Yakov drove his car to the weapons and equipment department. The guards on duty outside the door saw that his car was still far away, so they moved the roadblock and pulled up the horizontal barriers to let his vehicle pass.
After the car entered the gate, it drove some distance and stopped in front of a building covered with camouflage nets. Yakov turned to Sokov and said, "We're here. Comrade Ustinov works here."
Sokov just nodded and didn't ask anything. He knew very well that if Yakov was not willing to talk, no matter how many questions he asked, it would be in vain.
After Yakov parked the car, he took Sokov into the building and went to the third floor to meet Ustinov. The officer sitting in the outer office saw Yakov bringing someone in and quickly stood up and saluted.
"Second Lieutenant," Yakov said to the other party: "Please inform Comrade Ustinov that Colonel Sokov has arrived!"
The officer agreed, walked to the closed oak door, opened one of the doors, walked in, and closed the door. Not long after, the officer opened the door again and came out. He stood at the door and said to the two of them:
"Comrade People's Commissar, please come in." After saying this, he stood sideways by the door and made an invitation gesture toward the inside.
"Our hero is here!" As soon as Sokov and Yakov entered the office, they saw Ustinov coming around from behind the desk and still following him from afar, so he extended his hand to Sokov: "Welcome
Come to Moscow."
Sokov quickly stepped forward, raised his hand in salute, stretched out his hands to hold the other person's hand, shook it vigorously and said: "Hello, Comrade People's Commissar, nice to see you."
After Ustinov looked Sokov up and down, he nodded slightly and said: "Comrade Sokov, you have lost weight and become darker. I heard that you were injured twice. Are your injuries healed?"
"
"Thank you for your concern. My injury has been cured a long time ago." Sokov was eager to know why Ustinov summoned him to Moscow urgently, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade People's Commissar, I think
I want to ask, did you summon me to Moscow for anything important?"
"That's it. We summoned you to Moscow. The focus is to understand the use of various new weapons." After Ustinov asked Sokov to sit down, he returned to sit down behind the desk and continued: "You guys
How it is used on the battlefield is far more convincing than the data we obtain on the test field."
Sokov was confused by Ustinov's words. He thought to himself, if he wanted to find out the performance of the new weapon, he could send people to Stalingrad. In this way, he could also obtain accurate data. Why?
At such a critical juncture, do you want to recruit yourself back from the front? Is this necessary?
When Ustinov said this, he suddenly stopped and looked at Yakov who was sitting next to him, seeming to wink at him. When Sokov saw this scene, he couldn't help but be startled and thought to himself, Ustinov
How could Nov win wink at Yakov? He must have seen it wrong.
But the next scene made Sokov uneasy. Yakov squinted his eyes and shook his head vigorously at Ustinov, then secretly made a gesture. The two of them used their eyes and gestures to conduct a silent exchange.
The exchange made Sokov feel a little at a loss.
"Comrade People's Commissar," Sokov didn't understand what the two were doing, so he coughed lightly, and when they all turned their attention to him, he said, "I heard that the research laboratory that developed incendiary bombs,
It was sabotaged by German agents, is there such a thing?"
"Yes." Regarding Sokov's question, Ustinov admitted simply: "But this matter has been handed over to the personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and I believe it won't be long before the truth can be found out.
"
Hearing what Ustinov said, Sokov was even more confused. When Yakov called him, it was because the research laboratory had been destroyed by German agents and suffered huge losses, and he needed to come back to assist in the work.
He hurriedly recalled himself to Moscow, and even sent a special plane to pick him up.
Who would have thought that when he got here, he actually said that this matter had already been handled by a dedicated person? Isn't this just kidding himself? However, the other party's position was higher than his own, so even if he was dissatisfied, he couldn't complain in person. He bit the bullet and continued to ask: "
Can I ask, what is the reason for recruiting me back?"
"Colonel Sokov," Ustinov sat up straight and looked at Sokov and asked: "What kind of technical equipment do you think is the most effective for assault in the snow?"
