When San Jose announced its five-year plan, not many people had any ideas.
But when the establishment of a new tank design bureau was announced, the atmosphere at the scene suddenly became very quiet, and then quickly became a sensation.
"Boss, do you really want to design a tank? Really? I also want to participate. Do you have a candidate for the director of the Tank Design Bureau?"
Horst, who was standing next to him, looked a little excited just because the boss said the word tank.
In the eyes of St. Hesser, Horst is a man who remains unmoved despite the collapse of the mountain. It fits his impression of traditional Germany: serious, conservative, introspective, serious about work, performing tasks, and striving for excellence.
It can be said that Germany is currently the strongest nation in the machinery industry in the world. Since the second industrial revolution, German quality has always been well-known, and the automobile, machinery, military industry and other industries are among the best.
It can be said that the tank is the pain in the hearts of every German designer on the scene. They are just poor people after the defeat of the war.
Whether now, in the past, or in the future, even the Americans cannot help but be convinced by the Germans' talent in tanks.
The German designers at the scene, in addition to the artillery design bureau, even the German employees who designed pistols also asked to participate in this new design bureau. As for the local Argentine assistant designers, they had no expression.
"Uh, yes, it's the tank. I've shipped back the American equipment and production lines."
St. Hesse felt a little surprised, but also thought it was normal. He just felt that there were too few German immigrants in his factory, and many things were not carried out well.
"Boss, when will it arrive? I think the gun barrel we developed can be installed, and we are also developing a heavy machine gun. I have an idea in mind."
San Jose's original plan was to build a medium tank, but looking at the level of activity on the scene, they even began to discuss ideas.
This prevents him from wasting such good morale, and the military industry can effectively improve the development of civilian industries such as metallurgical technology, materials technology, armor technology, and diesel engine technology.
"Everyone, be quiet. Let me provide you with an idea. Everyone knows that the current tanks are divided into three categories according to tonnage, but I decided to develop a brand new tank, which is a main battle tank. As for why it is called a main battle tank... ..”
The three categories are mainly divided into light, medium and heavy based on tonnage and vitality. They can basically be said to be the ideas of the first generation of tanks.
Light tanks are less than 30 tons, medium tanks are about 30-45 tons, and heavy tanks are generally more than 45 tons.
During World War II, both warring parties produced about 300,000 tanks and self-propelled artillery. In the early days of the war, Germany first concentrated on using a large number of tanks and carried out blitz warfare.
During the middle and late stages of the war, there were many major battles involving thousands of tanks on the Soviet-German battlefield.
And St. Hesse began to look at the second generation tank, which is the main battle tank.
The third generation tank requires the fourth industrial revolution, which is the Internet information technology revolution. It cannot be done now, but it is actually possible to develop a main battle tank.
"A main battle tank means that its firepower and comprehensive protection capabilities reach or exceed the level of previous heavy tanks, while at the same time overcoming the weakness of heavy tanks' poor off-road performance."
"Let me tell you the data of the tank we need. It weighs 40 tons, can carry 2 to 3 crew members, is equipped with a 105mm rifled tank gun and 2 7.62mm machine guns, has an engine power of 600-800 horsepower, and a top speed of 60,000 kilometers per hour. m/h, the maximum range is 400-600 kilometers.”
Let's just play big. Saint-Jesse can directly provide data and targets and let the tank design bureau do the work. He will be responsible for providing funds and targets.
"Boss, can this tank really be built with our R&D capabilities? The performance is very powerful, and the required diesel engine will probably be designed by ourselves."
Horst simply calculated the data of this tank and found that the performance of this tank exceeded the data of German tanks produced in World War II.
His research on tanks was not superficial, but real sketches.
"Yes, according to my information, the Detroit Tank Factory in the United States has developed a Patton medium tank called the M48.
"It is equipped with a 105mm rifled gun with a power of 560 kilowatts, and they are also developing the fourth-generation Patton tank, whose performance far exceeds the current data of our tanks."
"The Soviets also developed a T-54 tank, and the improved data may be even more exaggerated than the American M48."
The T-54 series tanks are also the most produced tanks in history and have many improved models.
"In addition to personnel support, my opinion on the number of members of the Tank Design Bureau is about 200 people, so you don't have to worry about personnel issues, funds and test sites will be arranged in place."
