Chapter 402 Cheap Version
Charles looked at Matthew in surprise: "How did you know I wanted to change it?"
"Come on, Charles." Matthew laughed. "What do you think I've been doing all this time?"
Charles asked doubtfully, "Aren't they improving the engine?"
That was the task Charles gave to Matthew. He was responsible for the research and development of tank engines.
Matthew nodded. "Indeed, but I am also studying tanks, Charles. At the same time, tanks are used on the battlefield. If I want to develop an excellent tank, I must know something about the battlefield. I learned a lot from Colonel Estiny."
Charles understood that Matthew had "infiltrated" into military theory.
"Know what I found?" Matthew asked.
"What?" asked Charles.
Matthew gave Charles a thumbs up: "You are amazing."
Charles laughed. He thought Matthew was joking. That was just the way Matthew was. He always looked cynical.
But Matthew didn't laugh. He added seriously, "I'm serious, Charles. The more I know, the more I think you're amazing. They say your tactics are 'untraceable' and 'flexible', and I agree. Sometimes I even feel like you know what will happen in the future. It's incredible."
Charles was shocked. Was he found out?
"Let's not talk about that." Charles quickly changed the subject: "You haven't answered me yet, how did you know I wanted to change it?"
Matthew stood up with the help of a chair, limped to the front of the Saint Samon, looked at its protruding gun barrel, and said, "You bought the Saint Samon and sent it to the police base, and sent a few more to the tractor factory. That's when I knew you wanted to change it."
Charles suddenly realized.
He sent "Saint Samon" to the police base for training and to the tractor factory for improvement, so that both training and improvement could be achieved.
Matthew made his judgment based on this.
Just as Charles was about to say something, Matthew spoke first: "I guess you're going to remove the machine guns altogether and add a rotating turret to it, right?"
Matthew thought that Charles' change was aimed at the German army's new tank "Upper Silesia". The 75MM artillery could penetrate the "Upper Silesia" at a longer distance.
He made a bet with Colonel Estiny on the phone: "The improvement direction of the 'Charter A1' is to thicken the armor, so we need a tank with a larger caliber of artillery, so that we can completely suppress the German 'Upper Silesia' with long-range and short-range cooperation. I think it is the 'Saint-Samond'."
Estiny felt that Matthew's analysis made sense, but still thought it was unlikely: "If this is the case, we can design a new tank without having to buy the Saint-Samon, because it has no property rights issues with the Saint-Samon."
Matthew replied: "We shall see, Colonel, two packs of 'Gypsies.'"
…
At this time, Matthew looked at Charles confidently: "I guessed right, right?"
Charles smiled and shook his head: "I guessed half right. The machine guns do need to be cancelled, but there is no need to rotate the turret."
Matthew's smile froze: "How is that possible? Then how can it deal with Upper Silesia..."
"It's just a cannon, Matthew." Charles replied, "The more complicated the equipment, the better. Sometimes, what matters more is simplicity, reliability, cheapness and quantity."
Matthew frowned: "But Saint Shamon is not cheap..."
Charles didn't answer. He stepped forward and pointed at the front and rear ends of the Saint-Samond and said, "After removing the four machine guns, there is a lot of space left. We can shorten the front and rear to improve off-road performance."
Matthew hummed, this is the biggest drawback of the "Saint Shamon", the protruding front and rear ends make it easy to get stuck on the battlefield.
"Move the center of gravity of the artillery to the middle," Charles added, "so that it won't be top-heavy."
Matthew nodded in agreement. The front armor of "Saint Shamon" could not be thickened because of its top-heavy problem.
"Finally." Charles patted the front: "Isolate the cockpit from the rear cabin."
Matthew stared at Ciel with wide eyes, "No, we can't do this."
Matthew knew why Charles did this.
The 75mm gun will produce a lot of smoke when firing, and the front and rear isolation can prevent the smoke from affecting the driver and artillery observer in front.
However……
"That doesn't make sense, Charles," Matthew said. "Have you ever considered that the noise from the engine and gun in the tank makes it very difficult for the crew to communicate. If they are isolated from each other, they won't even be able to hear each other's shouts."
"Saint Samon" will be artificially divided into two parts and each will fight on its own.
"They can communicate." Charles replied calmly: "We just need to install telephones in the front and rear cabins."
Matthew was stunned on the spot, then suddenly laughed: "You bastard, how did you come up with this idea? A telephone, you actually installed a telephone in a tank!"
At this point, the last headache of "Saint Salmon" was solved:
The driver and artillery observer in the front cabin will not be affected by the smoke in the rear cabin. The smoke problem can be solved by using gas masks in the rear cabin, and the front and rear cabins can communicate by telephone.
Charles even thought of a special gas mask that could be used for a long time.
(The picture above shows a box-type gas mask invented in 1916, which is characterized by long service life and easy replacement of filter boxes)
After listening to Charles' description, Matthew had a picture in his mind. He nodded confidently: "Although these changes appear to be very big on the surface, they are actually just adjustments to the appearance and position. The chassis, engine, transmission and other complex components are intact, so it is not difficult and can be modified in a short time."
"One month." Charles gave a deadline: "Finish revising all the Saint Samon within one month. Can you do it?"
Matthew hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and nodded heavily: "I can do it."
"But this is just an improvement." Matthew knocked on the steel plate of "Saint Shamon" and said, "I still can't see how cheap it is. If it is mass-produced as you said, it would take several months just to produce more than a hundred engines."
"There's another cheaper version," said Charles.
"What?" Matthew couldn't believe it. There was nothing left to reduce. It was already a chassis plus a gun. Could the chassis be removed?
Charles took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Matthew. It was the drawing he had made last night.
Matthew took it and unfolded it. He was petrified instantly. After a long while, he sighed, "It's really a cheap version!"
It was a truck gun, a simple gun mounted on the back of a truck, almost a combination of a truck and a 75mm gun.
(The picture above shows the Soviet SU-12-1 76MM self-propelled howitzer, which played a big role in the Battle of Nomonhan)
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
