ps: If you want to hear more of your voices and receive more of your suggestions, now search for the WeChat public account "qdread" and follow it to give more support to "The Heavenly Soldiers in 1917"!

Project No. 54 has become a complete product. According to Constantine, it will take at least one year to solve all the above problems. ≧ In other words, the shrinking version of t-54 must be put into production in 1936 at the earliest. This is simply unacceptable to Li Xiaofeng. It took a few years from 1936 to the outbreak of the war. Such a short time is not enough to produce a sufficient number of t-54.

But Constantine said it very clearly: "There are problems with the reliability and life of the engine and transmission system, and it can only exert 75% of the performance for the time being. For a 'heavy' tank with a total weight of more than 36 tons, it is easy to overheat and break down. We need to spend a lot of time improving the process technology level and cannot improve it in a short period of time..."

In fact, this is equivalent to the death sentence of Project 54. The maximum power of the engine only exists on paper. Now, after passing through the gearbox, the maximum power that can be applied to the driving wheel is actually only 350 horsepower. This little power is undoubtedly not enough for a tank with more than 36 tons. In other words, the off-road speed of Project 54 is a bit terrible.

"The speed is terrible and pretty good!" Constantine sarcastically said, "In fact, there are problems with the suspension system. The northern industry is very immature in the alloy process of torsion bar suspension. The torsion bar suspension produced today can hardly afford a 36-ton tank for long-term off-road driving, especially the pair of torsion bar suspensions on the first pair of load-bearing wheels. Because the front armor is too thick and the pressure is very high. In the 1,000-hour off-road experiment, there was a breakage failure."

Anyway, Li Xiaofeng understood it all. Project No. 54 may not be able to continue. It is almost impossible to ensure the original technical performance. Either reduce the importance or solve all the problems from engine, transmission to torsion rod suspension as soon as possible. Of course, Constantine has already said that this is impossible and takes time.

So in late June 1934, after some thought and painful entanglement, Li Xiaofeng put forward a suggestion - to build a shrinking No. 54 project, maintain the overall design and layout of No. 54 project and keep the original power system unchanged, and to reduce the geometric size of the chassis by weakening the armor and reducing the geometric size of the chassis to achieve light weight. To put it bluntly, this is a fairy who remembered the Type 62 light tank made by the Celestial Chronicle replica T-54. Since the No. 54 project cannot be completed and it is too heavy, then let's do the lightweight 62 first!

Constantine thought at first that someone was crazy. But soon after research, he found that this could be done like this. After some tinkering, the T-35 medium tank, which was later called the 54s project, stepped down from the drawing board.

And he quickly stepped down from the drawing board. By the beginning of 1935, after passing the cold zone experiment, he started to enter the production line of Northern Industry in mid-February. By mid-May, Northern Industry had produced about 50 vehicles and handed them over to eO for trial. According to the production plan for this year, starting from July, production will be further accelerated to achieve the goal of producing 30 vehicles per month, and 300 vehicles must be produced by the end of the year.

Li Xiaofeng was originally planning to let the EO company's troops stationed in Vyborg Special Zone receive the tanks, but now Voroshilov competes with the mechanized troops for BT-2, so he has to let the 54s project enter the Red Army early.

So what does this 54s project look like later T-35 medium tank? To put it bluntly, it is a replica of Type 62, but its speed and off-road capabilities are worse than Type 62. The reason is very simple. The 12v150-3 engine of 62 has 430 horsepower, while the b2 engine produced by Northern Industry has 500 horsepower on paper, but the actual use is 350 horsepower. The decrease in unit power naturally leads to a decrease in maneuverability. Moreover, the chassis of the 54s project is longer and slightly higher than Type 62. The reason is naturally because the longitudinal engine and engine cooling accessories are still the old b2-34 mode, rather than the later b54 engine mode.

Of course, overall, the 54s engineering performance is still good. The total combat weight is close to 21 tons, the crew is four people, equipped with a 45mm tank gun, the maximum road speed is 55 kilometers per hour, the maximum travel is 450 kilometers, the front shield of the turret armor is 45mm, and the front armor is 35mm on the vehicle body. Please note that this is just the vertical thickness. After counting the inclination angle, the equivalent armor is actually thicker!

