Chapter 1176: American tank
"Be careful with the left wing! The Japanese tanks have just retreated, and they are likely to make a comeback in that direction!" In the narrow tank body, the American tank commander ordered.
He carefully observed the surrounding situation through his observation window, and directed his tank to advance little by little.
The total combat weight of the M3 medium tank exceeds 30 tons. Because of the thickened armor to fight against German tanks, its driving ability is not very good.
The standard crew of these two tanks is 6 people, which is also the largest among the tanks of the same period: including the commander, driver, two gunners and two loader.
From a structural point of view, the biggest feature of the M3lee medium tank is the weapon system, because it installs a powerful 75mm caliber gun on the hull!
The 75mm caliber gun is useful as a support weapon when supporting infantry attacks, but it is also a weakness of the M3lee tank. The armor near the gun is not strong and can be easily penetrated.
This 75mm howitzer is installed in the protruding gun mount on the right side of the car body, carrying 46 rounds of ammunition.
As a weapon to aid various countries, M3lee tanks have been shipped to the UK, and a large number of tanks have also been given to the Soviet Union.
On the British battlefield, this tank could not fight against the improved versions of the German No. 3 and No. 4 tanks, and the number of losses itself was very large.
On the Soviet-German battlefield, the performance of this American tank was even more unbearable in the face of the Leopard tank that Germany had already started mass production.
Soviet troops rarely use M3lee as the main weapon of their tank troops. They rely more on their own T-34 tanks and only distribute M3lee tanks to non-main forces.
The news from the feedback also made the U.S. Army uneasy: Obviously, the M3lee tank, as the main tank of the U.S. army, is no longer able to adapt to the future battlefield.
So the top Americans pin their hopes on the M4 Sherman tank, which is stronger and easier to produce. They hope that their new tank, as well as a new tank destroyer, can fight the German torrent of steel.
On the M3lee tank, the weapon used to target the opponent's tank is a 37mm long-barreled anti-tank gun mounted in a small turret on the top of the tank.
This artillery has 178 rounds of ammunition, and has a good penetration ability. It is more than enough to deal with the Type 97 tanks equipped by Japan, and there is not much pressure.
However, on the Soviet-German battlefield, the use of the Soviet army showed that this anti-tank gun was absolutely powerless against German tanks, and even at a face-to-face distance, it could not penetrate the frontal armor of the German Panther tank.
But after modifications, American tanks also had their own advancements - following the German tank force, the deep-pocketed US Army also installed radios on all of its own tanks.
Starting from the communication aspect has also greatly improved the command and coordination capabilities of the US tank forces, and the overall combat effectiveness is also stronger.
At least, when these American tank groups are fighting, half of the tanks will not be destroyed due to communication problems, and the commander does not know the situation...
"The ace of spades calls the 3 of spades! Keep your distance and move on! I'm watching you!" The American tank commander gave the order loudly through the radio.
With the rumble of the engine, an M3lee tank ran over from the battlefield, and next to it, another M3lee tank kept advancing.
"Load grenades! Prepare to destroy the Japanese machine gun bunkers! We are approaching their defense lines! Be careful!" Grabbing the radio microphone in his hand, the American commander reminded his men over and over again.
The third M3lee tank drove over the reverse slope, its massive upper body exposed on the horizon, looking majestic.
"Boom!" Just as the fourth American M3lee tank ran over the high slope, an anti-tank mine was triggered.
The explosion directly destroyed the track of the American tank. Because of inertia, the American M3lee tank did not stop immediately.
It continued to move forward for a few meters before coming to a standstill. There was some light smoke coming out of the engine compartment of the tank, and the members inside opened the hatch above their heads, preparing to leave the tank that was no longer able to drive.
"Tutu! Tutu!" The Japanese machine gun position hidden in the dark suddenly opened fire, and the tracer hit the paralyzed tank, sputtering a piece of sparks.
The members of the American tank crew, who had just stretched out halfway, had no time to retract their heads when they were hit by bullets and hung on the hatch door.
"Japanese! There are Japanese machine gun positions! Damn it!" shouted the members of the American tank crew behind the M3lee over the radio.
After the side of the attacked tank, another American tank began to turn, followed by the American soldiers behind these American tanks. After lying down, they began to fight back frantically. The battlefield was chaotic. There is no way to destroy the hidden Japanese bunker, and it is impossible to bypass the two wings of this bunker.
The Japanese army built some skirmish trenches on the two wings of the bunker, and deployed a large number of infantry in it, which was difficult to deal with for a while.
The most direct way is to let the tank rush up by itself, use its own firepower to suppress the Japanese army, and cover the infantry to break through this line of defense from the front.
On the German side, this is how it is done: German commanders can easily break through such defenses from the front by covering their soldiers with well-armored No. 4 assault guns or Panther tanks.
"Accelerate! The cover infantry continues to advance!" Feeling a bullet hit the armored steel plate of his tank, the American tank commander loudly issued an order to continue the attack.
His orders were quickly carried out, and one M3lee tank after another began to move forward, approaching the Japanese trenches a little bit under the hail of Japanese bullets.
"Aim at the firing Japanese bunker! Fire!" After approaching a suitable distance, the American tank stopped advancing and calmly began to aim at the Japanese machine gun bunker that was constantly spraying flames.
The next second, the 75mm gun on the body of the American M3lee tank spewed out a thick smoke, and a shell was shot out.
Next, the soil next to the firing holes of the Japanese machine gun bunkers was suddenly thrown away by the shells. The strafing of the bunker stopped, and the Japanese army's firepower was instantly reduced by more than half.
"I'm the ace of spades, the 2 of spades, and the 3 of spades! You guys keep moving forward! I'll cover you!" Seeing the Japanese bunker he was aiming at being blown away by a cannonball, the U.S. commander grabbed it with satisfaction. Radio, a new advance order was given.
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