Chapter 616: Where the railway goes, where the soldiers come
"Commander, the total weight of this tank is 13.5 tons. The main gun uses a newly developed 45mm tank gun with 46 times the caliber. It is far more powerful than the original 37mm main gun. It is also equipped with a
It has a coaxial machine gun and a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun. In terms of firepower configuration, it not only exceeds previous tanks, but is also very leading in the world. In addition, due to the increase in weight, it can be equipped with better protective armor, and the defense power is also
Quite outstanding.”
Xiong Mengyuan looked at the tank in front of him as if he were looking at a newborn baby, with incomparable pride in his eyes. Indeed, according to current understanding, tanks from all over the world generally stayed at the stage of World War I. After the war, they were recovering from trauma.
The problem has not developed rapidly.
On the contrary, China, with its backward industrial level, was the first to realize the role of tanks and spared no effort to build brand-new tanks. Therefore, in terms of tank performance, it is already different from the West.
Xiong Mengyuan then introduced to Zhang Tinglan: "In terms of firepower and protection, the new tanks have made great progress, but there are some problems that cannot be ignored. The first is the engine. We are currently using an improved German engine with only 80 horsepower.
, due to the lack of horsepower, the tank's maneuverability has dropped a lot, and the fastest speed can only reach 25 kilometers. In addition, there are also serious problems with comfort. After driving for an hour, you must rest. There is also production
The cost has reached 30,000 yuan, which is twice as expensive as previous tanks. I am worried that the army will not be able to purchase large quantities."
Zhang Tinglan listened to Xiong Mengyuan's introduction and took the specific parameter table to learn more. For example, the off-road performance of this tank is quite good. The climbing angle is 30 degrees and the wading depth is 0.76 meters. It can overcome obstacles.
The height is 0.71 meters and the maximum cross-country range is 130 kilometers.
Based on these data, the overall performance of this new tank is similar to that of the later Soviet T26 tank, and even the protection is better. The only problem is that the engine is still relatively backward. However, the military industry has already exhausted its efforts to produce such a product.
The best efforts, you must know that the Soviet Union's T26 was finalized ten years later.
According to Zhang Tinglan's estimation, this tank is already ahead of most major powers in the world, and it will be enough to be used even within the next ten years. The only problem is continuous improvement, excellence, and making up for the flaws.
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"I am very satisfied to be able to produce such a product. However, there is still huge room for improvement. Engine problems and comfort issues are all fatal injuries that seriously affect combat effectiveness. You must come up with improved solutions."
Xiong Mengyuan said hurriedly: "Commander, we are jointly developing an engine with the Germans, temporarily named Changbai Type 1, which can reach 100 horsepower. It is specially designed for this tank. In addition, we are also developing a new suspension system to enhance comfort.
It has good performance and off-road performance, but some technical problems have not yet been overcome. It will take at least two years to get this tank into perfect condition."
After Zhang Tinglan listened to the introduction, he looked at Tao Jiping beside him and asked with a smile: "Minister Tao, do you have any suggestions?"
"Commander, I think it is a waste whether it is letting people wait for equipment or letting equipment wait for people. Therefore, it is best to produce some in small batches first and train tank soldiers while looking for problems. After all, it is soldiers who use weapons, not
We designers.”
"That's right!" Zhang Tinglan thought for a moment and said, "Then we must first produce a regiment of tanks and use them on a large scale, then we can find out the problem."
Tao Jiping was a little surprised when he heard that a regiment was to be produced all of a sudden. This scale was already quite large. It seemed that the commander was indeed obsessed with tanks.
"Commander, to produce a regiment, you need about fifty to seventy tanks. I'm afraid that's a lot, right?"
"As a product that is not yet mature, it does have a lot, but our enemies will not leave us such a long time. Even if the quality is not perfect, it is still better than nothing."
Everyone in the Fengjun army knows that Fengjun currently has two major enemies, one is Russia, which has just been defeated, and the other is Japan, which is eyeing the enemy. However, everyone generally believes that Russia needs at least five to ten years of recovery to get over the trauma of the war.
.As for Japan, it is also entangled with the great powers. It will take a lot of time to shift its energy to China.
But Zhang Tinglan knew in his heart that soon Japan and the United States and Britain would hold the Washington Conference, and the naval arms race would stop. And more than two years later, the Great Kanto Earthquake would break out in Japan, causing fatal damage to the island nation.
The Great Kanto Earthquake will definitely become an important turning point in Japan's domestic and foreign affairs. It can even be said that this earthquake shattered Japan's dream of democracy and opened the door to a full-scale invasion of China. Just like in later generations, a major earthquake,
It caused a nuclear disaster and forced Japan's politics to turn rapidly to the right.
This earthquake told all the Japanese that they live on the most dangerous and barren island in the world. Their lives and property are threatened at any time. If they want to change their destiny, they can only expand outward and continue to invade.