To be honest, it is a miracle to have the current performance in terms of weight of just over 20 tons. Anyway, the tank soldiers of the eO company that tried the 54s project praised it and strongly asked to equip more immediately.

However, Li Xiaofeng was not particularly satisfied with the firepower, mainly because he was not satisfied with the firepower. The performance of the 45mm anti-tank gun used in the BT series tanks and the T-26 is really average, only a little stronger than the 37 gun. The original 62 can carry the T-34-85 gun. Even if there are no 85 guns available now, at least they have to use the 76 guns, right?

The problem is that the infantry troops of the 76 Artillery Red Army were also rushing to change their clothes. In addition, some bureaucrats were responsible for the export of 76 to the northern industry, and these 45 artillery were all obtained by Li Xiaofeng with his face and relationship.

Of course, Northern Industry is not idle either and has begun to improve the 54s project, such as replacing larger caliber artillery, changing artillery stabilizers, and even transforming it into self-propelled artillery.

None of these matters. What is important is that Li Xiaofeng finally made the 54s project through political transactions, which was later called the T-35 medium tank and later called the T-35 light tank, and entered the service of the Soviet Red Army. You should know that this is really not easy. Because some senior leaders, including Stalin and Trotsky, were very opposed to the introduction of products from the Northern Industry, and suppressed the Northern Industry throughout the 1930s, and this time it would be an unprecedented breakthrough.

When the T-35 medium tank entered the Red Army's mechanized army, Voroshilov soon regretted it. Compared with the BT-2 he snatched, the T-35 was too tall. The two types of tanks in defense were not of the same magnitude at all. The T-35 could wrestle the arm of the early T-34. For the 37mm war defense guns that were commonly equipped by countries around the world at that time, it was almost impossible to break through the T-35. Even after changing to the 76mm or 85mm artillery, the T-35 also caught up with the world's mainstream level. For the Red Army reconnaissance troops that later widely accepted the T-35, this firepower was too sour!

Moreover, the T-35 is different from the shoddy BT. The northern industry's craftsmanship is much better than that of the Russians, especially each T-35 is equipped with a radio station, which is a great blessing for the commander.

Anyway, the mechanized army was quite happy. Even after the BT-7 was put into production, it refused to accept the BT-7, and still strongly demanded the equipment of T-35, and even at one point the T-35 almost forced the T-34 to be laid off and unemployed. If Trotsky and Stalin had not wanted to support their own military industry, under the joint strangulation of T-35 and T-54, T-34 would have no way to survive, and even dismounted with some KV and I-type heavy tanks.

This is a later story, and I won’t say it for now. After Stalin’s Songkou allowed the introduction of T-35s, there are many problems before the main leadership of the Military Commission: such as the adjustment of the troops’ organization, and the problems exposed by the troops’ equipment.

Let’s talk about the first organizational issue first. The strong demand for the cavalry to equip tanks is a major change, which means that the cavalry faction led by Stalin and Voroshilov began to loosen and began to realize that there is really no way out for cavalry to survive in modern warfare. Even if there is industrial pressure to add a tank regiment to each cavalry division, this is a good thing in the long run and worth promoting.

In fact, compared with the cavalry organization adjustment, the organizational adjustment of the mechanized infantry army is a big problem. Judging from the battle at this stage, the organizationalization of the mechanized infantry army is unreasonable. There are too many tanks and too few infantry, especially the degree of mechanization of the infantry is very low, which has caused a series of cooperation problems on the battlefield.

"I think the mechanized forces must be adjusted, the degree of mechanization of infantry must be strengthened, and it is imminent to develop infantry vehicles that can fight with tanks!" Ubolevici said.

After some debate, in 1935, the wartime membership standard No. 010/20 was issued. The Mechanized Infantry Army was renamed the Mechanized Army. Its basic organization was two tank divisions, one mechanized infantry division, one army aviation brigade, one automobile regiment and several auxiliary troops.

Among them, the Tank Division has a capitation of 10,940 people, 375 tanks, 95 armored cars, 36 field artillery (actually an artillery regiment, divided into three battalions: 12 152 dredges, 12 122 dredges, and 12 rocket launchers), 12 37mm anti-aircraft guns (that is, one battalion), and 4 76mm anti-aircraft guns.

