Liu Guozhu sat in his seat, feeling the comfort that the new tank brought to him: Although the staggered road wheels are not very friendly to logistics support, they are an artifact for the entire tank crew.
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If we purely discuss comfort, this kind of staggered road wheels may be superior to modern tanks. However, after considering other performances, similar designs have been completely abandoned.
Tang Mo's idea was actually similar to that of the German designers: he planned to use Tang's own leading industrial capabilities to give this lead to all frontline warriors.
The Panther tank is an outstanding work of this idea: before the next generation of tank technology was born, it was the best and most powerful existence.
In terms of overall performance, it is superior to all other tanks of the same era. Even the most famous T-34 tank is completely incomparable to the Panther tank in all indicators.
The wide tracks and staggered road wheels make the Panther tank very stable when crossing obstacles, with almost no bumps.
This makes it possible for the Panther tank to aim and load while moving. The short-stop shooting tactic allows the Panther tank to fire enough shells in a short engagement.
At the same time, its wide body can carry 80 rounds of artillery shells, which is equivalent to the number of Panzer IV tanks. Therefore, the Panther tank does not sacrifice its continuous combat capability because of the increase in shells.
However, for the gunner and loader, this brand-new tank is not without its shortcomings: in order to increase the tank's protection capabilities, the hatch on the side of the turret for them to enter and exit has been cancelled.
Therefore, they were unable to stick their heads and upper bodies out of the car during the march, and they could not enjoy the scenery outside. The ventilation must be a lot worse, but the thickness of the armor on their sides was not comparable to that of the No. 4 tank.
At the same time, the observation window in front of the driver was directly eliminated and replaced by a periscope - this directly enhanced the defensive capabilities of the armor on the front of the car body, but it did affect the driver's driving experience when marching.
The alternative is to raise the driver's seat so that they can stick their heads out of the vehicle body and drive the tank directly.
The shortcomings are not without. If there were rainy days in the past few days, the operation of driving the tank would be much more troublesome.
In short, this is a willing exchange. The gunner and loader lose ventilation in exchange for better protection and a more powerful gun. The driver and wireless operator also receive stronger armor.
The captain was the most comfortable, so Liu Guozhu had the most enjoyable experience. He could reveal half of his body and watch the passing villages with thick smoke rising from them.
This is a small village in Dahua. There are only a few houses. There are straw piles behind the houses. Outside the half-teared down fence are some uncared for cultivated land. The soldiers of the Tang Army have occupied this place. The villagers no longer know where to go.
Where has it gone?
"Soon this will become a battlefield." The driver saw an open space not far away, and a Camel biplane fighter that was shot down and crashed here at an unknown time.
Looking at the white five-pointed star paint on the fuselage, it is obvious that this is a fighter jet of the Dahua Empire. Judging from the damage to the aircraft, the pilot is probably injured rather than killed.
When the troops of the Tang Army entered here, they did not encounter any resistance from the Dahua troops. They quickly evacuated the place without even setting a fire before leaving.
"Yes! According to the news from the battalion headquarters, an armored unit of Dahua Force was found nearby, otherwise we wouldn't have been sent here." Liu Guozhu pressed the intercom and said to his driver.
Because it has been replaced with a more reliable design, the quality of the communicator in the car is quite good, the noise during the call is not too loud, and the sound is quite clear.
The loader in the turret could only tragically listen to the conversation of his commander and driver, because now he had no place to take a look at the outside world.
Across the artillery chamber, the gunner on the other side could at least use the sight to see the scene in the distance, but compared to the past, his field of vision really couldn't be described as good.
The diesel engine modified from the Panther tank roared cheerfully, driving the tank smoothly over the obstacles in front.
In the village, a group of Tang grenadiers were gathering together to talk. The commander pointed to some places in the distance and discussed with the soldiers how to set up positions here.
A truck was parked behind the village, and you could also see the Type 113 armored vehicle covering the truck. The armored vehicle only had one machine gun installed, which looked naive and ineffective.
"Only one of our tanks is coming, isn't it a bit too small?" the gunner looked at the open space in front of his sight and finally asked.
Liu Guozhu didn't take it seriously: "The other tanks in the platoon are on the flanks. We only need to block the enemies trying to enter the village. There is no problem! The terrain here is favorable to us."
They deliberately chose to deploy their defense line here because the terrain here is relatively narrow: there is mountainous terrain to the south, and the enemy's tanks cannot deploy. If the opponent only attacks with infantry, the Tang army's grenadiers will repel them.
