Chapter 28 Combined Tanks

Christie's full name is Walter Christie. He is the famous inventor of the Christie suspension. After World War I, he designed the first tank and first used a balanced suspension device and added springs on the two road wheels of the tank. . This balanced suspension device made his tank much more advanced in terms of balance than tanks from other countries at the same time. However, the military disliked his tank's inability to rotate 360° and ignored it. In addition, the tank engine was less powerful. , the driving speed was too low. Two years later, Christie modified the tank, used a new engine, and increased the speed. However, he still did not install a rotating turret on the tank, so the US military once again ignored him.

This gave Contini an opportunity. After arriving in the United States, he met with Christie and expressed the hope that he could go to Italy to develop his suspension and tanks, and promised to provide all funding. Although Christie still wants to try his luck in the United States, he obviously will not refuse the kindness of the president - he is fully aware of Contini's whirlwind spending in the United States and has no doubts at all. He just doesn't seem like it. Leave the United States.

Contini did not force this, but gave two tempting opinions:

"The elastic components in the suspension you designed are arranged vertically, which will greatly reduce the space inside the car. Why not consider an appropriate tilt arrangement so that the springs use tensile deformation instead of compression deformation to support the car body? This can significantly reduce the space inside the car. Lowering the height of the vehicle body is very beneficial to the balance of the entire vehicle. At the same time, I also recommend using it in combination with hydraulic shock absorbers, which can reduce bumps for the occupants, improve driving stability and thus improve hit accuracy.”

This opinion made Christie's eyes light up on the spot - although the president is young, he is knowledgeable.

"Also, although it is necessary to design a rotating turret, it is not your strength. I have many designers who can come up with the required rotating turret. What you have to do is to focus on improving the chassis, especially the suspension... There are specializations in the field, and you can’t expect an engineer to be proficient in all fields!”

Christie was tempted at the time, but because he was very interested in the tilted arrangement reminded by Contini, he deliberately stayed for one more year - history took a fork here, and Christie did not play with something he was unfamiliar with. Instead of rotating the turret, he tried several tilted suspension methods, which proved to be of high practical value. After figuring this out, he happily came to Italy to report - the president is much more knowledgeable than the U.S. Department of Defense. .

Choosing Christie suspension to start designing tanks was something Contini had carefully thought about: There were three types of tank suspensions during World War II, including Christie suspension, balanced suspension and torsion bar suspension. Of course, torsion bar suspension was the most advanced, but at the same time it was also the most technically difficult. Haw Par has developed to its peak. The balanced suspension arm Christie suspension is slightly more complex and the overall performance is slightly higher. Starting with the Christie suspension is the simplest and most convenient way to upgrade tank manufacturing.

What kind of tank suspension to choose seems to be a technical selection, but in fact it is a national strength selection. Italy is not the United States, nor is it Germany. It does not have such strong technological development and production capabilities. If it wants to build its own tanks, it can only start with simple and easy-to-use things. After careful consideration, Contini believes that the Soviet Union's path is closer to Italy's reality—— In terms of industrial level (technology, not scale), among the major powers, Italy is barely better than the Soviet Union. In terms of user ability and quality, it can also only be said to be barely better than the Soviet Union. Therefore, taking the path of Soviet arms development with the help of German technical forces is more in line with Italy's national conditions and actual needs in a sense. However, Contini is very self-aware. Even if he takes the Soviet path, it is impossible to imitate Comrade Steel and explode a sea of ​​tanks. , Italy has its own national conditions, it would be nice to have a little army, but the key is the navy and air force.

After comprehensive consideration, the simple and easy-to-learn Christie suspension became Contini's first choice. This is almost the same as the idea of ​​building the Ida. Contini also wants to imitate the American tycoons to build the Essex class, but this is something that little Italy cannot do. Even if he can try hard, he will not be able to make the Italian Military equipment has been improved by 2-3 times, but it is still a fraction compared to the wealthy Americans. Therefore, Italy cannot build large-scale warships and must ensure quality. Armored aircraft carriers with strong armor, large tonnage and advanced carrier-based aircraft meet Italy's needs. As long as John Bull is killed in a wave of war and the Mediterranean Sea is closed, Italy can close its doors and become a powerful international power to compete for world hegemony. thoughts? Doesn't exist!

What's more, choosing the Christie suspension does not mean there are no good tanks. The Soviet BT fast tank, T-34, British Cromwell, and post-war Merkava can all be included in this category. In Contini's vision, Italy's main battlefield in the future will be in North Africa. Fast speed, strong reliability, and easy field maintenance are must-have conditions. With this foundation, it can be considered to match it with German products with some advantages and precision, but not the other way around.

