On August 7, 1890, which was a memorable day for Vittorio and Xu Jie and others, on this day, the ** Light Weapons Design Bureau finally completed the development of mortars and light machine guns, the manufacture of mortars itself was not too difficult, and the shells were so cheap that cast iron could be made into shells. However, the configuration of the propellant made a group of experts busy for several months, although Xu Jie sent a telegram to Guò about the components of the various charges, but there was no proportion, so the number of various ingredients and how to prepare them had to be completed by the Italians themselves. Fortunately, the emperor lived up to his wishes, and under the urging and supervision of high bonuses and Vittorio and others, the Italian chemists and the technicians of the ** design bureau finally completed this difficult task. And today is the time to accept these weapons.

In addition to the technical staff of the ** Light Weapons Design Bureau, the Italian military and the German consultants hired by Beiyang also participated in the acceptance, one of the reasons is that these equipment will enter the Beiyang Army in the future, and the training of the Beiyang Army Division is controlled by the Germans, so the Germans as instructors must have some understanding of these weapons that are about to enter the army. Another reason is that the optical sights on the mortars were made by the Germans!! In order for the Germans to design a better sight, the Germans had to be present in this acceptance process.

For Italian engineers, it was not a problem to develop an artillery gun and to create a gun charge ratio, but the biggest question was? How to use!! The difference between this mortar and the existing artillery is too great, under the conditions at that time, the vast majority of artillery was direct shooting, indirect shooting has not yet appeared, let alone playing mortars. But fortunately, Xu Jie had seen mortar shooting training in his father's army back then, and he still had some understanding of the whole process.

At the test site, five trained Italian Army personnel will be responsible for the test firing of 60 mortars, and the division of labor of five people is that the gun commander acts as the commander of the entire group, carrying spare parts and tools with him. The first gunner, responsible for aiming, carried the bottom plate and gun mount, and the second gunner was responsible for loading shells, carrying the gun god and sights. Three gunners, who were responsible for installing the fuse, adjusting the charge and transporting shells, carrying shells and propellants. The four-gunner, responsible for observation and vigilance, carried shells and individual weapons, and assisted the three-gunner when necessary. WITH AN ORDER, FIVE ABLE-BODIED ITALIANS ENTERED THE FIRING POSITION WITH THE WEAPON TENTATIVELY NUMBERED 1890 TYPE 60MM MORTAR.

"Preparations begin." With the dispatch officer's order, the mortar crew began to place the artillery, and a gunner quickly dug a small pit in the ground with a sapper shovel, and then put the bottom sheet into the pit, and then set up the gun carriage in the approximate direction. The second gunner lowered the barrel and locked the tail of the gun on the bottom plate. The first gunner and the second gunner then work together to place the gun on the stand and adjust the probability level. The gun commander walked behind the gun and corrected the engraved line on the gun body with a plumb line. It is the target and the barrel that are in a horizontal plane. At the same time, the third and fourth gunners opened the ammunition boxes, installed fuses for the shells, and were ready to shoot at any time.

"The whole assembly work takes no more than 2 minutes, very fast." said an Italian officer.

"The shooting at the end is the highlight, and it's just a foreshadowing before the show begins." Xu Jie smiled kindly and said.

Then a gunner half-knelt in front of the mortar and looked at the horizontal tube on the scope, leveling the leveling mechanism on the gun carriage so that the bubble in the level tube was in the middle. Make the bipod accurately level, and then a gunner will hit the high and low machine of the gun carriage directly to the end, and the gun commander will put the quadrant on the gun body inspection seat, observe the level tube bubble to see if the gun barrel is at a 45-degree angle to the ground, and fine-tune. The gun commander quickly hit the mortar's high and low handwheels to the maximum range, while staring at the bubbles in the high and low level tubes. At this point, all the preparations are completed. Start aiming and shooting. …,

The artillery commander used a telescope to visually measure the distance and angle of the target in the distance, (the firing range of the 60 mortar is generally about 1.5 kilometers, and there is basically no problem for a skilled artillery commander to visually measure this distance).

"Angle of fire 950, charge No. 2, two test shots." The gun commander ordered.

Then the first gunner adjusts the elevation angle of the gun, and at the same time observes the target with the scope, adjusting the height and low machine so that the cross in the scope is facing the target. The 3 gunners were preparing 2 cartridge packs for the first shell.

