Shipbucket

That is true, but the American rifles were supplied in limited amounts to fill the gaps left by war demands, and after/during the war were pretty much totally replaced or scrapped. So the amount of .30-6 ammo in service would be nothing compared to the 7.62-54R amount. Pistols are a whole different bag, and I intend to have the armed forces switch over to 9x18mm Makarov sooner or later.

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Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939

-DISCLAIMER: I will post my own drawings soon, but all the guns/army equipment that I want to use here are already excellently drawn by others, so I will use those. I intend on making my own ships pretty soon though.


-The AKM Rifle is the what everyone thinks of when they think of assault rifles, and the same is true with the CCCN Army. For military planners, there was no question of which weapon was to replace the venerable Mosin-Nagant rifle. Firing a powerful 7.62x39mm cartridge, nearly indestructible, easy to use, and cheap to produce, the AKM was without a doubt the best choice for a new army rifle. Initially, over 250 were imported for evaluation, and completed their trials admirably. Pleased with the results, the army ordered 13,000 of them from the Soviet Union. However, these were not nearly enough. With over 90,000 men in service with the army, more weapons were needed. A license for production was acquired from the Russians, and the weapons were took over the old Mosin production lines at the Havana Arsenal. Cartridge production priority was also changed, with the AKM cartridge replacing the Mosin cartridge as standard. AK's produced at Havana had several distinct features. The type of wood used in construction was different, markings where changed to Spanish, and the fire selector switch was much smaller. Folding steel stock versions were produced for the Jungle Patrol, Marine Corps, and paratroops. Locally manufactured versions were designated the M-57, and were exported to multiple nations around the world. Thousands of them were exported to Nicaragua and Angola during the civil wars there, and constituted a significant part of the communist armory. The rifles are still in service, even though they have been largely replaced as the front-line weapon by the AK-74 Model and it's locally produced versions. Most of them have been scrapped, sold, or placed in storage to make way for the newer weapons. Example shown here is an initial export batch model.

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Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939

An indigenous tank design!



Design and Development: By the late 1970's, the wear and tear on the army's T-34 and T-54/55 tanks was becoming apparent. A replacement was badly needed, and to that end the army technical corps issued a specification to several different contractors. The basic requirements were for an affordable MBT that would boast a powerful 125-millimeter gun and be capable of excellent cross country performance. The contract for an initial batch of 150 vehicles went to the Caribbean National Machine Production Association, or CNMPA. The company was a major manufacturer of heavy vehicles and powerful engines. They were declared as the new front-line tank in 1981.



Armament: The tank's primary weapon consisted of a 125-mm rifled gun manufactured to a Russian design by the Santo Domingo Ordinance Works. It used a falling-block breech mechanism, with a self-lubrication device fitted to the breech door. There was a flameproof fabric basket below the breech to catch the spent shell casings as they were ejected.As far as secondary weapons, a pair of 7.62-millimeter machine guns were carried in the hull and in a coaxial mount. They fired tracer rounds, as well as regular ammo, to aid in spotting for the main gun. 40-55 rounds of 125mm ammunition could be carried. Ammo types included AP, HE, Fragmentation, Smoke, Illumination, Phosphorous, Case shot, and timed-fuze shells. On later models, an electric/hydraulic auto-loading system was fitted to the main gun to allow a higher rate of sustained fire, but there were reports of it being faulty and often jamming. There were airtight, flameproof doors on the turret sides through which spent shell casings could be ejected.



Armor: Armor is composed of steel, with applique and explosive reactive armor fitted to various examples. The turret from was armored in up to 250-millimeters of rolled steel plate, while the hull front was plated in 105-millimeters of rolled steel at a 60-degree angle. The armor was tested, and the results proved it was able to resist a direct hit from the standard American 105-mm gun at a range of over 2,000 yards. During the 90's, an applique armor package was developed, and alongside that a new explosive-reactive armor kit. The new kit was designed to defeat the next-generation of 120-millimeter tank guns being developed in Europe and the United States. So far, almost the entire inventory has been re-equipped with this new armor.



Powerplant: The tank's engine is derived from a Russian design from the T-62 base model hull, but has been locally developed by CNMPA's engine division, which was also responsible for the design of the V-8 diesels fitted to the S-39 attack boats and S-43 submarines. The engine features 12 cylinders, arranged in a V formation, with each cylinder having a 5.2-inch bore and a 5.8-inch stroke. Fuel type is diesel, and it features a locally-designed electrical ignition system. As far as electrical power goes, the vehicle is equipped with three locally-produced lead-acid batteries producing a 24 volt current with the engine turned off and a 25-28 volt current when the engine is on. These are powered by a pair of 10-volt alternators. Fuel tank capacity was near to 160 gallons, and the tanks were self-sealing with rubber coatings. Fire containment gear was provided. There were two large-diameter fans in the engine compartment each driven by the engine, connected to it using vulcanized rubber belts. A pair of 5-liter compressed air bottles were provided for emergency engine starting.



