I want to be emperor

Chapter 1123 Motorization starts

Just as the Army of the Chu Empire was extensively testing various armored vehicles in actual combat in India, West Asia, and Europe, it was also extensively testing military vehicles represented by transport ships in the East Asian region.

Ordinary transportation and towing vehicles are different from armored vehicles. Armored vehicles are directly involved in combat and face potential threats from enemy bullets and artillery shells, so they require more extensive actual combat testing.

Ordinary transport vehicles and even artillery towing vehicles do not need to be so troublesome, because there is no need for direct combat, and more consideration is given to maneuverability. They only need to conduct various tests on various different terrains in East Asia.

But even so, it is not easy to test... The main reason is that the Chu Empire is too big, and the Chu army is spread all over the world. There are all kinds of terrain and climate in these parts of the world... And it cannot be said that a main transport vehicle can only operate in temperatures For use in mild plain terrain, it must adapt to various climates and terrains.

Therefore, even if the test is in the local area of ​​East Asia, it is actually spread all over the country... Take the Type 15 truck developed and produced by Hebei Special Vehicle Company, a subsidiary of Hebei Weapons Company, and actually provided with a full set of technical support by Tangshan Automobile Company.

This military transport vehicle has excellent performance on paper and has a nominal load capacity of 1.5 tons. It can also be used as an artillery tractor.

The military ordered a batch very early on, some of which were used for training and exploring how to use them, and some of which were used for testing on various terrains and environments.

There are more than a dozen test sites, including desert tests in the Gobi desert in the northwest, severe cold tests in northern Siberia, mud tests during the summer mud turning period, and tropical tests in the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia. .

There are also various off-road tests in hilly and mountainous areas, grassland field tests and so on.

The test range includes various terrains and climate environments...

And such a complex test is not to find faults, and to reject the Type 15 trucks if any problems are exposed. In fact, it is to test its ultimate performance, find out where the vehicle's ultimate endurance is, and then formulate corresponding regulations. manual.

And look for more problems, and then improve the exposed problems if they can be improved. If it cannot be improved, try to avoid using it in subsequent uses.

For example, if it is also used in severe cold, at what temperature can this military truck be used normally? Can it be used normally at minus ten degrees?

Can it be used normally at minus 20 degrees?

Is there any auxiliary method that can help the car start smoothly and then be used under conditions of minus 30 degrees?

How long can the various parts of the truck last when used at minus 20 degrees? What parts are most likely to cause problems? If a problem occurs, can it be repaired quickly and directly on site?

Only by understanding these things can the military formulate a comprehensive operational manual for modified vehicles and hand it over to subsequent automobile units for corresponding training and operations.

These are the various tests that all new equipment must undergo before they are officially delivered to the troops on a large scale.

A piece of new equipment does not mean that it can be produced and then immediately delivered to the army and equipped for large-scale use... Of course, the exception is during war.

During the Unification War, whatever new guns and artillery the Chu army came up with, they were produced and put on the battlefield for actual combat testing!

But this cannot be done in peacetime. Before formal large-scale batch equipment, various complicated and rigorous testing links are indispensable... Again, these rigorous tests are not to find faults. Later, he rejected the equipment, but to find the limits of the new equipment's application range.

This is somewhat similar to the various extreme test flights that later generations of fighter jets conducted during test flights...and this extreme test flight was not simply to find faults, but to test the flight envelope...to find out under what circumstances the aircraft would Losing control, what can be done to recover after losing control?

This is true for later generations of aircraft, and various military vehicles in the contemporary Dachu Empire, whether armored vehicles or transport ships, also undergo tests of a similar nature.

Otherwise, just throw the vehicle at the troops, the troops will use it, and then under certain circumstances it will not be used, which will delay the combat opportunity.

If you know the limits in advance, you can avoid these situations during actual use and prepare other options early.

Today's 15 trucks have been subjected to all kinds of extreme tests, and the test results are honestly not very good... For example, the climbing ability is not very good, the off-road speed is not very good in the bumpy pure wilderness, and the bumps are frequent. Some parts wear out so quickly that they break down frequently.

In the severe cold test, the temperature was too low to start, not to mention that the materials of some parts also reduced their strength in low-temperature environments.

During testing in tropical coastal environments, it was also discovered that many parts had poor corrosion resistance and rusted quickly.

In short, there are all kinds of messy problems.

Some of these problems can be solved through improvements, but some problems are really unsolvable, so we can only formulate limited usage conditions in subsequent user manuals.

After a series of tests, the manufacturer continued to improve, and finally in September of the 1950s, Hebei Special Automobile Company and Tangshan Automobile Company solved many exposed problems and launched a new of this model.

