“The Krupp factory at this point in time is still explosive; they actually managed to produce it…”
Morin looked at some of the main data in the letter, unable to help but sigh in a low voice.
50mm caliber, 60 calibers long barrel, 835 m/s muzzle velocity… and the armor-piercing capped (APC) shell technology Krupp poached from their own Naval Weapons R&D Department.
If Morin remembered correctly, the Great Brit should have started R&D on APC shells in 1908, and the navies of the Second Reich and the Austro-Hungarian Empire also completed the equipping of APC shells around 1911…
Not long after, both sides would also coincidentally add a ballistic cap in front of the soft cap, upgrading the armor-piercing shells to “Armor-Piercing Capped Ballistic Capped (APCBC) shells.”
So this technology could completely wait until it matured on the navy’s side and be directly poached for use.
And what these data in Krupp’s letter combined represented, Morin couldn’t be clearer.
It meant the Saxon Empire of this world had produced a budget version of the Pak 38 in 1915…
Um, if it could be officially put into production, it would highly likely be named “5-cm-Ritterpanzerabwehrkanone 15,” meaning “Model 15 5-centimeter Anti-Armored-Knight Cannon.”
The abbreviation might be RAK 15?
As for why it wasn’t “PAK,” it was because in this world, the Saxon term for Armored Knights was “Ritterpanzer” instead of “Panzer,” roughly meaning “Knight Armor.”
According to the data in the letter, the armor-piercing capability of this cannon produced by Krupp was penetrating 65-70mm of vertical armor at a distance of 500 meters.
This data was slightly weaker compared to the PaK 38 of another world (without using tungsten core armor-piercing shells, penetration at 500 meters is about 80mm).
But considering the different technological backgrounds and materials science levels of this world, being able to achieve this degree in 1915 could already be called outrageous.
The Holy Britannia Empire’s main Armored Knight, the “St. George Mark 3,” had an effective thickness of its frontal main armor of only about 60-70mm.
The Saxon Empire’s own “Siegfried Mark 1,” due to the gap in magitech armor technology, resulted in its frontal effective thickness also not exceeding 65mm.
As for the Armored Knights of other small countries, which were already few in number, there was even less need to mention them.
Except for the “castrated versions” of Armored Knights purchased from a few major powers, their domestically developed models had worse performance in all aspects…
For example, in the series of battles launched in the United Kingdom of Flanders, the “Order of the Golden Fleece,” which was tragically swept by the Teutonic Knights, had its main Armored Knight as the domestically developed “Iron Arm Mark 2.”
An Armored Knight named after the nickname of the Count of Flanders’ ancestor—”Iron Arm” Baldwin I—was obviously pinned with extremely high expectations.
But in reality, the performance of this domestically developed Armored Knight could only be said to barely reach the same-generation level of the “St. George” and “Siegfried,” and was still left with a considerable gap in various performance data.
As an Armored Knight using an internal combustion engine as its main power source, the Saxon Empire’s “Siegfried Mark 1” already had a certain gap in various performances with the Britannians’ “St. George” series.
And the “Iron Arm” series of the Order of the Golden Fleece, as pure magitech Armored Knights imitating the “St. George,” could only barely catch up to the “Siegfried Mark 1” in performance.
Even its protective performance was even worse…
This also meant that this cannon produced by the Krupp factory could tear open the frontal defenses of all mainstream Armored Knights of this era like opening a tin can at engagement distances within 500 meters!
Even if it encountered the “St. George Mark 3,” it could still further increase penetration depth by shooting at a closer range to ensure the penetration rate.
It is worth mentioning that because the starting point of the “armor” in the “armor vs. shell” confrontation in this world was very high—compared to the early armored units in another world which were generally “small squishies” of 20-40mm, the Armored Knights of this world had already escalated to the point of 70mm equivalent…
Plus Morin had guided the development route in advance.
So this cannon, which could be said to be the earliest “anti-armor cannon” in this world, also had a starting point that was not considered low.
It directly skipped “stepping stones” like the Pak 36 and 19-K, arriving at the level of early main anti-tank guns like 50mm L/60.
“Guncannon… no, the artillery-type Siegfried is not far away…”
Morin suppressed his somewhat excited mood and continued reading the letter, discovering a detail that surprised him somewhat.
The Krupp factory mentioned in the letter that the R&D of this cannon was not completed independently by Krupp alone.
In the metallurgy and machining technology of the long-barrel artillery, they received important technical support from another company—Rheinmetall.
“Rheinmetall…”
Morin muttered this name, and impressions of this military-industrial enterprise from both worlds before and after transmigration surfaced in his mind.
At this point in time, Rheinmetall, established only in 1889, was still just an obscure small company.