Vehicle Systems: From the start, fire control was based on Soviet equipment. A main computer was provided for shell calculations and other basic procedures, and the commander's cupola featured camera angles and periscopes. The vehicle carried a two-way radio for communication with home base as well as other tanks and army vehicles. Other systems included the external fuel drum for carrying extra fuel, outboard storage racks and compartments, of which there were 6, all being waterproof and airtight. Turret drive was hydraulic, with locally manufactured equipment and controls. Crew accommodation was much better than the previous T-34 and T-54/55 series, which featured simple, crude vehicle controls and cheap metal or plastic seats. Air conditioning was designed for the tank, but only around 30 examples actually received it, as it proved too bulky, and the condensing system was faulty. This led to numerous leaks which soaked crews and rusted the vehicle both inside and out.

---So far, nearly 3,000 units have been produced, although production has been halted to allow the army to catch up in upgrading all its tanks to the new explosive reactive armor package. While they are satisfactory as an MBT and will probably be in service for years to come, the army is looking to develop an even more powerful MBT with cooperation from the west due to increasing relations stemming from the fall of the Soviet Union. The CCCN arms industry is starting to become more and more capable of producing large weapons locally, and that will most certainly lead to increased numbers of high power systems such as missiles, aircraft, and armored vehicles based on local designs rather than Soviet base models.

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Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939

Up next: Missile cruisers/modern frigates and destroyers. Possibly more aircraft and army equipment. Even a landing craft or two?

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Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939

-The last army equipment upload before some serious new naval hardware!



-The 122-millimeter D-30 had been developed by the Russians during the mid 20th. century in order to replace the current stock of guns from the 1930's and 40's of the same caliber. Designed for improved ease of use by mechanized forces, the D-30 was highly capable of being transported by various different transports. The gun performed so well that it attracted the attention of the CCCN army, which was seeking a weapon to supplement it's M-46 field guns. The army plan was to import 12 guns for evaluation, and then import more if they completed their trials with good results. Owing up to it's reputation, the guns all passed the tests with flying colors, and the weapon was declared the new standard service gun of the army. Over 200 guns were imported in 1976 alone. 150 more arrived the next year, as did their moving vehicles and crew equipment. Two main movers were adopted for service, the MT-LB for the Armored and Motor Rifle divisions, and the Ural truck series as the mover for the rest of army formations, including border guard troops and infantry divisions. Local manufacture of ammunition for the guns was started in 1977, and over 3 million shells had been churned out in the first year of production. As time went on, the need to upgrade inventory arose, but with the nation under close watch by the West and the Soviet Union not doing to well, budgetary constraints limited the scope of a new acquisition for the military. Thus, a renovation package for the existing stocks of over 600 D-30's was designed. This included a new Western-style muzzle brake, targeting equipment, new suspension system for the guns, brand new breech design, and an autoloading system. Some weapons are in the midst of being re-manufactured to 155-millimeter pieces. A new barrel was placed in production in 1995, with a bore of 155-millimeters. This was placed on the existing carriages, which had the old 122-millimeter barrels removed. Ammo production was also changed to accommodate 155-caliber rounds. Excess ammunition stocks of 122-mm ammunition were sold overseas to clients in Africa, the Middle East, and South and Central America. The new 155 weapon is known as the M-96 Field Gun/Howitzer, and is the standard heavy field gun in the Army. A replacement program has been started due to economic resurgence brought on by better relations with the Western nations, but no concrete solution has been reached with regards to a new weapon, which means that the gun will probably be in service for much longer. The model shown here is an older 122-millimeter model from the initial import batch of weapons.

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Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939

3000 tanks? I hope You are aware, that real-life Cuba at the peak of its military strength (and Soviet military aid that let it exist) had around 1100 tanks (ranging from T-34's and IS to T-62's)? Or to put it into perspective: at the end of 1980s it would gice the CCCN the 14th largest tank force in the World (around 1990 slightly behind Egypt, India or Poland and way ahead of France or UK), and all of it in an island country with terrain not really good for armored warfare.
Also, 600 122mm's is bit too small number for such tank armada.

3,000 includes all variants and models built for export clients. Also the 600 122-mm guns are not the only artillery pieces in service, so they would be forming only a part of the artillery arsenal of the military.

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Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939

Soviet tank division in late 1980s had some 320 tanks and 126 howitzers (72 122mm and 54 152mm), motor-rifle division had some 220 tanks and same artillery.

-What do y'all think? Should the CCCN intervene in the Nicaraguan Civil War? Reply with your concerns and comments!

-Also, I have a new big ship in the works, and it is nearing the completion stages! I'm not going to spoil anything though...

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Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939

In one word: YES
If they are still aligned with Moscow and the Comintern, and are powerful enough to avoid Cuba's dismal fate, I don't see how they could justify not supporting a fellow Communist government against a reactionary guerilla in their own backyard.
How far the CCCN and the USA would have pushed on and turned this into a full-on proxy war or large-scale flashpoint before resorting to diplomacy is another matter.

The only reason why the CCCN could not intervene in Nicaragua is IMHO if they consider the Sandinistas the wrong flavor of leftists (whichever flavor of leftists you set out to make the CCCN at any given time), like the USSR did with the Spanish Republicans during the civil war, or what drove China and Yugoslavia away from them. Even then, I would expect some smaller-scale covert support and funneling of funds, operatives and volunteers, if only to keep the Yankees busy.

In AU terms, a better question could be how many Nicaragua-like situations could have arisen earlier in the century across the Americas, and with which outcome?

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Soviet Century/Cold War 2020 Alternate Universe: Soviet and other Cold War designs 1990-2020.
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