Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

The handling of ammunition is also a complex subject.

You can look at the training photos of later generations. Next to the 99 tank, there is a row of people. One carries the propellant cartridge, and the other carries the warhead, arranged at intervals. These people advance in turn and come to the front of the vehicle, handing over what they brought to the person standing on the vehicle. The person on the vehicle then hands the items to the person in the turret, who puts them into the rotating automatic loader inside the tank.

After all, these are just 125mm shells, and they are separate-loading. A single propellant cartridge or warhead weighs at most ten kilograms, no more than the weight of a bottle of mineral water, which is still manageable.

However, a 140mm armor-piercing projectile is not light! The weight of this kind of shell can reach an astonishing forty kilograms!

Even the most famous "Black Uncle" human loader cannot withstand this weight. Therefore, when the caliber reaches 140mm, only an automatic loader can be used. The entire tank design must revolve around the automatic loader. Project 490 was a product of this thinking, and Qin Yang's advanced design plan was also designed around the storage and loading of shells.

Although the problems of firepower, protection, and mobility were solved, loading shells became a major issue!

Qin Yang smiled and said, "Have you fallen into a cognitive trap?"

A cognitive trap?" Dr. Wright was a little surprised. "What trap?"

"If you still follow the previous ideas, ammunition will definitely not be loaded. You have to change your thinking."

What previous ideas?

Shells were always passed in from the top of the turret. This newly designed tank is a perfect slope from front to back, covered with thick armor. It is not easy to open a hole on it, and even if it is opened, people cannot get in. Even if they get in, it is difficult to turn around, and they cannot complete loading and other actions at all.

If you want to load shells, you have to change your thinking!

"From the rear?" Dr. Wright suddenly reacted.

The rear of the ammunition is the crew compartment. The most special arrangement of this tank is to put the personnel at the very back, driving backward in peacetime and using periscopes on the battlefield. In front of the personnel is the place where ammunition is stored.

As long as you open a hole under the crew compartment, you can insert the shell from the rear!

"That's right, from the rear. If your design is scientific, you might even be able to insert five shells at once, using a crane for loading and unloading. This will be faster. After loading, adjust the automatic loader to expose the empty magazine for continued loading," Qin Yang said. "You must have been restricted in your thinking and never thought of this simple and efficient loading method."

"Yes, we have indeed been restricted in our thinking, Qin, thank you for your help!"

"If it were someone else, I would have to charge him one million dollars just for this idea, but since we are friends with you, let's forget it," Qin Yang said.

Knowledge is wealth! As long as you have knowledge, you can make money!

Hearing his words, Dr. Wright paused and then took out his checkbook.

"Yes, Qin, you are right. Your idea is very good and worth one million dollars. I..."

"No need, Dr. Wright. You came to me because you consider me a friend. There is no need to give money. It's too polite," Qin Yang refused.

The leader Huang in front was so envious. President Qin is amazing. With a few simple words, the other party is willing to pay, and President Qin actually refused! One million dollars, President Qin doesn't even care about it. He is indeed a man who does great things!

"That's right, we are friends," Dr. Wright nodded. "President Qin, you are our best friend!"

"Well, are there any other problems? Feel free to tell me."

Dr. Wright nodded: "There is also the problem of moving forward and backward. If we usually drive backward, it means that our power system needs to have the same speed in both forward and reverse directions. However, our current power system cannot do that."

Speaking of the war in the 1990s, it is enough for many people to splash saliva and talk endlessly for days and nights. Among them, the confrontation between the T72 and M1 tanks is the most famous.

In this way, the M1 tanks won in retreat, and the T72 tanks were defeated in the attack. The matter was so strange. Later, when many people described this war, they would say how fast the reverse speed of Western tanks was, the same gear as forward.

In fact, this is not the case.

Take the M1 tank as an example. It uses the X-1100-3B hydraulic transmission system developed by Allison Company, which uses a hydraulic torque converter to buffer and planetary gears to shift gears. The tracks on both sides can be reversed to achieve turning in place. In terms of gears, there are 4 forward gears and 2 reverse gears. Therefore, the reverse speed and forward speed cannot be the same.

How to solve this?

Qin Yang pondered for a moment.

"This has to be solved from the basic mechanical principles. However, I don't have your tank engines and gearboxes on hand, so I can't give any opinions," Qin Yang said. "If you trust me, bring two sets of power units over, and I will take them apart and study them, and maybe I can find a way to solve the problem."

He didn't want money just now, which has already won the other party's favor. Now, asking for two sets of power units is also to help them develop. In fact, the value of these two sets of power units is several times more than one million dollars!

Leader Huang did not speak, just listening to the discussion between the two people behind him, feeling a lot of emotions.

One dares to ask, and the other dares to give!

"Okay, of course, no problem. When I get back to my residence, I will contact the country and ask them to send two sets over."

In Dr. Wright's eyes, Qin Yang is definitely an expert level. If Qin Yang wants something, he might really be able to research it. Of course, he would not know that when these two sets of power systems arrive at Qin Yang's place, it would be like a meat bun hitting a dog. Not only would there be no results, but he might not even be able to get them back.