Transmigrated as the Crown Prince

As a surprise force, paratroopers can often produce unexpected results.

However, because they fight alone and are often dropped behind enemy lines, paratroopers are also very dangerous. First of all, on the way to the target location, the aircraft is likely to encounter an enemy fighter formation or hit an enemy air defense position. Once the aircraft is destroyed, there is basically no possibility of survival for the soldiers on board.

Secondly, when airborne troops land, their targets are often larger and they have no ability to fight back in the air, so the risk of being killed in the air is not small.

Finally, after landing on the ground, it was difficult to assemble because the spread area was too large. In World War II, an airborne division of the US Army dropped more than 8,000 people, but could only assemble less than 2,000 people. Moreover, it is very likely that weapons and supplies will be lost during the landing, and you will even be beaten passively after landing. Because you are behind enemy lines and cannot get support from friendly forces, you are likely to fall into a tight siege. Therefore, there is a saying that airborne troops are born to be surrounded.

Yannick wanted to equip the paratroopers with better and stronger weapons as much as possible. "Is there any progress on airdropping armored vehicles?"

Stuart said respectfully. "The paratrooper motorcycle developed by BMW has passed the drop test and can be put into actual combat."

Airdroppable paratrooper motorcycles first appeared in Britain during World War II. They were installed in special equipment and landed on the battlefield with paratroopers.

This foldable motorcycle weighs only 32 kilograms without fuel and can reach a maximum speed of 48 kilometers per hour. Relying on the two fuel tanks with a total capacity of 6 liters on the left and right sides of the front lower part of the frame, it can travel continuously for about 145 kilometers. Due to its simple operation, a skilled soldier can open the special device and start the motorcycle in 11 seconds.

However, the practicality of this motorcycle is average. A motorcycle weighs only 32 kilograms, while an average person weighs around 60 to 70 kilograms. Due to the weight difference, there will be a large error in the landing points of motorcycles and soldiers during parachuting. Even though the container containing the motorcycle is marked with a more eye-catching color, it is still particularly troublesome to find it.

Even if it is found, due to the small displacement of the engine (its displacement is only 98 cc), the power will be much smaller. Although it can reach 48 kilometers per hour under ideal conditions, how can the battlefield be under ideal conditions? There are many shell craters on the battlefield. Once it encounters relatively steep terrain, the motorcycle cannot bear it. On the harsh battlefield roads, it is thrown away by many soldiers, and sometimes it cannot go fast.

Under Yannick's instructions, BMW designed an off-road motorcycle, reducing parts as much as possible and using a variety of new lightweight materials to create a motorcycle that weighs 100 kilograms and can reach a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. Although it cannot be folded like the British motorcycle, it is completely superior in performance.

Student continued reporting. "One DFS230 glider can transport a jeep and four fully armed soldiers."

Yannick nodded slightly. What he cared about most was the tanks that could be put into battle.

How to make tanks fly into the sky was studied by various countries during World War II, but perhaps none was as creative as the Soviet Union's "flying tanks."

The Soviet army believed that once tanks were airlifted to distant places to fight against the enemy, unexpected results could be achieved. However, if the tank is airdropped by a transport aircraft alone, it cannot carry the crew at the same time, which will cause the separation of the people and the tank, which is not conducive to the rapid deployment of the tank into combat. Finally, the Soviet army thought of combining gliders with tanks.

A mother aircraft such as a large bomber or a transport aircraft tows the "flying tank" to the airspace near the enemy target and then releases it. The "flying tank" can quickly glide to the battlefield like a glider. There is no problem of separation between people and tanks, and it also avoids the need for transport aircraft. Flying into the battlefield exposes the problem of being beaten due to the loud noise, and it is easier to achieve the effect of surprise attack on the enemy.

It is the A-40, also called the KT-40, also known as the "tank flying wing". It is mainly composed of two large upper and lower wings, similar to early biplanes. The wings are made of high-quality wood and other materials, and the underside of the wing can Install a 5-ton tank, the tank becomes the fuselage of the entire glider, the wings become the wings of the tank, and the tank can carry crew members. When the "Flying Tank" lands, the tank's tracks serve as the aircraft's landing gear.

In 1942, the Soviet army developed a new T-60 tank with great combat potential. The T-60 is about 4 meters long, 3 meters wide and 7 meters high. The armor thickness is 15~35 mm. It has a crew of 2. It has a maximum speed of 44 km/h and a range of 450 km. Its weapons are 20 mm artillery or machine guns. . The Soviet army believes that if the T-60 can fly long distances, it will achieve great combat effects. As a result, a T-60 tank was installed under the A-40 "tank flying wing", becoming a rare "flying tank" in the world.

Soon after the prototype "Flying Tank" began its first test flight.

The entire prototype "flying tank" weighs about 8 tons (of which the glider weighs more than 2 tons), has a wingspan of about 15 meters, a total length of about 5 meters, and a maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour. After the test flight began, a large mother aircraft towed the "flying tank" slowly lifted off from the airport runway and began its air flight. Under the wing is an approximately 8-ton T-60 tank without a turret. Just when Soviet commanders and technical experts were excited about the "flying tank"'s successful flight, a problem arose.

The "Flying Tank" is heavier and creates a lot of drag. Although the towed mother aircraft was selected with the model with the largest carrying capacity, its carrying capacity was still insufficient. It was obviously struggling and the engine began to overheat. This is a very dangerous signal. As we all know, the engine is the heart of the aircraft. Once the engine fails, the plane may crash at any time. As the engine load became more and more difficult, and the mother aircraft had not yet flown to the scheduled airspace, the frightened pilot had to make the painful decision to release the "flying tank" in advance to prevent the mother aircraft from crashing together with the "flying tank"!

Fortunately, the "flying tank" separated from the mother aircraft performed well. Pilot Anokin began to fly the glider towards a small field below. He operated the glider and turned on the engine. He then operates the tank's drive unit. The tracks began to rotate rapidly. Finally, the "flying tank" successfully landed on the ground. Anokin disassembled the flying wing of the "Flying Tank" and drove the "Flying Tank" successfully back to the base.

Although the first test flight of the "flying tank" was a certain success, it never conducted a new test flight, nor was it quickly put into production and entered actual combat. It just became a splash in the history of the development of strange weapons in the world.

In fact, it was not that the Soviet army did not want the "flying tanks" to be put into actual combat, but that technical limitations made the Soviet army helpless. At that time, the Soviet army did not have any large aircraft capable of towing "flying tanks" for long-distance operations. If a new large-scale carrier aircraft is developed, it will take time and financial resources. After all, the war situation was critical at that time, and the Soviet army needed weapons that could be quickly put into actual combat.

The Soviet army once tried to "weight loss" the "flying tank" T-60 so that the mother aircraft could tow it into the air for long-distance combat. The problem is that to "weight loss" the T-60, it is impossible to significantly reduce the armor for self-protection. It can only remove most of the weapons, ammunition and fuel. However, if the "flying tank" does not have enough weapons and ammunition, it will not be able to deal a fatal blow to the enemy, and may also be destructively attacked by the enemy. Not only that, if the "flying tank" does not have enough fuel, it will not be able to fight for a long time. Obviously, a "flying tank" with such poor combat effectiveness cannot be put into combat. Therefore, the "Flying Tank" project was secretly canceled shortly after the first test flight.

Yannick had considered this method before, but after discussing it with the engineers, he found that it was a scam that was even more useless.