In fact, the argument between Li Xiaofeng and Tukhachevsky is still different in thinking. Or rather, the direction of the development of tanks in their minds is completely different.

The tank in Li Xiaofeng's mind is closer to the concept of the main battle tank of later generations, which is an all-round tank, which must not only be able to quickly maneuver and break through operations, but also be able to undertake the task of destroying enemy tanks, and finally have to support infantry operations. That is, to use one tank to take on most of the combat missions.

Tukhachevsky, on the other hand, thought differently, that there was a specialization in the art industry, and that different tanks would take on different tasks. Light tanks are responsible for forward reconnaissance, medium tanks are responsible for mobile operations and deep breakthroughs, and heavy tanks are responsible for supporting infantry attacks. Each of the three tanks has its own role and works closely together.

Therefore, in Tukhachevsky's opinion, light tanks do not need too heavy firepower, and it is enough to emphasize maneuverability. Medium tanks, on the other hand, have to take on the task of breaking through in depth, ensuring a certain degree of mobility, while strengthening their armor defenses, and as for firepower, it is important to ensure that they can destroy the enemy's armored forces. Therefore, Tukhachevsky attached great importance to the anti-tank capability of medium tanks, believing that it was necessary to ensure that medium tanks had strong anti-armor capabilities when encountering enemy medium or heavy tanks. As for supporting infantry operations, Tukhachevsky did not believe that this was the main task of medium tanks.

In his words: "Medium-caliber tank guns are too powerful to deal with strong fortifications and are far inferior to large-caliber artillery, and installing larger-caliber tank guns on heavy tanks to support infantry combat is the right way." ”

Therefore, according to Tukhachevsky's assumption, the composition of the Soviet armored corps should be such that the T-60 or T-70 light tanks should advance reconnaissance, and the T-34-57 will move as the main force to accompany the breakthrough group. Heavy tanks, on the other hand, fight together as a breakthrough force synchroniser. Once the breakthrough is opened. A large number of T-34-57s immediately followed, washing the breach like a tide, and then quickly penetrated into depth, not giving the enemy a chance to re-block the breach, and outflanked and cooperated with the infantry to divide and annihilate the enemy.

It is clear that in Tukhachevsky's vision, the T-34 does not need too much support infantry firepower, and the work can be left to the ВИ-2 armed with 122-mm D-25 howitzers and the T-54 armed with 100-mm guns. It was enough for the T-34 to take care of the enemy's armor to block the breach.

Look. With this division of labor, the T-34 really just needs to maintain sufficient anti-armor capabilities. Anyway, it is the role of an armored thug, it is enough to take out the tanks that emerge from the enemy, and as for supporting the infantry in battle, in Tukhachevsky's opinion: "It is completely unnecessary!" ”

Naturally, Tukhachevsky was not interested in the D-5T, in his opinion, the D-5T's anti-armor capabilities were inferior to the ZIS-2, and the ability to support infantry pillboxes was inferior to the D-25T.

But in Li Xiaofeng's opinion. Tukhachevsky's choice was too extreme, perhaps in the early stages of tank development. Because the three main aspects of the tank's performance are difficult to take care of, different types of special tanks can only be developed to meet the demand. By 1942, this old thinking was completely outdated. With the development of armor, power and firepower technology, it is entirely possible to replace the functions of three tanks with one or two tanks.

And in doing so, the logistical pressure on production is much smaller than working on three or four tanks at the same time. Moreover, with the changes of the times, it is very limited to do it according to Tukhachevsky's ideas.

As mentioned earlier, there is no problem with the anti-armor capabilities of the ZIS-2, and when firing the new tungsten carbide sub-caliber armor-piercing projectile, it is a little more powerful than the D-5T. However, it has only one advantage, except for a slightly stronger armor-piercing ability on paper, compared to the 85mm tank guns of the D-5T series, it is a disadvantage in all other aspects.

