"I won't let such a simple product be added to the French Army." Xia Fei said after carefully looking at this tank, because according to Louis Renault, although the chassis of this tank is an original FT20 chassis, in addition to armor protection, the engine has actually been reduced in configuration, using a more stable and more suitable for tropical and humid climates, but has a smaller power engine. The maneuverability and defense requirements are far from Xia Fei's requirements. To put it bluntly, even on the road, the maximum speed of this tank is only 12 to 15 kilometers per hour.

"In fact, this chariot is not as unbearable as you think. After the prototype was tested in French Indochina, we found that it made sense for the Japanese to finally choose this chariot." Louis Renault began to excuse his products.

"Let me tell me." Xia Fei said with interest.

"First of all, thanks to its not high weight, the power system of this tank is quite good, and its maneuverability is slightly stronger than our Renault, because the so-called speed of 15 kilometers per hour is achieved by us under the limited engine power. If the limit is unblocked, the performance will be improved. Secondly, although the overly open combat room greatly reduces the defense of this tank, it undoubtedly enhances the heat dissipation of the tank's power system. Judging from the current situation, it performs the best among all the vehicles in France in the tropical region." Louis Renault said without blushing and his heart was not beating.

"Isn't this nonsense? There is almost nothing behind it, and the air circulation is naturally much higher than that of the closed tank." Xia Fei felt a little dissatisfied.

"Of course, in addition to meeting the Japanese's requirements for stability, the survivability of this chariot is actually very high. Look at the body of this chariot, the maximum height is only 1.8 meters. It is very easy to hide behind the terrain. As long as you choose a suitable place, the height of the chariot's artillery may be only 30 cm from the ground. This height is very suitable for hiding. Therefore, although this chariot cannot be an opponent of the wolf tank in a head-on battle, it has the highest cost-effectiveness if it fights defensive wars." Louis Renault said.

To sum up, this FT30 tank is a weapon that emphasizes firepower and stability, while requiring lower costs. If it is in Europe, this performance is not worth mentioning, and real big countries will not be equipped. However, for countries like Japan that urgently need anti-armor firepower but have relatively limited funds, it is definitely a good choice, at least it performs well enough in defensive warfare.

In the end, the performance and cost of this chariot also met the requirements of the Japanese. This was the first batch of French armored weapons after the war, laying a very good foundation for the subsequent production and sales of FT30. This seemingly simple chariot also caused great trouble to the Americans in the Pacific War. Of course, this is not mentioned later.

In addition to this new type of combat vehicle, Renault also provided the Japanese with a large number of armored vehicles and semi-tracked vehicles. Most of these products were surplus supplies from the war that year and were sold to the Japanese at a relatively low price. It was considered to be a clearing of inventory, but the Firefox half-tracked vehicles among them were new towing vehicles specially produced by the French.

In fact, the French still have a special liking for vehicles like semi-tracks. First of all, in terms of performance, this kind of car has better off-road performance than ordinary vehicles, and is faster and more fuel-efficient than tracked vehicles. It is a product between wheeled vehicles and tracked vehicles. The French have a vast African colony that needs to be controlled. If you use cars, you have to consider the bad road conditions in Africa, and if you use tracked vehicles, you have to consider the cost issue. Therefore, equipping a large number of semi-tracked vehicles has become an inevitable trend.

So, after the war, the French began to bid for a new generation of 2.5-ton semi-tracked vehicles. Why is this tonnage? First of all, the vehicle of this tonnage is sufficient to tow most of the French Army's artillery, including 155mm howitzers. In other words, as a means of transportation, it is qualified, sufficient, and not particularly expensive, and can be produced in large quantities.

Secondly, it is also a waste to equip colonial troops with special tanks or armored vehicles, so this 2.5-ton cargo semi-track vehicle also has sufficient modification potential. After it is equipped with a certain amount of armor, it can be used as an infantry transport vehicle. For example, it is used to press the mortar as infantry support firepower, and take out the 75mm rapid-fire cannon in the warehouse and press it directly on the vehicle as a self-propelled artillery. It can be said that the improvement is very promising, and it is very practical, which is very suitable for the needs of the French Army.

(Don't think that a 2.5-ton semi-track truck is small. Historically, the famous German half-track truck was a standard 3-ton body. The famous German 251 semi-track truck can be equipped with a maximum of 75mml46 anti-tank gun, so this 2.5-ton 75mml36 gun equipped with the French has no problem at all.)

Therefore, this kind of vehicle with moderate weight, reasonable cost, and great future of improvement was also favored by the Japanese. It is not that the Japanese do not want to buy cheaper trucks as transportation and traction tools, but that the geographical environment of New Guinea Island is not friendly to wheeled vehicles...

After obtaining a half-tracked vehicle called Firefox, the Japanese also installed a large number of weapons as special combat vehicles. For example, a large number of 75mm rapid-fire guns also from France were installed on the body! In fact, in the eyes of the Japanese, the tank named ft30 is already considered a high-end vehicle and is classified as a heavy vehicle in the category. After all, no matter how much weight is reduced, just a 90mml40 gun and a not-low-air ammunition capacity are absolutely the weight of this tank is more than 14 tons.

The total combat weight of this 2.5-ton semi-tracked vehicle called Firefox is 7.5 tons. And after adding steel plates that can defend against large-caliber machine guns and shrapnel. (Of course, this defense standard is limited to the front.) It can also be regarded as a front-line combat vehicle in the Japanese army. One of the intentions of Japan's large-scale purchase of Firefox is to make up for the insufficient purchase of FT30. As the backbone of anti-armor combat, after all, although the American wolf tanks are strong, the United States cannot produce them. As the relationship between the United States and Germany is in conflict, the supply of arms will definitely be affected. These lower anti-armor weapons are naturally to deal with tanks like T1.

In addition to anti-tank guns, Japan also equipped the 80mm and 120mm heavy mortars that it authorized to produce on this tank. What is different from history is that because the Japanese Army needs to face high-standard opponents like the US Army, it is also taking the path of heavy weapons. The original famous Type 92 light infantry gun equipment has been reduced. On the contrary, weapons similar to the Russians' m190 field guns in World War I became the main force of Japanese equipment.
Chapter completed!