Lin Shenhe raised his telescope and looked at the floating boat in the distance. When the shooting angle increased to 10 degrees, the splash point of the cannonball was not far away from the furthest five-kilometer ranging ship. This was still using black powder.
, if a propellant mixed with nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin could be used, the distance would probably be even greater.
"It's a pity that the fire control level is so poor." Li Yunxing sighed regretfully. Relying on visual aiming and gun meter calculations to hit moving point targets on the sea, a 5% hit rate at this distance is considered a good rp.
.The biggest contradiction encountered by the Weapons Research Institute in artillery is that the range of the artillery that can be manufactured greatly exceeds the fire control level.
"Add a scope to the cannon." Bai Yu said jokingly.
"I would like to, but there is no suitable mirror. When will the industrial sector be able to produce optical glass and make direct sights?"
"It has always been impossible in recent years. We still rely on calculations, making tables of shooting numbers and solving equations. It will always be useful for the gunner to memorize them."
"But this cannon is really powerful!" Wang Ruixiang affectionately caressed the polished green cast steel cannon, "It's quite thick!"
"The Planning Commission only allowed us to cast two such 150-meter cannons." Lin Shenhe felt somewhat regretful. "To defend the entire Bopu, two cannons are not enough. We have to cast more smoothbore cannons."
"I think it would be better to cast a few less cannons. It would be a waste to cast too many miscellaneous cannons. We can't just satisfy this elementary level." Bai Yu said. He had formally studied weapon making and lacked enthusiasm for these old-fashioned cannons.
"You're right, but it's a pity that there are still too few cannons. If Bopu is to be turned into a fortress, these cannons are not enough." Ying Yu shook his head. As an artillery commander, he belongs to a cross-branch army. He has artillerymen from both the navy and the army.
Training is conducted in the artillery company, and he is responsible for the firepower arrangement of the fort in the Bopu fortification project. "With these two, there are only six cannons that can be installed in the fort area. What use are these?"
"It is not difficult to cast new cannons, but we should standardize the cannons. It is too random now and the standards are a bit confusing: there are standard calibers and standard bullet weights. It is too difficult to store ammunition." Li Yunxing suggested.
"Of course, all personnel must be equipped with rifled guns." Ying Yu looked down upon smoothbore guns. "The army can use imitation Japanese 92 infantry guns plus mortars. The navy can use 70mm or 100mm breech-loading rifled guns."
Lin Shenhe found a clean stone and sat down: "According to our current industrial capacity, let's do it step by step. For the new military artillery, the army will still use smoothbore artillery for the time being - the army needs a large number of artillery and high frequency of use.
Our existing materials are a bit poor, and our ammunition manufacturing capabilities are weak. Smoothbore cannons do not have high requirements for these things and are simple to manufacture. It will not hurt if they are lost. The divisions are based on traditional bullet weights. I think 6 pounds, 12
Four pounder cannons, 12-pounder mountain howitzers, and 24-pounder howitzers are enough."
"Don't you need a mortar?"
"That's pretty much what the 24-pound howitzer means." Lin Shenhe said, "As for the cannon used in siege, it is a special type and is not included in the regular equipment."
Wang Ruixiang thought of the killer weapon of the infantry: "When talking about mortars, I thought of using mortars."
Lin Shenhe said: "The technology is not difficult. The main problem is the ammunition - the fuze. If you don't have a reliable fuze, don't do this."
Lin Shenhe continued, "As for the navy, breech-mounted rifled guns, at least rifled guns, are a trend - the number of warships that the industrial sector can provide is small, and it is not easy to train qualified sailors. Ships and people are valuable, so try to use them as much as possible
A rifled gun with a long range and great damage can at least protect itself when encountering a strong enemy."
"I agree with this. Equipment still depends on our industrial capabilities and the level of the enemy. There is no need to be too far ahead. Too much advancement will take up more resources and have an impact on industrial upgrading." Li Yunxing said.
"Let's go back to the headquarters."
Everyone got off the gun emplacement and returned to the fortress headquarters. The newly completed fortress headquarters was located on the top of Pujiao Beacon Tower, in the same place as the heavy artillery emplacement. This building is over 25 meters high and has a 45-degree angle.
The artificial hill with a steep slope was transformed into the main support point of the entire thin-paved fortress area. In addition to the original lookout posts and searchlights, the fortress headquarters, soldier dormitories, ammunition depots and many other buildings were added to it.
