Steel Soviet Union

"Oh! My God! Look at this! It's new! It's sparkling, it's shiny! New, everything is new! There's no sign of paint chipping. Oh my God, this is awesome! Hahahaha !”

"What a big breech block, comrade commander! Look at this, it's awesome! Everything, everything is awesome, I love it here!!!"

As Malashenko said, Iushkin seemed to be a completely different person as soon as he got into the tank. He no longer looked like a normal person.

It's like being possessed by a demon, well, that's true.

Although not as crazy as Iushkin, Malashenko is also observing some subtle changes in his position as commander.

The 85mm fixed artillery shells and ammunition racks originally placed behind Malashenko were replaced with projectile and ammunition racks for 122mm separate artillery shells due to the huge change in the main gun from 85mm to 122mm.

The entire 122 mm full-caliber projectile ammunition rack is divided into two groups on the left and right at the rear end of the turret. Each group has a ammunition capacity of 14 rounds, and the total ammunition capacity is 28 rounds.

Correspondingly, what is contained in the vehicle body is the launching cartridge of the 122 mm full-caliber sub-package artillery shell.

The propellant barrels of these metal shells are not only thick in caliber, but also very long, almost equal to the length of the original 85 mm custom-made artillery shells.

The 122mm propellant cartridges that cannot be placed are placed in three groups of ammunition racks in the vehicle body, and one group is placed flat directly under the turret. The advantage of this is that it can reduce the front projection area of ​​the ammunition rack. If the armor is penetrated by the German's high-penetration tungsten core armor-piercing projectile, the probability of being hit by the ammunition rack and causing a fatal explosion will be smaller than if the ammunition rack is placed vertically. a lot of.

The remaining two groups are directly behind the fuel tanks on the left and right sides of Seryosha. Different from the ammunition racks on the vehicle body, these two groups of ammunition racks, one on the left and one on the left, are placed in a vertical position. It is just right to compare these two places. The remaining space of the small car body is perfectly utilized.

If you are worried that the armor will be penetrated and the ammunition will explode because the vertical placement of the ammunition rack increases the front projection area, then there is no need to worry about this.

Diesel is very non-flammable at normal temperatures and pressures, which is completely opposite to the German army's gasoline tank, which was filled every time it was filled.

The two long fuel tanks distributed in front of the ammunition racks can protect these two groups of ammunition racks well. The viscous diesel has a great weakening effect on kinetic energy armor-piercing bullets, even more than the kinetic energy attenuation effect of bullets shot into water.

If a solid tungsten-core armor-piercing projectile without a warhead penetrates the main armor belt on the front of the vehicle body, then the tungsten-made armor-piercing projectile core with a serious lack of remaining kinetic energy will most likely be hit by these two fully loaded diesel fuel tanks with a length of more than 1.5 meters. If it is swallowed directly, it will not harm the propellant cartridge ammunition rack placed behind it at all. It will use up all the kinetic energy before penetrating the fuel tank and remain in it.

Of course, if the armor is penetrated by a loaded full-caliber armor-piercing projectile, there is no need to consider the fuel tank and the like, it is completely unnecessary.

When the warhead charge exploded, all the people in the vehicle were killed, so it was useful to save the ammunition rack.

Of course, in addition to protecting the ammunition rack when the front is penetrated, the two long diesel fuel tanks placed on the left and right sides of Seryosha can also have a certain protective effect on the driver himself. The premise is that if the caliber of the weapon that penetrates the front side armor of the vehicle body is not too large, the viscous diesel in the fuel tank will consume as much kinetic energy as possible of the projectile to intercept it.

Of course, like the previous IS1, Malashenko's projectile ammunition rack does not have any protection measures. It is impossible to put the fuel tank in a narrow turret to achieve a protective effect.

If the turret ammunition rack was penetrated, Malashenko would be blown into a pile of bloody minced meat on the spot. Hua Tuo would not be able to save him while he was alive, so he had someone shovel out the car to shovel out the remaining minced meat. Coming out is the best outcome.

In order to facilitate loading by the loader, Kirill has an additional set of three propellant cartridges on his right hand side. When needed, he can simply take them out. It is very convenient. Kirill has the fastest loading speed at his fingertips. Fast firing cartridge.

