The real experimental tank is still in a highly classified stage, and Polina is working hard with the other big technicians in the depot. Judging by what can be observed at the training ground, it is not difficult for General Horn to construct in his mind the image of a tank as an "armed truck".

Such an armed truck must have a towering front cab, and the main firepower armament will be placed on a load platform behind the cab. In order to balance the load and platform mobility, this armed truck, called a tank, should have one infantry gun and about three rapid-fire guns.

The firepower is strong, but the defense is too weak. This was General Horn's judgment. The high balance of mobility and firepower inevitably comes at the cost of a lack of defense. This firepower is very useful when breaking through the defenses of a position, but it is also extremely fragile - an infantry cannon can land within bayol of it and kill all soldiers on the platform outside the vehicle with a blast wave alone.

Walking up to the angry Dussand, General Horn's first sentence made Dussand's face look a lot better, "The tank has a lot of potential for development." ”

"I think so too." Dussander first echoed with great pleasure, and then he realized that he was angry, "General Horn, you have caused us a lot of trouble."

"Soon you'll be thanking me." Horn winked at Dussand, then said solemnly, "It's a genius idea to place artillery in the back of the truck. However, Mr. Lord...... I must warn you that the survivability of such a vehicle, which is entirely focused on firepower and mobility, can be a complete nightmare on the battlefield. ”

In order to take care of the emotions of the young genius inventor, General Horn deliberately began with a compliment, and then expressed his worries, "Of course, this arrangement has many advantages, such as the vehicle only needs to turn around after entering the position to open fire, such as being able to evacuate quickly after firing...... But that doesn't hide the fact that it lacks basic protection. ”

"When this highly maneuverable vehicle is fighting, it is unlikely that there will be infantry who can keep up with it. But among the enemies it faces is the Steam Knight. When Rear Admiral Horn said the words "Steam Knight," his expression visibly ached. "The Steam Knight has a faster sprint speed than a heavy vehicle, and if he is hit by an enemy Steam Knight when he enters the position and starts firing, the damage will be very heavy."

The words "very miserable" are all to put it mildly. The Steam Knight's two-kilometer sprint takes only a few tens of seconds, and these humanoid monsters are able to cut through barbed wire, trenches, and other areas where trucks can't drive through them - even if Dussart added tracks to the truck, there are still many places where it can't get through.

Imagine if there were steam knights on enemy positions. In a few seconds, these steaming humanoid monsters will appear around these tanks, and their three-inch shotguns will completely smash the unobstructed soldiers in the rear of the tanks.

"Such a tank is very innovative, but it will definitely not be adopted by us." After speaking of his judgment, Major General Horn said to Dusson, "But I think these designs can be improved......

After listening to General Horn's "suggestions for improvement" quietly, Dussaint first glared at the old man who was not in tune, and then walked directly to the office with him.

Along the way, General Horn was still muttering something like "firepower is very important, maneuverability is also important, but protection must not be ignored", and at the same time, he was also using the evolutionary history of the capital ships in the navy's active ships to support his suggestion, "Let's not talk about the era of sail battleships, since the beginning of the interstellar era, the imperial capital ships only focused on firepower at the beginning, and the ships built were vulnerable." When fighting against the Alliance, these old ships were beaten to pieces. Later, he began to pay attention to firepower and defense, and as a result, he did not suffer losses on the frontal battlefield, but he was constantly beaten at the strategic level. ”

Dussand, walking with no good face and no good breath along the way, led General Horn to the design room, entered a long list of complex passwords, and pushed the door open.

"The 'tank' outside is an experimental machine, and the purpose is to familiarize the operator with tank operation as soon as possible." Dussaint pointed to the blueprint hanging in the middle of the room and said, "This is the one that is really ready to be manufactured." ”

A blueprint for a Type 59 tank suddenly appeared on General Horn's retina. He looked at the blueprint in front of him in some surprise, and then his eyes slowly began to soften and ...... Somewhat fanatical.

"It's beautiful." Horn raised his left hand, trying to touch the lines drawn on the blueprint, and then jerked it back.

He said to Dusson a little anxiously, "You made this design?" ”

Without waiting for Dussand's answer, Horn was already convinced of the answer, "It must be your design—this turret is beautiful." ”

He squinted at the three views, and then suddenly said with some surprise, "This turret looks like an eggshell, and this is designed to counter direct fire from the allies?" ”

As a veteran, General Horn has a knack for shooting. He knew very well how much ricocheting those spherical boulders would cause—spherical hard targets were never an ideal target for shooting.

If, of course, the enemy is hiding behind cover, and there is such an undesirable target on the enemy's oblique side...... Shooting that stone is also an option when there is a lack of sufficient warp firepower.

