Munitions Empire

"Sir!" Shaking off the drizzle clinging to his military uniform, Liu Guozhu stood at attention and saluted inside the warehouse, greeting his superior. "Do you know why I have called you here?" The other handed Liu Guozhu a thick file and then signaled him to follow his pace. In the illumination of a row of lights, Liu Guozhu walked behind his battalion commander, passing areas stacked with ammunition and spare parts. "I don't know!" Liu Guozhu answered honestly; his mind was still preoccupied with why the Armored Corps he belonged to hadn't been dispatched by General Redman to the front line to join the battle. After all, there was a meeting about the halted offensive, wasn't there? It mentioned that the enemy's defense line was solidly built, and the front-line troops were lacking heavy firepower support. "We have been talking about replacing your weapons and equipment with new models for a while, and now it's finally happened. First, we will start with the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the 1st Armored Division to test out and see if it works well," the logistics officer walking in front of the battalion commander turned back and said to all the tank commanders with a smile. "Take a look! This is our 'Panther Tank', an absolute super tank!" Arriving in front of the new tank, the logistics officer pointed at the parked vehicle and introduced it to all the tank commanders present. It was a tank significantly larger than the No. 4 tank, equipped with a long-barrel 75mm caliber cannon. Its body was longer, also employing the classic drive shaft design, with the gearbox in the front and the engine in the rear. The entire body was very symmetrical, using a sloped armor design with steep angles on all sides, and side skirts for additional armor reinforcement. The upper hull armor had done away with the closable vision ports, adopting the later-model Panther G-type hull front design, emphasizing defense. The most distinctive feature was the tank's use of a special double-row road wheel layout and a wide track, completely different from the No. 4 tank, with only simple openings on the huge gun mantlet. Indeed, Tang Mo had directly brought out an improved version of the classic World War II Panther tank. This tank provided nearly all-around high-strength protection, and its cannon's firepower was definitely adequate. After improvements, the running gear was no longer particularly fragile, and Tang Mo had also implemented his own diesel engine design to reduce the risks of spontaneous combustion associated with petrol engines in such tanks. Aside from some complexity in the production process, this might well be the best tank of the World War II era—the frontline soldiers loved it for its balanced combat effectiveness and higher reliability. The most important upgrade was the use of a classic 75mm caliber long-barrel tank cannon, which could easily penetrate the majority of known World War II tanks at distances beyond 500 meters. Equipped with this cannon, Tang Mo's tank units wouldn't have to change their cannon caliber for a while. Meanwhile, new armor-piercing rounds designed specifically for this cannon were also put into production, and together they packed an even more exaggerated punch. This series of improvements granted the tanks of the Great Tang Kingdom immense tactical advantages: their tanks were nearly impervious to enemy fire, while they could destroy any adversary from a safe distance. Of course, there were improvements, as the Panther tanks were equipped with a more powerful diesel engine, which provided stronger propulsion, and a better generator. With more electrical power, they could install better lighting, a more capable turret rotation motor, a more powerful radio, and a stronger fume extraction system. The shape of the main gun turret was also redesigned; while the main body's shape remained, storage bins previously used on the No. 4 tank were added to both sides, maintaining some of the soldiers' habitual use. On one hand, these storage bins increased practicality, and on the other hand, they enhanced the tank turret's side defense capability. The rear maintained the ammunition replenishment hatch, but additional connecting structures were welded on, and a stowage basket was mounted, covering the circular hatch. After these modifications, the Panther tank's turret appeared bulkier, yet functionally it was somewhat improved. With the more powerful motor, the rotation speed was even faster. As for the widely criticized double-row road wheels, they weren't as universally detested as the rumors suggested—at least they performed very well, giving the tank crew a more stable fighting platform and also enhancing protection around the wheels. In any case, the pressure was on the logistics and factory production units; the frontline tank operators had few issues using them. Tang Country itself was an industrial powerhouse; putting the pressure on the rear tank factories was clearly manageable, given that the production speed of the Tang Country's Panther tanks wasn't slow at all. In summary, while the new tank's exterior resembled the classic Panther, its performance was of a more advanced, improved model, certainly qualifying as the best main battle tank of World War II. "In the coming days, you all can familiarize yourselves with the brand new tanks at your base, get accustomed