Chapter 64 The Fox and the Hound (Part 2)

When Wolf, the gunner who had experienced dozens of armored battles, large and small, was convinced that the main gun in his hand was aimed at the target, his right index finger, which had been holding tightly on the trigger button of the steering wheel, almost instantly He buckled it down hard.

"See you later, Ivan."

boom--

Accompanied by the roar of the KWK38 42 times caliber 50mm tank gun equipped on this Type III J tank, a Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing projectile was directed toward Marathon with a muzzle velocity of 1050 meters per second. The No. 177 T34 tank commanded by the branch rushed straight away.

As the most special type of armor-piercing projectile that is different from those full-caliber armor-piercing projectiles during World War II, the Type 40 tungsten-core armor-piercing projectile using tungsten alloy as the core material is undoubtedly one of the most popular heirloom-level artillery shells of the German armored forces.

Before the Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing bullet was first developed and put into mass production, Germany, a country lacking tungsten ore geological resource reserves, did not have enough tungsten ore raw materials to produce subsequent tungsten core armor-piercing bullets.

In order to solve this problem of lack of raw materials, before the start of Japan's all-out war of aggression against China, Germany used a large amount of arms and military supplies from the then government of the Republic of China to exchange products such as bristle (PS: Don't underestimate the bristle, brother). We, without this thing, the artillery barrel cannot clean the residual propellant. The bristles were one of the controlled strategic materials in the US military at that time. China was a big pig-raising country at the time), mineral resources and a series of German military development sites. Urgently needed supplies reserves.

Among the strategic materials shipped back to Germany in whole ships, the tungsten ore resources exchanged from China, the world's largest country in tungsten ore resources, are naturally indispensable.

It was these tungsten ore reserve resources purchased from China that created the legend of the Type 40 tungsten-core armor-piercing projectiles later used in a series of classic battles, including Tiger tanks and Panther tanks.

It is different from most full-caliber armor-piercing projectiles in the early World War II.

The Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing projectile manufactured and equipped by the German army was a very special sub-caliber armor-piercing projectile at the time. The overall armor-piercing projectile warhead was still made of a traditional steel casing, but it contained a slender tungsten alloy inside the projectile body. The bullet core penetrates the armor body.

When the armor-piercing projectile casing wrapped with a tungsten alloy core contacts and hits the enemy tank armor plate, the sharp armor-piercing projectile deformed by a strong external force will stop moving forward, while the tungsten alloy core armor-piercing body wrapped inside it will Under the extrusion of external force, it breaks away from the armor-piercing projectile body, continues to move forward and penetrates the enemy tank armor.

Compared with traditional steel armor-piercing bullets, the warhead has a higher-density tungsten alloy armor-piercing core, has better armor-piercing capabilities under the same gun caliber, and has an unparalleled penetration advantage in that era when dealing with heavy tanks.

But as the saying goes, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. While it has a higher penetration than the armor-piercing ammunition of the same period, the Type 40 tungsten-core armor-piercing projectile also loses the ability to detonate the warhead charge after penetrating the armor. , thereby expanding the advantage of the killing effect.

The Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing projectile, which has only one tungsten core armor-piercing core as the actual armor-piercing body, has lost the ability to fill the warhead with explosive charges from the beginning.

After penetrating the enemy tank armor, the Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing projectile can only rely on the slender tungsten core armor-piercing body itself and the enemy tank armor fragments that collapse after penetration to kill the internal members of the enemy tank and destroy Regarding the on-board equipment inside the tank, in actual combat there are often embarrassing situations where one shot penetrates and only kills or injures one or two members of the enemy tank crew. The enemy tank still retains its fighting power and ability to fight back in an emergency.

But in general, the Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing projectile, which has always been the most cutting-edge armor-piercing projectile among the German armored forces, accompanied the German army throughout almost the entire course of World War II.

From the 20mm machine gun with the smallest caliber to the astonishing 71 times caliber 88mm tank gun used on the King Tiger tank that debuted as the empire's doomsday weapon, Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing projectiles of various calibers have always been the mainstay of the German armored forces. One of our favorite must-have cartridges.

Although the important source of tungsten ore imported from China was indirectly interrupted in the later stages of the war by declaring war on China in line with its ally Japan, at the same time, Allied strategic bombers taking off from the British mainland launched an attack on Norway, a major ore producing area under German control. The long-term strategic bombing also made the German army, which was already stretched thin with tungsten ore reserves, even worse.

This series of bad news ultimately led to the German armored forces at the end of the war being unable to receive timely replenishment of Type 40 tungsten-core armor-piercing bullets. A considerable number of the German Panzer IV tank crews, which were the main force, simply could not obtain the scarce Type 40 tungsten-core armor-piercing bullets. Configuration, only basic 75mm full-caliber armor-piercing projectiles can be used to deal with the enemy's increasingly sophisticated and powerful armored forces.

Even the elite German armored personnel who drive the Empire's most cutting-edge King Tiger heavy tanks and Jaguar tank destroyers can only get a few or more than a dozen rounds on board, which is equivalent to severely restricting the German army. The overall combat strength of the armored forces.

But in 1941, when Operation Barbarossa had just begun, the German armored forces at this time had not yet reached the end of World War II. In the "Wang Xiaoer New Year, every year is worse than the last year", they had to count the remaining number of Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing bullets. Come to the dilemma of living on a budget.

The German armored forces, which not only took possession of the Norwegian ore production area but also had a large amount of tungsten ore resources imported from China, can be said to be quite generous at the moment. As the No. 1 imperial guard unit under the SS, which was established in the name of the head of state, the Guards Flag Division, which has the priority to configure and replenish equipment, will naturally not be short of Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing shells.

Knowing that there was a huge gap and uneven attack and defense between his own Type III tank and the T34 tank in the hands of the Soviets, the gunner Wolf, who was responsible for operating the main gun, notified the loader to directly put a Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing shell into the gun barrel at the beginning of the encounter, hoping to use this best type of armor-piercing shell in his hands to give the T34 tank a fatal blow.

However, this Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing shell, which can ensure the maximum penetration of 90 mm vertical steel armor at a distance of 500 meters, hit the upper front armor area of ​​Malashenko's vehicle directly because of the hasty aiming of the gunner Wolf.

The Type 40 tungsten core armor-piercing projectile, which has excellent penetration performance and is very effective against vertical steel armor, ricochets directly into the air because it does not have the cap-rectifying effect. The T34 tank, with its front armor plate tilted horizontally at an angle of 60 degrees, is like using a body-protecting magic skill when dealing with such armor-piercing projectiles without the cap-rectifying effect, and it is no problem for it to directly ricochet away small water pipe armor-piercing projectiles with a caliber of only 50 mm.