Kogin was actually well aware of the news that the Germans had put a new type of infantry anti-tank weapon into actual combat.
It has been mentioned in the combat reports of other tank units on the front line received before, but there was no urgent protection upgrade requirement like Malashenko's.
Most reports from frontline combat units only stated that the German infantry had a new portable anti-tank cannon that could pose a greater threat to the side armor of heavy tanks at close range.
But when many front-line commanders and fighters wrote reports, they just thought it was no big deal.
It's just an ordinary weapon that can penetrate the side armor of the Red Army's heavy tanks at close range. It's not much different from the German anti-tank gun. At best, it sacrifices the poor range and the same accuracy as pissing, in exchange for a little bit.
It's just portability, not worth mentioning.
Moreover, neither of them can gnaw at the frontal main armor of the Red Army heavy tanks, which means that the current armor protection problem is not big, and this kind of armor protection is enough.
Therefore, Malashenko was the first to seriously propose to Kotin to upgrade his armor protection.
Kogin, who had never actually seen this kind of weapon and was not very clear about it, thought for a moment. After thinking about what to say, he faced Malashenko and spoke again.
"You can first tell me your thoughts, such as how you plan to upgrade the armor protection."
"I want to explain one thing in advance. I think it would be inappropriate to just add armor to the car. We already discovered this problem when we tested the is4 prototype before leaving the factory. The mobility of the is4 is not as good as ours.
According to the expected indicators, our original plan was to make it have the same mobility as the IS6 heavy tank, but the result is obviously not like this."
"At the base camp meeting last week, Comrade Stalin also suggested that our bureau should consider the mobility of tanks. Many frontline commanders and fighters said that the increased mobility of the IS6 heavy tank made them feel a huge increase in combat effectiveness, and they hope to
This high mobility advantage will continue to be maintained in the subsequent design of heavy tanks, so this is something we must consider in our subsequent designs."
He wanted to improve the protection but could not add weight to the tank. Kogin, who made the ugly remarks first, actually felt that it was inappropriate and regretted it as soon as he said it.
But the reality is that the situation is like this. Kotin, who has a keen political sense, has noticed that Comrade Stalin has begun to pay attention to the mobility of the Red Army's heavy tanks, and no longer only focuses on stronger firepower and protective performance as in the past.
Kotin, who has always been successful with his keen political acumen and has been firmly seated as a popular person next to Comrade Stalin for a long time, does not want to disobey Comrade Stalin's wishes just because of such a trivial matter.
Wherever you should follow the leader's will, you still have to follow the leader's will, regardless of whether you think about it or not. This is the rule and truth of how to behave in the world.
But after Kogin returned from a regular meeting in Moscow and finished his report, when he thought about it carefully, he felt that there was something wrong with this matter, as if he had dug a hole and buried himself in it.
The drastic improvement in mobility of the is6 heavy tank compared to any previous heavy tanks is the result of his own design. Now, Comrade Stalin has beaten himself in advance and taken precautions on the mobility issue because of the actual combat feedback from many frontline commanders and combatants.
.
This has taken a long way to trace the source, but isn’t it just that I dug a hole for myself?
You are the one who improves your mobility, and you are the one who takes a beating in terms of mobility. What the hell do you think this is? It’s just like Sukka!
Kogin, who thought of this unpleasant incident as soon as he mentioned mobility, was a little distracted. He didn't notice the confident look on Malashenko's face when he heard what he said. He almost wrote "Brother, I've been prepared" written on his face.
expression.
"Like you, Comrade Ke Jing, I have also considered the issue of mobility. After all, the prototypes of the is4 have been tested in actual combat at my place. I know best how the mobility of this thing performs in actual combat. It is indeed very difficult.
It can keep up with the offensive rhythm of IS6 heavy tanks, but there are still some problems."
Now that Kotin has begun to evaluate the shortcomings of his work, Malashenko does not mind pointing out the minor problems that are not serious, but the real point is still behind.
"We have a misunderstanding now, Comrade Kogin. That is that adding armor to a tank will inevitably increase the weight. However, there is a plan that is not like this, or the degree of weight increase is very limited. That little bit of weight increase is insignificant.
The powerful defense bonus obtained in exchange is completely within the acceptable range."
"..."
Kogin, who was speechless and didn't know how to answer the conversation, suddenly felt that Malashenko in front of him was a bit strange. He had been talking about something that he was confused about since the beginning of the conversation.
What does "adding armor to a tank but barely increasing its weight" mean? What kind of black technology is this? Is it anti-gravity technology that can offset the weight of armor?
If the motherland had such black technology, would it still be so difficult to fight against the German army? The red flag would have been planted all over the world, and the proletariat would have liberated the world, right? The German army is nothing!
Malashenko knew that Kotin's mind was probably very messy at the moment. No matter what he was thinking about, he just couldn't figure it out. It was time to give Kotin some real firepower.
"Start with the materials, Comrade Kejing."
"Imagine, we don't necessarily have to pile steel armor on the tank. What if we replace it with other materials that are lighter than armor steel but have better defense against chemical energy metal jets? Have you ever thought about this possibility?
?Once implemented, we will be able to perfectly resist the Germans' chemical anti-tank weapons without adding too much weight, it's that simple."
"..."
Unknowingly, Kogin, who had actually been introduced into an unknown advanced field by Malashenko, blinked his eyes, looked a little confused, and tentatively asked back with a very skeptical tone.
"Are you sure this kind of armor material really exists? It can greatly improve the defense without increasing the weight. This is simply a fantasy! Do you know what a huge change this will bring to tank design? I can guarantee that,
If this is true and once successful, our Red Army's tanks will be the number one in the world! Well, it is still the case now, but the number one position will be much more solid."
Ignoring the cold joke at the end of Kogin's speech, Malashenko, still wearing a mysterious smile, finally spoke to Kogin again.
"Our steel armor is already completely immune to the Kraut's kinetic armor-piercing projectiles, and is much higher than the enemy's armor-piercing firepower. So the only thing that needs to be considered now is to withstand the attack of chemical energy armor-piercing projectiles and improve the chemical energy
Defense strength.”
"The materials needed to solve this problem are very simple and common. Although they were very scarce in the early days of the Great Patriotic War, the Americans gave us a lot of support, and our own military production capacity was also comprehensive.
After mobilization, there is definitely no shortage of this material today, and it is definitely cost-effective to use some to protect precious heavy tanks."
Kotin, who listened carefully to every syllable, no longer wanted to stay here and continue playing charades with Malashenko. He couldn't wait to know the real answer, and he wanted it now.
"Tell me, what exactly is this material?! I'm not in the mood to guess anymore, just tell me quickly!"
The mysterious smile on Malashenko's face still remained, but the simple answer he gave immediately after was something Kotin never expected.