Iron Sonata of World War II

Helena: We first remove the turret in the middle of the tank, and then remove the driver’s seat on the left front of the hull and the ammunition rack on the right front of the hull. Artillery battle room?

The engineer asked: But the power compartment is located behind the tank. We can't let the infantry get off from the front of the armored vehicle under the rain of bullets, right?

Helena: We can drive the car in reverse.That is, the original direction of the front of the car is changed to the direction of the rear of the car.If it's going to be an infantry fighting vehicle, we'll add the crew compartment and the ramp doors there; if it's going to be a self-propelled gun, we'll put the fighting compartment there.At this time, the original power compartment at the rear of the car has become the direction of the front of the car, where we can rebuild a front armor structure with an angle.In this way, the chariot has changed from the original power rear layout to the standard power front layout.

The engineer asked: But you removed the driver's seat, where should the driver sit and operate the tank?

Helena: On both sides of the Ferret tank's engine are the fuel tanks. We can remove the fuel tank on the side of the engine and arrange a new cab there.

The engineer asked: What should I do if the width of the fuel tank on the side of the engine is too small and there is not enough space for the cab?

Helena: This question is not difficult, we can widen the car body by 200 to 300 mm.In this way, not only can the driver's cab be put down, but also the rear passenger compartment or combat room can be made more spacious. Anyway, the chassis of armored vehicles or self-propelled artillery places more emphasis on loading, and it doesn't have to be designed as compactly as a tank, and the frontal armor doesn't have to reach Ferret tanks. That level of protection.

The engineer asked: Now that one of the original two fuel tanks is removed, will there really be no problem with the full fuel range of the tank?

Helena: Whether it's an armored vehicle or a self-propelled artillery, there will be a lot of hard-to-use spaces inside.For example, behind and under the crew seat of an armored vehicle, or under the rotating base of the self-propelled artillery, we can arrange fuel tanks with self-sealing functions in these difficult-to-use spaces.Still have questions?

Engineer Answer: There seems to be no major problem.

Helena said: Since there are no major problems, then hurry up and work in front of the drawing board. If I help solve all the big and small problems, will you be worthy of your salary?

Chapter 234 Pretend to lose the battle

Under the guidance of Helena, the engineers finally developed a new type of chassis, both in internal structure and external shape. , and even failed to discover at the first time that there is actually a close relationship between this product and the "Weasel" tank in service.

However, as long as the power hatch on the front and the skirts on both sides are lifted, you can find that the new chassis is actually "old wine in a new bottle", because it uses basically the same powertrain and action as the "Weasel" tank. Devices, the only difference is the spatial distribution of these devices inside and outside the car body, which is also the latest practice of Helena's idea of ​​generalization of the chassis.

The generalization of the chariot chassis that Helena expected required more than just the chassis itself.Although it is indeed a good idea to develop models with different purposes based on the same chassis, the requirements for the chassis of functional vehicles are often different, and sometimes even contradictory.At this time, if it is forced to use the same chassis for all equipment, it will only lead to a lack of focus on the design.Therefore, the generalization that Helena is pursuing is the generalization of the logistics maintenance system, that is, the chassis with different structural shapes and even large differences in carrying capacity can be connected to the same logistics system.

For example, the tank chassis developed by Helena and the No. 1 and No. 2 tanks, and the developed crawler tractor/transporter chassis with RS-[-] and RS-[-] can use a logistics system.Although these chassis are both front and rear in terms of the position of the power cabin, and there are both load-bearing and non-load-bearing structures in terms of body structure, the transmission systems (gearboxes and steering gears) used in these chassis are basically the same.Although the number of suspensions is different, each suspension unit is basically the same.Although the engine has used three types, the parts that often need maintenance and replacement such as cylinder head, gas distribution structure, fuel injection system, etc. on these three types of engines can be used in common.

As a deformation of the "Ferret" tank, the new chassis can naturally be seamlessly integrated into this logistics system. It and the "Ferret" tank are not only interchangeable with important components such as engines, transmission systems, suspension systems and crawler propulsion devices, Even the structure of the power pack is similar.However, because the new chassis requires the front of the power cabin, the positions of the engine radiator in the power pack and a small number of accessories have been adjusted to better adapt to the shape of the space inside the front of the car.

During World War II on the last plane, Alcatel was known for being good at magically modifying various tracked chassis.As one of the main developers of the new chassis, Alcatel Company on this plane also lived up to expectations, and soon came up with four works that satisfied Helena based on the new chassis.They are a tracked armored transport vehicle, a tracked infantry fighting vehicle, a 105mm self-propelled howitzer and a 155mm self-propelled infantry gun.

We all know that the most important difference between mechanized infantry and motorized infantry is that mechanized infantry generally enters the battlefield on vehicles with certain cross-country capabilities and protection capabilities, while motorized infantry generally arrives near the battlefield on vehicles first, and then walks Entering the battlefield to fight.However, when it comes to mechanized infantry vehicles, there are two terms that are often difficult to distinguish. One of them is called "armored transport vehicle" and the other is called "infantry fighting vehicle".

Here we need to talk about the difference between the two. Some military fans simply think that armored vehicles with thinner armor and weaker firepower are armored personnel carriers; while those with thicker armor and stronger firepower are infantry fighting vehicles.Although this statement cannot be said to be completely unreasonable, these criteria are not very scientific and have not touched the essence of the problem.The most essential difference between an armored personnel carrier and an infantry fighting vehicle lies in its synergy with mechanized infantry and tanks.

