It seems that Hitler was very anxious, and less than two weeks after meeting with Xiao Weiguo and Messerschmidt, the German Ministry of Defense's tenders for two tanks were in the hands of Xiao Weiguo and Messerschmidt. Porsche, Henschel, Daim-Benz, and Krupp also received these two requests for proposals, and the requests for proposals required by these companies to submit designs for the two tanks in a month and to hold a secret bidding meeting at the German Ministry of Defense.

The first is a 15-ton training light tank. The tender made clear requirements for the use of this tank, the new tank must have the dual ability of training and combat, the weight of the tank is controlled between 12,000 kg and 18,000 kg, the crew is 5 people, the maximum road speed is more than 40 kilometers per hour, the off-road speed is more than 20 kilometers per hour, the maximum road travel is more than 200 kilometers, the maximum cross-country travel is more than 150 kilometers, and the fuel load is greater than 350 liters, The length of the vehicle is less than 6.5 meters, the width of the vehicle is less than 3 meters, and the height is less than 2.5 meters, and it has a main gun that can fire armor-piercing shells that penetrate more than 25 mm of steel armor, as well as 2 machine guns, with a main gun of no less than 100 rounds and a machine gun of no less than 3,000 rounds. The main parts of the hull and turret must be resistant to 20 mm shells, and the front of the turret must have a level of protection against 40 mm armor-piercing shells. The climbing angle is not less than 30 degrees, the width of the trench is more than 2 meters, the obstacle height is 0.5 meters, and the wading depth is more than 1.2 meters.

A 30-ton medium tank that requires the ability to compete with any main battle tank in the world. The weight of the vehicle is in the range of 30,000 kg to 35,000 kg, the crew is 3 to 4 people, the maximum road speed should reach more than 50 kilometers, the off-road speed should be more than 30 kilometers, and the maximum road travel should be more than 250 kilometers. The maximum off-road range is more than 180 kilometers, the fuel load is more than 500 liters, the length is less than 7 meters, the width is less than 3.5 meters, the height is less than 2.5 meters, and the caliber of the main gun is more than 75 mm. The armor-piercing depth of the shells of the main gun must reach more than 80 mm, the carrying capacity of more than 70 rounds, 2 machine guns, the carrying capacity of more than 4000 rounds, the main parts of the hull and turret have the ability to resist 30 mm shells, and the front of the turret has the ability to resist 57 mm armor-piercing shells. The climbing angle is not less than 30 degrees, the width of the trench is more than 2.2 meters, the obstacle height is 0.7 meters, and the wading depth is more than 1.5 meters.

As soon as the two requests for proposals were in the hands of the companies. It has attracted the attention of these companies. After all, developing a tank for the German government is not a trivial matter, and German tank designers are moving quickly, because the German Ministry of Defense has asked to submit a tank design in a month, and a secret bidding meeting is held in the German Ministry of Defense to select the best plan from several companies. After all, due to the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, most of the German arsenals were converted to the production of civilian products, but the economic crisis made the demand for civilian products greatly reduced. Now the tank development project of the German government. For every arsenal, it is an opportunity. The shareholders and managers of the factories also saw that as soon as Hitler came to power, he was going to revive his armaments, so as long as these arsenals could win the tank project, orders would definitely come in a steady stream to produce a type of tank, at least a few hundred. Even thousands of vehicles, how can each arsenal try its best to fight for such a large order?

However, the tank designers of various arsenals have made a mistake, that is, there is nothing wrong with one-sidedly pursuing the overall performance of the tank, and designing the tank itself that can better meet the needs of the exhibition. However, it is clear that the decision-making organs of German tank development did not grasp the focus of equipment development in a large-scale war, the most direct manifestation of which was the lack of courage of German tank designers to give up appropriately. The German tank designers pursued an all-round improvement in tank armor and firepower, and the Germans' preference for precision machinery made each new tank a more sophisticated machine, but such a one-sided idea of equipment development did not meet the needs of large-scale war for equipment.

Historically, there are fundamental differences between the design characteristics of German tanks and Soviet and American tanks, and the T-34 and M4 are designed to use a large number of cast components to improve production efficiency to meet the requirements of mass production and equipment, and to control the weight of the vehicle through moderate firepower and armor protection to strengthen the balance of the tank's performance in all aspects. Although the tanks developed by Germany after 1942 had new mobility devices and high engine power, the weight of the new German tanks made the mobility and reliability very poor, and the fuel consumed by the high-power engines also brought disastrous consequences in many battles.

The superiority and flexible tactics of German tanks in artillery and fire control technology enabled the German armored corps to win more with less in most local battles, and even had the ability to influence the course of a larger campaign with the victory of a small force, but the limited number of German tanks was difficult to recover after suffering combat losses, and no matter how great the tactical victory was, it was difficult to affect the situation of the entire war, and the turning point from attack, confrontation, and retreat brought greater damage to the combat effectiveness of the German armored corps. As a mobile combat weapon that concentrates firepower, protection and mobility, fuel supply and cross-country passability are important factors that can determine the combat effectiveness of the tank, and the German heavy tank has undoubtedly reached a high standard in terms of firepower and protection, but the high-power engine in the field maneuver in order to offset the weight and terrain constraints of the tank, it is bound to consume a very considerable amount of fuel in the process of movement. Heavy tanks put a lot of pressure on the engine, transmission system and mobile devices, and the wear and tear of the transmission and mobile devices during movement will also increase the failure rate of the tank and the burden of logistical maintenance.

However, this time, the tender issued by the German Ministry of Defense changed the wrong direction in the history of German tank development. A 15-ton light tank that can not only meet the needs of training and low-intensity operations, but also easily achieve mass production. The 30-ton medium tank is a tank ahead of its time, after all, in 1933, such a famous medium tank as the T34 had not yet appeared, and even the development plan had not yet been determined. Germany's 30-ton medium tank, as long as it can have a balanced design in terms of firepower, protection and mobility, then it is easy to achieve mass production, all of which depends on the tank designers. (To be continued.) )