Tukhachevsky has never been fond of long-range aviation, whether it is the TB-3 of the year or the TU-3 (B17 Russian version) introduced later, and the Ye-2 and Pe-8 that have only recently emerged, these are not Tukhachevsky's dishes.

He always believed that these large and inappropriate wastes crowded out the valuable resources of the Air Force, and the development of the front-line aviation, which he admired the most, was severely restricted. The Il-2, Tu-2, and Su-1 and Su-2, which were crucial to the war, were constantly facing a shortage of engines. For example, the VK-105 (M-105) engine used by the Su-1 and Su-2 should be supplied to the Yak-1, Yak-2, Ye-2, and RO-2. The Yak-1 and Yak-2 are the main fighters, and the RO-2 is the main attack aircraft of the Navy, and Tukhachevsky must endure it, but the freak of the Ye-2 also comes to grab resources, and he can't stand it.

Obviously, it is not very useful, and one occupies two engines, which is enough to produce two Yak-1/2 series, and the latter can play a much greater role than one Ye-2!

Not only the VK-105 series has engine battles, but also the AsH-82 (M-82) air-cooled engines also have such resource battles, such as the Tu-3 and Pe-8 use this engine, and Tukhachevsky prefers the Tu-2, and it just so happens that the Tu-2 also uses the AsH-82.

Let's put it this way, among the aircraft Tukhachevsky admired, the only one who didn't have to worry about the engine was the Il-2, which used the AM-38 liquid-cooled engine derived from the AM-34, which was once squeezed by the M-100 series (that is, the 12Ycrs introduced to France) and almost dismounted. It was the finalization of the Il-2 that allowed the precarious AM-34 series to find a way to survive (the main reason is that the M-100 series is in short supply. And when the Il-2 was first born, it was an ugly duckling. It's really not the turn of it to install the M-100 series).

According to Tukhachevsky's meaning. What Tu-3, Ye-2 and Pe-8 and Il-4 - the four bombers of long-range aviation only need to keep one, and at most two. The rest are all cut off, and even if the remaining ones are not required to produce too much, just a little bit of meaning, distribute the valuable engine rations to the front-line aviation, and hurry up to produce the Su-1/2 and Tu-2 is serious.

Believing in the combat effectiveness of long-range aviation, he believes that the current engine distribution scheme has been greatly tilted towards front-line aviation, and almost 75% of the engines are used to meet the needs of front-line aviation. Such a supply is more than enough to cope with the normal attrition of the war. And the long-range aviation has only 25% of the engine share, which is already very small, so that the Tu-3 began to be localized in the mid-thirties, and by 1941 the annual production capacity of the Tu-3 did not reach 500 aircraft, which fully shows how embarrassed the long-range aviation is.

Moreover, Arxnis believes that although the Tu-3, Ye-2 and Pe-8 are all long-range bombers, they are not duplicate construction, and there is a clear division of labor, blindly cutting half or all of them (Tukhachevsky is willing to reluctantly keep the Il-4, but to be honest, the Il-4 is actually just a twin-engine medium bomber). This is simply the complete elimination of long-range aviation.

Of course, Arxnis could not accept this kind of manoeuvre, and needless to say, he clashed head-on with Tukhachevsky. The lawsuit went from the General Staff to the Military Commission, and then to the Politburo, and Tukhachevsky was almost on the verge of succeeding. In the end, it was under Li Xiaofeng's strong opposition that Tukhachevsky's attempt was blocked.

Li Xiaofeng not only bankrupted Tukhachevsky's attempt to destroy long-range aviation, but also further regained the right to use long-range aviation. The right to use long-range aviation units will be withdrawn from the major military regions to the Central Military Commission, and only orders issued directly by the Central Military Commission will be carried out. This fully prevented Tukhachevsky from indiscriminately using long-range aviation, draining these valuable strategic air forces in directions that were meaningless and not at all good at.

Of course, Tukhachevsky had a bad opinion on this, because if he could not move long-range aviation, it would directly mean that the Red Army in the area east of Warsaw would completely lose air cover, at least not to think about how much air support there was (the front-line aviation could not reach it), which also directly led to an even more difficult situation for the 3rd and 10th armies in the encirclement.

