Katukov also called Kalashnikov and Sisoy to the scene. After all, this can be said to be an experiment. If it succeeds, they will need to copy it, so their participation is of course necessary.
"We call it the M1 rocket launcher!" Skinner took out a weird-shaped object from the box.
The reason why it is called "weird" is because it is somewhat different from the "bazooka" in Shulka's impression, such as having two left and right baffles and a front end.
Skinner raised the rocket launcher Shulka and introduced with gestures: "This is a shoulder rest. We installed two batteries in it. It can ignite the rocket and then launch it. It's that simple..."
As he spoke, Skinner put the rocket launcher on his shoulder, while his assistant took out the rocket grenades and loaded them into the rocket launcher from behind.
"Two people can easily complete the operation!" Skinny said, pointing the rocket launcher at the vertical steel plate sixty meters away, and then pulled the trigger.
With a "chirp" sound, the rocket went straight towards the steel plate and exploded into a cloud of smoke.
After the smoke cleared, Katukov and Shulka stepped forward to observe, and were surprised to find that there were several irregularly shaped holes on it.
"What thickness of steel plate is this?" Katukov asked.
"80mm, Comrade Katukov!" Sisoy replied with his eyes widened. This armor-piercing ability has far exceeded his expectations... Before this, he could not imagine such a small 60mm caliber artillery shell.
It can actually penetrate 80mm of armor.
"Its warhead uses conical charge technology!" Skinner explained: "When it hits the target, it will emit a high-temperature, high-pressure metal jet. It is this jet that can penetrate tank armor..."
"How thick a steel plate can it penetrate?" Katukov asked.
"About 100 millimeters!" Skinner replied.
"Change the steel plate to 100 mm!"
In fact, it's not that the steel plate was changed, but that everyone changed the venue...the steel plate was already waiting in another place.
Then Skinny fired two more rockets. This time it was a little embarrassing. Both rockets failed to hit the target.
"As you can see!" Skinner said: "It has a low hit rate and is easily affected by wind... which is one of the reasons why it is ignored!"
As Skinner spoke, he raised the rocket launcher again, and then with a "chirp" sound, it hit the target this time.
100mm, complete penetration.
Katukov, Sisoy and others could not help but be stunned.
They knew what this meant. They had to know that the German Panzer III tank at this time only had an armor thickness of 47mm. Although the hit troops were often at an angle, the 100mm vertical armor penetration capability was enough to deal with the Panzer III tank.
"Does it have any shortcomings?" Katukov asked Skinner.
"Like I said..." Skinner replied: "It's less accurate and the rest is unknown because it hasn't been tested yet!"
"I don't think this is a problem!" Katukov picked up the rocket launcher and looked at it.
This is indeed true. The Soviet army's equipment usually does not have high accuracy requirements. They believe that quantity can solve the problem of accuracy, just like the "Katyusha" rocket launcher.
After looking at it for a while, Katukov seemed to have made up his mind. He handed the rocket launcher to Sisoy and asked: "We need it, Comrade Sisoy, how long do you think it will take to imitate and produce it?"
"If there are drawings..." Sisoy turned his attention to Skinny.
"Yes, I brought them!" Skinner replied, then nodded to his assistant.
The assistant took out a folder from the bag and handed it to Sisoy.
Sisoy and Kalashnikov turned around under the light together, and then confidently said to Katukov: "It may take two weeks, Comrade Colonel, as the Americans say, its
The structure is indeed very simple!”
"Why does it need two baffles and a front end?" Shulka asked.
"Oh!" Skinner replied: "You know, there is always a need for speed on the battlefield, and I want soldiers to be able to fire regardless of whether they are placed on the left shoulder or the right shoulder!"
"I think this is unnecessary!" Shulka said: "After all, there are not many soldiers who use weapons with their left hands, and this will increase its weight!"
Skinner nodded and replied: "You may be right!"
"So..." Shulka casually took the pen from Kalashnikov and said while drawing on the drawing: "We should remove the extra baffle and move the shoulder rest forward, because the center of gravity is in the front.
The shoulder rest and grip are moved forward to make it easier to hold, while the rear end is extended back to make it easier for the assistant to load... This is what we produce!"
Skinny looked at it and couldn't help but nodded: "Cool, man, what you said makes sense, it seems to be better!"
"In addition..." Shulka then asked: "Can the battery work normally at low temperatures?"
"Can't you?" Skinner couldn't help being stunned when he heard this.
Skinny was a captain who was interested in rockets, but his knowledge in other areas was lacking.
"We should conduct more outdoor tests on it!" Sisoy replied: "Battery problems can indeed occur at low temperatures. They may not be able to generate enough charge below minus 19 degrees... which means we may not succeed.
Fire the rocket and it will become a pile of scrap metal!"
"Why don't we change the battery to a small magnetic generator?" Shulka said: "On the one hand, this solves the problem of low-temperature emission, and on the other hand, it is easier to adapt to various complex environments and climates than batteries!"
"What a great idea!" Sisoy looked at Shulka in surprise: "You act as if it has already been produced and used, Comrade Shulka!"
Shulka spread his hands and replied: "I guess, I'm not sure if this change is feasible!"
This is of course not Shulka's guess, but the knowledge he possesses tells it that "Bazooka" will have these problems in the future...especially the battery.
During World War II, the U.S. military put a large number of "Bazookas" into the Pacific battlefield. There were usually islands with high temperatures and high humidity, and the batteries quickly became damp and leaked, so it was common for the "Bazookas" to fail to fire successfully.
These problems usually require mass production for troops to use. The troops will provide feedback after discovering these problems during combat, and then make batch improvements to them.
With Shulka here at this time, of course there is no need for this process.
"We can produce a few of them on a trial basis!" Kalashnikov said, "and then test them!"
"That's right!" Sisoy replied: "We will put it into production immediately and strive to produce a batch within a few days!"