Compared with production costs and man-hours, the ZIS-2 is more troublesome than the D-5T, and if it had been well produced, it would not have been put into mass production after 1943. Compared to anti-armor capabilities, the data on paper is slightly stronger than that of the D-5T, but in reality I'm afraid it's two different things. Judging from later evaluations, the armor-piercing projectile of the ZIS-2, because of its small caliber and light projectile, has a problem with its long-range storage velocity ability, that is to say, it is very divine at medium and long ranges, but beyond 1000 meters, its anti-armor ability is plummeting. And because the projectile is light, the lethality of the gun after penetrating the armor is slightly insufficient, from the ridicule of later generations, this cannon belongs to the magic needle, can only pierce a small hole in the enemy's armor, and the armor-piercing after-effect is insufficient.

Of course, this is not a big problem, who makes the rapid fire of the ZIS-2 fast, and the awesome gunner and loader can fire more than twenty shots a minute, and can paralyze the opponent with a rain of bullets. The real thing is that the ability of this gun to support infantry combat is too poor, because the caliber is small, its grenade is light in weight, has less charge, and its natural power is also small. And the infantry needs grenades of sufficient power to clear the way for them.

For example, after the Normandy landings of the United States in history, why did they hold on to the 75mm tank gun and not let go? The reason for this is that the 75-gun high-explosive grenade is much better than the 76.2, and the infantry is quite satisfied with its ability to support operations. On the other hand, the 76.2 mm tank gun is a long-barreled cannon that is more suitable for firing armor-piercing shells, and its grenades are a little less powerful due to the thick walls of the projectiles, the small charge and fragments.

As for the ZIS-2, well, the 57 mm caliber basically declared that it had nothing to do with high-explosive shells, and this gun was a pure-blooded anti-tank gun from the beginning, which could only do anti-armor work. As for using grenades to do work, or using shrapnel to knock away infantry in the trenches, it really doesn't work.

In fact, Li Xiaofeng's opinion is the same, he thinks that the ZIS-2 is not suitable for becoming a tank gun, so it is better to honestly do his anti-tank gun. It's okay to develop some SU-57 tank destroyers, but it's no joke to replace the D-5T, which is easier to produce, cheaper and more versatile. Why use the more troublesome ZIS-2.

Therefore, Li Xiaofeng naturally supported the D-5T as the main gun of the T-34 and T-35, and as for the work of the D-5S (equipped with SU-85). He was not opposed to ceding to the ZIS-2. But Tukhachevsky didn't do it. He is going to dominate the world with the ZIS-2. The reason is to facilitate logistics and save costs, in his opinion, ZIS-2 will not only take over the work of the SU-85, but also grab the job of the T-34-85.

Li Xiaofeng didn't agree now, so he made this competition. According to Tukhachevsky: "Only one of the ZIS-2 and D-5 series guns remained, and given the stronger anti-tank capabilities of the ZIS-2, there was simply no need for the D-5 family to exist!" ”

Li Xiaofeng naturally wanted to refute: "I don't think that the anti-tank capabilities of the ZIS-2 are superior to the D-5 series, and the production of the D-5 series guns is more convenient and multi-purpose, which the ZIS-2 is simply incomparable." I think that these two types of artillery can coexist. If you have to get off the horse somewhere, I think ZIS-2 is the one that needs to be eliminated! ”

Tukhachevsky, naturally, didn't care about the production cost of the D-5 and the superiority of its multi-purpose capabilities, anyway, he just bit it to death, he just insisted that the anti-armor capabilities of the ZIS-2 were stronger, and only the ZIS-2 could be left.

And his statement really angered Li Xiaofeng completely: "Whoever has strong anti-armor ability will only know if you compare it." Let ZIS-2 and D-5 compete on the shooting range, the winner stays, and the loser gets off the horse! ”

Tukhachevsky snorted contemptuously at the time, because the ZIS-2 and D-5 had not been on the shooting range. It was ZIS-2 that won before, since someone is not afraid of being embarrassed. Then he was happy to slap his face.

So, a few days later, the Kubinka Experimental Center ushered in a large number of high-ranking officers, basically generals, generals and marshals, even lieutenant generals basically none.

