Section 63 New Weapons

Jiang Muzhi and Li Chiqi improved the new gun mount, solved the locking device, and replaced it with a ball bearing with a higher quality. Finally passed the test of the shooting range and the 50-kilometer march. The results of this major improvement led the General Staff to decide that during the First Five-Year Plan period, all the artillery mounts of the new guns would be replaced with metal gun mounts, and the old wooden gun mounts would also be gradually renovated. The mechanical department urgently created new artillery mounts for three field artillery batteries. Then, even the frame of the front car of the artillery was improved.

Although there were not enough horses and the "pawns were used", the front carriage of the artillery was still indispensable - not only for loading ammunition, but also because of the high center of gravity of the artillery, it was not easy to grasp the balance when dragging it, and the slightest carelessness would lead to the scene of upside down. The front cart can support the tail of the gun carriage during traction, balance the center of gravity, and distribute the pressure of the heavy gun body, so that the horse or man pulling the gun carriage only needs to provide forward pull.

"After the improvement, the artillery movement is much more flexible." The new guns lined up on the range should be inspected. The artillerymen were running forward and backward to the sound of the officer's command, simulating the firing procedure of the artillery. According to the requirements of the artillery training syllabus, the eight gunners of each gun were to train each other to change the guard in order to continue firing in the event of casualties. According to the syllabus, a well-trained group of gunners should be able to continue shooting even if only two people remained. According to Lin Shenhe, there were examples during the Civil War when only one gunner was able to keep artillery useful - of course, that was enough to earn a medal.

"If only there were horses." Lin Shenhe looked at the gunners who were trained according to the artillery outline written by himself with regret, and a company of 110 horses was simply dreaming.

"You said you were going to get a new cannonball, did you get any results? The gunners also had to familiarize themselves with the loading and firing of new shells. Zhang Bolin hurriedly came wearing a sweat vest.

"Come on, the new shells will only work better than the old ones." Lin Shenhe said and yawned - the red lantern will be hung in the laboratory again in the afternoon.

Originally, in order to simplify the process, the army's artillery was equipped with only two simplest shells - solid shells and shotguns. Grenades are also produced in small quantities, but only for training purposes, not as a reserve.

The principle of the grenade fired by the smoothbore gun is similar, it is used to detonate the shell by lighting the time-delay fuse on the shell with the gas fired by the gun. Therefore, special care must be taken when loading, and it must be ensured that the fuze hole is facing the gun port, otherwise once the gas rushes directly into the fuse hole, the shell will explode directly. In order to withstand high chamber pressures, the cartridge case had to be made very thick. A 12-pound spherical shell could only be loaded with 900 grams of black powder. The fragments produced by the explosion are not even as effective as solid bullets. Artillery grenades are mainly used to deal with buildings and ships, and the other is to scare people - after all, explosive bombs are not often seen in this time and space.

What he was ready to develop was a shrapnel. The structure of a shrapnel is more complex than that of other spherical shells: several iron or lead projectiles are loaded into the body of the projectile together with the initiating charge, and a time-delay fuse controls its detonation at a suitable height and distance. When the detonator explodes the projectile, the projectile in the body will fly at the same speed as the enemy in front of it, and its power is equivalent to that of a shotgun.

The effectiveness of shrapnel in medium and long range is excellent compared to solid grenades, especially when hitting enemy forces in dense formations, and if the fuse is properly timed, it can knock out a large number of enemies. However, early shrapnel was not accurate and not very safe to shoot - the projectiles inside the shrapnel rubbed against each other during firing, and it was easy to detonate the gunpowder in the shell in advance.

Lin Shenhe chose a shrapnel that had been refined in 1840 by British Army Captain Boxer. It has been greatly improved in structure, and of course more complex. The projectile was mounted in the front of the projectile body, separated by an iron divider and the initiating charge in the rear. The tail section is equipped with a cup-shaped tail pad that both prevents the projectile from tumbling in the chamber and expands under the gas pressure at the time of firing to hold the air. This structure makes the whole projectile light and heavy, combined with the unique shape of the tail pad, the shell is quite stable when flying, and the accuracy is much higher than that of the contemporaneous shrapnel. When the time-delay fuse detonates the initiating charge, the iron partition pushes the projectiles forward at the same time as the projectile body is blown open, so that they are fired forward at a cone angle, instead of being scattered irregularly like other shrapnel shells, which further increases its lethality.