Both armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles are vehicles for mechanized infantry, and the coordination of infantry and vehicles on the battlefield can be roughly divided into two types: assault by vehicle and combat by dismounting.Although theoretically speaking, both armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles can take care of these two combat modes to a certain extent, but there is a big difference in focus.

Among them, after the armored personnel carrier enters the battlefield, the typical coordination mode with the infantry and tanks is: the armored personnel carrier first moves with the tank to maneuver towards the enemy's defense line, the tank attacks while advancing, and the armored personnel carrier uses its own mobility to prevent the infantry from Out of touch with the tank, at the same time use its own armor to protect the infantry from shell fragments and stray bullets from a distance, and its firepower can also assist the tank to eliminate small groups of enemy troops who are going out to investigate and harass.

However, after approaching the enemy's line of defense, the infantry carried by the armored transport vehicle needs to get out of the vehicle to fight, or go out under the cover of artillery fire to help the tank remove obstacles, or follow the tank to break through and eliminate the stubborn enemy. The driver and shooter of the vehicle will remain in the vehicle to act and provide support with tanks and infantry.

After the enemy's defense line is completely broken, the infantry can happily board the armored transport vehicle again, and continue to march into the depths of the enemy's army with the tank.As for consolidating and expanding the breakthrough, as well as capturing prisoners and picking up equipment, those are the missions of the infantry regiment behind, and mechanized troops generally have no time to do this.

In short, the main mission of the armored personnel carrier is to load infantry and tanks to meet the enemy quickly after entering the battlefield, to prevent infantry from running too slowly and out of touch with tanks, and to greatly reduce the probability of infantry being reimbursed by enemy artillery fire and stray bullets.However, after approaching the enemy's defense line, unless the opponent's defense line is too weak, the armored transport vehicle will generally not carry the infantry to attack, and the infantry will mainly get out of the vehicle to fight.

After the enemy's line of defense is defeated, the armored transport vehicle will continue to serve as the iron footboard of the infantry, which ensures that the entire mechanized corps can carry out continuous movement operations.This continuous movement ability alone can be a nightmare for opponents if they don't have the same mobility.So it makes sense for someone to compare the armored personnel carrier to the battlefield taxi of the infantry. The infantry gets out of the vehicle and gets on the vehicle after completing one stop, and then rushes to the next stop.

Also as a vehicle for mechanized infantry, the biggest difference between infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers is that it emphasizes integrated attacks when coordinating with tanks, and emphasizes combat by vehicle when coordinating with infantry.That is to say, after the infantry fighting vehicle is carrying infantry close to the opponent's line of defense, the infantry can not get off the vehicle as busy as the armored personnel carrier, but continue to fight in the infantry fighting vehicle.

At this time, the tank is responsible for destroying the opponent's strong fortress and fighting against the opponent's armored force. The infantry fighting vehicle is responsible for suppressing the opponent's infantry and anti-tank weapons, and is responsible for taking care of the dead angle of the tank's firepower and filling the firepower gap of the tank.If there are shooting holes on the body of the infantry fighting vehicle, the mounted infantry in the infantry fighting vehicle can also participate in the shooting through the shooting holes. Although it is difficult to achieve effective hits when shooting from a swaying chariot, it also prevents the opponent's infantry from approaching. role.

Of course, when encountering some more complicated terrain or encountering pre-prepared enemy positions, the infantry on the infantry fighting vehicle sometimes needs to get off the vehicle to fight like on the armored personnel carrier. The firepower of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles Remove obstacles with support.However, once the obstacles are removed, the vehicle-mounted infantry will generally switch to vehicle combat again.

In short, compared with armored personnel carriers, the upgrade of infantry fighting vehicles in combat mode is mainly reflected in two points:

The first is that its synergistic ability with tanks has been improved, and its complementary ability with tanks has been enhanced.Although armored transport vehicles can also support tanks in combat, armored transport vehicles are more like squires holding wooden sticks behind heavy armored knights, while infantry fighting vehicles are tanks that can be entrusted with the right arm on the back when they charge into battle.

The second is that on the infantry fighting vehicle, the infantry will only get off the vehicle when they encounter problems that cannot be handled by the vehicle. Combat by vehicle has become the main combat mode, while the infantry on the armored personnel carrier generally fights by getting off the vehicle. Combat mode, car combat will only be used in low-threat situations.

In terms of combat mode alone, infantry fighting vehicles definitely have advantages.Because the synergy between infantry fighting vehicles, tanks, and infantry is higher than that of armored personnel carriers.However, infantry fighting vehicles also have some disadvantages. In addition to being more expensive than armored personnel carriers, their loading capacity is generally not as large as armored personnel carriers.

We may wish to take the US Army vehicles of later generations as an example. The short M113 armored personnel carrier can easily take away a complete infantry squad, but the more burly M2 infantry fighting vehicle cannot carry a complete infantry squad. Take the mode of carrying three infantry squads and four M2 infantry fighting vehicles.This is also one of the reasons why the major army powers of later generations have mixed armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles.

Chapter 235 Infantry Mounts

The armored personnel carrier developed on the basis of the new chassis was soon given the cute title of "kitten" by the military, but Helena was not surprised by this.In fact, during World War II in the last plane, Germany also used this "mighty and domineering" name to name the armored transport vehicle they developed on the basis of the Czech 38T tank.However, by the time the "Kitten" completed the design work, the time had come to the second half of 1944, when World War II was about to end. The production capacity of the 38t tank chassis needed to be used to produce the "Stalker" tank destroyer. Low-level projects can only end without a problem.

