Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 211 WZ-38 Tank

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window into the room, and the soldiers' loud bugle calls woke Wang Feng. He jumped out of bed and glanced outside.

As soon as there was a slight noise inside, Zhao Fangyuan gently knocked on the door:

"Sir?"

Wang Feng responded and casually put on his clothes.

Zhao Fangyuan pushed open the door and entered, followed by a cook: "Sir, the telegram we sent to the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army last night received a response half an hour ago. They consulted with the headquarters in Yan'an, and they agreed to our request. Brigade Commander Chen will probably arrive in Changzhi tomorrow to discuss the specific details with you!"

Wang Feng nodded: "We still need to think of a way to get the weapons out."

Zhao Fangyuan scratched his head: "Transporting weapons. If we want to get the weapons to the Japanese mainland, we'll probably have to rely on foreign ships. Currently, only their merchant ships can reach the Japanese mainland."

Wang Feng: "Go and find out if any foreign trading companies in Hong Kong and Beijing or Tianjin have any cargo ships arriving in Japan recently."

Zhao Fangyuan: "Yes!"

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Changzhi No.1 Vehicle Factory.

After having breakfast, Wang Feng rushed here immediately. As soon as he got out of the car, he immediately attracted the attention of everyone present.

Factory director Zhu Jun personally came forward, smiling and extending his hand: "Welcome, sir, to inspect our factory!"

The technicians nearby immediately applauded, and the scene erupted in cheers.

Wang Feng smiled and said, "Alright, time is of the essence, so let's skip the formalities and take me inside!"

Zhu Jun stepped aside to make way for him: "This way, sir!"

Wang Feng and his entourage strode into the factory area.

In the past six months, with the continuous development of the military industry, the original cave-style factories are no longer suitable. In order to better ensure production efficiency, all factories have moved to open spaces. Towering factory buildings have sprung up, huge chimneys stand tall, and a steel forest atmosphere is overwhelming.

Wang Feng glanced around: "How are your factory's air defense facilities?"

Zhu Jun quickly said, "Commander Song has deployed two air defense battalions in this area. We are now capable of dealing with small-scale Japanese aerial bombing!"

Wang Feng frowned: "Just small to medium scale?"

Song Wenjie added from the side, "Sir, in addition to deploying air defense forces near the military factory, we have also set up air defense warning stations in the area surrounding Changzhi. In the event of any situation, we will notify the National Defense Industry Commission immediately. We have professional personnel to be responsible for sounding the air raid sirens!"

Wang Feng nodded: "Which factory is in charge of developing the anti-aircraft gun?"

Song Wenjie truthfully replied, "It's the Second Artillery Factory."

"This factory is newly built and is currently only responsible for this one project."

Wang Feng: "How's the progress?"

"Relying solely on anti-aircraft machine guns to deal with low-flying targets has significant limitations. Military industrial zones are of paramount importance, and we must be fully prepared!"

Song Wenjie thought for a moment and said, "The development of the anti-aircraft gun is going smoothly, and it is estimated that it will soon enter the trial production stage."

Wang Feng: "Pay close attention; I want to see the mass-produced model within this month."

Song Wenjie saluted: "Yes, sir!"

As the group walked into the factory area, the sound of heavy machinery running grew louder.

The group quickly entered the factory.

The production workshop we visited was very large; in terms of area, it was comparable to a medium-sized automobile assembly workshop in our previous life.

Zhu Jun led the way: "Sir, this way, the second floor is up!"

Wang Feng looked up.

Rather than calling it the second floor, it's more like a steel-walled corridor that allows you to clearly see what's below.

Wang Feng slowly stepped onto the stairs.

The workers below were rushing to finish their work, sparks flying as they welded metal. A sizzling sound rang out, and a dark green tank was placed at the end of the production line, immediately catching Wang Feng's eye.

"This is our new tank?"

Zhu Jun hurriedly replied, "Yes, the internal code name we gave it is WZ-38 tank. We'll have to trouble you, sir, to decide on the official name."

Wang Feng frowned: "WZ-38?"

Zhu Jun added, "The 'W' stands for weapon, the 'Z' stands for armored vehicle, and '38' is the Gregorian calendar year."

Wang Feng nodded: "This name is good, I like it, let's go with this, the official name will be WZ-38!"

Zhu Jun was overjoyed and quickly nodded, "Okay!"

Wang Feng glanced at the tank.

WZ-38 type.
This has a strong Chinese tank vibe from World of Tanks!

