afterglow

Chapter 598 Chapter Leopard! Marching to the Aleutians... Something unexpected happened

Zhou Changfeng found that he seemed to encounter emergencies every time he came to Shuntian.

"This is weird. Counterattack at this time... Impossible."

He was extremely confused when intelligence agencies warned him that the US military might be targeting the Marshall Islands or the Gilbert Islands.

Right now is the time when the Ming Navy is at its strongest. Seven of the nine aircraft carriers can attack at any time, and the other two are just undergoing repairs.

How many glasses of wine did the American have to drink to get so drunk?

The Ming Navy should be thankful that it did not take the initiative to go to the West Coast to kick the door.

Although several Essex-class ships have been delivered, they have not yet become combat-ready. The only aircraft carriers that the US military can currently participate in the war are the Saratoga, Enterprise, and the leased Illustrious, plus at most one light aircraft carrier, the Independence.

If they dare to take the initiative to attack, the Ming Navy will surely go all out to annihilate them in one battle.

Nine...seven ships against four, the advantage is on my side!
Therefore, Zhou Changfeng believed that the possibility of the US military launching a counterattack was small, and it should be just a feint to distract the Ming army. After all, the results in Hawaii were too amazing. The US military thought it could defend Lanai Island for at least a month, but it only lasted five days.

After some thought, he felt that it was unlikely that the US military would formally launch a counterattack now.

In this case, we just need to remain alert and vigilant for the time being and keep our troops in place.

The next day, he came to the familiar old place again - the National First Heavy Machinery Company.

The weather was freezing cold, with the ground covered in white. However, most northern regions have central heating, so on this day close to the Lesser Cold, the large factory was warm as if it were spring.

"How's the new cannon? Can it be put in smoothly?"

"It's a difficult matter. The existing turret is too tight to accommodate this new long gun."

In front of Zhou Changfeng was a Type 40 medium tank - it was replacing its predecessor, the Type 38, and becoming the backbone of the Ming army's armored forces.

The early model used an 80mm, 36-caliber tank gun, and the commonly used armor-piercing projectile was the 80×350mm capped blunt-head armor-piercing blasting projectile.

Its penetration capability is a 500mm rolled nickel-manganese armor steel plate placed vertically at a distance of 76m. Moreover, because it is a blunt-nosed armor-piercing projectile, it has good straightening ability, which can offset the effect of inclined armor to a certain extent.

This mediocre cannon was not bad. In the past year on the battlefields of the South Asian subcontinent, hundreds of Valentines, Crusaders, Grants, and Stuarts were turned into burning scrap metal by it.

Even if they encounter a Sherman that cannot be penetrated by commonly used armor-piercing bullets, they can still fire tungsten carbide hard-core armor-piercing bullets.

Not to mention that its explosive charge is very large (0.81 kg), and its effect on soft targets is amazing.

However, after weighing the pros and cons, Zhou Changfeng still insisted on upgrading the firepower, because this was very different from the history of the original plane. God knows what kind of tanks the US military will deploy to the Pacific battlefield next.

Fortunately, the First Machine Company followed his suggestion last year and commissioned the Shenyang Army Artillery Factory to develop an experimental tank gun that focused more on armor-piercing capabilities.

This cannon is now suspended by a crane in front of everyone. The barrel is slender and looks full of steel power.

"It's the first-year trial model. The tube length is fifty times the caliber. It can penetrate a steel target of more than 120 millimeters at a distance of 1,000 meters." An engineer from the Shenyang Arsenal introduced it with a confident tone.

"Slant target?"

"Vertical target, it will be slightly weaker against oblique targets."

"Yes, it's a good gun." Zhou Changfeng looked at it from left to right and asked, "The original turret can't be installed, so... how is the progress of the new turret?"

"Hey!" The project leader clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Mr. Zhou, you came at the right time. The wooden model and steel plate samples were just completed in the past two days."

"It's quite a coincidence."

试制元年式坦克炮口径为80㎜、50倍径，弹药尺寸为80×480㎜，威力系数5.11，穿甲弹的弹头质量7.9㎏，发射药重量2.72㎏，初速815m/s；其侵彻能力为500m距离上贯穿垂直放置的138㎜轧制镍锰装甲钢板。

If a tungsten carbide hard core armor-piercing bullet is fired, the penetration depth can reach 172 mm at the same distance.

Very powerful!

This firepower was actually excessive, enough to penetrate the Sherman from two kilometers away.

[The calculation standard for barrel length is consistent with that of Britain and France, and does not include the length of the chamber, but the Germans do include it.]

In general, this is a well-designed tank gun with balanced performance and high accuracy. It is not as radical as the British 17Pdr and the German Kwk42.

However, the recoil travel of this gun was long, and even with a muzzle brake installed, the original turret of the Type 40 medium tank could only barely accommodate it, so the Ordnance Bureau ordered the development of a larger new turret.

However, the gun also faced the problem of ammunition and propellant.

When it was first designed, it was envisioned to use a three-base propellant containing nitroguanidine, which has light ablation and can suppress muzzle flame.

