In June, Li Guang quietly transferred the barrel production equipment to Shixiang Island. Although the cannon design team designed (copycats) three guns, now there are new problems. The cannon steel sold by the Soviets to the Naval Resistance Army was still crude billet, which had to be hot-forged into the right size by a hydraulic press. Li Guang had no choice but to invest again in the purchase of a 2,000-ton hydraulic press from the United States. It will take two or three months before the arrival of the Gargokties.

What made the Soviets even worse was that they sold no more than 500 kilograms of cannon steel. The yield of cannon barrels is generally less than 30 percent, that is, only 20 times the diameter of mountain cannon barrels can be manufactured. Cannons and anti-aircraft guns, that's a fantasy.

According to Zheng Xuechang's report, Li Guang knew that this was a regulation for the Soviets to export artillery steel, and it was difficult for anyone to change it. However, Zheng Xuechang said that the Soviets absolutely did not cut corners in terms of materials. He saw with his own eyes that the Soviets used these billets to produce large-caliber guns, and these billets were deliberately cut short.

Li Guang, who was in a hurry, regretted it very much, and only in May did he provide the Soviet Union with another piece of information, on the condition that it was 2,000 tons of cannon steel. If it's all this kind of blank, wouldn't they all be able to make mountain cannons?

The old Soviet man looks rude, but in fact he is really yin enough. I don't want other countries to produce heavy artillery at all.

When Li Guang found a few American artillery designers, these designers did not take this difficulty seriously at all. It didn't take long to figure out the solution.

It turned out that the German 88mm anti-aircraft gun used a three-section barrel, which was also connected to put it bluntly. (In the middle of World War II, German technology was improved and changed to a two-stage gun barrel connection), and it is difficult for several engineers to come up with this method if they are creating, but there is no problem with copycats.

Moreover, the equipment imported from the United States can only produce 41 times the diameter of the barrel, which is not up to the 70 times the diameter required by Li Guang.

Since there is no bore in the front barrel, less material is used, and two sections can be connected to produce a barrel of 70 times the diameter, but this is also the maximum amount of current equipment.

It is precisely because of these conditions that the Naval Resistance Army actually produced only two 76.2mm barrels in the subsequent career of the Anti-Japanese War, one is a 24-fold diameter mountain gun, (imitating the German infantry gun) and the other is a 70-fold diameter anti-aircraft gun (still imitating the German anti-aircraft gun, which also acts as a tank gun). The German-made infantry guns and anti-aircraft guns that Ramo had provided to Li Guang were all copycated.

After solving this problem, the engineers proposed to Li Guang to produce a 76.2mm gun instead of the previously planned 75mm.

The reason is that 76.2mm artillery shells can be used in common with the shells of most countries in Europe and the United States, and in the event of an emergency on the battlefield, 75mm artillery shells can be used, and even cartridge shells can be used without replacement. This is undoubtedly more adaptable to the ever-changing battlefield.

Li Guang was naturally kind and accepted this opinion immediately, and also expressed his gratitude to these engineers very hypocritically.

The production of tanks is now going smoothly, the chassis has been completely built, and since there is no suitable engine, now it is only possible to get a gasoline engine, add a reducer to run, and it is being tested. It was precisely because of the lack of turrets that this production test was prevaricated by Li Guang under the pretext of a tractor.

But soon, after adding a shovel to the chassis of this tank, it was really used as a tractor. A total of 12 cars were built, which played a great role in the construction of the stone statue island.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it has reached June 39, but the diesel engine on which Li Guang pinned his most hopes has not been able to complete the experiment.

It's not that Li Guang's advice is incorrect, or that the level of technical personnel recruited is too poor. Instead, the diesel engine is a comprehensive project, and there are too many problems involved. Previously, the pace of experimentation was greatly lengthened by relying on ships to purchase parts between the United States and Uruguay.

One of the biggest differences in appearance between modern diesel engines and diesel engines of the time is the head. And one of the most obvious technical parameters is the rotational speed.

For example, the 2,500 hp diesel engine used on the submarine and the pickup truck revs only 250 rpm. Li Guang didn't dare to be too bold, and only increased the speed to seven hundred and fifty revolutions. This is conservative enough to be considered conservative enough with 1,500 revolutions or even 2,000 revolutions in later generations. But in reality, there are still many problems. At present, it seems that even the success of trial production is far away, not to mention use.

However, one notable development is the use of diesel engines for small cars, although the process is also slow. However, this diesel engine is likely to succeed the most. Now with only two cylinders, the diesel engine can reach 70 horsepower. The speed of this diesel engine is twice as high as that of the diesel engine now used in the United States, and the volume is almost halved. It is expected that in the future, the twelve-cylinder should be able to produce 420 hp. If you add the turbo mechanism, it should not be a problem to reach 500 horsepower.

None of this is the key, the point is that the size of the diesel engine can be reduced enough to fit into the Tiger One tank. Not to mention that the existing 320-horsepower diesel engine in the United States is not mature enough, noisy, and faulty, Li Guang can only stare dryly because of its size. It's really too big, with a height of one meter and a weight of more than two tons and eight.

If you want to fit in a tank, you must not exceed a meter in height. For Li Guang's tank, this is a difficult problem that must be overcome, and the important surname is still above the tank gun. Anxious to eat hot tofu, Li Guang is now forced to lower his expectations and put all his research and development energy into the vehicle diesel engine, and the large diesel engine can only be pushed back.

Also in June, the development of thermodynamic torpedoes finally yielded preliminary results. The five-cylinder planetary engine was indeed powerful enough, and the first torpedo made could reach speeds of up to 45 knots, but because the engine was so powerful, it consumed extremely fuel and liquid air. The firing range is only ten kilometers. And another disadvantage is that the charge is too small, only a hundred kilograms.

However, Li Guang did not dislike it, only such a range of torpedoes can make the pickup and Baxia have the real ability to fight destroyers and even cruisers.

However, the cost of this torpedo is too high, and the five-cylinder planetary engine used by Li Guang is actually the same type as the planetary engine of the fighter, but the requirements are slightly lower.

In view of the outrageously high cost and the fact that the firing range is not ideal, Li Guang still had no choice but to continue to increase investment, hoping to further develop research and development, hoping to further increase the firing range and charge.

As a mature product of electric mines, another improvement work of Li Guang does not involve its own equipment and technology, but must be ordered at a high price in the United States. That's the silicon steel sheet in the motor. The best silicon steel sheets of this era are also low-silicon wafers with a thickness of one millimeter, and the magnetic permeability is very low. Li Guang has already placed an order in the United States, giving technical requirements. If the United States can produce silicon steel sheets with high permeability, then the electric lightning motor can greatly increase the power, and the rate of fire and range can be further increased. (Now the electric mines used by the Maritime Resistance Army are already the best batteries, and the range can reach 4.5 kilometers.) ）

Li Guang watched one difficulty after another being overcome, but the doubts in his heart were even greater. He really didn't know if the development path he had chosen was correct, it was difficult enough to develop heavy industry in Uruguay, a non-industrial country, and he was really not too sure how far the enterprises would develop on the desert island of Stone Statue Island. Sometimes he even wonders whether to move some companies to the United States, where the industrial base is definitely not comparable to that of Uruguay. But at present, it seems that there is no such possibility, and the stone statue island has become the center of gravity of the naval resistance army.

The vision is still not long-term enough. Li Guang's self-evaluation. In order to have a place to stay, I settled in Uruguay, but now it is too late to change.

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