Steel Soviet Union

Malashenko knew clearly that the 122 family heirloom could not shake the strong frontal armor of Scrap Iron Man. After all, the war history records and Kubinka test record documents were clearly displayed in the library of Moscow University for later generations. read.

But just like the armored soldiers of the Skeleton Division in the second wave of attacks, they did not listen to the warnings of their comrades in the previous wave and still shot at the frontal armor of the IS6 heavy tanks. It was not until they were shocked to the point of being overwhelmed by the sight of futile efforts that they felt like they were dreaming. Just like waking up, human beings are sometimes such creatures that will not shed tears until they see the coffin, and will not give up until they reach the Yellow River.

The principle of hearing is believing is not only applicable to the German army, but also to Malashenko himself.

With a trace of luck, not complete trust in historical records, and the mentality that one must witness it with one's own eyes to believe in reality, Malashenko obeyed his own thoughts and ideas and issued the order to fire back without hesitation.

Of course, the final result must be exactly what he expected. The miracle that he hoped for, the last glimmer of hope in his heart, did not happen.

The 122 heirloom, blessed by the power of a loving father, is indeed unable to penetrate the 200 mm physical thickness of Scrap Iron Man's frontal defensive armor.

Considering that Scrap Iron Man adopts a nearly vertical armor design concept, in actual combat, the equivalent armor protection formed by the angle of the ballistic attack is only a lot more. Any attempt to attack Scrap Iron Man will face a starting point of 200 mm. There are as many as 230 or even 250 or even thicker equivalent armor protection.

With only the penetration power of 122 Heirloom, it is almost impossible to penetrate the Scrap Iron Man from a distance of one kilometer. But what is completely different is that the man carrying a scrap metal gun with a length of 88mm can rely on the terrifying penetration depth and the excellent ballistic performance brought by the extremely high muzzle velocity to accurately snipe into the field of view from a kilometer away. any Soviet target within.

Unless it is to accurately penetrate the relatively weak weak spot on the left side of the armor on the front of the turret, which has a relatively small projected area. Because the gunner's sighting system and the main gun trunnion are installed here, only 150 mm of physical armor protection with the same thickness as the side of the turret is laid. Even at a distance of one kilometer, it will still be effectively penetrated by the Chang 88 , the premise is that the incident angle must be positive and there must be no deflection at all.

Otherwise, the IS6 heavy tank, which is famous for its strong armor and sharp guns and high maneuverability, will not be afraid of any bombardment by the Chang 88 on the entire projected area of ​​the front of the tank, and can easily achieve complete immunity. However, if you want to send the artillery shell accurately to such a small coin slot at a distance of one kilometer, it is almost impossible even if the Chang 88 is famous for its accuracy and high muzzle velocity.

If we really got in, we can only blame the Germans for their good luck and Comrade Ma's bad luck.

But this situation only applies to the most cutting-edge IS6 heavy tanks. For other IS1 and IS2 heavy tanks that are the main combat equipment, the devastating firepower of the Chang 88 is undoubtedly still the most terrifying nightmare on the battlefield.

The physical thickness of the turret's frontal protective armor, which is only 100 mm, is basically the same as a layer of window paper in the face of the fierce direct firepower of the Long 88. There is no big difference.

Even though Kotin had already modified the shape of the upper armor of the IS2 heavy tank one year in advance based on Malashenko's suggestion.

The two-stage upper armor layout of the car body was changed to a monolithic large-angle inclined protective armor, which greatly enhanced the protective effect. This design was also applied to the IS1 heavy tank whose production was constantly increasing at the same time, which was fully enough to withstand the fierce bombardment of the Chang 88 within conventional combat distances.

But just as Malashenko had told Kotin personally before.

Countless brutal tank battles have proven to Malashenko that the turret is definitely more likely to be hit than the car body in actual combat. During the frontal firefight, more than 60% of the tanks were penetrated through the turret, resulting in battle damage or loss of combat effectiveness. The remaining 40% had their tracks broken, the top of the head was penetrated, and the head was penetrated below. Divide according to different situations.

It is good that the front of the car body can block the bombardment of the Chang 88, but if the front of the turret cannot block it, it still does not help, and it feels like the head is ignored.

Kotin has absorbed Malashenko's suggestions and has greatly reduced the protective area of ​​the turret armor in the design of the IS6 heavy tank by "smashing" the turret and compressing the height of the vehicle. In disguise, the physical thickness of the armor on each defense weight is enhanced, which greatly improves the overall defense strength of the turret. It is not a problem to hard-wire the 88mm frontal extension.

However, the mass production of the IS6 will still take time to complete. The IS1 and IS2 heavy tanks, which were produced prematurely, are still following the old path. The protective armor on the front of the turret is the biggest weakness of the front projection of the vehicle. The semi-curved defensive shape can It is not a magic weapon that can bounce and save people every time.

After trying to shoot at Malashenko's car to no avail, he boldly leaned his upper body out of the car one kilometer away, wore headphones on his head and raised his high-powered binoculars to look at the Soviet position opposite. After a face-to-face encounter, he determined that the attack he had just made was ineffective, had a unique appearance, and was completely different from any other Soviet heavy tank around.

"Turn the main gun around. That monster should be the Russian command tank. Attack other secondary targets first, and leave this monster to the troops rushing to the position to finally deal with it!"

The SS commander with a cold and calm face pressed the throat microphone and gave an order outside the car. The gunner in the car, who clearly received the order, quickly shook the handwheel in his hand and turned the muzzle. Only a few seconds later Then they exchanged and locked the next target at a distance of one kilometer.

"Aimed!"

"Fire!"

boom--

The steely-cold SS commander with headphones on his head didn't even bother to retract his upper body into the car. He directly witnessed the end scene where the muzzle brake's flash spread rapidly and finally turned into a wisp of smoke.

The elite and well-cooperated crew members did not disappoint him. The armor-piercing projectile with a muzzle velocity of 1,000 meters per second was fired again at a distance of one kilometer, and once again hit a car only a dozen meters away from Malashenko's car. IS1 heavy tank.

The improved IS1 heavy tank, which uses the same protective layout as the IS2, cannot withstand the heavy bombardment of the Chang 88.

The full-caliber armor-piercing hooded projectile that struck at high speed shot directly through the front of the gun. It instantly detonated in the center of the turret and blossomed in the center. It turned into a ball of flames and hot shrapnel and ended everything before the human brain could react. .