"Who do you think will win?"

"ZIS-2, in the previous test firing at the range, it had a certain advantage. Recently, I haven't heard that the D-5 has developed a new armor-piercing projectile, and I'm afraid it will be the ZIS-2 that won! ”

"Not necessarily, Comrade Andrei is a very evil person, when was it not when he slapped someone in the face, if he was not sure, he would have made this bet with Comrade Tukhachevsky?"

"It's hard to say, it's hard to say!"

There are many people whispering, but no one dares to draw conclusions about the final result, but both Tukhachevsky and Li Xiaofeng seem to be full of confidence.

Li Xiaofeng is full of confidence and easy to understand, after all, he is an immortal, and he has a cheating weapon like a cornucopia, so it is not surprising that he is sure. Where does Tukhachevsky's confidence come from?

It's very simple, from the BR-271N armor-piercing projectile, as mentioned earlier, the bullet can penetrate the 140 mm homogeneous steel version (90 degrees) at a distance of 1000 meters, which is much more beautiful than the data of the D-5 series AP armor-piercing projectile, as for why you asked why D-5 doesn't use an APCR of the same grade as BR-271P, the reason is very simple, there is no one yet. Therefore, Tukhachevsky thought that he had won, and even had some regrets that he could not win.

The contest soon began, and two T-34s equipped with ZIS-2 and D-5T slowly drove to the predetermined firing positions to begin the first round of competition. The target of the first round of fire was set at a distance of five hundred meters, which were two target plates made of two layers of armor steel of different hardness, superimposed on each other with a thickness of about 100 mm.

The first to shoot was the T-34-57, its slender barrel stuck like a toothpick stuck in the turret, but don't underestimate this toothpick, its power should not be underestimated. With a roar, a ball of flame suddenly erupted from the slender barrel, and the huge muzzle shock wave shocked the marshals and generals present.

The next thing that began to shoot was the T-34-85, which was not as special in appearance as the T-34-57, and the flames and shock waves from the muzzle were not so shocking. In contrast, the marshals and generals present talked more about the T-34-57.

The first round of firing consisted of a total of ten shots, after which the target plates would be transported to the marshals and generals for display. In fact, this round of demonstration is not very interesting, at a distance of 500 meters, whether it is ZIS-2 or D-5T, it can easily penetrate the 100 mm target plate. So there were only twenty neat bullet holes in the target plate delivered to the marshals and generals.

"This is just the beginning," Tukhachevsky said with some smugness, "and it won't be long before the winner is decided!" ”

Li Xiaofeng only shrugged his shoulders in this regard. In his opinion, Tukhachevsky was a little child who was in a hurry to show off. As an "adult", he certainly can't be as knowledgeable as a bear child.

Soon when the new target plate is replaced. The second round of tests began, and the firing distance of this round was 750 meters, why this distance? The reason is simple, the most common anti-tank distance in World War II was about 750 meters. At this distance, the gunners have the highest hit rate, and the effect of armor-piercing shells can basically be exerted. As for closer or farther away, it's not really mainstream.

Too close, say within 500, both for the attacking side and the defending side. It's too dangerous. At this distance, it is difficult to guarantee the survivability of even the big guys such as tigers, leopards, and IS-2s. As for further distances, such as 1000 meters or even more than 1500 meters, it is not that there are no gunners to fire, but in the era when sighting equipment was relatively rudimentary, the hit rate was really not guaranteed, and only experienced gunners could destroy targets at this distance. As for longer distances, such as more than two thousand meters, shooting at this distance requires the help of the right people and luck to hit the target. Only a very small percentage of gunners were able to do it.

In the wilderness 750 meters away, two target plates were erected, which is more interesting. The thickness of the target plate has been increased by twenty millimeters. Some comrades may wonder, isn't it true that the closer you get, the more powerful the armor-piercing projectile? How can it be far away, but also increase the thickness of the target plate. Doesn't that add to the difficulty?

