Steel Soviet Union

After hearing Captain Karamov's words of praise that seemed to be half-joking with him, Malashenko slowly shook his head and responded with a faint smile, and then answered.

"Whether the problem is big or not is not something you can just say, Comrade Karamov, this will only become clear after I actually drive this thing on the battlefield. But there is one more thing I am curious about, this tank , is there a formal name? I mean, what should I call it?”

"It's the official name"

Under Malashenko's question, he scratched the back of his head and thought slowly. As a top technician assigned by Rokossovsky to Malashenko, this seemingly simple question made the highly skilled Karamov The captain couldn't help but feel troubled for a moment.

"Seriously, Major Malashenko. Because this tank is the first prototype after improvement, not only has it not been officially named, but it is not yet known whether it can enter the mass production stage, so even I don't know. Know what to call this guy."

After holding his chin with one hand and pondering for a while, Lieutenant Karamov spoke again, already having the answer in his mind.

"What do you think of this, Major Malashenko? Anyway, it is a prototype model improved on the KV-1 heavy tank. Let's just continue to call it the KV1 heavy tank. There is not much difference in appearance, so it shouldn't be It will affect your command and combat in actual battles.”

After hearing the suggestions made by Captain Karamov, Malashenko, who was not impressed by the improved KV1 heavy tank prototype in front of him, could only nod in agreement.

This improved model, which has never been mass-produced or officially named in the history of war, is ultimately just an emergency effort by the Soviet army to modify existing heavy tanks in order to cope with the powerful anti-tank power of the German 88 gun.

Compared with the dazzling achievements of the subsequent Stalin IS series heavy tanks that have gone down in history, the KV series heavy tanks that only appeared briefly in the early days of the Great Patriotic War do pale in comparison. This kind of improvement made as a wartime emergency has been forgotten by most people. Naturally, it makes sense.

In any case, as Captain Karamov just said, the specially modified KV1 heavy tank variant prototype in front of him is indeed qualified to be called the most powerful heavy tank in the world. tank.

It is improved from the 76mm ZIS-5 tank gun of the same model as the 1941 F34 tank gun of the T34 tank. It is powerful enough to destroy all types of current German tanks from the front within normal combat distances.

In terms of protective performance, the 75 mm homogeneous steel armor on the front of the vehicle body with an inclination of 30 degrees is attached with a 25 mm welded additional armor plate with the same inclination angle. It already has a powerful defensive capability equivalent to 100 mm of homogeneous steel armor. .

Even in the front area of ​​the turret where there is no welded additional armor to provide additional defense, the specially improved 90 mm physical thickness semi-curved homogeneous steel armor mantlet can provide sufficient defense, except for the 88 gun in active service All German anti-tank guns can handle them with ease and ease.

The V-type 12-cylinder diesel engine inherited from the original KV1 heavy tank can output a surging power of up to 300 engine horsepower, allowing this improved KV1 heavy tank with a total combat weight of 47 tons to still be able to reach 34 kilometers per hour. Hours of theoretical highway speed.

Although the transmission structure that uses the same transmission structure as the 1920 Hongqi tractor chassis is still inherited by this improved KV1 heavy tank, the transmission and engine rear-mounted structure make this KV1 heavy tank even more laborious to maneuver than the T34 medium tank.

But just as the old Chinese saying goes, flaws cannot hide flaws. In the face of the powerful comprehensive strength of this improved KV1 heavy tank, almost all heavy tanks at the same time did not have very good maneuverability shortcomings, which is enough for people to choose. Ignoring sex, the principle that you can't have your cake and eat it too applies to heavy tanks.

Seeing Malashenko beside him with a look of satisfaction after listening to his brief introduction, Kara realized that this powerful prototype heavy tank was quite suitable for the appetite of the hero next to him. Captain Moff couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. After all, it would be a big blow if this machine, which had been carefully repaired and maintained by his own hands, was denied by others.

"Before your crew arrived, Comrade Commander originally planned to ask you to personally go to the grassroots units to select a gunner you like to join your crew. After all, this KV1 heavy tank is no better than the original T34 tank. Five people working together A coordinated crew is a must, but in the end I didn’t expect you to bring your own gunner.”

After hearing the half-joking words from Captain Karamov next to him, he shook his head slightly with a smile. He was relatively satisfied with the logistics technical supervisor assigned to him by Rokossovsky for the first time. Rashenko then spoke.

"It was purely an accident that Second Lieutenant Iushkin joined my crew, but it happened that this accident played a role at the moment. Even I have to sigh that this is really a magical feeling."

After a brief chat, Captain Karamov was sent away. Malashenko, who finally had some free time to play freely, immediately turned around without saying a word, wearing his brand-new tank corps major uniform. He immediately opened the top cover of the turret and jumped into the car.

"This is so fucking spacious, this is so comfortable! Damn!"

Although it sounds a bit vulgar and rough, there is no doubt that this is Malashenko's first feeling after entering the turret of his future car.

Compared with the T34 tank, which was deliberately reduced in size in order to minimize the front projection area of ​​the turret, and used sloping turret armor on both sides that would further narrow the internal space of the turret.

The KV1 heavy tank, which has a boxy and nearly three-sided vertical head, undoubtedly has a more comfortable and spacious internal space in the turret. Even if the turret crew is expanded from the original two to three, they can still move with ease. This is undoubtedly a great boon for Malashenko who is fed up with the cramped and poor sense of space in the T34 tank turret. .

Sitting in the commander's position, he reached out and gently touched the breech of the ZIS-5 76mm tank gun next to him. This familiar feeling was enough to convince Malashenko that this tank gun was almost the same as the F34 on the original T34 tank. There is no difference between the two tank guns. The two tank guns equipped on different tanks are almost exactly the same even in the position of the gun mirror. This is naturally the best news for Malashenko, who is using a heavy tank for the first time.