Bismarck

But it seems that no matter whether it was Redel's doing or not, we still have to solve the problem first so that we can get out of here quickly!

Watching the captain and others chatting about summer gossip, the Persian cat, who was thinking about something, focused his perception more carefully on the three tanks running in the field.

In fact, the cost of running three prototypes is not cheap, even for the bosses of the Army and the Tank Development Committee. After all, the power system of the tank must be overhauled and the transmission system must be replaced after each run - this cost is not low.

In other words, if nothing is revealed this time, I'm afraid someone will come to complain to the mustache again...

"Tsk, if we knew who gave Little Mustache this bad idea, we would put a trash can on his head and beat him hard with a club!"

Bismarck continued to stare at the tank's power compartment and sense it with all his strength, thinking with some hatred in his heart.

but……

"Although the environment of this sports car track is not as good as a real battlefield, the terrain design and the sports car's operating requirements are all designed to put the power compartment to the test. We have been running at full capacity for half an hour now. If something is going to happen, it should be soon, right?"

In Bismarck's eyes, the engines driving the three heavy tanks - she couldn't remember all those VK code names, so she just called them tigers and leopards - had begun to leak oil, and the gearboxes began to make creaking noises - the only exception was the Porsche tank using an electric motor. Although it was also a little staggering, the careful Persian cat discovered that after each brutal parking operation, the first to move was always this heaviest tank!

But even so, a thick layer of dust had accumulated in the engine compartment, almost covering the electric motor. On the other side of the electric motor, the engine, which was overwhelmed, had already begun to drip gasoline from its pipes...

However, the first tank to have problems was the lightest MAN Leopard tank!

Right in front of everyone's eyes, this 45-ton tank had just rushed through a muddy field filled with obstacles that looked like ridges of a field, and then it roared and moved up a steep slope right at the edge of the muddy field. Then, several sharp noises suddenly came from the power compartment, followed by a loud "bang", and then a cloud of black smoke came out of the engine compartment.

In the observation shed of the sports car track, everyone's eyes immediately looked over there.

"Eh? It looks like something happened?" Lütjens, who saw this scene for the first time, was somewhat curious.

"Hey... We MAN should just abstain from bidding this time..." A middle-aged man who seemed to have some status saw this scene, shook his head with a wry smile, then shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands.

After all, since I was the first one to get into trouble, I would not have the face to participate in the bidding anymore.

The people from the other companies were gloating, pretending to feel sorry for him and patted his shoulders.

In Bismarck's perception, what he saw was even more detailed: the gearbox of the tank was overloaded, and when it was passing through mud and climbing steep slopes, which were terrains that required very high changes in torque, one of its teeth broke directly under the strong stress!

The iron filings from the broken gear teeth completely contaminated all the oil and meshing surfaces in the gearbox, and also jammed the entire gearbox completely. Then, the completely stuck drive shaft instantly and faithfully fed back the strong resistance to the engine that was still running at full power. The Maybach gasoline engine, which had weak torque itself and relied entirely on the gasoline speed to support its power, directly ignited the gasoline in the engine when it got stuck!

Watching the soldiers scrambling down from the tank and the repair teams rushing over with fire extinguishers, the MAN representative smiled bitterly and then sat back in his seat with a look of self-awareness. In his mind, his MAN company's tank bidding activity for this round has come to an end.

At this moment, the remaining two tanks were already showing signs of failure.

In the hydraulic transmission box of the Tiger tank, the engine drives the impeller of the gearbox turbine to rotate wildly, stirring the hydraulic oil to continuously impact the three transmission shafts connected to the fixed axis gears that move simultaneously - two of them are connected to the power output and direction control output shafts respectively, and the third is connected to the turret's rotation mechanism.

Hydraulic transmission uses an impeller to drive hydraulic oil to output torque. Even if the torque is large, the impeller can still "leak" a certain amount of load. So although the Tiger tank is extremely heavy, its mobility is not bad.

But even so, the transmission system of this tank still couldn't handle it! In addition, the gap between the narrow double-row staggered road wheels of the Tiger tank was too small - now it was filled with mud and sand, and even the rubber on the wheel rims had fallen off, which also increased the load on the transmission box. Finally, when it needed to quickly accelerate after a sharp turn, this heavy Tiger could no longer start.

Not only in Bismarck's perception, but also in the seriousness of everyone in the observation shed of the test field, the scene of the driver hurriedly jumping off the tank and the mechanic repairing the transmission box with sweat on his forehead was the last scene of this tank on the test field.

