The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 232 A Beautiful Price

The current focus of the army is to streamline the troops.

The establishment of independent divisions in provincial military regions was completely abolished, and then some troops were transferred to local areas. Some field army infantry divisions were also renamed and turned into simplified divisions to streamline the coastal garrison forces.

Although the troops have some money, it is used to relocate the streamlined troops and purchase some weapons and equipment.

If the Type 81 infantry fighting vehicle is too expensive, the troops simply cannot afford to equip themselves with it, and even if they can afford it, they will not be willing to spend so much money.

Liu Tao said: "If the army purchases it, each vehicle will cost 25 RMB, and we will even give you some extra money after the cost price!"

Upon hearing the price of RMB 25 per vehicle, all the leaders couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

However, no leader thought it was expensive. Instead, they thought it was relatively cheap.

After all, a jeep costs 20,000 to 30,000 RMB.

Infantry fighting vehicles are used for fighting, so it is normal for the price to be ten times higher.

"How difficult is production?" asked another leader.

"The production difficulty is not too great, about the same as the Type 81 light tank." Liu Tao said, and then he complained to the leaders, "Dear leaders, the level of the 256 technical backbones supported by the ministry in Factory is too low, it's almost like retraining them."

All tanks produced by Factory 256 are transported to Kun City for quality inspection by Liu Tao.

From the beginning to now, no qualified tank has been produced. All of them have more or less problems, and Liu Tao has to use the golden finger to repair them.

It was only after he transferred two hundred technicians from Panshan Machinery Factory to Factory 256 that the problem was greatly reduced.

When several leaders heard Liu Tao's complaints, they couldn't help but blush.

That decade caused great damage to the military factories. The workers' technical level not only did not improve but regressed. Some key technical personnel were sent to labor reform, and a number of them died. Another number had more or less health problems. There were very few key technical personnel who were in good health.

The leaders are well aware of the level of these supporting technical backbones.

Because the Type 59 tanks they made are not even as good as the Type 59 tanks made more than a decade ago.

But this is already the best that can be selected, it is like picking out the tallest person among the short ones.

The reason for supporting these 1,000 people is to take advantage of this opportunity to reorganize Panshan Machinery Factory and forge a group of skilled workers so that the First and Second Machinery Plants can implement reforms. Otherwise, these state-owned factories have no clear understanding of reform and it will be difficult to promote it.

Now Liu Tao was complaining to their faces, which made them feel quite embarrassed.

"Leader, if the First and Second Machine Plants are like this, I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to produce tanks or infantry fighting vehicles." Liu Tao said helplessly: "We really hope that the department can support us with a group of technical talents."

Leader Zhang quickly comforted Liu Tao and said, "In this way, we will draw technical personnel from the Tank Design Institute and the Armored Forces Academy to support you."

When the First Machine Factory was first built, it was a complete copy of the Soviet model, with production only responsible for production and the design department only responsible for design. However, as time went on, domestic factories also developed, and they all set up their own R&D institutions, at least to be able to make small-scale improvements. Even the technical department responsible for R&D at the First Machine Factory had a lot of talent.

There is also the Armored Forces Academy, which will also have a group of technical talents.

But even they have to admit that the one with the strongest weapons and equipment R&D capabilities now is not the First Machine Factory, the Second Machine Factory or other military factories and scientific research institutions, but the Panshan Machinery Factory.

For several consecutive years, the new weapons developed by the military industry system have been the most eye-catching ones of Panshan Machinery Factory, and it can even be said that it is the only one that has achieved results.

"By the way, you haven't talked about the 122mm self-propelled howitzer you mentioned before. Tell us about it!" Wang Baoguo spoke at this time. If this continued, the meeting would not be able to be held.

Since he was transferred to the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building, he has been promoting the system of Panshan Machinery Factory to the weapons industry system, and even organized several groups of people to visit and study at Panshan Machinery Factory.

However, when it comes to actually implementing the reform, the situation is not optimistic.

Many people's thinking is still stuck in the old days of eating from the same pot. There are also many military factories where the original batch of technical backbones have either passed away, are sick, or are old.

The gap between the old and the new is very obvious.

It is extremely difficult to truly implement reforms. After all, not every factory has a Liu Tao like Panshan Machinery Factory, who is enterprising and courageous to try.

Even in many military factories, the phenomenon of being afraid of making mistakes, not daring to make mistakes, and considering not making mistakes as a merit is very obvious.

"The 122mm self-propelled howitzer was also developed based on the Type 81 light tank, and the chassis of the two are basically the same," said Liu Tao.

The leaders listened and couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

The range alone has doubled.

Not to mention its mobility and power!

It stands to reason that when a new type of weapon is developed, it needs to go through a series of reviews and tests before being finalized based on the results.

For example, for a 122mm self-propelled howitzer, one or two prototypes are manufactured and sent to Beijing, where the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building organizes experts to conduct a 500-kilometer preliminary test, which achieves good test results. The prototype is then handed over to the Armored Forces Military Product Finalization Committee for finalization testing. The prototype needs to withstand about 5000 to 6000 kilometers of driving tests in cold, humid and hot areas, and normal temperature areas, and meet the requirements of combat technical indicators. Only then can it successfully pass the design finalization inspection. The Armored Forces Military Product Finalization Committee formally approves the design and finalization of the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and will also give it an official name.

However, Panshan Machinery Factory is very special. The products developed by Panshan Machinery Factory are first delivered to the troops, and the troops are satisfied. Because the products developed by Panshan Machinery Factory often fill the gaps in China's military industry or greatly improve the performance, the Military Product Finalization Committee is not as professional as Liu Tao. Moreover, the military products produced by Panshan Machinery Factory are not purchased by China in large part, but mainly for export, and the purchases by domestic troops are subsidized.

"Comrade Liu Tao, can this new 122mm howitzer technology be applied to other military factories to produce 122mm howitzers?" Leader Zhang asked.

China also has the ability to produce 122mm howitzers, but although the caliber is the same, the performance is very different.

The 122mm howitzer produced by China is the Type 54 122mm towed howitzer. Its predecessor was the Type 1940 1938mm howitzer finalized and produced by the Soviet Union in 122. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, my country purchased a batch of this type of howitzers from the Soviet Union to equip the Volunteer Army. After the Volunteer Army artillery used it, they said that this gun was indeed reliable, durable, and had good shooting accuracy, so they chose this gun for large-scale imitation.

The Type 54 122mm towed howitzer was the first caliber howitzer imitated and produced by the Republic's military industry department. As the backbone of the division's artillery, it was mass-produced and equipped to the troops.

(End of this chapter)