Kotin, unlike Koshkin, is a promising genius designer, he just went to the right school at the right time with the right people. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 Kotin studied at the Dzerzhinsky Automotive Military Technical Institute in Leningrad, where he was inspired by such prominent party leaders as Kirov, Voroshilov, Blyukhel, Tukhachevsky, and finally even married Voroshilov's daughter. Kotin was not a brilliant engineer, but he was a capable one, and he was more adept at political battles. He was praised by powerful people and rose through the ranks quickly - this is what Lin Jun knew about the early experiences of Zhuzov-Yakovlevich Kotin, but it is undeniable that Kotin was also an excellent tank designer.

The Stalingrad Tractor Plant was not a "tractor factory" in the truest sense of the word, and at least a third of its products were tanks. Now it is mainly in the production of tanks in the production of the just-improved T-26S1937 light tank, and the production of tractors is mainly the S-65 and the famous STZ-3 agricultural tracked tractors, of course, at least half of these tracked tractors are supplied to the army as artillery tractors. There was also a small number of products that were specially towed for the T-20 "Komsomolskaya" 45-mm anti-tank gun. (Why is the STZ-3 agricultural crawler tractor famous?) It should be seen in some documentaries that reflect the agricultural construction of New China in the 50s. ）

All of the above was learned by Lin Jun at a discussion with the comrades of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant. "As far as I know, the ZIS-3 and S-65 agricultural tracked tractors, as an alternative to the shortage of special towing vehicles for the Red Army troops, equipped front-line troops in large quantities, caused the overload of these non-special towed vehicles, which had a negative impact on the repair and maintenance of these tractors."

After listening to Lin Jun's words, Ke Jing spoke, "Comrade Andrei, we also know about this situation. At present, less than 20 percent of the total number of towing vehicles in the front-line units of the Red Army are equipped with special towing vehicles for military purposes, while more than 30 percent of the tractor-oriented vehicles in need of moderate repair and comprehensive renovation in the whole army are in need of moderate repairs and comprehensive renovations. ”

"This problem is not something we can solve either, because the production capacity and production indicators of each factory are limited." Lin Jun also knew the seriousness of the problem, but the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army's Ordnance Department and the Medium-sized Machine Manufacturing Bureau could not solve the problem, and the people at the symposium had no choice.

"In order to solve the problem of quantity and quality of heavy tractors, our factory is about to launch the production line of "Comintern" tractors introduced from Kharkov, which is also the production plan that Comrade Kotin won from the Medium-sized Machine Building Bureau. "I heard that the Kharkov side is designing a heavy-duty tractor with better performance than the Comintern," Gerka said. ”

"Yes, Comrade Vononkovt (a designer on the Kharkov side, mainly designing tracked towed vehicles) is leading the design team in the final tests, but it is estimated that it will be several months before mass production. The prototype has already been taken out and reported to the Ordnance Department, where it is wanted to name this latest tractor after the father-in-law of our comrade Kotin, the respected Marshal Voroshilov, the "Voroshilov Warrior" type. ”

Lin Jun said here, but his eyes were looking at Kejing over there. Judging by his somewhat surprised expression, Cotin didn't know that the tractor would be named after his father-in-law.

Although history is like this, the naming of vehicle models is a matter of the above, and has nothing to do with the design bureau and production units. But this time it was really the Kharkiv side that asked for this, of course, it was Lin Jun's idea.

"Since this is the case, it is better to sell face to Voroshilov." This was Lin Jun's idea when he learned about this new tractor. Of course, the comrades on the Kharkov side raised their hands in favor of Lin Jun's proposal: everyone knew the relationship between the rival Kotin and Marshal Voroshilov, so that at least the marshal comrade would be "more tolerant" of the Kharkov side.

"Comrade Kotin, how is the development of a new heavy tank? This is something that Comrade Stalin was very concerned about. Lin Jun "lifted" Stalin out, because he knew that Kotin had already been "shot" by two conservative designs last year, and now the latest designs are still on paper, and it is estimated that they will not be able to produce products until Leningrad.

Sure enough, hearing Lin Jun ask about the design of the tank, Ke Jing looked a little embarrassed.

"Comrade Andrey, to be honest, the development of the new heavy tank has encountered a lot of difficulties, and it has not been possible to come up with a prototype in a short time, and it is still at the stage of drawings."

"Comrade Stalin also knew that the development of a heavy tank was fraught with difficulties, so Comrade Kotin should not be in a hurry. I don't know what the biggest difficulty is right now? Lin Jun also knew that the birth of this heavy tank was not so easy.

"We have completed the general design, but according to the design indicators at the end of 1935, we simply did not have a usable large-caliber tank gun, and now the only option is the L11 (Model 36) 76.2mm cannon, but it does not meet the requirements of the design indicators at all. At that time, the design index required the new heavy tank to be equipped with 85 mm or 100 mm tank guns, but the artillery development unit did not have one at all, and the comrades there could not develop a large-caliber tank gun that met the requirements for a while. ”

Like Koshkin in Kharkiv, Kotin is also a big bucket of bitter water, even more than Koshkin, because Kotin already knows from his father-in-law that the biggest reason for the development of this design index is the suggestion of Andrei in front of him.

