Chapter 1960 The First Batch

It is quite interesting to say that although the plan of T43 modified infantry fighting vehicle was first proposed by Morozov, later, after Malashenko was used as a relay bridge to bring together Kotin and Morozov, the original competitors, the project became a cooperation project between the First Special Design Bureau and the Second Special Design Bureau.

Because the plan was first proposed and tried by Morozov, and the production line of the T43 medium tank was not in Kotin's First Bureau, but in Morozov's Second Bureau.

In view of this, the main design and construction work of the chassis part was handed over to Morozov, while Kotin took over the design, construction and testing of the turret. This can also better help Morozov share the design pressure, so that he can devote the most energy to the design and construction of the chassis.

In order to facilitate surveying and testing, Morozov also provided Kotin with several trial-produced improved chassis for Kotin to carry turrets of different design schemes for actual testing.

So the chassis that Malashenko saw at this moment was not actually designed and built by Kotin's Bureau I. Instead, it was already built by Morozov's Bureau II and sent over by rail. After all, it was a bit difficult for Kotin, who didn't even have a T43 production line, to build this chassis.

Morozov's chassis improvements and the final stage of testing were carried out in an orderly and step-by-step manner. Kotin's turret design was not far behind. After testing and screening several different schemes, the best winner was finally finalized, which was the thing in front of Malashenko.

To be honest, the turret configuration that Kotin had worked out looked a bit like a proportionally reduced version of the IS2 heavy tank turret head. When paired with the T43 chassis, it always gave people a feeling of "Kailu the head-changing monster", which was not very appropriate.

Strictly speaking, this turret design is not suitable for infantry fighting vehicles. It has a bulletproof appearance but is too tall, especially not suitable for concealment of infantry fighting vehicles with relatively poor survivability. And according to Malashenko, Kotin also arranged heavy armor for the turret. The physical thickness of the front edge of the turret reached an astonishing 80 mm. You must know that this is just an infantry fighting vehicle.

Kotin's design idea is good. After all, the turret has a higher chance of being hit in actual combat. This is an accurate result obtained after summarizing and counting all the damage reports on the front line, so it should be protected.

But Malashenko clearly knows that infantry fighting vehicles, except for a very small number of things that are specializing in security warfare, none of the infantry fighting vehicles of major mainstream military powers in later generations are heavy armor designs. The design and combat purpose of the infantry fighting vehicle itself is not to carry heavy armor and fight against the enemy's complete heavy firepower positions and tanks. A redundant heavy armor will only become a burden for the infantry fighting vehicle.

However, everything has its own particularity, and we cannot apply the same principles to everything.

The T43 infantry fighting vehicle is a thing that is directly modified from the chassis of a medium tank. It completely inherits the power system of the original T43 medium tank, but it is moved forward from the rear.

This means that this modified infantry fighting vehicle has the same horsepower output as a medium tank. Even compared with the infantry fighting vehicles of the Cold War and even the infantry fighting vehicles of the future 21st century, this power output is definitely sufficient.

So even if Kokin designed a solid head with a physical thickness of 80 mm for this thing, because the volume is proportionally reduced, this new turret is actually lighter. This means that after being installed on the vehicle, the combat weight of the entire vehicle is smaller than that of a regular T43 medium tank.

A high-protection infantry fighting vehicle with a higher power-to-weight ratio, better mobility, and faster running than the T43 medium tank. If you think about it in this way, Malashenko suddenly feels that this seems to be not bad. At least the Germans' small water pipe anti-tank guns can't do anything to this thing, and the improvement in protection is not meaningless.

And after all, this is a youth version of the infantry fighting vehicle that was modified for emergency use during wartime. Both the design investment and the design time are very limited. It is already good to be tinkered with to the current appearance. Even so, the superiors reluctantly acquiesced to the existence of this thing when they saw that Malashenko, Kotin, and Morozov participated in it, invested a lot of energy, and believed that it would be successful.

So no matter what, it is good to have this kind of product now. It is better to have something to use than nothing to use. What else do you need a bicycle for?

"Very good, I think that's it. If there are no problems in the actual vehicle test, I think it can be finalized and put into mass production. By the way, you haven't started mass production yet, right?"

Malachenko, who jumped down from the chassis, patted the dust on his hands and asked casually, but Kotin's answer immediately afterwards was really surprising.

"If you ask me here, of course there is no mass production. After all, I only make heavy tanks here, but Morozov may not be the same."

"Huh? What do you mean by this?"

Kotin, who is used to speaking directly in front of Malachenko, rarely acted as a riddle man. Malachenko, who was slightly surprised, subconsciously asked back directly. Kotin, who had kept a little suspense, just smiled and then spoke quietly.

"In fact, the thing we are seeing now has been tested three times. At present, after the third test is completed, it is driven back to the factory. The turret is lifted up to see if there are any abnormalities in the connecting structure and internal parts. The new model The design of the turret is reliable. The inspection results are gratifying and there are indeed no problems with it.”

"So, this also proves that there is no problem with the batch of products pre-produced by Morozov according to the third prototype plan. The total number is 50 vehicles. Marshal Zhukov personally approved it. He got the approval of the Supreme Leader Authorization. Of course, it is because these cars are to be provided to you, so he will take care of this matter. Under normal circumstances, Marshal Zhukov will not sign this. "

""

What the hell is this? Are they all finalized and put into production?

Damn it! This is too damn fast, what happened? Comrade Lao Zhu has already stepped in. Could it be that it is really a custom model made by the leader?

Malashenko obviously underestimated the influence of the combined arms report he submitted. Not only Zhukov and Stalin, the two known bosses, thought it was feasible and tried, but also Hua Xi, who was always cautious in his words and deeds. Both Levsky and Malashenko's original supporter, Rokossovsky's "Driver Luo", spoke highly of this report.

Since everyone agrees, it’s okay to put a little effort into trying it. It’s not impossible to trial-produce some new equipment that is needed without affecting the overall production task.

What's more, this is something that the supreme leader personally approved and felt that he could try to do.