Chapter 1930 A Bunch of Rookies

"The shell is too short? Not enough propellant?"

Malachenko, who didn't react at first, looked back again, and then he understood what Jack had just said, and a smile of "stunned" appeared on his face.

"You must have mistaken it, Jack. This is not a fixed-load shell, but a split-load shell. The thing you just simulated putting into the breech block is only half of the shell. You have to put the other half in, so that it is loaded."

""

Baji-Baji-

Jack opened his eyes wide and blinked twice, speechless. He rarely touched the tank himself, and most of the time he was drawing maps and doing staff work in the headquarters. He was a little confused. In the silent tank, even the sound of his eyes blinking helplessly was clearly audible.

What? That big and heavy thing just now was only half of the shell? I have to load the other half of the shell? This, this is a joke on me, right? What a joke! ?

Seeing Jack's "extremely shocked and unbelievable" expression, Malashenko, who looked a little helpless, did not continue to speak, but raised his right hand, raised his index finger, and pointed to the propellant cartridge rack placed on the floor of the vehicle chassis under Jack's feet. After making this gesture, he spoke again.

"Look, that's the thing. Pull the breech block open first, then put the shells and pellets into the breech block, then pick up the propellant and put it in, confirm that everything is correct, close the breech block and report that the loading is complete, so that the commander and the gunner know that you have done it, and the main gun is ready to fire at any time."

"Another point is to remember to stay a little further away from the breech block, and don't stay within the backward recoil range of the breech block. If this thing hits you hard in the chest, you have to consider whether the urn should be square or round, carved or not, provided that you don't die on the spot and have a breath left. After all, we can't send your body back to the country, right? Hmm?"

""

Malachenko, who is proficient in American humor, made Jack speechless as soon as he opened his mouth. He wanted to defend himself and say something, but after thinking carefully, he was indeed a rookie and had nothing to say. If no one had reminded me, I would have been completely unaware of these dangerous mistakes and would have made them at any time. In this case, I really have to thank Malashenko.

"Anyway, it's not too complicated. Loading is a simple job that only tests strength and endurance. But we can't fire many rounds today, so you don't need to load at high intensity. Just take your time and do it leisurely. Remember to do it within your ability. I will pay attention to and check your loading process to supervise you. Just do what you should do. I will point out any problems."

Malashenko has a lot to worry about when facing these rookies who are in contact with Soviet tanks for the first time. Especially Jack, a senior staff officer, has basically never touched a tank before, not to mention the guy who is in the tank and fights on the front line. Even if he is asked to take the simplest position of loader, he has to keep an eye on it.

"Okay, all crew members report to me and confirm the tank's status."

Major General Charleson, who had commanded his Matilda tank since the Battle of France, led his team to fight fiercely with the Germans, and then moved to North Africa and then to the European battlefield, was of course familiar with this process.

As soon as Malashenko opened his mouth, Major General Charleson immediately reported.

"The sighting system is fine, the machine gun and main gun firing mechanism are normal, everything is ready!"

Just when Major General Charleson's voice had not yet fallen, the short Major Nero, who was sitting in the front driver's seat of the narrow and cramped vehicle body, was still busy flipping through the thick stack of customized English driver's manuals in his hand.

Looking at the hand-drawn schematics above, and then comparing them with the actual machine reference in front of him, he wanted to determine what the piles of joysticks on his left and right hands, which looked like driving a tractor, corresponded to what functions and uses they were used for, and what the pile of Russian-language driving seat watch shop in front of him meant, and he didn't bother to answer Malashenko's questions from the turret battle room behind him.

""

Seeing that little Nero didn't reply, Malashenko bent down and looked at the front of the car body. He saw that the scene of this buddy at this moment was really like a famous painting in later generations, that world-famous painting of "a genius American pilot learning how to land with the instruction manual".

Well, the driver is the most technically demanding position in the entire crew, and the upper limit of performance can be said to be higher than that of the gunner. In actual combat, it can at least affect half of the combat effectiveness of the entire vehicle. Depending on the situation, it may be more and more important. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the person who decides the life and death of the entire vehicle.

Such a complicated thing, anyone who gets started for the first time will probably be like this. No wonder this kid was confused by the completely unfamiliar complex operating system.

Malashenko, who was quite patient, breathed a sigh of relief, and then spoke again and asked again.

"Nero, is everything done?"

"Yeah? Done, yes, no problem! It's basically done, I can do it, I mean I believe I can do it, I can definitely do it, I basically understand it!"

Looking at the boy's somewhat pretentious expression, Malashenko estimated that the words "it's all done" were probably not to be believed.

If it were on the battlefield, he would definitely not leave the lives of all the people in the car to such a stupid driver.

However, since we are not on the battlefield but on the test field, Malashenko, who does not want to spend too much energy, feels relieved after thinking about it.

It is a flat plain, I don't believe you can turn over this 40-ton thing in such a place. Neither Anton Star nor Sergey Star is so outrageous.

So, let it go no matter what, whether it is a mule or a horse, let's take it out for a walk first.

"OK, let's officially start, the driver will start the tank, start in the first gear, drive"

Malashenko hadn't finished speaking halfway, and suddenly felt that the whole tank rushed forward like a house suddenly alive.

Malashenko didn't know what was going on in the driver's seat, but from the feedback from his body, he estimated that it was probably that the idiot Nero was too nervous and shifted the wrong gear, and the whole tank twitched forward like it had epilepsy.

Do you think the tank really started running?

No, it just trembled suddenly and then stopped moving, and it was still far from running.

Before Malashenko, who was cursing in his heart, could say anything, he heard a flustered apology from the driver's seat at the front of the chassis.