Chapter 291 Weapons Testing Site

"If you can really figure out the technology of the hybrid assembly line, all the products in your factory will greatly reduce the production cost. Even if the Greek automobile market is far less huge than that of the United States, your machinery factory will also usher in a period of rapid growth. It’s time for development”

"At the very least, it won't be like now, where the entire machinery factory barely survives and relies on bank loans to survive."

Seeing that Andros was clearly moved, Constantine also winked at Giannis. The knowing Giannis said with understanding: "I think His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is right. Mr. Andros, your company produced the products in the last war." Military equipment has played a great role, especially armored vehicles and off-road motorcycles, and their combat effects have attracted the attention of many officers."

"The Greek Army is looking forward to more technical equipment cooperation with your company. If the scale of the machinery factory cannot be expanded, it will also affect the military cooperation between our army and your company."

In the Second Balkan War, the trench warfare adopted by the Greek army was surprisingly effective in defense. During the fierce offensive of the Bulgarian Army in the early stages of the war, it helped the Greek Army to firmly hold the defense line. On the contrary, it caused damage to the attacking Bulgarian Army. Heavy casualties.

After noticing the power of trench warfare, how to break through the enemy's trench defenses became a research topic for the Greek Army.

In the development of the military situation, the offensive and defensive parties compete with each other, one and the other, throughout the beginning and end.

Now that the Greek army has discovered the strong shield of trench warfare, how to use spears to break through this shield made by the Greek army itself has become a headache for the officers of the Greek army.

During the Second Balkan War, the actions of the Bulgarian Army proved that using only the flesh and blood of soldiers to launch an attack on the enemy's tightly defended trench fortifications, even if there were heavy casualties, the probability of failure was high.

In order to solve this problem, the armored vehicles already equipped in the Greek Army attracted the ideas of Greek officers. Many officers believed that the way to break through the trenches was to use large-scale armored forces to concentrate on breaking through the enemy's trenches.

The armored vehicles currently equipped by the Greek Army are the product of cooperation between the machinery factory and the Greek Army.

Heavy-duty trucks were imported from foreign countries, and then the machinery factory added steel plates and modified them according to the requirements of the Greek Army. This is the so-called armored vehicle currently equipped by the Greek Army.

Even though the war is over, the cooperation between the Greek Army's technical personnel and the machinery factory is still going on intermittently.

As the Minister of Arms of the Greek Army, Giannis naturally hopes that Andros's machinery factory can quickly expand its scale.

"Prime Minister Venizelos is encouraging factories in industrial zones to move to Thessaloniki, which will become a new industrial zone in Greece. There are already a large number of factories that are about to move there. Your machinery factory just takes advantage of this opportunity. Raising a sum of funds from the capital market will coincide with the construction of a new factory in Thessaloniki. By the way, we will also build a new factory to research and build hybrid assembly line technology. This is an excellent opportunity." Seeing Andros already moved, Junshi Tandin struck the railroad while it was hot.

After hesitating for a moment, it was probably the bright prospect that Constantine painted that really convinced Andros, and he finally made a decision: "I don't know much about capital, and there are still several machinery manufacturers. I also need to discuss with shareholders about the shares, and it will take me some time to think about it.”

Having said that, Andros changed the subject: "Since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Minister Giannis are here today, it is just a good time to inspect the products of our machinery factory and the military. I will personally explain to them."

After that, he led everyone into the car again and set off to the secret testing site.

Meservey District is a place on the edge of the Piraeus Industrial Zone. It is relatively remote and has a small population. It is an ordinary small town that is very common in Greece.

However, what is different here is that 23 kilometers outside this town, there is a forbidden land belonging to the army.

The area covering an area of ​​100 square kilometers is tightly surrounded by layers of barbed wire. There are three blockades in the blockade that is only three kilometers deep, and in the middle of these blockades is a dense minefield filled with landmines.

A very eye-catching warning sign saying "Military Important Site, No Entry to Idiots, etc." is hung on the wire fence, as well as the occasional heavily armed patrol soldiers near the blockade, adding a sense of mystery to the place.

Cars are driving on the quiet path entering. Whenever they pass a blockade, they need to stop and accept inspection and interrogation by the guards. Two rows of towering lookout posts are set up on both sides of the checkpoint.

