It is absolutely correct to say that the research and development of weapons is determined by combat ideas and combat purposes. Weapons do not just look at data, but whether the weapon can meet the needs of the army. Top novel. When the German Army is going to establish two weapons with different tasks

When the army's instructions are conveyed to the army's technical department, German engineers must rack their brains for the future development of the German Army's armored forces.

The armored force, as the most important assault and support force of the German Army, has naturally attracted much attention in its development. The designers of the German Army have also traveled to the Middle East to inspect the local natural environment and infrastructure. Even some spies have traveled to Iran and

South Asia came to do preliminary reconnaissance work for future battles. After a long period of investigation, the Germans discovered that the weapons they designed were not only limited by technology but also by the local geographical environment and infrastructure.

First of all, the first problem is the mobility of the tank. The mobility here not only refers to how the tank moves by itself, but also includes how to transport the tank... In Europe, German armored forces mainly use railways.

Transport the tank to the front line, then get off the car and run over. This is the case in Western Europe. Although the railway specifications in Eastern Europe are different from those in Germany, through the efforts of the railway troops, Germany finally used it. So what should I do when I go to the Middle East in the future?

Although Germany and Turkey will build a large number of railways in the future, no matter how much you build, the railways can only be built in Turkey, and cannot be built in Persia and India? And the railway specifications and coverage areas in Persia and India are completely incomparable.

Compared with Europe, this means that German tanks must have a larger range and the ability to move on their own. They cannot rely on trains for everything.

The second problem is maintenance. Compared with the plains of Western Europe, the Russian mud was once the biggest nightmare for the German armored forces. When the Germans came to Persia, they discovered that the mountains, deserts and backward infrastructure of Persia were

A nightmare more terrifying than Russia. The original engine filter can hardly guarantee to isolate sand as fine as flour, and the more complicated ground

The shape makes it more difficult for armored forces to operate. Under these circumstances, the efficiency of armored forces will be greatly reduced. The failure rate will also increase. In order to ensure combat effectiveness, you must be able to maintain these equipment, and the local technical conditions are really...

...Turkey does not have the ability to overhaul tank engines. The engines that have been replaced will either be thrown away on site or shipped back to the country!

As a result, the German technical department came to the conclusion that the tanks deployed by Germany in the Middle East must have a large range so that they can run back and forth when necessary, and must be able to have a high enough attendance rate in plateau and desert terrains. At the same time,

It also needs to be within the range that various local bridges can bear. In a word, the tank should not be too heavy, the structure should be as simple as possible, and the stability should be as high as possible. Now that we have said it, then the tank

Don't expect too much from its performance...

Some people may say that the British also want to deploy tanks in South Asia. Then they will also be subject to various restrictions. Then the Germans will ask those who say this to look at maps and history. First of all, Iran is located between Turkey and South Asia.

In the meantime, the British will not occupy Iran and attack Turkey. In other words, they will only stay in their own place, so they do not have to go through the test of the terrain and altitude of the Iranian plateau. Secondly, India has not

It has the ability to maintain and produce a large number of tank engines, but China does! During the First World War, China could sell weapons to both sides. Then if there is another war, China can continue to sell them. At that time, as long as the Allies can afford it.

China can provide enough engines and related accessories. The possibility of Germany obtaining weapons from China is already very low, and now the weapons projects jointly developed by both parties have almost come to a standstill.

Ever since, in this case, German designers have put forward extremely stringent requirements for the performance of the tank. The weight of the tank cannot exceed 25 tons, the structure must be as simple as possible, and the travel must be far enough. Firepower is second, and it must be able to

It can deal with most targets, and the defense is the worst, because based on the experience of World War 1, it seems that no tank can block the attack of the 75mm gun. With such a limited tonnage, it will face more powerful tanks that may appear in the future.

The Germans have no hope for artillery. Germany

Tanks emphasize assault and fire support. The former requires speed and range, while the latter requires firepower. As for protection, they can only make do. After some research, the German designers believed that even with a rear-mounted gearbox and engine design

, the thickness of the frontal armor cannot exceed 40mm and is tilted 30 degrees, and the side armor is reduced to the level of bulletproof fragments. It is estimated that even the 37mm gun with better performance may not be able to defend against it. Because this tank needs to be equipped with at least one

75mml40 or above artillery!

When the report was sent to the German Army Ministry, the top brass of the German Army really couldn't tolerate such a squishy tank. After calling it back countless times, the technician's reply was that either you allow me to increase the weight, or I can only design an incomparable tank.

Tanks with turrets, such as assault guns and tank destroyers, do not have a turret that can save a lot of weight.

