The Rise of the Empire

"I will not let such a crude product join the French Army." Xiafei said after carefully looking at this tank, because according to Louis Renault's introduction, although the chassis of this tank is original FT20 chassis, but in addition to armor protection, the engine configuration has also been reduced, using an engine that is more stable and more suitable for tropical humid climates, but with less power. Mobility and defense are far from Joffre's requirements. To put it bluntly, even on the road, the maximum speed of this tank is only 12 to 15 kilometers per hour.

"Actually, this tank is not as unbearable as you imagined. After the prototype was tested in French Indochina, we found that it made sense for the Japanese to finally choose this tank." Louis Renault began to argue for his own Product exculpation.

"Tell me about it." Xiafei said with great interest.

"First of all, thanks to its low weight, the power system of this tank is pretty good, and its maneuverability is slightly better than our Renault, because the so-called speed of 15 kilometers per hour is what we limit the engine to. It is achieved at low power, and if the restrictions are unlocked, the performance will be improved. Secondly, although the too open fighting room greatly reduces the defense of this tank, it undoubtedly enhances the heat dissipation of the tank's power system. Judging from the current situation, it performs best among all French tanks in the tropics." Louis Renault said without blushing.

"Isn't this nonsense? There is almost nothing behind it, and the air circulation is naturally much higher than that of a closed tank." Xiafei felt a little dissatisfied.

"Of course, in addition to meeting the Japanese requirements for stability, this tank is actually very survivable. Look at this tank, the maximum height is only 1.8 meters. It is very easy to hide behind the terrain, as long as you choose a suitable one In places where the tank's artillery may be only 30 centimeters above the ground, this height is very suitable for hiding. Therefore, although this tank cannot be an opponent of the Wolf tank in a head-on duel, if it is engaged in a defensive battle, it The price/performance ratio is the best,” said Louis Reno.

To sum up, this FT30 tank is a weapon that emphasizes firepower and stability while requiring lower cost. If placed in Europe, its performance is not worth mentioning. Real big countries will not equip it, but for Japan and the like It is definitely a good choice for countries that are in urgent need of anti-armor firepower but have relatively limited funds. At least it performs well enough in defensive battles.

In the end, the performance and cost of this tank met the Japanese requirements. This was the first batch of export orders for French armored weapons after the war, laying a very good foundation for the subsequent production and sales of the FT30. This This seemingly simple tank also caused a lot of trouble for the Americans in the Pacific War. Of course, this is not mentioned for the time being.

In addition to this new tank, Renault also provided the Japanese with a large number of armored vehicles and half-tracks. Most of these products were surplus materials from the war that year and were sold to the Japanese at relatively low prices. It can be regarded as clearing out the inventory, but the Firefox half-track vehicle among them is a new type of tractor 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 kind of vehicle has better off-road performance than ordinary vehicles. It is also faster and more fuel-efficient than tracked vehicles. It can be regarded as a wheeled vehicle and A product among tracked vehicles. The French have vast African colonies to control. If they use cars, they have to consider the poor road conditions in Africa, and if they use tracked vehicles, they have to consider cost. Therefore, it has become an inevitable trend to equip a large number of half-track vehicles.

Therefore, after the war, the French began to tender for a new generation of 2.5-ton half-track vehicles. Why is it this tonnage? First of all, a vehicle of this tonnage is enough to tow most of the artillery of the French Army, including the 155MM howitzer. In other words, it is qualified and useful as a means of transportation, is not particularly expensive, and can be mass-produced.

Secondly, it is also a waste to equip colonial troops with special tanks or armored vehicles. Therefore, this 2.5-ton half-track vehicle with a cargo capacity also has sufficient modification potential. After being equipped with a certain amount of armor, it can be used as an infantry transport. For example, if you press a mortar on a vehicle to use it as infantry support firepower, you can take out the 75MM rapid-fire gun from the warehouse and directly press it on the vehicle to use it as a self-propelled artillery. It can be said that the improvement prospects are very promising, the practicality 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 is small. Historically, the Germans’ famous fz251 half-track has a standard 3-ton body. The Germans’ famous 251 half-track can carry a maximum of 75MML46 anti-tank guns, so this 2.5-ton There is no problem at all with the French 75MML36 artillery.)

Therefore, this kind of vehicle with moderate weight, reasonable cost and great potential for improvement has also been favored by the Japanese. It's not that the Japanese don't want to buy cheaper trucks as transportation and towing tools, but the geographical environment of New Guinea is not friendly to wheeled vehicles...

After obtaining the half-track vehicle named Firefox, the Japanese also installed a large number of weapons on it for use as a special combat vehicle. For example, a large number of 75MM rapid-fire cannons also from France are installed on the car body! In fact, in the eyes of the Japanese, the tank named FT30 is already considered a high-end vehicle and is classified as heavy-duty. After all, no matter how much weight is reduced, it only needs a 90MML40 cannon and a not-so-low ammunition capacity. It is absolutely certain that the weight of this tank is more than 14 tons.

As for this 2.5-ton half-track vehicle named Firefox, its total combat weight is 7.5 tons. And after adding steel plates that can defend against large-caliber machine guns and shrapnel. (Of course, this defense standard is limited to the front.) It can also be regarded as a front-line combat vehicle among the Japanese army, and one of the intentions of Japan’s large-scale purchase of Firefox is to make up for the insufficient purchase of FT30. As the backbone of anti-armor combat, After all, although the American Wolf tank is powerful, the United States cannot produce it itself. As relations between Germany and Germany deteriorate, the supply of arms will definitely be affected. These inferior anti-armor weapons are naturally designed to deal with tanks such as T1.

In addition to anti-tank guns, Japan also equipped this tank with its own authorized 80MM and 120MM heavy mortars. What is different from history is that because the Japanese Army needs to face high-level opponents such as the U.S. Army, it is also taking the path of heavy-duty weapons. The original famous Type 92 light infantry gun equipment has been reduced. On the contrary, similar During World War I, the Russian M1909 76.2MM field gun weapon became the main force of the Japanese army's equipment.

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