St. Jose continued to say that Rennes Military Industry's several design bureaus now have more than 200 people in total, which will far exceed other design bureaus.
After all, tanks, which are highly technological and demanding things, are not comparable to light weapons and artillery. Of course, artillery production experience is also beneficial to the research and development of tanks.
"You don't have to worry about personnel issues. We will set up a brand new tank factory specifically for our tanks, temporarily named Rennes Tank Factory."
Starting from the second generation of tanks, it can be said that there is no such thing as heavy tanks, because heavy tanks have too many problems. Of course, each country is different. In backward countries, the eliminated tanks are all treasures.
For example, Africans only need guns to fight. Tanks are not that important to most post-independence African countries. For example, infantry-tank synergy has basically not been learned. Even some backward tank armor cannot withstand RPG shoulder-resistant rockets, so tanks The export is actually very difficult.
For some backward countries, tanks are not as useful as mortars and RPGs, and they also need to burn fuel. It would be good to have a pickup truck or something like that.
For Saint Hesse, tanks have a relatively important status. If these people can really design and produce diesel engines, they can then engage in other civilian industries and jointly develop with shipyards. Moreover, tank armor is also conducive to the improvement of metal smelting technology. .
If it turns out that Rennes Military Industry can manufacture its own tanks, it will be much simpler to introduce technologies such as trucks, cars, and heavy trucks in the future.
We can use the research and development of tank technology to cultivate talents.
"My suggestion is that we also develop another infantry fighting vehicle at the same time, using the same chassis as our tanks, which reduces the difficulty of research and development. It is also a practice of our modular thinking..."
An infantry fighting vehicle is an armored combat vehicle used for infantry mobile combat. It is superior to armored personnel carriers in terms of firepower, protection and mobility. It is also equipped with shooting holes so that infantry can shoot from the vehicle.
Infantry fighting vehicles are mainly used in coordinated tank operations. Their mission is to quickly maneuver infantry detachments to destroy enemy light armored vehicles, infantry anti-tank firepower points, manpower and low-altitude flying targets.
Saint Jose suddenly felt that he had become a little shameless, but he had come, and later generations of Argentina did develop powerful infantry fighting vehicles and tanks, although they were also imported from Germany.
Tanks and infantry fighting vehicles use the same site, and most of the equipment can be used interchangeably. Infantry fighting vehicles can also be exported as weapons and equipment, but tanks are more difficult to sell unless good tanks can be developed.
Later, Argentina introduced the Weasel infantry fighting vehicle that Germany began to develop in 1960, and developed the TAM medium tank and VCTP tracked infantry fighting vehicle.
After the final meeting, in addition to the next five-year plan, Saint-Jesse approved the establishment of the Rennes Tank Design Bureau and decided on two projects for the new tank bureau, the A53 main battle tank and the A53 infantry fighting vehicle. At the same time, it was also preparing to build another Expand the staff of major design bureaus.
At the same time, in order to prevent research and development failures, the Tank Design Bureau still arranged an improvement plan for light tanks to improve and develop American tanks and make them more suitable for Argentina's needs. There is no way around this.
Although Argentina had produced some DL-43 tanks, they only produced 12 tanks and then discarded them. The factory was also disbanded, and the designers didn't know if they could still be found.
At that time, Argentina lacked an armored force. Otherwise, like Brazil, it would set up an expeditionary force and go to the European battlefield to gain some political capital. I have to say that the military government at the time was short-sighted.
The new research and development task of the Artillery Design Bureau is the development of anti-tank equipment and shoulder-resistant rockets. The project is named RPG-53.
The R&D project of the Storm Rifle Design Bureau is the development of modular rifles, and the project is named MG-53.
The Pistol Design Bureau was changed to the Pistol-SMG Joint Design Bureau to develop its own pistol, and the submachine gun project was named MP-53.
US$5 million in research and development funds will be allocated within this year, which will also be used for the improvement and upgrading of major factories.
At this point, Rennes Military Industry will have four main factories: rifle factory, artillery factory, tank factory, and bullet factory.
At least in the next few years, it will basically not deviate too much from this framework. As far as tanks are concerned, it is already a bit over the top.
St. Hesse's original intention was to build a medium tank, and it would be enough to modify the American Sherman tank. As a result, the designers in Rennes maintained a strong interest in the new tank department, so they just took advantage of the trend. .
You can't dampen the enthusiasm of your subordinates.
