Steel Soviet Union

Compared with the previous KV1 heavy tank and even the improved vehicles and prototypes that have been received in the past, the reason why the IS1 has made Malashenko and Lavrinenko long-awaited is only a very simple one: this is a relatively new tank. A new vehicle that is a qualitative leap forward compared to all previous Soviet heavy tanks. ơɱ

The newly designed larger turret reserves space for the possibility of installing a new main gun in the future. Of course, it also brings a larger internal space of the turret, improves human-machine efficiency, and indirectly increases the combat effectiveness of the entire vehicle.

The physical thickness of the armor on the front of the turret is no less than 100 mm. The curved mantlet and the left and right sides of the turret not only have excellent equivalent armor protection that linearly increases, but also have a great chance of ricocheting.

The real battlefield is different from the game. Malashenko has rarely encountered situations where the enemy is as focused as a sniper and withstands pressure to target the weak points of the main armor belt on the front. Putting it on and hitting it is the absolute majority of situations on the battlefield. It is almost impossible to aim at the weak point from a slightly farther distance.

The newly designed car body's defense is even more exaggerated. Taking the ballistic path of a horizontal direct fire into consideration, the equivalent armor thickness is no less than 120 mm.

The actual combat effect brought by this strong defense is that it is enough to be immune to almost all anti-tank weapons currently used by the German army. The distance is far enough that even the 88 gun can receive one or two rounds. The armor protection effect of the IS1 heavy tank can be said to be far-reaching. On top of a German square shoebox like the Tiger.

The systematically arranged sloped armor not only brings equivalent armor with different defense weights, but the probability of various ricocheting bullets that are firmly attached to the tank like additional magic cannot be ignored. This is Malashenko's self-perception that IS1 The biggest improvement compared to KV1 is the heavy tank protection layout.

The KV1, which has a relatively simple defensive structure design, has a much smaller chance of ricocheting in actual combat than his previous IS1 prototype. This is the most intuitive thing for Malashenko, who has driven various modified KV1 and IS1 prototypes. Feel.

Although this more complex defense structure design compresses the internal space of the car body and reduces the human-machine efficiency, it is all worth it compared to the powerful protection effect it brings.

Before the real confrontation with the German Tiger, I already had a good car in my hand that was not inferior to the Tiger in terms of maneuverability, firepower, and protection, and even exceeded it in some indicators.

This was Malashenko's original idea since his time-travel arrival in 1941, and all efforts are for this ultimate goal.

Seeing that the goal he had been working hard for for more than a year finally came to fruition, Malashenko, who was quite emotional, walked up to the IS1 that was greatly appreciated by Lavrinenko, and began to circle around it. The "baby car" that was born was spinning around in circles, and the expression on his face was like seeing a person clearly. The more he looked at it, the more he smiled.

Seeing that Malashenko walked around the car three times without stopping, Lavrinenko, who had already come out and sat on the turret, finally couldn't help asking questions.

"Stop spinning, everyone is dizzy! What are you looking at after spinning around for a long time?"

Malashenko, who heard Lavrinenko's complaints, stopped next to the armor on the front of the car. He reached out and touched the sloping armor plate on the front of the car and couldn't help but admire it.

"We did it, Lavry. The advantage in equipment quality will continue next year! Those new heavy tanks of the Germans have had no advantages since they were born. We are already prepared for the future."

Reaching out to pat the upper armor plate of the car body, which has a physical thickness of 60 mm and is tilted at 74 degrees, Lavrinenko looked serious. He could see that Malashenko's expression was not joking at all.

"How is the situation inside the tank? How do you feel after seeing it?"

Seeing Malashenko hand the right to speak back to him, Lavrinenko, who had already put the cigarette in his mouth, lit the fire and took a deep puff before speaking.

"Didn't I tell you everything just now? It's pretty good."

"The gun is the same 85mm gun used in our previous batch of vehicles and your prototype vehicle. The model and details are exactly the same. I guess our very satisfactory feedback report has been clearly known to the design team behind. "

"The internal space of the turret is similar to that of my original KV, which is much wider than the ordinary KV1. The first ready-to-fire ammunition rack is built into the turret, and the reserve ammunition rack is placed on the chassis of the vehicle body."

"In general, I think the main improvement is in defense. This armor protection layout is much better than the original KV1. I feel that the turret may have borrowed a bit from the T34 design. I always feel that it looks a bit similar, but I can't say specifically. What exactly is it like?”

Whether it was Lavrinenko's description of the situation inside the car or his final result of looking around outside the car, Malashenko found that the mass-produced IS1 heavy tank was almost the same as his original IS1. The prototype is exactly the same.

The only difference is that the mass-produced IS1 heavy tank has two fuel tank brackets welded on the side of the body, and two external fuel tank barrels are tied to the brackets. However, my prototype IS1 heavy tank does not have this design. This should be Adjustments specially made on production vehicles in order to increase the overall strategic range of the tank.

Tanks that can't run very far on their legs simply don't exist in the Soviet tank force. Soviet tanks that attach great importance to overall strategic mobility are not only strong and durable, but they can also carry enough fuel to run a long distance.

With 820 liters of fuel in the vehicle, the IS1 can also hang an additional 360 liters of external auxiliary fuel tank outside the tank. The combined strategic range of the two exceeds 300 kilometers, which is more than twice as powerful as the short-legged oil tiger with a cross-country range of 110 kilometers. .

Of course, another very important reason for daring to do this is that the fuel used by Soviet tanks is non-flammable diesel. If it is hung outside the tank, even if it is smashed in battle, there will be no problem. At most, it will leak oil.

But if such a rough and heroic external auxiliary fuel tank is placed on a German tank, and a German tank running around with several large gasoline barrels hanging on it is very beautiful just thinking about it, Malashenko, who complained in his heart, shook his head and couldn't help but feel a little disgusted. Interesting thought.

"We now have people, equipment, and enough new tanks, and more support comrades and equipment are on the way."

Lavrinenko, who was muttering in his mouth, flicked half of the ash on the end of his cigarette and took a final puff. He flicked the butt of the cigarette away with his hand and continued talking.

"I can't wait to fight back, Malashenko. Crush those Germans to death in Stalingrad and make them pay for their stupidity and arrogance. You think so too, right?"

Almost at the same time as Lavrinenko jumped out of the car, Malashenko took out a cigarette and lit it for himself, then responded with a look of approval and smiled.

"That's right, but it will take some time for the stars to twinkle in the night sky. You just need to be patient and wait for a while."