What is the future of the development of armored vehicles?

Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao has been thinking about this question for a long time, and after repeatedly comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the two schemes of wheeled vehicles and tracked vehicles, it was finally determined that tracked armored vehicles have irreplaceable superiority.

Especially in the field

In the vast plains of Ohio and Pennsylvania, the roads and fields become muddy and wheeled armored vehicles can barely move an inch when it rains so much in the spring and summer.

Almost half of the armored vehicles of the Detroit Independent 1st Cavalry Tank Brigade broke down because they were struggling on muddy roads, and various breakdowns occurred frequently, which greatly affected the combat effectiveness.

For several days after the rain, armored vehicles could not be deployed on muddy roads and fields, which was very restricted.

But the development of a tracked armored unit, which is a new topic for the entire Royal Army, has almost no base, except for some tracked agricultural machinery.

Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao couldn't help but sigh faintly when he thought of the series of problems he was facing, and then his eyes became firm.

No matter how many difficulties there are, we must rise to them.

Focusing on the development of tracked armored vehicles, this path will not be wrong.

Thanks to his unremitting efforts, this scientific research project has been approved by the military department, and a scientific research team will be formed and funding will be obtained soon.

This time, the entire army was transferred to Philadelphia, and at the request of the military department, Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao became the military representative of the project, after all, this distinguished status brought a lot of convenience.

Philadelphia has several very high-level polytechnic institutes, a large number of scientific institutions, scientists and laboratories in the surrounding area, including the New York area, and a modern advanced machining industry, which is suitable for the development of tracked armored vehicles.

As early as August last year, Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao applied to the Northern Corps to establish a cutting-edge team for the development of tracked armored vehicles, and he will participate in it as a military representative, and develop this series of tracked armored combat vehicles in accordance with the military's standard requirements throughout the process.

After thinking of the name, it will be called the "Wild Wolf" chariot.

A week later

Philadelphia

Two military convertibles sped past McQuett Avenue in Philadelphia's Central Plaza and onto Kennedy Avenue, where the high-rise buildings made it feel like you were in a European metropolis.

The second lieutenant driver Lin Liu'er drove in front, and the car was full of Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao, Captain Pan Zhixin, the project liaison officer, and Captain Tan Fusheng, the military attache of the royal family.

The car behind was driven by Second Lieutenant Pan Zhicheng, with several engineers in the car, and it followed the car in front of him all the way.

Along the way, you will pass famous buildings such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rodin Museum, the Benjamin Franklin Memorial and the Fez Planetarium before heading towards Fairmont Park.

It took more than 20 minutes to reach the tree-lined road on the west side of Fairmont Park.

Sixteen years ago, there was the famous "assassination of a presidential candidate" on this road, where Mr. Zhang Zongliang was assassinated by organized gunmen and almost killed on the spot.

Time flies, and more than ten years have passed in a flash

Philadelphia has now become an inseparable part of the empire's territory, and looking back, how can it not be embarrassing?

Fairmont Park is the largest urban park in the world, covering more than 1,600 hectares, and is the natural green lung of the Philadelphia metropolis, which contains the site of the 1876 Centennial Exposition of Independence, and many historical sites, of course, more than 100 years.

Stretching along the Schuylkill River, the park is dotted with forests, lakes, and rolling hills, making it a great place to wake up and take a nap.

It took another ten minutes for the two open-top cars to reach their destination on the side of the park.

There is a lot of historical vicissitudes of architecture here, the main building is a two-storey British spire building, and there are some single-storey stone bungalows around it, and there are about a dozen of them in the past.

The two cars stopped in front of the main building, and after Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao and the others got out of the car, they looked around and felt very satisfied.

Captain Pan Zhixin followed by his side and introduced him courteously;

"Sir, about 1.3 kilometers to the left of this research base is a vast grassland and mountain range with an area of more than 200 hectares, which can be used for field tests of tracked armored vehicles.

There are forests, wetlands, and mountains, which can mimic field practices in a variety of environments, and there are vast forests and lakes separated by them, so there is good confidentiality.

We only need to place a company of guards and cavalry around the perimeter, hold several main passages, and close the area with barbed wire, so that we can achieve a very good warning effect.

According to the requirements of superiors;

In the near future, the experimental equipment and personnel will be in place one after another, do you think for the convenience of the name, is it a name for this place? ”

"Well, if you really need it, just call ......" Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao took a few steps forward, looked back at the two-story British building with moss-covered walls, a hint of sadism flashed in his eyes, and he said; It's called "Wuthering Heights", it's simple and easy to remember. ”

Wuthering Heights?

Captain Pan Zhixin's mind flashed in an instant that the old English Lodge, the love-hate relationship between several young men and women, was a topic that was often talked about in high society.

He was born in the top family of the Empire, how could he not know that this British famous book was born?

