Chapter 921

  Yakov drove a car to the weapons and equipment department. The guards on duty outside the door saw his car, which was still far away, so they moved the roadblock and pulled up the railing to let his vehicle pass.

  After the car entered the gate, it drove for another distance and stopped in front of a building covered with a camouflage net. Yakov turned to Sokov and said, "Here, Comrade Ustinov is working here."

  Sokov just nodded and didn't ask anything. He knew very well in his heart that if Yakov didn't want to talk, it would be useless to ask any more questions.

  After parking the car, Yakov took Sokov into the building and went to the third floor to meet Ustinov. The officer sitting in the outer office saw Yakov leading someone in, and quickly got up to salute.

   "Second Lieutenant," Yakov said to the other party: "Please inform Comrade Ustinov that Colonel Sokov is here!"

  The officer agreed, walked to the closed oak door, pushed open one of them and walked in, and closed the door behind him. Not long after, the officer opened the door again and came out. He stood at the door and said to the two, "Comrade People's Commissar invites you in." After speaking, he stood sideways by the door and made a gesture of invitation toward the inside.

"Our hero is here!" As soon as Sokov and Yakov entered the office, he saw Ustinov coming around from behind the desk and followed him all the way. He extended his hand to Sokov: "Welcome You come to Moscow."

  Sokov quickly stepped forward, raised his hands in salute, then stretched out his hands to hold each other's hands, shook them vigorously and said, "Hello, Comrade People's Commissar, nice to meet you."

Ustinov looked Sokov up and down, nodded slightly, and said, "Comrade Sokov, you have lost weight and darkened. I heard that you were injured twice. Are you healed?" "

"Thank you for your concern. My injury has long been healed." Sokov was eager to know why Ustinov called him to Moscow in an emergency, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade People's Commissar, I want to Excuse me, did you summon me to Moscow for any important business?"

"It's like this. We summoned you to Moscow. The focus is to understand the use of various new weapons." After Ustinov greeted Sokov to sit down, he returned to sit behind the desk and continued: "You guys How it is used on the battlefield is far more convincing than the data we get on the proving ground."

Sokov was confused by Ustinov's words. He thought to himself, if he wanted to find out what the performance of the new weapon was, he could send people to Stalingrad, so that accurate data could also be obtained. Why? How about recruiting yourself from the forefront at this critical juncture? is this necessary?

   Ustinov paused suddenly when he said this, and looked at Yakov who was sitting beside him, as if winking at him. When Sokov saw this scene, he couldn't help being taken aback, thinking how could Ustinov wink at Yakov, he must be wrong.

   But the next scene made Sokov not calm down. Yakov actually squinted his eyes and shook his head vigorously at Ustinov, then secretly made a gesture. The two used their eyes and gestures to communicate silently, which made Sokov feel a little at a loss.

"Comrade People's Commissar," Sokov didn't understand what the two of them were doing, so he coughed lightly, and when they all turned their eyes to him, he said, "I heard that the research room for developing incendiary bombs, It was sabotaged by German agents, is there such a thing?"

"Yes." Regarding Sokov's question, Ustinov admitted straightforwardly: "However, this matter has been handed over to the personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and I believe it will not be long before the truth can be found out. "

Hearing what Ustinov said, Sokov was even more confused. When Yakov called himself, it was because the research room was destroyed by German secret agents and suffered huge losses, and he needed to come back to assist in the work. He hurriedly recalled himself back to Moscow, and even sent a special plane to pick him up.

  Who knows that this matter has already been dealt with by a special person, isn't this just kidding yourself? However, the other party's position is higher than his own, so no matter how dissatisfied he is, he can't complain in person. He bit the bullet and asked, "Can I ask, what is the reason for calling me back?"

   "Colonel Sokov," Ustinov sat up straight, looked at Sokov and asked, "What kind of technical equipment do you think is the most effective for assaulting in the snow?"

