manynovel #202 - Progress of the M3 Tank and Pickup Truck
#202 - Progress of the M3 Tank and Pickup Truck
Returning from the Mu Us Desert, Ren Zhong entrusted the construction of the base to Professor Wu's team. After all, he had given the entire design to Professor Wu, and according to his materials, Professor Wu and his team were completing it with their understanding. The major weapon was showing promise.
The construction of the experimental pile didn't take much time. The difficult part was the supporting elements like heavy water and uranium enrichment. Now that all of these were gathered, the construction of the reactor itself was very fast.
The first nuclear reactor was actually started in Chicago in December 1941, but it was quickly abandoned. Mr. Fermi, who was in charge of the project, was absorbed into the Manhattan Project by the rogue Eagle, and he rebuilt the world's first uranium-graphite nuclear reactor at the University of Chicago. On December 2, 1942, at 3:20 PM, the world's first nuclear reactor officially went into operation, experimentally demonstrating the chain reaction theory. It marked the beginning of the atomic age.
Although Professor Wu and his team didn't know it, they were already more than a year behind the Manhattan Project. Ren Zhong didn't plan to tell them this news. On the one hand, the source of this top-secret information was difficult to explain, and on the other hand, Ren Zhong didn't think it was necessary to further stimulate Professor Wu and his team.
Speaking of which, they were already working very hard. This was the only team Ren Zhong had, and if anything went wrong, it would be impossible to make up for it. If they had to wait for the next batch of core personnel to be trained, it might take another twenty years.
So Ren Zhong couldn't take the risk, because according to the current timeline, in at most four or five years, our own "Peace Egg" would be born. Compared to the rogue Eagle, although it would be a little later, it would be developed entirely through independent efforts. At that time, it would definitely cause an absolute and huge shock in the world, and for Hua Country, this would of course be the best tool to exert its influence.
Ren Zhong was very much looking forward to that day arriving soon.
Returning to the Dawn Research Institute, Ren Zhong called Chief of Staff Ye in the border area and specifically requested General Shi to provide two sets of SCR-268 fire control radar as an air defense shield for the border area, and then there was the high-strength aircraft tire production technology.
In terms of ground weapons, tanks were also coming out soon, although they were M3 light and low-end models.
Next was the advent of trucks, these two were the core of true mechanized steel torrent.
Ren Zhong calculated what he had on hand. The 105mm howitzer had already produced samples, and the next step was mass production.
Now the artillery research team had turned to the more technically advanced 88mm anti-aircraft gun. This major weapon, combined with air defense fire control radar, was not only very effective in air defense, but also could be placed on the T-34 heavy tank, in addition to the original 76mm tank gun of the first generation. Putting this 88mm anti-aircraft gun on it didn't seem impossible. After all, there was originally a high-end 85mm plan, and changing it to 88mm would turn it into a super heavy tank that could destroy anyone it met?
However, putting such a major weapon on the domestic battlefield seemed a bit wasteful. The little devils, to this day, didn't have a truly meaningful heavy tank. For the Type 97 main battle tank with a small 57mm gun, the T-34 or M3 with a large 76mm gun could already easily defeat it.
However, thinking of the wide range of uses of this 88mm anti-aircraft gun as a guest star in Germany, even if it was simply used as a suppression heavy gun, it would be extremely powerful. Ren Zhong felt that putting it on the M3 as a self-propelled gun was also a good idea. After all, the range was there, and it was a dimensionality reduction strike against any gun of the little devils.
After all, the range of nearly 15 kilometers was something the little devils could not reach. Even if the border area's research and development was somewhat reduced, the starting point should be above 12/13 kilometers, which was even farther than the range of the M2 105mm howitzer.
Putting the 88mm gun and the 105mm gun on the M3 to turn it into a self-propelled gun, this idea seemed very necessary. The M3's chassis was still very good, and for the Dawn Research Institute's artillery from 75mm to 105mm, it was simply versatile.
75mm mountain guns, 88mm anti-aircraft guns, 105mm howitzers, plus 107 rockets, such a combination should be enough to fight the little devils' army, right?
The 75mm mountain gun was mobile and flexible, the 88mm anti-aircraft gun had a starting range of 12 kilometers, a maximum range of nearly 15 kilometers, the 105mm howitzer had strong firepower, and the 107mm rocket had both flexibility and powerful firepower, which could comprehensively suppress the little devils' 75mm field guns to 150mm heavy howitzers.
After all, the little devils' strongest range is the Type 96 150mm field gun with a maximum range of 11,900 meters. Although the power is greater, the range is still inferior to the 88mm anti-aircraft gun.
And in terms of firepower coverage for carpet bombing, who can now compare to the earth-shattering carpet bombing function of the 107mm rocket?
After thinking for a while, Ren Zhong felt that the army had basically reached its limit and no more effort was needed.
Now the research institute's resources should be invested in the "Peace Egg" and aerospace for vigorous development.