However, nitroguanidine propellant has been difficult to produce so far, and the most commonly used double-base propellant has to be replaced. This causes the muzzle flame during firing to far exceed expectations, and is particularly conspicuous even at a distance of several kilometers.

Time waits for no one, so the design team hastily added a large trumpet-shaped flash suppressor with an expansion chamber to solve the problem.

A cannon is a cannon, and a bullet is a bullet. Only when a cannon is equipped with ammunition can it form a complete system. This blame obviously cannot be borne by the designer.

【Picture】

Zhou Changfeng then saw the Type 40C medium tank equipped with a new turret.

With sharp edges and a steeply inclined front, he felt that this had a hint of the shape of a modern tank.

Fortunately, a turret ring with a larger diameter was reserved, which has the potential for upgrading, otherwise we would be having a headache now.

While replacing the new turret, the vehicle suspension design is also completely different.

The previous balanced suspension has been replaced by a uniform independent suspension, which provides a smoother ride.

In addition, the frontal armor was also strengthened.

The front of the vehicle body was originally made of 50mm rolled homogeneous armor steel with a 45° inclination. Now an additional 10mm steel plate has been added, which is installed by welding or bolting to better withstand the Sherman's attacks.

面对谢尔曼发射的M61型75㎜穿甲弹时，这厚度50+10㎜、45°倾角的装甲钢近似等效约95㎜，值得信赖。

In addition, there are more than a dozen minor detail modifications to the Type 40C.

First, the engine radiator fan size has been increased to enhance heat dissipation capabilities.

Secondly, the outer rubber layer of the first pair of road wheels is thickened to alleviate the increased wear caused by the increase in weight of the entire vehicle.

Third, the headlights have been equipped with anti-aircraft shields to reduce the possibility of being discovered by enemy aircraft at night.

After such a big change, the empty vehicle weight of Type 20.7C increased from 22.6 tons to tons, and its maneuverability decreased slightly.

Zhou Changfeng praised: "It is great that such a car can be made despite the restrictions on vehicle weight and width. It is a great achievement!"

With such a light weight, it has the ability to penetrate the Sherman and defend against the Sherman, which deserves praise.

In compliance with the Emperor's order, the Type 40 was given the official nickname "Clouded Leopard" by the Ministry of War after being revamped.

Zhu Lingjing believes that naming weapons and equipment purely by year is too dull, and that some nicknames and aliases should be added to boost morale.

Pacific Tiger? Pacific Leopard!
After the Battle of Lanai Island, the Ming Army realized that the new US military tanks posed a threat that could not be underestimated, and they might also encounter them on the Indo-Du front, so they immediately ordered 2300 tanks.

The officers and soldiers on the front line were reluctant to give up the powerful large-charged anti-personnel shells of the short Type 36 gun (50 times the caliber), so the army repeatedly instructed that the anti-personnel shells of the long Type gun ( times the caliber) must use the same warhead as the old model.

The Shenyang Arsenal has repeatedly reduced the weight of the propellant of the new type of high-explosive bomb and lowered the chamber pressure to prevent explosion, thus meeting the requirements.

The people from the First Machine Company then took Zhou Changfeng to visit the heavy tanks that were under development.

Compared with the originally planned technology verification vehicle that integrates many cutting-edge technologies, this type of heavy tank has castrated some immature equipment and focuses more on practicality.

After all, that technology verification vehicle even had a torque converter and a supercharger added, which sounds unreliable.

In fact, the Ming Army was not very interested in heavy tanks, disliking their high cost and difficulty in deployment, so it did not plan to place orders in large quantities, and was only interested in getting one or two hundred vehicles.

They were even considering purchasing heavy tanks from Deutsche societe, as Deutsche agreed to pay 70% of the price in rare resources and the remaining 30% in precious metals.

Tungsten, nickel, molybdenum, mica crystals, natural rubber and other resources are so cheap that they are negligible for the Ming Dynasty, so it is very attractive to purchase some weapons and equipment from Germany.

It’s better to buy than to make!

The prototype of VK4501 has passed the test, and the German People's Army has ordered a first batch of 1060 vehicles, which are expected to be manufactured within a year.

With so many heavy tanks... the Germans can't even use them all, it's such a waste.

The inspection results of the Type 40 medium tank and experimental heavy tank made Zhou Changfeng feel at ease.

The land warfare weapons are all pretty good. After all, it is a traditional land power. These weapons and equipment are very impressive, and the hard indicators are definitely up to standard.

Just thinking about the gap in aircraft, Zhou Changfeng couldn't help feeling a little heavy.

I hope that spending more money and investing more resources can produce results in time, at least to ensure a 40:60 situation.

On New Year's Eve, he returned to Yingtian.

Despite the efforts of everyone in Dongshaojian, the work of deciphering the U.S. military communication codes has not been very successful. Usually, only a few words can be deciphered. Every time when there is finally some progress, the Americans will regularly change the codes.

In response to the recent sharp increase in frequency, they conducted a rigorous analysis of the large amount of intercepted telecommunications and tried to decipher the few words that had been deciphered. They estimated that the Americans were planning to target the Marshall Islands and the Gilbert Islands.

