Chapter 292: Unusable

"Captain, how far can the tracks of this tank support?" Constantine looked at the rank on the soldier's shoulder and asked the soldier in front of him curiously.

Early tracked vehicles, due to backward technology, had very low durability and could only last for a short distance before being damaged due to severe wear and tear, and had to replace the tracks.

Especially the modified tractor in front of us, engineers made a lot of changes to the body of the original tracked tractor to meet the needs of the battlefield.

In order to enhance the defense capability of the tank so that it can resist ordinary bullet shooting, a large number of steel plates were installed around the vehicle.

In addition, there are weapons installed on the body, or small-caliber artillery, or Maxim machine guns.

In order to meet the needs of battlefield operations, compared with the original tractor, several more members are needed to operate the tank, such as drivers, machine gunners, loaders, etc.

These changes will naturally increase the weight of the tank, which naturally increases the burden on the tracks.

Seeing the chariot in front of him, Constantine knew that it was useless to expect this thing to serve as the main means of attack on the battlefield.

However, as long as the chariot, when attacking the enemy's defense line, advances in coordination with the soldiers, it is not expected to have strong lethality. It is also a good tactical weapon to serve as a cover for the soldiers' activities during the attack.

Therefore, Constantine's requirements for the chariot are not high. As long as it can ensure stability, follow the soldiers to attack, and don't break down easily on the battlefield.

"Your Highness, under the condition of completely simulating the field environment, the maximum range of the track of the test chariot is about 25 kilometers, and then the maintenance personnel must replace the track." The captain naturally understood that such a short range is naturally useless, and said with an embarrassed face.

The mileage of 25 kilometers is really too short. It is too cumbersome to stop and replace the track after running in the field for a while.

It is impossible to arrange a group of maintenance personnel to carry the track behind the chariot and be ready at all times.

It has no practical value at all.

Even the smallest use that Constantine envisioned, which was to provide cover for the attacking soldiers, could not be accomplished.

Seeing Constantine frowning, the captain hurriedly explained: "The tracks currently installed on the test vehicle are still the tracks used on civilian tractors, which are not actually suitable for tanks. Although both are tracked vehicles, the use environments of the two sides are very different."

"If you want to overcome the disadvantage of poor track durability, you must develop tracks specifically for tanks." Seeing the disappointed expression on Constantine's face, Andros' heart tightened, and he came forward to whisper to Constantine.

"Do you have any ideas about the new wear-resistant tracks that tanks need to use?" Constantine asked Andros with concern.

"After the test vehicle was modified, due to the added armor and weapons, the load weight far exceeded that of the track tractor. In order to reduce the pressure per unit area of ​​the track, the track of the tank should be increased in width." Andros pointed at the track and explained to the officers including Constantine.

"In response to the shortcomings of poor track durability, our engineers have also proposed other improvement suggestions. In addition to increasing the width of the track, there are also materials with stronger wear resistance to make the track."

"Current tracks are basically made of ordinary cast steel materials. The wear resistance of high-manganese steel is far superior to that of ordinary steel. At present, the most common use of high-manganese steel is to make train tracks."

"If high-manganese steel can be used to make tracks and increase the width, I believe the durability will be greatly improved. At least the mileage can reach hundreds of kilometers, which is completely no problem." In order to prove that Andros Machinery Factory has strong technical reserves in front of Crown Prince Constantine, Andros unreservedly revealed the improvement methods to everyone.

Hearing this, Constantine said in a reproachful tone: "Since you already have an idea to solve the problem of short travel and poor durability of tank tracks, why don't you do it immediately?"

Andros first squeaked and whined, and finally said: "Your Highness, it is very expensive to develop a track specifically for tanks, and such a new track has no other use at present, and the cost is very high. The research funds allocated to us by the military are almost gone."

"Get the price"

Constantine sighed. The Greek army's attempt to overcome the trenches and conduct tank research is definitely a very avant-garde behavior.

This means that the Greek military has no experience from other countries to learn from, and can only explore on its own.

And the development of new technologies that have never been tried by anyone requires a lot of funds, and all technological advances are the result of capital accumulation.

At present, the Greek army has gone through two major wars, and the government is very cautious about the investment in military expenditures, which has also led to the current shortage of military funds.

At present, in order to reduce military expenditures, the military is currently following the opinions of the General Staff to reduce military personnel, streamline military establishment, and reduce military expenditures.

Under such circumstances, the military naturally could not invest a large amount of money in the test station vehicle project.

After the trip to the test site, on the way back to the city from the test site, Constantine deliberately sat in the same car with Andros.

"It's the funding problem that's bothering our business. Andros, as a friend, I sincerely suggest that you consider my proposal to list the machinery factory on the Athens Stock Exchange," Constantine said to Andros, who was sitting in the back seat with him.

"It's an unprecedented opportunity for the machinery factory to grow and develop. The war is over, and the public's attention has quickly shifted from the war to social life. The products of your machinery factory will usher in a big performance explosion."

"Your machinery factory is currently the largest general machinery manufacturer in Greece. Such a unique advantage will attract the attention of many investors."

If it weren't for the small market in Greece itself, which could not accommodate two machinery factories, and investing in a machinery factory to build a factory, produce products, establish sales channels, etc., all aspects would take a huge amount of time, money and time.

Constantine had already used the capital controlled by the royal family to invest in the construction of a machinery factory and cut into the emerging market of internal combustion engines.

"Like the test station vehicle project we just checked, if your machinery factory has sufficient funds, you can use your own funds for research and development."

"With your keen vision, can't you see that wear-resistant tracks themselves have a huge market?"

Andros fell into deep thought when he heard Constantine urging him to raise funds as soon as possible to expand the production scale of the machinery factory.