Chapter 496: 496 thick instruction manual
Chapter 496 496 Thick Instructions
As long as the principles of crawler tracks are understood, almost all industrial countries can produce similar things.
The technical content of this thing is not high, because everyone has produced transmission devices such as chains before. As long as it is enlarged and reinforced, it is almost the prototype of a crawler track.
After Gobel showed off his tanks, Tang Mo no longer felt that it was necessary to forcefully keep his tank troops secret.
Previously, the production of tanks on Dragon Island was a very time-consuming and labor-intensive matter. The manufactured tanks needed to be shipped and transported, which was as troublesome as if the Tang Kingdom's troops had been landing across the sea.
Now, Tang Mo can produce his own tanks near Tongcheng with great fanfare, which has reduced a lot of transportation costs.
Different from the tanks and combat vehicles of the 21st century, Tangshan's current tanks do not have such complicated electronic equipment. The only truly sophisticated things are just a few details.
First of all, to enable a tank to operate, it requires a power system consisting of an engine and a gearbox. This set of gadgets is now one of the most expensive parts on the tank, which is a great test of industrial foundation.
Secondly, Tang Mo’s tanks have a relatively complete optical sighting system that will become even more complete in the future. This thing is definitely a precision-machined ceiling, something that other countries can only dream of.
Finally, there is the vehicle-mounted radio communication system that other countries dare not even think of. It ensures smooth communication between tanks and armored units and allows our own troops to coordinate exquisitely. It is also an expensive and delicate piece of equipment.
As for the artillery, before the long-barreled tank gun was installed, the short-barreled 75mm low-bore pressure artillery actually had little technical content, so it was not considered a precision system for the time being.
Tang Mo or Datang Group is an absolute leader in automobile manufacturing. After a long period of accumulation of engine and gearbox technology, the foundation is very profound.
The advanced engine can provide very reliable power guarantee, and the gearbox is directly copied from a relatively mature design. Therefore, in terms of power system, Tang Mo’s No. 4 tank is definitely trustworthy.
Even in the real World War II, Germany's No. 4 tank had a low failure rate, average maintenance and repair difficulty, and a balanced design that was popular with the military.
Different from the squeamish and expensive Zoo series, the No. 4 tank is affectionately called a military horse and is regarded by soldiers as a reliable combat partner, which shows the success of its design ideas.
In terms of optical equipment technology, Datang Group is also at the forefront of the world. Datang Group is still the world's largest supplier of cameras, the largest supplier of lens measurement instruments, and the largest supplier of optical sighting equipment.
Nearly two-thirds of the world's optical lenses are produced by the Datang Group. Almost all warships equipped with long-range optical sights are now manufactured by the Datang Group.
Hence, it is a piece of cake for Datang Group to provide the most reliable sights for Tang Mo’s tanks. Tang Mo does not guarantee that his optical sight is perfect, but he can guarantee that the one used by his troops must be the best in the world!
In order to take care of the sophisticated and advanced radio equipment, Tank No. 4 has a dedicated radio operator.
This operator is also the shooter of the directional machine gun. His main task is to ensure communication between tank crews and communication between tanks under complex battlefield conditions.
On weekdays, this radio operator also helps with simple maintenance of tanks, cleaning and maintenance of tanks, and replenishing artillery shells...
In short, in this era when equipment reliability is not very high, it is actually very necessary to have such an extra crew member.
The communication system of the entire tank is relatively complex. All members in the tank must wear earphones and throat communicators to ensure that everyone can hear the commander's orders clearly inside the noisy tank.
Comparatively speaking, this system is actually very advanced. In tanks of the same era during World War II, Japanese tanks basically relied on kicking and gesticulating with their hands to communicate...
Who can imagine that a tank commander wants his driver to speed up by giving his driver a kick on the butt? Although the principle behind this is similar to that of a cavalryman accelerating and kicking a horse in the belly, there is no way of knowing to whom the driver is pouring his blood and tears.
Once the Tang Dynasty's No. 4 tank came out, it had a complete set of mature in-car communication systems. This advancement significantly improved the tank's combat effectiveness.
At the same time, the tanks of the Tang Dynasty can achieve coordinated communication between tanks, which is also accomplished using complex vehicle-mounted radio communication devices.
This device ensures the coordinated combat capabilities of the tank unit to the greatest extent, which is much better than those tank crews huddled in a stuffy tank fighting independently.
