Chapter 92 of 100

Chapter 92

15 min read3,838 words

As the deputy political commissar ranking first in the East China Military Region, Li Xueshan considered himself well-informed about the domestic armored vehicle equipment situation. However, he had never heard of this engine model, which not only piqued his curiosity but also left him somewhat unable to accept it: How could a student know something I don’t?

"Speaking of the 8V331TC41 diesel engine, we need to start from 1976. After the decade of turmoil ended, the central leaders, upon reviewing the situation, were shocked to find that our military equipment had fallen far behind Western countries. In our proud Army, with the development of weapons, armed helicopters and anti-tank missiles posed a serious threat to the main force of the Army: tanks. Both international trends and practical needs required tanks to have higher mobility to enhance their survival on the battlefield.

"Based on the information and intelligence available to our country by October 1976, the Soviet Union had already equipped its forces with new main battle tanks, and the United States and Germany were also developing new heavy main battle tanks. At that time, the combat weight of main battle tanks in Western countries generally ranged from 46 to 65 tons, with gun calibers of 120mm to 125mm, mostly smoothbore. The engine power ranged from 735 kW to 1119 kW. In contrast, our main equipment was still the Type 59 medium main battle tank, with a 100mm rifled gun. In terms of engine power, protection, and gun caliber, it was far inferior to the world's advanced levels..."

Li Xueshan's expression had unconsciously become serious. Although he was not in charge of military affairs, as a serving officer in our army, understanding the equipment situation of both our army and foreign armies was a required course. Of course, he knew what Chen Geng was saying, but he was shocked that a student could know these details so well. He suddenly said, "Engine power is just a reference for tank mobility, right? The truly effective data is the specific power of the tank."

Specific power refers to the maximum power output of the tank's engine divided by the combat weight of the tank when fully fueled, loaded with ammunition, and carrying all combat personnel. This specific power directly determines an important data point for the tank: the time it takes to accelerate from 0 to 32 kilometers per hour. This acceleration capability is a crucial indicator of the tank's mobility, similar to the 0 to 100 kilometers per hour acceleration capability of civilian cars.

"You're right," Chen Geng nodded. "But in this aspect, our country also lags behind the West. The specific power of Western countries generally ranges from 17.5 kW/ton to 20 kW/ton, and the time it takes to accelerate from 0 to 32 kilometers per hour is only 7 to 10 seconds. This speed allows the tank to evade incoming anti-tank missiles on the battlefield. However, our country's tank acceleration performance is relatively poor. Due to insufficient power, the acceleration time is generally more than 15 seconds, and once targeted by the enemy's anti-tank missiles, it is almost impossible to escape..."

"The engine is the bottleneck," Li Xueshan sighed.

"Yes, our country's engine technology is far behind," Chen Geng also sighed. The "heart disease" of the Republic had been a long-standing issue, but Western countries had gone through the First and Second Industrial Revolutions, accumulating over hundreds of years to reach this point. Our country had missed these two critical periods, making it extremely difficult to catch up. Blaming the past decade alone for our current backwardness is clearly unfair.

"..." Li Xueshan fell silent for a moment before saying, "Go on."

"Sure," Chen Geng thought for a moment and continued, "The threat from the north is imminent, so no matter how difficult it is, we must develop a new type of tank. In 1976, our country began the demand research for the next generation of tanks, and the first priority was to develop an engine with higher power and better performance.

"At that time, the Ministry of Ordnance and the Military Commission organized a group of experts and scholars in the domestic military industry to discuss the development of the new tank. Based on the information about the Soviet T-72 main battle tank, they believed that if the maximum power of the new tank engine could reach 588 kW, it would meet the requirements..."

"I know that," Li Xueshan, whose interest had been piqued by Chen Geng, smiled. "I participated in that discussion as a representative of the East China Military Region. At the time, many people believed that higher power was needed, and the Ministry of Ordnance even organized a practical test of the vehicle's specific power and acceleration performance. The final result was that if the specific power was around 18 kW/ton, the vehicle would achieve the best acceleration performance."