"Launch." WITH AN ORDER FROM THE GUN COMMANDER, THE 2 GUNNERS PUT THE SHELL INTO THE CHAMBER, AND WITH A MUFFLED SOUND, A 60MM MORTAR SHELL WHISTLED OUT OF THE CHAMBER AND FLEW INTO THE DISTANCE.

"A little to the left." Xu Jie said as he stared at the target in the distance with a telescope.

"Not bad, it's just a test shot." The Italian officer next to him said.

The second, then corrected shell, accurately hit the target. After the end of the test firing, it quickly turned into rapid-fire, with the cooperation of a 5-man artillery crew. This 1890-style mortar fired a high rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute!! In the distant target area, several plumes of smoke rose in succession. When the rate of fire was the fastest, the first two shells had not yet landed, and the third shell had already been discharged, and the high rate of fire of the mortar was vividly and exquisitely reflected at this moment! (It is said that the cattle man of the Eighth Route Army back then could do it, the fifth cannon was discharged, and the first shell had not yet landed, what a god-like person!!) ）

"Although the range is closer. Accuracy and direct-aim artillery were also slightly lacking, but the higher rate of fire could fully compensate for these shortcomings. German instructor Heinris exclaimed. If I could, I would like the German Army to be equipped with this lightweight, high-rate infantry weapon. ”

"Thanks for the compliment." Xu Jie said with a smile.

"The emergence of mortars provides new ideas and tactics for artillery warfare, no matter what kind of artillery in the past, it is mainly aimed at directly, and the introduction of new sights provides a new way for artillery indirect firing, and if this kind of artillery is expanded, it is undoubtedly very advantageous when breaking through the opponent's fortress, compared with the existing field artillery and mountain artillery, the firing angle of the mortar is larger, and the shells can generally hit the top of the fortifications, which will undoubtedly cause a fatal blow to those fortifications that are both frontal and the top is fragile. Mr. Xu, before I saw your work, it was hard for me to imagine that only 5 people could carry a weapon comparable to a 57MM mountain gun. If you can, I would like you to visit Germany, not only the German Army, but also the German Navy, and Mr. Tirpitz will be there to pick you up in the port of Kiel. Heinris said sincerely.

"Look here, you two, the acceptance of the new light machine gun is about to begin." Vittorio interrupted.

Compared with the test firing of the mortar, the test firing of the machine gun is much simpler, testing the longest continuous firing time, completing the disassembly and assembly of the machine gun, and evaluating the accuracy of the target. That's all. The group then gathered in front of the 1890 light machine gun to comment on it, and some even picked up the gun and fired a few shots.

"Although this gun is much lighter than Maxine, it still weighs 15KG, and it seems that it will be a strong young man who will carry it." Vittorio said with great difficulty picking up an 1890 light machine gun loaded with bullets.

"If you want to play the role of this gun, you can't do it with one person. THE GUN WEIGHED 12.8 KG EMPTY, WHILE THE 47-SHOT DRUM WEIGHED 2.25 KG. In addition to the ammunition and tools that need to be carried, I personally build yì, a light machine gun crew of 5 people is the minimum, the commander carries accessories and tools, the main shooter is responsible for carrying the machine gun and 4 drums, the deputy shooter is responsible for replenishment and vigilance, and the remaining 2 people are ammunition men, and one person theoretically has to carry about 8 drums. Xu Jie said that in the first war, the British standard Lewis machine gun crew was 8 people, of which 3 were ammunition men, considering that the requirements for machine gun firepower in the First Sino-Japanese War would not be as high as in the first war, plus the defensive operations were the mainstay, and there was no need to sometimes need the machine gun crew to advance as in the first war. Therefore, Xu Jie appropriately reduced the number of people in the weapon group and removed the covering personnel, after all, this machine gun will be assigned to the platoon-level unit for use, and the infantry squad that cooperates with it can completely provide cover for the machine gun team.

"The machine guns and mortars of the Small Arms Design Bureau, combined with the Krupp artillery of the German Empire, will be the strongest army weapons combination in the world. When these weapons enter the Qing Army, they will certainly give a great boost to the improvement of the combat effectiveness of the Qing Army. Heinres said.

"It's not enough to have good weapons, you also need to have good instructors, and in this regard, I believe that the army instructors of the German Empire will do their job seriously and responsibly, right? I would also like to thank the skilled workers of Italy and the military for their support, it is because of your hard work that this qiē has become a reality. Let's toast to the cooperation and friendship of the three countries," Xu Jie said kindly.

"Cheers." Then the participants present raised the wine glasses in their hands and said.

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