"Comrade Morozov, do you feel that the firepower of the T-44 tank seems to be a little insufficient. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Morozov turned his head and saw a young man in a general's uniform who looked no more than thirty years old standing next to him, a young man he had met several times and gave him inspiration for the design of the T-34/85 and T-44 tanks, which could be said to have been attributed to the young man.

"Comrade Manturov, the current experience of the real war shows that our 85-mm tank guns are enough to destroy any German tank, including the enemy's newest Tiger heavy tank.

For the time being, our tank firepower is still sufficient, so I don't think it's necessary for us to strengthen our firepower for the time being. ”

Morozov was right, the biggest threat to the Soviet armored forces at that time, apart from the sky Stuka, was the Tiger tank and 88mm anti-tank guns on the ground.

The T-34/85 and T-44 tanks were equipped with 85 mm tank guns that were able to easily penetrate the frontal armor of the Tiger at a distance of 1 km.

So at that time, the firepower of the T-34/85 and T-44 tanks was basically enough to deal with any enemy, but the armor of the T-34/85 tanks was not enough to withstand the attack of the Tiger tank, so there was a medium tank with thicker armor such as the T-44.

However, Manturov also knew that according to the development of history, the Germans would develop tanks such as the Leopard tank and the King Tiger tank, which were relatively strong in terms of firepower and protection.

In terms of firepower, the T-85 tank with a 44-mm gun was not at all a match for the Leopard tank (armed with a 75-mm caliber kwk42 tank gun).

In terms of armor, the Leopard tank with a thickness of 80 mm of armor at the front and 110 mm of turret armor was not at all a match for the T-44 tank (the armor at the front was up to 90 mm thick at a 60-degree inclination, and the turret armor was up to 120 mm thick), but it was still in question whether the T-44 would be able to block the shells of the Leopard tank.

Compared with the King Tiger tank, both in armor and firepower, the T-44 tank has an absolute disadvantage.

The T-44 could not withstand the shelling of the King Tiger tank's Kwk_43 tank gun (88 mm caliber, 71 times diameter), nor could it penetrate the 180 mm thick turret frontal armor of the King Tiger tank.

Manturov had long been aware of this, and he knew exactly what kind of tanks the Germans would make, and what kind of tanks the Soviets would have to build to be able to compete with them.

Moreover, the Germans, who had faced an unfavorable situation since the beginning of the war, also realized the shortcomings of their tanks, so they let the Tiger tank appear in advance and accelerated the development of the Leopard tank. What's even worse is that not so long ago, the Germans had already begun to develop the King Tiger tank.

Whether it is a Leopard tank or a King Tiger tank, it will definitely be introduced earlier than in history. In such a situation, the Soviet side could not relax even more, and it was necessary to prepare for the appearance of the Leopard tank and the King Tiger tank.

"Comrade Morozov," Manturov said, "you are indeed right, at the moment our T-34/85 and T-44 tanks have enough firepower for any German tank.

But as far as I know, the Germans have already begun work on the development of a new tank, and some progress has been made.

According to the information I have, the Germans are currently working on a medium tank and a heavy tank.

The heavy tank will be armed with an 88 mm cannon with a barrel length of 71 times, a turret armor thickness of 185 mm, and a frontal hull armor thickness of 150 mm, with a 55-degree inclination.

The medium tank will be equipped with a 75 mm caliber gun with a barrel length of 70 x diameter, 80 mm frontal armor at a 55-degree angle, and turret armor up to 110 mm thick.

These two tanks, both in terms of firepower and armor, are relatively good. We have to be prepared to design tanks that can compete with them in advance to ensure that we can win the battle in the future. ”

Morozov is a person who actually respects Manturov's opinion very much. Although Manturov was not a member of the National Defense Committee in charge of tank production, he was after all the Deputy Prime Minister of the Soviet Union and Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, and he was higher in rank than him.

Besides, if Manturov hadn't provided Morozov with inspiration for the design of the T-34/85 and T-44 tanks in advance, it would have been a question mark whether these two tanks would have been put on the battlefield or appeared at this test site.

"Okay, Comrade Commissar of Defense, I will try to increase the firepower of the T-44 tank. But so far, only the D-25T of 122 mm and the D-100T of 100 mm are more powerful than the 85 mm anti-tank gun.

However, tests proved that neither tank gun was suitable for the T-44 tank. Because the tail of the D-10T tank gun was too long for the existing turret to fit the gun, and the D-25T tank gun was not suitable for medium tanks, we could only use 85 mm tank guns. ”

What Morozov said, Manturov actually understood. Although the T-44 tank was superior to the T-34 tank in terms of armor, the size of its turret seat and the size of the turret did not change much, and it could only accommodate the 85 mm D-5T tank gun or the ZIS-S-53 tank gun.

Historically, in order to increase the firepower of the tank and to the level of equipping the D-10 tank gun, the Morozov Design Bureau redesigned the chassis, increased the turret seat from 1600 mm to 1800 mm, and installed a larger turret that could accommodate the D-10T.

As a result, the redesigned tank was a great success on tests, received the designation T-54 tank, and subsequently went into mass production.

The technology of this T-54 tank was later transferred by the big brother of the USSR to a socialist country with the largest population in the world, located in the East. This great country localized the T-54 tank and named it the Type 59 tank.

"Comrade Morozov," Manturov suggested, "it seems to me that in order to get a more protective medium tank for the fighters at the front as soon as possible, the Kharkov Plant 183 could first put this T-44 tank into production." And work on the improvement of firepower continued after the T-44 tank was put into production.

You can try to modify the chassis of the T-44 tank, without affecting the performance of the tank, without affecting the protection ability of the tank, and try not to increase the weight of the tank, the turret seat is 1800 mm, and design a turret with a larger diameter to see if it can fit the 100 mm D-10 tank gun.

In addition, the 85 mm caliber tank gun should also be improved in order to improve the armor-piercing ability of the 85 mm tank gun, so that it can compete with future tanks. ”