Steel Soviet Union

It is not an easy task to get a heavy tank with a total combat weight of 44 tons to drive out of a mud pit, especially when the engine seems to have been soaked in rain and flooded. Shen Ke cursed angrily.

"Isn't that enough!? Seryosha, quickly find a way to make it move!"

The rear chrysanthemum hatch of the entire No. 177 IS1 heavy tank prototype was completely opened, and the heat dissipation window directly above the engine was also lifted upwards, completely exposing the internal organs and internal structure of the entire engine compartment.

With a big wrench in his left hand and a pipe wrench in his right hand, Seryosha had almost his whole upper body drilled into the engine room, and he was working on the broken heart of this 44-ton steel behemoth with both hands.

Although the driver Seryosha, who plunged into the engine compartment and was only busy with his work, tried his best, Malashenko, who was anxiously sitting next to the car waiting to turn right, was still urging him, raising his hand to check the time on his watch from time to time. His expression was obviously one of urgency.

"I'm thinking of a solution, Comrade Commander! But there's something wrong with this damn machine, this damn engine! Who knows if rainwater has flowed into the inner cylinder? I really want to smash this piece of shit right now. "

Seryozha, whose entire upper body was covered with oil stains, hit the unsatisfactory engine hard with the tool in his hand, venting his dissatisfaction with an expression that said he hated iron, but at the same time, he blurted out terrible curses. The gunner Iushkin who was also on the side was reminded.

"It's okay to vent, but don't smash the car, Seryosha. If you really smash the car, we will have to pick up self-defense weapons and use them as infantry to confront the Germans."

"What do you mean I smashed the car? Do you think I want to smash it? This damn broken machine is already broken without me smashing it. What does it have to do with whether I smash it or not?"

The dissatisfied complaints coming from the engine room were very dull. To Malashenko, it sounded a bit like putting a big living person in a water tank and standing outside to listen to him.

Malashenko, who was extremely anxious, couldn't help but move forward to the engine compartment at the rear of the car. He glanced at Seryosa who was working inside. Seryosa even unscrewed the internal combustion cylinder cover. He was looking inside with a flashlight that wasn't too bright.

Under the flashlight light, his face was black and full of oil, and he looked like a miner who had just escaped from a collapsed coal mine.

"Waiting for repair? Seryosha, fifteen minutes have passed!"

Seryosha, who was originally troubleshooting the engine compartment, retracted his head when he heard this and looked back. After seeing Malashenko's expression of anxious waiting for an answer, he answered.

"I can't find out what the problem is, Comrade Commander. There is no problem with the transmission system and gearbox. There can only be something wrong with the engine. But if there is something wrong with the engine, we will be in big trouble. This will have to be done by Karamov. "The battalion commander came to deal with the problem. We couldn't get the engine out of the tank without heavy equipment."

It is very troublesome to replace or repair tank engines under field conditions, especially during World War II when various logistics equipment were not as developed as in later modern wars.

To get the faulty engine out of the tank, heavy lifting equipment is obviously necessary, and it also takes a considerable amount of time to complete the work.

But what Malashenko needs most right now is time. If Karamov is to bring someone over to solve the problem, Malashenko estimates that it will take more than an hour to start at the earliest.

Not to mention rushing to the front line to support him, one hour was a blessing from his loving father, Comrade Stalin, if he was not ridden in the face by the Germans and beaten violently. Malashenko did not have this extra hour to waste.

"What a fucking bastard! It won't happen sooner or later, but it will happen now! I'm going to fuck you! Damn it!"

Iushkin, Seryosha and Kirill, who were in the same crew as Malashenko, always liked to curse their comrade commander in words they couldn't understand when he was angry. This has long been a common occurrence and is not surprising.

He was also leaning against the car waiting for Seryozha to repair the car, but in the end he only waited for him to do it. Iushkin, who was anxious for the result, finally couldn't hold it in any longer.

The gunner with the most impatient personality among the entire crew quickly came to the front of the tank, grabbed the dome of the tank with his hands and stepped on the front of the tank, and jumped directly into the driver who was supposed to be Seryosha. above the workplace.

Iushkin could barely remember the driver training course he had received at the Tank Corps School. Although Iushkin could no longer remember the last time he drove a tank, the basically similar operating procedures in his memory still motivated him. The muscles with memory moved, and they grasped the bare tank joysticks in a slightly unfamiliar posture.

"I don't believe that a little water can kill you, my dear, I absolutely don't believe it!"

Iushkin, who never believed in evil, decided to personally try to see if there was any problem with the tank's engine, but what happened next shocked everyone present.

Seryozha, who was still half of his body in the engine compartment, suddenly felt a tremor coming from the armor of the car beside him, and the originally lifeless 12-cylinder V-type water-cooled diesel engine suddenly roared and roared.

The black smoke from the engine exhaust and the strong vibrations that hit his face startled Seryosha, who was originally worried. His whole body immediately flew backwards and subconsciously as if he was electrocuted. His center of gravity was unsteady and he accidentally sat down. On the ground.

"Oh, damn! Comrade Commander, damn it! Our tank is moving on its own! It's moving on its own!"

The thin Seryosha, who was stuck in the engine compartment, did not notice Iushkin's movements, but that did not mean that Malashenko, who had bright eyes, also did not notice where Iushkin went.

Just seeing Iushkin striding towards the front of the tank, Malashenko, who had always miscalculated, did not expect that Iushkin actually ran to start the tank.

"You bastard! Iushkin! Seryosha's head is still in the engine compartment, are you really not afraid to hang his head off!? Who asked you to start the car!?"

Malashenko's angry curses were replaced by Iushkin's playful smile.

Iushkin, who was smiling and surprised, jumped out of the tank. After taking a look at Malashenko, who had an ominous expression on his face, he walked closer and took a closer look at the heart that was making a surging beating sound. In the car, unspeakable ecstasy immediately appeared on his face.