Comrade, Your Ingredients Are Too Complicated

Chapter 355 "Radar Station" and "105mm Howitzer"

For this bizarre behavior of hiding one's ultimate move and surrendering, the deputy general staff officer and Lao Cui could only respond with silence.

 There is obviously better equipment, but it is left in the warehouse to eat dust. It would rather be broken into a sieve by the enemy's armored forces than to train in advance. This strategy of focusing on the head rather than the bottom is really outrageous.

After the milk method was gone, Lao Maozi adjusted his mood, and then said to his allies expectantly:

 “Zuo, Huang, let’s try the cannon together!”

“The data on paper is not as intuitive as the number of shots fired. I want to see the power of this anti-tank gun with my own eyes.”

 In Lao Cui’s opinion, the rate of updating and iteration of the Japanese armored forces is relatively slow. After the Battle of Nomenhan, the opponent seemed to have just upgraded the original tanks.

Taking into account the armor protection of the Type 95 light tank and Type 97 medium tank, they simply cannot withstand such a huge 47 mm tank.

 This means that there is a high probability that the SA37 in front of us has not passed the test of war.

Combined with the information previously disclosed by Huang, he has reason to suspect that the data just given by the allies were directly inherited from the Gallic Chicken Army.

 If this is really the case, then a problem arises.

As we all know, during World War II, countries had different standards when testing new weapons.

 Just like the French, they like to use simple and crude vertically homogeneous armor plates as targets. When testing anti-tank weapons with this kind of honest armor without angles, it is difficult to get the penetration data without being mixed with water.

 In comparison, the entire process of Desan is much more rigorous.

Even the heavy tanks of France, the European overlord, have never been known for their sloped armor. However, German engineers will still give priority to testing weapons with armored target plates with a 30-degree tilt angle.

  After all, the terrain of the European continent is not just plains. The undulating ground will cause the incident angle of the cannonball to be less than vertical.

 All the weapons in this experiment may become the standard equipment of our Eastern Front troops in the future. In this way, Lao Cui must of course take a serious and responsible attitude to ensure the authenticity of every data.

 The allies' request did not surprise Huang He. He first looked at the deputy general staff officer, and then ordered to the soldiers not far away:

 “Comrades, prepare for bombardment!”

“Target, target position one hundred meters, five hundred meters, one thousand meters ahead!”

Hearing this, the artillery at the headquarters immediately took action.

 The six soldiers quickly deployed the gun mounts, and then adjusted the height and direction machines according to the factors calculated in advance. The smooth and smooth movements were very pleasing to the eye.

 Confirming that it was correct, the shooter pulled the latch handle and cooperated with the ammunition hand to load a round of special armor-piercing bullets.

"put!"

As the red flag fell, the shell flew straight towards the target position in front, and the shock wave shook up the surrounding dust around the center of the gun body.

It is worth mentioning that the SA37 uses rubber tires and shock-absorbing springs, and the entire anti-tank gun did not shift significantly after the firing.

　　Boom!

　　One shot into the soul!

 The artillerymen at the headquarters were very steady and did not become overjoyed just because the first hit was successful. They adjusted the altitude and direction machines again, aiming at the remaining targets and firing on the spot.

Although he has not seen the test results with his own eyes, the movement at the scene alone is enough to make Lao Cui's blood boil.

 It seemed as if the artillery shells were not hitting a fixed target, but our own infantry blocking the advance of the No. 3 and No. 4 tanks.

 After the shelling, the comrades at the shooting range immediately delivered the armor plates for testing to the three of them. Looking at the three batches of target boards that had been penetrated, Lao Maozi's face was full of satisfaction.

“Good stuff! The actual combat capabilities of this anti-tank gun will definitely be good! It is exactly the equipment our frontline troops need.”

As if he was not satisfied with observing from a distance, Lao Cui first asked for the consent of Huang He and the deputy commander-in-chief, and then quickly came to the area around SA37, caressing him and saying:

“Except for its marching weight, its various data are far better than our current M1937.”

“I have a strong hunch that this gun’s performance on the battlefield will definitely surpass that of Germany’s Pak38, and will eventually become a nightmare for Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks.”

Hearing Lao Cui's unstinting praise, Huang He, who followed closely behind, couldn't help but nodded.

Pak38 is indeed a pretty good anti-tank weapon. Its role in the North African battlefield is far greater than that of the 37mm stepping stone, and its 60-caliber design is also quite avant-garde.

but! Without APCR, the penetration depth of Pak38 is much lower than that of SA37.

 It can only be said that France, a powerful artillery country, has indeed a profound foundation, and even if it surrenders, it can leave behind a lot of good things.

“Old Cui, please be more proactive. This is just a 47mm anti-tank gun, which is not a treasure on the Eastern Front battlefield in Europe.”

“Based on my understanding of the three German armies, they will soon develop new tanks with stronger firepower and thicker armor, specifically designed to deal with your T34 and KV1.”

“But it doesn’t matter, our anti-tank guns will also be upgraded by then.”

As soon as these words came out, Lao Maozi was happy at first, and then showed a puzzled expression.