At this time, the military began to place large-scale orders... The order scale was very large, and the first batch of orders reached 1,500 vehicles.

This order data also means that the military has selected Hebei Special Vehicle Company's 15 trucks as the main model among many transport trucks of one to two tons.

If nothing else goes wrong, the 15 trucks will be widely used in the artillery units and logistics units of various A-level units starting from this year. At the same time, a number of independent vehicle transport groups will also be established to finally carry out strategic logistics transportation tasks in strategic directions. .

The 15-truck will also become the second type of vehicle to enter military service on a large scale.

Prior to this, although the military had purchased dozens of various types of cars, armored vehicles, motorcycles and other motor vehicles, it had also established multiple experimental units.

But it doesn't mean large-scale service use, it's just used for various tests and explorations.

The first batch of purchased vehicles such as the 15-truck has reached 1,500 vehicles and is expected to be directly assigned to each Class A field unit, which can be regarded as a large-scale service in the true sense.

The reason why the 15 trucks are said to be the second type... is because before that, there was already a type of motor vehicle that had entered heavy artillery service on a large scale, and that was the tractor developed and produced by Tangshan Agricultural Machinery Company, a subsidiary of Tangshan Machinery Group Company...

As a civilian product, this product has a very large output and has been used under various harsh conditions. Various conditions of use have been figured out early. The military only needs to use the agricultural machinery company affiliated to Tangshan Machinery Group Company. The user manual provided can basically be used directly. The military's tractors are numbered 100 series and have a variety of power configurations to tow heavy artillery of different weights.

Therefore, this 100-series tractor has entered service in the military's heavy artillery troops early. Not only the heavy artillery troops in the army are equipped with this tractor, but also the navy and the Guards have equipped their heavy artillery troops with such tractors.

This tractor is very powerful and is very suitable for towing various heavy artillery...

In fact, in modern times, not only tractors are used to tow artillery, but the first and fifth trucks that have been equipped are actually mainly used to tow artillery and transport artillery shells.

Even smaller transport vehicles, such as tricycles... are designed to tow two types of existing light infantry support artillery, the 75mm mountain gun and the 70mm infantry gun.

As for carrying infantry... I'm sorry, infantry these days are not worthy of riding in cars or even motorcycles for mobility... Of course, a small number of special mobile forces are exceptions.

Since there are many types of artillery assigned to the armies of the Chu Empire, there are also many types of artillery tractors that need to be matched.

After decades of development, especially after entering the rifled era in the 1930s, the artillery force of the Dachu Empire had already developed a variety of artillery systems based on combat purposes.

According to combat purposes, there are many types of mortars, mountain guns, howitzers, field guns, and heavy artillery.

Mortars are usually directly equipped with various combat units, including 60mm mortars assigned to infantry companies, 80mm mortars at the infantry battalion and regiment levels, and 120mm heavy mortars at the division level.

There is only one type of infantry cannon, and that is the 70mm infantry cannon that has remained unchanged for thousands of years... This thing has been changed over the past ten years and it is still the same, especially since the weight is basically limited to 250 kilograms. about……

This kind of artillery equipment is extremely widespread, from the foreign legion to the regular army, and even the militia. The equipment is also very large... Now, even the infantry battalion of the ordinary second-class division can be equipped with two such infantry cannons. .

Mainly because this kind of artillery is very light and can be disassembled and transported by horse. Therefore, it has become the only rifled artillery of the Chu army that can maneuver quickly in some areas with poor road conditions.

The only rifled artillery available to the Chu army deployed in some overseas areas with difficult transportation is basically this thing.

The reason why this thing has been widely used on a large scale and won unanimous praise from all troops is not only because this artillery is light...in fact, mortars are lighter, even a 120 mm heavy mortar. It’s only over 100 kilograms, making it easier to maneuver.

The reason why the 70mm infantry has achieved great success is that although this thing is small, it is still a serious rifled gun. This rifled gun means high accuracy. This high accuracy is very important for Chu Chu deployed overseas. Very important to the military.

Because this means that a smaller amount of artillery shells can be used to achieve the intended combat purpose... It is very difficult to supply artillery shells overseas. Being able to use fewer artillery shells to achieve the same combat purpose has huge strategic significance in reducing logistical pressure.

Light, rifled... These two keywords determine the irreplaceable role of the 70mm infantry gun, including its various improved models, in the Chu army.

Because this is the only rifled artillery in the Chu army that can unconditionally accompany the infantry battalion in mobile operations!

none of them! As for the shorter range, that's not a problem... no matter how close the range is, it will still be about two thousand meters.

As for other things like being able to shoot in a straight direction and having a large left and right shooting angle, those are all side benefits.