Looking up, the soldiers in the lookout post were clearly pointing their weapons at the visitors without any carelessness, even when the convoy was being monitored.

Next to the sentry, there is a firepower point built with sacks. The Maxim machine gun set up on the simple chest made of sacks is clearly visible.

The firepower range of the two Maxim machine guns can tightly block the entire road, and in the middle of the road is a horse support supported by logs to prevent vehicles from crossing the border.

Hidden behind several blockades is the core area of ​​this area.

Everything makes this place look like a secret military base.

This is a weapons testing site set up by the Greek Army in an industrial area.

The level of confidentiality itself is not particularly high, and it is not considered a secret.

The reason for this heavily guarded appearance may be that there are some special weapons and equipment that need to be tested in this place near the industrial zone, but it is not convenient for ordinary people to notice.

The reason for choosing to build a weapons test site here is that it is near the largest industrial zone in Greece, and almost all of Greece's current military industries are concentrated nearby.

For example, the Greek steel plant in the industrial zone provides most of the artillery for the Greek army. The 75mm rapid-fire cannon currently equipped by the Greek army is the pride of the steel plant. It is undoubtedly the most important military factory in Greece at present.

The weapons test site is located here, and it is also convenient for the military technology of the industrial zone to conduct live-fire experiments here.

When the convoy drove into the towering gray concrete wall, there was a well-equipped and large-scale training ground inside. Rows of buildings were looming, and people in military uniforms came and went here.

It looks no different from an ordinary military camp.

The continuous "da da" gunshots and the deafening explosions from a distance revealed the special features of this place.

Constantine and his party did not notify the person in charge of the test site in advance of their arrival.

Therefore, the personnel in the entire test field were not mentally prepared for the sudden arrival of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Everyone was attracted by the sight of this huge convoy entering the test field.

Because it was a sudden arrival, all the personnel in the test field were carrying out their work in an orderly manner.

Constantine did not intend to gather everyone to make any public speeches, so Andros simply asked the person in charge of the test field who hurried over about the work progress, and informed them that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the General Staff would inspect their work results and let him accompany the group to visit the weapons test field.

Since he came here, Constantine would naturally not just take a hasty look. Today's itinerary is to carefully inspect this site.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, this is the armored car we are testing, used to try to break through the trench exploration." A major technical officer in charge of the test work explained to the group at Andros's signal.

In the open and uneven test field, Constantine saw the main purpose of this trip, but it was very different from the so-called tanks or armored vehicles he imagined.

The strange-looking vehicle in front of us, from the appearance alone, would not make people think that it is a military weapon.

This iron lump is not as good as the motorcycle that is roaring and running back and forth on the test site in the distance for long-distance off-road testing. It can attract the attention of Constantine and his party.

"Is this the tracked armored vehicle you mentioned? Just a square iron box like twenty, Andros?" Constantine asked Andros and Yannis with a puzzled look.

Speaking of tanks, even if the appearance is not like the classic World War II tanks that are well-known to later generations, such as T34, Tiger, and M4, it should look like the tanks that just appeared in World War I, such as Marki and A7V.

However, the so-called new weapon for breaking through the trenches in front of Constantine, the tracked armored vehicle, is a square iron box with sharp edges and corners, and looks very ugly.

Constantine guessed that it might be easier to process this way.

The only special thing is that it is a box with a tractor's running mechanism. Although Andros called it an armored vehicle, in Constantine's opinion, it is just a tracked tractor with a square iron box simply installed.

Although Constantine also knew that it was impossible to expect the current Greek Army to wisely develop a technology verification pile test volume with the prototype of a mature tank in the future, he was still a little disappointed to see such an armored tracked tractor.

"Your Highness, this is just a test vehicle, used to test and verify its field driving ability, so there is no weapon installed, but in fact, a rotating weapon tower can be installed in the middle of its body, just like the machine gun on the top of the armored car," Yannis explained hurriedly.

Most of the current armored vehicles of the Greek Army are modified from trucks, and no special models have been designed, and the Greek Army does not have that ability.

