Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

A tank gun's armor-piercing capability isn't just about the gun itself; it's also related to the ammunition it uses. The same tank gun can have vastly different power depending on the type of shell.

The United States is a prime example of this. The Americans have never developed their own tank guns. Early M1 tanks used the British L7 105mm tank gun. Later, when they felt it wasn't enough, the M1A1 tank switched to the German Leopard 2's 120mm gun, directly adopting and producing the technology.

However, they develop their own armor-piercing rounds, especially depleted uranium rounds, and their power is significantly greater than those of Britain and Germany.

The tank gun that Factory 960 is currently bidding for is inferior to Factory 447's tank gun in terms of chamber volume and bore pressure. However, they have advanced ammunition! Therefore, in terms of power, they are on par with Factory 447's product.

A 10mm difference is no longer significant.

Thinking of this result, the people from Factory 447 felt complicated. How could they compete?

The armor-piercing rounds used by Factory 447 are just the old 120 smoothbore rounds. Although they are also made of tungsten alloy, how can their power compare to the new tungsten alloy armor-piercing rounds made with liquid phase sintering technology?

A technician couldn't help but shout, "No, this is unfair! We are comparing tank guns, not shells! Now you are using advanced armor-piercing rounds to compete with us. We are not convinced!"

This statement was a bit excessive. Some of the military leaders present already had unpleasant expressions. For the military, what they want is advanced technology. Now that they have this armor-piercing round with even greater potential, they are very satisfied.

The other technicians from Factory 960 had also come over from the platform. Hearing the words of the Factory 447 technician, Zhang Guoqiang, the leader, immediately said, "What's unfair about this? If you have the ability, you can also develop advanced armor-piercing rounds!"

Since Zhuang Shuren had the idea, he would naturally satisfy it. However, whether his blunt words would offend the other party was not something he needed to consider.

"The current power is already sufficient. Let's talk about loading," Old Huang said. "We just saw that your shells are too bulky, making loading difficult. Have you developed an automatic loader?"

Even with an automatic loader, those tank shells are inconvenient to use. Because in daily training, tankers still need to move the shells into the tank. Just looking at the huge size of the shells, you can tell that handling them is not easy. This level of shell already requires separate loading to solve the handling problem.

Hearing about the automatic loader, the people from Factory 447 were discouraged. Zhuang Shuren said helplessly, "Currently, we are still researching automatic loading technology. We don't have a qualified solution yet. However, our semi-automatic loader is progressing smoothly. If the troops need it urgently, we can completely use the semi-automatic loader to solve the immediate problem. Once the automatic loader is mature, we can replace it."

They still needed to wait!

Factory 960's fully automatic loader was already mature. Just now, Old Huang sat in the turret and watched the automatic loading, feeling very novel. Moreover, according to Qin Yang, this automatic loader had already undergone various tests and was a mature product!

One was readily available, and the other was still under development. Was there any need to ask how to choose?

"Then please introduce your semi-automatic loader first," a leader from the armored forces said.

"In the process of developing our automatic loader, the difficulty of selecting shells was very high. Therefore, we used a semi-automatic solution. Usually, the shells are placed in the turret's rear compartment. When needed, the loader moves the shell from the rear compartment to the semi-automatic loader's magazine. The subsequent loading is completed by the semi-automatic loader. Although it still requires a loader, it reduces the difficulty and saves physical strength because there is no need to insert the shell into the barrel."

The crowd frowned. This solution did reduce the difficulty, but it still required a loader, which meant the turret would definitely be crowded. Moreover, the shells were so heavy that just moving them would be difficult!

"Let's put these aside for now. Why don't we continue the test firing? How about testing the high-explosive rounds next?" a leader said.

After all, Factory 447 was an old artillery factory, and many military leaders still had a good relationship with Factory 447. Continuing to compare armor-piercing rounds was meaningless, so they might as well compare high-explosive rounds.

After all, tank guns not only need to attack enemy tanks and concrete fortifications, but also often need to attack enemy infantry. At this time, high-explosive rounds are needed.

Qin Yang smiled: "Okay, let's compare high-explosive rounds next!"

They couldn't compete with armor-piercing rounds, so they wanted to compare high-explosive rounds. The comparison of armor-piercing rounds didn't have much to do with the thickness of the barrel, anyway, they all relied on the sabot and were determined by the penetrating rod. The unitary rounds still had an advantage, but if they were to compare high-explosive rounds, then it would be a comparison of thickness. The thicker the barrel, the larger the warhead, and the greater the explosive power.

Therefore, their own 125mm gun would definitely not lose in this round of comparison!

"Okay, then we'll go first!" Zhuang Shuren said: "Prepare the high-explosive round!"

The crowd once again walked towards the 120 smoothbore. When they saw the high-explosive round that two strong men carried out, Qin Yang understood that the other party was also prepared. Even the high-explosive round was made extra large.

Although the diameter of the warhead could not be changed, the length of the warhead could be increased. Anyway, the rear chamber had 16.1 liters, and the energy of the internal propellant was very high, which could propel a larger high-explosive warhead.

"The amount of explosives loaded is probably not small, right?" a leader asked.

"We haven't determined it yet. Currently, we have only loaded five kilograms of explosives," Zhuang Shuren said confidently. They couldn't produce advanced armor-piercing rounds, but could they be behind in high-explosive rounds?

Commonly used 120mm high-explosive howitzers in China only load 3.1 kilograms of explosives. 152mm high-explosive rounds have seven different loading schemes, with a maximum of only 6.01 kilograms of explosives. This 120mm high-explosive round in front of them actually had five kilograms of explosives stuffed inside! If this exploded, the power would definitely be heaven-defying!

"Clear the range, pay attention to safety!"

While the technicians from Factory 447 were screwing on the fuse to the high-explosive warhead, other arrangements were also underway.

Live ammunition firing is always dangerous. Armor-piercing rounds have a short range, and as long as you are not directly hit, you will be fine. High-explosive rounds are different. They have a long range, often several kilometers or even more than ten kilometers. For professional howitzers, firing twenty or thirty kilometers is normal.

Moreover, the warhead of a high-explosive round can explode. Looking at the size of the high-explosive warhead in front of them, it was estimated that one shot could blow up a basketball court. If the range was not cleared, there could be danger.

Soon, everything was ready.

Zhuang Shuren said confidently: "Report to the leader, ready, request to fire!"

"Fire!"

With the experience of the first time, everyone retreated a long way, so as not to be blown away by the air wave at the moment of firing.

One second, two seconds, three seconds... No sound?