Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

"Okay, Old Chen, let's get on the turret. You take the gunner's position, and I'll take the commander's position. We'll calibrate the gun while I train you. Little Wang, come over to the collimator!"

The technician named Little Wang ran over, not even daring to press his eyes tightly against the collimator, afraid of bending something.

Seeing Little Wang's posture, some people were curious. Was a tank gun really that fragile?

Chen Cheng climbed into the turret and was immediately stunned when he saw the white sight hanging on the turret with a four-bar linkage: "A binocular sight?"

"Of course, it has to be a binocular sight. People have two eyes; always using one will make you cross-eyed," Qin Yang joked. "Now, put your eyes up to the sight, but be careful to keep a certain distance."

"Why?"

"Because our sight may swing back and forth after it's turned on."

Chen Cheng was stunned: "Swing?"

"That's right. The four-bar linkage above is active," Qin Yang pointed to the rotating shaft above.

This was also a compromise brought about by the under-reflected fire control system. Although the structure was simple, the accuracy would decrease when the angle between the line of sight and the axis of the gun barrel was greater than three degrees. Therefore, domestic fire control experts came up with a solution: when it was greater than three degrees, let the sight rotate to reduce this angle!

So, when the tank was bumping at high speed through undulating terrain, you could often see the sight in front of the gunner swinging back and forth, and the gunner would move back and forth with the lens, developing the same skill as a chicken nodding its head.

"The stabilized fire control still has to move back and forth?"

"Of course," Qin Yang shamelessly bullied the bumpkin who had never seen the world. The over-reflected fire control did not need to move.

Over-reflected was certainly good, but when you didn't have the strength, under-reflected was simpler and more reliable. It just meant shaking your head a bit; you'd get used to it.

"Don't just stand there; keep looking. Adjust the aiming point. The inside is also triangular, just like what we used before. Just align the vertex of the triangle with the bullseye," Qin Yang continued to introduce. "Don't just stand around doing nothing for five minutes."

Chen Cheng leaned in and stared inside. The internal reticle of this sight was similar to the previous ones, so he could adapt quickly. He adjusted the knob and completed the calibration.

"Okay, calibration is complete. Next, we'll train you on selecting ammunition types. There's a selection switch on your left."

"Select ammunition type?"

"That's right. Before, ammunition selection relied on the commander shouting and the loader loading. Now, we're automatic."

Between the two of them was the automatic loader. Underneath their feet was the turntable. There was no need for a loader inside the turret anymore.

"What's next?"

"After selecting the ammunition, it's automatic loading. Just flip the corresponding switch. You don't need to worry about that. Next, you need to manually enter the ambient temperature."

"And then?"

"Aim at the target and fire."

"What about the target distance parameter?"

You don't need to worry about anything?

Chen Cheng was shocked. When he first learned to fire a gun, there were too many things to consider.

The earliest Type 59 tanks didn't even have a laser rangefinder. They still used the methods from World War II, such as determining the target distance: memorizing the length and width of different tanks, and then calculating by analogy based on the width on the sight reticle! On the intense battlefield, there wasn't time for manual calculation; you had to do it in your head.

And that wasn't all. Different distances required different leads for the gun barrel, and you had to remember all of these. To hit a moving target, you had to consider where the target would be when the shell flew over. Firing a gun was a science, and even people with a high school education might not be able to master the skill.

But now?

It was actually simplified to selecting the ammunition type, setting the temperature, and then aiming and firing?

Was it possible to shoot accurately with it being so simple?

"All the calculations are solved by the fire control computer, including the lead for firing on the move," Qin Yang said. "Our weapons are becoming more and more advanced and precise, so naturally, they need to be treated more carefully. The crude methods of the past won't work."

"Okay, I've mastered it. Let's begin," Chen Cheng still didn't believe Qin Yang's words. He only believed that practice makes perfect. Whether it worked or not, they would try it out by shooting at a target!

"Okay, we're preparing for live-fire target practice. Leaders, please observe from here," Qin Yang shouted into the radio and then closed the hatch above his head.

The roar of the engine sounded from behind.

He wasn't wrong about half a month. After half a month, the 800-horsepower engine would be delivered and installed on the chassis, and the maneuverability would be higher. Now that the chassis hadn't been moved, it was still relying on the original 730-horsepower diesel engine, so the maneuverability was still somewhat lacking.

The engine roared, driving the Type 85 tank forward, accelerating. Clang! The driver shifted gears, accelerating again, heading towards the depths of the firing range.

Chen Cheng's eyes were fixed on the binocular sight, and he shouted excitedly as he looked at the stable scene in his field of vision: "It's not moving! Everything seen in the field of vision is stable! It's amazing!"

Before, all tanks had to stop before firing because everything in the sight was jumping around when moving, making it impossible to aim.

Now that was good; they could fire on the move!

"Attention, a target appears directly ahead," Qin Yang reminded.

"I've already seen it," Chen Cheng shouted. "Prepare for a short stop!"

"No need to stop. Load armor-piercing rounds and fire directly!"

Chen Cheng still had the inertia of the past and wanted to command the driver in front, but after hearing Qin Yang's words, he immediately flipped the ammunition selection and loading switches.

The sound of clattering rang out, and the warhead and propellant cartridge were lifted up, still steady even amidst the bumps.

Whoosh, whoosh, the rammer pushed the two into the gun chamber, and the loading was completed just like that!

Chen Cheng aimed at the target in the sight, saw the prompt that the fire control system was ready, held his breath, and stepped on the firing pin.

Boom!

Flames rose from the muzzle, and the field of vision was filled with dust. The discarding sabot armor-piercing projectile flew out of the barrel and shot towards the target.

At this time, the target was still moving.

Everyone was looking at the firing range with binoculars, wondering if the first shot fired on the move would miss the target.

Zhu Lao was also sweating. After all, this was the first shot, and any small factor that hadn't been fully considered could lead to a miss. Of course, that wouldn't be shameful; they could continue to improve in the future.

In the binoculars, a white cloth held up with a crosshair in the center was slowly moving. This was the firing range's simulated target. Suddenly, the white cloth was struck by a rapidly flying warhead, torn to pieces, and the entire white cloth frame fell down under the huge impact.

"It's done!" Huang Lao put down the binoculars and said excitedly: "Our army has entered a brand new era from now on!"