Due to the heavy weight of the b-4 howitzer, Zhang Yunhan had to ask the newly established Ordnance Research Institute to research heavy-load trucks to tow it, and improved off-road military trucks based on the Henschel truck. Zhang Yunhan specifically pointed out that military Trucks and future military vehicles will all be equipped with diesel engines.
Military vehicles use diesel engines because diesel engines have large torque, strong power, and low fuel consumption. They are the best choice for large military vehicles.
In terms of commonly used internal combustion engines, they are mainly divided into two types: gasoline engines and diesel engines. In the field of household cars, gasoline engines have an absolute advantage.
The advantages of a gasoline engine include low vibration, quietness, fast acceleration, and good low-temperature starting performance. It is very suitable for family cars that focus on comfort and racing.
However, gasoline engines also have a relatively large weakness, that is, their thermal efficiency is relatively low.
The thermal efficiency of a gasoline engine is only about 30%, resulting in a weak torque burst. To put it bluntly, the "energy" is not strong enough. For large vehicles and machinery, the power of gasoline engines is obviously insufficient.
The characteristics of diesel engines can well make up for this weakness of gasoline engines.
The thermal efficiency of a diesel engine can reach more than 40%, and the energy density of diesel is also higher than that of gasoline. This makes the diesel engine naturally "powerful" and can burst out large torque at low speeds, which is especially suitable for heavy loads. Use of machinery.
The overloaded trucks we usually see on the road, pulling dozens of tons of cargo, are running more crazy than the other.
(Not to mention vehicles, tanks are all driven by diesel engines. Germany's Leopard 2 main battle tank uses a V12 diesel engine code-named "MB873Ka-501". This engine can make a combat weight of 55.15 tons The Leopard 2 tank soared to 72 kilometers per hour. If it were replaced with a gasoline engine of the same displacement, it would not be able to pull it at all)
Precisely because of its high thermal efficiency, diesel engines have relatively low fuel consumption, and can usually save 30% more fuel than gasoline engines. This can effectively increase the cruising range, reduce the number of refuelings, reduce the pressure on logistics support, and improve the vehicle's "field combat" capability.
Of course, the disadvantages of diesel engines are also obvious, such as loud noise, large vibration, poor low-temperature starting performance, serious exhaust pollution, etc.
But this is nothing to military vehicles that focus on practical performance. After all, military vehicles are used for fighting.
Of course, during World War II, Tokuzi's tanks all had gasoline engines, so why didn't Tokuzi use diesel engines?
First, gasoline engine technology is mature enough
It is an indisputable fact that the German diesel engine technology is advanced, but it is a marine diesel engine, and the engine used to build tanks is somewhat unsatisfactory. This is not to say that efficient diesel engines cannot be developed with Germany's technical level, but the war was at a fever pitch at that time. Hitler was very concerned about the progress of the Tiger tank and wished that the Tiger tank could be finalized and mass-produced as soon as possible. Compared with diesel engines whose technology is not yet mature, gasoline engines are more mature and can be put into the battlefield faster. How mature is Germany's gasoline engine technology? Take the Tiger tank as an example. The Tiger tank has only two officially finalized and mass-produced models - Tiger E and Tiger H. The original Tiger tank used a The 21-liter 12-cylinder Maybach HL210 P30 gasoline engine has a measured power of 641 horsepower. Although this is an engine with excellent performance, it is still not enough for a 56-ton machine.
Second, the diesel engine is immature and unsuitable
Compared with the gasoline engine that can stably output close to 700 horsepower, the diesel engine that can output the same power during World War II is larger and heavier. Lao Maozi does have an aluminum diesel engine, which can reduce weight, but for Dezi who is not rich in materials, making an engine out of aluminum is really too luxurious. What's more, with the technology at the time, even if the materials could be changed to reduce the weight, there was not enough technology to shrink a 700-horsepower diesel engine and stuff it into a tank.
Based on this, Zhang Yunhan hopes that his scientific researchers can design an excellent new diesel engine based on system technology to facilitate self-development of tanks in the future. In fact, Zhang Yunhan is currently conducting self-research, improving the body armor on the basis of the T26, replacing the two turrets with one, and equipping it with a large-caliber artillery.
Jincheng Army Military Academy, today is the day when the armored command system was officially established. Zhang Yunhan brought Lu Bohan, two military commanders, and some military staff to the scene.
There are 60 steel monsters placed in the vast wilderness. The system soldiers also know the future prospects of tanks and fully support Zhang Yunhan's development of tanks.
These 60 tanks in the wilderness are T26 tanks. The design of the T26 itself is quite good. As a light tank, its armor and firepower are superior to its opponents of the same period, and its mobility is quite good.
During the civil war in Haigong, the T26 completely overwhelmed Tokko's light tanks, but was often mistakenly sent to attack anti-tank gun positions, resulting in heavy losses. In the Battle of Nomenkan, the T26 served as Maozi's striking fist, beating the Bean Tanks of Tiaopanji into silence. However, due to its weak armor, many were destroyed by Japanese infantry in close combat. In the Soviet-Finnish War, in addition to its weak armor, the T26 was also found to have a serious lack of firepower and was unable to deal with the Finnish army's strong fortresses and fortifications. It can be found from these wars that the T26 can complete the tasks it is supposed to complete, such as suppressing the opponent's light tanks, breaking through weak defense lines, quickly interspersing and surrounding enemy infantry, etc. The task it cannot complete is to overcome the strongly fortified enemy defense lines, especially It is a defense line that strengthens anti-tank firepower. This is normal, and other light tanks cannot do this. The T26's combat losses are indeed relatively large. This is not because the overall design has major flaws, but because the Soviet Union simplified the T26.
For a light tank like the T26, its armor can basically only protect against light weapons. If you want to improve battlefield survivability, you can only work on two aspects, one is mobility, and the other is good observation ability. High mobility can reduce being hit, and good vision can better detect threats and avoid them.
The T26 does a good job in maneuverability and is very fast, but the removal of the command tower greatly reduces the commander's observation ability. Moreover, the commander of the T26 also serves as the gunner, and has little time to observe the surroundings during combat. Therefore, It is easy to be attacked by fire from the side and rear. In addition, the T26's fire control ability is not very good, and its precise shooting ability is insufficient. It is said that a relatively high hit rate can only be achieved within 300 meters. Such a short distance is difficult for the T26's weak armor. It's just too dangerous.
The T26 actually represents the consistent characteristics of Soviet tanks: better armor, faster speed, emphasis on firepower, but poor observation capabilities and shooting accuracy, and poor ergonomics. This characteristic is also evident on the T34. Of course, this is currently the leading advanced weapon in the country or in the world.