Tang Mo knew that although reducing tank crew members was indeed a good idea, it could reduce unit losses and at the same time drive more tanks with fewer people. But the conditions are not mature yet. There is no reliable automatic loading machine to save loaders, and there is no reliable and advanced communication device to omit radio operators. Therefore, the optimal configuration of the current tank crew is still five people!
At this moment, a vehicle crew of the 1st Battalion, 1st Company and 1st Platoon of the 1st Armored Regiment of the 2nd Armored Division of the Tang Dynasty, deployed in a camp on the west side of Tongcheng, was squatting next to a brand-new tank, carefully reading and using manual.
This is a very arduous task that must be completed. They must understand what their tank is and at the same time master the basic performance of the tank.
Although the remaining three people in the crew, except for the newly graduated radio operator and loader, had all participated in tank training on Long Island, this was actually the first time for everyone to see the brand-new No. 4 tank. .
This is just like you have used Samsung note2 mobile phone, but now you have replaced it with Huawei P40. Although the operating system is similar, and although the phone is still a smartphone, you still have to get used to it.
There are so many things to pay attention to that it makes the commander feel dizzy: the newly added communication antenna is extremely fragile and needs to be avoided as much as possible by branches; the thickness of the surrounding armor is different, so he needs to consider the most reasonable angle to meet the enemy...
˜Every place with electric drive in the entire tank needs to be used with caution, including the turret rotation drive motor that may cause problems! Where is the fire extinguisher placed, and where is the fixed position of the submachine gun...
He wrote a thick book filled with instructions like this. What made him even more depressed was that this was an absolutely confidential document that had to be turned in after reading it and could not be kept in personal hands.
The radio operator is not stressed because this is what he learned in school. Anyway, they are all devices with similar operations, and he can grasp the essentials of operation by just looking at them.
What really troubled him was not the radio equipment on his left, but the heading machine gun installed directly in front of him.
Due to the hasty training, he only had very superficial shooting training in school, and it was a bit too forced for him to use this thing to kill people.
So at this moment, he was staring at the machine gun that used a drum instead of a belt, studying seriously, simulating every step over and over in his mind.
It is not an easy task to change bullets for a machine gun in a small space, not to mention that he has to prioritize solving radio problems during this period.
The loader was even more confused. He was just very strong and strong. He was assigned to the tank army solely because of the job allowances and the pay was much better than that of the infantry...
Now it's great, his job is actually in a closed space, pulling out shells from all corners around him and stuffing them into the artillery, and then closing the breech to complete the loading.
The places where the artillery shells are placed are almost everywhere, some are behind the commander's buttocks, and some are on his left hand side. Of course, if the battle is too fierce, there are also some stored artillery shells next to the gunner.
There are also some shells placed behind the driver's seat. These shells wrap the loader like a coffin...
There is no way, this is ammunition, it must be placed as much as possible where the loader can quickly reach it!
Just imagine, there are cannonballs on his left, cannonballs on his right, cannonballs in front, and cannonballs behind him, and a large barrel of gasoline under his feet...
“At least we don’t have to drive by ourselves, right?” The driver was very humorous. He really wanted to experience the feel of a gearbox with 6 forward gears and 1 reverse gear as soon as possible.
Imagine the happiness of the German tank drivers in World War II. The engines of every No. 4 tank were produced by Maybach. How much would this thing cost in the 21st century?
Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Maybach, and Porsche are all good things that everyone can’t afford to drive nowadays. The German drivers in World War II even vomited...Do you know why the military uniforms of German officers are so decent? Because many military uniforms are tailor-made by BOSS clothing!
Some people may not believe it, but the driver of the Tiger tank, which Germany began mass-producing in 1942, used a steering wheel! Similar technology has not yet been used in Russia's T-series tanks in 2022... Yes, that's Versailles.
The gunner didn't have much experience. His task was to aim at the target and fire. The new tank had a clearer and more accurate sight. Being familiar with the sight, he almost understood how to use it.
All he has to do is wait for the loader to finish loading the shells, the commander gives him the order to attack, and he just steps on the pedal to destroy the target.
In fact, he was quite calm because he had just seen the thickness of the tank's front armor steel plate.
It is human nature for anyone to be nervous when they know they are going to be on the battlefield. However, if 60 mm thick armor steel plates are piled in front of him, this tension will definitely be reduced a lot - and this is the meaning of the tank's existence!
(End of this chapter)