Anti-armor weapons in the general sense usually rely on kinetic energy to pierce armor. For example, the steel armor-piercing projectile, which was first used in naval guns, was mainly used against the armor belt of warships, but with the emergence of a large number of tanks and armored vehicles in the European war, this steel armor-piercing shell was also quickly used in anti-tank guns and flat-fire guns.

Kinetic energy armor-piercing shells pay attention to the high beginning, and completely rely on the kinetic energy of the shell itself to hit the target, which is a hard-hitting weapon, so the greater the weight of the shell. The greater the armor-piercing ability, but with that comes a significant increase in the weight of shells and cannons, which are usually heavy and difficult to maneuver on the battlefield. If we want to reduce the weight, we must also reduce the weight of the shells, and this is a pair of contradictions, which is a test for the design of anti-tank guns, and it is almost impossible to solve this contradiction at the industrial and technological level of the early 20 th century.

Although anti-tank guns have appeared on the battlefields of Europe, this lightweight anti-armor weapon is still not able to deal with the increasingly thick frontal armor of tanks. As a result, there is a huge urgent need for anti-armor weapons that are both light and powerful in Europe.

It is necessary to have both strong armor-piercing capabilities and light battlefield mobility, which can only change the way of thinking and seek a breakthrough in the mindset. It's not easy, but it's not difficult for Zhao Bei, as a historical traveler, and a pseudo-military fan, he is well aware of those light anti-armor weapons of later generations, and one of them. It's a shaped charge anti-tank grenade.

The shaped charge anti-tank grenade does not rely on kinetic energy to pierce armor, but relies on chemical energy to pierce armor, so it is not an armor-piercing projectile, but an armor-piercing projectile, which does not rely on the initial degree of projection, but a series of chemical and physical changes after the detonation of the internal high-energy explosive.

Generally speaking, the shape of the powder hood is conical or semicircular, and the loaded explosives are all high-energy explosives with extremely high explosives, relying on the powerful shock wave after the explosives are detonated to "crush" the powder hood, so that the powder hood becomes a high-temperature, high-armor-piercing jet, and pierces the armor plate. While holes in the armor plate are usually common, the collateral damage they cause is staggering, and can create high pressure inside a confined space, causing indirect damage to the combatants involved.

This is the secret of the shaped charge anti-tank grenade, the principle of which on the surface is not complicated. However, the real development has to overcome many technical difficulties, such as the selection of appropriate high-energy explosives, and the design of appropriate soft metal powder covers, and so that the projectile body can get the correct angle and explosion height at the moment of collision with the target.

For Zhao Bei, a pseudo-military fan, it is obviously too demanding for him to directly design this shaped charge anti-tank grenade, and his main role in the development of this new weapon is to draw a schematic diagram and supervise the development progress of relevant departments. Then, leave the work to the experts

。 After receiving Zhao Bei's order, he immediately organized a research group, and many of the members of the group specially responsible for developing this kind of anti-tank grenade had studied in the German arsenal, and the technical strength was indeed not blown; it was worked behind closed doors in the secret military laboratory of this Nanyuan Air Base for several months, and by now, the most basic experimental work has been completed, and a sample bomb that basically meets the design requirements has been manufactured.

Liu Qingen often sat in the laboratory and personally presided over the development of the anti-tank grenade, and in addition to the anti-tank grenade, he was also responsible for other classified projects. And the secret military laboratory of the Nanyuan Air Base has basically become another permanent office of the Ordnance Industry Administration, so when Zhao Bei led people to the laboratory, Liu Qingen was able to personally take him to the shooting range to test this kind of anti-tank grenade, which is basically developed.

The experimental results made Zhao Bei very satisfied, although this grenade is relatively light, but its armor penetration depth is still more than 50 mm, can easily penetrate all the current tanks, whether it is a French tank or a German tank, even the frontal armor of the latest tank under development in China can not withstand the attack of this anti-tank grenade, unless a fence is installed.

"Not bad, not bad. Thank you very much. The advent of this weapon will greatly change the balance of power between infantry and armor, although armor can still suppress light infantry, but no matter what. The infantry now has a powerful weapon against armor at close range, at least there will be no more infantry fleeing when they see an enemy tank. ”

Zhao Bei held a sample of an anti-tank grenade and praised the members of the development team who participated in the test.

"So, should you give the workers an order for mass production now?" Liu Qingen asked.

"Nope. For the first time, I will not mass-produce it, but I will make a copy of all the drawings of this weapon and give it to my lieutenant, and I will also make a copy of the documentary film of the test, and give it to the chamberlain, for which I will now have another use. "Zhao Bei did not approve the proposal for immediate mass production.

