Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

The space inside a tank is very cramped. To store more ammunition, designers like to squeeze the crew's space. The driver of the old Type 59 tank only had 0.621 cubic meters of space to move around in. The gun mount and fuel tank were crammed into the side of the body, utilizing every available space.

In the current third-generation tanks, the space has increased to 0.864 cubic meters, which is much larger than before, but the conditions haven't improved much.

Due to the limited height of the vehicle body, the seat under his butt is almost touching the floor. To better observe the outside situation, his eyes have to be close to the periscope in front. Driving for a long time is a great burden on the lumbar and cervical spine.

It's not as good as driving lying down in an M1 tank!

Underneath are the pedals, which the driver can't see while driving, relying entirely on blind operation. Of course, you get used to it, so that's not a problem. The key is that there's a small electric fan between the two pedals. If you accidentally touch it, the unprotected blades hitting the flesh wouldn't be pleasant.

On both sides of the seat are control levers, and on the right is a gear lever, just like a sequential gearbox in a race car. At the very back is R, then H, and then forward from 1 to 7, indicating that this tank has 7 forward gears. This set is exactly the same as the T-72.

It feels like this fan will cut your leg.

On the left is a panel with some instruments, buttons, and switches.

The later 99A is much better. It has a steering wheel, making it as easy as driving a car.

Qin Yang was pondering inside, familiarizing himself with everything.

Knock knock!

A knock came from outside.

"Chief Qin, Chief Qin, Mr. Huang's speech is over. Next, it's time to drive the tank out!"

Qin Yang opened the hatch above his head, raised the seat under his butt, and revealed his head. It was indeed much more comfortable now.

He looked at Wang Lin's face beside him and said, "Is that so? That's great! Everyone, stand back a little!"

"Everyone has already moved back."

Qin Yang looked around, and everywhere he could see was empty.

"Really, don't you trust me that much?" Qin Yang said helplessly, "Aren't you afraid that I'll shift into reverse?"

Since people aren't in front, they must be behind.

"Chief Qin, there's no one behind either. They all went to the shooting range by car. If you want to experience it, drive the tank all the way to the shooting range and then hand it over to our test driver, how about it?"

"Shooting range? Okay, I'll drive the tank over there." Qin Yang said, and his left hand began to twist a switch inside.

Sizzling! The compressed air motor made a familiar sound, black smoke came out of the exhaust pipe, and after a few seconds, the powerful roar of the engine sounded.

Buzz, buzz!

Wang Lin was a little surprised: "Chief Qin, you didn't even look, but you knew the location of the start switch?"

"Of course, as a qualified tank driver, you must develop the ability to operate blindly." Qin Yang said, "I'm about to start now. Do you want to come up and experience it?"

Wang Lin gritted his teeth: "Then I'll sit in the back and give you directions."

Wang Lin quickly climbed into the commander's position in the back. As soon as his butt touched the hanging seat, he heard the roar of the engine rapidly increase.

"Slow down, don't rush!"

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a huge push in the back, pressing him against the back of the seat. He widened his eyes, watching the machinery on both sides rapidly receding.

What's going on? Is he going to play a 0-32 kilometers per hour acceleration test in the workshop? Hitting the wall is okay, but don't hit the pillar! If the pillar is broken and the roof of the workshop collapses, the loss will be great!

Suddenly, the pressure on his back eased, and the roar of the engine also quickly decreased. He thought Qin Yang had just stepped on the wrong pedal, but then, there was a light clang.

Changing gears! Continue to accelerate!

Qin Yang was quick and efficient. In a short distance of tens of meters, he had already shifted to third gear, and the tank had accelerated to 30 kilometers per hour. If it were an automatic transmission, it would take half the time and distance to do it, but now, his operation was already the best that the most skilled tanker could do.

"Attention, you have to turn right after leaving the workshop door, slow down!" Wang Lin shouted from behind.

"Got it." Qin Yang said, but his foot didn't relax, continuing to floor the accelerator. The tank was like a cheetah, roaring out of the workshop door. Qin Yang then suddenly pulled the lever on the right.

Clang, crash! The sound of the gearbox came from behind again.

The tank's steering relies on the speed difference between the two tracks. The previous tanks used fixed-axle gearboxes, and the power output was exactly the same. The levers on both sides pulled the steering clutches, cutting off the power on one side to slow down the track, and the tank would turn to that side. But if it was downhill, you would have to operate in the opposite direction, because the track on the side with the power cut off would run faster!

In the T-72 era, the old Maozi tanks finally improved to dual-side gearboxes. The engine's power output was transmitted to two side gearboxes with completely identical structures, so each gearbox only had to bear half of the power transmission task, reducing the weight of a single gearbox, improving transmission efficiency, and also having more functions: such as faster steering!

When driving in a straight line, the valve cores of the left and right control valves move synchronously, ensuring that they switch to the same gear at the same time. When turning, except for first gear, the inner gearbox can be lowered by one gear!

With a clattering sound, the gearbox on the right was lowered to second gear, while the gearbox on the left remained in third gear. Qin Yang didn't reduce the throttle, but the tank began to turn with a whoosh!

At this moment, a cloud of black smoke swept over, and the tank accelerated again.

"Don't rush, turn left ahead!"

"I know, it's not my first time coming to Factory 617."

After a few turns, Wang Lin felt something churning in his stomach.

The advanced third-generation tank sped towards the shooting range, and the people waiting at the shooting range widened their eyes, watching all this in disbelief.

He didn't even slow down when turning, drifting through the corners? Moreover, he didn't even touch the trash cans on the side of the road. This technique is too awesome, right? You definitely wouldn't have this ability without driving a tank for three to five years.

But Chief Qin definitely hasn't driven for so many years. Even if you add the time he spent driving the T-72 tank before, it's at most two hours.

"Some people are just geniuses. No matter what they do, they can do their best as soon as they start." Mr. Zhu said with emotion: "Before even reaching the test track, I have already felt that the maneuverability of our tank is very strong and will not disappoint us."

In fact, the previously manufactured 122 series tanks also had such a scene, but after all, that was a foreign-made engine. Now the engine and transmission system of this tank are all produced by ourselves, and the significance is naturally different.

The tank sped over and began to slow down from a distance, becoming gentle.

The scene of braking in front of people is not suitable for these people to play. He had already enjoyed himself enough on this wild ride.

Meeting everyone's expectant gaze, Qin Yang stepped on the mechanical brake pedal, the brakes in the dual-side gearboxes braked the output shaft, a harsh braking sound rang out, and the tank braked to a stop.

Clang, clang clang!

Wang Lin quickly jumped down from above, ran to a deserted place, and vomited loudly.