"You're right, 18 kW/ton," Chen Geng flattered him slightly, surprised that Li Xueshan had participated in the discussion.

"Hehehe..." Li Xueshan waved his hand with a hint of pride. Talking about this nearly 10-year-old event made him particularly happy. If his previous care for Chen Geng was mainly out of appreciation for talent, now he began to admire this young man. He feigned modesty and said, "It's been a long time, I almost forgot... Go on, what happened next? I'm not clear about the later developments."

Li Xueshan knew about the test, but he didn't know the details leading up to it. This was not strange, as it was determined by the special circumstances of our country's military industry and the army. Often, the military industry system, when developing new equipment, would be out of touch with the actual users: the army. There were even cases where the military industry system acted on its own. In contrast, communication between the military industry system and research institutions was more frequent.

This situation was, of course, abnormal, but it was the reality at the time.

"Later, after testing, it was proven that a maximum power of 588 kW was indeed insufficient. Considering the combat weight of the new tank, the maximum power required for our new tank engine had to reach at least 735 kW, which led to the 735 kW new tank engine project.

"After the state approved the development plan for the 735 kW new tank engine project, and with the country beginning to implement the reform and opening-up policy, the Ministry of Ordnance secretly purchased 10 8V331TC41 turbocharged diesel engines from MTU in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1978.

"The 8V331 series engine is the civilian version of the MB870 series tank engine used in the German 'Leopard 2' main battle tank. Many parts are interchangeable with the MB870, and compared to the military version MB970, it only has fewer cylinders, different materials for the load-bearing components, and reduced performance. However, even the civilian version 8V331TC41 was a relatively advanced product compared to our country.

"The Ministry of Ordnance placed great importance on this project, specifically established a project, named it the 8V165 engine project, and assigned the task of developing the 8V165 military turbocharged engine based on the 8V331TC41 to Shanxi Diesel Engine Factory (Shanchai), which had the strongest diesel engine technology in the country. Not only did they mobilize elite personnel from various research institutes and factories across the country, but they also transferred technical backbone and funds from Jilin Diesel Engine Factory (Jichai), which was developing the 537 kW turbocharged diesel engine. They provided everything needed, including personnel, funds, and materials. At that time, the predecessor of our Automotive Engineering Department, the Huqing University Power Machinery Department, was also mobilized, and my mentor helped for a period of time..."

Li Xueshan finally understood why Chen Geng knew these details so well: it was because his teacher had told him. He felt relieved, but at the same time, he became even more eager: "What about the engine? Did it succeed? What stage is it at now?"

Although 7 years had passed since the project was initiated in 1978, there had been no news of its success, but Li Xueshan still harbored a bit of hope, as the need for advanced engines in our army was extremely urgent due to the "heart disease" issue.

"No," Chen Geng shook his head. Seeing the urgency in Li Xueshan's eyes, he felt reluctant to say the worst result, but he had to: "The first batch of engines produced for testing only achieved a maximum power of 667 kW, falling short of the 706 kW target set for the first phase.

"Most critically, the 10 8V331TC41 engines purchased from Germany had always performed very stably and reliably, with high quality. However, our replicated 8V165 engines had severe cylinder wear issues, mainly due to lubrication and cylinder material problems. Our materials and processes were not up to par, and the cylinders could not withstand the enormous pressure inside, leading to slight deformation of the cylinder body.

"Although some improvements were made later, the cylinder wear issue was never resolved, and other problems such as stuck fuel pump plungers and turbocharger surge also emerged. The German side refused to provide us with the original drawings, technical, and process documents for the 8V331TC41. Ultimately, due to our inadequate materials and processing technology, the development of the new tank engine had to be halted."

Halted due to material and process issues? Hearing the result of the 8V165, Li Xueshan felt extremely disheartened. After a long pause, he said, "So, this led to the plan to introduce the MTU engine? How much do you know about this plan?"

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