Chapter 911 The Importance of Industrial Base

The laboratory that Philip was talking about was actually a row of small bungalows. After all, the Rukwa Lake Basin was not a prosperous place, so the construction of the test site looked rather sloppy from the outside.

Of course, as an important national secret project that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince personally oversees, the facilities are well-equipped. The East African government even built a special road from the city of Mbeya to the test site. The only difference is that ordinary people need to be questioned when they get here.

The city of Mbeya is originally located inland, and due to the closed nature of East Africa itself, it is impossible for anyone to easily explore the specific situation of the East African tank test site. Even the top leaders of East Africa know very little.

Even if they knew, they would not take it too seriously. After all, what is a "tank"? No one has ever heard of it or seen it, and no one can realize the importance of tanks to future battlefields like Ernst.

"Judging from the engine situation, it is probably due to excessive load, resulting in insufficient power. This is not a problem we can solve. We need to cooperate with domestic internal combustion engine manufacturers to improve engine performance. Otherwise, we can only reduce the configuration of the tank prototype and sacrifice some functions to reduce weight. Perhaps we can achieve a similar effect." Liyalsk in the laboratory said to Philip.

Philip: "Let's prepare for both situations! We have already asked for this regarding the engine, but it will take time for them to produce results, so we can't just wait for the relevant factories and research institutes to produce results. We should first optimize and adjust the tank structure, and perhaps lower some standards, so that it can be launched sooner. As for other issues, we can gradually improve them later."

Both of them thought that the tone was too high before. Tank production is actually more in line with the tractor industry. The East African tractor industry has only been around for a few years, much later than the automobile industry.

Tanks are different from tractors. They are too heavy and have high performance requirements. For example, one of Ernst's important requirements for tanks is that they can cross trenches easily, which is not something an ordinary tractor can do.

"In addition to the engine, there are also tracks, which are also the key points. Many faults have been concentrated in these two areas before, so we have to cooperate with other organizations to solve this problem. Moreover, before the tank is finalized, no one knows what will be installed in the future. We also considered issues such as heat dissipation before. Now it seems that we still have to take it step by step and solve the problem of its mobility first. As for the driver, let him suffer a little! This is inevitable." Yarsk suggested.

The environment inside the tank is like a big steamer, and it is really uncomfortable for the driver. Philip and Yarsk wanted to put more effort into this aspect before, but now, the two have to be more realistic.

In fact, the temperature in East Africa, at least in the Rukwa Lake Basin, is not too high. The average altitude here is above 800 meters, and the temperature is about four to five degrees lower than that in coastal areas, which is basically the same as the turn of spring and summer in Europe. Therefore, even the steamer environment inside the tank will not be too exaggerated.

Of course, for Philip and Yarsk, they will next make major changes to the overall structure of the tank, so comfort must give way to practicality. As for the future, they will wait until the relevant technology matures before working on improving the comfort of the tank.

In fact, these difficulties in tank research are relatively good. Ernst can provide some reference. After all, the overall shape of tanks in the past has not changed much. As for aircraft research, it is a mess, and there are no relevant physical objects to refer to.

Tanks can also learn from tractors and have the support of the tractor industry, but airplanes do not have this condition. Even how to choose the engine is a big problem, but this kind of thing is naturally a headache for the relevant researchers.

Tank research in East Africa is "a long way off", and even when it is developed, it may not be able to be used in actual combat. Even if it can be used in actual combat, it will take time to form combat effectiveness.

Ernst was naturally aware of this. After all, tanks did not perform very well before World War II. In fact, the brilliant performance of trench tactics in World War I led France to take a different military path from Germany.

Therefore, in Ernst's view, everything would be fine if the armored forces in East Africa could be formed by the beginning of the next century, and at least they should become a combat-capable branch of the army by 1920.

Of course, this does not mean that the progress of tank research in East Africa is slow. In fact, the tanks at the Rukwa Lake test site already have a certain degree of mobility, but there are too many problems, big and small, and further improvements are needed.

Optimistically speaking, the finished product should be able to meet the army's initial requirements within three years. Issues like the engine and tracks, which Philip and others focused on, are not too difficult. After all, East Africa's technology in related fields has been improving.

…

The First Tractor Factory in Mbeya.

"This is Philip's request. He said that the performance of the engine we provided to them last time was still a little poor, and he hoped that we could provide them with a better product. In addition to the requirements on the engine, there is also the problem of the track."

In response, Mendes, director of the First Tractor Factory in Mbeya, asked: "How is the progress of our latest engine?"

"Director, the experimental data has been released and there are no major technical problems, but we only have one prototype."

"If that's the case..." Mendes pondered for a moment and then said, "We will try to replicate one within a month and send it to Lake Rukwa. After all, they are in a hurry this time. If we can meet their needs, we may be able to sign a stable order directly with the military in the future. We have many competitors. Tractor factories in Dar es Salaam, Harare, and Mombasa may all be conducting related research."

In addition to meeting the needs of the Rukwa Lake Test Site, the Mbeya City No. 1 Tractor Factory also needs a new generation of engines to improve the performance of its tractors, so supporting the Rukwa Lake Test Site is also in their interests.

After Director Mendes gave the order, the First Tractor Factory of Mbeya City quickly delivered the latest engines. As for the issue of tracks, it would take some time. After all, this required improvements in material performance. The First Tractor Factory of Mbeya City could only seek help from the Mbeya Steel Materials Research Institute.

At this time, Philip and others were making major changes to the tank structure. The originally bulky tank sample was directly reduced in weight by one ton, and some of the armor was also reduced and replaced with lighter materials. Although this greatly reduced the defensive function, there was no other way around it.

After the new engine arrived, Philip and others made some major adjustments, because the structure of the engine delivered this time had some changes, after all, it was not the same model.

In this way, with the continuous adjustments and modifications by the East African tank researchers, the East African tank has become more and more mature. Research and development is like this, full of compromises and trial and error.

Moreover, the process of tank development involved hundreds of companies in Mbeya and other parts of East Africa. After all, the Mbeya No. 1 Tractor Factory, which provided the main support, did not produce all its parts by itself, but came from other factories. This shows the importance of industrial base to tank research and development. Of course, the leading role was played by the Mbeya No. 1 Tractor Factory.

The fastest unit in tank research and development in East Africa is the Lake Rukwa Test Site, which relies on the most complete industrial system and the most concentrated scientific research institutions in East Africa in the city of Mbeya.

This also reflects the importance of a complete industrial system to the military. If any link is missing, the difficulty of tank development will rise to a higher level. After all, if we rely on foreign imports, there will be no problem in normal times, but once we are blocked, we will inevitably be at a loss.

(End of this chapter)