Each tank division consists of two tank regiments, a mechanized infantry regiment and a howitzer regiment. Each tank regiment consists of four tank battalions, including two medium tank battalions (equipped with T-34 or T-35), a fast tank battalion (equipped with BT-type tanks), and a fire-breathing tank battalion.

Each mechanized infantry regiment consists of three mechanized infantry battalions, each of which has three infantry, a machine gun company and a mortar company.

As for the division's auxiliary troops, they include: a reconnaissance battalion, a car transport battalion, an engineering battalion, a maintenance battalion, a communication battalion, an anti-aircraft artillery battalion, a traffic management company and a political department.

The Tank Division made adjustments, but the amplitude was not large. The mechanized infantry division was really adjusted significantly. Each mechanized infantry division included two mechanized infantry regiments, one tank regiment and one artillery regiment, one reconnaissance battalion, one anti-aircraft artillery battalion, and one anti-tank battalion with a rated personnel of 11,650 people.

Please note that the artillery units assigned to the mechanized infantry division are different. The artillery regiment has been greatly strengthened, including four artillery battalions (12 152 dreds, 12 122 dreds, 12 rocket launchers, and 12 76.2 mm cannons).

Its anti-tank battalion is divided into four companies: 8+8+8 45mm anti-tank guns (three companies), and 8 76.2mm f22.

The anti-aircraft artillery battalion is equipped with two companies of 37mm anti-aircraft guns (each of 8), 4 76.2mm anti-aircraft guns and a considerable number of 14.5mm anti-aircraft machine guns.

The most important change of the mechanized infantry division is reflected in the degree of mechanization. It has begun to equip a large number of Ba-20 armored vehicles, and even according to the requirements of the total equipment. It has begun to develop new tracks and semi-track vehicles that can accompany tank combat.

This is the mt-lb36 crawler armored conveyor vehicle that will be mentioned soon. Although this car has an mt-lb prefix, it really has nothing to do with the mt-lb armored conveyor vehicle made by the Soviet Union in the 1970s. This crawler armored conveyor vehicle produced by the northern industry is actually a copycat version of the Celestial 63 armored conveyor vehicle. It is almost exactly the same!

In fact, for Northern Industry, which has already completed the 54s project, it is not difficult to get a tracked armored conveyor vehicle based on ready-made technology. Off-the-shelf torsion rod suspension is even less difficult because of its light weight. For a ready-made engine, it would be OK to remove half a set of cylinders from the b2-34 and change it to an inline model.

Of course, this kind of armored conveyor with a total combat weight of no more than 13 tons is naturally not very good in defense, that is, the level of resistance to machine gun bullets. The battlefield survivability is relatively limited. However, compared with half-tracked vehicles, and even compared with infantry squatting on tanks and always worried about car accidents, the mt-lb36 is an ideal vehicle.

Unfortunately, the Soviet Union's industrial capacity was really limited, and the gaps in the series-loaded trucks could not be filled, and the cost of fully tracked vehicles was more expensive. The mt-lb36 could only be equipped with mechanized troops and a small number of guards. It was not until the end of World War II that when the mechanized troops began to change into infantry fighting vehicles that could really accompany tank assaults, the mt-lb36 that had been replaced entered the motorized infantry troops for use.

The Soviet Red Army used the most widely in World War II, such as half-track vehicles that were widely used in the German and American troops. After it was put into production in 1938 and equipped some of the Red Army's motorized troops, in the cruel battle, the Russians soon gave up this off-road capability, which was neither better than the mt-lb36, but was much more expensive than ordinary armored cars.

The changes in the army are not only reflected in new tanks and new track conveyors, but more importantly, in the mechanization of artillery. When this conflict broke out, even ace troops like the First Army of Mechanized Infantry, their artillery, that is, crawler tractors, act as traction tools, and many of them are even pulled by trucks. As for what kind of self-propelled artillery? It is unheard of.

As mt-lb36 entered active service, the situation began to change. First, the regiment mortars were installed on the chassis of mt-lb36, and then the 122 ditches were also installed on the chassis of mt-lb36, realizing very primitive self-propelled artillery. Even command vehicles, medical vehicles, and communication vehicles based on mt-lb36 chassis have become popular, greatly changing the support capabilities of the Red Army mechanized troops under field conditions.

