Chapter 1668 Better than Nothing

Having stronger protection is certainly a good thing, but Malashenko still wants more, such as super firepower that is enough to penetrate the German iron turtles on the opposite side.

Fortunately, Bolyshev, who came with a full load, has enough inventory so as not to disappoint Comrade Ma, and more powerful firepower has long been a predetermined arrangement.

"Regarding the new type of artillery shells, the armor-piercing shells you proposed. The actual research and development work is more difficult than expected. This new armor-piercing shell is a field that has never been involved before, and it involves too many first attempts. We must find the key points to break through, which will take longer than expected. At present, it is not perfect enough."

""

Malashenko suddenly felt a little confused. Why did Bolyshev suddenly become a riddle man?

What do you mean that it is not perfect enough at present? The actual research and development work is more difficult than expected?

Malashenko only wanted to know whether the goods were made or not. Whether they could be used or not was a completely different matter. Whether there were armor-piercing shells available would have a huge impact on the next battle. Malashenko didn't want to guess over and over again on such an important issue.

"Wait, Comrade Bolyshev, wait a moment. Just tell me directly whether there are new armor-piercing shells available. The rest is not important. This is what I care about first."

""

Bolyshev's expression was a little unnatural, even embarrassing. Malashenko felt that this might indicate that the next result would not be very good.

"There are armor-piercing shells, and I brought them with me, Comrade General."

"But this batch of new armor-piercing shells should not have been allowed to leave the factory. Strictly speaking, they are unqualified and have not even passed the target shooting test."

"We have encountered very serious problems. The accuracy of the new armor-piercing shells is unsatisfactory. We have never been able to keep the trajectory stable at the optimal level. The drop fluctuation values ​​during the actual test firing are very unstable, especially when shooting at a longer distance, which will expose serious problems."

"For a tank-sized target at a distance of one kilometer, this new armor-piercing shell can only achieve a first-shot hit accuracy of about 60%, and this is the test data of the shooting range after precise aiming correction. There will be more unpredictable factors in actual combat, which means that the hit rate will further decline. Comrade Kotin thinks this is unacceptable, but"

Bolyshev raised his hand and stopped in mid-air, and the words in his mouth stopped abruptly, as if he was choked.

"Thinking of the excessive pressure on the front line and the serious lack of firepower that can stably penetrate the frontal protection of the enemy's heavy armored tanks within the conventional combat distance, Comrade Kotin decided to send this batch of shells over. At least it does have a higher armor-piercing power. If it is used at a closer distance, the accuracy will be improved, but we are not sure what the appropriate distance is. This requires people with rich battlefield experience to measure and judge. The military industry team in the rear does not have this ability."

"Comrade Kotin has another consideration. He wants to know your suggestions and opinions after trying this new armor-piercing shell, Comrade General. If there is room for improvement and upgrades and opinions and suggestions in this regard, please tell us, Comrade General. We will also step up efforts to find ways to solve the accuracy problem of the shells, but for now, only these unqualified products can make do."

""

Malachenko, who looked speechless, has realized that he has overlooked a big problem. Due to the process design problems of the early armor-piercing shells, the accuracy performance at long-range shooting is almost the same as that of the flintlock rifles in the era of line shooting.

Where you aim is your business, and where the armor-piercing shells actually hit after leaving the barrel is another matter.

It cannot be said that there is no causal relationship between the two, but the performance in terms of accuracy is so poor that it makes people feel a little sad.

Similar problems are not exclusive to the Soviet military industry. The British who invented the discarding sabot armor-piercing projectile and put it into actual combat for the first time also encountered the same problem. It is not uncommon for early discarding sabot armor-piercing projectiles to be troubled by the same accuracy problem as peeing.

How to solve this problem?

Malashenko has no idea in his mind for the time being. He has to wait until he has really seen this armor-piercing projectile and actually used it, and roughly understands its performance before he can make a judgment. Whether it is a mule or a horse can only be seen after it is pulled out for a walk.

"Take me to see the shell. No matter what it is, at least reality must be faced."

""

Bolyshev did not say much, but turned around and took Malashenko to the rear of a GAZ truck not far away, and opened the cover of a shell box to reveal what was inside: a shiny silver armor-piercing projectile and its matching propellant cartridge.

Malashenko did not say anything immediately, but walked forward, stretched out his hand to pick up the heavy warhead, put it in his arms, twisted the body of the warhead and carefully observed the tip of the warhead.

"Maybe there is a problem with the internal structure of the warhead itself. I will give you feedback after I use it in actual combat. I can't give you an accurate answer before using it. How many shells are there in this batch?"

Malashenko did not make a boast on the spot, but chose a more stable answer. Although the armor-piercing shell is not a tail-stabilized armor-piercing shell commonly known as a steel needle shell, the complex structure inside its warhead has a fundamental change compared to any previous armor-piercing shell. It is really hard to make a conclusion before actually using it.

"Because it is a trial shell, there are only 76 rounds. Originally, the first batch was made of 200 rounds, but most of them were consumed during the target shooting test. The results were mixed. The armor-piercing power was very satisfactory but the accuracy was poor. Comrade Kotin believed that this was an unqualified product that needed to be improved, so he did not continue to use this design indicator to increase production."

"The remaining 76 rounds are the surplus of test shells. I know that this number is far from enough, Comrade General. But we are already trying to solve it. Morozov's Second Special Design Bureau has also joined in. We are working together to try to solve the problem."

"I believe that all problems will be solved in the end. Now there are already several improvement plans, but it will take some time, Comrade General, please believe us."

""

Malashenko, who put the shells back into the box, did not answer directly, but leaned on the tailgate with one hand and looked a little "sad". After a long silence, he could only sigh.

"Well, let's do this for now. It's better to have something to use than nothing, isn't it?"