Another set of propellant cartridges corresponding to this is on the left hand side of the gunner Iushkin. If wartime conditions permit, Iushkin will have to temporarily act as a deputy loader to pass the propellant cartridges to Kirill. Kirill cannot be allowed to Lille slipped into Iushkin's arms or crotch to get it himself.

In fact, not only Iushkin, but Malashenko also had to act as Kirill's deputy loader during wartime.

For example, if Kirill bends down to retrieve the propellant cartridge from the vehicle body, Malashenko has to turn around and take out the heavy 122mm projectile for Kirill from the first ammunition rack built into the turret behind him and place it in the breech in advance. Standby at the tail end.

In this case, Kirill, who holds the propellant cartridge in his arms, can complete the loading work directly and neatly, greatly reducing the loading time, provided that Malashenko, as the commander of the vehicle, really has time to do so during the war. Down.

Although the 122 gun is very powerful, the loading work that could be completed by one person now requires the gunner and the commander to seize the opportunity to help the loader.

Otherwise, Malashenko estimates that even if Kirill is exhausted to death, he will not be able to load all 28 shells in the vehicle in a high-intensity battle.

Iushkin, who was playing with the gunner's sight in front of him, was a little disappointed now.

Since the last time he entered a German Tiger tank, Iushkin has been obsessed with the Tiger's binocular Zeiss sight. The comfortable sight of both eyes is really better than the unchanging monocular sight in front of him. The mirror is very useful.

"Hey, I thought our sights would be like German ones, but unfortunately not."

Iushkin, who softly lamented and muttered, then put his arm on the gun breechblock. The firing rod of the 122mm main gun, which was changed to a pull-rod type, was in Iushkin's hand. This must be what happens next. It will take some time to adapt to the battle.

But just as Iushkin had expected before, the biggest change in the entire gunner's position is undoubtedly the newly added electric steering gear.

As Shashmulin explained in detail at the station, the IS2's turret electric steering gear is indeed very different from that of the Tiger tank.

The operating mechanism of this electric steering gear is directly integrated into the existing hand steering wheel. When the turret electric steering gear is in normal working condition, Iushkin shakes the wheel clockwise, and the turret will Turn right faster with the assistance of the electric steering wheel.

On the contrary, when Iushkin shakes the wheel counterclockwise, the turret will also turn faster to the left with the assistance of the electric steering gear.

Shashmulin promised that the turret electric steering gear designed by the Second Special Design Bureau would be better than the complex electric steering gear of the German Tiger tank, easier to maintain and more reliable.

As far as Iushkin's current hands-on trial operation is concerned, it can be said that this is indeed the case.

Iushkin no longer had to adapt to the forward and backward operation of the foot pedals. He could simply use the hand-operated steering wheel that he had become accustomed to to complete the steering of the turret.

Although the hand-cranking method sounds old-fashioned, after actually testing it with his own hands, Iushkin found that he used to have to crank it more than ten times to complete the turret pointing, but now he only needs to crank it three times to complete the turret pointing with the help of the electric steering gear. It can be done in one step, and the efficiency has more than doubled.

The better news is that if the electric steering gear is down or malfunctions and cannot be used, the turret steering gear wheel in Iushkin's hand can still be used. It's just that the electric support is gone and it becomes a purely mechanical operation. It's the same hand crank as before. It's a little slow but it's better than useless.

This design generally reduces an additional operating device that seems superfluous, and integrates the operating terminals of the electric steering wheel and the hand steering wheel into one steering wheel. It can minimize the possibility that the gunner will panic due to emergencies and lose sight of the other when switching operating terminals, which ultimately leads to mistakes when every second counts in wartime.

In the same way, this Soviet Red Army version of the electric steering gear is also easier to maintain than the German electric steering gear. Because there is only one operating terminal, there is no need to prepare two sets of spare parts. There is only one circuit of the operating terminal, which is conducive to maintenance. In addition, the Soviet mechanical design has always been solid and reliable, which can bring great benefits to maintenance during wartime. , Save a lot of trouble.