The amount. And the height can be reduced a lot, which can fully meet the military's dual requirements for frontal and firepower. After research, the German Army, which was forced to do so, believed that if there was no major breakthrough in technology, it would add tank destroyers or assault vehicles.

Guns are an important way to make up for the lack of performance of tanks. Of course, the situation of weak offense and strong defense cannot be changed.

At the same time, in order to increase the mobility and firepower of the armored forces, the German Army asked the technical department to come up with a self-propelled anti-tank gun program based on wheeled armored vehicles or half-track vehicles after research. Because its positioning is to provide the attacking forces with a sufficiently powerful weapon.

use the firepower to annihilate the occasional heavily armed units and fortified bunkers.

The location is relatively back, so the protection requirements are not high. It can protect against machine guns and shrapnel, but the firepower must be strong. The German Army Ministry prefers to use 88mm anti-aircraft guns or longer 75mm artillery. And because the Germans do not have this plane

There is no shortage of oil, so the tank engine will use a diesel engine instead of a gasoline engine.

In addition to dealing with future wars in the Middle East, Germany also needs to deal with possible wars in Europe. The Germans are not stupid. If Germany's offensive in the Middle East cannot quickly defeat Britain, or even gets into trouble, then France is very likely to take advantage of it. And France is very likely to take advantage of it.

Now the honest Russia may add insult to injury, and facing the French heavy cavalry, which is known for its powerful firepower and thick armor, the Germans must also deal with it seriously.

"In fact, France's armored forces in World War I were more like defensive shields than offensive spears. They were mobile but had thick armor and powerful artillery. When on the defensive

The state is a great threat to the attacking armored forces. Western Europe is inherently narrow, and the French are extremely dedicated when building defense lines. Therefore, when our country attacks, it is almost a head-on fight." After the war, a German armored force commander said

This explains the tank warfare in Western Europe.

The roundabout and rapid advance tactics relied on by the Germans are invincible on the Eastern Front, and they will also have room for display in the vast South Asia in the future. However, on the Western Front, there is no better way. In this case, then Germany in Europe

The heavy armored troops can only be hard

It's a tough call, but fortunately the technical conditions and road environment in Europe are quite good, so that German designers can freely increase the weight as much as possible and improve the performance of the tank. However, the exact number of tons of the new tank is a matter between the ordnance department and the army.

had a dispute.

In order to suppress the French, the German Army believes that the new tank must be equipped with an 88mml45-level gun, and the armor must reach 70mm with an inclination of 45 degrees. The side armor should be more than 50mm. After calculation, German designers thought that this

The weight of the tank must be at least 40 tons. This will cause some components to be crushed, and relatively speaking, German designers do not like gearboxes and powertrains.

The power equipment is rear-mounted, because in this case, the turret must be placed in the front, so the weight balance of the tank may be more troublesome. And if the turret is equipped with a long-barreled gun in the front, there will be some problems when climbing hills or crossing trenches.

Therefore, in a layout with the gearbox in the front, the power in the rear, and the turret in the middle, if you want to meet a series of requirements put forward by the Army, the weight of the tank will increase to a point that existing technology cannot meet.

"In fact, the current 75mml40 or above artillery is enough, and the armor must be appropriately reduced, because if the inclination angle is too large, it will have a great impact on the front gearbox equipment. The weight of the tank is best limited to about 32 tons.

.Of course, if we have to emphasize firepower, if there is no turret, we can

Design a tank destroyer that can be equipped with an 88mml45 gun and limit its weight to about 35 tons. This tank is enough to deal with any armored unit that appears in the next fifteen years, and our purpose in Europe is mainly for defense, not offense

." The German Army's R&D department proposed a compromise.

Unexpectedly, the German Army finally accepted this plan, which puzzled the German technical department. According to past experience, the two sides no longer fought for 300 rounds based on technical indicators in order to squeeze the technical limits as much as possible.

Later, a German Army general who had participated in the German Army's new tank bidding revealed the mystery. On the one hand, the top brass of the German Army requested that the armored forces be able to maneuver quickly in Eastern Europe and be able to launch attacks on Russia when necessary.

Although the conditions in Eastern Europe are good, a tank of more than 40 tons clearly exceeds the bottom line of mobility and maintainability. And Russia's technical level is not very high. A tank that is too sophisticated and has low stability is obviously not as good as a tank that is cheap, functional and stable.

A tank with high performance. A more important reason is that the German Army's military expenditures for armor and ground forces will be relatively limited in the future, because at this time the German Ministry of Defense begins to plan an air force, which will inevitably be divided from the Army.

A piece of cake!
Chapter completed!