The Red Army, who tasted the sweetness in the modification of the mt-lb36 chassis, did not meet this result. In 1939, it launched the design of the second generation of tracked universal chassis and prepared to develop a universal chassis that can conquer the world. This chassis will include tracked conveyors, tracked infantry fighting vehicles, 122mm and 152mm self-propelled artillery, as well as rocket launching platforms, etc.

According to the Red Army's plan, this second-generation universal chassis will be replaced with all the mechanized and motorized troops of the Red Army, fully exerting the power of large-scale combat. Unfortunately, the sudden outbreak of World War II disrupted the Red Army's plan. The dressing work had just begun. The cruel battle forced the Red Army to continue to maintain the previously backward equipment production line. It was not until 1943 that the battlefield environment improved greatly.

Of course, it was a bit early to talk about these in 1935. After all, the mt-lb36 has not yet been in service. Moreover, as for the Army Air Force, which has suddenly increased mechanized military power, the mt-lb36 is not that tall and high-end. According to Rokosovsky's suggestion, the Army Air Force will be equipped with eighteen armed helicopters. Of course, it is the S11 to make up the numbers for the time being, and there will be great development in the future.

After this series of changes was submitted to the Military Commission for discussion, the problem arose: the focus of the debate was the popularization of the Communist International crawler traction platform and the issue of air force fighter jet replacement.

What are the two questions you ask about? It's very simple. First of all, the crawler tractor involves the production capacity of the tractor. This crawler tractor modified based on the t-24 tank chassis has good performance (at least it can meet the requirements of the Red Army artillery). However, in order to complete industrial tasks, that is, to ensure the progress of collective farming, agricultural tractors are the priority projects.

Stalin was even consistent with Trotsky on this point. They opposed the Communist International tractors squeezing the share of agricultural tractors, and even believed that such crawler tractors were too expensive, and the Red Army should just use agricultural tractors.

After all, it was because of the shortage of money and the Soviet infrastructure construction was too poor. Look at the British, American, and French who were too interested in crawler tractors? No, half-tracked vehicles were enough for them.

But the poor Soviet transportation and infrastructure made the Red Army's artillery face a mess. There were too few high-level roads and the traction work of heavy artillery on muddy dirt roads in the wild is really deadly. Not to mention that load-load trucks or semi-tracked tractors are not enough.

The Germans who fell into a pit of the Soviet Red Army were deeply touched by this. Only they understood why the Red Army artillery was so enthusiastic about fully tracked tractors. Even just tractors were better than excellent Mercedes-Benz trucks!

Fortunately, during this debate, Li Xiaofeng gave Voroshilov a lot of face and gave priority to meeting the Red Army cavalry's requirements for tanks, which made Stalin have to repay this favor. On the issue of tractors, he did not make too much trouble for a certain immortal. He agreed to produce a large number of Communist International tractors in 1935, and also stipulated an indicator - the output must not be less than 2,000 units.

This made Trotsky half-exhausted, and also made this person start a sudden attack on the Air Force: "From the past twenty days of combat, we can see that the role of long-range aviation is minimal, and we have not been able to eliminate enemy aircraft on the airport, and they have no effect on close-range support tasks related to front-line combat. I have to doubt the role of long-range aviation. Our finances are very tight, and every penny must be spent valuable, but I can't see such value at all in the long-range aviation... In this case, I must ask, is it necessary for long-range aviation to continue to invest? For example, the plan to import the B17 bomber from the United States is very inappropriate. This expensive four-engine bomber is simply unnecessary in my opinion!"

Trotsky not only attacked the B17 project, but also attacked the Yi-16 and Yi-20 projects: "The Yi-16 performed very badly, and the pilots commented on it very badly. This monoplane with poor performance seems to me a mistake. The Air Force should focus on the biplane. Only aircraft as reliable as the Yi-15 can defend the Soviet sky. The technical requirements of the Yi-20 project should be modified immediately and should be changed to a more advanced biplane!" (The novel "The Heavenly Soldier in 1917" will have more fresh content on the official WeChat platform, and there is also a 100% lottery gift for everyone! Open WeChat now, click the "+" sign in the upper right to "Add Friends", search for the official account "qdread" and follow, hurry up!) (To be continued, please search Piaotianwen, the novel is better and faster!

ps: Bow and thank the wind piaoying, Tangyuan 0212, hzwangdd and comrade Juventus!
Chapter completed!