Chapter 341 Test firing of new guns
According to the account of the pirate third master, the various goods they purchased from Guangzhou were regularly transported to a place called Sanmen Island in the east for trade with the men of "Eighteen Zhi". In addition to acting as second-tier dealers, this group of people also often come forward on behalf of "Eighteen Zhi" and transport some stolen goods to Guangzhou to get rid of them.
From here, Tom Wang has made at least two things clear. First, it is not without reason that this small group of pirates can survive on the edge of the "Eighteen Zhi" sphere of influence. Their existence is more or less still Only by bringing some benefits to "Eighteen Zhi" can the powerful "Eighteen Zhi" acquiesce to their settlement here. Second, "Eighteen Zhi", which seems to have no direct relationship with Chuan Chuan Group, has most likely already begun to purchase various industrial products produced in Shengli Port. As for whether "Eighteen Zhi" sells these products to Japan or to Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the north, it is currently unknown.
There is no doubt that Haihan products, which have been very popular in the Guangdong market in the past year, have been noticed by "Eighteen Zhi" and become one of the goods they traffic from Guangdong. If the executive committee knew this news, I'm afraid they wouldn't be happy to see their products become a way for future opponents to make money.
From the beginning of the time travel, the Executive Committee has regarded "Eighteen Zhi" as the strongest opponent in the East Asian waters in the next few years. In order to win the battle for sea power in the future, it has passed the "Furuifeng" early Layout in the direction of Fujian. Military support for Xu Xinsu, a local snake in Fujian, gradually shifted from underground to public as his own strength grew. Recently, the second batch of trainees sent by Xu Xinsu to Victory Port to study military affairs have arrived. Different from the previous batch of craftsmen students, this time the students are all actual officers leading troops, and this is how the Cross-Travel Group was founded. A precedent for training talents for Ming Dynasty officials.
In the original history, the Ming Dynasty military had also found other outside help before this, and that was the Portuguese. In the third year of the Apocalypse, the Ming army purchased 22 Hongyi cannons from the Portuguese and hired 23 Portuguese gunners to go to Beijing to help build cannons and train troops. These were probably the first batch of Western military personnel officially employed by the Chinese government. . In July of the first year of Chongzhen, Li Fengjie and Wang Zunde of the Guangdong and Guangxi military corps were ordered to go to Macau to recruit artillerymen and purchase Hongyi cannons. In the second year of Chongzhen's reign, there were also dozens of mercenaries from Portugal among the team that escorted these artillery pieces to fight in the north.
While these mercenaries are serving the Ming Dynasty, the leader can receive a salary of one hundred and fifty taels of silver per year, and a monthly food allowance of fifteen taels. Ordinary soldiers earn one hundred taels per year and receive a monthly food allowance of ten taels. This treatment is basically equivalent to the salary of a hundred households in the sixth rank of the Guard Army, which is very good. If converted into Haihan circulation coupons, it is basically at the same level as the treatment of soldiers of the Haihan Militia.
The Ming Dynasty officials were very satisfied with the professional quality demonstrated by the Portuguese mercenaries in past cooperation. Some executive committee members have already proposed that they could consider hiring a group of Portuguese soldiers in Macau to train gunners for the Haihan Militia. However, this idea is still on paper for the time being. Except for Tao Donglai’s last interview with the Portuguese envoy Thomas in Guangzhou, the two sides have not yet conducted further in-depth contacts. It will definitely not be completed for a while. cooperation. In addition, the two sides had an air-to-air match in Annan a few months ago, and it is difficult to judge what kind of attitude Portugal currently holds towards Haihan.
Of course, Tom Wang will not worry too much about this kind of thing. As a standard soldier, he is very clear about his identity and tasks in the group. Things like foreign policy can be left to the civilian officials to worry about. There is no such thing. It is necessary to go to Yuezu to take care of him. Moreover, he also knew very well that his status as a "North American gang" would not have any positive effect in the group. On the contrary, it would become the target of some people's vigilance - after all, their group of people who joined from overseas were different from other people in terms of culture and values. There are certain differences among members from within the country. Of course, Wang Tom, who has realized this, has been working very hard recently to downplay his identity as a "North American gang" and devote more time and energy to the formation and training of the navy army.
After taking Dangan Island, Wang Tom's biggest personal experience was that the military's previous emphasis on this group of pirates was too much. If this group of pirates really takes the initiative to harass Wanshan Port and even launch an attack on Dawanshan Island, as the military fears, they are simply asking for trouble. Based on the fighting power they displayed, Wang Tom believed that they were not much better than the rogue bandits who besieged Lijiazhuang.
The militiamen spent most of the day counting the results of the battle, and then moved everything they could move onto the boat. Because there were too many ships captured this time, the militia did not have enough sailors themselves, so they had to select some sailors from the prisoners to sail the ships. It wasn't until it got dark that the fleet slowly left Dangan Island Pier. Most of the prisoners captured this time will be temporarily left on Dawanshan Island to participate in construction work, while a small number of leader-level figures will be escorted to the base camp. What awaits them will be hard labor ranging from one to several years. In life, if you are not lucky, you may be sent to an overseas colonization point.
