Chapter 308: Experiment

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“Sounds very interesting,” Rein said with a nod. He then glanced at the imposing-looking new tank and said with a smile to Colonel Demond, ”

“Sounds very interesting,” Rein said with a nod. He then glanced at the imposing-looking new tank and said with a smile to Colonel Demond, “Has the gunsight been calibrated? My gunner is very picky about this.”

“Rest assured! At over 1,000 meters, if you’re really skilled, you can even hit a target the size of an oil drum. The only thing that’s giving me a bit of a headache now is the issue with the 88mm tank gun’s ammunition. The resupply of the new ammunition is very time-consuming, but I’ve left 400 rounds here for you. I estimate that will be enough for you to use for a while,” Demond also said to Rein with a smile.

“Andre, you help Bruce count the ammunition. Baumann, find a way to get the tank down!” Rein immediately began to assign tasks. “You… I’m sorry, what’s your name?”

“Alice, Alice Green,” the girl replied softly.

“When the tank is moving, you have to speak as loudly as possible, otherwise I won’t be able to hear what you’re saying,” Rein said, pointing to the tank. “In addition, you need to control the hull machine gun and are responsible for sweeping the local targets in front of the vehicle. Have you ever killed anyone?”

Alice hurriedly shook her head.

“Marcus! Can you discuss it with the battalion commander and bring two prisoners over? I need to kill two for a demonstration,” Rein shouted back into the distance.

“Go to hell, Rein! If you don’t want the battalion commander to kick your ass, then shut your mouth,” Marcus replied with a laugh. “Also, does this mean I don’t have to act as your platoon leader anymore?”

“I’m back! Don’t be too envious of me. At least I have this guy,” Rein said with a smile, pointing to the Tiger tank painted in grey camouflage. “I hear it’s a super tank designed by the Mercedes-Benz company and produced by the Krupp company.”

“…” Marcus was rooted to the spot after just one look. He pointed to the prototype Tiger tank and asked, “Trade?”

“Trade my ass!” Rein replied with a laugh to Marcus’s extremely idiotic request.

He then saw that Baumann had already climbed onto the tank, and the trailer had already lowered its rear loading ramp. A few minutes later, under Baumann’s driving, the tracks of the Tiger tank finally touched the ground.

“The track width of this thing is the same as the Panther’s, so the unit pressure is a bit higher. With a weight of over 37 tons, although it can pass over most bridges, you still need to be extra careful,” Demond said, finally patting Rein’s shoulder with a smile. “If they haven’t exaggerated your combat record, then from now on you are invincible. The only things you need to pay attention to are anti-tank mines and aircraft.”

Rein nodded. After sending off Colonel Demond, the officer from the German engineering department’s secret R&D unit who was in a hurry, Rein finally returned to the side of the Tiger tank, which was already surrounded by a crowd of people.

The turret of the Tiger was much larger than the Panther’s, but it was a bit lower. This strange turret was a box-like structure, and the welded sloped armor was thicker, but the internal space was indeed a bit smaller.

Strictly speaking, the shape of this tank was very similar to a Chinese Type 85 main battle tank with a slightly larger turret. Of course, the actual situation was slightly different. For example, the road wheels adopted the hollow design of the Type 59 tank, and the tracks were far from being as wide as those of a main battle tank. There was a hull machine gun on the front of the vehicle, which added a touch of native flavor to this epoch-making, otherworldly main battle tank.

Of course, the most obvious feature was the front of the turret. Because they needed to install sighting equipment and also a coaxial machine gun, the German engineers had chosen a relatively simple way to achieve this design. They had used the same principle as the Panther, using a thick gun mantlet with a sloped angle to solve the protection issue.

So this was a complete “technological hodgepodge” that combined a Soviet chassis, a Chinese turret, and a German front. Of course, this tank also had some frightening data specifications because of this.

This tank had roughly the same level of protection as the Tiger tank from the other timeline, but its weight was only 5 tons heavier than a T-34. This tank had the same firepower as a Tiger, but its speed was a full quarter faster. This tank also had a high degree of parts commonality with the Panther, and its running gear was simple and durable…

It could be said that this was a complete Third Reich version of a main battle tank, a brand-new product of war that surpassed the technical concepts of heavy and medium tanks. Although Rein still did not know how formidable this tank really was, he could tell from Demond’s introduction alone that this was the upgraded version of the German army’s Panther tank.

“Rumble… rumble,” Baumann started the tank. A cloud of black smoke spewed from the exhaust pipe at the rear. The power of the diesel engine was quickly demonstrated. The tank trembled slightly with the roar of the engine, as if it were a beast that had accumulated a great deal of strength and was ready to charge at any moment.