The mountain artillery in the Chu army includes 75mm mountain cannon and 100mm mountain cannon (light howitzer). Among them, the 75mm mountain cannon is mainly equipped with the Army and Marine Corps, and armed tax police. The 100mm mountain cannon is special, only Equipped with the Guards division-level artillery regiment (I mentioned one hundred and five millimeters before, so I am correcting it here).

These two types of mountain artillery are typical equipment of division-affiliated artillery regiments. In the Chu army, they are generally equipped with artillery regiments of each division. In addition, some independent units, such as mixed brigades and cavalry brigades, are also attached.

Then there is a 75mm field gun, which is only the main equipment in the artillery regiments of each division.

The above-mentioned three-caliber mortars, 70mm infantry guns, 75mm mountain guns/field guns, and 100mm light howitzers are all artillery attached to division-level troops and below formations, and together they constitute the Dachu Army. The supporting firepower of the division, brigade, regiment, battalion, and company levels of the Imperial Ground Combat Forces.

In terms of weight, all the above-mentioned artillery pieces weigh less than 1,000 kilograms. The heaviest new and improved 75mm field gun is only over 900 kilograms, and the 105mm mountain gun is only 900 kilograms. More than a hundred kilograms.

Others are even lighter. The 75mm mountain cannon generally weighs 500 to 600 kilograms...the military basically does not want them beyond this weight.

The 70mm infantry gun weighs about 250 kilograms.

The 120mm mortar weighs more than 100, which is close to 200 kilograms. The 80mm mortar weighs less than 100 kilograms. The 60mm mortar is even lighter, only a few dozen kilograms!

None of the artillery pieces equipped by the above-mentioned division and brigade-level troops weighs more than 1,000 kilograms... This means that these artillery pieces can basically be towed by one or five trucks or even lighter off-road vehicles or even tricycles.

Further up, there are the artillery brigades directly under each army, and the field artillery attached to the regiments...

Now it is mainly equipped with 100mm field guns and 120mm light howitzers, mainly 150mm light howitzers.

Among them, the 100mm field gun provides ultra-long-range field fire suppression, weighing more than two tons.

Then there is the 120mm light field gun, which has a diameter of only twelve times and weighs just over one ton... It is mainly equipped with military artillery units in areas with complex terrain...

However, the development of the above two types of artillery was stopped in the late 1940s...mainly because they are neither superior nor inferior.

Take the 100mm field gun for example. This damn thing is expensive and heavy. Although it has a very long range and can hit seven or eight kilometers, it is actually not much farther than the new 75mm field gun... and it is more than two tons. Due to the weight, the Chu army is more inclined to get a 120mm howitzer or even a 150mm light howitzer.

Therefore, the newly developed military-level artillery pieces in the Chu Army are 120mm howitzers with more than 20 times the caliber and 150mm light howitzers with only 12 times the caliber.

These two things are relatively similar, both weighing more than two tons. The 120mm howitzer has a long range and decent power; although the 150mm light howitzer has a shorter range, it is very powerful.

When it comes to military-level support artillery, the Chu army likes this kind of large-caliber and powerful thing... Relatively speaking, the range is not that important.

In addition to the above-mentioned military units, there are independent heavy artillery units further up. These heavy artillery units are generally equipped with various long-barreled heavy artillery.

Such as 120mm cannon, 150mm howitzer, 150mm cannon.

All of the above are really big guys, weighing anywhere from four to five tons or even seven to eight tons. For example, the latest 1952-type 150mm cannon in service weighs eight and a half tons... even if It is pulled by a tractor with the highest horsepower, and it is very troublesome to maneuver.

It is precisely because of the new high-horsepower tractors that the Army turned this heavy artillery into a mobile artillery...otherwise it would be used as fortress artillery, coastal defense artillery and the like.

Previously, the Chu Army had also equipped a large number of such large-caliber, long-barreled heavy artillery. Many of them were directly removed from retired navy warships. They were all big guys... but they were basically not used as field mobile artillery. It is used as a fortress and a fixed deployment of coastal defense forts.

Nowadays, with the maturity of internal combustion engine technology and the availability of powerful tractors, such big guys can be pulled everywhere.

The above-mentioned various levels of artillery basically cover many needs such as medium and close infantry support, long-range fire suppression, long-range fire coverage, ultra-long-range fire suppression, etc.

With so many artillery pieces, the number of artillery tractors and artillery transport vehicles required is also very huge.

The number of artillery and heavy artillery are difficult to maneuver, which is also an important purpose of the military's large-scale support for the development of military vehicles... Without so many cars, it would be difficult to rely on mules and horses to pull these heavy artillery.