It will definitely take a lot of time to build the Rennes tank factory and develop infantry combat vehicles and new main battle tanks. This is not reverse research and development, nor is it a prototype like an assault rifle, but a completely new design. Saint Jose is also a little worried. Are you a little too ambitious?
The next period of time will be to recruit more employees for the tank design bureau. The design and development of tanks is not simple.
The tank is mainly composed of weapon system, aiming system, power system, communication system, fire control system, armored body and other systems.
The infantry fighting vehicle may be simpler, but not too different.
Among them, the optical power system is not simple. Argentina currently has basically no way to produce its own tank diesel engines and needs to design them by itself.
Therefore, it is best for him to continue to recruit design members abroad to meet the needs, but it is not easy to recruit these talents. Unlike those guns and ammunition, diesel engines have always been very popular, shipbuilding, trucks, cars, tanks and many other things. Fortunately, there is a tractor factory and shipyard in San Jose. Although they are very primitive, they are not without foundation.
The tank's communication system, aiming system, and fire control system are even more difficult. They must rely on independent research and development. This is related to the Argentine electronics industry. There is no domestic foundation here.
Argentina currently does not even have an electronics factory. This task may have to be handed over to Enco Electric of the United States to save the country.
In fact, if the designers of Argentina's disbanded national tank factory can be recruited, it can also alleviate part of the design pressure. Saint Jose asked again. There are only a few designers in the Rennes Bureau who have participated in peripheral work on tanks. Talents in this area. Those who were under key control mostly went to the United States or the Soviet Union.
Saint Jose needs military personnel to coordinate. The current domestic tanks can be said to be from ancient times.
If the German tank factories hadn't been demolished by the Americans and the Soviets, St. Hesse would definitely be more willing to get German equipment.
The medium tanks produced by Germany are very close to the appearance of main battle tanks, such as the Panzer IV and Panzer V Panther tanks. In his opinion, they are much better than the tanks produced by the Americans in World War II.
The tanks produced by the Soviets are much better-looking than the old tanks of the Americans. Both the T-34 and T-44 tanks are still in line with the aesthetics of Saint Jose.
If the tank research and development plan of Rennes Military Industry can be supported by the Ministry of Defense or the Presidential Palace, then there will be no sales pressure in the future. According to his estimate, the tank only needs to be able to sell more than a thousand units, which can basically fully cover the investment, and can also Make a lot of money.
Argentina also needs new tanks. After all, the current army tanks are already outdated.
A total of 250 transport trucks, more than 400 Sherman tanks (M4A4 and Firefly), 18 Crusaders, 6 M7 Priests, and 320 M-series half-tracks were owned by the Army and Labor Federation.
The next step is to find a large factory site and prepare the basic work.
The new tank factory can only be set up in the suburbs, halfway between Putrajaya and La Plata cities, which is conducive to the transportation of various steel materials and raw materials.
To be honest, establishing a tank factory is almost equivalent to establishing an industrial system. It is difficult to complete it by just one Rennes military industry, so you need to find several partners, whether it is a state-owned factory or a private factory.
The tank factory also needs assembly workshops and various parts production workshops, which are completed in a huge industrial park.
As far as military factories are concerned, it is most suitable to build them in the mainland, but there is currently no way in Saint-Jesse. The various high-quality talents and workers needed by the tank factory are far less easy to find in the mainland than in the capital.
Argentina still has a lot of weapons and arsenals. If it always eats its own meat and does not seek cooperation from others, it will be hated by others sooner or later.
It would be best to support a group of Argentinian factories and have some of its own core suppliers. Just like later generations of Apple mobile phones, it has its own partners, especially electronic and electrical factories. Argentina is a desert.
The establishment of a new factory and a new design bureau this time is also a way for Rennes Military Industry to move towards a more open door. It needs the rise of Argentina as a whole.
Argentina's industrial rise cannot be accomplished by just a bunch of factories in San Jose. It must form a large number of industrial systems.
For this reason, I also went to Commander Tomps and talked about a lot of things.
In fact, the unemployed Commander Tomps' military rank has not been reduced, he is still a major general, and the position of principal of the National Defense Military Academy is not a bad position, at least it is much easier than the Ministry of Defense.
Although Commander Tomps has been away from Cordoba for a long time, he still has close relations with the Cordoba military.
