Chapter 292: 291 Bidding Farewell To General Yang, Large-caliber Infantry Gun Converted To Tank Gun, New Tank Alloy Armor
In April, the Imperial Japanese Navy frequently appeared in the seas around Shanghai, and the Japanese Marine Corps in the concession area also conducted cooperative exercises.
Externally, they claimed this was just routine training.
At the same time, the Japanese side prepared to expand and construct port facilities in Tanggu, Tianjin.
They also once again raised demands to build the Jinshi Railroad and mine the Longyan iron ore. Song Zeyuan, the official from the National Government in charge of this matter, countered: “To discuss economic cooperation between China and Japan in North China, the Jidong Puppet Organization must first be revoked. The construction of the Jinshi Road and the mining of Longyan iron ore can only proceed after the Jidong Puppet Organization is revoked.”
This was of course impossible, but the Japanese side chose to further erode North China interests in other ways.
Late April.
The Japanese Army continuously expanded military facilities between Pingjin and along the Beining Line, and after the Jicha local government discovered this, it took decisive measures to stop it.
But the matter did not end there; the Japanese invaders attempted to encircle and purchase over 6,000 mu of land from Fengtai to Lugou Bridge in Dajing Village to build barracks and an airport.
This place was southwest of Beiping, and once implemented, it would undoubtedly allow the Japanese Army to station troops right outside Beiping.
The Wanping County Magistrate, following the request of Song Zeyuan, Chairman of the Jicha Political Affairs Committee and Commander of the 29th Army, stated: “Any action that harms the integrity of national sovereignty and territory will not be accepted, but to avoid conflict, it will also not be rejected.”
Using this principle to deal with the Japanese invaders.
The Japanese Tianjin Garrison and spies in Beiping negotiated multiple times, to no avail.
Unable to proceed, the Japanese invaders used heavy profits to tempt landlords, traitors, and local thugs in Dajing Village to falsely claim public opinion and sell the land; a few farmers were deceived, and the land was seized by the Japanese.
The county government immediately sent people to Dajing Village, captured the leading traitor, and exposed the Japanese conspiracy.
To strengthen land management, the Jicha authorities issued an order on this day: “Anyone who sells out the country shall be sentenced to death.”
Subsequently, the Japanese North China Garrison began holding armed exercises in the suburbs near Pingjin.
Later, the disputes in the Northeast Army also came to a result; under the step-by-step pressure from the Central Army, General Yang was removed from his position and prepared to go to the United States.
This time, because of Fang Wen, he took a Taishan Airlines Asia-Europe flight, first to Europe, then by ship to the United States.
Upon learning of this, Fang Wen temporarily halted tank research and development, returned domestically, and met with General Yang.
Jinan Airport.
General Yang and his group drove there, preparing to board for Shanghai to catch the Eurasian flight.
The airport staff receiving them said: “General Yang, boarding is in one hour; you can wait in the lounge. Additionally, our company’s general manager wants to talk to you; he is waiting for you in the VIP lounge.”
General Yang was surprised but said nothing, directly leading his team into the VIP lounge.
The VIP lounge was designed by Fang Wen imitating future styles, specially provided for frequent passengers and members of the Taishan Aviation Club.
There, the conditions were comfortable, with meals and service staff.
And at this moment, Fang Wen was also waiting inside.
He greeted General Yang and his group and proposed to talk privately with him.
General Yang agreed to this.
The two went to a quiet place and sat down.
Fang Wen poured tea for him.
“General Yang, thank you for your contributions to domestic peace. Although I am just a businessman, I greatly admire you.”
General Yang smiled and said: “You are more than just a businessman; probably no one in the country flies planes better than you. In the future, when blocking Japanese aircraft in China’s skies, you will need to contribute more.”
“Do you think the Japanese Army is going to start a war?” Fang Wen asked.
General Yang sneered: “Anyone who leads troops in battle can see it; the Japanese Army is conducting exercises in multiple places on land, sea, and air, pressing hard everywhere in North China. If they are not going to fight, are they just bored?”
“Unfortunately, the National Government is still fantasizing; they won’t make a decision until that moment,” Fang Wen said helplessly.
“Unfortunately, I now have no military power; if war really breaks out, I can’t do much,” General Yang sighed.
On this point, Fang Wen actually thought it would be better for him not to return after going abroad; upon return without military power to protect him, he would surely be arrested.
Therefore, Fang Wen stated the purpose of this visit.
