This tank battle that took place in the spring of the 27th year of Shengde was a trivial battle that was not worth mentioning in terms of war history, but it was also a battle worth writing about, not because the imperial tank soldiers won a beautiful victory.

It was because this was the world's first tank battle, and it also demonstrated a truth - tanks are the best anti-tank weapons.

In the tank overhaul factory in Beihai, Sun Chenggang frowned as he inspected the destroyed tanks.

As an engineer, he inspected the destroyed tank many times, over and over again, but what was the only result?

"Our tank armor is still too thin and its survivability is too poor."

"4 to 13!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Guan Shanhai spoke at the same time.

"If their survivability was poor, how could our tank soldiers achieve such a good performance?"

In response to his colleague's question, Sun Chenggang answered directly.

"It's because of training. Our tank unit is the earliest in the world. After so many years of training, our tactics have long been mature. In addition, our crew members work well together, so it's normal for us to achieve such a great victory. We can even say that it would be abnormal if we couldn't achieve such a complete victory. Besides..."

Pointing to several piles of scrap copper and iron not far away, Sun Chenggang said with a frown.

"And according to the battle report, all of the U.S. tanks use artillery. Although they fire old 37mm shells, it can be seen that the U.S. military's goal is to give its tanks anti-tank capabilities. Although the 37mm armor-piercing gun can only penetrate 30mm steel armor, it is basically enough for now. In comparison, our tanks do not focus on anti-tank firepower, and half of them are machine gun-type. As a result, we will suffer in tank battles."

In fact, the 37mm tank guns used by the Imperial tanks and the US tanks all use the same kind of shells. This shell was originally a 37mm Gatling gun shell, which was originally a masterpiece of the Empire. With its powerful firepower and strong power, it is the nemesis of wooden-hulled warships and torpedo boats.

Although wooden-hulled warships were quickly eliminated, the 37mm Gatling gun was not eliminated. After all, whether it was used to wash the deck or to defend against torpedo boats, the Gatling gun was an extremely perfect weapon.

Especially when facing the threat of airship raids, the Gatling gun can show its strengths in air defense - with its high rate of fire, it can make any airship afraid of it.

For this reason, in the past few years, the 37mm Gatling gun has long become standard equipment on naval warships of various countries.

In terms of the choice of tank guns, all countries have chosen this caliber, not only because the navy has a large number of 37mm shells - from solid armor-piercing shells to capped armor-piercing shells to high-explosive shells, and its power and weight are also suitable for tank use. Although the power of the main guns of the two countries is similar, the problem is that only half of the tanks of the Ming Dynasty are equipped with tank guns, which is the most fatal.

"That's because our tanks need to cover the infantry, so we prefer machine guns to anti-tank firepower."

Guan Shanhai revealed the reality in one sentence.

"Compared to artillery, machine guns are more suitable for attacking infantry."

"Really?"

Sun Chenggang couldn't help but sarcastically said.

“Is this really the reason?”

"What else?"

"The artillery model has a machine gun on the front of the vehicle. Besides, even if we install another machine gun in the turret, it's not like there's no space. The most important thing is to save money. A cannon costs 1,800 yuan, but a machine gun only costs 300 yuan."

Save money...Sun Chenggang's words were a little hard for Guan Shanhai to accept, so he said directly.

"How could it be to save money? The military is very wealthy, how could they care about such a small amount of money?"

"So what if they are rich? The military of this province has never been generous. Just like the Type 18 tanks, you see..."

Sun Chenggang said as he knocked on the tank body with a wrench.

"Even the steel plates were cut corners and ordinary steel plates were used instead of alloy armor steel."

"Well, it's not ordinary steel plates, it's high-quality carbon steel. And this can't be considered cutting corners. I remember that the reason why the military used high-quality carbon steel was because countries at the time did not have corresponding anti-tank weapons, and using high-quality carbon steel was enough to meet combat needs."

In response to Guan Shanhai's explanation, Sun Chenggang simply laughed.

"How much does high-quality carbon steel cost per ton? Before the war, it was only about 20 yuan. Even now, it is only 80 yuan. And what about armored steel? Before the war, it was 200 yuan per ton, which is almost ten times the difference. Using high-quality carbon steel can save thousands of yuan on a tank... The military also calculates the cost."

The military did calculate the cost, and after much calculation, they found that there was no need to use armored steel on tanks, so they used cheap, high-quality carbon steel, but what was the corresponding price?

"The cost is reduced, but the protection capability is weakened. Even if a surface hardening process is added, it is better than ordinary steel plates."

When Sun Chenggang finished speaking, Guan Shanhai pointed to the pile of scrap metal beside him and said.

"The problem is that we are not the only ones who use ordinary steel plates. The Americans do the same. I have tested their steel plates before, which are ordinary carbon steel plates. In terms of armor thickness, our tank armor is even thicker. The front of the US tank is only 16 mm, while the Type 18 has 20 mm. In terms of defense, ours is slightly better."

In fact, even as mechanical engineers, Sun Chenggang, Guan Shanhai and others did not know that the Ming Dynasty and the United States both chose ordinary steel plates to produce tanks, not just because of the cost, nor because the military did not want to use armored steel with better protection capabilities.

But because... there is not enough armor steel.

After all, armor steel was first used in warships. From the invention of nickel steel to surface hardened armor, all of them were intended to enhance the protective capabilities of warships. For this reason, the navy has always been the most important user of armor steel. After the outbreak of the war, the navy's demand for armor steel expanded dramatically. Although steel companies with the ability to produce armor steel tried their best to increase the output of armor steel, they still could not meet the needs of the navy.

Under such circumstances, it was naturally impossible for the Army's demand for armor steel to go unmet. Not to mention being met, the steel companies even directly rejected the Army's orders.

Why did they refuse? Because the navy is the real big customer - a warship requires thousands or even tens of thousands of tons of armor steel. In comparison, the army's order is simply not worth mentioning in the eyes of the steel company.

Under such circumstances, whether it was the Ming Dynasty or the United States, when producing tanks, they had to take a backseat and choose high-quality carbon steel as tank armor, not to save money, but because they had no choice.

"But we can't keep using such "shoddy" tanks! If we continue to cut corners, we will definitely pay the price on the battlefield!"

After saying this, Sun Chenggang said.

"If you want to enhance the survivability of tanks in war, you have to enhance their protection capabilities. Either thicken the armor or replace it with armored steel. There is no other choice."

In fact, the best option is to use...both!