Since aerospace is a system engineering project, although there has been some progress, there is still a long way to go before a breakthrough can be achieved.
For example, the Mustang fighter that is being prepared for imitation has basically solved the engine problem, but the manufacturing process of the entire fuselage requires some special forging equipment, such as a 10,000-ton hydraulic press, which has not yet been developed.
Of course, according to the current progress, it is already close to success.
Another aspect is that there are also very big problems in the supply of raw materials.
The electrolytic aluminum facility is still not fully operational. Although the principle verification has been passed, there are still some problems in large-scale mass production. Not to mention the excessive energy consumption, the quality of the produced aluminum is still unstable with too many impurities. The research team is fully adjusting in this regard. Ren Chong has also given Hu Rentao, a steelmaking expert from the main world, a new task: to analyze and find solutions based on the current conditions.
The joint efforts of the two worlds are equivalent to double the investment to solve the problem.
Ren Chong is not worried about not being able to solve it.
So he has already started the large-scale production of other components of the Mustang fighter.
First of all, the airborne weapons and equipment are very mature and have already been mass-produced. The performance of the G20 cannon is very stable. The airborne version of the automatic firing device and automatic loading machine have been tested on a full-scale model of the Mustang fighter simulated on the ground, and the effect is good.
Secondly, for the avionics part, most components, including communication components, use the Red Star walkie-talkie and Red Star radio for communication, and this part has also completed the customized airborne work.
The Type 71 walkie-talkie has very stable performance and has been tested for a long time on the ground. There is no obstruction in the sky, and real-time voice calls can be realized in the air within a range of tens of kilometers in the front line.
For longer distances, the Red Star radio is needed to receive pre-arranged simple Morse code instructions. An airborne 1.5KW diesel generator is used for power supply. 6 liters of oil can work for 12 hours, which can fully drive the airborne electrical appliances.
It can be said that most of the scattered parts in the aircraft are ready and mass-produced.
Now the most critical load-bearing structures, such as landing gear and frames, cannot produce qualified components without large forging machines, as well as high-strength tires.
While organizing his own research, Ren Chong is also looking for the possibility of obtaining technology from the Rogue Eagles.
By walking on two legs and supplementing with technical data excavated from the main world, Ren Chong is not worried about the research and development of these key equipment. It is only a matter of time. If there are ready-made ones, it will be faster, of course.
The demand has been put forward, and I don’t know if General Shi can handle it.
However, Ren Chong is not completely dependent on it. He still bases himself on independent research and development. With penicillin and his own silver dollars, the Dawn Research Institute has considerable funds. In addition, the Border Region has solved the problem of food supply, and Ren Chong can now expand his scientific research and production team without restriction.
On the machine tool side, more than twenty types of finalized production models have been completed, almost covering the categories of current mechanical processing.
The equipment for gun and炮 processing, thermal power, hydropower and other five small factories, as well as automobiles and tanks, have basically completed the mechanical processing coverage, and have begun to continuously explode production capacity.
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With the released power supply, the five small factories began to choose suitable locations for continuous expansion, and in addition to military products, civilian transportation and farming-related mechanical equipment have also begun to be produced on a large scale.
When the diesel engine production explodes on a large scale, the output of Dali Wang and Red Star I will increase substantially. Although they are still used for both military and civilian purposes, after the Chevrolet G506 is mass-produced, these two old-fashioned models will gradually withdraw from the main models of the army.
Not only trucks, Ren Chong also gave a pickup design based on the G506, with tough lines and no curvature, focusing on simple production and reliable performance.
With the experience of the Red Star I chassis, plus the main world chassis reference, the new generation of Red Star F1 pickup was born in the workers' hammering. Ren Chong test-drove this car with 4 manual gears. This is the closest car he has come into contact with in the Bright Sword world to his car in the main world.
However, Ren Chong was still wrong. This car is not generally tough to drive. On the bumpy roads of the Border Region, once the speed exceeds 50, there is a feeling of taking off at any time!
There is no sofa, and the seats are made of wooden boards and cotton wool, which can put the lumbar disc herniation back in place during driving.
The comfort experience is almost zero!
But after the actual experience, Ren Chong felt that such a car would probably not be wanted even by black African uncles in the main world.
"Mr. Ren, we have no car design experience. The current design is based on the two previous models you provided, plus simple improvements compared to the G506 model." Professor Zhao Yiming said with some embarrassment. This thing is a bit beyond his ability.
"It's okay, Professor Zhao, there is no need to rush this. We now have the materials for shock absorption springs, and there is no problem with the alloy steel for making springs. I think this chassis design will be solved sooner or later. I will ask the organization to see what the world's advanced suspension system is like. We can improve it by referring to it." Ren Chong comforted.
Now he knows that these people don't even have the concept of a suspension system, and Ren Chong can't be demanding. This kind of thing probably still has to be copied from the main world.
Returning to the main world, Ren Chong studied it. Sure enough, the suspension system itself is still a relatively high-tech content.
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