Chapter 213 "Hot and in Demand"

Unlike the vehicle-mounted machine gun, which is directly operated and fired manually by the mechanics, the main gun coaxial machine gun of the KV1 heavy tank is still the same 62mm DT light machine gun model, but it is a weapon connected by a mechanical operating structure and fired by the gunner by foot pedal.

In addition to destroying enemy infantry and unarmored vehicle targets, this main gun coaxial light machine gun also has many other tasks such as using tracer bullets to indicate the main gun to adjust the target and assisting the gunner in calculating the main gun's trajectory. It is a rare helper and important secondary weapon under the control of the gunner.

It is not easy to dismantle this light machine gun that is fixed to the breech block with a mechanical structure and connected to the firing pedal under the gunner's feet. The complex firing connection device and the fixed lock structure connected to the breech block are enough to keep people busy for a while.

But even so, Malashenko, who was unwilling to lose any machine gun firepower, finally made the decision with a very high operating coefficient.

"You and Kirill are responsible for removing the rear-facing light machine gun on the turret, and I will remove the main gun coaxial machine gun! When I am done, hand me the rear-facing machine gun so that the coaxial machine gun can continue to fire, understand?"

Replacing the main gun coaxial machine gun on a rapidly changing and extremely complex battlefield, such an order is simply a fantasy that Iushkin and Kirill, who are responsible for the duties of gunners, dare not even think about.

"Comrade commander, are you sure you want to do this!? Time is too tight for us!"

Faced with the almost unanimous admonitions from Iushkin and Kirill, Malashenko, who had bent down and dived into the front breech block of the turret fighting room, immediately responded without looking back.

"Remove the machine gun! Quick!"

After looking at each other, Iushkin and Kirill had no choice but to turn around and dismantle the DT light machine gun mounted on the rear of the turret.

This DT light machine gun, which was placed at the rear of the turret and extended out from the back of the KV1 tank turret, was originally designed to deal with enemy infantry who attempted to outflank. However, in actual combat, it is generally not very useful. The Soviet army, which emphasizes large-scale multi-arms coordinated operations, rarely has tanks without infantry cover.

Kirill and Iushkin were quickly dismantling the fixing lock of the rear-facing machine gun in their hands and removing it. At the front breech block of the turret on the other side, Malashenko, who was hunched over and got to the front of the breech block in an uncomfortable and awkward posture, was also carrying out his own task.

The KV1 heavy tank's turret has a wide interior space only in comparison with the extremely cramped interior of the T34 tank. The KV1 heavy tank turret uses small-angle inclined armor and a semi-arc gun shield to enhance the turret's defense. In essence, it is still a closed combat environment with a limited space for activities.

Malashenko, who has a standard tall stature of Slavs, is nearly 1.9 meters tall. Such a broad and strong stature is already uncomfortable for Soviet tanks that have never paid attention to human-machine efficiency. Now, Malashenko is forced to get into the front end area of ​​the breech block covered by the semi-arc gun shield to dismantle the coaxial machine gun like Zhang Fei embroidering. The difficulty is naturally imaginable.

Like a disabled person, Malashenko, who was barely hunched in a gap less than 40 centimeters wide, was already sweating profusely. With his arms restricted, Malashenko first reached out to unlock the firing device connected to the trigger of the DT light machine gun, and then moved his sight to the next key point - the breech block lock.

The coaxial machine gun lock fixed on the breech block by welding one in front and one behind is a standard pure mechanical structure without any hydraulic assistance. There is no other way to unlock it except manual operation.

Squeezed like a meat pie in the narrow front space of the turret, Malashenko gritted his teeth and held his breath as he moved the wrench in his hand with difficulty to disassemble the lock as quickly as possible. In a moment, the black oil stains stained with dust completely covered Malashenko's hands, making it completely invisible to the original skin color.

"Okay, it's done! Hand me the machine gun, quick!" Hearing Malashenko's roar, Kirill quickly handed the rear-facing machine gun that had been removed from the rear of the turret forward. Malashenko, who held the barrel with one hand, immediately pulled it forward. The already narrow and compact space became even more cramped because of the arrival of the DT vehicle-mounted light machine gun. It is natural to imagine how high the temperature of the DT vehicle-mounted light machine gun in front of him is, which is still placed on the unscrewed fixed lock and the barrel is still smoking. However, Malashenko, who is ready for everything except the east wind, can't care too much about the battlefield time that must be raced against time. Malashenko gritted his teeth and stretched his right palm to the front half of the barrel of the turret coaxial machine gun, and slapped it back hard. Chi——

The delicate palm skin touched the overheated gun barrel with a temperature of over 100 degrees Celsius, and instantly made a terrible sound that was enough to make people feel their teeth grinding and their ears numb.

Even though Malashenko had already prepared himself mentally and tried to shorten the contact time between his palm and the overheated gun barrel, the piercing burning pain that penetrated his soul still came from his palm and instantly spread to his whole body.

Malachenko, who was trying to hold back the burning pain in his palm, did not dare to delay for a moment. The DT light machine gun that was forcibly ejected from the firing hole of the turret next to the breech block was finally completely active. He stretched out his left hand to grab the retractable buttstock of the DT vehicle-mounted light machine gun and threw it behind him.

After solving the hot potato in front of him, Malachenko, who knew what to do next, immediately put another brand new DT vehicle-mounted light machine gun on hand into place with a fixed lock.

The feeling of the burned skin on the palm of his right hand touching the cold gun body was like forcibly peeling human skin from his palm, which made people feel instantly painful.

But even so, Malachenko, who gritted his teeth to get through this difficulty, still forced his will to close the coaxial machine gun fixing locks of the front and rear breech blocks. The mechanical firing device connected to the machine gun trigger was also connected by Malachenko with gritted teeth.

"Tray!"

Malashenko shouted as he reached back to take the fully loaded tray that was handed to him. After pulling the bolt and pushing the bullet into the chamber, he immediately retracted from the position next to the breech block at the front of the turret and patted Iushkin's shoulder.

"It's time to work, do what you should do!"