After a round at the Kharkov Turbine Plant, Manturov established a preliminary understanding of the production of steam turbines and a preliminary estimate of the time for the completion of Soviet-class battleships. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Although the development of steam turbines was not as good as it was in the past, at least it was not as bad as it was historically. If six sets of steam turbines had been produced in two months, as expected, the Soviet Ukraine battleship would have been able to be completed in time for 1942 or earlier.

As for the No. 1 ship, the Soviet, it has already been equipped with three steam turbines manufactured by the Swiss company Blanc Bovilli, and most of the construction work has been completed, and it is estimated that it will be launched in March 1941, and it will be able to enter the navy in June 1941, the month of the outbreak of the Soviet-German war.

At that time, the Soviet would become the hegemon of the Baltic Sea, and even the Bismarck, the most famous in Germany, would not be a match for the Soviets. And if the Ukraine can also be launched in the Black Sea, then the Soviet Union will be able to firmly control the Black Sea.

In addition to visiting the turbine factory, Manturov's visit to Kharkov will also include a visit to the local tank factory.

In order to save time, the original two-day itinerary was compressed into the same day. In this way, he can leave Kharkiv by plane in the evening and return to Moscow to pick up his wife.

Standing next to the production line, Manturov could already feel the spectacular sight of a torrent of steel. Steel monsters, like rivers flowing, flow down the production line.

And the steel monster on the production line is the most advanced and combat-capable T-34 tank in the world. This medium tank, which was improved from the T-34/76, not only received the more powerful 85 mm D-5T main gun, but also increased the thickness of the armor and improved the protection capability.

In addition, the original T-34/76 two-man turret has been replaced by a three-man turret to improve combat efficiency. Due to the increased volume of the turret, the T-34/85 received the title "T-34 Big Front".

"Comrade Koshkin, this is a T-34/85 medium tank?" From the larger turret, Manturov recognized the "big-headed" version of the T-34 tank.

"Yes, Comrade Manturov," Koshkin said with a proud smile, "after refinement, this tank has surpassed any tank in the world in terms of firepower, protection and maneuverability."

The 85-mm gun could penetrate armor 1000 mm thick at a range of 105 meters. As far as I know, now no tank has such thick armor. ”

"So, the T-34/85 medium tank can penetrate the front armor of any tank at a distance of 1,000 meters?" Manturov asked knowingly.

"Yes, but I can't rule out that other countries have developed tanks with armor of more than 105 mm. However, it seems that no country has yet been able to do so. ”

Indeed, at that time, no country had been able to develop a tank with armor up to 105 mm thick. At that time, the most advanced tank in Germany was only 80 mm thick in frontal armor, while the T-34/85 was equipped with an 85 mm main gun that could penetrate 80 mm of armor at a distance of 2,000 meters.

But the No. 4 tank, armed with a 75-mm KWK-37 gun, could not penetrate the frontal armor of the T-34/85 at any distance. In this way, a Soviet T-34-85 tank could defeat ten on the battlefield, and almost no German tank was capable of destroying it.

It's just that in 1942, after the German Tiger heavy tank was introduced, this T-34, which could easily torture the No. 4 tank, had to face a formidable opponent.

In terms of firepower, the Tiger tank, armed with an 88-mm KWK-36 gun, could penetrate the armor of the T-34/85 at a distance of 1500 meters.

In terms of protection, the T-34/85 is equipped with an 85 mm gun that has to be within 500 meters to penetrate the 120 mm frontal armor of the Tiger tank. Fortunately, when it comes to mobility, reliability, and maintenance, the T-34/85 has the upper hand.

As a time-traveler who has studied Soviet history a little, Manturov also knows the power of the German Tiger tank, and also knows the way the Soviets coped with it, that is, to develop a more powerful and more protective IS series tank, or to develop a T-44-100 tank with strong protection and firepower on the basis of the T-34.

However, if the T-44-100 or the IS series tanks were developed before the appearance of the Tiger, it would only accelerate the emergence of the stronger "King Tiger Tank".

Therefore, Manturov did not intend to reveal the design of the T-44-100 to Koshkin at this time, and even if it did, this poor man, who would die of pneumonia in a month, could not do anything.

Otherwise, if in 1941, the Soviet army had been equipped with the T-44 tank, I am afraid that the smart Germans would have developed the powerful King Tiger tank earlier, or a strengthened version of the Tiger I tank. At that time, the Soviet army will face even greater trouble.

"I don't rule it out. Even if this is not possible, you must be prepared to develop a new tank. "If this tank is captured by the enemy on the battlefield, it is likely that they will start developing a tank that can compete with the T-34 and even destroy the T-34 at a distance," Manturov predicted.

So, you should be prepared to develop a new tank with better protection and armor-piercing guns. But the research and development work can be slower, and even if it is developed, it will not be put into production until the enemy launches a new generation of tanks.

Otherwise, if this advanced tank falls into the hands of the enemy, I think you know what the consequences will be. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Manturov," Koshkin nodded, and said: "We, the 520 Design Bureau, will continue the work of tank research and development, and strive to develop a tank with strong firepower, protection and mobility, so as to improve the combat capability of our army." As for the commissioning of new tanks, it will be decided according to the situation at that time. ”

"I'm glad you're keeping this motivated. While it is important to develop a new tank, it is even more important to improve the reliability and production quality of the T-34, while also finding ways to reduce the cost of production without compromising the quality of production. ”

Although the T-34 medium tank is considered the best tank of World War II, it achieves the best balance of firepower, protection, maneuverability, and ease of production. But in the initial period of the war, there were certain problems with the reliability of the tank. At least in the first two months of the war in 1941, more than half of the lost T-34s were abandoned due to the breakdown.

In addition, although the production cost of the T-34 is lower than that of other tanks of the same class, there is still a lot of room for reduction. The initial T-34 tank had more parts and was more complicated to produce, costing more than 260,000 rubles per tank. However, after improvements, the cost of production was reduced to 193,000 rubles per vehicle.

If Koshkin had been able to solve the problem of reliability before the start of the war, the number of T-34 tanks lost due to the breakdown would have been significantly reduced. If the cost of production can be reduced, the Soviets can use these savings to produce a larger number of tanks. (To be continued.) )