What about direct-fire artillery? This is also an indispensable piece of equipment on the battlefield.
As for the direct-fire artillery, Yang Fan plans to imitate the Type 92 infantry gun of the Little Devil. But the caliber will be increased to 75mm.
70mm is such a weird caliber. All infantry guns should be unified to 75mm.
Although Yang Fan's steel is inferior, it is still achievable if the weight does not exceed 250 kilograms.
This kind of gun can be easily disassembled into fifteen components. The heaviest component does not exceed 25 kilograms. It can be carried or carried on the back by manpower, or carried by camels and mules, or pulled by mules and horses.
This can be delegated to the infantry regiment level.
On the current battlefield, there are not many opportunities to use direct-fire artillery.
There is a squadron of artillery at the regiment level, equipped with six guns, which is enough. When civil fortifications are the main task, the Type 92 infantry gun's flat fire is a very fast and effective means of destruction.
The maximum range of the Type 92 infantry gun: 2788 meters. The minimum range: 100 meters.
Yang Fan used maroon black powder as propellant, and the range was 1,500 meters. It was probably not a big problem. At least 1,000 meters would not be a problem at all. After all, the caliber has also increased, the powder chamber is larger, and there are more propellants.
In the future, if gas tank heavy mortars are assigned to frontline troops, they will at least be assigned to direct command at the division level. They may even be placed under the direct control of the corps-level headquarters.
Yang Fan estimates that it will take at least five years to complete the comprehensive research and development of next-generation equipment and complete mass production to the extent that the entire army will be equipped.
In the current five years, smoothbore muskets, flintlocks and single-shot breech-loading rifles are still mainly used. A small number of elite troops are equipped with old sleeves.
Regarding artillery, the bronze Napoleon cannon is estimated to be used for another five years.
First-line infantry battalions mainly rely on lightweight three-pound guns. Infantry regiments and infantry divisions use six-pound guns and 12-pound guns respectively.
The twelve-pounder gun is the largest caliber smoothbore muzzle-loading gun that can be towed and maneuvered on the battlefield by mules and horses.
These bulky Napoleon cannons will continue to be used for several years. At the same time, the newly equipped artillery in the future will use cast steel materials. From now on, new bronze cannons will no longer be cast.
Bronze cannons are not only too expensive, but also heavy. After all, copper is much heavier than iron. Moreover, after saturated use and overheating, the material is too soft and the barrel is prone to expansion and deformation, which seriously affects the accuracy of continuous shooting.
The only advantage is that when the barrel is exploded, there is little threat to the gunner.
These cast steel cannons are at least a quarter lighter than bronze cannons. They are also stronger and can withstand greater chamber pressure. They can be loaded with more propellant and have a longer range.
For the upcoming Battle of Mongolia in the Desert, Yang Fan had no time to redress the infantry and cavalry armies.
He could only think of ways to improve the shooting accuracy of the front-loading smoothbore flintlock gun on ammunition.
That is to use nail bombs.
This kind of bullet is a lead ball with a small nail-like tail. Modern nail bullets are mostly used in hunting activities, and many smoothbore shotguns use nail bullets to improve shooting accuracy.
This type of nail bomb is also a silk-wrapped fixed bomb with a small tail inserted into the propellant. It is a bit like a modern submersible bullet.
This kind of nail bullet can increase the shooting accuracy of smoothbore guns by four times. This can greatly increase the effective range of front-loading smoothbore flintlock guns, from one hundred meters to about 180 meters. It is close to the 200 range of rifled breech-loading guns.
-250 meters effective range.
Since last autumn, the musket ammunition sent to the Komodo front line has been changed to nail rounds.
Whether it is the double-barreled handguns or flintlock rifles that are currently widely equipped, nail bullets are already used.
The front-line smoothbore flintlock guns, whether double-barreled handguns or rifles, all have a caliber of 15 mm.
Ammunition has good versatility and reduces logistical burden.
Yang Fan watched various horse performances on the racecourse for a while and asked Director Li: "Old Li, I remember you are an expert in raising horses, right?"
The first director of the racecourse was Zhang Liang, an old man from Xinghe Iron Works. Later he was replaced by Li Jinquan, a horse breeding expert. Zhang Liang was promoted to the director of the Xincheng Animal Husbandry Department.
Li Jinquan smiled and said: "My family has been raising horses for generations, and I do have some experience in raising horses."