The representative of Henschel said nothing and looked grim, but Dr. Porsche, the CEO of Porsche, who was sitting opposite him and came to see the sports car in person, was now smiling.

After all, there aren't many opportunities to ridicule your old rival in person.

"Hey, it looks like this time it's our Porsche company... Huh?!"

Seeing thick smoke billowing out of Ferdinand's car in the distance, Dr. Porsche's mocking tone came to an abrupt halt, like a duck that was grabbed by the neck when it was halfway through its quack.

"This……"

Lütjens ignored Dr. Porsche who was dumbfounded, but looked at Bismarck on the other side. The Persian cat on the other side also nodded to the captain - just now, she had seen the interior of the Porsche tank.

The engine compartment was seriously dusty and had poor heat dissipation. In addition, the frequent overloaded motors themselves emitted a considerable amount of heat, which caused the temperature in the compartment to be too high, igniting the gasoline leaking from the engine...

Just like that, the sports car experiment ended here.

-----After some investigation--------

"...In other words, this is roughly how the power system problems of each company's proposals turned out."

The test track had its own investigation team stationed there, and the problems with the three tanks were quickly investigated, and the conclusions of the investigation were not much different from what Bismarck had perceived. After listening to the report of the investigation team, everyone nodded and said they had nothing to say.

only……

"In this case, apart from the plan to eliminate MAN, the rest is still uncertain..."

"Yes, but if that's the case, what if we can't come up with a finalized plan before September..."

Speer and Lütjens looked at each other and exchanged glances, neither of them was very optimistic.

"Military representative, what do you think?" Although Lütjens said that he was not familiar with the army, as the host appointed by the head of state, he still had to ask for opinions.

"This... we are in a difficult situation too." The army representative shook his head and sighed: "The reliability of several plans now cannot meet the standard. The army representative just told me that the army actually prefers Henschel's plan, saying that although the reliability is worse, there is still room for improvement. But... the hydraulic transmission is too time-consuming. If we really want to produce it according to this plan, the estimated production hours will be four or five times that of the Panzer IV, and the output will definitely not be high. The front line can't wait..."

"This..." Lütjens was speechless for a while.

With such low production, the Führer would not do it even if there was potential for improvement.

Although I don't know much about the army, I have heard that the losses on the Eastern Front are shocking! On average, the German army is losing regiments and divisions every day, and in the recent Battle of Moscow, there were 6,000 tanks! In contrast, military enterprises are also working overtime in three shifts to produce tanks - and they have to beware of the British and American heavy bombers that appear overhead from time to time!

In other words, the production difficulty of new tanks must not be greater than that of existing tanks!

but……

Looking at the hesitant expression of his captain, Bismarck beside him also frowned, silently thinking about how to help his captain.

MAN's Panther tanks didn't have enough potential, and even the company's representatives gave up. But the design of the Panther tank's body shape was actually desirable - according to the military's requirements in the data, in order to defend against enemy fire from the side during breakthrough operations, the tank's sides were also required to have a defense of no less than 80 mm after conversion. In this regard, the sides of Porsche and Henschel's tanks are vertical, and their bulletproof appearance is not very good - of course, relying on their heavier weight, the actual side defense of these two tanks is still stronger than that of the Panther.

The Henschel Tiger tank does have great potential in terms of transmission system. And Bismarck saw clearly that the steering system of this tank, using a steering wheel and a gearbox, can achieve stepless steering, which is a great advantage for mobility! After all, the transmission reliability is more reliable than that of the Panther tank, which is ten tons lighter, and this seems to be worth learning from!

As for Porsche's tank...

After all, he traveled through time and space from the future, and he also passed the driving test. In addition, he had been a battleship for many years, and he looked at the mechanical equipment all over his body every day. The battle cat had already regarded the operation of the machinery as instinct, and soon thought of a very familiar term:

Hybrid power!

The so-called hybrid power is to connect a battery in series between the generator and the motor of the electric vehicle as the propulsion force at the start. When driving normally, the generator can charge the battery. In this way, even if there is a situation where a large torque is required for starting, the engine does not need to increase the output power because the battery provides additional energy.

In addition, another benefit of doing this is that it can save fuel. After all, everyone who has driven a car knows that the engine consumes the most fuel when it is started. Even the fuel consumption of a sports car running at a constant speed of 120 kilometers on the highway is not as high as that of a single step on the accelerator when starting. And in this way, it is equivalent to increasing the "endurance" of the tank in disguise.