  Ustinov’s question made Sokov immediately want to go to the automatic sled equipped by his troops during the Moscow Defense War, and quickly replied: "If it is used for assault, the automatic sled is the most suitable."

"That's right, the automatic sled moves very fast on the snow." Ustinov said thoughtfully: "But the disadvantage is also obvious. It can only carry two people. Except for the driver, there is only one person. A machine gun shooter. If it is used to attack the enemy, it is a good choice; if it can be used for offense, its effect is very limited."

  Sokov thought about it in his mind, and felt that the automatic sled was limited by the place of use and the season, so it can be said that it was tasteless, and there was no need for large-scale development. Presumably in the future, the hovercraft equipped by later generations would be a good choice, and I don't know if the Soviet Union has that kind of production capacity today.

Thinking of this, Sokov said to Ustinov: "Comrade People's Commissar, I thought of a kind of equipment that can replace the automatic sled as a fast assault equipment in the snow. And it can not only move quickly on the snow, but also Quickly maneuver over swamps and rivers."

  Ustinov couldn’t help but shine his eyes when he heard what Sokov said, and said repeatedly: “Colonel Sokov, tell me quickly, what kind of equipment is it?”

   "Hovercraft!"

"Hovercraft?!" After hearing this, Ustinov couldn't help but glanced at Yakov with doubts on his face. Seeing that the other party also looked confused, he turned his gaze to Sokov again and asked: "What is it?"

   "Comrade People's Commissar, can you give me a pen and paper?" Sokov asked politely, "I will draw a sketch for you."

  Ustinov had known for a long time that Sokov had the foundation of mechanical drawing, and the drawings he drew were simple and clear, and everyone could understand them. Then he picked up the pen and paper and handed it over, saying, "Draw it, I want to see what the hovercraft you mentioned looks like."

Sokov took the pen and paper, quickly drew the picture, and gave the two people science popularization while drawing: "The hovercraft refers to the use of the principle of surface effect, relying on the air above the atmospheric pressure to move between the hull and the supporting surface (water surface or ground) ) to form an air cushion, so that all or part of the hull is detached from the support surface to sail at a high speed.

The hovercraft should be made of light alloy materials. The ship is equipped with a blower and a light diesel engine. The high-pressure air generated by the blower is sent into the air chamber of the bottom cavity through the pipeline to form an air cushion to support the hull, and the propeller is driven by the engine to make the ship close. Fast sailing on the support surface. In addition to snow, it is also suitable for inland rapids, rapids and swamps. "

   Ustinov waited for Sokov to finish drawing, then picked up the sketch and looked at it carefully. After looking at it for a while, he raised his own question: "Colonel Sokov, what speed can this hovercraft reach?"

   "The navigation resistance of the hovercraft is very small," Sokov replied: "According to my estimation, the theoretical speed can be as high as 6080 km/h."

   "What, 6080 km/h?" Ustinov was taken aback by the data Sokov said: "So, the speed of the hovercraft is faster than that of the train?"

   "What about the load?" Yakov interrupted and asked.

   "It depends on the size of the hovercraft." Sokov said cautiously: "I think there should be no problem with a ship carrying one class, or two or three tons of cargo."

"If this kind of hovercraft can be manufactured, we can quickly mobilize troops and supplies in any season and in any complex terrain." Ustinov opened a folder and carefully put the sketch into it: "I will Arrange engineering personnel as soon as possible to develop this hovercraft."

"Comrade People's Commissar, I would like to ask." Sukov considered that after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, the third Battle of Kharkov will soon begin. Due to the muddy roads caused by the spring thaw, the Soviet army's logistics supply line There were serious problems, so that even though the strength and equipment were superior, they were still defeated by Manstein's troops. If the hovercraft can be developed before the start of the battle, it may change the outcome of this battle: "How long will it take to develop it?"

