Munitions Empire-Chapter 650 - : 609 Assault Artillery
Chapter 650: 609 Assault Artillery
When Tang Mo saw the helmet of the Shen Country’s military, he was a bit dumbfounded. He had been in this world for almost seven or eight years, and yet there were still people trying to challenge him in the development of new weapons.
He touched the cold steel helmet with his hand, and its surface wasn’t even treated, slightly worn, it would reveal the iron underneath.
That thing was reflective, and on the battlefield, it was almost equivalent to a target indicator, quite effective at attracting the attention of the enemy snipers.
“Others are trying to compete with me in the development of new weapons? Interesting, very interesting,” Tang Mo looked left and right, as if admiring a piece of artwork.
“Your Majesty, they are also improving their anti-aircraft guns,” Luff reminded his king.
“Hmm, I am aware,” Tang Mo walked a circle around the helmet and then lifted his head to look at Parker, who was in charge of industrial production, “Parker! How are the preparations on your side? We should also show some new things.”
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“Your Majesty! The first submarine has already been launched at Dragon Island, but because it still needs tuning, it hasn’t formed combat capability,” Parker replied, “Additionally, our brand-new production lines have begun operations in Tongcheng, and the production of airplanes will soon double.”
The industrial strength of Tang Country was steadily increasing, the previously absorbed population dividend was starting to show gradually.
Even in a state of war, Tang Mo had never stopped the economic development of his nation. Although affected to some extent, the economy and industrial scale were still maintaining a relatively high growth rate overall.
The world’s largest airplane factory had been completed in Tongcheng, and the world’s largest artillery production base was now operational.
The world’s largest chemical factory had also started mass-producing sulfuric acid and other products. Seizing the opportunity of this relocation, Tang Mo had integrated most of the workshops, abandoning the small enterprise model, and allowing Great Tang Group to start reducing costs through massive-scale production.
The whole process seemed thrilling, but in reality, it wasn’t very difficult. Because the technology was actually mature, it was just a matter of constructing the necessary facilities.
Since Tang Country actually lacked for no resources, Tang Mo didn’t need to worry about the raw materials for his nation.
All he needed to do was to provide enough “ideas” to Parker and Mathews, and Great Tang Group’s strong industrial foundation could turn those ideas into reality.
“Next month, you’ll have at least 30 more Butcher Fighters, 150 Stuka Dive Bombers, and 100 Flying Fortress Long-Range Bombers,” Parker said confidently, “If the pilots don’t drag their feet, your Air Force will become even stronger.”
“Furthermore, the Tongcheng tank factory has already started mass production of the chassis for the No. 4 Tanks. Next month, there’ll also be more than 170 new tanks joining the ranks, and with the original capacity, you can form a new Armored Division every month.” As the industrial minister of the kingdom, Parker’s work was actually very well done.
He was just a blacksmith originally, but as Great Tang Group developed, Tang Mo arranged for him to supervise a workshop.
And Parker himself did not disappoint Tang Mo’s high expectations, becoming self-taught and rising to his current position of industrial minister of the kingdom, responsible for the overall industrial development and construction of the nation.
Some people are not really meant to live without achievement their whole lives; they’re just missing one opportunity, a chance to change their fate.
Tang Mo’s schools provided many such opportunities. If he hadn’t set up the initial Brunas Great Tang Military Academy, then Redman would still be a Ranger, Parker would just be a blacksmith, Mathews would be a drunken Dwarf, and Roger just a bankrupt old man.
“Not so optimistic, the artillery is waiting for the No. 4 Assault Gun and the Yefeng Self-Propelled Gun, so there really isn’t much available for tanks,” Tang Mo said with a smile, shaking his head.
The chassis of the No. 4 Tank was really in high demand now; everyone was waiting to use this type of chassis, especially the artillery, who were extremely eager.
The chassis of the No. 2 Tank is almost completely phased out; Tang Mo had shifted the production to the chassis of the No. 4 Tank.
There was no helping it, the No. 2 Tank was just too outdated; its size and load capacity were limiting its development, and it simply couldn’t keep up with the troops’ needs anymore.
The previously equipped 105mm calibre self-propelled howitzers for the armor corps were still adequate, meeting the basic requirements for artillery to keep pace with armored corps, but it also opened a new world for the artillery corps.
They have become more demanding, looking forward to a new model of larger calibre self-propelled guns that can carry more rounds and advance alongside armored corps.
