Chapter 1567 Super Materials

Kotin was actually well aware of the news that the Germans had deployed a new infantry anti-tank weapon in actual combat.

It was mentioned in the combat reports of other tank units on the front line received before, but no urgent protection upgrade requirements were put forward like Malashenko.

In the reports of most front-line combat units, it was only said that the German infantry had a new portable anti-tank cannon that could pose a greater threat to the side armor of heavy tanks at close range.

However, when many officers and soldiers of the front-line troops wrote reports, they just thought that this thing was no big deal.

It was just an ordinary weapon that could penetrate the side armor of the Red Army heavy tanks at close range with a probability, and its power was not much different from that of the German anti-tank guns. At best, it sacrificed its poor range and urinary-like accuracy in exchange for some portability, which was not worth mentioning.

Moreover, neither of them could bite the front main armor of the Red Army heavy tanks, which meant that the armor protection at this stage was not a big problem, and such armor protection was enough.

Therefore, Malashenko was the first to seriously propose to Kotin to upgrade the armor protection.

Kotin, who had not seen this weapon in person and was not very clear about it, thought about it for a while, and then turned to Malashenko and spoke again after thinking about what to say.

"You can talk about your ideas first, such as how you plan to upgrade the armor protection.

"There is one thing I want to explain in advance. I think it is not appropriate to add armor to the vehicle blindly. We discovered this problem when we tested the IS4 prototype before it left the factory. The mobility of the IS4 did not meet our expected indicators. We originally planned to make it have the same mobility as the IS6 heavy tank, but the result was obviously not the case. "

"At the headquarters meeting last week, Comrade Stalin also suggested that our bureau should consider the mobility of the tank. Many front-line commanders and fighters said that the improved mobility of the IS6 heavy tank made them feel a huge increase in combat effectiveness. They hope to continue to maintain this high mobility advantage in the design of subsequent heavy tanks, so this is a point that we must consider in our subsequent designs. "

I want to improve the protection without adding weight to the tank. Kotin, who said the ugly words in advance, actually felt that this was not appropriate. He regretted it as soon as he said it.

But the reality is like this. Kotin, who has a keen political sense, has noticed that Comrade Stalin has begun to pay attention to the mobility of the Red Army's heavy tanks, and is no longer almost only concerned with stronger firepower and protection performance as in the past.

Kotin, who has been doing well with his keen political sense and has long been a popular figure beside Comrade Stalin, does not want to go against Comrade Stalin's wishes because of such a small matter.

Where you should follow the leader's wishes, you still have to follow the leader's wishes. It has nothing to do with whether you want to or not. This is the rule and truth of dealing with people.

But Kotin, who returned from Moscow after a routine meeting and a report, thought about it carefully and felt that this matter seemed a bit Something is not right, it seems that I dug a hole and buried myself in it.

The IS6 heavy tank has a leap-forward mobility improvement compared to any previous heavy tank, which is the result of my own design. Now, Comrade Stalin has given himself a warning and a shot in advance on the mobility issue because of the actual combat feedback from many frontline commanders and fighters.

This is a long way to trace the root cause, isn't it just digging a hole for yourself?

I am the one who improved the mobility, and I am also the one who was warned in advance on mobility. What the hell is this? It's so cool!

Kotin, who thought of this unpleasant thing when talking about mobility, was really distracted. He didn't notice that Malashenko, who heard what he said, had a confident expression on his face, and it was almost written on his face that "Brother is well prepared".

"Like you, Comrade Kotin, I have also considered the problem of mobility. After all, the prototype of the IS4 was tested in actual combat at my place, and I know best how this thing performs in actual combat mobility. It is indeed difficult to keep up with the offensive rhythm of the IS6 heavy tank, and there are more or less some problems. "

Since Kotin has already started to evaluate the shortcomings of his work, Malashenko does not mind pointing out the minor problems that are not serious, but the real point is still to come.

"We now have a misconception, Comrade Kotin. That is, adding armor to the tank will inevitably increase the weight, but there is a plan that is not actually like this, or the weight increase is very limited. The powerful defense bonus in exchange for that little bit of insignificant weight increase is completely within the acceptable range. ”

“”

Kotin, who was speechless and didn’t know how to respond, suddenly felt that Malashenko in front of him was a little strange. He had been talking about things that confused him since the beginning of this conversation.

What does it mean to "add armor to the tank without adding much weight"? What kind of black technology is this? Is it anti-gravity technology that can offset the weight of armor?

If the motherland had this black technology, would it have to fight against the Germans so hard? The red flag would have been planted all over the world, and the proletariat would have liberated the world, right? The Germans are nothing!

Malashenko knew that Kotin’s head was probably very confused at the moment. No matter what he was thinking about, he couldn’t figure it out. It was time to give Kotin a real shot.

"Start with the materials, Comrade Kogin."

"Imagine, we don't necessarily have to pile steel armor on the tank. What if we replace it with other materials that are lighter than armored steel but have better defense against chemical energy metal jets? Have you ever thought about this possibility? ? Once implemented, we can perfectly resist the German chemical anti-tank weapons without adding too much weight, it is that simple.”

""

Unknowingly, Kogin, who had actually been introduced into an unknown advanced field by Malashenko, blinked his eyes, looked a little confused, and tentatively asked back with a very skeptical tone.

"Are you sure this kind of armor material really exists? It can greatly improve the defense without adding much weight. This is simply a fantasy! Do you know what a huge change this will bring to tank design? I can guarantee that, If this is true and once successful, our Red Army’s tanks will be the best in the world! Well, it is still the same now, but the number one position will be much more solid.”

Ignoring the cold joke at the end of Kogin's speech, Malashenko, still wearing a mysterious smile, finally spoke to Kogin again.

"Our steel armor is already completely immune to the Germans' kinetic armor-piercing projectiles, and is much higher than the enemy's armor-piercing firepower. So the only thing that needs to be considered now is to withstand the attack of chemical energy armor-piercing projectiles and improve the chemical energy Defense Strength.”

"The materials needed to solve this problem are very simple and common. Although they were very scarce in the early days of the Great Patriotic War, the Americans gave us a lot of support, and our own military production capacity was also comprehensive. After mobilization, there is definitely no shortage of this material today, and it is definitely cost-effective to use some to protect precious heavy tanks.”

Kotin, who listened carefully to every syllable, no longer wanted to stay here and continue playing charades with Malashenko. He couldn't wait to know the real answer, and he wanted it now.

"Tell me, what exactly is this material?! I'm not in the mood to guess anymore, tell me now!"

The mysterious smile on Malashenko's face was still there, but the simple answer he gave immediately after was something Kogin never expected.

"Easy, rubber."