The Intelligence Department of the Grand Governor's Office attached great importance to this situation and reminded the navy to make preparations as soon as possible.

However, on the penultimate day of the first year of the Jinghe era, in Australia, a U.S. military liaison plane that took off from Brisbane crashed in the area controlled by the Japanese puppet army. The search team found the body of a U.S. lieutenant colonel staff officer and the briefcase he was carrying on it.

The Ming army, overjoyed at having found a treasure, immediately began to analyze the seized documents. One of the telegrams showed that military aid to Australia would be reduced in the next two months because more resources would be invested in Hawaii and the Aleutian Islands.

The situation at the front seemed to confirm this - the air strike harassment by the US-Australian coalition forces decreased and was not seen for several days.

Therefore, the Intelligence Department of the Grand Marshal's Office believed that the US military had guessed its intention to march to the Aleutian Dutch Harbor, so the US military was mobilizing forces to defend the Dutch Harbor.

The Ming Navy also believed this inference. They estimated that the US military might send all available aircraft carriers at hand to cooperate with the Aleutian shore-based aviation force to obstruct the incoming Ming army.

On January 1 of the following year, the Grand Marshal's Office made a decision that except for the Taiwei Zuoyuan aircraft carrier, the remaining six aircraft carriers would all participate in the upcoming operation to capture the Aleutian Islands.

As for the other two ships, HMS Fomalhaut was damaged by a bombing by the Royal Australian Air Force two months ago and is still undergoing repairs in Dagu; HMS Ziwei Zuoyuan had her bow damaged in a collision accident not long ago and is also undergoing repairs.

But the Grand Marshal's Office suddenly changed the order just one day after their arrival, and ordered the Taiwei Zuoyuan to join the battle as well - they felt it would be safer to go all out.

On January 1, the order to go to war was issued.

On January 1, the fleet set out in batches from multiple anchorages and was expected to assemble in the waters near Midway Island.

This was the first time that the Ming Navy sent out such a large-scale main fleet after the end of the Battle of Hawaii. There were more than 800 ships, and the officers and soldiers were extremely excited.

The accompanying civilian official, Bingke Jieshizhong, wrote a poem in his notes and used classic exaggerated words with the military reporter to describe the scene, saying: "Ten thousand-ton heavy weapons are crossing the ocean, thousands of warships are linked together, covering the sky and blocking the sun, and the momentum is unstoppable."

The 2nd Marine Brigade, the 62nd Marine Special Service Battalion, the 44th Army Infantry Division, the 137th Army Infantry Division, and the 106th Army Independent Tank Battalion, which were responsible for the island capture mission, totaled more than 40,000 people.

It can be seen that the Ming Navy's ocean-going delivery capability has also made great progress this year. Previously, it could deploy at most 30,000 troops at a time, but now it has more than 40,000 troops to spare.

Although the emperor did not appoint Zhou as the general, as the Ming Dynasty's number one amphibious warfare expert, he presided over the formulation of the action plan throughout the process.

On January 1, the fleets that arrived at Midway Island one after another assembled and prepared for battle, and then headed straight for the Aleutian Islands in the northeast.

On January 1, the special forces fleet arrived 27 km south of Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands and was discovered by a US PBY Catalina seaplane.

In a broad sense, the battle begins from this moment.

Because of its large number of armored aircraft carriers, the Ming Navy has been looking for more suitable and efficient tactics. This time, it tried to use the "shuttle bombing" tactic.

The fragile ordinary wooden deck aircraft carrier is hundreds of kilometers behind, responsible for launching bombers; the sturdy armored aircraft carrier is in the front, serving as a mobile airport at sea, responsible for launching fighter jets to escort the carrier-based bombers.

On the evening of January 1, Zhou Changfeng, who was anxiously waiting for battle reports from the front line at the General Staff Office of the Grand Marshal's Office, had lost his appetite and finally received the telegram at sunset.

"As of this moment, our fleet has successfully carried out air strikes on three target airports, shooting down or destroying more than a hundred enemy aircraft, and countless other targets. Chang Gung was hit by a heavy bomb from an enemy shore-based bomber, but it is not a problem. No signs of enemy aircraft carrier activity have been found."

After reading it quickly, he breathed a sigh of relief.

That's right, the armored aircraft carrier has a high tolerance rate, so there's no need to worry too much, he thought to himself.

Zhou Changfeng finally had an appetite and enjoyed a not-so-rich dinner.

Later in the night.

A hurried ring rang suddenly, and the servant of the mansion hurriedly answered it and woke up Zhou Changfeng in his room on the second floor.

The latter hurried downstairs in his clothes, and shivered at the cold he felt on his legs.

What happened? The fleet is destroyed? Impossible!

His brainstorming lasted for more than ten seconds until he picked up the microphone.

"What's the emergency?" he asked calmly.

The voice on the other end of the line replied solemnly: "An urgent message from the Tarawa Defense Camp: Patrol planes spotted an approaching enemy fleet!"

(End of this chapter)