Liu Qingen understands that he is not only the director of the Ordnance Industry Administration, but also the leader of the technical assistance team to Germany, although he does not come forward directly, but he does know that he is now getting the aid of this new military technology from China, Germany! Therefore, the ability to use lethal phosgene first on the battlefield in Xinzhou is not only because the German chemical companies have advanced equipment, but also because there is no molecular formula and process provided by "friendly countries to Germany", and the German chemical troops may also start chemical warfare from the simplest chlorine gas like the British and French armies. If you can study the latest submarines under development by the Chinese Navy, you may be able to understand why German submarines can run so far underwater, because the two are too similar in structure, their profiles are figure-eight, and the cabin at the bottom is actually a battery compartment, which is full of batteries, so the submarine of this structure is also called "electric boat".

"There are two copies of the drawings, and one can be handed over to the president now

Liu Qingen understood the importance of aiding Germany, so he was not ambiguous, and immediately instructed an assistant to go to the confidential room to get the design drawings, give them to an adjutant in the chamberlain, and put them in a briefcase. Even if the British spies were to get the news, they would think that the German spies were so powerful that they would never suspect that they had gone to the central government of China.

"Is the electronics lab back to work?"

Putting away the drawings, Zhao Bei asked Liu Qingen another question.

Liu Qingen smiled bitterly and said: "That Tesla is still making trouble, and he is not willing to come back to work for the time being, and now it is Tesla's assistant Xiao Bailang who is leading the electronics laboratory, and the work of the laboratory has resumed, but the progress is very slow." ”

"Mr. Tesla's side. If you do the work and talk to him about it, you can say that the central government does not support his research, but the current funding is really tight, and the Ministry of Finance can't come up with the money. Therefore, only priority can be given to supporting the most urgent military projects, and as for civilian projects, we will talk about it later. ”

Zhao Bei also smiled bitterly, Mr. Tesla was finally invited to China from the United States with a high salary. The purpose was to ask this electronics genius to preside over important electronic technology research projects, and it turned out that Zhao Bei's decision was very wise, and Tesla did make a very important contribution to the great progress of China's electronics industry, in fact. The tube radio and the accompanying long-range radio broadcasting system were designed and perfected by a technical research team led by Mr. Tesla. Tesla's technical research team is also under the guidance of the Ordnance Industry Administration. But there are two sides to everything, as a person who has been caricatured by some as a "scientific lunatic". Mr. Tesla is indeed far ahead of his time in some research, for example, he has been committed to the research of wireless power transmission technology. Trying to find a cheap and safe solution for the wireless transmission of electricity over long distances, so. After completing the design of the long-range radio broadcasting system, Mr. Tesla approached Liu Qingen and asked him to tell Mr. President that if Mr. President did not fully support his research on wireless transmission technology, then he would resign, and this full support should be reflected in the allocation of research funds.

Of course, Zhao Bei knows very well that even at the beginning of the 21st century, mankind has not yet found a cheap and safe wireless power transmission technology, so he really has no bottom in his heart whether this technology is feasible. After all, history is there, the laws of physics are there, it is not just the efforts of geniuses can be realized, and the financial support proposed by Mr. Tesla is an astronomical amount, and Zhao Bei is not generous enough to take money to a scientific madman to burn indiscriminately, so he didn't think about it, so he refused to allocate funds for this wireless transmission technology research, and as a result, Mr. Tesla's temper also came up, although he did not resign immediately, but he announced his vacation in a fit of anger, and then ran to Hong Kong, the electronic laboratory he presided over will not be able to carry out its work.

It is undeniable that at the exhibition of the history of human technology. Some geniuses will indeed play a key role in the technology exhibition, so Zhao Bei still wants to invite Mr. Tesla back to work, but considering that the other party has opinions on planing, he can only use Liu Qingen's soft grinding and hard bubbles to see if he can move with affection and reason.

"Zhenhua can rest assured that I have sent reliable people to Hong Kong, and Tesla is angry everywhere in the United States. But in our country is treated preferentially, when he is smooth, maybe he will come back, but even if he does not come back, we don't have to worry, now there are many foreign experts serving our country, and technical support can still be guaranteed Liu Qingen said.

"It's okay, I'll leave this matter to you. Other than that. The Air Force must also step up the research and development of communications equipment. Now that the Aviation Administration has completed the prototype of the new fighter, it's up to you to get your communications equipment

Zhao Bei admonished, and then left Nanyuan Air Base with the design drawings of anti-tank grenades, as well as samples of the powder hood and high-energy explosives. But instead of returning to the presidential palace, he rushed directly to the headquarters of the Military Intelligence Agency.