I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 179

Chapter 179: Renault Tank

"My name is Estigny, sir, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Colonel Estigny introduced himself to Matthew.

"Matthew, from the Mechanical Department!" Matthew responded with a smile, "We've met many times!"

"Yes, of course!" Colonel Estigny said, his expression a bit awkward.

He had always thought Matthew was just an ordinary worker, and a disabled one at that... In these times, disability often meant being cast aside and forced to live off others.

As a result, Colonel Estigny had never engaged much with Matthew, only today realizing that Matthew actually had such remarkable talent.

In Matthew's eyes, he had previously thought Colonel Estigny was just an ordinary commander, not realizing he seemed to have in-depth knowledge of tanks.

Charles paid no attention to the two of them. He was quickly sketching something on a piece of draft paper with a pencil. His drawing skills were poor, crooked and uneven, but that didn't matter.

Before long, he finished the sketch and handed it to Matthew. "Take a look at this, Matthew! Perhaps we could design the road wheels like this, divided into several groups, each with four wheels!"

Joseph curiously leaned over to look, though he didn’t quite understand the design. "What... is the point of this, Young Master Charles?"

But both Matthew and Colonel Estigny merely glanced at the sketch, their faces filled with disbelief.

"No, no, this is meaningful!" Colonel Estigny, uncertain, pointed at the triangular structure and asked Charles, "Is it dynamic? I mean, are they movable, Lieutenant?"

"Yes!" Charles affirmed. "The parts of the triangle can be connected with hydraulic shock absorbers, so of course, they are dynamic."

"This clearly provides better shock absorption!" Matthew's gaze remained fixed on the sketch as if it were a treasure map. "It’s not just shock absorption. This is determined by its unique structure. Once force is applied, these wheels will spread out horizontally, and the tracks will sink in at this spot... My God, this means each set of road wheels will have different tension, and the tracks will be as soft as dough soaked in water!"

"This will allow the vehicle to achieve some kind of balance!" Colonel Estigny immediately realized. "Because the tracks are soft like dough, the vehicle will stay relatively level. This not only increases comfort for the crew, but also makes it easier for the gunner to aim at targets! God, it's a genius design!"

"How... how did you come up with this, Charles?" Matthew asked, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He turned to glance at his own model. "Compared to your idea, mine looks like a child's toy!"

"You've done a great job, Matthew!" Charles answered.

Charles was being truthful.

Matthew’s progress was the normal one. First came the springs, then the hydraulics, followed by continuous trials to gradually improve, until the triangular suspension emerged... From the moment Renault received the development project to producing the prototype tank, it took a year and three months.

Charles was just skipping the process and directly drawing the result.

With the suspension matter settled, Charles turned his attention to Colonel Estigny and asked, "Do you have any questions, Colonel?"

"Well, it's like this," Colonel Estigny replied. "My idea has already solved part of the problem. Recently, I’ve been thinking that since the main function of the tank is to provide cover for infantry and help them break through enemy lines, could we possibly make the tank lighter in order to increase its speed and range?"

Saying this, Colonel Estigny looked at Matthew and Charles. "With your method of adding hydraulic shock absorbers, we’ve already increased the tank’s speed, but I think... perhaps we can enhance the overall performance of the tank, so we won’t face the same regret as we did in Lafox!"

Lafox was undeniably a victory for everyone, and Colonel Estigny thought so too, but he still had regrets.

The reason was that the "Mark I" couldn't fulfill his "swarm tactics."

His "swarm tactics" required tanks to break deep into the enemy's rear and launch attacks on various strategic points, either "dividing the whole into parts" or "uniting parts into the whole," which demanded mobility from the tanks.

And the "Mark I" clearly couldn't meet the requirements of the "swarm tactics."

Charles understood what he was after. "So, you think we should develop a light tank?"

"Yes, you’re right, Lieutenant!" Colonel Estigny nodded repeatedly. "A light tank might be able to meet our operational needs. As long as its frontal armor is thick enough to stop bullets and the design is good enough to cross trenches, why keep such a large one? If we make it faster and have a longer range, wouldn’t it have a greater effect on the battlefield?"

Charles was not surprised at all. Historically, it was he who had proposed such a design requirement to the military, and it was based on the military’s demand that Renault designed the light tank, which only required two men to operate and weighed just 7 tons.

In fact, the combat capabilities of the Renault tank were far superior to other tank-like fortresses, and it was even called the "ancestor of tanks."

"I agree with this approach!" Charles turned his gaze to the "Mark I" tank parked at the center of the workshop. "So, it has reached its limit, and we need a completely new tank. This tank should have..."

Charles then looked at Matthew. "The chassis will be your responsibility, Matthew, just like we discussed earlier."

"No problem!" Matthew said confidently.

With the drawings and parts in place, plus an entire set of machinery for producing hydraulic shock absorbers, all he had to do seemed to be putting them together.

Charles turned his attention back to Colonel Estigny. "The tank design is up to you, Colonel!"

"Happy to serve, Lieutenant!" Colonel Estigny replied.

After a pause, Colonel Estigny, looking a bit worried, added, "There’s one issue, Lieutenant. To reduce weight, we’ll need to cut down on crew and weapons. In extreme cases, it might only need a single machine gun, but then we won’t be able to protect the sides, and its side armor will have to be thin..."

Charles blurted out, "Then design a rotating turret, Colonel!"

Colonel Estigny instantly widened his mouth in shock, frozen for a moment as if turned to ice, before finally reacting with excitement. "That’s it, Lieutenant! A rotating turret! Why didn’t I think of that! All the problems are solved! God! I can almost see how it’ll look!"

Matthew couldn't help but smile wryly. Was this tank really designed by him and Colonel Estigny?

Wasn’t it more likely that Charles had already designed it, split into two parts, and simply inserted it into their minds?

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