“General Yang, when you go to the United States, have a good time, travel and see various places there, and it’s best not to come back for the next few years.”
“Why? Are you afraid I will meet with misfortune upon return? No matter; I, Yang, have acted without guilt toward heaven and conscience, and I am unwilling to be a cowardly deserter. If the Japanese Army really starts a war, I will definitely return.”
General Yang’s response was firm; seeing he could not change his mind, Fang Wen could only accept it.
Afterward, he had an open talk with General Yang, then saw him off to board and depart.
After seeing off General Yang, Fang Wen returned to Yangon.
Time was becoming increasingly urgent.
Whether the tank manufacturing could succeed depended on this period.
He led the development team of engineers from the Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant in conducting detailed research on the T-26 light tank information.
（T-26 internal structural diagram）
Its interior includes the cockpit, combat compartment, engine compartment, and suspension system.
The cockpit is located at the front of the tank and is the main area for the driver to operate the tank.
The cockpit is equipped with the driver’s seat, dashboard, control stick, and other components.
The driver controls the tank’s driving direction and speed through the control stick, while the dashboard displays various performance indicators of the tank, such as engine rotation speed, vehicle speed, fuel level, etc.
The combat compartment is located in the middle of the tank and is the area for the gunner, vehicle commander, and loader to shoot and command.
The combat compartment is equipped with the main gun, secondary weapons, machine gun, ammunition rack, sighting equipment, etc.
The engine compartment is located at the rear of the tank and is the area for the tank’s power system.
The engine compartment is equipped with the engine, transmission device, cooling system, and other components.
The T-26 tank uses a balanced suspension system, with 8 small-diameter road wheels on each side grouped in pairs, each group connected to the frame and hull via springs.
This suspension system has good riding stability and battlefield mobility performance.
Additionally, regarding the external armor, the T-26 tank’s armor thickness varies from 15 to 50 millimeters, which can effectively resist attacks from shells and machine gun bullets of that time.
The hull and turret use sloped armor, further improving protection.
This is the overall structure of the T-26.
At the same time, from the Black Sea strait side in Istanbul, Turkey, Taishan International’s cargo ship also transported a T-26 tank from the Black Sea, along with related components.
This greatly reduced the development difficulty for Fang Wen and his team.
First, Fang Wen personally drove the T-26 tank, using mechanical perception for a comprehensive understanding.
This understanding was far more thorough than design blueprints.
After gaining a full understanding of the T-26, Fang Wen attempted to design Taishan’s own tank.
The tank he wanted to design matched the Wasp R1340 engine.
Using an aircraft engine for a tank has main advantages in its greater output power and good reliability. Additionally, the structure of aircraft engines mostly uses pure gear transmission without belts or chains and other vulnerable parts, making the tank less prone to malfunctions on the battlefield and easier to maintain.
However, using an aircraft engine for a tank also faces challenges. For example, aircraft engines have relatively high fuel consumption rates and higher initial costs. Additionally, due to the larger volume and weight of aircraft engines, the required internal space increases significantly.
Therefore, the tank’s size changed from light to medium to accommodate the Wasp R1340 engine and matching power transmission device.
Based on his some understanding of future tanks, he designed a brand-new medium tank.
This tank, named “Mount Tai Pine,” aimed for the steadfastness of the Taishan Pine, and its size was much larger than the T-26 tank.
But the current problem was how to manufacture it.
Manufacturing the Mount Tai Pine Tank was very difficult.
Compared to airplanes, tanks integrate a large amount of equipment in a closed space and require strong external defense capabilities.
This requires assembling it piece by piece like building blocks.
First is the tank chassis and suspension system.
The castings shipped from the Soviet side could be used, with no issues in load-bearing capacity.
Then, installation proceeded on this basis.
The engine compartment at the tank’s rear came first; the engineers from the Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant, with their understanding of the Wasp R1340 engine, skillfully modified the power transmission device.
Next was the installation of power control equipment and instruments in the front compartment.
Once the equipment in these two positions was completed, a track-laying bare car without external armor had taken shape.
Under the engineers’ driving, this bare car ran at 80 kilometers per hour on the test field, indicating that the power system and driving control system were fine.
Next was the combat compartment.
According to Fang Wen’s design, the turret could be rotated via a hand-cranked device, allowing all-around gun position aiming.
At the same time, the turret had two layers: the upper layer for the cannon, the lower layer for the machine gun firing port, with the machine gun capable of 90-degree range strafing.
