Chapter 148 The Battle of Poland (11)

The Colonel of the Guards said with pride. "Yes, this is a 380mm caliber mortar. This big guy is named 'Sturmtiger'. It is specially used to deal with those strong fortresses."

The design idea of the "Sturmtiger" originated from the brutal street fighting in Stalingrad in the autumn of 1942. It is equipped with a 380mm mortar with huge destructive power, which has huge destructive power against fixed fortifications and buildings.

The biggest feature of the Sturmtiger is a 380mm Stu M RW61 L/5.4 mortar equipped on the front of the body. The barrel length is only 5.4 times the caliber. This "dwarf tiger" appearance is very rare and unique among anti-tank guns in the world. What's even more amazing is that its barrel has two layers, and the heavily corroded inner barrel can be replaced. This is possible due to the lower chamber pressure of the mortar. The base number of ammunition is 14 rounds, and the types of ammunition are grenades/rockets. The weight of the artillery shells is 324 kilograms. To replenish the ammunition, the crew members must leave the vehicle and then use the crane at the rear of the vehicle to load the ammunition, which is also a unique feature.

It can destroy any building or other target with one rocket. There are reports that one rocket completely destroyed three US military M4 "Sherman" tanks, and its power is second only to bombers!

Colonel Fred couldn't help but sigh sincerely. "It's truly a secret weapon. The caliber is really scary."

The Colonel of the Guards glanced at him. "It's not the secret weapon, the real secret weapon is there."

"Huh?! Isn't this a secret weapon?" Colonel Fred looked in the direction pointed by the Guards Colonel, and then noticed several container trucks parked on the other side. It's just that the door of the container is closed tightly, so I don't know what's inside. And judging from the leisurely appearance of the Guards Colonel, he wouldn't show it to him for a while.

He turned his attention again to this extremely exaggerated "Sturmtiger". "Is this also the name designed by His Highness?"

The Colonel of the Guards nodded with admiration. "Certainly."

"Your Highness is really a caring person." Everyone in the army knows that most of the weapons in their hands are designed by His Highness himself, and His Highness also has a very special way of naming the weapons. The Air Force's fighter BF109 is the "Wasp"; the Army Aviation's level bomber is the "Mosquito" and the dive bomber is the "Black Vulture"; the armored force's tank is the "Jackal", the self-propelled rocket launcher is the "Porcupine"; the minesweeper is the "Wild Boar" ...etc., you can open a zoo. In his opinion, people who like animals are kind-hearted and caring people.

"..." The Colonel of the Guards couldn't help but glance at him, thinking that this person's thinking was really strange. How did he reason about this?

Finally, after the long wait, the sky gradually darkened.

Colonel Fred watched curiously as a row of people walked down from several containers. Each person was carrying something similar to a radio box on his back, and on his head was a head-mounted searchlight that looked like a coal miner wearing when going down a mine. He wears something similar to a small telescope on his eyes, and the "searchlight" and "telescope" are connected to the radio station behind with wires. It looks like a Frankenstein costume.

"..." Colonel Fred couldn't help but remind him as he watched this group of Frankenstein monsters and the "Sturmtiger" set off for Westerplatt Fortress. "Mr. Colonel, do you need us to set off flares?"

The weather tonight is not very good. There is no moon in the sky. It is pitch black.

The Colonel of the Guards shook his head. "No, wouldn't that expose them?"

Colonel Fred became even more confused. "But how can they fight in such a dark sky?" Just rely on the small searchlight above their heads? How far can that thing shine?

The Colonel of the Guards showed a mysterious smile. "Don't worry, they certainly have a way. Otherwise, how could it be called a 'secret weapon'?" Then his expression changed. "But I want to warn you, everything you see tonight is confidential. You cannot reveal even half a word to anyone, otherwise you will not even have a chance to go to the military court. You and your relatives will have to live in some inappropriate In the prison of existence." At the end of the sentence, his expression was particularly serious, which made Colonel Fred feel a little afraid in his heart, and he nodded quickly.

"Boom!"

Suddenly there was a loud sound of cannon from the direction of Westerplatt Fortress. It seems to be the location of Outpost No. 3 (Guard Room). How did they approach and destroy the bunker in such a dark environment without alerting the enemy?

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Every once in a while, there would be an earth-shattering sound of artillery, mixed with dense gunfire. When the fifth explosion sounded, the battlefield suddenly fell silent.

After a while, the people wearing strange equipment came back one after another, and returned to the container silently.

"This thing is easy to use, but it's too heavy." The soldiers who returned to the container took off the "searchlights" and "telescopes" on their heads and stretched their sore necks.

This is the latest individual night vision system developed by Germany, a night vision system called "Vampire", which uses infrared light sources to find targets at night. It is a powerful weapon that the German army is preparing to dominate the night on future battlefields. However, as a first-generation night vision combat system, this thing has great limitations.

Because the principle of this night vision device is to emit infrared rays first, and then convert the reflected infrared light waves into visible light. Several pieces of equipment must therefore be carried; a searchlight with a filter to emit infrared light, and an image display that converts infrared light into visible light. These two instruments are inseparable from the battery pack carried on their backs.

As a result, these people carried nearly 20 kilograms more weight than other soldiers. They had to carry several kilograms of weight on their heads alone, which was really tiring.

The lieutenant leading the team complained to the engineer in charge of recording. "This thing is still a bit unstable, and the failure rate is too high. A total of thirty devices participated in the attack, and before the enemy was seen, four of them malfunctioned and had to withdraw from the battle. In addition, out of all the equipment that appeared during the battle a total of 9 machines were scrapped due to various malfunctions. Moreover, its battery was too bulky, which obviously affected its mobility. If it is not reduced in weight, it will not be of much use for individual soldiers. I think it is still It's better to put it on a vehicle."

An engineer replied while recording these questions quickly. "Unless a more efficient battery is developed, the problem of battery size cannot be solved for the time being. However, the empire's technology is advancing rapidly, and I think it won't be long before we can use lightweight batteries. As for reliability, I just checked those and the malfunctioning equipment is caused by broken wires in the electronic tubes inside. It should be caused by unstable battery voltage. Adding a voltage regulator should solve the problem. Are there any other problems?"

The lieutenant thought for a while and said. "If you really want it to be used by individual soldiers, it's best to use it for special operations. On a conventional battlefield, once the enemy hits the flares, they have almost no advantage. But if you distribute them to sentries, it's a good idea. If the enemy By attacking first, we can find the opponent more accurately and fire on the enemy first."