Chapter 1812 The Strongest Legend No. 4

Kurbalov got himself a whole battalion of Grizzlies, which was the most unexpected thing for Malashenko.

Malashenko originally thought that Kurbalov had probably seized a battalion of Bison infantry guns or some German open-top self-propelled artillery. Compared with the Red Army's equipment of the same level, these German support guns are basically garbage compared to the Red Army's similar equipment, but he really didn't expect that the equipment he got was the Grizzlies.

Among the many derivative sub-models of the Panzer IV, the Grizzlies assault gun can be said to be the most special one, and of course the most important one on the battlefield.

Similar to other types of assault guns of the German Army, the Grizzlies removed the turret and extended the upper front armor of the vehicle body upwards, eventually covering the entire front of the fighting compartment. It also strengthened the physical thickness and adopted an inclined layout, so that the front armor of the Grizzlies' fighting compartment has the defense strength to resist the direct fire of the Red Army's tank guns with a caliber of less than 100 mm.

To be honest, this level of defense is enough to cope with most of the battles that are not so difficult, ensuring that this assault gun tank that needs to fight head-on has sufficient battlefield protection.

In addition to the much thicker front main armor protection than the original Panzer IV, the Grizzlies have also upgraded the extremely fragile side and rear armor of the Panzer IV. Extra-large pieces of additional chariot armor are added to resist direct fire from light anti-tank weapons, such as some small-caliber direct-aiming artillery, or the more numerous and most common Red Army anti-tank rifles.

Judging from the protection of the chassis of the Panzer IV alone, the Grizzlies can definitely be called the strongest and most resistant one in the entire Panzer IV family.

However, the real pride of this thing is not the armor protection that is enough to cope with most battles, but its short and stubby 150mm StuH 43 12-caliber main gun that looks like a pig's nose, which is loaded with full-caliber high-explosive grenades weighing 38 kilograms of projectiles, and the projectile warhead charge is as high as 8 kilograms.

In terms of the charge alone, the Grizzlies' shells are almost the same as the high-explosive shells of the later 155mm self-propelled howitzers, but the equivalent coefficient is slightly insufficient, which is not as good as the high-energy warhead charges of the later 21st century. The actual explosion power will be slightly smaller, but it can still be called an absolute battlefield killer with amazing power.

Because the charge of the projectile warhead is huge, not only the ordinary Red Army infantry bunkers can't withstand this thing, even if Malashenko's IS6 or even IS4 heavy tanks are hit by this thing, the powerful 8 kg warhead charge explosion will give the Red Army's steel behemoth an absolutely fatal and destructive blow.

If the front main armor belt is hit by a shot, the best result is that the track is blown off and the gun barrel explodes, and the tank is paralyzed on the spot and forced to withdraw from the battle. If the situation is worse, the overpressure can penetrate into the vehicle through the gap between the turret and the vehicle body and the driver's observation window, and the driver at the front of the vehicle body can be killed in a moment.

As for whether the guys in the turret at the rear of the vehicle are safe, it all depends on whether Comrade Stalin blesses them.

The result of a shot on the front armor of the most solid fighting room is already so bad. If the curved trajectory hits the top of the forehead, it is not a boast at all that the IS6 or IS4 will all fly off the head on the spot, provided that it can really hit the target.

Because the barrel is too short, the Grizzly can not only do direct shooting, but also can do some tricks that conventional assault guns can hardly do with the assistance of friendly units, such as hiding behind the blind spot of vision and shooting from a distance. The concealment is absolutely first-class, and it is also very safe, enough to avoid most of the enemy's retaliatory firepower, as long as you choose a good position.

In addition, both the chassis of the Panzer IV and the 150mm main gun are ready-made products with mature technology, quality assurance, reliable performance, and no problems in versatility and logistics supply.

So compared with the various expensive new cars that the Germans have made in the past two years, Malashenko thinks that the Grizzly is a good thing that can really enable the front-line troops to quickly form combat effectiveness and provide practical and stable guarantees after the combat effectiveness is formed. If the Germans can make main battle vehicles according to this design idea, the troubles they encounter will surely increase a lot.

Fortunately, even if the Grizzly is mass-produced, it is only a special armored combat vehicle with a very low output. The limited total number can hardly play a role in determining the outcome of the battle. At most, it is in a certain battle or overall strategy. It can only slightly delay the progress of the German army into destruction and delay some time, that's all.

If Malashenko remembered correctly, he had seen the Grizzlies being put into actual combat and joining the front battlefield in the battle briefings shared by the brother troops last year. It should have made its debut in the Battle of Kursk, but because of its small number, its performance in the overall battle was mediocre. Even the Red Army troops that had seen it were few.

In addition, the Germans protected this new special armored combat vehicle tightly, and if the battle situation was slightly unfavorable, they would immediately give priority to the Grizzlies assault gun combat troops with good mobility. The Grizzlies' reliable travel device and mechanical structure are not easy to break down on the battlefield, so there is no problem in running away.

Therefore, even though the Battle of Kursk ended with a strategic victory for the Red Army, none of the Red Army troops participating in the war captured this thing, let alone carrying out actual research after getting it. After the war, only some eyewitness reports lacking evidence and information were briefly mentioned. Malashenko also came to the conclusion "Oh, there is such a thing" after reading the reports, and nothing else.

Therefore, it was the first time in history for Malashenko to have close contact with a real Grizzly assault gun.

Looking at the tall, fat "big guy" in front of him, Malashenko had to admit that although this thing looked silly, black and rough, it was still very impressive if he stood up close and felt it. It has a sense of power and can be called mighty and domineering. The thick and short 150mm large tube alone looks powerful enough.

"Which unit does this German guy belong to? Have you found out?"

He reached out and patted the cold armor of the big steel man in front of him, which was so brand new that even the skirt and armor had not been scratched. He was curious as to whether this was the horse of the German army that was so "talented" and threw the enemy at the enemy without firing a single shot. Shenke couldn't help but asked curiously.

"It has been found out, Comrade Division Commander. The German battalion deputy made it clear that their designation is the 218th Independent Assault Artillery Battalion of the National Defense Forces."