"This is the tracked armored combat vehicle that you have successfully improved."

On the day of his parting from Major Erascu, Hoffmann took the train to Constanta, and then rushed to the Volkswagen R&D center without stopping. Here he looked at the tall tracked combat vehicle in front of him and asked the three main R&D personnel.

Hoffman saw the lone tracked armored combat vehicle in front of him, this car was different from the previous experimental model that had always gone wrong, this body became taller, and the lower abdomen was also raised a lot, which could make people bend over and crawl over. Moreover, the bevel armor of the hull has become less inclined than before, and he always feels that the turret is much shorter.

Herke, who was still the most eloquent of the trio, stepped forward to answer Hoffman's questions. "Your Excellency, this is already the limit of what we can do now. Because this tracked armored combat vehicle needs to be installed with tracks and adapt to complex terrain, we raised the hull, and now its height is 3.48 meters, which is indeed 63 centimeters higher than that of a wheeled armored fighting vehicle, and it has also increased in width, but it has not reached a width of 2.95 meters, mainly to put down two diesel engines. ”

Lieutenant Colonel Hoffman asked in surprise as he listened to Herke's answer. "You changed the power of the chariot?"

In the face of Hoffman's inquiry, Wang Chaoqiang, another member of the trio, stepped forward and explained, "We found that a small half of the problems of the tracked combat vehicle were caused by vibrations to the gasoline engine, and we optimized the chassis for this, but there are still many problems, and we don't have a good solution." In the end, we thought of replacing the more shock-resistant diesel engine, for which we found a power laboratory and the Ploiesti Machinery Factory, which has the most experience in using diesel engines, to understand the situation in detail. ”

Lieutenant Colonel Hoffman looked at the Oriental Facial Research Fellow named Wang Chaoqiang in front of him, he had known him for a long time. The only person in the Volkswagen factory who faces the East, and he is also one of the main developers of tracked armored combat vehicles, it is difficult to know him. For this reason, he told Wang Chaoqiang. "Go on, king."

As a member of the trio, Wang Chaoqiang continued. "We got their latest 80 hp diesel engine from the power lab, and we found that the diesel engine was more reliable. However, the speed of the tracked armored combat vehicle did not change much if it was still loaded with only one engine, and then we widened the interior to make it easier to put two diesel engines in parallel on the side. ”

Hoffman asked curiously. "How did it turn out?"

This time Herke replied. "We can run 32 kilometres per hour on the road and 25 kilometres per hour in the wilderness, and that's what we've learned from this test car. Of course, it's not just the power that has been changed, as you may have noticed, the turret is also a lot shorter. ”

Herke pointed to the gun on the chariot and continued to explain. "Because we found that if we didn't lower the height of the turret, it would be difficult to operate this gun. When we tested it, we found that the jitter was too large for the operators inside to use it at all. ”

Hearing Herke's explanation, Hoffman asked. "So have you tried to stop and shoot while you're on the move?"

"I've tested it before, and it's not ideal. Because it is in periscope mode, this 37-mm tank gun can hit a distance of up to 300 meters, and no matter how far it goes, it will not hit the target. I don't know the point of loading this gun, but we could have dismantled it and replaced it with a 20mm gun, at least so that we could hit each other in strafing mode. ”

hearing

Hearing Herke's words, Hoffman also had a headache, and to be honest he didn't know what the significance of this tank gun, which could only shoot at 300 meters, was there. But this was the king's order to him, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Eder, who has memories of later generations here, has always stubbornly believed that a tank without artillery can still be the king of the land? So when developing this tracked tank, Eder told Lieutenant Colonel Hoffmann that he wanted to see the tracked tank have its own guns on the turret. Despite being with Eder for a while, Hofmann knew he had to get it done, albeit in a deliberative tone.

That's why the two machine guns on the turret were replaced with a short-barreled 37-mm gun, and the number of machine guns carried by tracked combat vehicles was reduced from 3 to 2. In the face of a continuous reduction in firepower, Hoffman could only count on the 37mm gun to be reliable. The only thing you can do is make these vehicles take care of each other more when they train.

Faced with their improved vehicle, Hoffman began to care about other statistics. "So what is the fuel consumption of this tank, and how far can it run with a full tank of fuel at one time?"

"We tested the prototype and found that the fuel consumption of this prototype was 1.34 litres of diesel per kilometre on the road and 1.71 litres per kilometre in the wilderness. Because that's why two engines are installed. We have installed two through-feed 57-liter fuel tanks at the back of the vehicle, which allows it to run up to 85 kilometers on the road when fully fueled. As for the wilderness, then you can only run 65 kilometers and you have to refuel. ”

Hearing the designer's answer, Hoffman felt that the performance was acceptable. So he asked about the core and topic, which was the cost of this kind of chariot. "So how much did you calculate the cost of this car?"

The three designers glanced at each other, and finally it was Herke who stepped forward and asked. "It depends on how many such tanks the army procures?"

Hoffman played a little trick here. "The military plans to purchase 24 vehicles first, and test the results before deciding whether to continue procurement."

In the face of Hoffmann's petty tricks, Herke was completely unfooled. "If this is the case, then the cost of the first 24 vehicles is 84,000 lei per tracked combat vehicle, and as for the future, if the military continues to purchase large-scale vehicles, our price will be reduced."

Hoffman was taken aback when he heard the price. "Why is it so much more expensive than wheeled armored vehicles, you can buy two wheeled armored combat vehicles at this price."

Herke stepped forward and explained to Hoffmann, who was about to jump. "Your Excellency Hoffman, we didn't add profits at all, it's all because diesel engines are more expensive. Moreover, the tracked combat vehicle is a completely different transmission system, and we spend more money. This price can only guarantee that Volkswagen will not lose money, so it is impossible to reduce the price again. ”

Hoffman and the three mushrooms did not reduce the price of the tracked tank by 1 lei for a long time, and finally had to report to the General Staff according to this price, hoping that they could purchase the combat vehicles needed for their armored battalion.

In fact, the Quartermaster Department, which purchased equipment, did not lower this price, and in the end, according to this price, two companies of tracked combat vehicles were purchased from Volkswagen to fully equip the armored battalion.

And Hoffman, after waiting for the tank he needed, immediately began to experiment with the idea of future war in his mind. Around Constaca it is not uncommon to see these armored monsters marching across the field, practicing Hoffman's thoughts. During the exercise, Hoffman realized that many of his ideas were very immature, and he relied on the armored battalion to constantly improve his tactics, and he has been building a sword in his heart, which will one day amaze the world.

However, in terms of the training funds of the armored battalion, this armored battalion has always been a thorn in the side of the quartermaster department of the General Staff. Their training expenses for one month can be used for two of the other infantry regiments. It's just that the General Staff General Officer, Admiral Prexshan, completely ignores their wasteful behavior, which can only make the chief of the quartermaster lose his temper.

And Eder, who is the main promoter, thinks that tank fighting vehicles are more important than funding. However, he now encountered a more difficult thing for him, and he didn't even bother to look at the newly developed chariot.