He can help San Jose find some contacts. For example, personnel from Argentina's former tank factories may have been transferred to other weapons factories.
When the Argentine tank project failed, a big reason was that the project was quite large, and the Argentine artillery technology was not good enough, so it did not develop its own tank factory like the Canadians.
What was even more short-sighted was that in the end, the factory was disbanded, the tank project was abandoned, and tanks produced in other countries were purchased.
.....
On March 1, the two Victories passed through the Prari fleet and were transferred to the port of Buenos Aires.
St. Hesse actually does not purchase many finished tanks. As long as it can purchase models, it purchases seven or eight tanks.
In the United States, he mainly purchases abandoned tank production lines. After all, it is much more difficult to redesign a production line than to carry out a basic transformation.
Horst led the team to be responsible for the docking. These tanks had long been dismantled into parts by the team in the United States and transported to Brazil under various names.
Now it arrives in Argentina via transportation.
These parts will be transported in batches to the Rennes Tank Factory in the suburbs. This is not a coastal area, but a relatively hidden small valley. It has received some support from the Argentine military, and safety can still be guaranteed.
At the very least, it is not easy to be directly attacked, and external transportation is carried out through railways.
Put the tank back together, and St. Jose did his best.
Different from the previous factories, the tank factory needs to be kept as confidential as possible in the early stage and safety must be ensured. It cannot be set up along the coast like the steel factory and other factories.
If it weren't for the talent in the capital, he might just set up the tank factory in Maria City.
Even if it is difficult for a war to break out in Argentina, these precious factories must consider safety issues.
Fortunately, this non-coastal town is an abandoned town, so it is necessary to continue construction and research and development while building factories.
San Jose is also lobbying for the tank project,
Argentina needs a batch of new tanks to replace those that are outdated. His tank design bureau has more than 60 internal designers at Rennes Military Industry, and has recruited some new personnel and assistants, bringing the total number to more than 80.
St. Hesse first made various sketches based on the appearance of German tanks from World War II and the current Soviet Union, and then added memories and various parameters.
Through these sketches, we lobby the two departments of the Army and the Ministry of National Defense.
I did get a pilot quota from the Ministry of War. Although there was no actual benefit support, it also provided Rennes Military Industry with some experimental sites and tank soldiers, which can help in the future.
The Argentine military is very interested in the tank research and development plan of Rennes Military. In the past two years, Rennes Military has been a company with very good defense qualifications. It is currently the largest defense contractor among private companies in Argentina, but it mainly produces light weapons.
In terms of status, it is incomparable to "high-tech military factories" such as the Argentine Military Aircraft Factory. I didn't expect Rennes Military Industry to develop tanks. This is incredible.
Therefore, the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of War have given certain support and are willing to provide some help.
In terms of tank research and development, there is also some bad news, that is, there are indeed no electronic factories in China. It is impossible to even produce diodes, and even telephone wires have to be imported from the United States.
This can only be done by San Jose himself in the later stage, and then he will use the method of establishing a joint venture factory between New York Enco Electric and Argentina.
At present, there are simply no talents available in China to develop the electronics industry.
Fortunately, the tanks currently being produced rarely involve electronics, so it is not impossible not to do so.
The electronics industry is a long-term matter, and Argentina faces many difficulties in the short term.
Developing one's own tank industry and cultivating technical talents is also a long-term process. If the tank designed by the Rennes Tank Design Bureau can achieve the performance of the later Type 59, it will basically be considered a success. If it can achieve the performance of the Type 69, then it will be a success. I secretly made up lessons.
The prototype of the Type 59 is the Soviet T-54. If we can get a few tanks of this type, it will be a good reference for the personnel of the tank design bureau. After all, the German tanks are already outdated.
It would be several years before the United States planned to rearm Germany, and then Germany would have a chance to rebuild its defense industry.
The data provided by Saint-Jesse to the tank design bureau is slightly weaker than the Leopard 1 main battle tank, but Argentina does not have a strong automobile and truck manufacturing industry like Germany.
At present, West Germany's military industry has changed its appearance and has been integrated into civilian industry. It can also turn to military research and development at any time. The Americans have also slowly relaxed their control over these factories, and fighting against the Soviet Union is a top priority.
The foundations of factories like the Bavarian Machinery Factory, Volkswagen, Mercedes Automobile Factory, Krupp, Rheinmetall, HGG, and MAN are still there.
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