Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

Green grass, fresh air. On the firing range of Factory 617, a tank with a powerful shape stood tall, exuding dominance.

Its hull had six pairs of road wheels on the side, making it look more symmetrical. The side skirts covered the track rollers, making it look as simple as Western tanks. A modern-looking welded turret was installed on the hull.

From the front, the two slanted main armors were as mighty and domineering as Western tanks, with the aura of a Challenger tank. However, from the side, it could be seen that the turret length was less than half the length of the hull, which was because of the addition of the rear grille. Compared with the Western turrets that often occupied three-quarters of the hull length, it seemed a bit uncoordinated.

The Western ones are 'Big Head Son', while our Eastern tanks are 'Small Head Dad'.

At this time, a large group of people stood around the tank, making comments.

"Marrying the turret of our third-generation tank to the chassis of a second-generation tank is really a creation. Now it seems to be quite good."

"Yes, the production of our Type 80 tanks can come to an end. Once this tank is tested, we will purchase this Type 85 tank!"

"That's right, if the development of the third-generation tank fails, this tank can also be the main force of our army!"

Listening to these discussions, Old Zhu smiled wryly to the side: "Leaders, do you have so little confidence in our Institute 201?"

"Of course not, even if we don't have confidence in you, we have to have confidence in Chief Engineer Qin. The third-generation tank is a key project of our army. With Institute 201 and Chief Engineer Qin, we will definitely be able to develop it. By the way, where is Chief Engineer Qin?"

Everyone looked at the tank for a long time and didn't find Qin Yang, which made them a little curious.

"Chief Engineer Qin is busy debugging the equipment inside. You guys are really something, you said half a month, but you came over in a week!" Old Zhu said.

How could a large factory like Factory 617 lack military representatives? Even if the Type 85 tank was developed for Lao Ba, the military representatives had been paying attention. When they heard that the fire control system had arrived, the military representatives reported the news back. As a result, the armored forces leaders of the army were excited and came by special train, arriving only one day later than Qin Yang.

These busy leaders came to watch the performance, and Qin Yang worked overtime inside to debug the equipment.

"Okay." With the sound, a head appeared from the turret. The grassland climate in May was pleasant, but Qin Yang was sweating profusely inside, and his clothes were soaked.

"Okay? Can we fire a test shot now?"

"Of course not, we still have to collimate the gun next. Bring the collimating telescope!"

"Do you need a flashlight?" Someone asked.

"If you want a 60% first-round hit rate, you can use a flashlight." Qin Yang rolled his eyes at the person who made the suggestion. You have to look at the situation. Can using a flashlight to collimate the gun back then be consistent with the current requirements for high-precision shooting?

"The collimation target has been set up." Wang Lin came over and said.

This performance was of great significance. The Type 85 tank was the most advanced tank ever produced by Factory 617! Although the 125mm gun had been invented for a long time, it had never been installed on a tank ready for mass production. Now it was the first time!

"Chief Engineer Qin, let me help you. When it comes to collimating guns, our frontline troops are the most familiar." Chen Cheng, the division commander of a certain tank division who came to visit, said as he took out the collimating telescope from a wooden box and inserted it into the muzzle.

Collimating a gun is a basic skill that every artilleryman and tankman must master. Simply put, it is to align the aiming point of the sight with the direction of the muzzle. The trajectory curvature caused by the Earth's gravity is something that needs to be adjusted when firing. Now, it must be ensured that the line of sight is consistent with the muzzle.

The flashlight that Qin Yang used back then was the simplest method. The beam of the flashlight hit the wall, and then the aiming point of the in-vehicle optical sight was aligned with this spot, which was considered to complete the collimation work.

But that was only a rough adjustment. For high-precision adjustment, a crosshair target had to be placed more than a kilometer away. The aiming point of the collimating telescope was aligned with the center of the crosshairs of the collimation target, and the aiming point of the optical sight inside the tank was also aligned with the center of the crosshairs, which completed the collimation work.

"Ouch!" Chen Cheng was stunned: "Chief Engineer Qin, why are you hitting me?"

"I'm hitting you because you're supporting it with your hand like this, and you're bending my gun."

"What? Chief Engineer Qin, can my touch bend your steel cannon? Isn't this extortion?" Chen Cheng also became unhappy. I, a division commander, came to collimate the gun for you, but not only are you not grateful, but you even want to extort me?

Qin Yang was helpless and looked at the armored forces leaders who looked puzzled: "Everyone, do you also think I'm making a fuss about nothing?"

Everyone didn't speak, but their expressions already explained everything.

"Chief Engineer Qin, this weapon is meant to be used, and it's all about being sturdy and durable. If it bends with a touch, I'm afraid it won't be able to adapt to the battlefield." Old Huang said.

When soldiers train their marksmanship, they often hang bricks on the barrels of their guns, and they're not afraid of bending. Now, touching the barrel bends it? How can this weapon be used?

"Chief Engineer Qin, in our tank factory, there's no prohibition against supporting the muzzle by hand when collimating." Wang Lin hesitated and said.

Old Zhu coughed to the side: "The cannons in the past didn't shoot very far, but the current cannons have very high requirements. Let me explain it to you..."

"No need, Old Zhu, it's useless for us to say anything now. They will definitely think we're making a fuss about nothing. We can only prove it to them with facts." Qin Yang glanced at Chen Cheng: "Do you want to fire the gun?"

The military has inertia. After getting used to something, they are too lazy to change. After the Type 95 rifle was equipped to the troops, it received constant negative reviews for a long time, just because the soldiers were used to the Type 81 rifle and couldn't change.

It's useless to say anything now. These people will still disagree. They must be made to feel the contrast and slap them in the face with facts.

Chen Cheng nodded: "Of course I want to! But, I can't afford to touch your thing."

"It doesn't matter. Let's collimate the gun first, and then I'll train you for five minutes, and you can fire at a moving target." Qin Yang said: "Let you experience our high-precision fire control. Then, you can collimate the gun in your way, and we'll try again to see if your hand supporting the muzzle bends my barrel."

"I can fire the gun after five minutes of training?" Chen Cheng looked surprised.

"Firing a gun isn't a profound skill. Any normal person can do it after five minutes of training."

Chen Cheng swallowed: "In 1959, I was an 18-year-old cadet in the Jinan Tank Crew Training Regiment. After graduation, I went to the tank battalion of the 212th Tank Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment of the 7th Army Division as a gunner. I still remember the training situation back then. Without half a year of study and two years of hard training, you simply couldn't shoot accurately. Retraining would also take several months. If you can let me master moving target shooting in five minutes, then I, Chen Cheng, will be convinced!"

"Old Chen, if you don't master it, then you're not a normal person." Old Huang smiled, looking at Qin Yang's confident appearance, he suddenly felt that his worries just now were superfluous.