Steel Soviet Union

“Although the chassis of the IS7 is very, very powerful, uh, I don’t mean to brag about the work, Comrade General, but this is indeed the best platform we have ever obtained in the transformation plan, bar none.

"But the B-4 203mm howitzer was still too big and heavy. We demonstrated a variety of design options and combined the experience and lessons from the previous failed S-51 solution, and finally determined that even if it is mounted on the IS7 chassis, it is still It is necessary to carry out drastic adaptive modifications to the B-4 howitzer.”

“In order to get it on board smoothly, we retained its efficient dual-station and retraction system, and specially designed a new muzzle brake, which uses the same pepper bottle type as the 130 main gun of the IS7 heavy tank. Muzzle brake structure, actual combat feedback shows that this is a very efficient and successful design. "

"When it is applied to the 203mm howitzer, test data shows that it can still exert an excellent effect and can reduce the recoil of the gun by more than 65%. Although it is not as efficient as the IS7 main gun brake, its After all, the propellant charge is too large, and being able to achieve this step has exceeded expectations. Our initial goal was to reduce the recoil by at least 60%.”

Compared with the previous S-51, which could knock over the car with one shot, the Stalin Hammer was left intact and the KV-1 chassis was installed on the KV-1 chassis through a head-replacement transplant.

The biggest feature of the Project 261 main gun in front of us is that the front end of its already extremely thick barrel is topped with a thicker and larger giant pepper bottle muzzle brake. The configuration is exactly the same as the IS7's 130 main gun muzzle brake. At first glance, it looks like an enlarged version.

But this is not surprising. If there are mature products on the shelf, just transplant them and use them. It is the most suitable choice during the war years. The Red Army has always done this in the past, and has achieved very good results.

The most typical example is the IS6, which has nothing new and is quickly produced by relying solely on mature shelf products and integrated design. It can directly turn your German army’s second half of the armored war on the Eastern Front into a " A "history of blood and tears" that the past cannot be recalled.

Even if the shampoo guy later re-activated Guderian, and the old Guderian who came out again faced a super iron bastard like IS6 who had gone crazy, he would still be beaten to a numb scalp, helpless, and helpless.

Therefore, the muzzle brake that has been proven to be very successful on the IS7 was modified, slightly enlarged and transplanted to the 203 giant gun. Malashenko also felt that this job was done very well and it was the responsibility of us Slavs. Some styles.

Seeing Malashenko's expression of silent approval while listening to the explanation, Shashmulin, who was even more confident, then pointed to the super beast on the flatbed and continued.

"The highly efficient muzzle brake and dual retreat and re-entry system also include a powerful load-bearing chassis based on Project 260."

"The test firing results at the shooting range show that the recoil of this improved giant gun has been reduced to an acceptable range after being installed on the vehicle. Although on the surface, its recoil is still very powerful, far exceeding the original 130mm main gun of the IS7, every Every time you fire it, the whole car will tremble and move backwards by 50-60 centimeters.”

"But compared to the failed S-51 plan, this result is already very gratifying. The recoil performance of the artillery after being tested on the vehicle is also much stronger than its prototype baseline version B-4 howitzer."

"The latter uses a tractor chassis to carry a longer retreat distance and stronger recoil feedback when firing. Based on this comparison, we believe that a series of targeted improvements to the main gun design are relatively successful and acceptable."

"What do you think? Comrade General."

If we look at Shashmulin's narrative alone, there is no doubt that such a successful targeted improvement design has reached a point of "ecstasy".

But as for the specific performance, it is hard for Malashenko to make a conclusion now.

After all, shooting range testing is one thing, but putting it into actual combat is another.

A top student who performs sub-optimally in the mock exam may not be able to continue to excel in the college entrance examination room. It is also possible for him to overturn on the spot if he is flustered, anxious and frightened.

Therefore, in response to Shashmulin's tentative question, Malashenko, who thought about it for a moment, gave an evaluation that neither criticized Shashmulin nor spoke too fully, causing him to be slapped in the face in the future.

"I personally have an optimistic and positive bias. You keep talking, I'm listening."

"Okay, Comrade General."

I also knew that Malashenko couldn't just listen to the introduction and shout in front of everyone, "Fuck you, I want this, it's so cool!".

The well-informed Shashmulin was satisfied just to hear the positive and optimistic opinions of Malashenko's newspaper, and he also had the courage and confidence to continue speaking.

"We have received a lot of frontline combat feedback before, and many of the crews said that it would be great if our self-propelled artillery had a rotatable turret like a tank, which would greatly improve combat flexibility and comprehensive combat capabilities. promote."

"IS7 is a good enough platform. We also want to complete the innovation of independent rotatable turrets on this platform, and have tried to demonstrate multiple solutions. Several of the better solutions even built bench models and mounted vehicles. test."

"But unfortunately, Comrade General."

"The results of a series of demonstrations and tests show that our current technology does not currently support the design of installing a 203mm main gun into an independent rotatable turret. The size of the turret seat ring and the efficiency and reliability of the steering gear have all appeared to make the design The problem that people cannot accept is that the independent rotatable turret equipped with a 203 mm main gun is too big and heavy, even if the IS7 chassis is so excellent."

Shashmulin, who felt regretful in the middle of speaking, hesitated to speak. After thinking for a moment, he decided to continue speaking.

"But we will not give up, Comrade General."

"The design of the fixed fighting room is just a relative compromise. We will continue to work on the design of the independent rotatable turret. However, this temporary compromise solution is not without merit, such as a wider rear fixed fighting room, or even The semi-automatic loader is large enough to accommodate 203 mm shells and adopts the same principle design as the semi-automatic loader at the end of the IS7 turret.”

"In this way, this at least solves the problem of difficulty in loading the 203 mm cannon. Even if it is inserted into a fully enclosed armored combat room, it is not a problem. Not only has the loading efficiency not declined, but it has been greatly improved compared to the prototype. "

Looking at the IS7 chassis self-propelled artillery that looks like a "Ferdinand-style layout" in front of him, Malashenko, who listened and looked at it and combined his own understanding, basically figured out the design internal structure of this thing.

"That is to say, this thing has the cockpit in the front and the power cabin in the middle. Then the rear part of the originally inclined car body was flattened and changed to vertical, and a huge fully enclosed armored combat room was installed, right?"

"Yes, Comrade General. Your understanding is very correct. The basic structure is like this, and"

Before he finished speaking, he pointed to the vertical butt of the 261 engineering vehicle. From his position, he could indeed see a huge tailgate. Malashenko seemed to understand something, while Shashmulin followed closely. The next words came out of his mouth.

"Ammunition supply will become smoother than ever, Comrade General. Another advantage of the rear layout of the combat room is that it can directly replenish artillery shells from the rear door of the vehicle. No matter how large the size of the projectiles and cartridges is, it is not a problem. In terms of safety and efficiency It’s all guaranteed.”