“Alice, go and tune the radio intercom. The channel is set to 13… Bruce, count the ammunition. Put the armor-piercing rounds in the most accessible position… Andre, test the coaxial machine gun, and then check the gunsight,” Rein’s face, which had not smiled for a long time, was now radiant. He charged up the tank in two steps, placed one hand on the turret, and turned his head to command loudly, “Let’s test how formidable this new guy is.”

“There’s a farm over there. Our reconnaissance troops have been there. There’s no one inside,” the battalion commander said with a smile, pointing to a few dilapidated buildings in the distance. “You can use a few empty warehouses to test it out. Remember to come back quickly. Everyone is waiting for you for lunch—to celebrate you becoming the second person in Germany to receive the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves!”

“The first was Field Marshal von Brauchitsch!” Marcus raised his canteen in a toast. “Heil Führer!”

“Heil Führer!” everyone raised their canteens and shouted cheerfully.

The Tiger tank began to move slowly, and Rein finally climbed into the tank’s interior, carefully looking at it. It was clear that the interior of this tank was not as domineering as it looked from the outside. Many of the details still had traces of welding and looked very rough. Of course, this might have been done to cut costs and to speed up the production of this type of tank.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve asked this question. I feel a little nostalgic,” Rein said, putting on his headset and holding the throat intercom. “I’ll confirm one more time: can you hear me?”

“Baumann, heard!” the voice of the driver, Baumann, came through.

“Bruce in position!” the loader, Bruce, who had been working out a lot these past few days and seemed to have regained his muscular build, said, rubbing his fists together.

“The gunsight is not bad. It’s very similar to the Panther’s, but clearer,” Andre’s injuries had not fully recovered, but as a gunner, there was no major problem. He pressed his eye to the sight, and his excited voice could be heard clearly even through the headset.

“…” Following this was a burst of silent hissing in the headset.

“Radio operator! Please confirm after you hear me!” Rein, not hearing a fourth reply, thought again of Clark, which made his heart ache slightly. So he grabbed the throat intercom again and asked with a frown.

“…” The reply was still silence.

“Alice… if you don’t answer me again, I’ll kick your ass!” Rein roared.

“I heard you! I heard you!” Alice’s voice came through the headset. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I was setting the frequency of the radio just now. This thing wasn’t calibrated well, so there was a rustling interference sound when I spoke.”

“Check the spare ammunition for the hull machine gun! And then report to me!” Rein commanded loudly.

“I’ve been trained on this! The ammunition is full!” Alice replied loudly in the headset.

“It’s alright! Baumann, continue to advance. Alice, make your answers shorter next time! Just say ‘ready’ is enough!” Rein said, poking his head out of the turret and then raising his binoculars to look into the distance. “Andre, 11 o’clock. See that warehouse?”

“I see it! I’m looking for the turret traverse button,” Andre replied loudly. Then Rein’s body swayed, and the entire turret began to turn, a little faster than the Panther’s. Andre was clearly very satisfied with the turret’s rotation speed and continued, “The rotation speed is very fast! I can already see the target!”

“Don’t be in a hurry to fire! Test the accuracy with the coaxial machine gun first. We can’t afford to waste much time out here. Let’s finish all the tests at once so we can go straight to the battlefield,” Rein said, holding his binoculars and looking at the building in the distance. “See that little window? You’ll pass if you can hit it.”

“No problem,” With Andre’s reply, the Tiger tank immediately braked and stopped. With a slight sway, Andre squeezed the trigger of the coaxial machine gun. The tracer rounds flew toward the target. The first round was a little off due to the sway, but the second had already shattered the glass on the window, and then several bullets all hit inside the window. The accuracy made Rein very satisfied.

“Bruce! Load high-explosive!” Rein commanded loudly.

“Loaded!” Bruce replied loudly, pushing a shell into the breech.

“Fire!” Rein shouted.

“Boom!” The shell directly hit the farm warehouse with the window in the distance. The violent explosion blew the wooden warehouse to pieces. Rein saw in his binoculars the wooden planks flying everywhere, as well as the wreckage of furniture.

“Hit!” Rein said with a smile.

“This tank is really great! The heavy feeling is so thrilling to drive! I love the guy who designed it,” Baumann’s voice came through.

“I can’t wait to try it out on a French tank,” Andre also said with a smile.

“I’ll tell the battalion commander about this when I get back! Next battle, we’ll lead the charge!” Rein said, lowering his binoculars and pressing the throat intercom. “Alice! Next time we’re on the front line, if you hesitate when I tell you to open fire, I’ll kill you and get a new radio operator. Understood?”

“O… okay,” Alice replied weakly in the headset.