Providing mobility and firepower sustainability capabilities for artillery units is also the main purpose of military development of automobiles at this stage... It does not mean directly developing a motorized rapid mobile unit.

Although this exists... it's just on a small scale.

The existing large-scale motorized units currently only include the 1st Armored Vehicle Battalion of the Guards, the Army Motorized Mixed Regiment, the Marine Corps' special armored vehicle battalion, and the armed tax police's fast armored vehicle battalion.

The total military strength is only a few thousand people.

Basically, each of the four major military services has only established an experimental motorized unit, and they are still in the exploratory and experimental stage.

The most representative one should be the Army's motorized mixed regiment, which was temporarily organized into three motorized infantry battalions, a motorized artillery battalion, and a rapid reconnaissance company.

Equipped with armored vehicles, trucks, three-wheeled motorcycles, two-wheeled motorcycles...

It is worth noting that many armed three-wheeled motorcycles were once equipped, but they were eventually proven to be unsuitable in various actual tests... Mainly because after setting up the machine gun on the body of the vehicle, it needed to be raised too high, causing the center of gravity It is unstable, and the muzzle flash can easily affect the driver in front.

So after a lot of fiddling, the Army went back to the old road of sidecar-type three-wheeled motorcycles and set up machine guns on the sidecar... This way there are not so many messy problems, but the shooting range is affected to a certain extent. , and the stability is also poor.

Sidecar motorcycles can easily overturn when turning at high speed...

The three-wheeled motorcycle that was originally equipped with a machine gun had its machine gun and machine gun mount removed and was reused as a vehicle for transporting troops and cargo...

Although the attempt to use three-wheeled motorcycles as an armed model was not successful, it was very successful as a transport model...it has a large cargo capacity and is small in size and has strong adaptability to terrain.

Even if you encounter some potholes and the car gets stuck, you can easily get out of it after temporarily moving the goods out because of the light weight of the car itself.

The military is very satisfied with this thing. It is often used as a troop carrier and short-distance material transport vehicle in the First Armored Vehicle Mixed Regiment. It is also used to tow 70mm infantry guns and 120mm mortars.

Its frequency of use is much higher than that of a 15 truck.

As for two-wheeled motorcycles, the number of equipment is not too much. Although they are good in all aspects, they are attacked by tricycles, sidecar tricycles and horses...

After all, these two-wheeled motorcycles are not as good as cavalry when used as a fast mobile force... When it comes to off-road performance, because after all, two-wheeled motorcycles are motor vehicles and have certain requirements for roads, while cavalry does not. If you can go, it’s easy to climb over mountains and ridges.

As for where there are roads... As a frontline combat force, when you get to the front line, do you still expect there to be roads for you?

As for maneuvering over long distances, it makes sense... You said riding a motorcycle is better than riding a horse, but... isn't a tricycle nice? Isn't it delicious for one or five trucks?

A 15 truck can easily carry an entire infantry squad for long-distance road maneuvers... and also carry weapons, equipment, spare ammunition, etc.

Road mobility is not as good as tricycles and trucks... Field mobility is not as good as horses or even on foot... Therefore, the positioning of two-wheeled motorcycles is awkward. Until now, they can only be used as messengers and part of the rapid reconnaissance force... not large-scale.

In the original time and space, two-wheeled motorcycles were also in such an awkward position in the military, so they were relatively rare... unlike three-wheeled motorcycles with sidecars that were everywhere.

As for tricycles, they were relatively rare in the original time and space. That’s not to say there weren’t such things. There were actually quite a lot of them, but they were all in service in some marginal countries, such as Britain, France, Japan, and Italy.

Among them, Italy's Guzzi TriAlce is considered a classic. It can be used to carry cargo and pull people and artillery. It can be seen in almost all situations from the army to airborne troops, air transport, etc. After the war, the Italian army also developed a new model and continued to use this thing. ...It's a pity that the Italian army is too arrogant and has a bad reputation, so this three-bouncer has no reputation either!

And Chu Junli's three-wheelers have received great attention... I can't help it, serious trucks are too expensive now. I also know that the improved version of the 15-truck is very good, but it costs 2,000 Chu Yuan. ...The military, with its big family and business, said it couldn't afford too many...and what about the three-wheeled motorcycles? This thing is much cheaper. It uses a single-cylinder four-stroke engine. The frame is very simple. The carriage is even made of wood. One car only costs a few hundred yuan...

The huge price gap, coupled with the diversity of tricycle tasks, has led to the rapid development of tricycles in the Chu army, with an increasing number of equipment.

And there are also various styles of improved models. Among them, the high-horsepower improved model can even tow a 75mm mountain gun.

To put it bluntly, the Chu army used this thing as a cheap light truck... it could carry people, transport goods, and pull artillery and do everything!