Chapter 308 Prelude to the Loving Father

"Comrade Kotin, these eight tank turrets were made overnight by the comrades in the factory according to eight design drawings. Everything was made according to the requirements of the design drawings. There is no problem with the new 85mm main gun. Please tell me how to test it now."

In designing his next-generation new heavy tank, Kotin, who was active and bold, drew lessons from the failure and insufficient experience of the original KV1 heavy tank. At the beginning of designing the new heavy tank turret, he required that the turret must be compatible with the larger caliber main gun that may be replaced in the future, and make the turret stronger and bigger.

To be precise, Kotin hoped that his new heavy tank would not only be a pure heavy tank, but also be compatible with more new equipment that may be replaced in the future, including tank main guns, more powerful engines, and stronger and heavier additional armor when needed in any battle situation.

Based on this requirement, the turrets of the eight new heavy tanks made overnight were all a full circle larger than the turrets of the original KV1 heavy tanks without exception. If the original KV1 heavy tank turret is compared to a bull, then these eight newly manufactured prototype turrets are like two-ton rhinos, which are even more powerful.

After hearing this, Kokin stepped forward and carefully checked every process and welding mark on the turret. Although they were rushed products made overnight, these turrets as important prototypes still guaranteed the highest quality and process and were genuine. They were undoubtedly much better than the Soviet mass-produced tanks that were driven off the assembly line like dumplings.

After circling around the eight turrets for several times, Kokin reached out his hand and touched them repeatedly to make sure there was no problem. He immediately made up his mind, patted the dust off his palm, turned around, and then gave orders to the accompanying engineer beside him.

"Load all the turrets onto the vehicles immediately, without waiting for the chassis of the new heavy tank to be produced. Before that, test the actual combat performance of the turrets and the reliability of the main guns to see if they meet the standards. Once the chassis design of the new heavy tank is finalized and manufactured, it can be applied immediately to it, which will save us a lot of unnecessary time."

Kokin said it lightly, but the accompanying engineer beside him was still a little puzzled.

"Comrade Kokin, you mean to let us immediately install these eight turrets on the chassis of eight KV1 heavy tanks, and all the main guns are equipped with new 85mm tank guns, right?"

Kokin, who was in a good mood because of the successful completion of the prototype turret production task, did not show any impatience. On the contrary, he smiled and looked at the eight different turrets lined up in front of him and answered.

"Yes, that's exactly what I want to say. When designing the new turret, the compatibility issue has been considered in the turret ring diameter. The new turret ring and the matching steering machine should be perfectly compatible with the original KV1 heavy tank. There is no big problem in testing the prototype turret immediately."

"But how to test it? Comrade Kotin. Should we first conduct a range ballistic test or an off-road simulated combat condition to test the reliability of the new turret? You still need to come up with an arrangement plan for these tests."

After hearing the engineer next to him speak again, he had previously learned from his acquaintances in the upper circles of Moscow that Lieutenant Colonel Malashenko had been re-activated and was about to serve as the commander of the newly formed First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment.

To this day, Kotin has an indescribable and inexplicable affection for Malashenko, the Red Army heavy tank commander who had "saved" him at the Moscow Future Tank Decision-making Conference. According to the detailed investigations that Kotin has conducted recently, the heavy tank unit led by Malashenko and his subordinates should be the most powerful one in the entire Red Army tank unit.

"Ballistic tests and other tests are not necessary. After the factory inspection is completed and confirmed, all eight prototypes will be packed and sent to the Moscow front. I will contact the newly established First Guards Heavy Tank Breakthrough Regiment in the suburbs of Moscow in advance, and all actual combat tests will be completed by them."

"At that time, we only need to make some targeted improvements based on the actual combat results fed back by the front-line troops. There is no need to continue to think about it and scribble on the drawings. What level of the new heavy tanks we have manufactured is the most important for the elite heavy tank soldiers on the front line."

Seeing Kotin's resolute will to give such an order, the engineer next to him, who was still a little skeptical, thought about it and finally swallowed his words.

After all, these prototype turrets, which have been repeatedly measured on the drawings and have been proven to be feasible for hundreds of times, basically have no major drawbacks or fatal defects. The KV1 heavy tank chassis used to carry it has many minor problems, but in the end, it is still mature and reliable. In general, the combination of the two should not cause too many problems as Kokin envisioned.

Everything depends on what results will be fed back after the actual test by the front-line troops.

Looking at the eight new tanks parked quietly in the warehouse in front of him, the muzzle of the thicker and longer main gun mounted on its turret is flashing a chilling light. Just standing there without moving is enough to show its powerful and terrifying power.

What surprised Lavrinenko even more was that the turrets of the eight new tanks in front of him were all the same except for the chassis of the original KV1 heavy tank chassis. However, the eight turrets, which were the heads of the tanks, were almost all different and had different appearances. The most exaggerated one looked like an enlarged replica of the T3476 tank turret to Lavrinenko.

Glancing at Lavrinenko who was standing next to him in a state of stunned silence, Malashenko smiled slowly and took a step forward and spoke softly.

"The Second Special Tank Design Bureau in Chelyabinsk sent us these eight new prototypes, all equipped with the latest experimental 85mm D-5T main gun. This gun is actually modified from the original M1939 anti-aircraft gun. Whether it is the muzzle velocity, trajectory or armor penetration depth, it is much better than the original 76mm main gun."

"In addition, due to the increase in muzzle velocity and changes in ballistic performance, the sight scale of the main gun sight has also been adjusted and replaced with a new one. In actual combat, remember to let your crew's gunner adapt to this, and don't perform abnormally in actual combat because you are already used to the 76 gun's trajectory."