Ustinov's question made Sokov immediately think of the automatic sleds equipped by his troops during the Battle of Moscow, and he quickly replied: "If it is used for assault, the automatic sled is the most suitable."
"Yes, the automatic sled moves very fast on the snow." Ustinov said thoughtfully: "But the disadvantage is also very obvious. It can only carry two people. In addition to the driver, there is only one person.
A machine gun shooter. If it is used to sneak attack the enemy, it is a good choice; if it can be used for offense, its role is very limited."
Sokov thought about it in his mind and felt that the automatic sled was limited by the location and season of use. It could be said that it was useless and there was no need for large-scale development. Presumably, the kind of hovercraft equipped by later generations would be a good choice. I don’t know about the Soviet Union.
Is there such production capacity today?
Thinking of this, Sokov said to Ustinov: "Comrade Comrade People's Commissar, I have thought of a piece of equipment that can replace the automatic sled as a fast assault equipment in the snow. And it can not only move quickly on the snow, but also
Maneuver quickly over swamps and rivers."
When Ustinov heard what Sokov said, his eyes could not help but shine, and he said repeatedly: "Colonel Sokov, tell me quickly, what kind of equipment is it?"
"hovercraft!"
"Hovercraft?!" After hearing this, Ustinov couldn't help but glance at Yakov with confusion on his face. Seeing that the other party also looked confused, he turned his eyes to Sokov again and asked:
"What is it?"
"Comrade People's Commissar, can you give me a pen and paper?" Sokov asked politely: "I will draw a sketch for you to see."
Ustinov had long known that Sokov had a foundation in mechanical drawing, and the pictures he drew were simple and clear, and everyone could understand them. He picked up the pen and paper and handed it over, saying: "Draw it, I want to see you
What kind of hovercraft is it?"
Sokov took the paper and pen and quickly drew a picture. While drawing, he gave the two people some popular science: "Hovercraft refers to the use of surface effect principles to rely on air above atmospheric pressure to move between the hull and the supporting surface (water surface or ground).
) forms an air cushion between them, causing all or part of the hull to detach from the supporting surface and sail.
The hovercraft should be made of light alloy materials. The ship is equipped with a blower and a light diesel engine. The high-pressure air generated by the blower is sent into the air chamber of the bottom cavity of the ship through a pipe to form an air cushion to hold up the hull, and the engine drives the propeller to bring the ship closer.
Support surface for fast navigation. In addition to snow, it is also suitable for use in inland rapids, dangerous shoals and swamps.”
Ustinov waited for Sokov to finish the drawing, then picked up the sketch and looked at it carefully. After looking at it for a while, he raised his own question: "Colonel Sokov, how fast is this hovercraft going?"
How much can it achieve?”
"The navigation resistance of the hovercraft is very small," Sokov replied: "According to my estimation, the theoretical speed can be as high as 6080 kilometers per hour."
"What, 6080 kilometers per hour?" Ustinov was startled by the data Sokov said: "So, the hovercraft can run faster than a train?"
"What about the load situation?" Yakov interjected and asked.
"It depends on the size of the hovercraft." Sokov said cautiously: "I think there should be no problem if a ship can carry one class, or two or three tons of cargo."
"If this kind of hovercraft can be manufactured, we can quickly mobilize troops and supplies in any season and on any complex terrain." Ustinov opened a folder and carefully put the sketch in: "I will
Arrange engineering personnel as soon as possible to develop this hovercraft."
"Comrade People's Commissar, I want to ask." Sokov considered that after the Battle of Stalingrad, the Third Battle of Kharkov would soon begin. Due to the muddy roads caused by the spring thaw, the Soviet logistics supply lines
A serious problem arose, so much so that even though they had an advantage in strength and equipment, they were still defeated by Manstein's troops. If the hovercraft could have been developed before the battle began, it might have changed the outcome of this battle.
: "How long will it take to develop it?"
"It's hard to say, Colonel Sokov." Ustinov replied with some embarrassment: "Although we have this sketch, it will take a very long time to turn the things on the drawing into actual objects.