In addition to changing the rear power compartment of the "Ferret" tank to the front of the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier on this plane, it also removed the fuel tank on one side of the engine and changed the width of the car body from the "Ferret" tank B The 2.65 meters of the model has been increased to 2.96 meters, so that a new strip-shaped space is cut out on the left side of the power compartment at the front of the car body.This new space was used for the driver's cab and the captain's seat, with the driver sitting in the cab at the left front end of the car and the captain's seat directly behind the cab.

The power cabin is arranged on the right side of the front half of the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier, the driver's cab and the commander's seat are arranged on the left side, and the second half vacated is all opened up as a passenger compartment.A total of 10 fully armed soldiers can be carried in the crew compartment, and these soldiers sit face to face on the seats on both sides of the crew compartment with five people in each row.Since the body of the car is widened to a level close to 3 meters, if necessary, another stretcher can be fixed on the floor between the soldiers on both sides.

The rear end of the tank’s crew compartment has a tailgate that opens to the side. Although the infantry vehicles of later generations began to use the downward-turning springboard door more and more commonly for the convenience of heavy soldiers getting on and off the vehicle, even traditionally preferred Both China and Russia, who opened the door sideways, are moving closer to the springboard door.However, the opening and closing of the springboard door requires a special hydraulic or hinge mechanism, while the side opening door only needs to be manually operated by the soldier sitting by the door.In consideration of simplifying production and lowering costs, Helena chose a relatively simple side-opening door in the end, and the side-opening door also has the advantage of allowing soldiers to get on and off the tank when it is driving at a low speed.

The combat weight of the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier has reached 13.2 tons, which is similar to that of the "Weasel" tank type B. In addition, the two use exactly the same powertrain, so the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier has the same characteristics as the "Weasel" tank. The ferret tank has the same road speed of 45 km/h, which can completely keep up with the attack rhythm of tanks in mobile operations.

The "Kitten" armored personnel carrier does not have a turret, but a weapon bracket is installed outside the commander's conning tower, on which a 7.92mm general-purpose machine gun with a small shield can be mounted.The commander can open the hatch to operate the machine gun, or control the shooting inside the vehicle by connecting the cradle.

Although there is no heavy turret, the body of the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier is much fatter than that of the "Weasel" tank type B. Not only the width has increased from 2.65 meters of the "Weasel" tank to 2.96 meters, but the length has increased from "Weasel" to 5.2 meters. "Type" increased from 6.05 meters to 1.88 meters, and even the height of the car body excluding the commander's conning tower reached the level of [-] meters.Therefore, when the combat weight is not much different, the armor protection level of the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier will inevitably be diluted.

Different from the "Weasel" armored personnel carrier vehicle with its head up and facing bombs, in order to expand the space in the front of the vehicle to accommodate the front power cabin, the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier adopts the layout of the front of the vehicle with its head down facing bombs.The lower part of the head is a 55mm armor plate inclined forward at 20 degrees. Although the upper part of the upper part of the armor is only 10 mm thick, it has a large rear inclination of up to 75 degrees. Therefore, the actual protection level of the first part is basically the same as that of the first part. is consistent.

Although this vehicle front protection combination is far inferior to the sturdiness of the "Weasel" tank, it is sufficient to defend against armor-piercing projectiles fired by large-caliber machine guns at any distance, and can even block projectiles from some small-caliber artillery at long distances. .Of course, this is also based on the fact that those frenzied armor-piercing shells have not yet appeared in this era. If this level of protection is placed in the 21st century, it will not be enough. The Republic’s 14.5mm armor-piercing shells can be used at a distance of 800 meters. pose a threat to it.

The upper side armor of the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier is 20 mm thick and has an inclination angle of 25 degrees; the lower side track has vertical armor with a thickness of 20 mm, but there is a layer of 3 mm thick armor on the outside of the track. Shields, which provide additional protection in this area; the tank's rear armor is also 20 mm thick and sloped 20 degrees to the rear.In this way, the side and rear protection level of the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier is sufficient to withstand large-caliber machine guns at a long distance, or to withstand 7.62 mm full-power steel core bullets and fragments produced by grenades at close range.

Unlike the open-top design commonly used by German armored personnel carriers on the previous plane, the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier uses a fully enclosed passenger compartment, and the top and bottom of the tank are covered by horizontal armor plates with a thickness of 8 mm. , which prevents stray bullets from penetrating the crew compartment from the top.The fully enclosed car body structure combined with the relatively large body makes the "Kitten" armored transport vehicle have a limited ability to float without preparation. If necessary, it can cross the river at a speed of 5.6 kilometers per hour by paddling on its tracks. And lakes, this function is very useful for the European plains where the water network is relatively developed.

There are a total of 7 external shooting holes on the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier, three on each side of the upper part of the car body, and one on the tailgate. Each shooting hole has a stopper to block the barrel to prevent rifles from firing. At that time, due to the shaking of the car body and the recoil, it returned to the cabin.Although she was deeply skeptical about the hit rate of infantry vehicles shooting, Helena decided to keep the shooting hole for the time being. If the troops find it difficult to use in the future, they can remove it.In addition to shooting externally through the firing holes, the vehicle-mounted infantry can also open the two long strip hatches on the top of the passenger compartment, and then lean out to shoot externally.

