It seems quite a coincidence that the 105mm sub-loading ammunition saved the German commanders who commanded this new King Tiger a big trouble: selecting the appropriate ammunition type to preload the loader.
Different from the 88-gun semi-automatic loader, the new 105-gun semi-automatic loader works like this.
You only need to preload 6 propellant cartridges into the semi-automatic loader in advance. German engineers have made a rare humanization and designed the propellant cartridges of high-explosive bombs and armor-piercing bombs to have unified specifications.
It's not some crappy thing like armor-piercing bullets have special propelling cartridges for armor-piercing bombs, and high-explosive bombs have special propelling cartridges for high-explosive bombs.
The biggest benefit of the unified specification of preloaded propellant cartridges is that when loading in battle, you only need to select the appropriate projectile you want, then place it on the slide rail at the end of the breech to be loaded, and then push the rear semi-automatic
The ammunition feeding handle of the loader can be manually pushed into the chamber along with the propellant cartridge and projectiles.
In other words, the German commanders commanding the 105 King Tiger can freely change the types of ammunition during the battle. They only need to let the loader put the type of projectile they want to launch on the slide rail.
The 6-round propellant cartridge ready to be fired in the loading machine can send 6 high-explosive projectiles out of the gun barrel, or send 6 armor-piercing projectiles out of the gun barrel, or a mixture of the two types of shells can be used for firing. You can use it any way you want.
It's fine as long as it doesn't exceed 6 rounds.
As for after 6 shots, if the enemy has not been completely eliminated and the battle still needs to be fought, then the situation will be a little tricky.
It is necessary to keep the semi-automatic loader in the reset and standby state, and then manually open the breech to load the propellant cartridge and projectiles. This is the biggest reason why the 105 King Tiger has two dedicated loaders, one and the other.
When necessary, one person is responsible for loading the projectiles and the other is responsible for loading the propellant cartridge. The two of them work together without getting tired. They can still maintain the combat rate of fire under manual loading at a relatively satisfactory level. No.
As for the cannonballs in the loading machine, it takes a long time to load the shells that spans centuries. If that is the case, it would be too bad and completely unacceptable.
Therefore, the extra loader is not added to the vehicle crew specifically to operate the loader. Although one person is responsible for operating the loader and the other is responsible for loading projectiles, it will indeed increase the loader to a certain extent.
Excellent efficiency, shortening the loading time.
But that can only be considered as manual loading at best, and one of the additional benefits brought by adding a second loading hand is just like when you go to the mall and buy a valuable item, and the merchant gives you a free gift.
, the core reason for adding a second loader is still for manual loading.
After all, the ammunition capacity of the loaded machine with only 6 rounds is really pitiful. In a slightly higher-intensity battle, the situation of insufficient artillery shells will definitely occur. We must consider and prepare for this in advance. The Germans have not yet
Too stupid to even consider this situation.
Brand new 105mm main gun system, left-wheel semi-automatic loader, dual loaders, and the SLA 16 type 18-cylinder diesel engine with a maximum output of 750 horsepower.
All these gadgets and objects that may be reliable or may still have some problems are piled together, and finally create such an "Ultimate Tiger King" that is radically modified and upgraded on the original basis.
It is also because of the many improvements that it can be regarded as a new tank. Therefore, in the Germans' own equipment naming, this thing was even given a new name: Type VI Tiger Tank Type C, which is a reference to the previous generation.
The perfect successor to the Tiger Panzer VI and Tiger Type B tanks, it is also the third tank member of the entire "Tiger" family.
As the latest experimental equipment, the output of the Tiger C-type tank is not large. Not only is the newly started production work in the ramp-up stage of production capacity, but it is also subject to continuous damage and harassment from the Allied forces' non-stop strategic bombing. As a result.
The production capacity of the entire production work has dropped sharply and has been greatly affected. Therefore, only a small part of the Tiger C has been actually delivered to the troops and put into service and put into battlefield use.
Not many German soldiers have even seen this thing or even know of its existence, let alone the British and American Allied forces as opponents.
Wittmann and his 101st Heavy Armored Battalion of the Waffen-SS had just received this new supplementary vehicle.
In addition to not being with Wittmann, but leading another group of troops to fight in another direction not far away, the battalion commander who supported the friendly forces also changed to this new Tiger King, and he was the only one in the whole battalion.
The other Tiger C was in Wittmann's hands and was the deputy battalion commander's command vehicle.
The subsequent impact of the Stauffenberg incident has made the differences and estrangements between the hair-washers and the Wehrmacht increasingly widening, and they have become increasingly distrustful of each other.
Because of this, this mustached man who still holds the power of the head of the empire began to allocate more and more resources of new cutting-edge war weapons to his private armed forces, that is, the armed SS troops, and even the original
Even many resources that should have been allocated to the elite units of the Wehrmacht were forcibly allocated to the elite units of the Waffen-SS and were taken away halfway.
Don't ask, it's the order of the head of state, or the chicken farm owner Himmler. The equipment allocation document issued in accordance with the order of the head of state is clearly written in black and white and has a signature and seal. As long as you still abide by the current German order.
You can't help but admit it.
The Waffen-SS's arrogant and unreasonable behavior of grabbing equipment really left a lot of equipment in short supply, and the Wehrmacht commander who was waiting for replenishment was very angry.
Your SS seized the equipment and took it away, so what will happen to our Wehrmacht? You euphemistically say that you need good equipment to deal with the Yankees and British on the Western Front. What? We don’t need good equipment to deal with the Russians on the Eastern Front.
?How about we switch, you use this pile of junk to fight the Russians on the Eastern Front, and I use new equipment to go to the Western Front to play with the Yankees and the British. How about that?
No matter how great the grievances are, no matter how dissatisfied they are, in the face of a "hell-like reality" where the equipment has been taken away, the external environment has a formidable enemy, and the army is pressing down on the situation, these National Defense Forces, who were once angry, jumped to their feet.
In the end, the front-line commanders had no choice but to admit defeat, find ways to solve the problem themselves, and continue to fight against the Russians.
Wittmann didn't know that there were so many complicated stories behind his new car. Wittmann just felt that this new car was relatively in line with his expectations, especially in terms of its upgraded mobility and firepower.