In fact, electric-driven Bismarcks are quite common. In addition to cars, many construction machinery, including the most common heavy cranes and construction machinery in shipyards, also use this kind of power.

After all, a DC motor can withstand almost double the overload output, and even a three-phase AC motor with relatively soft properties can provide about 160% of the theoretical starting capacity after passing through a star-delta step-down starting circuit - as for a mechanical gearbox, let alone 160%, even 106% would probably be a problem!

Moreover, based on her previous observations, the spontaneous combustion of the Porsche tank's engine can actually be avoided! There is no battery pack between the Porsche tank's engine and the electric motor, and the powerful starting torque is all fed back to the engine. Then the overloaded engine oil leak is ignited by the high temperature of the power compartment, so the fire occurs.

In fact, if she remembered correctly, there were only ninety Ferdinand tanks in total in the history of the German Empire. However, with less than a hundred Ferdinand tanks, they were able to fight until Germany surrendered!

This reliability...is really too good!

Although looking at the blueprints was daunting, Bismarck, who was able to use his perspective to clearly see the internal structures of the three tanks, instantly thought of a lot of good ideas.

After all, if you know the problems are the battery, engine oil leakage, and motor overheating, the problem will be easy to solve!

"Captain, I have an idea, but I don't know if I should tell you..."

Bismarck organized his words and spoke softly.

"?"

Whether it is appropriate to speak or not, then of course you should speak.

Lütjens looked at his own ship cat with some surprise, then tactfully greeted Speer and the army representatives around him, and walked aside with his secretary.

"It's like this, Captain. I've thought of a way to solve the problem." Bismarck put his head on his captain's shoulder and began to speak quietly: "So, I think we can do this: use Porsche's electric transmission to improve it, add a few batteries, and then separate the electric motor and the engine, and also equip it with Henschel's gearbox - just connect the electric motor directly to the gearbox. Finally, it's the body. The Panther... the side defense of that car is actually not enough, but the design concept of the body is the most advanced! So..."

As Bismarck spoke, Lütjens' eyes became brighter and brighter:

"So what you mean is that we should let the three companies work together, MAN to design the car body, Porsche to improve the electric power system, and Henschel to make the gearbox? That seems like a good idea!"

After listening to Bismarck's idea, Lütjens thought about it and felt that it seemed not bad.

At least in this way, the problem can be solved, and several units can get a certain share in the tank bidding, so the people in the Tank Development Committee probably won't make too many complaints!

"Yes, yes! Isn't the problem solved this way?" Looking at the shining expression of his captain, Bismarck rolled his eyes and continued to show off some of his later imagination: "Also, Captain, I think we can add something that is convenient for maintenance and replacement. The engine, battery pack, electric motor and gearbox can be designed to be hoisted as a whole. For example, a foldable shell rack can be put behind the motor-gearbox at the front of the vehicle. Put the shells upright, and lay it flat to serve as a guide for installing and dragging the motor. In this way, whether it is for maintenance or production, it can be directly hoisted up and it will be done! Even if the head of state wants to increase production, it will be much more convenient, right?"

"But the turret on the MAN vehicle is obviously smaller?"

"But there is a way - well, Captain, do you remember when I was replacing my 380 with 406, I expanded and reinforced the part under the armor?" Bismarck blinked and smiled.

Bismarck's words reminded Lütjens of something. In fact, Bismarck's design had a special cabin under the dome armor to carry the turret ring. Now after the 406 was replaced, the upper turret ring was enlarged, and the position pressing on the top of the cabin below changed from the original inscribed circle structure to the current structure similar to an octagonal base. Then, a large number of reinforcing ribs and ribs were used to share the structural stress and weight at a series of positions from the dome armor to the bottom plate. This includes a structure similar to a trumpet mouth that is set on the periphery of the cabin.

Moreover, the weight of the tank turret requires much less structural strength than the replacement of the battleship gun! It can be said that there is only a space limitation! If the side of the tank body, above the track, is also slightly "expanded" like the bell mouth structure, there will definitely be enough space!

"Is this possible? But will the design time be a bit tight?" Lütjens thought about it and was somewhat tempted. But he was still a little worried.

However, Speer and the army representatives over there, as well as the factory owners of the Tank Committee, have also begun to look over here.

After all, although the man and the cat here speak in a low voice, they occasionally throw out words like "tank", "gearbox", "power system", "turret expansion"... There always seems to be a sense of authority in it, right?

