The Rise of the Empire - Chapter 2873

“I won’t let such a crude cargo join the French Army.” Xia Fei said after taking a closer look at this tank, because according to the introduction of Louis Renault, although the chassis of this tank is original FT20 chassis, but in addition to armor protection, the engine is actually reduced in configuration, using a more stable and more suitable for tropical and humid climate, but a lower power engine. Mobility and defense are far from Xiafei’s requirements. To put it bluntly, even on the highway, the maximum speed of this tank is only 12 to 15 kilometers per hour.

“In fact, this tank is not as unbearable as you thought. After the prototype was tested in French Indochina, we found that it made sense for the Japanese to choose this tank in the end.” Louis Renault began to take care of himself. Product justification.

“Let’s talk about it.” Xia Fei said with great interest.

“First of all, thanks to the low weight, the power system of this tank is not bad. The maneuverability is slightly stronger than that of our Renault, because the so-called speed of 15 kilometers per hour is that we are limiting the engine. If the limit is released, the performance will be improved. Secondly, although the too open battle room greatly reduces the defense of the tank, it undoubtedly enhances the heat dissipation of the tank’s power system. Judging from the current situation, it has the best performance among all the tanks in France in the tropics.” Louis Renault said with a flushed face.

“Isn’t this nonsense? There is almost nothing behind, and the air circulation is naturally much higher than that of a closed tank.” Xia Fei was a little dissatisfied.

“Of course, in addition to meeting the Japanese requirements for stability, the survivability of this tank is actually very high. Look at this car, the maximum height is only 1.8 meters. It is very easy to hide behind the terrain. Just choose a suitable one. The height of the tank’s artillery from the ground may be only 30 cm. This height is very suitable for hiding. Therefore, although this tank cannot be the opponent of the wolf tank in a head-on duel, it will be a defensive battle. The price/performance ratio is the highest.” Louis Renault said.

In summary, this FT30 tank is a weapon that emphasizes firepower and stability while requiring lower cost. If it is placed in Europe, this performance is not worth mentioning. The real big countries will not be equipped, but for Japan. For countries that are in urgent need of anti-armor firepower but have relatively limited funds, it is definitely a good choice, at least in the defensive battle.

In the end, the performance and cost of this tank also met the Japanese requirements. This was the first export order for French armored weapons after the war, laying a very good foundation for the subsequent production and sales of the FT30. This seemingly crude tank also caused a lot of trouble to the Americans in the Pacific War. Of course, this is a later story.

In addition to this new tank, Renault also provided a large number of armored vehicles and half-track vehicles to the Japanese. Most of these products were leftover materials from the war and were sold to the Japanese at relatively low prices. It can be regarded as emptying the inventory, but the Firefox half-track vehicle is a new type of towing vehicle specially produced by the French.

In fact, the French still have a soft spot for half-track vehicles. First of all, in terms of performance, this type of vehicle has better off-road performance than ordinary vehicles. At the same time, it is faster and more fuel-efficient than tracked vehicles. It is a wheeled vehicle and A product among tracked vehicles. The French have vast African colonies that need to be controlled. If you use a car, you must consider the poor road conditions in Africa, and if you use a tracked vehicle, you must also consider the cost. Therefore, a large number of half-track vehicles have become an inevitable trend.

So, after the war, the French began bidding for a new generation of 2.5-ton half-track vehicles. Why is this tonnage? First of all, vehicles of this tonnage are sufficient for towing most of the French Army’s artillery, including the 155MM howitzer. In other words, it is qualified and sufficient as a means of transportation, and it is not particularly expensive and can be mass-produced.

Secondly, it is a waste to assign special tanks or armored vehicles to colonial forces, so this 2.5-ton cargo half-track vehicle also has sufficient modification potential. After it is equipped with a certain amount of armor, it can be transported as infantry. For example, press on the mortar as infantry support firepower, take out the 75MM rapid-fire gun from the rotten street in the warehouse, and press it directly on the vehicle to be a self-propelled artillery. It can be said that the future of improvement is very great, the practicability is very good, and it is very suitable for the needs of the French army.

(Don’t think that a 2.5-ton half-track vehicle is small. In history, the famous German fz251 half-track is a standard 3-ton body. The German famous 251 half-track can carry a maximum of 75MML46 anti-tank guns, so this 2.5-ton There is no problem with the 75MML36 artillery equipped with the French.)

Therefore, this kind of vehicle with moderate weight, reasonable cost, and promising improvement is also favored by the Japanese. It is not that the Japanese do not want to buy cheaper trucks as transportation and towing tools, but the geographical environment of New Guinea is not friendly to wheeled vehicles…

After acquiring the half-tracked vehicle called Firefox, the Japanese also installed a large number of weapons on it as special combat vehicles. For example, a large number of 75MM rapid-fire guns also from France are installed on the car body! In fact, in the eyes of the Japanese, the tank named FT30 is already regarded as a high-end vehicle, and it is classified as a heavy-duty vehicle~www.mtlnovel.com~ After all, no matter how weight is reduced, the 90MML40 gun is not counted. The low amount of ammunition makes this tank weigh more than 14 tons.

And this 2.5-ton half-tracked vehicle called Firefox has a total combat weight of 7.5 tons. And after adding a steel plate that can defend against large-caliber machine guns and shrapnel. (Of course, this defensive standard is limited to the front.) In the Japanese army, it can be regarded as a front-line combat vehicle, and one of the intentions of Japan’s large purchase of Firefox is to make up for the lack of procurement of FT30, as the backbone of anti-armor operations. After all, although American wolf tanks are tough, the United States cannot produce them. As the US-German relationship is violent, the supply of munitions will definitely be affected. These lower-class anti-armor weapons are naturally designed to deal with tanks like T1.

In addition to anti-tank guns, Japan is also equipped with its own authorized 80MM and 120MM heavy mortars on this tank. Unlike in history, the Japanese Army is also taking the road of heavy weapons because it needs to face high-profile opponents such as the US Army. The original well-known Type 92 light infantry artillery equipment has been reduced. On the contrary, similar In World War I, the Russian M1909 76.2MM field gun weapon became the main force of Japanese equipment.

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