If it's fast, maybe half a year; if it's slow, it's not impossible in three to five years."
When he learned that it would take half a year, or even three to five years, Sokov couldn't help but take a deep breath. He thought to himself that if it was developed so late, the day lily would be cold. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he would not be able to change the situation.
The results of the three battles of Kharkov.
"Colonel Sokov," Ustinov continued, "I know you have a lot of ideas. I wonder if you can provide us with some more ideas on weapons development."
"Self-propelled artillery!" After hearing Ustinov's question, Sokov immediately had the idea of self-propelled artillery in his mind, and said without hesitation: "Comrade People's Commissar, I think our army can still develop it.
Self-propelled artillery."
"Self-propelled artillery?!" Ustinov was stunned at first, and then asked: "I received a report from Comrade Peter, the director of the Red October Factory some time ago. In his report, he mentioned a self-propelled artillery.
I wonder if it’s the same kind of equipment as what you said?”
"That's right, Comrade People's Commissar." Sokov nodded and said in a positive tone: "The self-propelled artillery he mentioned in his report should be the one I am planning to report to you."
Ustinov suddenly remembered something and asked quickly: "So, the design drawing in the report by Director Peter is also your masterpiece?"
Sokov nodded again, "Yes, it is a self-propelled artillery designed by me. However, the number produced today is too small, and the caliber of the artillery is too small."
"Then tell me," Ustinov picked up the pen, opened the notebook in front of him, and after getting ready to record, he said to Sokov: "What caliber of self-propelled artillery do we need?"
"In addition to the existing 76 mm caliber guns," Sokov replied, "85 mm, 100 mm, 122 mm and 152 mm caliber guns should be added."
Ustinov couldn't help but frowned: "Colonel Sokov, if we produce self-propelled artillery of so many calibers, then the production of conventional artillery will be affected..."
"Comrade People's Commissar," Sokov quickly explained: "I think the two do not conflict with each other. The self-propelled artillery is different from the tank gun. It directly installs the artillery of the same caliber on the tank site, so that the original method can only be relied on.
Artillery pulled by carriages or trucks can maneuver on its own..."
When Ustinov heard this, he couldn't help laughing twice, and said with some embarrassment: "I'm the one who got into trouble. It seems that there is really no contradiction between self-propelled artillery and conventional artillery. We can use a large number of active artillery
, are installed on the tank site, turning it into a more mobile artillery. In this way, our artillery can quickly establish artillery positions at any location and deal a heavy blow to the enemy."
Sokov felt that he had finished telling Ustinov everything he could think of, so he stood up and asked respectfully: "Comrade People's Commissar, if you have nothing to do, please allow me to take leave!"
"Wait, Colonel Sokov, I have something else to tell you." After Ustinov said this, he turned his eyes to Yakov and said with a wry smile: "Lieutenant Colonel Yakov, you
You are good friends with Colonel Sokov, so you should tell him this in person."
Sokov looked at Yakov blankly, thinking to himself: Why did Ustinov hesitate to speak several times, and now he pushed Yakov out again and asked him to tell him what happened?
What happened? He coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and asked cautiously: "Yasha, what happened? Please tell me the truth?"
Yakov walked up to Sokov, put his hands on Sokov's shoulders, and said in a serious tone: "Misha, I have bad news to tell you, you must be strong."
Yakov's nonsense words made Sokov even more confused. He stamped his feet anxiously: "Yasha, you and I have been old friends for many years. Why can't you just tell me what's wrong with you?"
"That's it, Misha." Yakov secretly glanced at Ustinov, and when he saw him nodding vigorously at him, he gritted his teeth and said: "Two days ago, a German bomber took advantage of
He broke into Moscow at night and dropped several bombs over a factory in the northwest, causing some property damage and casualties to the factory. Unfortunately, your mother was killed by a German bomb."
"What, my mother was killed by a German bomb?" Sokov asked in surprise: "Is this why you urgently recalled me to Moscow?"