If the Dahua armored force comes from the north, the woodland there will slow down their attack speed, and then the other three tanks of the 1st platoon participating in the battle in a relatively more open area will kill all the enemies.
Only attacking the village from the west requires Liu Guozhu's crew to intercept. On this fighting surface, the suppressive power of a Leopard tank is obviously very terrifying.
As for why there are only 4 tanks in a tank platoon, it is because one of them broke down on the road - for complex weapons and equipment like tanks, the failure rate has always been high.
"Don't worry! There is a Lion armored reconnaissance vehicle in front of us! It will be enough when it withdraws." As he spoke, Liu Guozhu picked up the telescope hanging on his chest and looked at the sky in the distance.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! There, there is a fighter jet that looks like the Empire of China is circling, with two wings, very clear.
The air force of the Tang Kingdom has not used biplanes for a long time: even reconnaissance aircraft do not use similar biplane designs.
On the contrary, the Dahua Empire often uses backward and very slow Camel fighter jets to perform reconnaissance missions: This is indeed a good choice, and at least it provides valuable intelligence for the ground forces of the Dahua Empire.
After all, the Dahua Empire has thousands of Camel fighter jets. Although they have fallen behind and cannot be used as air superiority fighters, they can still be used as waste.
"I guess they already know that we are here." Liu Guozhu said casually as he put down his binoculars and looked at the huge national flag laid on the ground by the infantrymen next to him.
Because there is not much space on the top of the Panther tank, the identification friend or foe painting previously used on the top of the Panzer 4 tank was basically cancelled.
In order to avoid accidental damage, the task of laying anti-aircraft identification marks was handed over to the infantry. The grenadiers spread the national flag on the roof and the ground wherever they went. It has become a habit.
Despite this, friendly fire accidents still occur frequently, and the Army is quite critical of this, and the Air Force often holds meetings to discuss this issue.
There is nothing we can do about this. Even during the Gulf War, American planes blew up British armored vehicles. This kind of thing has happened in any era.
"Hello? Hello! Yes, I am! Got it!" After receiving the communication from the platoon leader, Liu Guozhu took off his earphones and got out of the tank: "Come out and show off! News from the reconnaissance camp, the enemy
The army's tanks and infantry appear nearby, and the battle may start at any time, take this opportunity to take a breather!"
The gunner and loader both got out of the tank and took out food from the trunk on the side of the tank turret.
The steel plate on the outside of the Leopard tank trunk can withstand machine gun bullets at close range, so some food, clothes and socks can be stored.
Anyway, if you encounter a cannonball that can really penetrate the steel plate, losing some clothes and food will not be unbearable.
After several people ate two canned fruits, the Lion armored reconnaissance vehicle that retreated from the front stopped on the other side of the village.
The commander of the reconnaissance vehicle brought back news about the enemy: about seventy or eighty tanks, as well as a large number of infantry.
It seems that the Dahua Empire has indeed made great efforts to recapture Wangchun City. It is not easy to assemble a large-scale force under the interference of the Tang Air Force.
Sure enough, in less than half an hour, soldiers from the Dahua Army appeared in Tang Jun's field of vision. The atmosphere suddenly became solemn, and Liu Guozhu's crew members also entered the tank and began to make final preparations.
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"Load armor-piercing bullets!" Liu Guozhu gave the order while looking through his binoculars at the Dahua troops starting to gather at the end of the open space in the distance.
"Armor-piercing bullet!" the loader repeated loudly as he pulled out a shell from the most awkward position, pushed it into the barrel, closed the breech bolt.
This kind of artillery shell is specially designed to attack the opponent's tanks, which can ensure that the high-pressure 75mm gun can easily penetrate the front armor of enemy tanks at a distance of one thousand meters.
Most of Liu Guozhu's tank body is hidden behind a small reverse slope, with only the turret and a small part of the body exposed.
Coupled with the bushes in front of them, it was not easy to find a tank hidden here. This is an important part of the Tang Army's tank teaching course, and the tank commander must keep in mind the various conditions for choosing a position.
As the enemy approached, Liu Guozhu gave the order to fire: "Aim at the Dahua tank at the front and fire when you are sure!"
"Boom!" Before he could finish the word "fire", the gunner stepped on the firing pedal, and an armor-piercing projectile flew out of the muzzle of the Panther tank with a muzzle brake, and rushed towards the man seeking death in the distance.