Slightly stunned

Captain Pan Zhixin immediately put his legs together, saluted a standard military salute, and replied; "Obey the order, the official name of this research base will be Wuthering Heights, and the lowly office will be officially determined in the following work deployment."

It is the duty of a soldier to obey orders, even if the commander names this place "shit", then he must obey unconditionally.

"Well, that's good, let's take a look inside." Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao nodded with satisfaction, and then took a big stride in the direction of the building, followed by seven or eight followers.

When the two sons of the Guogong Mansion came to their side, Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao naturally knew about it, and after a brief inspection, he accepted it.

In such a humane society, one more friend and one more way will give him more help, and of course he will not refuse.

After some investigation

Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao is quite satisfied with the environment here, quiet and undisturbed, although the houses are older, but the masonry is quite tall and strong, and the bungalows are generally 4.8 meters high, dry and bright.

It was originally a British barracks before the Revolutionary War, when a musket regiment was stationed, some of the stables and straw huts were later demolished, and dozens of sawn wooden stakes of more than 30 centimeters thick are still visible.

Now people have long been empty, and I don't know how many years it has been vacant?

When you come here, you can see that the surrounding environment is quite clean, and the grass in the yard is all freshly cut, leaving broken stubble close to the ground, which looks neat and simple.

The vacant houses have also been cleaned, leaving only the colorful watermarks that have been soaked for many years, the cobwebs and dust are basically gone, and the sundries are also cleaned.

According to the presentation;

More than 70 workers of this building cleaned for more than 10 days, and more than 60 wagons of garbage were removed alone, as well as more than a dozen wagons of broken furniture.

After cleaning up, you can move in at any time.

The entire cavalry chariot brigade has more than 240 people, plus a research and development team of more than 100 people and some craftsmen, this batch of buildings is enough to live, and there is still a lot of surplus.

"That's good, we'll live here from now on." After Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao looked around, he said to Captain Pan Zhixin beside him; "Well, I am very satisfied with this place, please convey my gratitude to the Ministry of Justice, the military armor project research team thanks the Ministry of Education for his thoughtful arrangement, which has created a very good environment for our research."

"Uh...... Sir, as a member of the research group, I will resolutely carry out your orders. ”

"Hehehe...... Okay, then in the name of the military's armor research group, I would like to formally express my gratitude to the Department of North American Affairs. ”

"Yes, sir."

Captain Pan Zhixin immediately raised his hand and gave a crisp military salute, and replied without any mud and water.

His position was clear;

I am now your subordinate, and I will carry out orders unconditionally, and there is no substitute for a position in private relations, and there is a clear distinction between the two.

Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao is naturally as good as a stream, he is more satisfied with the other party's attitude, and will not confuse work and personal relationships, which is very good, this is a smart person who can carry it clearly.

North American Affairs Building

Lord Pan Shouguo received a formal letter of thanks from the military research team, and after briefly flipping through it, he couldn't help but laugh dumbly;

"Wuthering Heights"?

Judging from the name alone, it really carries the reckless impulse of a young man!

He didn't pay much attention to it, and casually approved the application for the preliminary appropriation budget and the allocation of scientific researchers and equipment, giving the project the green light.

This is not because he is acting on favoritism, but because the emperor has secretly asked for special attention to this armored research project, so the funding is also exceptionally fast and abundant.

The Ministry of North American Affairs has its own budget pool, which is also the first of its kind in the Imperial Government, and is an important department approved by His Majesty the Emperor, all in order to speed up the process of national integration.

The appropriation of special research and development projects for the military will not be so convenient, and it must go through layers of approval procedures at the military department, and it is now in March, and when the appropriation is at least from June to July, it belongs to the plan for the second half of the year.

Initial start-up funding, as well as scientific personnel and equipment, are basically coming from grants and appointments from the North American Affairs Department.

Limited by military vision, Lord Pan Shouguo did not attach too much importance to this tracked armor scientific research project, and only thought that the allocation of one or two hundred thousand Tang Yuan should be regarded as accompanying His Highness to mess around.

The main thing is that His Majesty the Holy Emperor is concerned, and no one below dares to slack off, so naturally he wants money for money, people for people, and everything is convenient.

He never expected that he would really look away.

This research on armored weapons, which originated in a park in Philadelphia, has led the research and development of armored weapons in the world, giving birth to the world's top armored weapons industry, and completely subverting the rules of land warfare.

Its significance cannot be overemphasized.

After a long period of painstaking research, Lieutenant Colonel Lei Xiao has formed a complete set of armored combat theories.

And many years later, under the pseudonym Lei Xiao, he published the "Theory of Army Armored Weapons Operations", which established the pioneering suzerainty in the field of army armored weapons in the world, which is a later story. (End of chapter)