When fired from a 12-pounder cannon, it is capable of working at a distance of 1,100 meters, far more powerful than a grenade that can only explode twenty large fragments.

With this gadget, the Fubo Army will be able to effectively kill fast-moving cavalry groups at medium and long ranges, without having to wait until 200 meters away to shoot with shotguns.

Originally, there was no need to mass-produce shrapnel to deal with the Guangdong Ming army, which was dominated by foot troops. However, it is a matter of time before the hegemony of the continent is contested, so it is better to take the opportunity of the Ming army to attack in advance.

Zuihou, he's going to modify the delayed fuse used in artillery. With shrapnel in place, it becomes very important to use a safe and reliable fuse.

In the past, Chamberlin's smoothbore artillery used the simplest time fuse when training to fire grenades. It's so simple that people think it's too easy. A hollow, open-ended wooden pipe - the traverser simply did not even need to process the hollow wooden pipe, and directly used a thin bamboo pipe - the tube contained slow-burning gunpowder with a very stable combustion rate. The tube is marked with a scale. When using, the gunner first estimates the firing distance, finds out the flight time corresponding to the distance and the type of shell from the artillery manual, and then cuts off the corresponding length according to the scale on the fuse, and stuffs it into the fuse hole of the shell, one end is exposed outside the projectile body, and the other end is in contact with the explosive in the projectile body. Zuihou shoved the shell into the breech and made sure the fuse was positioned forward—and then simply attached a wooden stock to the spherical shell that used the time fuse. Make sure that the orientation is accurate when loading.

This type of fuze is intuitive and easy to operate, but because it is inserted into the tube by hand, the depth of insertion will affect the result of detonation. In addition, the fuse hole inserted into the fuse cannot be completely sealed with the letter tube, which is sometimes unsafe to use. Lin Shenhe decided to directly copy the Bormann fuze. This is the best and most reliable time fuse that can be found on a smoothbore gun. It is a flat metal cylinder with threads on the outside, which can be screwed into the fuse hole and engraved with time on the surface, and when used, it is only necessary to make a hole in the required time scale and then screw into the fuse port of the shell. The maximum time of the Bormann fuze is only 5.5 seconds. It is not suitable for shells with a very slow muzzle velocity such as mortars.

After the three views of the fuse were drawn, he handed over the drawings to the mechanical department.

"This thing needs to be made with a certain amount of precision, and I have to find a veteran to do it." Zhan Wuya looked at it and said, "Brass? ”

"Yes."

"It's still small, and the brass ones don't consume much." Zhan Wuya looked at the size, "How about making a thousand first?" ”

"No problem, I don't think Zhang Bolin's gunners have a chance to fire a thousand rounds of grenades and shrapnels."

"One more point, since now we are going to mass-produce grenades and shrapnels. It is possible to make a complete set of shells for these two types of ammunition. Lin Shenhe said, "After all, the launch speed of the whole artillery shell is much faster." ”

The so-called whole artillery shell is to fix a cloth medicine bag under the wooden bullet stock of grenades and howitzers. In this way, the original steps of loading gunpowder and reloading ammunition are combined.

While the guns rumbled on the shooting range and the army was stepping up preparations for war, the navy was also busy with the trial production of new equipment. The combat mission of the navy is to blockade, but it is also responsible for the defense of the Lingao coastline. In particular, there are two key ports of Bopu and Mayuan.

The navy will have to send most of its ships to the task of naval blockade, and at the same time continue to take on the task of transporting supplies to Sanya, and the number of ships that can directly defend the port will be greatly reduced. Bopu's defense system is dominated by heavy artillery, and long-range firepower is very strong, but Liliang, which directly defends the port, is a bit weak. Ma Yuan had only one turret and a marine platoon, and the garrison was even weaker.