At the same time, the logistical corps believed that using the chassis of the No. 4 Tanks exclusively would significantly simplify logistical support, therefore they too were vigorously advocating for the standardization of armored corps chassis.
Thus, Great Tang Group rushed to build a new tank factory in Tongcheng, to further increase the production capacity of the No. 4 Tank chassis.
There was no way around it; the entire army was waiting for them, particularly the large-scale infantry who were eagerly anticipating the No. 4 Assault Gun.
Currently, if they wanted to conduct breakthrough operations, they could only apply for and wait for the Armored Corps to allocate No. 4 Tanks to support their combat. This form of cooperation was quite inconvenient and also hindered the tank units’ combat performance.
If they had their own assault guns, infantry operations would obviously become more flexible. With their own assault guns, facing possible enemy armored forces would also become more composed.
Therefore, after experimenting with the No. 4 Assault Gun, there was an immediate suggestion to equip all infantry divisions with them in a memorandum.
According to this memorandum, future divisions of the Great Tang Kingdom should have at least one artillery regiment, which should be equipped with one battalion of No. 4 Assault Guns, one battalion of 105 mm self-propelled howitzers, and one battalion of Katyusha rocket launchers.
Note, this artillery regiment is an additional increase-that is to say, the memorandum suggests that future infantry divisions of the Tang Army should have 4 regiments under their command! The troop strength increased to over 20,000 men.
Another memorandum suggesting the formation of a higher-level combat unit was almost simultaneously delivered to Tang Mo’s hands, Redman and Tagg both recommended that the Tang Army should start forming army-level combat units for the convenience of unified dispatch of troops.
The memorandum suggested forming a corps-level command unit with an Armored Division and a Motorized Infantry Division as the core.
Of course, those who wrote the memorandums were actually thinking about the 155 mm self-propelled howitzer and the new rocket launchers and assault guns that had not yet actually started to be equipped on a large scale.
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After all, the divisional artillery was still making do with 105 mm caliber guns, and only by forming a corps-level unit could one rightfully apply for the 155 mm self-propelled guns, couldn’t they?
“Production capacity is still not enough,” Tang Mo sighed, appearing a bit like Versailles. After all, the ability to produce 300 tank chassis a month practically equated to the industrial level of World War II Germany.
To Tang Mo or whoever at such a level, it might not be enough, but for other countries, this level could already be called an “achievement.”
“For the submarines, there can be no relaxation of safety requirements!” Tang Mo quickly shifted topics, after discussing tanks he immediately brought up submarines again.
These new types of weapons are not those that run on land; even if something really went wrong, at worst one could ditch the vehicle and escape.
Submarines operate submerged in seawater; if there really was a problem, a lot of people could die! And every one of these individuals was a professional, irreplaceable talent carefully cultivated by the Great Tang Group.
The complexity of such vessels was truly unprecedented; every valve and every button could potentially trigger an accident, essentially making it a “coffin under water” in the truest sense.
In real historical accounts, submarine accidents due to crew members mishandling valves were not unheard of, and there were even nuclear submarines that sank themselves because a torpedo exploded due to technical failures.
Even more bizarre were cases of subs sinking due to uncultured use of the new toilets causing sewage backflows… No joke, the danger level for submariners was more than tenfold higher than that of battleship soldiers.
Therefore, Tang Mo was so cautious; he did not wish to rush progress and let his precious submariners risk their lives.
“I’ll warn the Navy side,” Parker immediately nodded: “We’ll prioritize safety above all else.”
“Good,” Tang Mo patted Parker on the shoulder: “If there’s anything else, let’s discuss it all today. It wasn’t easy traveling here from Tongcheng; don’t make the trip for nothing.”
“There’s overcapacity in engine production. Even though our automobiles and tanks are using them, the output of engines is still in excess,” Parker said to Tang Mo: “If you don’t plan to build another tank factory, then we need to carefully consider how to utilize these engines.”
Tang Mo clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them, showing a slight headache from these intricate production issues.
If it were any other country’s emperor, they would not need to worry about such things. But since he was a technical emperor and the core of Great Tang’s industry, he had to get involved in these detailed and trivial matters.
It wasn’t that people like Parker Halley were not competent; but no matter how they balanced it, the final production-related decisions still had to be endorsed by Tang Mo.
Because outsiders could not understand Tang Mo’s industrial layout and sometimes the excess capacity he produced was actually a proactive stroke of genius.
What no one knew was that this time, Tang Mo indeed had a bit of a headache. These gasoline engines were actually producing at an excess capacity; he had to give serious thought to how to use up the surplus engines.