And this half-eggshell-shaped turret looks prone to ricochet no matter what angle it is fired from. There's no doubt that the shape was a deliberate result – it's extremely protective, and it doesn't seem too difficult to manufacture.

"In the current situation, this turret may be a little too advanced." Dussaint didn't actually expect that what would be hung here would be a 59-style blueprint that he had "designed". At first, he thought it would be a modified version of Polina's design.

To prove his claim, Dussaint pulled out Polina's "improved" drawings from the nearby file box and explained to General Horn, "The model you see is a 'concept design', and this is the one we are going to build now." ”

The design of the open-top rapid-fire turret with a zigzag structure is certainly more scientific than the design of the truck butt mounted gun, but where can Horn, who has already seen the Type 59, accept it? He frowned and looked at it for a long time, then shook his head at Dussand, "This thing doesn't look beautiful." ”

Dussaint blinked, and began to feel like he was a bit of a party friend.

Murder weapons, what do you want to do with beauty?

"We have a saying in the Navy." Admiral Horn said to Dussand, "A good capital ship must look beautiful." If it looks toothy and top-heavy...... That means something went terribly wrong in its design. It may be that there is a problem with the position and layout of the artillery, or that the overall stability performance is not good enough...... In short, only a murderous weapon with an aesthetic sense is an excellent killer weapon. ”

Dussaint was subconsciously ready to refute this statement, but when he thought of the highest crystallization products of human materials science and engineering that he had seen in his previous life, Dussaint suddenly felt ...... There seems to be some truth to what Horn said.

The vast majority of weapons and equipment that are ugly and grinning will not last long. More likely, they are short-lived and then disappear into the vast river of history.

"This tank you designed is very beautiful." General Horn turned his head back to look at the Type 59, his eyes revealing an unabashed affection. "I don't care what the army gang asks - I want this beauty!"

He turned to Dussand, slammed his feet and said solemnly, "I understand that such weapons must be in the greatest demand on the army side." If an order is to be given to the Navy commandos, this amount may be limited. And it's unlikely that we'll be able to squeeze out enough budget to order large quantities this fiscal year – at least not seven or eight thousand units in one go, like a truck. ”

Dussaint nodded helplessly, according to the calculations of the accountants at the beginning, if the Belford automatic car factory produced the original Type 59, the cost of the first 1,000 tanks could be as high as 3,000 gold pounds each.

This combined cost price only includes the new production line of the body, tracks and artillery. The armor plates were calculated at the retail price of Olympiad Steelworks.

If a compression-ignition diesel engine is retrofitted at a later stage, this cost may continue to rise.

"3,000 gold pounds? Sure enough, it was in line with the price of her beauty. "I didn't expect General Horn to not only not be too expensive for this price, but even felt that it was very reasonable." This fiscal year, I have the budget to purchase 200 vehicles. I can sign this contract with you right now – but it's certainly not enough for you, right? ”

Dusson nodded, "For the purchase contract of 200 vehicles, we can only build the car body production line at most after we get the advance payment." The price of the artillery production line is too expensive...... However, in the current imperial military industrial system, there are very few main guns suitable for tanks. ”

The tank itself, like naval vessels, is a systematic project. It takes multiple subsystems to meet or exceed the design specifications for this armored behemoth to be able to perform in line with its "identity".

The Belford Automatic Vehicle Manufacturing Plant is capable of designing and manufacturing the body, engine, transmission and tracks. But the cast turret is not for the time being. At the same time, the manufacture and design of the 4-inch high-voltage rifled gun was also difficult for the car factory to complete independently.

"About artillery, I can help you get in touch." General Horn smiled slyly, "Including the machine gun you marked above, I can also help you find the right manufacturer - rest assured, they will give you a result that you are satisfied with." ”

"But?" Dussander looked at the old man's sinister smile and immediately understood that His Excellency the "General" might have other ideas.

"But you have to make sure that you can build me at least 400 of these treasures within six months." General Horn pointed to the blueprint of the Type 59 tank and said, "The army will definitely have a large order, and the number of orders will definitely be enough for you to start the construction of the production line." But the first 400 tanks had to be handed over to my commandos. ”

Dussaint said helplessly, "However, the requirements of the army are not the same as this......," he said, and he relayed the requirements of the Imperial Army to General Horn, "What they need is mobile pillboxes, strong points of fire." I really can't guarantee that this tank will please them. ”

"Oh, my good lord, they will agree." Horn chuckled, "As long as you give me those boys under Rosen for training—if you give me 50 real tanks before the Army Observation Group arrives in Newsar, I'll be surprised to forget they're still men!" ”