True, Tukhachevsky was trying to increase the difficulty, and at a distance of 750 meters, the armor-piercing power of the ZIS-2 with the BR-271N was probably maintained at the level of 150 mm (ninety degrees). Even if the target plate is increased by 20 mm, it is not a big problem for ZIS-2.

But this is not a small problem for the D-5, according to Tukhachevsky's understanding, the D-5 when firing AP shells, at a distance of 750 meters, the ultimate armor-piercing thickness is about 115 mm to 120 mm. In other words, the D-5's attempt to penetrate the target plate may depend on luck. More likely, it will not be possible to penetrate the target.

To put it bluntly, Tukhachevsky did it on purpose, he wanted to show the marshals and generals present the superior performance of the ZIS-2 by increasing the thickness of the target plate, and the D-5 would be the best green leaf to set off the ZIS-2.

The second round of firing soon began, and for the ZIS-2 and D-5, after ten shells, it was a matter of minutes. Tukhachevsky held the telescope, although he couldn't see clearly what was going on in the distance, but he really couldn't wait! He really couldn't wait to be slapped in the face.

But when the two targets were lifted in front of him again, Tukhachevsky's face instantly fell. The reason is very simple, the D-5 shot at the piece has ten holes in the clean, and the D-5 has beautifully penetrated this target plate without a single non-penetrating phenomenon.

"It's not scientific!" Tukhachevsky muttered to himself, but he chose to be patient, and just glared at Li Xiaofeng, as if to say: "Count yourself lucky!" ”

"Shoot for the third round!" Tukhachevsky couldn't wait to give the order.

The distance of this round of firing was 1000 meters, and the thickness of the target plate was again increased by 20 mm. In fact, this is already the data on the limit penetration of the ZIS-2 when launching the BR-271N. At first, Tukhachevsky did not expect a third round, so that the target board was not transported to the range. About half an hour was wasted, and just when the marshals and generals were bored, the target plate finally arrived, and then the third round of shooting began.

Because this time the distance is farther, it is naturally more difficult to see, but Tukhachevsky is still more confident, and when finalizing the BR-271N, he personally inspected this ammunition. At a distance of 1000 meters, it is basically able to penetrate a 140 mm target plate. On the contrary, when the D-5 fired an AP projectile, it could penetrate at most 100 mm of target at this distance, and he believed that the D-5 would not be able to penetrate the target once!

The first thing that Tukhachevsky put in front of him was still the target plate of the ZIS-2, it should be said that the BR-271N had good performance, a total of nine times out of ten shots penetrated the target plate, and the other shot caused a bulge on the back of the target plate. According to Soviet standards, the armor-piercing capacity of the BR-271N is 1000 meters 140 mm/90 degrees (the British and American standards are lower, as long as 50% of the shells penetrate the target plate, it is considered successful).

Let's put it this way, in this shooting, the performance of the ZIS-2 was normal, and it was at the highest technical level of the year, which was a normal performance. But the D-5 really played extraordinarily, and all ten shots penetrated the 140 mm thick target plate, which blinded Tukhachevsky's dog's eyes!

Immediately, the marshal jumped to his feet, and he pointed at Li Xiaofeng's nose and scolded: "You cheated!" ”

"I'm cheating?" Li Xiaofeng smiled and asked rhetorically: "The big guys are all watching here, how can I cheat?" ”

In fact, Tukhachevsky regretted it when he said this, because there is really no way to cheat, at least not by stealing the target. Of course, he still firmly believes that this result is abnormal, or impossible.

He said, "That's a problem with the target!" It must be a problem with the target! ”

Li Xiaofeng shrugged his shoulders indifferently and said with a smile: "That's very simple, set the target back, and then let the two tanks exchange the target for shooting, isn't the result clear at a glance?" ”

Tukhachevsky accepted the suggestion, but when the results came back again, he went berserk, and after swapping targets, the D-5 was able to easily and happily penetrate the target ten times in a row...... (To be continued.) )

PS: Bow and thank you Admiral Hood, the long journey into the night, Bad Tomorrow, the Riders, the 435349915 and Comrade Juventus!