Steel Soviet Union

The expected strong ammunition explosion did not happen, and the Russian steel monster still stood tenaciously and did not move its head.

A shell that hit the armor plate on the front of the car was directly bounced and shot diagonally into the sky. It was as useless as a 62 steel-core armor-piercing bullet hitting Sister 45's chest. At most, it only cut off a layer. Paint, leaving a little scratch.

The overconfident German anti-tank gun crew obviously underestimated the opponent's armor protection level, but this does not mean that they have lost confidence in the cutting-edge anti-tank gun weapons at hand.

The German anti-tank gun team responsible for the artillery battle knew very well that the guy in their hands at this moment is probably one of the most powerful anti-tank guns in the world.

This oversized anti-tank gun, which is much bulkier than the PAK40, is the version of the 88-gun anti-tank gun that has been on the agenda since 1941. Different from the original part-time 88 anti-aircraft gun, the newly designed 88 anti-tank gun is specially designed for anti-armor tasks. It has many excellent characteristics such as low profile, easier to load, and relatively easier to carry and deploy.

The only difference is that the 88mm anti-tank gun officially obtained is more powerful.

This is no longer the Short 88 as the main gun mounted on the Tiger tank, but the Long 88, which is the same main gun as the latest Ferdinand heavy tank destroyer. The German equipment series is officially named the PAK 43 towed type. Anti-tank gun.

The latest equipment should be given priority to the most elite troops. As the leader of the Führer's pro-military order, the Guards Flagship Division naturally receives the brand-new PAK 43.

These PAK 43 anti-tank guns, which are difficult to maneuver and deploy, are extremely heavy, with a total combat weight of 3 tons. They are no longer as powerful as the previous generation PAK 40, which can be pushed manually by a group of big men. They must be mounted on a special tractor trailer to survive. Serve these new-style uncles who have just appeared.

The weather in Kursk these days is as moody as an innocent little baby, with clear skies and heavy rain alternating three or four times a day. Although the downpours that came and went intermittently did not cause floods, they did turn some places that were not easy to drive into today's muddy puddles and smell similar to swamps.

It is easy for the German tanks with high horsepower and wide tracks to get through these puddles that are one foot deep and one foot shallow. They can just hit the throttle and directly use full power to forcefully pass through. The tank force is already known for its excellent cross-country mobility. , not to be hindered by this muddy pond. At this time, the weight of the German armored forces was far from the average level of King Tiger and Hunter Tiger.

However, it is easy for a high-horsepower tank to pass by, but it is not that simple for the PAK 43 trailers, which have limited horsepower and are towing a heavy oil bottle.

The car passed by, but the gun got stuck in the mud and couldn't be pulled out, or the car and the gun got stuck in the mud together and tried hard to get out but failed. What's more, the guide wheel even scratched and used too much force. The unbalanced PAK 43 was directly dragged into the mud and turned sideways on the spot.

The Guards Division, which emphasizes the speed of its attack, has already left defensive equipment such as anti-tank guns that cannot be used in the attack far behind the troops. Now the car was driven into a muddy pond, and the precious anti-tank gun overturned on the spot. After the delay of one and two trips, the distance from the forward troops was even farther away.

So much so that yesterday they were still preparing to launch an offensive, and the Guards Division troops who were hoarding at the temporary resting point of the October State Farm that had just been captured encountered a sudden counterattack by the Soviet troops that had been foreshadowed in advance.

Those PAK 43 anti-tank guns, which could have greatly relieved the defensive pressure, were still far behind the armored forces and could not be seen at all. The guard flag regiment, which was only seeking attack speed, stretched the marching team into a dragon, and almost paid a heavy price for it. Fortunately, troops from the neighboring Imperial Division rushed to the rescue, and they escaped. Pass a tribulation.

The PAK43 anti-tank guns, which did not have time to make their debut yesterday, marched all night long and finally got out of the mud pit this morning and arrived at the predetermined combat position and were ready.

And these can even be called the most powerful standard anti-tank guns in the world. The first battle ushered in the Stalin Guards 1st Heavy Tank Brigade, which can be said to be the most powerful heavy tank in the world. An inexplicable battle The ace vs. ace peak showdown begins.

"Reload, keep shooting, quick!"

The German gunner who commanded his men clearly saw the terrifying situation of armor-piercing bullets being bounced away instantly, but the Russian heavy tank roaring towards his own position through the telescope did not seem to be affected at all.

With the ferocious and unique huge appearance coupled with the violent and rough main gun, no one would doubt the strength of such a masterpiece by the Russian guy who has a unique talent in building tanks.

Just because the armor on the front of the car body cannot be penetrated does not mean that the whole body is invincible. In 1941, when I commanded 37 to attack the T34, I couldn't even hope to penetrate the armor on the front of the car body. Only the front armor of the turret and the neck of the car body and turret were combined. There is hope that the department can break through.

"Aim at the turret and hit the Russian guy in the face! Shooting at the hull has no effect, and the tilt angle is even greater than those T34s!"

The gunner, who boldly judged that he might have encountered a similar situation again, changed his order. The gunner in charge of gun control and aiming, who obeyed the order, immediately fine-tuned the high and low machine wheels in his hands, and set the dense scale mark in the center of the gun mirror to the point where he could hit the turret. In the position, he immediately spoke loudly after making sure that he had locked the target.

"Aimed!"

"Loading completed!"

"Fire!"

The Chang 88 mounted on Ferdinand and even used by the upcoming Tiger King is indeed extremely powerful.

The slender gun barrel, which was more than six meters long, suddenly retreated backwards, the gun body shook, and the extremely diffuse muzzle fire flames once again released the extremely powerful custom-made 88mm hooded armor-piercing projectile.

The new custom-made full-caliber hooded armor-piercing projectile specially customized for the Long 88 adopts an innovative size. The length of the propellant barrel is fully one-third longer than that of the similar armor-piercing projectile of the Short 88.

The greater amount of propellant combined with the longer main gun barrel gives this full-caliber armor-piercing projectile with a muzzle velocity as high as one kilometer per second extremely surging kinetic energy.

The gunner's confidence was not groundless. The shrill, roaring Long 88 special full-caliber armor-piercing projectile accurately hit the target again. With its extremely excellent ballistic performance and ultra-high muzzle velocity, it hit the turret of the Russian steel monster hard. On the face.

But the world that humans live in is sometimes so realistic and cruel.

The Chang 88, which was supposed to be invincible, was once again defeated. The armor-piercing projectile that was fired from a static counterattack and hit the front face of the left side of the turret of Malashenko's vehicle and close to the armor position near the edge of the outer arc was ruthlessly bounced away again. A fierce and brilliant marquee-like spark is simply the greatest irony and ruthless mockery.