to their various performance indicators, and also go through the user manual thoroughly." The intelligence department of Tang Country was naturally aware that various nations were manufacturing their own new tanks, so the research and development department of Tang Country couldn't possibly stand still. The chassis of the previous No. 4 tank had already been mostly repurposed to other armored support vehicles. The number of No. 4 tanks within the armored corps of the Great Tang Kingdom had never reached its peak. Each armored division only had more than 200 tanks, but according to the organization, each armored division should be equipped with more than 300 tanks. The gap was deliberately reserved. The reserved part was for the positions prepared for subsequent new tanks. The Panther Tank was the "main battle tank" that Tang Mo had introduced. He needed a tank with balanced defense, mobility, and firepower to support his armored corps until more advanced tanks could be produced. "Finally, we don't have to use short-barreled guns anymore!" Among the armored troops of the Great Tang Kingdom, there had long been complaints about short-barreled guns. After all, low-velocity short-barreled guns had less power, smaller projectiles, and curved trajectories, thus not particularly suitable for use as tank guns. This was the fundamental reason why many tanks during World War II, which had larger caliber guns mounted on their chassis, were ultimately phased out. Low-pressure guns relied more on indirect fire when aiming, which made for a frustrating trajectory that increased the difficulty of targeting for tank crew members. What's more, due to cost reasons, some tanks didn't even have the appropriate aiming devices for their indirect-fire guns, resulting in pitiful accuracy when using these guns. However, being equipped with a long-barrel gun made all the difference; hit wherever it's pointed, significantly reducing aiming difficulty and eliminating the need for adjustments based on habit, obviously a more suitable firepower solution. As an exceptionally skilled tank commander, Liu Guozhu actually liked the current Panther Tank very much. Although he didn't quite understand the significance of the double-row road wheels, he really liked the 75mm caliber long-barrel tank gun installed on the tank before him. He lowered his head, flipped to the section describing the main gun, and saw the firepower test parameters—there it was written, it could penetrate a No. 4 tank at a distance of about 1000 meters. This was a bit frightening; Liu Guozhu had previously commanded No. 4 tanks in battle and knew their frontal defense was among the strongest of current known tanks. Yet the main gun of the new tank could penetrate the frontal armor of a No. 4 tank at a distance of 1000 meters, which could simply be described as defying the heavens. This signified that the new tanks could fire as soon as they sighted the enemy, and could ensure they destroy any enemy tank within the distance of detection! "Truly formidable." Looking down at the data, Liu Guozhu felt his blood was about to boil. As a tank commander, wasn't his dream to one day have his tank roll over all enemies? "The tank uses the latest aiming scopes produced by the Chang'an Optical Instruments Factory, with higher precision than the aiming scopes used by No. 4 tanks! And it's also equipped with a small mechanical computer, which can simply calculate the shooting parameters." After reading the introduction about the optical instruments, Liu Guozhu believed his tank was really very powerful. What excited him even more was that for the first time, a new tank was fitted with a top machine gun for the tank commander, giving him some support while sticking his head out to command the battle. "There's also a power interface. I wonder what it's for, it says it's for external equipment... no idea what kind of external equipment though..." muttered another commander standing next to Liu Guozhu, scrutinizing the additional interface next to the commander's position. Of course, they did not know that it was an outlet reserved for night vision equipment; Great Tang Group was developing an infrared night vision system for the Panther Tank, to confer combat capability in night-time or low-visibility conditions. "Although I don't know why its front is sloped, it does look better than the No. 4 tank." Liu Guozhu looked at the tank with slopes everywhere and sincerely remarked. "Yeah, it does look a lot more handsome." The commander standing beside him kept nodding, agreeing with Liu Guozhu's words. The theory behind sloped armor design was still in its experimental phase; besides Great Tang Group, tank designers from other countries were not yet conscious of this aspect. What they were still considering was how to fit a larger engine into the chassis and then, in turn, mount thicker armor on the body. "But it's not so easy to climb upon." Liu Guozhu chuckled, walked over to the camouflaged tank, and stretched out his hand, touching the cold steel. ---------- In the past, it was always necessary to modify foreign tanks before using them, especially those "troublesome" double-row road wheels. This time, I will indulge myself and not modify them; just use them as they are. Hahaha! Purely the author's personal preference, not to say this choice truly has any basis or advantage, so don't take it too seriously.