Chapter 22 Planning 3

Compared with Tukhachevsky who "asked for advice humbly", the surrounding Soviet engineers all sneered in their hearts. No matter how bad our Soviet tanks are, they are all independently developed and produced. What about your Germany? It was suppressed by the "Treaty of Versailles" and even research and development was impossible. Why did you have the nerve to talk nonsense here and criticize other people's tanks?

Although he did not have the ability to read minds, Guderian could also see in the eyes of the Soviets that Chi Guoguo disdained dissatisfaction. However, he still started talking according to His Highness's previous instructions. "I wonder if you have heard of the M1928 tank (also known as the T-3 Christie tank) designed and developed by American engineer Walter Christie. The suspension system of this tank is the Christie suspension system named after that engineer. It The unique thing is that it can be driven on the road or off-road on tracks. It is very maneuverable. There is no doubt that this is the most advanced suspension system in the world. "

Tanks in World War I generally used hard suspension, which caused the tanks to travel at low speeds and have large bumps. (Due to the backward performance of early tanks, the working environment of tank crews was very harsh. The tanks during World War I used rigid suspension and no shock absorbers. Tank crews were often hit with bruises and bruises while driving. Every time after firing, the inside of the tank was choked. The smell of gunpowder is so strong that the crew even has to wear gas masks, and the temperature inside can sometimes exceed 60 degrees.)

As the saying goes, war is the catalyst for technological progress. Tank designers from various countries are also constantly pursuing tanks with better performance. Inside, there was an engineer named Walter Christie. In 1919, he designed the first tank. He first used a balanced suspension device on the two road wheels of the tank and added springs. This balanced suspension device made his tank much more advanced in terms of balance than tanks from other countries at the same time.

However, although the tank designed by Christie was equipped with a suspension device, the military at the time was not aware of this. After viewing the samples, the U.S. military believed that although Christie designed two turrets for his tank, his turret could not rotate 360". Moreover, the tank engine named M1919 had a smaller engine and could travel too fast. Low, so no order.

After some improvements, in 1928 he successfully designed and manufactured a new tank, the M11928 tank. The turret of the tank could finally rotate 360 ​​degrees.

Since the M1928 met the military's requirements, after watching the test drive performance, the U.S. military immediately ordered 5 prototypes from Christie. This tank was the "Christie" tank that went down in history. At that time, people called this tank Named "T3 Christie" tank.

The "Christie" tank has a unique shape. Its front is in the shape of a sharp wedge, and it has initially developed a good bulletproof shape with a sloped deck. The most outstanding feature of this tank is its suspension device. It is because of the excellent suspension device that the "Christie" can be remembered in history.

The "Christie" tank used four large-diameter road wheels for the first time. The driving wheels were rear-mounted. There were no supporting pulleys used for steering in early tanks. The road wheels and the car body were connected with large coil springs. The last road wheel was in the Horizontal spiral state, thereby increasing the travel of the road wheel. When its second road wheel is in a highly compressed state, the remaining three road wheels are still in a stretched state. In this way, it can reach a high speed of 44 kilometers per hour while driving. At the same time, after the track of the "Christie" tank is damaged, the road wheels can still travel at normal speed, and the speed is faster, reaching 75 kilometers per hour when the road condition is good. (I believe many military fans have played games like "World of Tanks", or may have watched "Girls und Panzer", and the most impressive thing among them is the sentence "Report to the commander, we have interrupted the enemy") The tracks! They are running faster!” The picture is quite hilarious.)

After hearing Guderian's words, the Soviet engineers around him couldn't help but nod in agreement. It seemed that the major still had some ink in his stomach, and he was not just talking casually.

Soviet tank designers not only delved into independent research and development of tanks, but also paid close attention to the progress of their foreign counterparts. They were no strangers to Christie suspension systems and were even quite interested. Voroshilov, People's Commissar of the Army and Navy and Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Committee, was trying to get this kind of suspension.

Seeing the reaction of the Soviets, Yannick was secretly happy. Because the U.S. military quickly discovered the weaknesses of the "Christie" tank.

This kind of wheel-and-wheel approach may seem like you can do anything, but in fact you are proficient in nothing!

Its longitudinal system is inflexible, and because the suspension devices are all crowded inside the car, the space inside the car is small. In addition, its track life is short. It can only reach high speeds when running on wheels, but it cannot be run on wheels. Overcoming obstacles, etc.

Disassembling and assembling the tracks is enough to give the tank crews a headache. This is completely useless!

Due to so many defects, the US military soon lost interest in the "Christie" tank. In addition, Christie had a dispute with the military over the positioning of the T3 tank. The military finally asked Christie to design another tank that met their requirements, but Christie refused this request, and the T3 tank failed to be put into mass production in the United States.

The east is not bright but the west is bright. To everyone's surprise, the Christie suspension, which has not been put into mass production in the United States, has gained the attention of the Soviet Union.

In 1930, the Soviet puppet company in the United States signed a patent buyout contract with Christie. Subsequently, two tanks with Christie suspensions and turrets removed were secretly transported to the Soviet Union in the name of "tractors" (this should be an old trick, and everyone should understand the reason). When the United States discovered it, the transport ship had already left the port, and the Americans could only stare blankly. However, because of this "illegal" transaction, Christie was sued.

After mastering the technology, the Soviets applied Christie suspension to BT and early T-34 tanks.

After listening to Guderian's words, Tukhachevsky praised. "It seems that Major Guderian has a lot of insights into tanks. I guess you must have conducted in-depth technical research in this area?"

Yannick smiled. "This Major Guderian is the future commander of our armored forces. General Tukhachevsky, do you want to fight him? Of course, on the sand table. As for the technical research of tanks, we can't bypass the treaty. But we can send some experts to develop with you, if you welcome it."

It depends on whether the Soviets agree or not. If they agree, we will play together and completely lead you into the trap.

Tukhachevsky thought for a while and replied. "The issue of joint development by both parties needs to be reported to the superiors before we can answer it. As for the fight with Major Guderian, I am very much looking forward to it. Let's do it tonight."