Smokeless gunpowder is an extremely simple technology!
What is the simplest smokeless gunpowder?
It’s “celluloid”!
That is collodion. This material, which historically should have been invented in 1869, was "invented" by Sunbeam Film Company as early as 1864. In fact, this material is not complicated.
The addition of camphor turns it into a material that is quite flexible, hard and not brittle.
In the past five years, "celluloid" has been used not only in the film industry, but also in other industries. Huafu Chemical used celluloid to produce plastic products such as fake ivory and billiard balls. Later, celluloid was used to make boxes, buttons,
Ruler, ping pong ball and spectacle frame.
As for propellants... In another world, during the Anti-Japanese War, film films were widely used in base areas behind enemy lines to make propellants, and the film films at that time were made of celluloid!
Since celluloid film can be used as gun propellant in base areas behind enemy lines, Nanhua can also use "celluloid" to make propellant! This solution is at least very feasible!
After having this idea in his mind, Zhu Xianhai took out a pencil and drew the shape of a bullet on the paper.
"Let the arsenal try to produce a new type of bullet. It should have a pointed tip and no bottom rim. The caliber should be set at about 7 mm for the time being. As for the cartridge case length of 50 mm, it is enough. For the propellant, use "celluloid" particles...
…”
Standing on the shoulders of giants, Zhu Xianhai didn't mind giving a direct reminder, and even skipped the round-nose bullets and switched to pointed bullets. In fact, the reason why the 9mm rifle's bullet performance is excellent is because it uses a semi-pointed bullet.
"Celluloid particles? Can it replace gunpowder? Is it powerful enough with such a small caliber?"
Faced with Sun Mingyue's doubts, Zhu Xianhai said.
"Whether it is possible or not is enough. We will know after testing it. Okay, let's contact the arsenal. The procurement of Type 70 rifles will be temporarily suspended and we will wait for the new ammunition. Hmm..."
Zhu Xianhai thought for a while and said.
"If there is a temporary problem with the propellant, a batch of black powder bullets can be made first, but the caliber of the bullets must be reduced,"
As the director of the Ordnance Industry Department, Sun Mingyue was not only a Chinese gold mine worker, but also one of the first firearms engineers trained by Nanhua. This is also the reason why he became the director of the Ordnance Industry Department. Although he could not understand the commander's request, he
As soon as they returned to the Ordnance Industry Department, they immediately summoned engineers.
"The commander-in-chief said this to me."
Sun Mingyue said directly.
"The commander-in-chief's request is being met no matter what, so I don't want to hear your opinions. I just want to ask you if you can do it!"
"It's no problem to do it..."
Holding his glasses frame, Wang Shiwei took a look at the sketch drawn by the commander. He just came back from the United States last year. While studying in the United States, he interned at many weapons factories, including Winchester Company, in the field of small arms.
expert.
"It is still unclear whether celluloid can be used as propellant. Even if it can be used as propellant, whether it can be stored for a long time is also a problem. These need to be fully tested, but before that we can make a backup plan."
"back up plan?"
Under the gaze of others, Wang Shiwei grinned awkwardly. The black-rimmed glasses on his face reflected the lights above his head, and his eyes behind the lenses shone brightly. He pushed the glasses up to the bridge of his nose.
"It seems that what the commander values is the new type of ammunition. The issue of propellant can be put aside for the time being. Let's produce new types of bullets first. Well, in fact, the rimless bullet designed by the commander is more suitable for the Type 70 rifle. Magazines with bottom rims will have some feeding problems due to the bottom rim. Eliminating the bottom rim can overcome this problem. This design is definitely a stroke of genius."
This is not a compliment, but a statement of facts. Then Wang Shiwei said again.
"We can first design a bullet that meets the basic requirements of the commander, with a caliber of about 7 mm and a pointed bullet. What if black powder is used as the propellant?"
"Use black powder? Is this your plan?"
Sun Mingyue asked,
"Will this plan work?"
"You will know after you try it. There is no problem with a smaller caliber. As long as the muzzle velocity is sufficient, the power is always guaranteed. Besides, you can also do some work on the warhead."
Having said this, Wang Shi couldn't help but laugh, as if he was talking about something ridiculous.
The so-called making some fuss about the warhead, in fact, people have always done this in the army. For example, the warhead of a 9mm rifle bullet is worn by armor. When the bullet hits the target, it will deform and expand, and the power will definitely double. It can be used as a reference. .
"I think in this way, new bullets can be manufactured in the shortest possible time, which will not affect the replacement of troops. After all, if you change bullets, you only need to simply adjust the factory's production tools."
"Um……"
After thinking for a moment, Sun Mingyue said.
"There is a huge demand for the troops to change their uniforms now. I think I will follow your method first!"
No one knows what this simple decision means, but what is certain is that the change of equipment of the security forces was delayed for almost two months. Two months later, the Type 70 rifle, which was changed to 7.7 mm, was issued to the army. For reasons of caution and safety, the new bullet uses seemingly outdated black powder. In order to meet the requirements for muzzle velocity, the arsenal has stuffed a full 5.4 grams of black powder into a mere 50.8 mm long cartridge case, which also gives it a high muzzle velocity. Reaching an astonishing 760 meters per second.
The newly designed warhead took into account the insufficient stopping effect of bullets with smaller calibers, so Wang Shiwei, as the chief designer, ingeniously designed a structure with paper in front and lead behind, so that the center of gravity of the warhead is placed rearward, and it flips violently after hitting the target to increase the lethality.
Of course, this new black powder bullet will eventually be replaced by bullets using new smokeless powder, but thanks to Wang Shiwei's suggestion, the security team's change of equipment was not delayed for long.
Almost at the same time that the security team began to change their uniforms, the Paraguay War in the north also reached its most critical moment. Although the war hundreds of kilometers away seemed to have no impact on Nanhua, even the students in Nanhua School The students also know very well that the expansion of immigrants in Shandong, that is, the Pampas, was entirely due to the fact that Argentina’s military was involved in the Paraguay War and was unable to move eastward. Therefore, Nanhua seized this favorable opportunity and In the past two years, while the railway was being built, immigrant farms were set up.
The expansion of Nanhua in the prairie on the north bank of the North River also directly caused the tension between Nanhua and Argentina to reach the extreme...