Yang Fan asked: "Currently, I have prepared the latest sorghum varieties for War Horse. This kind of sorghum, which is five meters high and has an overall plant yield of five tons per mu, can be harvested this year. It is specially used to make silage feed. It is high-quality alfalfa.
It will be put into use this fall. Can the current cost of raising horses be reduced?"
Yang Fan's horse farm is a gold-swallowing beast, and the money granted to them every year is astonishing. However, they have indeed achieved results. They have provided a steady stream of war horses, heavy-duty draft horses, and pack horses for the army.
Li Jinquan said seriously: "Horses themselves are actually very precious animals, especially war horses. War horses must not only eat fine forage and alfalfa. Before the war, they must also be fed salt to increase blood pressure. Otherwise, they cannot run. Every day
Every cavalryman has to bring fried soybeans with salt to feed the horses before charging."
"Usually, every once in a while, I have to feed raw eggs and honey water to replenish fat and maintain fat. I also have to fill the war horses with sesame oil twice a year to lubricate and clean the stomach. It's not like you can raise horses with just a piece of grass.
Simple. Even the cattle and horses on the grassland must be fed with salt regularly. Raising horses is not only a technical job, but also a gold sales pit."
Yang Fan nodded. Although he didn't know how to raise horses, he approved money very happily.
He saw raw eggs and honey water in the audit report. Yang Fan has a large-scale chicken farm, and egg freedom has been achieved in the territory. However, honey water is not cheap, and currently it all depends on the wild honey provided by Vladivostok.
We are also cultivating beekeepers in our own territory. There are also a lot of rapeseed flowers here. Beekeeping requires traveling all over the country to catch up with the flowering period. It is really difficult to manage in the chaotic environment of Ming Dynasty.
Yang Fan asked: "I think the wild horses on the grassland can just eat grass. Why can't war horses do that?"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "This is very simple. The use environments of wild horses and war horses are different. Wild horses have 24 hours a day and can use 18 hours to slowly eat grass and chew.
, digestion. Because the nutritional value of forage is very low, it is not easy to digest. You can only slowly replenish nutrients throughout the day."
"But war horses can't do it. War horses have to fight or follow the troops. There is no time to eat grass slowly. They can only eat concentrated feed with high nutritional value. The main thing is to eat grain directly. Why do the horses of the grassland tribes grow fat in autumn?
It’s because the grass has grown seeds in autumn. Grain is actually grass seeds. It’s equivalent to eating grain, a highly nutritious concentrated feed.”
Yang Fan suddenly realized that among the nomads, their horses have the best physical strength in autumn. This is the reason.
"Even for horses doing farm work, they need to be fed at least five kilograms of beans a day when the farming is off. They also need to feed one meal in the middle of the night. Horses will not get fat if they don't eat night grass. If the farming is busy, they need to feed ten kilograms of beans. Three times a day.
Feed immediately. During the two solar terms of Beginning of Spring and Beginning of Autumn, you have to use marmot oil, sesame oil, and eggs to clear your lungs. If you don't take good care of it, it will stretch out as soon as you work. It cannot be used at high intensity. Let alone war horses. War horses are always
For heavy use.”
"How dare you let the war horses out for ten hours to graze during the war. Therefore, during the war, the war horses are directly fed with grain. Sir, the silage feed and alfalfa made from your special sorghum are very nutritious, and can also be used in winter.
Maintain high nutrition. However, these should be included and cannot be missing."
Yang Fan nodded, indicating that he understood.
Yang Fan's cavalry has very majestic horses.
They mainly feed corn and soybeans, and rarely eat grass. Even if they do, they eat silage to supplement vitamins.
In particular, the five-meter-high sorghum, sweet stalks and high-protein alfalfa produced by the modern Chinese Academy of Sciences, which have recently been put into use, will only make Yang Fan's horses in better condition.
However, the eggs, sesame oil, and honey used for maintenance cannot be missing.
Yang Fan lamented that the cost of a cavalryman in the Ming Dynasty was equivalent to sixteen infantrymen. The cost of a cavalryman in Yang Fan was equivalent to thirty infantrymen in the Ming Dynasty. Because his horses were bigger, they ate more, and they were more expensive to maintain.
The 50,000 cavalrymen in the cavalry army are already the largest number of field cavalry he can maintain.
At this time, Su Tongtong, the confidential secretary in his study, came over with a telegram.
Yang Fan picked it up and looked at it, and he was furious. There was something wrong with the grinding table.