However, Arxnis and Li Xiaofeng are not unreasonable people, and after taking back the right to use long-range aviation, they also made appropriate compensation. For example, it promised that as soon as the front-line airfields in eastern Poland could be repaired, a large number of front-line aviation troops would be deployed forward. A considerable number of Il-4 bombers were even drawn up to support the front.

But to tell the truth, neither Li Xiaofeng nor Arksnis were at all optimistic about Tukhachevsky's next counterattack plan, and agreed that this would only waste the precious vitality of the Red Army.

It's a pity that who made up his mind in the Politburo? In desperation, Li Xiaofeng could only bury his head in production. The focus is on two directions, one is the aviation industry, and the other is the armored forces.

Judging from the combat course of the previous month, the Red Army's existing Yak-1/2 and Lag-3 have certain problems, because the Yak-1 was born relatively early, although it has been replaced with a more advanced VK-105 engine, the performance has been improved to a certain extent, and it has basically reached the level of the Yak-1 in history. However, compared with the BF-109 and FW-190, which were growing stronger by the German army, it gradually felt a little difficult.

Moreover, the Yak-1 had a terrible problem - its short legs (the same as the BF-109 and FW-190) made it almost impossible for it to stay over Warsaw for long periods of time due to its limited maximum range, let alone cover long-range bombers attacking targets in German and Romanian depth. As a deep improvement of the Yak-1, although the performance of the Yak-2 is basically the same as that of the FW-190 of the same period, the problem of short legs has not been corrected (the maximum range is still less than 700 km).

And now it is being developed in depth and is ready to install the more powerful VK-107 engine (a modification of the VK-105) Yak-3, although on paper the performance is quite powerful, and in accordance with the real requirements of the Red Army. The maximum range was magnified to the level of 1000 km. But far water can't save near fire. And the VK-107 is now very unstable. There is also the problem of overheating when it is high and low, and it is really a question when it can enter mass production.

In other words, the only fighter that could be used by the Red Army at that time was the Pe-2, a high-altitude fighter that had historically entered service with the Red Army as a dive bomber, and at the time of its birth, the performance was quite good.

The Pe-2, now in service with the Red Army, is equipped with two 900-horsepower VK-100 engines, has a maximum range of 2000 kilometers and a maximum speed of around 510 kilometers. I can bully the model preceding BF-109E3. Of course, when it comes to the E3 and later models of the BF-109, the Pe-2 will only be abused, after all, it is really only a high-altitude escort fighter, and it is really not good at playing dog fights.

This is also an important reason why, since the beginning of the war, the Red Army has not been able to seize air supremacy over Warsaw. In the coming period, the Pe-2 also had to be improved, and it was already necessary to replace it with a more capable VK-105 series engine.

In addition, the aviation industry's top priority is the development and production of the La-5, compared to the all-metal Yak-2. The pull series of the gold wood structure is a little more down-grade. However, the low grade also has the advantage of the low grade, that is, it is easy to produce.

In fact, the most important feature of the series at the beginning is to go to the simplicity of production. Whether it is a gold-wood fuselage or an air-cooled Ash-82 series engine, it has lower production requirements than an all-metal liquid-cooled engine. According to the requirements of the General Armament Department, the pull series is aimed at the BF-109 series, as long as the main performance does not lag behind the BF-109 too much, and then drown the opponent with sufficient numbers. As for the FW-190, then leave it to Jacques to solve!

And now, what Li Xiaofeng has to do is to let the La-5 enter the army as soon as possible, so that it can play a role in the next more brutal battle.

After inspecting the research and development work of the La-5, Li Xiaofeng went to Kharkiv, Leningrad, and Vyborg to inspect non-stop. Because in just over a month, the Ukrainian Front and the Belarusian Front have consumed a large number of tanks and urgently need to be replenished.