"Our garrison in Mayu is too thin." Chen Haiyang said at the operational meeting, "Mayuan is our salt raw material supply base, as well as a modern salt plant. The garrison Liliang had only one platoon and one turret—still equipped with a 12-pounder mountain grenade. If the enemy breaks through the naval blockade and lands at Mayu - there are steam salt factories, windmills, and boilers in the area. Just being put on a fire is enough to suffer heavy losses. ”

There was a shallow-water port in Mayuan, which was very suitable for the small tonnage ships used by the Ming army to carry out infiltration landing operations.

"It's a little late to talk about building a fort or something."

"No, a month is enough." Mei Wan, who came to the meeting, said, "Give me enough resources. In a month I was able to build a large fort with heavy artillery to accommodate a company of infantry in wartime. ”

"Is that okay?" The participants exchanged words for a while. He Ming nodded: "I'll fight for it." But you have to make sure that it is done within a month. ”

"I promise it's done." Mei Wan said.

"Instead of building a fortress, let's build some mines to blockade the port. Defend against enemy ship infiltration. As the port director and commander of the fortress, Li Di was obsessed with the matter of mines.

"Mines? I'm afraid we'll blow up our own ship. Chen Haiyang is very aware of the effectiveness of mines, so he is even more hesitant to use them.

The jishu of the triggered anchor mine is simple, but the navy does not have minesweepers available, and it is very inconvenient once a minesweeper is needed. In the event of a de-anchoring and drifting thunderstorm, the width of the Qiongzhou Strait is simply a sharp weapon for indiscriminately bombing ships.

In the past, the Navy and weapons design departments considered the creation of visual electronically launched mines for the purpose of laying defenses within the harbor channel. However, the problem of anti-corrosion and leakage of wires in seawater and mine anchorage can not be solved very well, and the plan of Zuihou electric mine generation has also been abandoned.

The other option is the rod mineboat proposed by Wen Desi. The original proposed design of the pole minecraft was a rowing boat with an armoured covered deck, driven by a human paddle, and the medicine bag was fixed to the side of the boat and a wire was released to connect it to the pole mineboat. The pole minecraft then quickly reversed to a safe distance and then detonated the pack with electric fire.

Although this design fully takes into account the safety of the pole mineboat, it is found that it is not convenient to use the paddling boat when the actual rowing boat is used for simulation testing, and it is difficult for sailors to maintain a calm paddling rhythm under enemy fire, and the maneuverability of the manpower pole mineboat is not as good as imagined. And electric ignition brings an old problem: waterproof wires can't solve it. So the project of the pole mineboat has been shelved. Now on guard in the inner harbor are several transport boats equipped with typewriter repeating guns, which are very powerful but not powerful in the face of large ships.

"We are now able to mass-produce steam-powered three-engine boats, which can be converted from off-the-shelf equipment." Wen Desi was enthusiastic about this and began to sell his pole minecraft again

The so-called three-engine boat is a standardized motor boat manufactured by shipyards in order to unify the small transport boats used in offshore and inland waterways. According to the size, it is divided into large hair, medium hair and small hair.

The proposal was to use a wooden-hulled mid-engine boat as a base boat, with a full load displacement of 15.5 tons, a total length of 13 meters, a width of 2.9 meters, a depth of 1.5 meters, and an average draft of 0.78 meters. Install a small steam engine with a nest. Speed 4.5 knots at full load. Although the speed is a little slower, it is more than enough to use maneuverability in ports and coastal ports.

With mobility, electric ignition, which used to be used for safety, is no longer necessary.