Zhu Jun: "Sir, although this tank is a copy of the Soviet BT-2 fast tank, we have overcome the shortcomings of the original tank and made certain modifications to the WZ-38 tank."

Wang Feng became interested: "Tell me about it."

Zhu Jun pointed to the tank below: "Although the original Soviet BT-2 tank had excellent power, its armor was weak and its 37mm tank gun could not meet the needs of combat. Therefore, we focused our main improvements on these two aspects."

"First of all, the armor thickness has been increased by two millimeters, with the hull and turret armor being 8-14 millimeters thick. The Soviet-style steel armor, which consisted of a combination of riveted and welded steel, has been replaced with fully welded armor to ensure the protection of the entire vehicle."

"The tank gun is equipped with a 47mm tank gun that we developed ourselves!"

Wang Feng: "What about the power? Adding armor and tank cannons will increase the combat weight."

Zhu Jun quickly explained: "Some of our factory's workers used to work at the Moscow Automobile Plant and brought back relatively advanced engine technology. This tank uses the Christie suspension system and is dual-purpose wheeled and tracked. If it is traveling on a road with good conditions, the wheeled speed can reach 72 kilometers per hour, and the tracked speed is 55 kilometers per hour."

Wang Feng nodded.

In the current era, the choice between tank mobility and armored firepower is a simple one-way street; you can only choose one. Pursuing armored firepower inevitably means sacrificing some mobility.

He had watched the battle of the Japanese Type 97 tanks from an overhead perspective, and their overall combat capability far exceeded that of the Type 92 and Type 94 tanks.

The tanks that Chiang Kai-shek imported from Europe and America were as thin as paper in comparison to the Type 97 tanks, and their firepower was even more appalling.

Wang Feng: "Dual-purpose wheeled and tracked?"

Zhu Jun nodded: "That's the unique feature of this suspension system, but switching between the two is a bit troublesome. Even with skilled soldiers, it takes about 30 minutes."

Wang Feng glanced at the tank again, feeling very satisfied.

The first domestically produced tank met the basic standards of Western light tanks. Apart from the factors related to the system panel, the technical workers also contributed a lot.

If things had proceeded in the usual way, the WZ-38 would probably have fallen behind the times as soon as it was produced, and would have been crushed by the Japanese Type 97 tanks.

Zhu Jun: "Sir, shall we go out and take a look?"

Wang Feng snapped out of his daze: "Okay, can you drive the tank out now?"

Song Wenjie chimed in from the side: "Sir, we currently have 300 tank soldiers in Changzhi, all ready to go, just waiting for their weapons to be provided!"

Wang Feng remembered.

Just one day after the order to develop the tank was issued, Song Wenjie sent a telegram to the front lines requesting the establishment of a subordinate armored corps academy at the Changzhi Military Academy. At the time, the war situation was urgent, and he did not think much about it, so he approved it directly.

I can't believe the first cohort of trainees is graduating so soon.

Zhao Fangyuan asked doubtfully, "Old Song, it's only been a few months. Are the tank soldiers we've trained up good enough?" Song Wenjie replied, "Don't worry, absolutely no problem. The first batch of trainees were originally students at the Changzhi Military Academy. They transferred here voluntarily. They had already completed their basic education when they enrolled, and they were all children from wealthy families. Not only are they literate, but they can also do simple arithmetic."

"As for other minor details, those can only be honed on the battlefield."

Wang Feng did not refute this.

No matter how well military academy cadets are trained, they are still half-finished products. It is indeed a bit wrong to just throw them into the battlefield, but the situation is urgent and it is impossible to proceed step by step.

We have no choice but to act expediently in this emergency.

Wang Feng: "Let's go, let's go out and take a look!"

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After half an hour.

Field firing range.

The WZ-38 tank, numbered "1", kicked up yellow sand as it slowly drove up to the crowd.

The cover on top of the tank turret was lifted, and the commander emerged from it, wearing a tank helmet, and saluted: "Gentlemen, I am Commander Chu Hanwen, and I will now demonstrate this new tank!"

Wang Feng returned the greeting slightly.

On his way here, he carefully reviewed the information on the WZ-38 tank.

There are three crew members in total.

They are the commander, gunner, and driver, respectively.

The tank commander was responsible for directing the tank, observing the battlefield, and loading the 47mm main gun. Since there was no onboard radio, he had to coordinate with other vehicles through flag signals or hand gestures.

He's probably the busiest person in the entire crew.

Tank Commander Chu Hanwen climbed back into the tank, and Tank No. 1 slowly started moving.

Zhu Jun explained, "Sir, the first project is a simulation of marching roads. We have set up several different scenarios on the site, including muddy sections, gravel roads, and a short section of mountain road over there."

