Chapter 1590 The End of an Era: The Last T34

To some extent, Kotin is actually a bit of a chatterbox, with a bit of Ivushkin's dark and joking nature.

Of course, this does not mean that Kotin is just a man who can only talk. The title of the father of the Red Army's heavy tanks is not a lie. It's just that Kotin's personality and his pleasant relationship with Malashenko make him say a little more than usual.

Compared with Kotin, Morozov, who is also a master of Soviet tank design, is completely different.

As Kotin commented on him: he is rigid, speaks little, and is not good at communicating with others.

Although what Kotin said is not entirely right, it has a bit of a taste of not pleasing his competitors.

But to some extent, Kotin is right about some of it.

For example, Morozov, who has a big bald head, does not change his expression much, speaks little, and has a faint taste of a poker face, but in Malashenko's view, he can be summarized as a practical person who "talks less and does more". Morozov's professional talent is not inferior to Kotin's, but the two of them have very different personalities, which is not a big deal.

Along the way, there was almost no conversation with Morozov. Malashenko looked around curiously like Liu Laolao entering the Grand View Garden, looking at everything around him that he had never seen before, until he followed Morozov who was leading the way to the final destination: the production workshop under the Second Design Bureau.

"This is where we carry out work related to test prototypes. All the actual test prototypes and prototypes of the Second Design Bureau are here. Whether they are under construction, have been built and are waiting for testing, or have failed in the test and been abandoned, unless they have been dismantled, otherwise this is all the history of the Second Design Bureau."

Morozov led Malashenko directly to the most important and special production workshop under the Second Design Bureau. As Morozov said, this large tank factory can almost be regarded as the living history of the Second Design Bureau.

In addition to trusting Malashenko, Morozov also hoped that Malashenko could quickly understand the whole situation.

Compared with wasting time and effort to fiddle with those design drawings, show off words and talk, Morozov believed that letting Malashenko see the real car was actually the most direct and simplest way.

For people who deal with tanks on the battlefield all day, it is better to let them touch the real thing and practice their hands and eyes than to stare at those broken pictures and try to see the flowers.

However, at this moment, Malashenko no longer has any extra mood and time to talk "extra nonsense" with Morozov.

Yes, that's right. At this moment, Comrade Lao Ma thought that any more useless nonsense would be nonsense and would waste his precious time to feast his eyes.

Seeing Malashenko's exaggerated expression at this time, Morozov, who knew what he should do now, did not need to say much, and immediately took the initiative to act as a tour guide, and began to lead Malashenko while walking, talking and introducing.

"That one over there, the last T34, we call her Cherno Alfa, the one I just mentioned to you."

"Equipped with an experimental 100mm main gun, a muzzle brake is installed to reduce the recoil to an acceptable range, which is necessary. Because her body is too slender, the turret structure can hardly withstand such a recoil impact. When it was designed, it was not considered to carry such a powerful gun."

"It looks unremarkable, but the actual combat power is very strong. It is a fierce and fast Soviet steel hunter. If it weren't for the 100mm fixed shells that are too long, it takes a lot of effort and a long loading time to find a way to stuff it into the breech block, then she is indeed described as such."

"Now, she has been denied, and she will probably stay in a quiet corner for the rest of her life, gathering dust, or be dismantled. Take a few more looks at her, Comrade General. Maybe in the future, you will really not see it."

"The last T34", this does not mean that this is the last T34 that came off the production line when the T34 ended production.

What Morozov really wanted to express was that this T34100 was destined to be the last of the T34 sub-models to come to an end.

The Second Design Bureau has made a conclusion based on the actual combat feedback report from the front line. The T34 medium tank, which has been fighting since the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, has almost been exhausted of its upgrade and improvement potential. No matter how hard it tries to change, it will be difficult to adapt to the increasingly fierce and complex battles.

Perhaps the production of the T34 series of medium tanks will not stop in the short term, but Morozov and the Second Design Bureau will not try to make new T34 sub-models. Everything will end here.

The T3485 will be the last mass-produced T34 tank, and the T34100 will become the veritable "last" T34 in the entire T34 family technology tree.

Strictly speaking, this is the first tank in the Soviet Union to be experimentally equipped with a 100mm caliber main gun in this timeline.

When Kotin was working on the IS2 project, he did want to build a 100-gun prototype to test the waters. However, due to Malashenko's strong recommendation for the 122-gun and the objective reality that the 100-gun was not ready for mass production at the time and it would be useless to try, Kotin eventually gave up the idea of ​​building a 100-gun prototype.

So, the T34100 was able to win the title of "No. 1 in the Soviet Union".

Looking at the T34100 prototype in front of him, which not only has a super long gun barrel but also a muzzle brake, it looks top-heavy. Malashenko, who saw this thing for the first time and probably the last time in his life, couldn't help but sigh.

"If the rear half of her turret could be longer, maybe it could be successfully equipped with 100 guns for mass production. It's really a pity."

Looking at Malashenko who had already walked forward and reached out to touch the abandoned T34100 prototype, Morozov, who also felt sorry for his work, spoke up immediately.

"It's not that simple, Comrade General. Another reason for the difficulty in loading is that the breech block protrudes too long inside the turret. According to the position of the loader and the length of the 100mm fixed shell, it is really difficult to load. Therefore, not only the turret configuration design must be modified, but also the turret must be enlarged and the turret seat ring must be widened. The chassis must also be modified accordingly according to the change in the center of gravity of the turret."

"Such a complex workload is basically the same as designing a new tank. Although it is a pity, we really have to give up her. She will be the end of the entire T34 series, although it is not very perfect."

This abandoned T34100 placed in the corner at the edge of the door is just the beginning. Deeper in the factory workshop, there are more unknown surprises waiting for Malashenko ahead.

"Come on, Comrade General, let's go and see something more worthy of attention."