The new Pole Thunder Speedboat was a prototype boat with a steam engine and a sloping layer of iron plates laid on top of it for armor - the iron plates did not need to be too thick to withstand the fire of the arquebus. The bow is a long metal rod that can be retracted into the hull. The front end of the metal rod has a detachable fastener that engages with the rod minebody. THE POLE MINE ITSELF IS A FLAT, CYLINDRICAL WOODEN BOX CONTAINING 30KG OF BLACK POWDER. The tip is flat and has a number of barbed nails that strive to be fixed to the board. The tail is a delating device that connects with the fastener at the front end of the lightning bar. As soon as the fixation is complete, the personnel in the cabin immediately pull the device to separate the mine and the boat. The de-locking device on the lightning rod is connected to the pull rope of the ignitor, and after the lock is unlocked, the pull fire rope is pulled away by the detached tension, and the pull fire tube ignites the fuse and starts to burn. Until the end of the delay detonator thunder.

The detonation device of the pole mine uses a grenade ignition device with a wooden handle, which is simple and reliable. It is not difficult to manufacture it through the group's industry.

After the mine and the boat are separated, the minecraft can retreat to a safe area, and the minecraft can be retracted into the boat to reload the mine, and the opportunity to attack again.

Because of the use of steam engine power, the power of the pole mineboat is guaranteed. Although the tonnage is small and the speed is not very useful in the open sea, it still has a great role in the narrow inner harbor brawl.

Its mobility and armor ensure that it is not attacked or jumped in close combat, and the pole mine can be reloaded multiple times. The boat is inexpensive and can be manufactured quickly and in large quantities to protect the harbor.

"Is the bonding of the mine body and the ship guaranteed? I'm afraid it would take a lot of impact force to fix the mine body to the hull. ”

"It may not work with paddles, but steam power is still enough. We can add something sticky, like gum, to increase adhesion. ”

"How can the boat operator observe such a fully enclosed armor?"

"Use armored blinds." "Do you see this circular armored tower protruding from the hull, and there are six armored observation windows arranged in a ring on the tower." ”

The pilot tower is a double crew, with a helmsman at the helm in the front, the captain sits slightly higher behind the helmsman, his seat can be rotated to observe the situation outside through the blinds, the helmsman steers according to his commands, and the captain can also direct the whole boat through the intercom tube.

"There were two engineers in charge of the steam engine, and two sailors in charge of the pole mines. Add a standby, who can be used to help with the coal, and seven people on board will be enough. In addition to one pre-installed boat, the whole boat is equipped with four mines. Wen Deji pointed to his blueprint.

According to Wende's vision, this kind of pole mineboat could be used to defend the harbor before the traverser created a flywheel torpedo, and it was at least more destructive than a machine-gun boat, and a single pole mine was enough to blow up or damage a ship of several hundred tons.

"Four horses are arranged, and ten are arranged in Bopu. Half are in a state of fire readiness, and half are resting. As long as they can destroy two or three enemy ships, the other side will have to flee for their lives in fear. ”

It was immediately decided to submit an emergency shipbuilding proposal to the Planning Institute for the urgent construction of 16 pole mineboats and 8 machine-gun boats.

Wude immediately approved the shipbuilding project, and as to whether the pole mineboat was so useful, it was not a big problem in his opinion - if it was useless, it was a big deal to remove the armor and use it as a transport boat, and it would not be wasted anyway.

Zhan Wuya received clear instructions from He Ming to organize militias in all factories. Dedicate one hour a day to military training.

"Military training with a spear?"

"First use the spear to assassinate and queue jishu. You can use the trainer gun to hold it first. And the bombing -- Hailin has already handed over hundreds of instructors to bounce over. You take a hundred and train the workers. He Ming said, "I have submitted an application to the Planning Institute for an urgent expansion of rifle production, and then everyone will have rifles -- you must select the most politically reliable and resolute elements from the workers' militia as the backbone militia, ready to be called upon at any time." ”

"What? Workers are to be dragged to war. Zhan Wuya was taken aback, the industrial workers who had been trained with great difficulty, even if one of them died, it would be a big loss.

"It's for them to act as reserves and garrisons. They will not be mobilized to fight. He Ming explained, "Except for the factory. Communes and local villages should also be mobilized. However, the workers' self-defense forces will be the main force. ”