It is naturally a good thing that the Eighth Route Army can come up with more advanced anti-tank weapons. The stronger the allies, the stronger the assistance. Who would reject a reliable friendly force with the same ideology?

As for the doubts, it is very simple. To deal with the scrap metal of the Japanese army, the 25mm Hotchkiss SA34 and 47mm SA37 are definitely enough. Why continue to develop new weapons?

Who are you guarding against?

 Will the Japanese form new armored forces in the future?

 After a moment, Lao Cui simply gave up thinking. Anyway, the muzzle of the gun won't be pointed at you, so why worry about these things. “Zuo, Huang, let’s keep walking.”

“I heard that the Eighth Route Army is the most adept at using mortars in the world. Any caliber can be used in your hands. Let me see it quickly.”

Faced with repeated urging from their allies, the deputy general staff officer and Huang He were not prepared to whet their appetites, so the three of them moved on to the next shooting range.

It can be said that Lao Cui has heard of the name of the Eighth Route Army's French mortars. But even with sufficient psychological preparation in advance, he was still shocked by the equipment on display at the next test firing site.

 Nothing else, because Lao Maozi saw the 120mm mortar.

“Suka! You actually copied the entire series of Brand! Is this Taiyuan or Paris?”

 As the army commander in the Winter War, Lao Cui was ordered to test various attributes of the PM-38 mortar in Finland.

He has always praised this kind of high-quality and low-priced large-caliber support equipment.

 In the early Eastern Front battlefield, the 120mm mortar left a deep impression on Desan. They even used captured PM-38s to reverse engineer and develop and produce the GrW42.

How could Lao Cui not be surprised that the weapon that his family regarded as a treasure appeared in the Republic of China in another form.

Looking at the yelling allies, Huang He said with some disdain:

“First of all, the Eighth Route Army’s mortars are not imitations. We have the production license and authorization from the French. Civilized people would not do things like adding one millimeter and changing the name just to get away with it.”

“Secondly, compared to the Mle1935, our 120mm mortar has better performance. Therefore, don’t get involved with Brand’s PM-38, which is almost copied.”

“Finally, it won’t be long before the Eighth Route Army will be equipped with 160mm mortars, and that will be the pinnacle.”

The production license at the mouth of the Yellow River was naturally obtained from another ally, Lao Dai.

According to Mr. Huang’s words at the time, the French Third Republic was defeated and surrendered, and those old arsenals became the possessions of Germany.

　　Is it still a troublesome thing if I ask you to issue a few production licenses in the name of Free France?

What? Need more money?

 Is the equipment of an infantry battalion sufficient? They are all authentic French infantry weapons. I will never mix Lebel 1886 and Chauchat into them.

As for the 160mm mortar just mentioned, it is a new project of the Border Region Weapons Experiment Bureau, and the finished product is expected to be ready in the first half of 1943.

Although there is no ready-made cannon, and even the design drawings have not been completed, this does not prevent Huang He from using PPT to fool people.

 In the next period of time, Lao Cui tested one by one starting from 50 mm, and fired at least fifteen rounds of each caliber of mortar shells.

 As for the results of the test firing, they are naturally extremely satisfactory.

  After all, with the exception of the 37mm **** mortar, the mortars currently in service in the north are more or less of French origin, and the early models are imitations without a production license.

 Who doesn’t like weapons that are of the same origin as ourselves but are more advanced?

If this batch of aid is sent to the battlefield, frontline soldiers can definitely master it in the shortest time, which is no more than several times better than ugly domestic products.

  ·······

 Five minutes later, a jeep arrived at the shooting range.

Seeing that the deputy general staff officer and Huang He were about to leave, the tired old Cui forced himself to cheer up and asked:

“Huh? Is it over yet? Where is the M1897 75mm cannon?”

“As far as I know, you installed a 75mm barrel gun in May this year. And based on the current scientific research speed of the Eighth Route Army, I think your army has a high probability of actually installing a 105mm howitzer.”

Facing the ally's question, Huang He glanced at the other party from the corner of his eye.

  “105?”

“No, that thing is too heavy and we can’t even pull it.”

 Actually, Huang He lied. He did use the system to unlock the 105 howitzer some time ago. However, the new howitzers and the Type 41 122mm self-propelled rocket launcher are not included in the list of test firings.

The reason why the former is not participating in the exhibition is simple. It is a secret weapon prepared by Huanghe for the Second Battle of Xinkou. It is still in the internal confidentiality stage. Only the artillery brigade directly under the headquarters knows about the existence of the new equipment.

 As for the latter, it was reserved for sale and was not intended to be added to the Lend-Lease Act.

As for the selling price, it is tentatively set at eight taels of gold per piece. Who knows that our current allies are all poor.

 “Let’s go, follow me.”

“Next is the highlight of this visit. Those things can be said to be the equipment I customized for you in the north. You will definitely be satisfied.”

“You should read this document first on the way. It’s in pure Russian. It took me several days to write down the knowledge points into concepts you can understand.”

After speaking, Huang He handed Lao Cui a folder hand in hand, with eight big characters on it: Radio Detection-Radar Station.

Let’s start with a chapter.

 (End of this chapter)