"It's hard to say, Colonel Sokov." Ustinov replied with some embarrassment: "Although we have this sketch, it takes a very long time to turn the things on the drawing into real objects. If it is fast, maybe half a year; if it is slow, three to five years is not impossible."

   Knowing that it would take half a year, or even three to five years, Sokov couldn't help but gasp, thinking that it was really developed so late, and the day lily would be cold. It seems that no matter how hard I try, I have no ability to change the result of the third Kharkov battle.

   "Colonel Sokov," Ustinov continued to ask, "I know you have a lot of ideas, so I wonder if you can give us some more ideas on weapon development."

"Self-propelled artillery!" Hearing Ustinov's question, Sukov immediately thought of self-propelled artillery, and said without hesitation: "Comrade People's Commissar, I think our army can still develop Self-propelled artillery."

"Self-propelled artillery?!" Ustinov was taken aback for a moment, and then asked back: "I received a report from Comrade Peter, the director of the Red October Factory, in which he mentioned a self-propelled artillery. I don't know if it is the same equipment as what you said?"

   "That's right, Comrade People's Commissar." Sokov nodded and said in a positive tone: "The self-propelled artillery he mentioned in the report should be the one I am going to report to you."

  Ustinov suddenly remembered something, and asked quickly: "So, the design drawing in the report by Director Peter is also your masterpiece?"

  Sokov nodded again, "Yes, it is a self-propelled artillery designed by me. But the number produced today is too small, and the caliber of the artillery is too small."

   "Then tell me," Ustinov picked up a pen, opened the notebook in front of him, and after getting ready to record, he said to Sokov, "What caliber self-propelled artillery do we need?"

   "In addition to the existing 76mm guns," Sokov replied, "85mm, 100mm, 122mm and 152mm guns should be added."

  Ustinov couldn't help frowning: "Colonel Sokov, if we produce self-propelled artillery with so many calibers, the production of conventional artillery will be affected..."

"Comrade People's Commissar," Sokov quickly explained: "I think the two do not conflict with each other. Self-propelled artillery is different from tank guns. It directly installs artillery of the same caliber on the tank site, so that it can only rely on Artillery drawn by wagon or truck, capable of maneuvering in its own right..."

Hearing this, Ustinov couldn't help laughing twice, and said with some embarrassment: "I'm just getting into a dead end. It seems that there is really no contradiction between self-propelled artillery and conventional artillery. We can put a large number of active artillery , are installed on the tank site, making it a more mobile artillery. In this way, our artillery can quickly establish artillery positions at any location and deal a heavy blow to the enemy."

  Sokov felt that he had told Ustinov everything he could think of, so he stood up and asked respectfully: "Comrade People's Commissar, if you have nothing to do, please allow me to leave!"

"Wait, Colonel Sokov, I still have something to tell you." After Ustinov finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Yakov and said with a wry smile: "Lieutenant Colonel Yakov, you You are good friends with Colonel Sokov, you should tell him about it yourself."

Sokov looked at Yakov blankly, thinking to himself: Why did Ustinov hesitate to speak several times, and now push Yakov out again, and let him tell himself what happened? whats the matter? He coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and asked cautiously, "Yasha, what happened? Please tell me the truth?"

  Yakov walked up to Sokov, put his hands on Sokov's shoulders, and said in a heavy tone, "Misha, I have some bad news for you. You must be strong."

  Yakov's nonsensical words made Sokov feel even more confused. He stomped his feet anxiously: "Yasha, you and I are old friends for many years. Can you tell me what's the matter?"

"That's right, Misha." Yakov glanced at Ustinov secretly, saw him nodding vigorously at him, he gritted his teeth and said, "Two days ago, a German bomber took advantage of They broke into Moscow at night and dropped several bombs over a factory in the northwest, causing certain property damage and casualties to the factory. Unfortunately, your mother was killed by a German bomb.”

   "What, my mother was killed by a German bomb?" Sokov asked with some surprise: "Is this why you called me back to Moscow urgently?"

  (end of this chapter)