I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France
Chapter 175: After modification - 175 Renault Tank

Chapter 175: After modification: Chapter 175 Renault Tank

"My name is Estiny, sir, pleased to meet you!" Colonel Estiny introduced himself to Matthew.

"Matthew, from the mechanical department!" Matthew replied with a smile, "We’ve met many times before!"

"Yes, of course!" Colonel Estiny’s expression was a bit awkward.

He had always thought Matthew was just an ordinary worker, a disabled worker at that... In this era, being disabled often meant being eliminated and having to rely on others for survival.

Therefore, Colonel Estiny had never interacted much with Matthew until today when he suddenly realized Matthew actually had such talent.

In Matthew’s eyes, he had always thought Colonel Estiny was just an ordinary commander, but it turns out he seemed to have deep knowledge about tanks.

Shire ignored them, quickly sketching on the draft paper with a pencil. His drawing skills weren’t great, but that didn’t matter.

He finished the sketch soon and handed it to Matthew, "Look at this, Matthew! Perhaps we can design the road wheels like this, divided into several groups, each with four road wheels!"

Joseph curiously leaned in to take a look. He didn’t quite understand the design, "Does this... serve any purpose, Young Master Shire?"

But Matthew and Estiny only glanced at the sketch before looking incredulous.

"No, no, this is very meaningful!" Colonel Estiny, with uncertainty in his eyes, pointed at the triangular structure and asked Shire, "It’s dynamic, isn’t it? I mean, they’re movable, right, Lieutenant?"

"Yes," Shire affirmed, "The parts of the triangle can be connected by hydraulic dampers, so yes, they’re dynamic."

"This clearly achieves better shock absorption!" Matthew’s gaze remained on the sketch like he was looking at a treasure map, "It’s not just shock absorption; its unique structure determines that once under stress, these wheels will spread out horizontally, and the track will sink into this part... My God, this will allow each group of road wheels to have different tensions, making the track as soft as dough soaked in water!"

"This will enable the vehicle to achieve a certain balance!" Colonel Estiny immediately thought, "Because the track is as soft as dough, the vehicle will maintain a certain level of stability, which not only increases the crew’s comfort but also makes it easier for the machine gunner to aim! My God, this is a genius design!"

"How... how did you come up with this, Shire?" Matthew felt a bit ashamed as he looked back at his model, "Compared to your idea, mine is nothing but a child’s toy!"

"You’ve done very well already, Matthew," Shire replied.

Shire was telling the truth.

Matthew’s progress was normal. First the springs, then the hydraulics, and then continuous improvements through experiments until the triangular suspension appeared... It took Renault Company a year and three months from receiving the research project to producing the prototype.

All Shire did was skip the process and directly draw the result.

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

"Uh, yes, actually," Colonel Estiny replied, "My idea is partially solved. Lately, I’ve been thinking, since the main function of the tank is to provide cover for infantry and assist them in breaching the defensive line, can we make the tank lighter to increase speed and range?"

As he spoke, Colonel Estiny glanced at Matthew and Shire, "The method you guys mentioned just now to enhance hydraulic damping can already increase the tank’s speed, but I think... we can comprehensively enhance its performance so that we don’t have a repeat of the regret we had at Lafox!"

To everyone, Lafox was undoubtedly a victory; Colonel Estiny thought so too, but he still had regrets.

The reason was that the "Mark I" couldn’t realize his "swarm tactics."

His "swarm tactics" required tanks to penetrate deep behind enemy lines to "divide and conquer" or "concentrate and strike" at various strategic locations, which required tanks to have corresponding mobility.

And the "Mark I" clearly couldn’t meet the demands of "swarm tactics."

Shire understood what he wanted, "So, you think we should develop a light tank?"

"Yes, you’re right, Lieutenant!" Colonel Estiny nodded repeatedly, "A light tank might very well meet our operational needs. If its frontal armor is thick enough to block bullets and the design is excellent enough to cross trenches, why do we need such a big guy? If it can run faster and farther, wouldn’t it be more effective on the battlefield?"

Shire wasn’t surprised at all; historically, it was he who had proposed such design requirements to the military, and Renault Company designed a Renault tank based on the military’s needs, which required only two operators and weighed only 7 tons.

History proved that the Renault tank’s combat capabilities were superior to other tank designs resembling armed fortresses. It was even called the ancestor of tanks.

"I agree with doing this!" Shire turned his gaze to the "Mark I" tank in the center of the institute and said, "So, it’s reached its end. We need a brand-new tank. This tank should have..."

Shire looked back at Matthew, "The chassis will be your responsibility, Matthew, just as we discussed earlier."

"No problem!" Matthew was full of confidence in this.

With the blueprints and parts, and a complete set of machinery to produce hydraulic dampers, it seemed it was only a matter of piecing them together.

Shire then turned his attention to Estiny, "The tank design will be in your hands, Colonel!"

"Gladly, Lieutenant!" Estiny responded.

After a pause, Estiny voiced a concern, "There is one problem, Lieutenant. To reduce the weight, we must reduce the crew and weapons. In the extreme case, it might only need one machine gun, but this way we can’t cover the sides, and its side armor has to be thin..."

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

Colonel Estiny’s mouth instantly dropped open, frozen like ice, and it took him a long moment to recover before exclaiming excitedly, "You’re right, Lieutenant, a rotating turret, why didn’t I think of that! All the problems are solved! My God! I can almost see what it looks like!"

Matthew showed a sly smile at the corner of his mouth, was this tank really designed by him and Estiny?

Or was it Shire who designed it and split it into two parts to plant in their minds?