In fact, judging from the actual use experience of the Soviet Union on the last plane, the design of the shooting hole is not particularly popular with the troops.Because sometimes the hot bullet casings thrown by the rifle when the infantrymen on the vehicle shoot from the inside of the vehicle, they will jump into the collar of the comrade-in-arms next to them without paying attention, and then fall into it, burning the poor comrade-in-arms and screaming.Sometimes when the chariot was wading through the water, some careless soldier forgot to close the damned gun hole, and the spray would pour into the car from the hole and give everyone a free cold shower.This is probably one of the reasons why the design of shooting holes on infantry fighting vehicles of later generations gradually decreased or even disappeared.

While designing the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier, engineers also designed an infantry fighting vehicle called "Lynx".In fact, on the basis of the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier, a conical two-person turret with a 30mm cannon and a 7.92mm side-by-side machine gun was added to the front end of the crew compartment.Then the commander's seat was moved from behind the driver to the left side of the turret, and a gunner's seat was added to the right side of the turret, while the original commander's position was opened up as an ammunition storage space.

Due to the addition of a full-time gunner, the crew of the "Lynx" infantry fighting vehicle has increased from two to three in the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier.However, since the length of the crew compartment is occupied by a considerable part of the turret, the "Lynx" infantry fighting vehicle can only carry six infantry.However, considering the substantial increase in the firepower of the tank, this adjustment is still very valuable.Due to the addition of a two-person turret, the total combat weight of the "Lynx" infantry fighting vehicle has increased by 700 kilograms to 13.9 tons, but it still maintains basically the same road speed and water driving ability as the "Kitten" armored personnel carrier.

It is worth mentioning that the 30mm cannon on the "Lynx" infantry fighting vehicle was not originally developed for the army. Its predecessor was actually a 101mm aircraft numbered MK30 designed by Rheinmetall. gun.In fact, the Rheinmetall in the last plane also developed this machine gun, but the MK101 is really a bit incompetent as an aviation machine gun.

Although the initial velocity of the armor-piercing projectile fired by MK101 is as high as 960 m/s, the power of a single shot is indeed impeccable, but the gun weighs as much as 176 kilograms, but the rate of fire is only 250 rounds per minute, and the recoil is still amazing.Therefore, Rheinmetall in the last plane quickly produced an improved MK103 cannon. Its muzzle velocity was slightly reduced to 940 m/s, but its rate of fire was increased to about 400 rounds per minute, and its weight was also greatly reduced to 145 kg. .

However, the weight and recoil of the MK103 still made light fighters unbearable. It was not until 1942 that Rheinmetall took out the MK63 cannon with a weight reduced to 500 kg and a thin-shell shell whose muzzle velocity was also reduced to just over 108 m/s. The fighter jets were finally equipped with 30mm cannons. Although such low-velocity cannons are not suitable for air combat, the main task of the Luftwaffe has become to intercept the opponent's heavy bombers at this time, so the muzzle velocity and accuracy are no longer so important. up.

Although the MK101 is really not very competent as a machine gun, so that although the Rheinmetall in this plane took out the MK101 a little earlier than the previous plane, the Air Force still treats this machine the same as the previous plane because there is no suitable platform for it. The machine gun speaks volumes.But in Helena's eyes there is no trash, only misplaced resources.So under her matchmaking, MK101, a crappy aviation machine gun, became a tank gun that both engineers and the military praised.

The MK101's high muzzle velocity and straight trajectory can be used on infantry fighting vehicles to deal with lightly armored targets and less solid firepower points.You say the weight of MK101 is too big? The weight of 176 kg may be a headache for a single-engine aircraft, but infantry fighting vehicles don't care about this weight at all.You said the rate of fire of MK101 is too low?The MK101 on the infantry fighting vehicle uses a magazine with a capacity of only 10 rounds. Helena is afraid that the machine gun fires too fast, causing the gunner to finish firing the entire magazine before he can properly correct the trajectory.

Chapter 236 The Insect Stinger

For a long time, Helena has always insisted on promoting the idea of ​​artillery family development. Coupled with the continuous consolidation of the principle of overall weapon bidding and the early establishment of national military standards, the development of Germany in the field of barrel artillery in this plane is obviously stronger than that in the previous plane. organized.Although from the original point of view, Helena's development ideas did not show its superiority immediately, but with the cumulative effect brought by time, the benefits of this top-level planning have become more and more obvious.

And when the German engineers designed the self-propelled artillery based on the new chassis in front of the power cabin, the long-term blessings brought by Helena's ideas were even more vividly displayed. The most obvious manifestation was the new chassis. The developed 105mm self-propelled howitzer and 155mm self-propelled infantry gun are almost identical except for the differences in the ammunition used and the barrel of the gun.The artillery family development path that Helena adheres to includes two coordinate dimensions, horizontal and vertical.

The horizontal coordinate dimension is to form a family of artillery models that can use the same ammunition, such as the aforementioned 48-fold 75mm towed anti-tank gun, 48-fold 75mm tank anti-tank gun, 60-fold 75mm Tanks with anti-tank guns.These three types of artillery can form an artillery family. They can use exactly the same ammunition, and most of the accessories can also be used in common, but by changing the height of the barrel diameter, whether the muzzle brake is present, and the size of the retreat resistance Each model in the family can adapt to different weapon platforms.