As for weapons, the machine gun chosen was one using 7.92 millimeter bullets, unifying the weapon bullet caliber.
Problems arose with the cannon.
What kind of cannon to choose?
The 37mm cannon’s power was still a bit small.
Fang Wen shifted his target to the 75mm infantry gun.
The range and power of the German le. IG 18 75mm infantry gun were both good.
The loading system was also very complete; if installed in the turret as the main gun, the power would be great.
For this, Fang Wen and the engineers held discussions.
They unanimously believed that the main technical challenge was how to install large-caliber artillery in the cramped tank turret and ensure the cannon’s recoil would not overly affect the tank.
The solution to this problem was to use a better hydraulic recoil and counter-recoil device.
In other words, the hydraulic counter-recoil device of the original German le. IG 18 75mm infantry gun needed further enhancement to be used in a tank.
For this, Fang Wen led the engineers in tackling it; they modified the hydraulic equipment to enhance its effect, then welded a tripod below the entire hydraulic counter-recoil device connected to the chassis.
This way, when the cannon fired, part of the recoil would be transmitted to the chassis and dispersed through the suspension system, while part would be mitigated by the hydraulic counter-recoil device.
After this design was made, the project team prepared for a test firing.
Without external armor fixation, they welded a temporary gun mount, then began loading and firing.
With a cannon blast, the tank base without armor jerked back a bit.
This shot also meant the approach was correct.
Thus, the internal structure and chassis design and manufacturing of the entire “Mount Tai Pine” tank were completed; next was the external armor.
The tank armor material currently used by various countries is silicon-manganese steel armor, which has no major issues resisting bullets but is much weaker against shells.
To defend against shells, armor thickness must be continuously increased, so heavy main battle tanks with thick armor became battlefield nightmares.
But this armor also has problems; if hit multiple times in one spot, it will be damaged.
Even after howitzer attacks, the overall armor can crack.
This means silicon-manganese steel armor is too inferior and not the armor material Fang Wen ideally wanted.
Besides silicon-manganese steel armor, there are actually other alloy steel armors.
For example, chromium-nickel-molybdenum alloy steel armor.
It requires nickel, an element scarce in many countries, so it can only be used for more precise instrument manufacturing and large-caliber gun barrels in the navy.
This alloy material has a designation of 4130, mainly used for manufacturing warship armor, submarine pressure hulls, and high-chamber pressure cannon barrels; it is rarely used for tanks.
Obtaining it is difficult.
For this, Fang Wen thought of the United States side; there, were there other tank armor alloys that could substitute?
For this, he sent a telegram to the United States side, requesting them to search.
New York, United States, Taishan International headquarters building, a listed company.
Chairman Lin Shuiwang received an encrypted telegram sent from the telegraph room.
He immediately began translating it.
【Domestic situation is deteriorating, expected to erupt into full-scale war soon.】
【Currently, the Taishan Volunteer Army is actively preparing, but lacks an alloy for manufacturing tank armor, which is hard to purchase in Europe; you need to search for it in the United States.】
Lin Shuiwang looked at the telegram, immediately anxious; war was coming domestically, and he very much wanted to do something.
Finding an alloy for the company that could substitute for tank armor manufacturing was what he could do now.
For this, Lin Shuiwang immediately took action.
He contacted Zhao Jiu in Las Vegas and explained the situation.
Both sides began searching, and also contacted Indiana from the Investigation Bureau for help.
Under multi-party efforts, through inquiries via various channels, they actually found it.
The American Steel Association newly registered an alloy.
Designation 4150.
This is a new nickel-free alloy steel.
As a newly developed product, it has not yet reached mass production, with a high reject rate.
Moreover, since there is currently no awareness of this alloy’s market value, no buyers have appeared.
After Lin Shuiwang and Zhao Jiu fed this situation back to Asia, they received a testing instruction.
Subsequently, they obtained a sample and, through Indiana’s channels, sent it to the army for shell impact testing.
The result was very good resistance, with strength comparable to 4130.
This result made Fang Wen decide to purchase at a high price.
Then Lin Shuiwang and Zhao Jiu found the steel mill that developed 4150 and, under the name of cooperative testing, made a large batch purchase.
For the steel mill researching 4150 alloy production technology, sudden buyers were of course welcome, as it could help reduce a lot of their R&D costs.
After negotiations, the first deal was reached, purchasing all of the steel mill’s 4150 alloy inventory, to be shipped to Asia via Taishan International’s cargo ships.
