Chapter 569 Battlefield Giant
"Buy whatever you like," said Charles. "They won't mind."
Charles felt ashamed because he had always taken Djoka and Camille's care for granted but never gave any feedback.
Lucia seemed to understand something and did not continue to ask questions. Instead, she stole a glance at Charles and asked, "One last question. Is this a chore or a mission?"
Ciel hesitated, then replied, "You can treat it as a task!"
I do this to avoid arousing suspicion, so it's a mission, Charles thought, there's nothing wrong with that.
What Charles didn't notice was that a hint of loneliness and disappointment inadvertently flashed across Lucia's eyes.
She hoped that Charles would answer that it was because of "housework". She had already met the girl's parents before, so now of course she had to meet the boy's parents.
…
Charles has been busy this holiday season.
He hadn't been to the factory for a long time. The next morning, after a quick breakfast, Charles and Deyoka rushed to the tractor factory together.
Charles went to the R&D department. As soon as he walked through the door, he found Matthew discussing with a technician.
Matthew put on a prosthetic limb and looked like a one-legged pirate. He also grew a beard and looked much more mature. His hair hadn't been taken care of for a long time and was a mess like a bird's nest. He also wore a pair of glasses on his nose.
Matthew also saw Charles. He took off his glasses, limped over, and gave Charles a hug with a laugh.
"Look at you." Matthew jumped back a step and looked Charles up and down. "A general who defeated the Germans again and again. It's amazing! People are talking about your achievements everywhere. I can't believe they are talking about you."
Charles raised his head towards the glasses in Matthew's hand: "When did you become nearsighted?"
Matthew shrugged nonchalantly: "This is the cost of developing tanks."
Later, Charles found out that Matthew studied engine technology day and night, and sometimes stayed in the factory instead of going home at night. It was no exaggeration to say that he neglected to eat and sleep.
It’s hard to imagine that someone who used to get a headache whenever he saw books in school has now become a research and development talent.
"You've come just in time." Matthew waved at Charles, took Charles to a desk and said to the spread-out blueprint, "This is my conception of a new tank. See if you're satisfied."
Charles came closer to take a look and found that it was actually a "Char 2C" tank.
(The picture above shows the "Charle 2C" super-heavy tank developed by France in 1921, powered by two 250-horsepower engines, 10.27 meters long, with twin turrets)
Charles frowned and asked Matthew: "Why did you think of designing such a tank?"
Matthew replied: "I want to produce an invincible tank that can destroy everything on the battlefield, and nothing can penetrate its armor."
Then, he talked about the tank's data with his hands dancing and excitement: "I plan to equip it with a 75MM artillery and a 45MM front armor. We have tested it and found that this thickness of armor can block the German 77MM infantry gun..."
"Matthew," Ciel interrupted him. "That's not appropriate."
"Why?" Matthew asked with disappointment on his face. He couldn't believe that his efforts were rejected by Charles at a glance.
"No tank is invincible. Such a tank does not exist," Charles replied.
"How do you know if you don't try?" Matthew was unwilling.
"Well," Ciel replied, "the weight of it is one of the problems."
"The calculated result is 40 tons." Matthew searched the table, picked out a piece of manuscript paper full of data from the scattered documents and handed it to Charles: "Two engines can fully drive it, and it can also maintain a speed similar to the 'Charler A1'."
With powerful firepower, thick armor, and speed, Matthew didn't understand why it wouldn't be suitable.
However, Charles knew that this super-heavy tank was an ideal.
Imagination is always beautiful, but reality is cruel.
"Char 2C" has been continuously improved from its original 40 tons to 70 tons.
The Tiger during World War II weighed only 56 tons, and even with a 650-horsepower engine, it still became a logistical nightmare.
However, the "Char 2C" was based on the engine level of World War I, weighing 70 tons and powered by two 250-horsepower engines with a total of 500 horsepower. This was not a nightmare but a fantasy.
"Or we can think of it this way," said Xiaer: "You use two 250-horsepower engines to carry 40 tons of weight and see how long it can run normally."
Matthew seemed to understand: "Are you worried about its reliability?"
"You could say that." Charles nodded. "Two engines means the failure rate will be twice as high, Matthew."
This is different from airplanes, where using two engines can improve safety: if one engine fails, the other engine can still ensure flight, but it will lose speed and performance.
A tank is completely different. If either of its two engines fails, the tank will not be able to move forward.
Matthew thought for a while and nodded slowly: "It is almost impossible to repair a large equipment like a tank on the battlefield. Once a malfunction occurs, it almost means it is scrapped."
Ciel nodded in agreement.
This was the fate of the "Charle 2C" in actual combat. They were not destroyed by the enemy, but because they were too clumsy or malfunctioned to be taken away. The French army did not want to be used by the enemy and had to destroy them themselves.
Then Charles provided a feasible plan. He picked up a pencil and cut and subtracted on the sketch, saying as he drew: "Single turret, single engine, reduce the overall size and reduce the weight."
(The picture above shows the "Charle B1" heavy tank equipped by the French army in 1931. It has a single engine with 250 horsepower and a total weight of 31.5 tons. It was called the "Battlefield Giant" because of its outstanding performance during World War II)
Matthew's eyes widened as he looked at the design of the tank. "It actually has two guns? You added two guns to this small tank?"
But he raised another question: "Isn't the freedom of this 75MM gun on the vehicle too low? Its firing angle is very limited."
"That's not a problem." Charles replied, "We can use it to attack enemy bunkers or the front armor of tanks."
If you are responsible for attacking the front, you don't need too much freedom.
Matthew looked at the sketch thoughtfully.
Mounting a small-caliber gun on the turret means that the turret can be miniaturized, while mounting a large-caliber gun on the gun body can increase the firepower. The two work together to form a certain complement, ultimately achieving an increase in overall firepower.
Then he compared it with his own design and exclaimed: "My God, its firepower is not even much worse than my design, but the weight and volume are much smaller. And because it uses a single engine, it is foreseeable that the cost and failure rate will be reduced."
Matthew looked at Charles in disbelief: "I'm beginning to envy you, Charles. Your casual painting surpasses all my efforts."
Charles smiled slightly. This was not just a casual drawing of his. It was the improvement that the French army made to tanks through trial and error over the next decade or so.
(End of this chapter)
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