Because the truck has a good load-bearing capacity and a large modification space, it can install heavy steel plates and weapons on the body, and the truck's engine and cab are in the front, and the spacious space at the back can install a cylindrical weapon tower protected by steel armor.

Obviously, the armored vehicle in front of him was also equipped with the same machine gun rotating frame as the armored car, not the tank rotating turret that Constantine remembered.

"Because it uses a crawler-type walking method, the vehicle is very heavy. Therefore, our technicians considered that we could try to equip it with a 37mm field gun instead of the machine gun we currently install on the top of the armored vehicle."

"Due to its small caliber, its recoil will not have much impact on the vehicle, and on both sides of the vehicle body, we can install gun holes similar to those of battleships and install machine guns, so that it can be used to deal with enemy infantry"

"The thickness of the armor on the vehicle body is 15 mm, which can completely resist bullets from rifles and ordinary machine guns."

"This is equivalent to a battleship that can move on land, with tough armor and fierce firepower, which can cover our infantry attack and provide them with direct artillery support." Yannis is obviously looking forward to this weapon, and believes that this weapon can greatly enhance the ability of the Greek Army to break through the enemy's defense line.

Constantine did not comment on this design and experimental idea.

Historically, the British were the first to research tanks, which were carried out under the guidance of naval thinking.

Therefore, the British initially hoped to turn tanks into land cruisers, equipping tanks with a large number of artillery and machine guns, in order to obtain a mobile steel fortress with no firepower blind spots, crushing barbed wire, and breaking through enemy trenches.

In order to achieve this combat goal, British tanks arranged firepower symmetrically on both sides of the body, and the further development of this idea was multi-turret tanks.

However, such a design will obviously lead to a sharp increase in the number of tank crew members, after all, each weapon needs to be operated by a dedicated person.

This will inevitably cause crowded space in the vehicle and a poor living environment for the crew, but these are not the biggest problems.

The biggest problem is that a large number of crew members and weapons are piled on a tank, which increases the size and weight, resulting in slow driving speed, poor machine reliability, high cost and weak armor.

What's more, it costs so much, but it's not very useful. The combat capability of the tank has not increased, but decreased.

A tank will not be stronger than a tank with only one gun and one machine gun just because you are equipped with two guns and four machine guns. Tanks with smaller size and higher mobility are more combat-capable and easier to survive on the battlefield.

"Let's not consider the weapons part first. How is the walking effect? ​​Let's make this thing move first and see." Constantine decided not to discourage Giannis and Andros.

Let's see how this thing can travel first.

However, looking at the appearance and structure of this thing, Constantine didn't have much hope.

As expected by Constantine, the driving ability of this iron box is really unsatisfactory: the power provided by the installed 70-horsepower gasoline engine is quite sufficient, but sufficient power is not a good thing at this time.

Because the unarmed iron box tractor weighs only 10 tons, the 70 horsepower power allows this thing to drive at a speed of 9,000 meters per hour.

This speed does not seem fast, but it seems a bit difficult in the bumpy test site. The road wheels rigidly connected to the vehicle body have no buffering effect. Watching this thing bouncing around on the field, you can imagine how the crew inside feels. It is estimated that gastric juice is about to be bumped out.

This is not the end. When this iron box crossed the 2-meter trench, just when Giannis was satisfied that the trench could not stop this mobile fortress, an embarrassing thing happened. A step less than half a meter high blocked the way of this thing. The cement steps and metal tracks rubbed against each other and made a harsh sound, which made people frown.

Although the iron box kept shaking left and right in front of the steps, it just couldn't get up.

After stopping for a long time, there was a click, and the track on the right broke and fell off, and the iron box immediately fell down.

Seeing this scene, Giannis's face fell.

If they can't even climb this height difference, how can they talk about crossing the enemy's defense line?

The height of the trench breast wall built by the Greek Army is more than one meter.

"Call the driver over." Constantine said coldly.

His face was calm, but the accompanying personnel beside him were all nervous, fearing that the Crown Prince would get angry.

And Giannis was worried that such an unsuccessful demonstration would make Constantine cancel the project, and his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

The driver who was called over hurriedly ran to Constantine and saluted the Crown Prince, and stood up with a look of uneasiness on his face.