Chapter 1590 The End of an Era: The Last T34

To a certain extent, Kotin is actually a bit of a talkative person, with a bit of Iushkin's scheming and joking side.

Of course, this does not mean that Ke Jin is a man who only knows how to talk. His reputation as the father of the Red Army's heavy tanks is not a given. It's just that Kotin's personality and his pleasant get-together with Malashenko made him speak "a little more" than usual.

Compared with Kotin, Morozov, who was also a Soviet tank designer, was completely different.

Just as Ke Jin commented on him: He is rigid, has few cold words, and is not good at communicating with others.

Although what Ke Jin said is not entirely correct, it does have a somewhat unpleasant taste in looking at competitors.

But to a certain extent, Kogin was partly right.

For example, Morozov, who has a big bald head, does not change his expression much, makes few sarcastic remarks, and has a vague poker face, but in Malashenko's view, this can be summed up as "less talk, more action" Among the practical people. Morozov's professional talent is no worse than Kotin's, but their personalities are completely different, which is no big deal.

There was almost not much conversation with Morozov along the way. Malashenko was like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden. He looked around curiously at everything he had never seen before before following the lead. Morozov arrived at his final destination: the production workshop under the Second Design Bureau.

"This is the place where we carry out work related to test prototypes. All test prototypes and prototypes that have actually been started by the Second Design Bureau are here. Whether they are under construction, have been built and are waiting for testing, or have failed in testing. To the abandoned ones, unless they have been dismantled, this is the entire history of the Second Design Bureau.”

Morozov led Malashenko directly to the most important and special production workshop under the Second Design Bureau. This large tank factory, as Morozov said, can almost It is regarded as the living history of the Second Design Bureau.

In bringing Malashenko here, in addition to his trust in Malashenko, Morozov also hoped that Malashenko could quickly understand the entire situation.

Rather than wasting time and effort on fiddling with design drawings, showing off words and words, Morozov believed that letting Malashenko see the actual car was actually the most direct and simple way.

For people who deal with tanks all day long on the battlefield, it is better to let them get in touch with real objects and use their hands and eyes than to stare at those broken pictures and try to see the flowers.

However, at this moment, Malashenko no longer has any extra mood and time to do "superfluous nonsense" with Morozov.

Well, that's right. In the eyes of Comrade Lao Ma at this moment, any more useless nonsense will be nonsense and will waste his precious time.

Also seeing Malashenko's exaggerated expression that almost made his eyes pop out, Morozov, who knew what he should do now, didn't need to say anything, and immediately took the initiative to become a tour guide and began to lead Marashenko. Shenke walked and talked while introducing.

"That one over there, the last T34, we call her Cherno Alpha, the one I just told you about."

"It is necessary to equip an experimental 100mm main gun and install a muzzle brake to reduce the recoil to an acceptable range. Because her body is too slender, the turret structure cannot withstand such recoil impact. The original design At that time, I did not consider that it would carry such a powerful artillery piece.”

"It looks unattractive, but its actual combat power is very powerful. It is a fierce and fast Soviet steel hunter. If the 100mm custom-made artillery shells were not too long, it would take a lot of effort and a long reloading time to find a way to insert them. As for Cannon Block, then she is exactly what she described."

"Now, she has been denied, and she will probably stay in a quiet corner gathering dust or being dismantled for the rest of her life. Just take a few last glances at her, Comrade General. Maybe in the future, you won't be able to see her anymore. "

"The last T34" does not mean that this is the last T34 that rolled off the production line when the T34 ended production.

What Morozov really wants to express is that this T34100 is destined to be the last one in the flourishing T34 model to come to an end.

The Second Design Bureau has made a conclusion based on the actual combat feedback report from the front line. The T34 medium tank, which has been fighting since the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, has almost been drained of its potential for upgrade and improvement. No matter how hard it works to improve it, it will be difficult to adapt to the future. Engage in intense and complex battles.

Perhaps the production of the T34 series medium tanks will not stop in the short term, but Morozov and the Second Design Bureau will indeed not try to make new T34 sub-models, and everything will end here.

The T3485 will be the last mass-produced T34 tank, and the T34100 will become the veritable "last" T34 in the entire T34 family technology tree.

Strictly speaking, this is the first experimental tank in the Soviet Union to be equipped with a 100 mm caliber main gun in this timeline.

When Ke Jing was working on the IS2 project, he really wanted to build a 100-gun prototype vehicle to test the waters. However, due to Malashenko's strong suggestion for the 122-gun, and the objective reality that the 100-gun did not have the conditions for mass production at the time, and the trial was in vain, Kogin finally gave up the plan to build a 100-gun prototype.

Therefore, T34100 was able to win the title of "No. 1 in the Soviet Union".

Looking at the T34100 prototype in front of me, it has a very long gun barrel and a muzzle brake. It looks quite top-heavy. Malashenko, who saw this thing for the first time and possibly the last time in his life, couldn't help but sigh.

"If the rear part of her turret could be longer, she might be able to successfully carry 100 guns for mass production, which is really a pity."

Looking at Malashenko who had already stepped forward and was reaching out to touch the abandoned T34100 prototype car, Morozov, who did not feel sorry for his work, then spoke.

"It's not that simple, Comrade General. Another reason for the difficulty in loading is that the breech block protrudes too long inside the turret. Depending on the position of the loader and the length of the 100mm custom shell, it is really difficult to load. So. Not only did the turret configuration design have to be modified, but the turret also had to be enlarged and the turret seat ring widened. The chassis of the vehicle also had to be modified accordingly to accommodate the changes in the turret’s center of gravity.”

"Calculating such a complicated workload, it is basically the same as designing a new tank. Although it is a pity, we really have to give up on her. She will be the end of the entire T34 series, although it is not very satisfactory. "

This abandoned T34100 placed in the far corner of the entrance is just the beginning. Deeper in the factory workshop, there are more unknown surprises waiting for Malashenko.

"Come on, Comrade General, let's go see something more worthy of attention."