For example, the Ukrainian Front, due to the lack of air cover in the previous round of onslaught, suffered heavy losses in tanks, and the mechanized army, which was rated to be equipped with more than 1,000 tanks, was able to move almost a third at this time.

Among them, the most heavy losses were the BT-5 and BT-7 series, these fast tanks had weak armor protection and could not stop the German 37mm anti-tank guns, and coupled with the Stuka rage, they were almost wiped out if they were exposed. This also caused the BT-5 and BT-7, which before the war to account for about half of the Red Army's tanks, quickly disappeared from the Red Army's armored sequence.

For example, Rokossovsky's mechanized 9th Army, which was equipped with about 600 BT-5 and BT-7 before the war, was defeated by the German Second Tank Group and retreated, and after inventory and statistics, it was found that there were only more than 100 BT tanks left.

A large number of tanks were consumed, which meant that the gap was even larger, and in order to cope with the more brutal battles in the future, the Red Army had to speed up production and had to shorten man-hours!

For example, the production of the T-34 tank requires about 8,000 man-hours, and Li Xiaofeng hopes to reduce the man-hours by at least half, which would be even more perfect if it could reach the 3,700 man-hours at the end of the Great Patriotic War in history.

"I don't need elaborate products, I just need assembly line products that can cope with large-scale combat consumption!" Li Xiaofeng said to the leaders of the Kharkov 180 Plant, "To ensure that the main performance of the weapon does not deteriorate, other minor aspects can be completely simplified." Now quantity is combat power! ”

Such a statement naturally stunned the leaders of the 180 factory, and the General Armament Department had repeatedly emphasized that it was to improve quality, saying that quality is life, and not allowing the slightest sloppiness. How did it come to a certain immortal and completely change the tone?

Li Xiaofeng's explanation for this is: "At this time and that time, we did not expect that the combat consumption would be so large, let alone that the enemy would be so ferocious. The losses of the front-line troops were heavy, and if sufficient tanks were not supplied as soon as possible, the consequences would be unimaginable. At this time, it is no longer possible to focus on quality and quantity. The only thing I ask of you is to guarantee that a tank can fight for 300 hours, and there will be no major problems for 300 hours. Even if you qualify! ”

Actually, there is no way around it. Tukhachevsky lost almost all the good cards he had accumulated. We can only hurry up and find a way to recover the decline, and we must replenish the consumption of armored forces as soon as possible.

Of course, 300 motorcycle hours seems to be very little, with the algorithm of the two-knife expert, this is only 12 days, and a tank with a lifespan of only 12 days is naturally a shoddy knockoff, and it is natural to criticize.

The question is. The account is not calculated like that, the tank is not a family car, it is not a means of transportation, and the war is not a rush forward with a tank all the way. Before entering the battle, such as when maneuvering over long distances, it is almost impossible to run away with the power of the tank itself, which is too luxurious. The usual and correct way to assemble and maneuver armored forces is to transfer them by flatbed car or train. After entering the assembly site, get out of the car and reorganize the sequence before fighting.

To put it mildly, the kind of scene that thinks that the armored troops have attacked thousands of kilometers all the way, and charge forward with their own power all the time. Most of it is a fantasy, and it is also a fantasy at the level of a local tyrant. In reality, no country would do that. And the tankman can't stand it, right. It's uncomfortable inside!

In fact, whether it is World War II or all subsequent battles in which armored units participated, there are very few cases of advancing hundreds of kilometers in one or two days. During the Cold War, what was the required distance for a motorized infantry division (in fact, a mechanized infantry division) to strike in a day? Thirty kilometers look, at most fifty.

Why is this number so low? Could it be that the Soviets did not have enough tanks and not enough diesel fuel to burn? Definitely not, because it is not easy to reach this assault distance. If you don't care about letting the armored troops rush hard, flying hundreds of kilometers a day is not a problem, but how many tanks that can fight after arriving at the destination, and whether the follow-up troops can keep up, especially whether the logistics support can keep up, is really hard to say.