The vertical coordinate dimension is to form a family of artillery models that can use the same gun mount.That is to install guns with different calibers but similar recoil energy on the same gun mount. Although the guns of the same family cannot use common ammunition and barrels, they can adapt to the same weapon platform.Since the kinetic energy of the free recoil at the end of the aftereffect period is similar to the general-purpose gun mount, most of this type of gun family is composed of a short-barreled gun with a larger caliber and a long-barreled gun with a smaller caliber. The recoil kinetic energy of the guns of the same family is basically the same by installing brakes with different efficiencies.

This kind of artillery with different calibers but using the same carriage is called "sister artillery" by Helena. Its appearance not only simplifies the development and production of artillery, but also facilitates the maintenance and use of artillery.In fact, Germany has also developed sister guns in the last plane. For example, the pak40 46-fold 75mm anti-tank gun uses the same gun mount as the Le.FH18 28-fold 105mm howitzer, but the pak40 is more for In the absence of an overall top-level plan in advance to make up for the lack of anti-armor capabilities, it is difficult for the sisters in the artillery family to achieve the best design balance.

The development idea of ​​German artillery in this plane is completely different from that of the previous plane.Designers are no longer waiting to develop a certain type of artillery and then rummaging through boxes and cabinets or rushing to develop gun mounts. Instead, the bidding for gun mounts is carried out separately from the bidding for artillery. The complete pedigree and performance requirements of the gun mount, and then require that each newly developed artillery must match the corresponding gun mount, and it is not allowed to develop another gun mount unless it is a special case.

For example, the two newly developed self-propelled artillery are sister guns. Among them, the 105mm self-propelled howitzer uses a 32-fold diameter barrel and the 155mm self-propelled infantry gun uses a 14-fold diameter barrel.Although the former is the work of Rheinmetall and the latter is the design of Krupp, since the gun mount was tendered separately and won by Rheinmetall, even if Krupp developed the 155mm infantry gun by itself, it must be with the Rheinmetall's gun mounts are compatible and cannot be reinvented.This procurement model has avoided the embarrassing situation where the two artillery giants dismantled each other in history.

Since self-propelled artillery has less stringent requirements for frontal protection than armored vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles, it only needs to be able to withstand shell fragments; the need for unprepared floating capabilities is not so urgent, and when necessary, it only needs to cross the river by hanging pontoons ability.Therefore, the front armor structure of the two self-propelled artillery has made some adaptive adjustments compared with the "Kitten" armored transport vehicle and the "Lynx" infantry fighting vehicle.

Although the two self-propelled guns still adopt the design of the first downward facing bombs, and still maintain the thickness of the first lower armor of 20 mm and the thickness of the upper armor of 10 mm, the first downward inclination angle is reduced from 55 degrees to 48 degrees, and the first upward inclination angle is also reduced from 75 to 72 degrees. The degree is reduced to 300 degrees, which will weaken the frontal protection ability and reduce the reserve buoyancy of the front of the car, but it can also shorten the length of the car body by more than [-] mm and reduce the structural weight.This is also a necessary measure taken in order to leave more weight for the installation of the gun.

搭载32倍径105毫米榴弹炮的型号被称为“黄蜂”，这也是上个位面中德国利用老旧的二号坦克底盘生产的榴弹炮的名字。上个位面那款战斗全重只有11.2吨的“黄蜂”，可以搭载28倍径105毫米榴弹炮和32发炮弹，已经算得上是非常成功的武器装备了。

However, due to the inherent deficiencies of the chassis and the hasty development process, the "Wasp" self-propelled artillery in the previous plane also had some performance defects. The elevation angle is only 105 degrees and the range is slightly insufficient. For example, the "Wasp" has a mere 42 rounds of ammunition, which is difficult to adapt to continuous and fierce battles, which has brought huge pressure on the logistical ammunition supply.

However, the combat weight of the "Wasp" in this plane has increased to 14.2 tons, but because its 200-horsepower diesel engine is much stronger than the 140-horsepower gasoline engine in the previous plane, the "Wasp" in this plane can reach a speed of 45 kilometers per hour , faster than the 40 kilometers of the previous plane "Wasp".Moreover, the body of the "Wasp" on this plane is 5.71 meters long and 2.96 meters wide, and it is much bigger than the predecessor on the previous plane. The innate conditions of this platform firmly occupy the upper hand.

Considering that the development time of weapons in peacetime is much more than that in wartime, Helena has every reason to believe that the self-propelled howitzer developed by Germany in this plane can correct the defects of the "Wasp" in the previous plane. The "Wasp" in this plane has indeed done this.Although in order to save production costs, the "Wasp" 105mm self-propelled howitzer on this plane does not use a fully enclosed turret, but still uses a rear open battle room layout, but this does not mean that you can underestimate this little bug stinger.

The body width of the "Wasp" in this plane is increased from 2.28 meters in the previous plane to 2.96 meters, which greatly improves the lateral stability; the maximum elevation angle of the artillery is increased from 42 degrees in the previous plane to 72 degrees, which can make the trajectory more flexible Changeable; the length of the gun barrel is increased from 28 times the diameter of the previous plane to 32 times the diameter and the amount of propellant is slightly increased. A more efficient three-chamber impact brake is also used, which can increase the weight of the gun In a small case, a 15-kg projectile can be shot at a range of 15000 meters; and the combat room with increased space can store 8 ammunition boxes with a capacity of 8 rounds, making the maximum ammunition load reach 64 rounds, which fundamentally solves the above-mentioned problems. The annoyance of the "Wasp" in the one-dimensional plane having insufficient ammunition.

