Chapter 1096: Murderous Intentions

The expected strong ammunition explosion did not happen. The Russian steel monster still stood up tenaciously without losing its head.

The shell that hit the upper armor plate of the vehicle was directly bounced off and shot obliquely into the sky, just like the 62 steel core armor-piercing bullet hitting the chest of the 45 sister. At most, it scraped off a layer of paint and left a little scratch.

The overconfident German anti-tank gun crew obviously underestimated the opponent's armor protection level, but this does not mean that they will lose confidence in the new anti-tank gun at hand.

The German anti-tank gun team responsible for the gun battle knew very well that the guy in their hands at this moment was probably the most powerful anti-tank gun in the world.

This oversized anti-tank gun, which is much heavier than the PAK40, is the 88-gun anti-tank gun version that has been on the agenda since 1941. Unlike the original part-time 88 anti-aircraft gun, the newly designed 88 anti-tank gun is designed for anti-armor missions. It has many excellent features such as low profile, easier loading, and relatively easier to carry and deploy.

The only difference is that the 88mm anti-tank gun that has been officially obtained is even more powerful.

This is no longer the short 88 mounted on the Tiger tank as the main gun, but the long 88 of the same type as the main gun of the Ferdinand heavy tank destroyer that can be launched recently. The official name of the German equipment sequence is PAK 43 towed anti-tank gun.

The latest equipment should be equipped to the most elite troops first, and as the leader of the army, the Guards Flag Division, which has the best combat power in the Führer's personal army, naturally got the brand new PAK 43.

These PAK 43 anti-tank guns, which are difficult to deploy, are extremely heavy, with a combat weight of 3 tons. They are no longer the PAK 40 of the previous generation that can be pushed by a group of big men. Special tractor trailers are required to serve these new uncles who have just appeared.

The weather in Kursk these days is as capricious as an innocent little baby. The clear sky and heavy rain can even alternate three or four times a day. Although the heavy rain that stops and starts will not cause floods, it has indeed turned some places that are not easy to drive into muddy puddles and swamps.

It is easy for German tanks with high horsepower and wide tracks to pass through these deep and shallow puddles. They can just step on the accelerator and force their way through. The tank troops, which are known for their excellent off-road mobility, will not be tripped by this muddy pond. The weight of the German armored forces at this time is far from the average level of the King Tiger and the Jagdtiger.

But it is easy for high-horsepower tanks to pass through, but it is not so easy for PAK 43 trailers, which have limited horsepower and are also dragging a heavy burden, to pass through.

The vehicle passed through, but the gun was stuck in the mud and could not be pulled out, or the vehicle and the gun were stuck in the mud together and they tried hard to get out of the pit but failed. What's worse, the PAK 43 with an unbalanced center of gravity was directly pulled into the mud and turned over on the spot because of excessive force from the guide wheel.

The Guards Flag Division, which emphasizes the speed of fierce attack, has already left the anti-tank guns and other defensive equipment that are not used in the attack far behind the tail of the troops. Now there is another incident where the vehicle drove into the mud and the precious anti-tank gun turned over on the spot. The delay back and forth has made the distance between them and the vanguard troops even greater.

So much so that yesterday, the Guards Flag Division troops, which were still preparing to continue the attack and were stockpiled at the temporary rest point of the October State Farm that had just been captured, encountered a sudden counterattack by the Soviet troops, which had already shown signs in advance.

Those PAK 43 anti-tank guns that could have greatly relieved the pressure on the defense were still far behind the armored forces and could not be seen at all. The Guards Flag, which only sought to attack quickly and thus stretched the marching team into a long line, almost paid a heavy price that was enough to be destroyed. Fortunately, the troops of the friendly Imperial Division rushed to the rescue and escaped.

The PAK43 anti-tank guns that did not have time to shine yesterday went through a whole night of rapid marching and finally got rid of the mud pit and arrived at the designated combat position this morning, ready to go.

The first battle of these standard anti-tank guns, which can even be called the most powerful in the world, ushered in the Stalin Guards First Heavy Tank Brigade, which can be said to be the most powerful heavy tank in the world. An inexplicable ace-to-ace peak duel kicked off.

"Reload, keep shooting, quick!"

The German gunner who commanded his subordinates clearly saw the terrible situation of the armor-piercing shells being bounced off in an instant, but the Russian heavy tank roaring towards its own position in the telescope seemed to be unaffected.

The hideous and unique huge appearance coupled with the violent and rough ** main gun, no one would doubt the strength of such a masterpiece by the Russians who have a unique talent in tank building.

The fact that the upper front armor of the vehicle body cannot be penetrated does not mean that the whole body is invincible. When I commanded the 37 to fight the T34 in 1941, I didn't expect to penetrate the upper front of the vehicle body at all. Only the front armor of the turret and the joint between the vehicle body and the turret neck could be penetrated.

"Aim at the turret and hit that Russian in the face! Shooting at the hull is useless, the angle is even greater than those T34s!"

The gunner, who boldly judged that he might have encountered a similar situation again, changed his order. The gunner who was responsible for aiming the gun immediately fine-tuned the elevation wheel in his hand and put the fine-position scale line in the center of the gun mirror at a position that could hit the turret. After confirming that he had locked the target, he immediately spoke loudly.

"Aimed!"

"Loading completed!"

"Fire!"

The Long 88 loaded on Ferdinand and even the future Tiger King will use it is indeed very powerful.

The slender barrel of more than six meters long suddenly retreated backwards, the gun body shook, and the highly diffuse muzzle fire flames once again ejected the powerful fixed 88mm capped armor-piercing projectile.

The new fixed full-caliber capped armor-piercing projectile customized for the Long 88 adopts innovative dimensions, and the length of the propelling cartridge is one-third longer than that of the short 88 similar armor-piercing projectile.

The larger amount of propellant combined with the longer main gun barrel with a times-to-caliber ratio gave this full-caliber armor-piercing projectile with a muzzle velocity of up to 1,000 meters per second extremely surging kinetic energy.

The gunner's confidence was not groundless. The shrill, whistling Chang 88-specific full-caliber armor-piercing projectile once again accurately hit the target. With its extremely excellent ballistic performance and ultra-high muzzle velocity, it hit the front of the turret of the Russian steel monster fiercely.

But the world in which humans live is sometimes so realistic and cruel.

The Chang 88, which should have been invincible, was defeated again. The armor-piercing projectile that was shot at the left side of the turret of Malashenko's vehicle and near the outer arc edge armor position was once again ruthlessly bounced away. The fierce and brilliant sparks like a marquee were simply the greatest irony and ruthless mockery.