Therefore, the tank is not a family car, the life of the motorcycle hour is very precious, and it cannot be consumed casually, and 300 motorcycle hours is enough for the armored unit to complete a large-scale campaign. During this period, either the engine and transmission were overhauled, or they were already destroyed by the enemy.

This problem exists not only in the armored forces, but also in the Air Force, and according to the combat consumption of the previous month, the total armament has been estimated, and a fighter can perform at most five or six combat missions, and even a considerable number of them are shot down after the first two or three lift-offs. For example, the life of the aircraft engine of the fighter does not need to exceed 50 hours, and most of them are shot down in more than 20 hours.

Therefore, at that time, Li Xiaofeng suggested that engine manufacturers could lower their standards in wartime, and it was enough to ensure the life of the engine for 300 hours, and any more would be a waste. The Soviet Union was not a big dog like the United States, and it was impossible to guarantee both quantity and longevity, and in wartime, it could only take care of the most important one -- quantity.

In order to ensure sufficient quantities, Li Xiaofeng not only ordered the life of some products to be reduced, but also ordered the temporary suspension of new products from the production line. Freeze all the state of production technology, first produce in sufficient quantities, survive the difficult 1941 and then improve.

Of course, this is not to refuse designers to improve the product, and the corresponding improvement plan is also carried out, but for the time being, mass production will not be carried out. For example, the T-34 and T-35, the improvement program is in full swing.

Among them, the T-34 basically followed the route of the later T-34-85, strengthening the armor and firepower, there is not much to say. And the T-35 is a little special, as mentioned before, NORINCO has carried out an improvement program to strengthen armor and firepower, but Li Xiaofeng is not satisfied with this plan, he feels that NORINCO's steps are too small, if such an improvement is put into production in 1942, not to mention that compared with the Tiger and Leopard that appeared in the same year, or even compared with the reinforced firepower model of the No. 4 tank, it will not be cheap.

With the shape of the T-35, in order to resist the attack of the KWK40, the front of the turret must reach at least 70 mm, and the nose armor must be thickened to 50 mm, and even this seems barely enough, at least at 1000 meters away to deal with the opponent. According to the original upgrade plan of NORINCO, the front of the turret is only 60 mm, which is equal to not adding the same.

Li Xiaofeng believes that the T-35 cannot be weaker than the T-34 no matter how it is said, and it must be improved in more depth, what kind of improvement? The first is naturally to strengthen the armor, and the second step of firepower must also be strengthened, the 76 gun will soon be unable to kill the Germans, and even the 85 gun can only threaten the Panthers. The T-35 can be equipped with the same 100mm smoothbore gun as the T-54!

"Then this requires a redesign of the turret." Konstantin snorted faintly.

Because he really convinced someone, this is really not changing, and if you change it, it will be turned upside down. It is important to know that the replacement of the new turret is not a trivial matter, because the sudden thickening of the turret and bow armor will inevitably put a greater burden on the suspension system, especially the first pair of torsion bar suspension at the nose. I'm afraid it will have to be reinforced.

This is not the most critical, even if the turret armor is thickened to 80 mm according to Li Xiaofeng's requirements, according to the performance data of the KWK40 tank gun and the Pak40 tank gun given by someone, this is not enough insurance, at most it is a situation of mutual destruction. Obviously, someone won't like the result.

In order to meet someone's goal of destroying enemy tanks at a distance of about 800 meters (the accuracy of a 100-mm smoothbore gun and the rudimentary sighting of the Soviet Union, the accuracy of which can be guaranteed at this distance), it is necessary to redesign the turret and strengthen the chassis, which is quite a large amount of work, and very difficult, and it is conceivable that there are still a bunch of problems to be solved when the new turret is put into production, even the most optimistic estimates will take a year.

Li Xiaofeng asked, "Is there no other way?" ”

Konstantin sighed again: "If you don't make a big change, then you have to work on the steel!" ”

That's right, to strengthen the defense, either thicken the armor, or you can only find a way to improve the quality of the armor steel, if there is better armor steel, you can significantly improve the quality of the armor without adding too much thickness...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to the fat cat ICK, the gift of the hand of roses and comrade zhaort423932!