Compared with the "normal and strange" weapons designed by Helena on this plane, the "Wasp" self-propelled howitzer is indeed not a particularly innovative weapon. It is only based on a common chassis and a common gun mount. A serious and pragmatic attitude solved the shortcomings of the "Wasp" self-propelled howitzer in the previous plane, but these are enough for a self-propelled artillery.After all, the core connotation of self-propelled artillery is that the speed and cross-country can keep up with the footsteps of mechanized troops, carry out firepower strikes on the enemy without having to build artillery positions and quickly evacuate after the strike is completed.

Chapter 237 Infantry Heavy Hammer

As a sister gun that uses the same gun mount as the 32-caliber 105mm howitzer, the 14-caliber 155mm infantry gun naturally adopted the same chassis as the 105mm self-propelled howitzer in the process of self-development.This self-propelled infantry gun, which has the same body as the "Wasp" self-propelled howitzer but with a significantly stubby barrel, was given the name "Cricket" at Helena's suggestion.

In fact, during World War II on the last plane, Nazi Germany also produced hundreds of "Cricket" self-propelled artillery equipped with SIG38 33-diameter 11.3mm infantry guns based on the deeply modified 150T tank chassis.And Helena suggested that the 155mm self-propelled infantry gun of this plane should follow the name of similar products from the previous plane, which is also considered as following the German self-propelled artillery naming principles, and satisfies her effort to penetrate the plane wall in terms of weapon names. Obstacle's bad taste.

As the name suggests, the infantry gun is an artillery that is attached to infantry units to support infantry operations. It generally has a barrel with a shorter diameter and a larger elevation angle adjustment range.In the 21st century before Helena crossed, this ancient weapon has long been far away from the smoke of the battlefield and has become a collection displayed in military museums. However, the tactical value of infantry artillery during World War II is still irreplaceable.This is because with the extension of the artillery strike distance, it is always difficult for the infantry on the front line to obtain heavy firepower that can be supported at any time.

The range of infantry artillery with a short body is generally very limited, but it has a flexible trajectory that can shoot both straight and curved, which can help infantry remove obstacles on the way forward in time, so it is very popular among infantry.Although the development of the mortar later diverted some of the functions of the infantry artillery, the mortar cannot be directly fired and has limited accuracy, so it cannot completely replace the infantry artillery after all.

What really made infantry artillery completely lose its tactical value was the various portable assault weapons that sprung up after the war, such as light grenade launchers, recoilless guns, and portable anti-tank missiles.These new weapons not only covered the strike range of infantry artillery in the past, but also were more accurate, efficient and portable than infantry artillery. It is not surprising that infantry artillery gradually faded after the war.But for Helena, these are things in the future. At least at this stage, the infantry artillery still has great development value.

Looking at the classic infantry artillery in World War II on the last plane, the SIG33 150mm infantry artillery that was widely equipped in Germany should be regarded as a more representative one.In fact, judging by the technical standards of World War II, the design of this old gun developed in the 20s is actually quite old. The bulky single-legged frame even has some relics of World War I artillery.However, it is difficult for many military fans in later generations to understand: it is this not very advanced infantry gun that Germany has not only produced continuously for more than ten years, bringing the total output of SIG33 to nearly 5000.

What is even more surprising is that the Germans are particularly keen to mount the SIG33 infantry guns on various tracked chassis. There are at least one tank, the second tank, the third tank, the fourth tank, and the 38T tank. These five chassis became the vehicles of this infantry gun.And from it, famous armored combat vehicles such as Bison self-propelled artillery, Bison II self-propelled artillery, SIG33B assault gun, Grizzly assault gun, and Cricket self-propelled artillery were born.

The reason why the Germans could not give up the SIG33 infantry gun was mainly because the high-explosive bombs it fired had amazing power.Although the grenade fired by this infantry gun weighs only 38 kg, which is not outstanding compared with guns of the same caliber, but because the SIG33 uses a subsonic projectile with a muzzle velocity of 240 m/s, the shell case can be made thinner for a huge fill factor. The high-explosive bomb used by SIG33 is equipped with 8.3 kg of ammonium ladder explosives and 11.2 kg of TNT equivalent. This explosive power far exceeds the level of other 150 mm caliber artillery at that time, almost catching up with the nickname "Stalin's Hammer". -4 type 203 mm howitzer!

It is precisely because the explosive power of the SIG33 grenade is indeed strong enough that it can often destroy the entire building with a single shell, so although the range of this product is only a pitiful 4650 meters and the weight reaches 1.8 tons, but for the sake of power, the German infantry We decided to choose to forgive its shortcomings.And it is not only to forgive the shortcomings of SIG33, but also to find a pair of suitable steel feet for it, and to enhance its mobility through self-modification.

The 14-times diameter 155mm infantry gun of this plane is called SIG35, which actually corresponds to the SIG33 infantry gun of the previous plane, but because it was developed later and was incorporated into Helena's gun family framework early, so When the towing model of this infantry gun was finalized, the traces of the previous era could not be seen from it at all.