"Another problem is that we don't have the right engine, and the engines that can be used now are either underpowered or too reliable to meet the design requirements."

After listening to Kejing's words, Lin Jun knew that some of his own reasons caused some design indicators to be too advanced, you must know that even the L11 (Model 36) 76.2mm cannon was originally "invincible" in 1941, not to mention the 85mm and 100mm tank guns in the design target. When he was in Kharkiv, Lin Jun already had the idea of lowering the design indicators of the tank gun of the new tank a little, and if the new tank was "difficult to deliver" because of the problem of the tank gun, then his responsibility would be great.

And there is another problem that Kejing here cannot solve by himself, and that is the engine. Because the KV-1 heavy tank he later designed used an improved version of the B-2 diesel engine designed by the Kharkov side, and now the B-2 is still in the final stage, Kotin has no way of knowing, and it is no wonder that he is worried.

"As far as I know, the Kharkiv side is designing a new type of diesel engine, which has been almost finalized, and the reliability is very good, with a power of 368 kilowatts (500 horsepower) / 1800r/min, and the introduction of the comrades over there has a lot of room for improvement, and it only needs to be slightly improved, and there should be no problem in designing a diesel engine for heavy tanks with about 600 horsepower." Lin Jun knew that the KV-1 originally used an improved B2-K with a B2-34 diesel engine equipped with a T34-76 tank, with a power of 441 kilowatts (600 horsepower)/2000r/min, and there was not much difference between the two.

"That's great, this can solve the biggest problem in the development of new tanks, in fact, my original design only needs 500 horsepower stable power output is enough, can have 600 horsepower is better, can greatly enhance the mobility of the new tank." Hearing Lin Jun's introduction, Ke Jing was ecstatic, he was already about to be tormented by this engine problem. You must know that tank guns can also get technical support from the navy and anti-aircraft artillery units, but this engine cannot be designed in a year or two.

"Hehe, but this is also urgent, this needs to be finalized by the Kharkiv side before it can be put into large-scale production at various plants, and it is estimated that there will be results in a few months."

Lin Jun is "reminding" Kejing: If you go there now to "plug in" a leg, it is very likely that no one will have a good engine in the end.

Ke Jing is a smart person, and of course he understands what Lin Jun means. It would be best to have an existing engine, and 10 seconds ago he had the idea of obtaining this engine production technology through his father-in-law, but it was better to wait for a while. "Comrade Andrei didn't say that it would be finalized in a few months, and everyone would be able to use ready-made ones then, so why not!" He thought.

"Of course, we will not be able to improve it until the comrades in Kharkov come up with the final final design, and here we will have to trouble Comrade Andrei to connect it, hehe."

"This is no problem, I will report to Comrade Stalin and the higher units, Comrade Kotin can rest assured."

Talking to smart people is worry-free, Lin Jun paused, "Comrade Kejing, I'm a layman when it comes to tanks, can I ask you a question?" ”

"Why is Comrade Andre so polite, just ask, what I know will definitely not be hidden."

Kejing agreed, "Others have even taken care of the engine problem for themselves, what else can't be said." ”

"That's the case, I would like to react to Comrade Stalin, don't we now have a large-caliber tank gun that requires design indicators, and at present there is a long-barreled 76.2-mm tank cannon being designed, which is estimated to be finalized by the middle of this year at the latest, and the power will be much greater than that of the L11 type. If there are no suitable weapons before the tank is designed, can we first install a long-barreled 76.2 mm tank gun on the new heavy tank while the artillery development department is designing a large-caliber tank gun? But if in the future, after the production of tank guns of greater caliber and power, can we quickly switch to the production of heavy tanks equipped with large-caliber tank guns, and will this be technically feasible? And is it very difficult to transform the production of the factory? ”

"Comrade Andrei, we have also considered your ideas. This is not a big technical problem, if the 85 mm tank gun is installed in the future, I only need to leave room for the design of the new tank, and then the tank army-level maintenance plant can carry out the tank gun replacement and auxiliary facilities improvement. If it's a new 100mm gun, then you need to redesign the turret section, but that's not a problem, I can design a completely new turret as a technical reserve. In terms of actual production, there are not many problems, of course, there will be some problems, but compared with the results that can be obtained, the difficulties of the tank production plant can even be ignored. ”

After hearing Lin Jun's "problem", Ke Jing also knew the bottom of his heart: this "maker" of "high indicators" must have found that under the current reality, it is impossible to solve these problems for a while.

"The biggest problem now is that the design indicators are set directly by the Kremlin, and we, the designers and production plants, have no right to modify them at all."

"I'm going to talk to the Kremlin and I don't know if I can change it. There can never be a situation where the car is waiting for a gun. This is the second time Lin Jun has said this in a week.