"Sir, please move to this earthen slope."

Zhao Fangyuan handed him a pair of binoculars.

Wang Feng took it and held it in front of him, glanced at it a couple of times, and felt somewhat uncomfortable.

What the hell?
The overhead view is still the best!

Wang Feng wanted to put down the binoculars, but after thinking about it, he obediently stuck them to his eyes.

You still have to put on an act in front of your subordinates!

From an overhead view.

Tank No. 1 sped forward, and by comparing it with the reference points next to it, Wang Feng estimated that the speed had reached more than 50 kilometers per hour.

The mobility is indeed impressive!
First, there are muddy sections of road.

Wang Feng zoomed in, wanting to see more clearly.

He also recalled that during the Huaibei Campaign, the 18th Division mobilized a large number of tanks, but due to the dense network of waterways and muddy roads in Huaibei, the progress was slow, and the tanks had not yet played a significant role before the battle was over.

Tanks on the East Asian battlefield were essentially fighting each other like chickens. The Japanese Type 97 tank shone brightly in Dangshan, but its actual combat effectiveness was just so-so. If it were deployed to the European battlefield, it would only be relegated to the second-line units.

Firepower is important, but it's not the priority; just enough is fine.

The most important feature is mobility.

Tank No. 1 sped along the muddy dirt road. While others could only see one side of the tank through binoculars, he could constantly change his perspective.

Wang Feng made a mental movement and switched the perspective to the side of the tracks.

After running for a short distance, damp mud and grass stalks stuck to the road wheels, but due to the special structure of the tracks, these problems were not serious, and the tank continued to move forward at high speed.

The next section is a sandy road.

The simulation depicts road conditions in Shanxi during the summer.

It also passed perfectly.

The first two are fine, so the highway is a given.

Finally, there's the simulation of a mountain road.

The workers at the vehicle factory built a shovel and planted a few dead trees on it. Wang Feng estimated the slope of the shovel to be at least 30 degrees.

To make the test results more realistic, Tank No. 1 did not choose to run up and use the momentum to rush directly up, but stopped in front of the earthen slope, with thick smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe and the engine roaring at its maximum.

"Buzz!"

After a brief hesitation on the slope, the tank charged straight up. The gaps between the trees were not large. The design of Tank No. 1 sacrificed some crew comfort in exchange for a narrower width. After a couple of minor scrapes, Tank No. 1 rushed directly to the top of the slope.

Zhao Fangyuan lowered his binoculars: "This tank is so mobile?"

"How's it going to cross the water? Can you swim across directly?"

Zhu Jun scratched his head: "This isn't for an amphibious vehicle commander; with current technology, we can't do that yet."

Zhao Fangyuan shook his head, a look of regret on his face: "Alas, what a pity."

Wang Feng took a moment to reply, "This is already quite good. As long as the pontoon bridge is built a little more sturdily, it will be passable."

Zhu Jun nodded quickly: "The officer is right!"

Wang Feng's perspective switches back to the overhead view.

After reaching the top of the hill, the "1" tank immediately plunged down, its turret aimed ahead, and a plume of white smoke drifted past the muzzle.

"boom!"

A 47mm armor-piercing projectile was fired and hit a mountain a kilometer away. Wang Feng watched the smoke rising from the explosion and nodded.

Zhu Jun stood aside. As the factory director and technician, he had watched the tank tests countless times. Ever since the tests began, he had been secretly observing Wang Feng's micro-expressions.

Seeing him nod after the tank fired, I felt a surge of excitement:
"Sir, please continue reading!"

Wang Feng was somewhat suspicious after hearing this. Just as he was thinking, Tank No. 1 fired another shell.

The entire process should take no more than 6 seconds.

With an actual rate of fire of one shot every 6 seconds, it surpasses the vast majority of light tanks in the world today.

Wang Feng smiled and said, "This design is quite good!"

Zhu Jun proudly stated, "The original Soviet BT-2 tank was limited by its small interior space and slow loading speed, while our tank has optimized the breechblock structure, freeing up some space for the commander to perform his duties."

Wang Feng put down his binoculars and switched his perspective back to reality: "The tank design is good. How's the production volume?"

"If the supply of raw materials is sufficient, what can the weekly output be?"

Zhu Jun thought for a moment: "The production capacity is about five vehicles per week. Of course, if a production line is added, this number may be even higher!"

Wang Feng looked at Zhao Fangyuan and Song Wenjie: "I plan to initially set up four tank battalions. What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)