On the towed model of SIG35, the bulky single-legged frame has been changed into a lightweight and flexible open-leg frame. This gun frame is also the aforementioned 32-times-diameter 105mm howitzer and 48-times-diameter 75mm A common mount for anti-tank guns.While improving the gun mount, the muzzle of the SIG35 has also added an impact/reaction brake that looks like a pepper bottle mouth. Therefore, although the model caliber and double diameter of the original plane have been improved to a certain extent, the weight is still generally maintained. The level of the SIG33 infantry gun on the last plane is 1.8 tons.

This SIG35 infantry gun can launch a 295kg projectile to a distance of 43.5 meters at a muzzle velocity of 6800 m/s. Although it is only slightly improved compared to the SIG33 of the previous plane, it is enough for infantry support tasks up.When the towed model of the SIG35 was adaptively improved, it was installed on the same tracked chassis as the "Wasp" self-propelled howitzer, and it became the "Cricket" self-propelled infantry gun on the plane.The shape of the "Cricket" self-propelled infantry gun equipped with SIG35 in this plane is very similar to the M-type "Cricket" self-propelled artillery equipped with SIG33 in the previous plane, which can be regarded as the same goal in design.

According to the plan of Helena, Lutz and others, in the future organization plan of the German armored division on this plane, the "Cricket" self-propelled infantry gun will not be incorporated into the division artillery regiment together with the "Wasp" self-propelled howitzer, but will be Incorporated under the command of the Mechanized Infantry Regiment in the form of a self-propelled infantry battery.As for the large-caliber howitzer paired with the "Wasp" in the divisional artillery regiment, a long-barreled 155mm howitzer should be developed based on the chassis of the No. [-] tank. Although the development of this artillery has not yet officially started, the name Helena has already been After thinking about it, I decided to call this guy "The Wild Bee".

Chapter 238 Rebuilding the Air Force

Although the equipment construction of the German armored divisions still has a long way to go, the three pillar units in the armored divisions: armored regiments, infantry regiments and artillery regiments finally have usable equipment.It's like a majestic building has already built the foundation and beams, and the rest of the work, such as wall painting and painting, will be supported.As for how armored regiments, infantry regiments, and artillery regiments should cooperate under mechanized combat conditions, that is a topic that generals should explore.

Since the pace of construction of new German armored divisions will temporarily slow down in the next two years, Helena is not in a hurry to launch more new tank research and development projects, but is going to make a comprehensive review of this generation of tanks based on the feedback from the troops. The successes and failures of the series design are summed up step by step, while waiting for the performance of those subsystems that are still in the experimental stage to be fully improved, so as to ensure that the design level of the next generation of tanks is sufficiently improved compared with the current generation of tanks.

While the construction of the armored division was steadily advancing, with the loosening of the Versailles system, the construction of German air power began to come to the fore from behind the scenes.Although the more advanced BF-109 fighter jet is still under development and test flight, the newly produced BF-108A fighter jet from the Bavarian factory finally does not need to covertly be affiliated with the "Aviation Sports Association" in the name of a sports aircraft. It was delivered directly to the German Air Force, which had just announced its re-establishment in March this year.

Thanks to the rapid progress of German aviation technology during this period, the BF-108A fighter officially delivered to the German Air Force has also undergone some improvements and upgrades compared to the version publicly displayed at the "Fourth International Tourist Aircraft Competition" last year.The improved version is called BF-108A2. The most obvious change is that Junkers’ Jumo210A engine is used instead of BMW’s BMW-7B engine. With the weight of the engine reduced, the maximum power is increased from 750 horsepower to 820 horsepower.

The Jumo210A engine in this plane was a surprise to Helena, because the most powerful model in the Junkers Jumo210 engine family in the previous plane was only 700 horsepower.The reason why Jumo210 on this plane can increase the maximum power output by 19.7 horsepower compared with the previous plane while maintaining the displacement at 120 liters is mainly due to the fact that Junkers adopted the pressurized type earlier than the previous plane. Water cooling technology.Specifically, by allowing the cooling system to operate at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure, the boiling point of the cooling water is raised to about 110 degrees Celsius, thereby obtaining a higher cooling efficiency than an open cycle.

In the last plane, although Germany began to apply this technology on the DB601 engine, Mercedes-Benz has always regarded this technology as a secret unique skill, and it is even more strict against competitors like Junkers.In order to compete with Mercedes-Benz's DB601 series engines, Junkers had to repeat the research and development of this technology, so it was not until 1940 that the jumo213 engine began to use pressurized water-cooling technology.

However, the main business of Mercedes-Benz in this plane has become tank engines, and there is no direct competition with Junkers in the field of aero engines. In addition, Helena consciously breaks the disadvantages of various companies in technology. After Junkers paid the intellectual property fee to Mercedes-Benz, it obtained the technology authorization of Mercedes-Benz, which undoubtedly saved Junkers time and energy for repeated research and development, and the Jumo210A engine also benefited from it.

