The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 104 Driving a Tank for the First Time
Production workshop.

Liu Tao is assembling parts into a tank.

These parts were all shipped from Factory 256 and are enough to assemble three Type 59 tanks.

He also thoroughly understood the drawings, and then assembled the Type 256 tank under the guidance of the technicians from Factory 59.

It has to be said that a tank is a tank, and its technological content is far beyond the reach of firearms.

This can be seen from the huge price gap between tanks and firearms.

Even a tank like the Type 59 main battle tank, which is already outdated, can still be sold for $30.

However, the battlefield weapon made by Liu Tao, the Type 78 heavy sniper rifle, can only be sold for US dollars, a difference of times!
If it is a T72 main battle tank, the current price is about two to three million US dollars, and there are a lot of conditions attached to buying it. The most terrible thing is that it is impossible to buy the original version, you can only buy the monkey version.

"Director Liu, it's too slow for you to do it alone. Why don't we help you?" the technician couldn't help but say.

Liu Tao refused, "No, I have to do it myself!"

What a joke! Who knows whether the Type 59 tank is actually produced by ourselves even if the technicians are involved?

Just in case, he would never allow technical personnel to participate, they could just guide him from the side.

"Director Liu, doesn't your factory produce guns and bullets? Why are you also developing armored vehicles?" The technicians were very puzzled.

He was a technician from Factory 526 and naturally knew something about armored vehicles. There was no armored vehicle production plant in Yunnan Province at all.

Panshan Machinery Factory does not produce armored vehicles or other military vehicles.

"I'm interested. Let me study it." Liu Tao smiled and didn't explain further.

Once he finishes assembling three Type 59 armored vehicles, there will be no need for this technician to be here.

He has a golden finger, which is his biggest secret and he will never tell anyone.

The technicians were all puzzled and didn't understand why Liu Tao did this.

Do you want Panshan Machinery Factory to produce armored vehicles as well?

But you have to know that armored vehicle production is not that easy, and Panshan Machinery Factory does not have an armored vehicle production line at all.

It is not easy to set up a production line.

Making armored vehicles is completely different from making guns.

Those who make armored vehicles can make guns and cannons, but those who can make guns and cannons are almost impossible to make armored vehicles.

However, no matter how confused he was, he could only perform his duties well.

At first he was puzzled and reluctant about being sent to Panshan Machinery Factory by his unit, but after arriving, he was reluctant to leave because the food in the canteen of Panshan Machinery Factory was far better than that of their 526 Factory.

More importantly, the wages at Panshan Machinery Factory are much higher than those at Factory 526.

Liu Tao was sweating profusely and working hard.

And time always passes fastest when you are working hard.

Before we knew it, it is already approaching the Spring Festival. Standing on the eve of the Chinese New Year, it is only a week away from the Spring Festival.

In the production workshop, three Type 59 tanks are neatly lined up in a row.

Liu Tao looked at the three Type 59 tanks with a smile on his face. He had finally managed to deal with all three tanks.

Place your hand on the Type 59 tank and a virtual panel will appear.

[Item: Type 59 Tank]

[Manufacturer: Liu Tao] [Item Level: LV1 (0/10)]

[Upgrade Points: 1200]

[Item status: intact, analyzable]

Liu Tao asked his guards to fetch diesel and fill up a Type 59 tank with diesel.

“这59式坦克制造成本一辆大概是30万人民币，过去华夏制造上万辆59式坦克，意味着仅仅生产59式坦克上就花费了超过30亿人民币！”刘韬暗道。

This is a mature production technology, and it is mass-produced. The manufacturing cost of one vehicle has reached 30 yuan. It would have been much more in the past.

One can imagine how much money weapons and equipment cost.

And this is something that China can produce. If you buy it, it will definitely be more expensive, and you will face the risk of being strangled at any time.

The three Type 59 tanks shipped by Factory 526 were not complete ones, but Panshan Machinery Factory still paid Factory 526 RMB 90.

Liu Tao groped his way into the tank's cockpit.

This was his first time driving a tank.

As soon as he entered the cockpit and looked at the instruments, Liu Tao understood that this was completely different from driving an automatic car, and even had a big difference from driving a manual transmission car.

This tank is not easy to operate at all. It uses a joystick, not fully hydraulic, but manual and mechanical, making it very difficult to operate.

It takes a lot of effort to maneuver such a big thing.

The left foot is on the clutch, the right foot is on the accelerator, and the right hand lever is on the gear.
Liu Tao was familiar with them one by one.

When he understood everything and felt it was about right, Liu Tao pressed the clutch with his left foot to the bottom and pushed both hands in. It took about 20 kilograms of force to shift gears. Then he released the clutch and the car moved forward.

The diesel engine pumped out horsepower and belched out smoke.

The Type 59 main battle tank uses a V-type 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine with a rated power of 382kW, or 520 horsepower. It uses a fixed-axis gearbox with 5 forward gears and 1 reverse gear, and uses a multi-plate dry clutch, a two-stage planetary steering gear and a single pair of external-meshing spur gear side reducer.

This huge thing weighs up to 34 tons. If a jeep collides with it, it will be crushed directly.

Liu Tao carefully maneuvered the tank and slowly drove it to the open space.

Forward, backward
This cycle repeats itself over and over again.

During this process, Liu Tao became more and more proficient in operating the tank.

It was at this time that he sped up.

However, the speed was maintained at 20 kilometers per hour, and he did not dare to drive faster.

Even though the Type 59 is just an outdated tank, this big guy can easily crush a factory with a single step on the accelerator.

The advancement or backwardness of weapons is always relative.

For example, the Type 59 tank is naturally outdated compared to the main battle tanks of the West and the Soviet Union. However, if it is in the Third World, where most countries cannot even produce tanks, and many countries do not even have tanks, the Type 59 tank is a powerful weapon.

Just like more than forty years later, the Type 64 main battle tank is still killing everyone on the battlefield and has become the enemy's nightmare.

Liu Tao came out of the cockpit, gasping for breath, until he was extremely tired.

The working environment inside the tank can definitely be said to be harsh, and the operation is not easy. Liu Tao looked at his hands, his palms were red, with clearly visible indentations, and his hands were shaking.

"Damn, it's hard to imagine how the tank soldiers can operate such a big guy to carry out a series of difficult training." Liu Tao secretly marveled and admired the tank soldiers very much.

He finally understood why it would take at least one or two years for a tank armored unit to truly demonstrate its combat effectiveness once it was formed. It was really necessary to go through a series of difficult training to master the tanks, and then on the battlefield, to better exert the power of the tanks.

(End of this chapter)