Chapter 96: War Clouds (I)

Turning his sight away from the huge cold breech block in front of him, Malashenko turned his head back and saw another change that surprised him within his field of vision.

"The first ammunition rack in the turret? God, this design is finally not anti-human!"

The so-called first ammunition rack in the turret is to add an ammunition rack for storing spare ammunition in the internal space of the turret, and move the shells originally stored in the vehicle body to the turret for temporary storage.

Throughout the entire World War II, the design of the first ammunition rack in the turret can be said to have both advantages and disadvantages.

Under normal circumstances, the front area of ​​the turret, which is the most likely part of the vehicle to be hit by bullets, is undoubtedly the part that is most likely to be penetrated in battle. In this case, the situation faced by the first ammunition rack inside the turret is undoubtedly very dangerous.

Once the first ammunition rack inside the turret explodes because the armor is penetrated and the ammunition is ignited, the members inside the two tanks will definitely die. The powerful ammunition explosion is even enough to blow off the turret of a heavy tank weighing more than ten tons. The so-called tank "explosion flying head" is derived from this.

But from another perspective, the advantages of the first ammunition rack built into the turret are also obvious.

The first ammunition rack added inside the turret can not only expand the storage space of the entire vehicle's shells and increase the number of spare ammunition for the entire vehicle, so as to improve the battlefield sustained combat capability of the entire tank to a better level.

At the same time, the first ammunition rack placed in the turret can also greatly increase the loading speed of the tank's main gun. The loader who originally needed to bend down to the tank chassis to take the shells now only needs to turn around and take out the ammunition from the first ammunition rack in the turret and then load it directly into the main gun to complete the loading.

So in general, the design of the tank with the first ammunition rack built into the turret can basically be determined to have more advantages than disadvantages.

In the late World War II, including the latest German "King Tiger" heavy tank, the powerful Soviet "Stalin" IS-2 heavy tank, and the Soviet "Stalin" IS-3 heavy tank that appeared at the 1945 military parade in Berlin, all adopted this design of the first ammunition rack built into the turret.

Although the design of the first ammunition rack built into the turret has its pros and cons, Malashenko, as a time traveler from a later generation, is happy to see this design, which is destined to be the mainstream trend in the future.

When commanding the 1941 T3476 tank in battle earlier, the lack of the design of the first ammunition rack built into the turret made Kirill, who was already inexhaustible, bend back and forth to take out the not-so-light 76mm fixed shells from the ammunition rack on the chassis of the vehicle to complete the loading.

This job, which sounds easy, is naturally nothing on weekdays, but it is not easy to complete this job in a narrow turret that is constantly shaking due to wartime maneuvers.

"One, two, three, forty."

When Malashenko finished counting, he kept muttering numbers while looking around, and the total number of ammunition in the first ammunition racks placed on the left and right bulkheads inside the turret was obviously very satisfactory.

"One ammunition rack has five rounds of ammunition, and the two first ammunition racks on the left and right have a total of ten rounds of ammunition. Kirill must have jumped up when he heard the news. Now the combat reloading speed can be improved a lot on the basis of the original T34 tank."

In addition, the internal space of the turret is more than one level wider than the original T34 medium tank. Even after the first ammunition rack of the turret is built in, there is still a considerable surplus space, so that the problem of the commander serving as a gunner on the T34 tank, which was forced to do so because the internal space of the turret was too narrow, has finally been solved.

Now, the five-man crew led by Malashenko, who has just joined the team with Lieutenant Iushkin, can finally exert their full combat effectiveness.

Driver Seryosha, mechanic Nikolai, loader Kirill, gunner Iushkin, and finally the commander Malashenko.

Freed from part-time work, Malashenko can finally concentrate on his duties as a commander and focus on combat command and crew coordination tasks in future battles.

For Malashenko, who has long been fed up with one person doing two jobs, the great changes brought about by the five-person complete crew are the best way to improve the combat effectiveness of the entire vehicle in his mind, no other.

After touching his brand-new car inside and out, this best car condition just after leaving the tank factory and after Captain Karamov personally led people to carry out battlefield maintenance is enough to make Malashenko, who has just taken over his new car, feel excited.

Stains, oil smell, rust, structural wear, armor fatigue

All the defects and shortcomings that existed on the previous T34 tank have completely disappeared on this brand-new prototype KV1 heavy tank. This carefully maintained and brand-new new car is exactly the perfect car that Malashenko has always hoped for!

As Malashenko jumped off the turret and walked out of the tank warehouse to prepare for some follow-up work in the camp, dozens of kilometers away from the city of Yartsevo, in the vanguard of the 2nd Armored Group of the German Army Group Center, a German general with three stars on his shoulders was riding in a German car called a "barrel car" to inspect the headquarters of his subordinate division.

The Dnieper River in July, in the area of ​​​​Shakhot on the east bank, is beautiful and pleasant. The Dnieper River, which has not been polluted by the modern industrialization process of mankind, is like a silver ribbon across the grassland.

Looking at the broad and charming clear river in his field of vision, the Wehrmacht general, who seemed to be intoxicated by the beautiful scenery, could not help but speak softly to his adjutant who was sitting in the back seat beside him.

"The Bolsheviks have such a vast territory and rich resources but do not use them and let them go to waste. Although such a scenery is intoxicating and beautiful, it is still a manifestation of industrial backwardness and inability to develop. What do you think? Harien."

The young adjutant gently adjusted his military cap and then looked in the direction of his superior's sight. The sparkling river surface was reflecting the sun's rays and refracting the brilliant golden light.

"As the Führer said, the swords of German soldiers will obtain suitable land for cultivation and living space for the plows of the German people. And we are undoubtedly the practitioners of the Führer's will and the interests of the people, Commander Guderian."