combat vehicles and support the infantry and the glory you just saw. Yu II tanks fight side by side.

Tang Ziqiang and Chen Kebin looked at each other happily. Relatively speaking, the two of them seemed to like the ferocious Honor Type 2. In fact, Tang Ziqiang and Chen Kebin knew that the Honor Type 1 tank in Zhang Xuewu's mouth was a Type 3 tank heavily equipped by the German army during World War II. However, in the war, with the Allies A large number of new tanks were put into use, and a large number of Type 3 tanks were destroyed. After the so-called T-34 crisis on the Eastern Front, most of them began to be gradually replaced by improved No. 4 tanks, and only a small number of them played the role of infantry support in the late war.

But for the Japanese armored forces active in the Chinese battlefield, the Type 3 tank is their ultimate nightmare!

In Zhang Xuewu's memory, in the first half of 1936, the first No. 3 prototype was produced and assembled by Daimler Mercedes-Benz. At that time, the 50mm high-bore Cokepp tank gun it was equipped with had not completed the final test, so it was temporarily replaced by a short-barre 37mm tank gun, but its turret was designed for heavy artillery, so it looked extremely ridiculous.

However, according to Hao Wenbin's news from Germany, Germany's Daimler Mercedes-Benz, Krump, MAN and Rhine Metals have all completed the assembly of their respective three-type tanks. The Germans seem to be very enthusiastically promoting their tanks, which is why Zhang Xuewu took two days. With memory, several outstanding improvement designs of the F-type tank was mass-produced in 1939. It can be said that the three-type tank has experienced ups and downs, from experimental vehicles to trial production vehicles, export models, A\B\C\D\E and so on.

However, Zhang Xuewu's ultimate killer was a German test vehicle in a womb in 1942. The final design plan of the historical code-named VK1602 light reconnaissance tank was promulgated in March 1942 by MIAG and Daimler Mercedes-Benz. The first is to design a new chassis, and second to design a new turret. According to the final design scheme, the light vehicle of the VK1602 light reconnaissance tank is about 18 tons, while the heavy vehicle is about 26 tons.

Zhang Xuewu pointed to the design drawings of the Honor Type II and said to the excited Tang Ziqiang and Chen Kebin: "The Honor Type II tank will be divided into light and heavy. The light vehicle is about 18 tons, while the heavy vehicle is about 26 tons. The Honor Type II refers to the concept of oblique angle body in the design, and the prototype will be fully welded. It is connected to the armored steel body, and the front protection is 50 mm thick high-quality armor with a tilt angle of 50 degrees. The side and back of the body are 30mm thick armor, and the top and bottom are 20mm armor. The engine and transmission layout take the engine behind, and the power is transmitted to the front of the body through the transmission shaft, and the gearbox is in front of the body. Please note that the driver is on the left side of the car body, the position of the radioman on the right side, and the middle of the car body is the battle room. The turret and related equipment and ammunition are installed. There are captains and loaders' seats in the turret.

After listening to Zhang Xuewu's introduction, Chen Kebin frowned slightly and said, "Commander, can 18-ton and 26-ton tanks still be called light tanks? So what should my .ix ton Vickers and . .2 Renault be? Isn't it small? However, such a self-weight car body must need high horsepower to ensure high speed and mobile surname, but the built-in space of the car body must be limited. I want to know how to balance these problems with the Honor II tank?

Zhang Xuewu nodded with satisfaction. As the chief of staff of the armored brigade, Chen Kebin was indeed very qualified. What he asked was the key to the balance of tank design. He knew that the soldiers understood the use of equipment and tactics, which was the most basic requirement for armored commanders.

Zhang Xuewu pointed to the rear of the car body on the drawing and said, "The rear of the car body is the engine, fuel tank and cooling fan. I plan to use the V12 gasoline engine of the German Maybach series, but the power must exceed 550 horsepower, and the engine must also be equipped with a double carburizer and a matching German Bosch start. Machine and Bosch generator. If the weight control of Honor Type 2 is 26 tons, then its power density can reach more than 21 horsepower per ton.

Zhang Xuewu then clicked on the position of the turret and said, "The new turret of our honorary tank should be able to install a 50mm long-barge tank gun, or a 75mm short-barre assault gun, a parallel machine gun and a heading machine gun. If necessary, it should also be equipped with an anti-aircraft air-aircraft machine gun, in order to better adapt. In response to the ever-changing and complex road surface in China, to meet the needs of long-distance reading and marching, the honorary tank is planned to adopt front drive wheels, with five staggered load-bearing wheels on each side. This arrangement has a good theoretical effect, such as the dispersion of pressure on the ground and the latest German engine. The Honor II tank should have a lot to do.

Zhang Xuewu's introduction and talk made Tang Ziqiang and Chen Kebin almost ashamed. It seems that the commander is the real commander of the mechanized brigade. Why does the commander know so much? Can you even describe the efficacy and theoretical basis of all the design with this drawing alone?

If the front armor is a 50mm thick German high-quality steel plate, plus a 50-degree angle, it means that the probability of being penetrated from the front by a 37mm anti-tank gun within 100 meters will be greatly reduced, which is undoubtedly equivalent to improving the survival ability of the crew in disguise. The long-armed 50mm tank gun will be greater than the power of any kind of anti-tank gun in active service in terms of range and power.

"Commander, how much does such a tank cost?" Zhang Xuewu was stunned by Tang's problem of self-improvement. The drawings were not long after they were completed. Only when Matlin, who was handed over to the German [***] advisory group, brought it back to Nanjing and sent back to Germany, will this be specifically evaluated. Zhang Xuewu's ideal is that the Germans will buy their own design such as shield turret, the design of the front tilt armor, five The patents of load-bearing wheel design, suspension shock absorption design, etc., using tanks to offset part of the car purchase cost is also Zhang Xuewu's imagination, but it can only be called a dream!

In fact, Zhang Xuewu did not understand the whole process of the research and development of the VK1602 light reconnaissance tank, but in the end, the German army thought that the full combat weight of black and 2.5 tons of this reconnaissance tank was really unacceptable. Of course, the VK1602 is indeed heavier than the Bobcat, but Zhang Xuewu can't ignore a very important point, that is, the armor thickness of the new tank VK1602 is almost twice that of the Bobcat. At the same time, it also adds a 50mm tank gun, while the Bobcat is only equipped with one or twenty. Millimeter machine gun.

In Zhang Xuewu's opinion, the real reason why the Germans finally gave up the VK1602 is probably that it was born too late. The VK1602 light reconnaissance tank could not fight against the Soviet T-34/76 tank more effectively than the German active equipment, so it finally came to the end of its fate, but unexpectedly He was resurrected by Zhang Xuewu!

In Zhang Xuewu's view, as long as he asks the German OEM for 150 vehicles, helps him build a production line with an annual output of 80 vehicles, and imports more than 500 engine transmission mechanisms, the Germans will happily take over this huge arms order.

And the Germans will learn a lot from it, and even bring new inspiration to the German tank armor designers. There is no doubt that the German armored forces seem to be able to give greater heavy to the Soviets in the future! After all, the uncertain surname is too big, so Zhang Xuewu finally decided to come up with the design of the VK1602 light reconnaissance tank abandoned by the Germans but with relatively complete technical design, rather than the famous T-34!

(to be continued)