As soon as the prototype of the No. 4 tank rolled off the assembly line, Manstein ordered it to enter the field for testing, and for the first time it was not equipped with artillery shells, to be precise, because it had just come out of the model, and for the time being, it only needed to show its main performance, and as for the shooting of Zhuyuan, it was only reflected in theoretical data.

Eric had been very concerned about the progress of the Tank IV, and in order to make the tests as quick as possible, Ananta immediately asked Manstein to inform Manstein that he had set a time for the review of the troops, and to inspect the completion of the Tank IV program by the way. For this reason, Manstein had to urgently convene an impromptu working meeting, and conveyed the spirit of Eric's notice to Rommel and Guderian and other generals.

Tank 4 shells were temporarily supplied by the munitions depot at the Frankfurt Tank Training Base, and according to the actual situation, the new tank was the first in Germany to be tested with live ammunition at such a rapid pace, and it is even more rare to shoot accurately at a moving target in motion.

When it comes to weapons testing, insiders know that this is a very dangerous process, because every weapon cannot be 100% successful, otherwise there would be no need for professional testing. Manstein was not entirely sure about this live-fire test, but he knew that President Eric Adrian was a very pragmatic national leader, and that there were no actual hard targets, and that theoretical data alone would not work at all with the president.

The test is divided into three parts, the first is a mobility demonstration; the second is the detection of all elements; The third is the fire test; Each item is a dynamic test, and it requires a demonstration of sexual limits.

The tank crew that received the order to test the new tank was all well-trained veterans, including test preparation, crew positioning, starting procedures, and all the elements, these five soldiers did not say a word from beginning to end, each worked nervously, and everything was ready in fifteen seconds, and the degree of tacit understanding was amazing.

At this time, in the No. 4 tank, the radio waves of the communications corps had already communicated with the base, and the intermittent radio wave frequencies were flashing with red, blue, yellow, green, and white lights, and had entered the normal sending and receiving period. Although it was a test of a new tank, it was better to say that even the quality of the soldiers was also tested. The veterans' movements were impeccable, and Eric was very satisfied.

"How is the training of the recruits?" Eric looked at Manstein, "I want to take an exam for your recruits, too, but not now, you just need to be mentally prepared for this." ”

"Please rest assured, Mr. President, that the training of new and old tank crews is now subject to quarterly acceptance, and those who fail to meet the requirements will remain at the base to continue training until they are as skilled as those veterans just now before they can be handed over to the troops for combat posts." Manstein replied.

"Why don't you use recruits today?" Eric asked.

"Report to the president, this is because the recruits are only eighteen or nineteen years old, and the commander-in-chief does not want them to be involved in dangerous operations. Besides, because this is a new weapons test, it must be carried out by highly skilled sergeant majors themselves, so Mr. President now sees all the veterans. Rommel picked up the conversation from the sidelines.

"Excellent! If you can love the soldiers like this, the soldiers will not fail you! Eric applauded the approach.

On the training ground, the No. 4 tank galloped around the field quickly, rolled up dust, crossed obstacles, crossed ponds, evaded attacks, and so on, and the movements were very smooth. Just when Eric thought that this test would be without bright spots, he found that the tank's gun was a bit weird.

"Which company made this artillery?" Eric asked Manstein back.

"This gun was designed and manufactured by the Krupp company, because it is an SDFZF144/3 test vehicle, so the barrel used is 48 times the diameter. General Guderian had such a request, therefore, the designers fully followed the design concept of high horsepower and power of this tank. Manstein went on to describe the gun briefly: "The rapid-fire effect is very good, and the muzzle brake is just right for this tank." ”

Some of the people close to Eric also heard Manstein's explanation, and the only common feeling was that Krupp had made another big step forward in the development of artillery.

It is not difficult to manufacture artillery, and while the mechanism and firing device are reliably guaranteed, the knowledge lies in the barrel. Many manufacturers increase the rifling rotation rate on the basis of the principles of physics, in fact, the recoil is just as important as the latching bolt, and then the performance of the ammunition. Ammunition is a perfect combination of physical and chemical functions, and the speed, accuracy and explosive power of the shell are the hard indicators to detect a shell.

Eric was no stranger to the design and manufacture of artillery, and he was even an extreme enthusiast, including some of Krupp's weapons, which took some of his advice.

"I haven't seen this gun from Krup, and on the basis of the original, they have cleverly increased the diameter, and the muzzle brake is really whimsical." Eric muttered to himself.

"Mr. President is worthy of being an expert, and he has seen the doorway." Rommel said.

A 48 times diameter gun sounds like nothing amazing, but at this time, it was not easy for countries around the world to develop the same 48 times diameter barrel, and most of them worked on the thickness of the barrel wall with similar performance in order to obtain sufficient heat resistance and strength, but Krupp cleverly avoided this.

Eric's interest was not exactly the peculiar gun double diameter, but the fact that there was an annular protrusion in the middle of the barrel, which he found strange.

"What is the annular protrusion layer in the middle of the pipe body?" Of course, it was not only Eric who found the problem, but Rundstedt also raised the question in his mind.

"That device is used to extract the residual gas inside the barrel, and it has the effect of cleaning the barrel." Manstein immediately answered Eric and Rundstedt's questions, and then added: "It's called a smoking device. ”

"Smoking device? It's a very apt name, but it feels strange to look at, and I even doubt that such a device will affect the performance of artillery fire. Rundstedt may have felt that this protruding part was not so aesthetically pleasing, but did not doubt its performance, so he said it deliberately.

"Rest assured that Krupp is unique in this research and has set a benchmark in the industry. As for whether it will affect shooting, then there is no need to worry. Guderian couldn't help but interject.

In fact, Rundstedt's concerns were not entirely unreasonable, and there was only one concept of a smoking device at this time, although Krupp did have a number of unique solutions compared to other manufacturers.

At that time, when Krupp received Guderian's order, the first proposal did not add a smoking device. However, many German peers soon discovered a problem, an excessively long barrel would generally lead to a serious shortening of the barrel life, and did not meet the German army's requirements for tank artillery "a thousand rounds without changing", so this strange-shaped device came into being.

Eric watched the tank show and listened attentively to their conversation, but remained silent, because he also found that Krupp might have fooled the military, but there was no real evidence, and everything had to wait for the test results to be uncovered.