As for the ships captured this time, all the ships were kept in Wanshan Port to increase the mobility of the troops stationed on the island. The three warships participating in the war will still return to Victory Port to be stationed after this, and the people on Dawanshan Island can only use these trophies as transportation for the time being.
On May 30, Wang Tom led the two companies previously sent from Victory Port to return to the base camp by boat. As for the preliminary infrastructure projects on the island, according to the person in charge, Liu Shanxia, it is basically guaranteed to be completed before the end of June. By then, the Dawanshan Island stronghold will maintain a company of troops stationed for a long time, and will play more roles as a commercial and immigration transfer station.
When Wang Tom returned to the base camp, he first went to the Military Commission to submit his duties. As soon as he came out, he was arrested by Bai Kesi: "I heard that you came back today, and I was planning to go find you. I didn't expect that you jumped out by yourself. Come with me quickly!" ”
Tom Wang was confused and said: "Mr. Bai, can you explain the situation first?"
"A new gun has been made. I want you to check out the goods and try out the gun." Bai Kesi couldn't help but said, pulling Tom Wang towards the direction of Fort Victory Railway Station.
After the establishment of "Haihan Ordnance Industry" in early April, Bai Kesi, who was originally in charge of industrial production, naturally assumed the leadership position of this new organization. After initially straightening out the relationship between design, production, use and other units, the first key weapons project that Baikes personally took charge of was the firearms used by infantry.
In the year after time travel, the military industry department actually mass-produced two different types of muskets. One was the Type 27 matchlock gun mainly used for export, and the second was the Type 27 flintlock gun that was installed in its own militia. These two types of front-loading muskets are only transitional weapons in the eyes of the military and military industry departments. With the technological advantages accumulated over hundreds of years, the military industry department is very clear about the development direction of rifles. All they need to do is to continue to copy the famous rifles in history according to the development level of their own productivity.
With the existing military technology and steel production of Chuan Chuan Group, it is no longer a fantasy to start making breech-loading rifles. The emergence of breech-loading muskets will mean that Haihan's armament level has completely widened the gap with this era. Of course, there was still some debate during the joint consultations between representatives of several parties as to which firearm should be copied as the individual weapon of the militia in the future.
Among the breech-loading rifles officially installed in the army in 1850, there were many famous rifle models, such as the famous Dresser M1841 striker gun, which was equipped with the Prussian Army in 1840 and was not eliminated by the Mauser M1871 until 1872. There is also the American Hall M1819 rifle, which entered service in the US army as early as 1819. The common advantage of these two breech-loading rifles is their fast rate of fire, which can reach a shooting frequency of eight or nine rounds per minute. However, their common disadvantage is the serious air leakage in the barrel. This flaw greatly affects the performance of the rifle in terms of range and accuracy. In view of the fact that the Haihan Militia has always taken the route of fewer but better, the military hopes that the weapons it obtains can be more balanced in performance, so after some discussions, both rifles were eventually rejected.
In the end, after repeated weighing, the gun type selected by "Haihan Ordnance" was the Kammer Ryder M1842 rifle, which appeared one year later than the Dresser M1841. This rifle was the main individual weapon of the Norwegian army until it was discontinued in 1867. To briefly summarize, the biggest features of the Kamal Ryder rifle are the use of flash caps, a stand-up chamber, and paper-cased Mini bullets. This movable chamber is basically a metal cartridge case mounted on the gun body. There is a constriction in the front of the chamber that can be embedded in the rear of the gun chamber. This greatly enhances the air tightness of the gun chamber. In addition, the Mini bullet With the use of rifled barrels, this rifle has greatly improved range and accuracy compared to flintlock guns.
Of course, the addition of various black technologies to performance is not without cost. The production process of this rifle is much more complicated than the existing Type 27 flintlock rifle, and its cost has also risen sharply. According to estimates from the military industry department, mass production The subsequent production cost is expected to be five to seven times that of the Type 27 flintlock gun, which is equivalent to about 30 yuan in circulation coupons, and is almost fifteen or sixteen times that of the export-type matchlock gun. Therefore, it has not yet been finalized whether this gun will be recognized by the military.
Wang Tom was one of the few individual weapons experts in the Time Travel Group, so the gun test and firing event was postponed for a week, just to wait for him to return from Guangzhou. Bai Kesi took Wang Tom by train to Tiandu Industrial Zone, and then led by two militiamen to a secluded ravine. There is a small shooting range built here, but this shooting range is not affiliated with the military, but is a place where military production units conduct weapon test firings.
After Wang Tom arrived here, he discovered that almost all the high-profile figures in the Military Commission were present. It seemed that the military also had great expectations for the performance of this new rifle.