由于发动机功率增大和重量的减轻，改进后的BF-108A2战斗机最大平飞速度从535千米每小时增加到了556千米每小时，这在30年代中期的各国战斗机中都是非常亮眼的速度。虽然四挺7.92毫米机枪（机鼻和翼根各两挺）的火力配置放到二战中期以后，很难对拥有较高防护水平的战机构成致命伤害，但放在1940年以前也是绝对够用的，况且BF-108A2还保留着将翼根处的两挺7.92毫米机枪直接更换成威力更大的13毫米机枪的能力。

德国空军在重建之初就获得性能颇为先进的战机，但是BF-108A2对德国空军战术乃至整个德国航空工业的影响之深远，却并不是这款战机本身的性能所能涵盖的。比如那些驾驶BF-108A2的新人们在被教官们驾驶FW-44双翼教练机花式吊打后，终于认识到自己主动降低速度去和翼载不到40千克/平方米的FW-44绕圈圈是种愚蠢的行为。

Although these newcomers spent their primary trainer stage on the back seat of the FW-44, it is really hard for them to understand that the FW-44 trainer, which looks extremely simple, can easily kill the newcomers in their hands at low speed. The BF-108A2 fighter.In fact, as a famous primary trainer aircraft in the 30s, Fokker-Wulf's FW-44 has an empty weight of less than 600 kilograms, and its wing load is only one-third of that of the Japanese Zero fighter plane known for its low wing load on the previous plane. One, even if the speed is reduced to only a few tens of kilometers per hour, it will not stall. Any fighter jet running around with the big kite FW-44 at low speed will be a dead end.

However, Helena thinks that it is a good thing for these rookies to suffer more in training. After all, it is a mistake that rookie pilots often make to go round and round with their opponents regardless of time, place and occasion.During an air combat training of the U.S. Air Force on the last plane of BIRU1, a rookie pilot flying an F-22 fighter jet was surrounded by an instructor who was driving a T-38 trainer plane. The former could cruise at supersonic speed and was equipped with thrust. A high-performance fighter jet with a vectoring nozzle, and the latter is just an old trainer aircraft developed in the 50s.Although under the influence of Helena, the hovering performance of German fighter jets on this plane has been greatly improved compared to the level of BF-109 on the previous plane, but Helena also does not want German pilots to compete with Britain, which has a lower wing load. Spitfire fighters circled.

While the reconstruction of the Luftwaffe was progressing steadily, the Chinese government sent a delegation to Europe to purchase fighter jets, led by Lieutenant Colonel Gao Zhihang, to Europe.However, the first stop of their investigation was not Germany, but Italy, where Gao Zhihang's old boss, Zhang Xueliang, had a closer relationship.In fact, in the history of the last plane, China purchased 24 Fiat CR32 fighter jets and 12 Breda Ba.27 fighter jets from Italy.However, in this plane, Helena started gearing up as early as a year ago, preparing to cut off the Italian business.

Chapter 239 Taking Eyedrops Frequently

"A warm welcome to all Chinese friends who have come from afar. I am your special guest to receive Helena von Seeckert. I sincerely hope that this trip to Germany will give you what you want, and let the two countries enjoy military cooperation. The traditional cooperative relationship in the field has been raised to a higher level." Helena received the delegation led by Colonel Gao Zhihang in fluent Chinese, which surprised everyone in the Chinese delegation. People are very few.However, this just avoided the embarrassment that some members of the delegation do not know German, and the use of translators will eventually bring certain obstacles to the smooth communication between the two parties.

"Before Chinese friends came to Germany, they must have inspected the products of Fiat and Breda in Italy. I have no intention of slandering the research results of the Italians. There are many in Fiat's CR.32 fighter and Breda's Ba.27 fighter. It is a remarkable place. But please forgive Helena, neither of these two aircrafts is suitable for you.” When Helena said this, everyone in the Chinese delegation was not surprised. It is a routine operation to favor oneself while favoring others.During the inspection in Italy, the two aircrafts mentioned by Helena just left a good impression on them.

Of course, Helena wouldn't expect that if she said a few empty words, the Chinese delegation would change their attitude towards the Italian aircraft. If they wanted to completely checkmate the Italian aircraft, it would definitely be impossible not to put out enough bargaining chips.But Helena didn't worry about the lack of chips at all. On the one hand, it was because she had enough confidence in the performance of the BF-108, and on the other hand, it was because she had enough understanding of the shortcomings of Italian aircraft.So Helena went on to say: "I think that when Italy recommended the aircraft to you, it neither considered the actual situation of the Chinese Air Force, nor considered the development status of your potential opponents."

"Then, in the eyes of Miss Seekert, what is the actual situation of the Chinese Air Force? What is the development status of our opponent?" Helena's words finally made Colonel Gao Zhihang look thoughtful, but he did not take Helena's words. Instead, he pushed the question back to Helena.The right leg of this anti-war ace pilot in the last plane is a little shorter than the left leg, which is the pain caused by the broken right leg bone due to the sudden ejection of the aircraft joystick during a certain flight training commemorate.

"Mr. Colonel, as an excellent pilot, should know better than anyone else that only advanced fighter planes are not enough to form a strong air combat force?" Helena smiled and said to Colonel Gao Zhihang: "If there is no good Ground support, without sufficient logistical supplies, without pilots who can skillfully control the fighters, any advanced fighters are useless, and it is difficult to play their due role. Moreover, the fighters that Italy showed to you are not advanced enough , and it can even be said that it will soon be far behind the potential opponents of your country's air force."

Helena's words made Colonel Gao Zhihang's expression extremely serious immediately. It is not difficult to guess who the "potential opponent" of the Chinese Air Force is, but Helena's words clearly revealed that this "potential opponent" is about to obtain newer fighter jets. Information, and the performance of this new fighter will far exceed the Italian Fiat CR.32 and Breda Ba.27 fighters.However, Gao Zhihang and even the entire Chinese Air Force had no knowledge of this information before.