, occupy the rich continent and completely change their destiny.
Once this militaristic view becomes the consensus of the Japanese, they will find that Fengjun has become their biggest stumbling block, and a battle between the two sides will be imminent. Zhang Tinglan knows very well that the war between China and Japan will
It's coming faster than expected, and there's not much time left for Fengjun!
Zhang Tinglan meaningfully said to Xiong Mengyuan: "All scientific researchers must tighten their strings. The war is not far away. What kind of works can they come up with? What kind of things are used by soldiers on the battlefield? What they do
The more sophisticated it is, the more it can reduce the consumption of life. It’s a huge responsibility!”
"Don't worry, Commander, we will do our best to fulfill our mission!"
After Zhang Tinglan explained clearly, he went to see the development of the new rifle. Han Linchun was in charge of this work. He had Chinese, Russian, and German people under his command, as well as professional technicians and outstanding front-line soldiers.
.It seems chaotic to the extreme, but Han Linchun has good command and coordination skills and can get everyone to work together.
The Germans are good at making fine guns, while the Russians are more inclined to be cheap and reliable. Soldiers need to be powerful and adaptable. Han Linchun's main task is to balance the opinions of all parties and choose the most suitable plan.
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China does not need anything too refined to make a fool out of the rough and make a fool of the lives of soldiers, so this trade-off is also very troublesome.
After Zhang Tinglan and Tao Jiping arrived, Han Linchun hurriedly saluted Zhang Tinglan and then introduced: "Commander, the development of rifles has made considerable progress. According to the commander's instructions, we adopted the 7mm caliber and developed matching rifles.
7mmx51mm bullet, after testing, the ballistic performance of this bullet is quite stable, and the recoil is within the tolerance range of the Chinese."
While Han Linchun was talking, he picked up a sample gun and handed it to Zhang Tinglan. He introduced with a smile: "Commander, the new rifle is 1106 mm long, which is a lot shorter than the bulky Shuilianzhu."
It can better adapt to the Chinese people's physique, and its shooting accuracy is not much worse than that of Shui Lian Zhu."
Zhang Tinglan also held the sample gun in his hand and felt very comfortable and handy. For a weapon, this feeling is very important, and Zhang Tinglan couldn't help but shout "Hello!"
Han Linchun said with a smile: "It was all due to the commander's guidance. We solicited the opinions of the soldiers on the appearance of the gun. They proposed more than a hundred improvement projects, and finally we came up with the prototype gun in front of us. We developed it together with the soldiers.
Weapons also open up our thinking. The quality of a weapon does not depend on the performance design, but on the feeling of soldiers using it. After all, they are the owners of these weapons."
Zhang Tinglan nodded with satisfaction: "How long will it take to completely develop the new gun?"
"In two months, or at most two more months, we will be able to enter the small batch trial production stage. Once the process problems are solved, we can start mass production and replacement."
"Very good, you all have worked hard. This gun represents a symbolic beginning of Chinese weapons. We have our own weapons system. At this point, we have caught up with the great powers. But there is still a longer road ahead.
, not only must catch up with the great powers, but also surpass them.”
Zhang Tinglan walked around the arsenal again. Not only tanks and rifles, but also new artillery, machine guns, and mortars were being developed and produced. The time for the Fengjun army to change its equipment on a large scale has gradually matured. Zhang Tinglan has ordered
All troops should be better prepared for new weapons.
At a critical moment when the army was undergoing transformation, Wang Yongjiang found Zhang Tinglan again. In the past few years, all the government affairs of the three eastern provinces that had been serving the army had fallen on Wang Yongjiang. He was busier than anyone else, and he also had white hair on his temples early.
Unfortunately, Wang Yongjiang is still very energetic.
"I'd like to say that last time you mentioned to me that you wanted to penetrate deep into the northwest, and the most important thing is to get the oil from Yanchang Mine and Yumen Mine. I think this idea is certainly good, but if you want to exploit oil on a large scale, you must first
The equipment needs to be transported in, and the oil must also be transported out, which requires the construction of a railway line!"
"That's right. Without the railway, developing the northwest would be empty talk. I wonder if Mr. Minyuan has any ideas?"
Wang Yongjiang said with a smile: "Currently there are very few railways in the northwest. Only the Longhai line has been built to Xi'an, and there are no railways further west. We have also begun to build railways from Chaoyang and other places to Chengde, Zhangjiakou, and Guisui. Now
About half of it has been completed. I think we can extend this railway southward and directly build it to Shaanxi. Then we can extend it westward and build it all the way to Lanzhou. It is best to build the railway all the way to Xinjiang. Wherever the railway goes, there will be benefits.
Wherever force reaches, Fengjun's world will be along the way!" (To be continued...)