"General Lütjens, do you have any ideas?"

"Eh?" Lütjens and Bismarck were both stunned, but the man and the ship, who had nothing to do, waved to the crowd on the opposite side and said, "It's like this. My secretary has put forward an idea, and it's a good opportunity for everyone to refer to it."

"What's your idea? Let's hear it too." After hearing what Lütjens said, everyone wanted to hear Lütjens' explanation for different purposes.

Seeing the crowd gathering around them, Lütjens and Bismarck looked at each other, smiled slightly, and spoke their thoughts openly.

Then, among the gathered crowd, there were bursts of happy, yet somewhat strange voices...

"Oh?"

"Ok?"

"what?"

-------A few days later--------

"…We have reached a preliminary consensus on the new design and have now formed a joint design team. And because it is an improvement on the existing one, the development progress will be slightly delayed by a month, but it is expected that the progress and design will be guaranteed without any problems. And we can predict that this tank will definitely be able to guarantee its strong combat effectiveness on future battlefields! Führer, this is the general situation this time."

In the office of Little Mustache, Lütjens, Speer, and the head of the German Army Ordnance Department were reporting to Little Mustache together.

"Just one month? That's no problem! I've got it!" Hearing that the bottleneck in research and development could be solved in just one month, the man with a mustache was in a good mood and smiled.

However, although the result of solving the research bottleneck is that the progress is promising, looking at the scientific research progress in front of him, Lütjens's eyes are still rolling around...

"Lütjens, you did a great job this time! But..."

Looking at the treacherous face of the leader in front of him, Lütjens didn't know why he felt inexplicably panicked and broke out in a cold sweat.

But before he could calm down, Hitler's smile gradually faded and his expression turned serious. He then spoke:

"You've done a great job, but don't slack off. There are still a few things you need to do!"

"It takes a lot of time for nuclear scientists to talk about nuclear projects one after another. I think you need to supervise them..."

Are you thinking of yourself as a panacea that can be applied wherever needed?

Lütjens thought helplessly.

(PS: In fact, the Tiger tank's transmission and power are still good, with a power-to-weight ratio of 12.8, which is stronger than the IS-11.4 with only 2. Therefore, it can support a maximum road speed of 40KM and a field off-road speed of 20-30KM, and it can also achieve a road march overhaul cycle of more than 500KM purely relying on its own power. In addition, the unreliable Tiger tanks are mostly early models. The Tiger tanks after the mid-term model have improved the gearbox technology, plus the protection of the main gearbox by hydraulic transmission. The reliability of the transmission system is actually almost the same as that of the Panzer IV. In addition, relying on the continuously variable speed function of the steering wheel - although the small radius emergency brake still requires the use of the joystick - the Tiger tank can run in a snake-skin Z-shaped evasion on the battlefield. This is unmatched by other tanks, including the Panther tank.)

(PS2: The Bismarck's turret expansion plan can be estimated from the drawings. As for the expansion of the tank ring, it is actually the design of the T-54 tank.)

Chapter 758: Eugengen Wants to Be a Missile Cruiser

Tope discovered something recently.

My little twin-tailed rabbit seems to have been pestering Zeppelin and Tirpitz recently, mumbling all day long as if he is doing something.

In addition to this, the usually innocent little Eugen has started to pile up a lot of books and materials in his room. Then, whenever he has free time, he buries his head in the books and studies hard, and he doesn't respond to anyone.

Looking at Eugen like this, Top always thought of how he felt when he was facing the big exams when he was studying.

Well, luckily I studied hard at that time, so I wasn’t “grilled” or anything like that—wait, what is “grilled”? Why did I think of this word? !

Top, who was almost shocked by the inexplicable words that popped up in his head, picked up a book from the little rabbit's collection and glanced at the title: "Introduction to Aerial Reconnaissance" - published by the Imperial Air Ministry...

What the hell is this? !

A heavy cruiser actually reads books on air force business? !

Tope was a little bit incredulous and grabbed a few more books, looked at the titles, and then was stunned:

Radio navigation and autopilot equipment

Aircraft Driving and Long-Distance Flight Manual

Air Force Anti-Ship Attack Tactics

……

Seeing these book titles, Tope's heart skipped a beat, and a scene suddenly appeared in his mind:

The originally obedient little rabbit suddenly changed into a sly smile wearing a pilot's helmet and said to him, "Top, I don't want to be a boat driver anymore!"

Then he grabbed his head and squeezed it hard...