Chapter 367 Armored Personnel Carrier

After some discussion, Charles and Estini finally set the thickness of the additional armor at 20MM.

This has many benefits for the tank.

First of all, it is more flexible in terms of maneuverability. When there is no war, the additional armor can be removed and transported by car, and then put back on when there is war.

This not only increases the tank's mobility but also reduces the load on the engine and increases its motoring time.

Secondly, after adding the 20MM additional armor, its frontal armor reaches 45MM thickness.

Originally, the German anti-tank rifle could penetrate the "Shire A1" head-on at about 200 meters, but now it is basically immune to it and cannot penetrate it even at 50 meters or closer.

Finally, of course, it will have more advantages in tank battles.

20MM of additional armor may not seem like much, but having it or not is often the difference between life and death on the battlefield.

However, Estini's thinking was always on upgrading tanks and increasing firepower. After the protection problem was solved, he began to consider transforming tank guns and even developing new tanks.

Charles reminded: "These cannot be completed in a short time, Colonel. We should consider what other aspects can be improved."

Estini was stunned. The three major aspects of a tank are power, defense and firepower. Apart from these, what other improvements could there be?

"Perhaps you have noticed that tanks are faster than infantry," said Charles. "This makes the troops' maneuvers inconsistent."

"Yes." Colonel Estini nodded.

Although the "Shire A1" is not fast, it can reach a maximum speed of 15 kilometers. However, the fully armed infantry marched at a speed of about 5 kilometers per hour.

Affected by this aspect, when marching, tanks often need to stop and wait for the infantry to follow.

The 1st Tank Brigade was able to accept this because the tanks could be inspected while stopped, which was not considered a waste.

Plus, it actually has a solution.

"We can equip the infantry with cars, General." Browne interjected: "There are also three-wheeled vehicles so that the infantry can catch up with the tanks. Of course, this requires your support."

Browne was full of expectations when he spoke, which means that the 1st Tank Brigade will be fully mechanized.

He had never dared to think about it before. The military would definitely not agree. When other troops did not even have a few vehicles for their logistics units, they actually wanted to be fully mechanized?

But if Charles, a military strategist and capitalist, is here, this may not be a dream.

"Is it just a car?" Charles asked, with a smile on his lips.

"It's just a car!" Brownie nodded firmly. He used this generous attitude to show Charles that he was "not greedy."

However, Brownie did not understand what Ciel meant.

Charles smiled and said: "We know that cars are not safe on the battlefield. They have no protection. Soldiers gather in cars and move along the road. Once ambushed by the enemy, they will suffer heavy casualties."

Brownie took it for granted that Ciel was "unwilling to give" an excuse, so he rushed to say:

"I can solve these problems, General. It's not difficult."

"For example, we can send out three-wheelers to carry out reconnaissance, which can ensure the safety of the front. We can also mix tanks and cars. Once attacked, the tanks will immediately provide cover for the infantry."

"We will also carry out targeted training on this, and soldiers will get out of the car as quickly as possible to prepare for battle!"

…

"Are you sure?" Charles had a hint of joking in his eyes.

"I'm sure!" Brownie nodded firmly, looking excited.

Is that possible?

God, that's hundreds of cars!

Astini seemed to see something strange, and he asked with confusion: "But general, besides cars, do we have other options?"

"No, there is no other choice." Charles replied calmly: "But we can use our own cars."

"A self-produced car?" Brownie and Estiny looked at each other, what is that?

Charles said "hmm" and then gave a plan: "You know, our engine has reached 130 horsepower. If we use this engine to produce a slightly smaller car, we can add necessary protection to it." Enable it to block bullets and shrapnel..."

Estini exclaimed: "This changes it to an armored personnel carrier."

"Yes." Charles said: "In this way, it will not have the problems mentioned before. Even if it encounters an ambush, it will not collapse instantly. At the same time, it can also cooperate with tanks to form another kind of firepower on the battlefield."

Charles thinks this way: The tank unit is a combination of tanks and infantry. When tanks are difficult to upgrade, upgrading infantry is a good choice.

Once the armored vehicles are installed, the infantry's defense, firepower and mobility will achieve a qualitative leap, and the overall combat effectiveness of the 1st Tank Brigade will rise to another level.

Charles looked at Brownie helplessly: "This kind of armored vehicle is already in production. I originally planned to use it to equip the tank brigade. Since you insist on using cars, then as you wish, I can consider equipping them with other troops. …”

(The picture above shows the U.S. military Yu-13 reconnaissance vehicle, carrying 8 people. It actually adds necessary protective steel plates around the car to increase defense. The machine gun is detachable. The highlight is that there is a protective steel plate on the front windshield, which can be used during combat. Put it down to provide protection for the driver, and the driver can look ahead through the small hole in the steel plate)

"No, no." Brownie rushed to Charles and smiled cautiously: "You are right, General. Cars can't meet the needs of the tank brigade at all. The tank brigade needs to quickly penetrate the enemy's gunfire and artillery fire. The idea of ​​using cars is simply crazy."

"You can use a sidecar for reconnaissance." Charles said: "This can indeed reduce the risk of being ambushed."

"Even so what, the car has no protection!"

"You can also mix tanks and cars."

"The tank can't protect the car at that time. This is a stupid way."

"You can also strengthen training."

"I... No one will want to train with cars, General, it won't work!"

...

Estiny laughed: "Don't worry, Brownie, the general will give it to us. It doesn't mean much to other troops."

Brownie was instantly delighted, looked at Charles excitedly and asked: "General, is that so? That's for us?"

Charles nodded slightly.

What Estiny said was right. As the saying goes, "the best steel should be used on the blade". This armored personnel carrier with increased infantry protection is to allow infantry to keep up with tanks and their pace to achieve the purpose of rapid penetration. Equipping other troops cannot be said to be "meaningless", but it is not very meaningful.

After getting a positive answer, Brownie cheered and couldn't help but excitedly stepped forward to shake Charles' hand, and kept shouting:

"Great, General, thank you, thank you very much!"

"You are a good person, General!"

...