Compared to a military-industrial giant like Krupp, which had been a dominant force since 1811, it was simply a little brother.
However, this company currently indeed had quite a few mature products, the more famous among them probably being the “M1911 75mm Mountain Gun.”
And in another timeline, Rheinmetall could actually be considered the earliest arsenal to produce a professional anti-tank gun, the “TAK-1918.”
What Morin didn’t expect was that the Krupp factory, in order to overcome technical difficulties, would actually take the initiative to lower its status and seek help from Rheinmetall, which was still a “little brother.”
Morin still didn’t know whether Cecilia was “playing matchmaker” in this, using the power of capital to forcefully “bring together” these two future military-industrial giants…
But in his view, the ultimate ending of this kind of cooperation with a massive disparity in volume was very likely the big fish eating the small fish.
The currently wealthy and powerful Krupp factory would very likely conveniently swallow up Rheinmetall.
However, at this critical juncture, being able to produce this epoch-making long-barrel anti-armor cannon was already the greatest victory.
Who ate whom was no longer important.
The letter also mentioned some other advantages of the artillery.
For example, the combat weight of 830 kg.
This weight was nearly 100 kg lighter than the 77mm field gun currently equipped most by the Saxon Army.
This meant a standard artillery squad could completely push it for short-distance tactical mobility, greatly enhancing tactical flexibility.
There was also its extremely low combat height.
The height of the entire gun was only 1.05 meters, not much taller than a child.
This also allowed this anti-armor artillery to gain excellent concealment with just a slight amount of camouflage.
In future anti-Armored Knight combat, concealment meant survival probability, meant the opportunity for preemptive strikes.
Infantry finally had a weapon capable of threatening Armored Knights.
They could hide in concealed positions hundreds of meters away, aim calmly, and then use deadly armor-piercing shells to send “cordial greetings” to the enemy’s Armored Knights.
And this was not the end of the potential of this artillery, or rather, this kind of anti-armor weapon.
Morin’s brain spun rapidly.
“High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) shells…” A familiar name flashed through Morin’s mind.
Since “shaped charge anti-armor weapons” were shining brightly in the hands of the Teutonic Knights, and as the magitech technicians of the Teutonic Knights researched, this weapon was also becoming increasingly mature… then it could completely go a step further and be made into artillery shells.
At that time, the threat of this cannon to Armored Knights would rise to another level!
The more Morin thought about it, the more excited he became. He felt the door to a new world was slowly opening before him.
He even began to conceive brand new anti-armor tactics.
For example, relying on the characteristic that anti-armor artillery production was several orders of magnitude higher than Armored Knights, directly execute “many vs. few” tactics.
In anti-Armored Knight combat, pre-ambush three to four gun squads to form a crossfire net.
When the enemy’s Armored Knight enters the attack range, the deployed gun squads can completely fire simultaneously.
Multiple lines of fire not only make it harder for the Armored Knight to evade attacks but also improve attack efficiency and penetration rate. Judging by the protective capabilities of current Armored Knights, basically one penetrating armor-piercing shell can cause it to lose most of its combat power.
Not to mention the cockpit of the Armored Knight is also in the middle part of the torso. This position would also be the prioritized target for attack. Once penetrated by an armor-piercing shell, the probability of the pilot inside surviving could be said to be extremely small.
Morin was so excited he couldn’t help pacing back and forth in the room, his mind already staging countless scenes of infantry anti-armor teams launching attacks on Armored Knights through various tactics.
“Things are looking up, anti-Armored Knight specialized troops are coming too…”
Morin knew the era of Armored Knights standing at the top of the food chain in land warfare in this world was about to declare its end.
A new era belonging to the army’s armor vs. shell confrontation was imminent.
“Calm down, calm down…” Morin forced himself to stop and took a few deep breaths.
Excessive excitement made his heart, which already had a metabolism different from ordinary people, beat rapidly. Blood flow sped up, and even he felt the room temperature rise a few degrees—of course, this was just an illusion of his own bodily sensation.
He walked to the window, pushed it open, and let the cool night breeze blow on his face.
His mind cleared slightly, but the excitement in his heart did not diminish in the slightest.
This 50mm artillery produced by the Krupp factory was like a key, opening up countless possibilities for future army tactics for him.
But at the same time, he also clearly realized that this was merely a beginning.
Armor vs. shell confrontation is always a spiraling escalation of spear and shield. If you have a sharper spear, I will have a sturdier shield…
“I can’t rejoice too early.” Morin warned himself in his heart, “If the Saxon Empire can produce this kind of anti-armor cannon, the Britannians are not fools either…”
Setting aside the fact that this kind of long-barrel artillery was not an irreplicable secret weapon, the Britannians’ navy had long since unlocked the technology of armor-piercing capped shells.