"President Ciano..." Christie looked very excited when she saw him. "Your idea of ​​slanting the layout and changing compression to tension is great. I have been experimenting for nearly a year and found that it can effectively increase the space and length of the car body. stability, and at the same time appropriately reducing the height of the vehicle body. Of course, the technical difficulty will be a little higher. I am confident that I can further improve it. I have also applied for a patent. Well, the patent that you and I jointly own, I am ahead of you. This will not Does it offend you?"

"This is all your work, I don't want to take it for myself..." Contini laughed, "Since the patent has been applied, that's fine, but if there is any profit in the future, it will all be yours, I don't want a penny, you know I'm wealthy..."

Christie laughed: There is no capitalist as young, rich and generous as Contini in the United States, so he came to Italy from afar - everyone is for a career, having a boss who appreciates you is better than anything else. "

"Are you still tinkering with the rotating turret? "

"No! I have been studying the chassis all year and have no time to think about the turret. You are right, I can ask other professionals for help with the turret, my ability and expertise are not in this field. ”

Contini mourned for the US Army, whose T3 Christie tank model 1928 was gone: "It just so happened that I acquired a tank and armored vehicle production factory. They used to copy the Renault-17 tank. I plan to ask you to build new and better tanks. You can be the chief engineer of the chassis, and you will be paid well! Other artillery, power, armor, and turrets will be managed by dedicated people. I have a good team!"

"Okay? How many do you plan to build?" When asking this question, Christie guessed that 3-5 were enough. The US Department of Defense asked companies to place bulk orders for this many.

"First, test 20... If it's good, give me 300, and improve while producing. "

Christie was so happy - it's good to have a rich boss, only a fool would be willing to serve the stingy US Department of Defense!

The next day, Christie visited the Ansaldo tank and armored manufacturing plant in Genoa. She thought the plant was very strong and could be considered a large plant in the United States. She had a smooth contact with the engineers there, who did not reject her at all. Two days later, she saw the German "tractor" developers, and then the Czechs - it was indeed a joint group, and the people they employed were all international.

Led by Contini, the tank team used a week to design a future-oriented Italian tank. Since the Fiat 3000 tank, which is the most common Italian equipment and weighs no more than 6 tons, is considered a light tank, the first joint tank product was only 10 .5 tons, it deserves the title of M1 medium tank. The main data include:

Crew: 3 people, driver, commander, loader and machine gunner

Length: 5.11 meters

Width: 2.19 meters

Height: 2.23 meters

Weight: 10.5 tons

Engine: United Power 1926 diesel engine, power 150 horsepower (to be finalized) - the reason for not using a more powerful engine is to control the volume. Contini does not think that the wheel-track combination has any practical effect in North Africa.

Maximum off-road speed: 40 km/h

Maximum road speed: 60 km/h

Maximum range: 250 km

Main gun: 37mm/38 times gun (to be developed), retaining the ability to replace with 50 or 57mm/36 times gun

Auxiliary weapons: 2 x 7.92mm machine gun

Front armor: 22-25mm, tilted arrangement, the specific angle is determined according to the layout requirements;

Turret armor: 25mm front plus 15mm shield, 18mm side and rear

Side and rear armor: 13mm

Bottom armor: 10mm

Top: 8-10mm

The armor is temporarily riveted, and will be changed to welding or casting after technological advancement...

In Contini's vision, this tank will be developed from next year, and it will take at least 3-4 years to produce a prototype, and the real mass production will not be until at least 1932, so he set the technical indicators to 1935, at least to ensure that this tank is advanced before 1935, and can still be ranked at the bottom of the first-class before 1938, and dare not expect it to be farther away. If you have to compare, it is definitely much better than the German No. 1 tank and stronger than the No. 2 No. 3, barely equal to the early model tank No. 3, or basically equal to the Soviet T-27

Then, according to the chassis configuration, various deformed vehicle designs can be carried out. Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, tracked personnel carriers, and command vehicles can all be modified, such as engine upgrades and structural reinforcements. After the artillery is upgraded, the overall chassis is estimated to be able to withstand 13-14 tons of modification weight. In this way, it may be converted into an assault gun to accompany infantry attacks, which is enough for fighting a big war. As for tanks, he will consider new and better goods.

The German side is also very excited about this design. This indicator has surpassed the tractor they explored in terms of both data and concept. Although some engineers doubted whether it could be realized and reported to the country, Seeckt ended this doubt with a cold joke-whatever, this kid has money anyway, it's a waste if he doesn't spend it!

PS: I watched the movie "The Assassination of the Gestapo" yesterday. The name is really bad. It's obviously the assassination of Heydrich. Fortunately, I was not misled by the title. The content is still good...