Chapter 1000 The Next Car

The mere sight of IS6 was actually enough to surprise Malashenko, but what Malashenko never expected was that Kotin actually had a hidden trump card left for the finale.

"Let's talk about Project 252 later, Comrade Malashenko. Now, I'll take you to see the next car. We have to hurry."

"The next car?"

Kotin's sudden words made Malashenko a little confused. Could it be that Kotin used the little time at hand to tinker with more than one new heavy tank project? Isn't this too exaggerated?

Facts have proved that Malashenko's surprise guess was indeed well expected. Kotin, who was well prepared, did have a more powerful plan waiting for Malashenko.

The Tiger tank brought a strong impact to the top Soviet military, both in the existing timeline and in the current time when Malashenko was in.

The only difference is that Malashenko, as a time traveler, sounded the alarm in advance for the Soviet military leaders who were still immersed in the strong quality advantages of the T34 medium tank and the KV heavy tank in this parallel timeline, and achieved his original purpose through Zhukov as an intermediary.

Therefore, the shock and impact felt by the Soviet military leaders in this parallel timeline about the appearance and terrifying combat power of the Tiger tank were slightly smaller than those in the existing history.

It is not clear how many Tiger tanks will be put into actual combat, and judging from the current situation, the overall quality advantage of the tank is still firmly in their hands, and the situation does not seem to be as critical as that.

Some of the Soviet military leaders, who took it for granted and thought that they would be prepared for any eventuality, did not directly issue an urgent research and development order to Kokin. They only suggested that Kokin put the new heavy tank design that could surpass the German Tiger heavy tank on the agenda as soon as possible, and that it should be done while ensuring the steady increase of existing production capacity and monthly tank output.

To be honest, this is indeed a bit like "only children make choices, I want both production and new tanks", which is also a big problem for Kotin.

The 252 project vehicle is at most a hobby car that Kotin made using his own functions and the self-financing ability of the Second Special Design Bureau. Kotin hopes that this self-financing project will bear fruit one day and bring unexpectedly fruitful returns.

The Soviet military leaders did know that such a project existed, but they had no idea what kind of tank Kotin wanted to make and what the key performance indicators were, so this project did not even have a priority to talk about, while the definition and priority of Project 701 were exactly the opposite.

Project 701 was a research and development project specially launched by Kotin to meet the military leaders' order to "put a new heavy tank design that can outperform the Germans' new Tiger heavy tank on the agenda as soon as possible."

As soon as the project was reported, it was approved by Moscow. Almost unconditional trust and the burden of the Red Army's future heavy tanks were quickly placed on Kotin and received strong support.

Because of Malashenko's sudden appearance and the extensive publicity and reports on it by major Soviet newspapers and propaganda agencies, the name of the Red Army's most elite heavy tank unit became famous throughout the Soviet Union. Kotin, who was inspired by the study of the Tiger tank, suddenly had a very bold idea when he thought of Malashenko.

Can we design a very powerful heavy tank that does not need to be produced too high, and only needs to be used exclusively by the elite guards tank unit. In the heavy tank unit, two types of ordinary units and elite units are differentiated, just like the cooperation between heavy tanks and medium tanks, so that more elite heavy tanks can do tasks that ordinary heavy tanks cannot do.

For example, conquering the enemy's defense line with more fierce firepower and destroying the enemy's tank unit with stronger strength, and all this is based on the cost of less casualties on our side.

In Kotin's more detailed conception, the improved and upgraded IS1 heavy tank can completely match the combat performance of the German Tiger heavy tank. It can be said that the current plan and future plan of the IS1 heavy tank under the influence of Malashenko can fully meet the actual needs of the Soviet tank forces, so as not to be completely overwhelmed by the Germans.

As for this new Project 701, it is a heavy tank project developed completely for the high requirements and high indicators of the military, which can easily overwhelm the German Tiger heavy tanks, and is specially developed for elite tank forces such as Malashenko.

In other words, it is equivalent to the design that has been almost completed at this stage, and the task indicators issued by the military have been met. The time in his hands can be said to be very loose, and the development of the new heavy tank can be regarded as a reward target.

Malashenko did not know Kotin's bold idea. If he knew, he would probably be amazed that Comrade Kotin had conceived the three-level distinct ladder equipment ideas of T72, T64, and T80 of the Soviet tank forces in the later Cold War so early in the current World War II.

Indeed, ordinary troops use T72, general elite troops use T64, and the most important troops on the eastern and western fronts use T80B and T80U. This is somewhat similar to Kotin's idea that the most basic troops use Morozov's scrap metal, general heavy tank troops use the upgraded and improved IS1, and ace elite troops like Malashenko use the strongest 701 project.

I have already completed the design indicators given by the military. It would be the best if Project 701 could be selected for mass production. It would be the icing on the cake if it could not catch the eyes of the military leaders. It would not matter if I had already completed the task. There was no reason to be punished for it. Besides, how could I win every time in the design industry? Failure is the mother of success.

Kotin made up his mind and rolled up his sleeves to get started. However, Project 701, which was defined as a "super tank" from the beginning, was a truly new design. The complex design projects were not as simple as upgrading IS1 and gluing a tank model with wood board glue.

So the so-called "prototype vehicle" that Kotin took Malashenko to see was just a pile of design sketches piled up into a small mountain.

You asked about the real car?

Sorry, it is still in the state of unprocessed cut armored steel. Anyway, there is plenty of time to slowly improve the design and there is no rush to build the car. Kotin's current plan can be specifically summarized as "take it slow and don't rush."

Although the pile of design sketches on the table in front of him was messy, Malashenko could still see some clues from several of the main drawings.

Malashenko never expected that Kotin would start working on the new IS4 heavy tank half a year earlier than the existing historical timeline.