"Let me briefly introduce this rifle to you." After arriving at the scene, Bai Kes didn't even have time to take a sip of water, so he picked up a sample gun and started explaining: "This is a new rifle we made by imitating the Kamal Ryder M1842. , the total length is 125 cm, the barrel length is 78 cm, and the total weight is about 5 kg. It uses paper shells to install Mini bullets and loads the breech. The rate of fire is about six to eight rounds per minute. The muzzle velocity of the bullet is 300 meters/second. Left and right, effective range 500 meters. ”
Judging from the paper performance parameters announced by Bai Kesi, this new gun has completely surpassed the Type 27 flintlock currently installed by the militia. If it can be mass-produced, it basically means that the militia will not have to make major changes to individual weapons in the next few years - the next major change in firearms may be the application of bolt-action rifles and metal-cased bullets. . Judging from the existing resources and production capacity of the Chuan Chuan Group, copper-cased bullets alone cannot be mass-produced in recent years. Even if there is so much copper, the Executive Committee will not use it to produce expensive bullets. . The relatively cheap Mini bombs are enough to defeat infantry around the world in this era, and the military is not in a hurry to upgrade individual weapons to World War I levels.
Of course, people in the military also understand very well that some of the data released by Bai Kesi are only theoretical data. For example, the rate of fire can theoretically reach six to eight rounds per minute. This data is probably measured in a standing position without interference, but on the battlefield it will vary depending on personal tactical skills, shooting posture, shooting environment and other factors. Affected, the performance of soldiers in actual combat will generally be lower than this level. Although the range can reach 500 meters, according to the experience of later generations, the range that can effectively hit an individual target in a combat environment is only about half of the maximum sight range. Therefore, if you really plan to attack a target at a distance of 500 meters, you will probably only be able to hit it. It depends on luck.
In addition to the Kamal Ryder, the military industry department actually trial-produced another Whitworth rifle, which was known as the "magic gun" in history. This rifle produced in Britain in 1857 has a very strange appearance. It uses a hexagonal barrel and must be loaded with a special bullet. The craftsmanship and cost of this special-shaped bullet chamber are far beyond that of ordinary rifles. Even the bullets used were several times more expensive than the Mini bullets of the same period. And this rifle had to clear the barrel between shots, causing its firing rate to be much slower than rifles of the same period. It was inconvenient to load, expensive, and had a slow rate of fire. Various shortcomings caused the British army to give up installing it in the army. After production, it was only exported to the United States in large quantities.
So why does "Haihan Military Industry" want to imitate such a rifle with so many shortcomings? The Whitworth rifle is called the "magic gun" not just because of its weird appearance. The biggest feature of this gun is its accuracy and its range is much higher than its competitors at the same time. When using the maximum propellant charge, the muzzle velocity of the bullet can reach 420 meters/second, the kinetic energy at the muzzle exceeds 3,000 J, and the impact point distribution at a distance of one kilometer can be controlled within one meter. Its effective range is as far as more than 1,500 meters. In terms of accuracy and precision, it is comparable to the bolt-action rifles that appeared later.
What does this data mean? This means that the Whitworth rifle is a sniper rifle that can be produced under existing technical conditions! Of course, to realize this function, the military industry department must make a special sight for it. However, now that the glass workshop has begun to trial-produce optical glass, it will not be too difficult to make a sight with a power of about 4 times. It is just made by hand and the cost is relatively high.
If you want to say that the cost of the Kamal Ryder is high, in fact it is still very cheap compared with the Whitworth. The military industry department estimates that the cost of a single unit is more than 100 yuan, and this does not include the special-shaped ammunition it uses. . Of course, this kind of special-purpose weapon is destined not to be mass-produced, but "Haihan Military Industry" believes that the military will definitely place a batch of orders after actually testing the performance of the gun. After all, the cost of this kind of sniper rifle is quite high. Much cheaper than the babies brought by the military from the 21st century, the military has enough conditions to train the world's first batch of musket snipers.
Also test-firing the new gun with Tom Wang were Yan Chujie, Gu Wei and others. Among them, only Tom Wang was the only one who had actually come into contact with the original Camel Ryder rifle. Before time travel, he had participated in NRA (National Rifle Association) activities. He had test-fired this rifle, so everyone followed his steps as a demonstration.
Wang Tom first opened the hammer under the cartridge chamber, turned the crank on the right side of the gun body to make the movable cartridge stand upright, inserted the flash cap into the bottom of the cartridge, poured in the propellant, and then stuffed the paper-cased Mini bullet into it. Tighten it, then turn the crank to return the cartridge to its original position and embed it into the barrel to complete the locking process.
After everyone finished loading, they aimed their guns at the target a hundred meters away and started shooting. After firing ten rounds, some militiamen took the target back for inspection. Perhaps because of his familiarity with the shots, Wang Tom had the highest hit rate, hitting six out of ten shots. Most of the others missed the target, and generally only two or three shots hit the target. However, this result did not discourage everyone. In order to verify the importance of the rear sight, we only aimed with the naked eye during shooting. It was not easy to achieve this result.
In the next shooting, everyone used the sight mounted on the gun to assist in aiming, and it really played a very obvious role. When shooting at targets at the same distance, Wang Tom hit nine out of ten shots, while others also increased the hit rate to about 50%. If you are more familiar with it, I believe there is still room for improvement in this hit rate.
Of course, the inspection of new guns is not just about test firing and target shooting, there are a large number of other inspection items that need to be carried out one by one.
(End of chapter)