Just in the magical domain the other party excelled in, the armor vs. shell confrontation would also enter a more complex situation.
Morin could almost foresee that when Krupp’s anti-armor artillery was mass-produced and equipped to the troops, and subsequently shone brightly on the battlefield, blasting one “St. George Mark 3” Armored Knight after another into parts…
How shocked and furious those Britannians across the Channel would be.
Then, they would upgrade their “shield” at all costs.
How to upgrade?
The simplest and most direct method is to increase the equivalent thickness of physical armor.
Increase the frontal armor of 60-70mm equivalent to 80mm, or even 100mm…
But the price of doing so is that it would cause the weight of the Armored Knight to increase sharply, its mobility to drop significantly, turning it into a clumsy iron turtle.
Or perhaps, while maintaining the physical armor thickness, increase the slope angle to improve the equivalent thickness of the armor.
But doing so would also inevitably affect all internal spaces, including the cockpit, leading to a significant drop in the “ergonomics” of the Armored Knight.
“So, they are more likely to work on another aspect…” Morin narrowed his eyes.
Magic.
This world is, after all, a different world where magic exists.
The reason why current Armored Knights are powerful is not only because they have heavy physical armor that is equivalent to invincible against other units.
It is also because they have “Spell Shields” provided by magitech cores.
Although the duration of this layer of spell shield is limited, it can effectively deflect and weaken most kinetic attacks no matter what.
What Morin could foresee was that since relying purely on physical armor for defense was becoming increasingly dangerous, strengthening the spell shield became the most logical choice.
The Britannians’ Armored Knights might be equipped with more powerful magitech cores, or rely on their extremely high attainments in the field of magitech industry to enchant and upgrade the shield system.
Morin had even already thought of several ways to use magic for defense.
For example, they could completely develop “Reactive Spell Shields” specifically used to counter various armor-piercing shells by establishing brand new spell models.
The instant an incoming shell is sensed, concentrate energy at the point of attack to form an ultra-high-strength spell barrier.
Through magic, some technical problems that conventional technology cannot temporarily solve can be directly bypassed, bringing the armor vs. shell confrontation directly to the next level.
After entering “cannot leave the room without studying” to study spells almost every night, Morin’s understanding of spell models, magic channeling application, and other aspects had significantly improved.
The spells of this world, in essence, are generations of mages establishing spell models to channel the peculiar energy of “magic” to produce various effects.
The more complex the spell model, the more complex the effects, functions, and power the magic can present.
And the existence of spell slots allows spellcasters to more conveniently use the spell models they have constructed, ready for use at any time.
Rather than frantically and temporarily constructing a spell model when the enemy has already swung a sword at their face.
However, Morin always felt the concept of “spell slots” was somewhat strange. Even now he couldn’t understand why this thing would be automatically comprehended after humans awakened spellcasting abilities.
This was obviously quite contrary to common sense.
If linked with the fact that magic crystal ore, this extraterrestrial object, also had an “alteration”-like impact on the planet’s environment, causing the concentration of free magic in the air to become higher and higher.
Morin always felt whether there was some “transcription information” within the magic crystal ore…
But these problems obviously couldn’t be solved in a short time, and temporarily weren’t considered the most pressing problems at present.
Returning to the issue of armor vs. shell confrontation, if the defending side starts to add “magic,” perhaps the scales of offense and defense will tilt toward the “shield” side again in a short time.
But similarly, the attacking side can also add “magic” in the process of technological development.
On this point, whether it’s the Gauls or the Britannians… even the Saxons themselves have already provided certain demonstrations.
Especially the former’s “Magitech 75 Gun,” which directly enhanced various performances of the artillery through enchanting.
And the Saxons, combining magic and the radiant crystal industry, directly created a “rail acceleration cannon”-like product in one step.
If these technologies could be lightened, and then distributed to division-level or even regiment-level artillery…
Morin only felt the picture was too beautiful, he didn’t dare to look.
Not long after, Morin also experienced the “wartime technological explosion” brought by this war.
From the Teutonic Knights, Grand Master Leonia sent news that improved Armored Knights and two-seater Armored Knights had both produced “prototypes.”
Especially the latter was undergoing adaptation work with Krupp’s new 50mm caliber cannon.
This Grand Master seemed to know some inside information about Morin, so she stated in the letter that after Morin was “unbanned,” she would sincerely invite him to the Teutonic Knights’ station to participate in the testing of the new Armored Knights.
At the same time, good news also came from the three vehicle manufacturing enterprises Morin had invested in.
The half-track armored vehicles that had previously hit a bottleneck successfully produced prototypes after the “technological breakthrough” provided by Morin, and were also waiting for testing.