In order to transport numerous building materials and heavy cannons to the beacon tower, the construction company dug a winch slideway on the hillside and used an electric winch to pull the cargo bucket to the top of the beacon tower, which completely solved the transportation problem. In the end, this
The winch lane was expanded into a covered and hidden tunnel. In addition to transporting people and materials, telephone lines and power lines that were originally vulnerable to damage in the open air were also moved to the inside of the tunnel.
Barbed wire was erected and trenches were dug along the top platform. The navy stationed a marine platoon here, including a gunner squad and two infantry squads.
Corresponding reinforcements were made to the Bopu camp at the foot of the beacon tower, including upgrading all the original simple wooden lookout towers into masonry structure turrets. The mechanical department cast a batch of 12-pound howitzers for these turrets, and they were installed on
On the old-fashioned naval gun mount, a pulley block is used to buffer the recoil. The shells fired are mainly shotgun shells, which are mainly used as machine guns.
Next to the trestle leading to Fengcheng Lun, a four-story fort with masonry and cement structure was built. A 32-pound cannon and a 12-pound mountain howitzer were installed on the fort. A platoon is usually stationed on the fort.
Finally, there is the Fengcheng Ship itself. Its tall body can also play a role similar to the Bobu beacon in the port. The ship itself has multiple sets of searchlights. It is very useful as a fort. Moreover, the Fengcheng Ship itself is extremely valuable.
Installing artillery on it is a matter of killing two birds with one stone. Another 150mm cannon is installed on the front deck of Fengcheng - they both use the anti-recoil device recently developed by Lin Shenhe, and the artillery can be maneuvered manually
.
In order to strengthen the protection of Fengcheng itself, the Executive Committee has issued the "Fengcheng Management Regulations". All unused cabins must be locked. Except for those that need to be opened regularly for ventilation, all portholes must be closed and locked. All ships are movable.
All tools, furniture, accessories and other items must be registered and not used at will. The gangway for getting on and off the ship must be put away before dark every day.
In addition to these supporting points, a fort and navigation light were built on the high corner - a fort was built here during the Westernization Movement of the Qing Dynasty.
"You can also make a batch of mines to block all blind spots. Basically, the port area is impregnable." Li Yunxing said: "For safety reasons, it is best to use visual electric mines."
"Wires, wires." Lin Shenhe said, "Wires are first-class materials. If you use them to make mines, the Governor will eat you alive."
"No way, haven't the wires been trial-produced a long time ago?" Li Yunxing had already seen this news from the internal communication issued by the Works Energy Commission at Lingao Telecom.
"Are you safe if the enameled wire is soaked in sea water?"
"Enameled wire?" Li Yunxing was disappointed. But on second thought, he was right. The insulating materials for modern telecommunications are either plastic or rubber. Neither of these two things exist here and now, and humans cannot create them out of thin air.
Lin Shenhe said: "It should be possible to build a fixed anchor mine."
The anchor mine itself does not have much technical content. Judging from the level of the time travel industry: the mine body is made by casting method, and black powder is used for filling. The explosive power of 30kg of black powder is enough to destroy any ship in this time and space. There is a certain gap left in the mine body.
As a buoyancy reserve, the anchor chain used to moor the mine body can be made of iron. If this is not possible, it can also be fixed to the seabed with a strong cable and an iron anchor.
The slightly more difficult thing is the fuze. In order to ensure that the impact is effective, multiple fuzes need to be set on the anchor mine, which must be cheap and easy to obtain, and the fire must be reliable. The people in the weapons team decided to start working on the anchor mine after finishing the artillery manufacturing work.
of manufacturing.
"To be honest, if the situation is not critical, it would be better not to deploy this anchor mine, as the consequences will be endless." Chen Haiyang, who was looking at the deployment map with them in the headquarters, said, "This thing will go missing once it is deployed.
There is no place to look for it, and it is troublesome and laborious to clean it up, and the effect is not good."
He sighed: "It just so happens that this mine is very durable. A mine ship from fifty or sixty years ago could explode even if it collided with it. Mines are still being cleared at the Yangtze Estuary channel - the remaining mines laid by GMD during the Anti-Japanese War are still there.
"
"I guarantee that the mines we make will never last for fifty or sixty years, and will definitely fail in a few years at most." Lin Shenhe said jokingly.
While we were discussing the plan for fortification and listening to the sentry report, Li Haiping arrived.
Chen Haiyang frowned as he looked at the application sent by Li Haiping. Although it was almost certain that the Executive Committee would receive Li Huamei, he was unable to reply to the wishes made by the following grassroots officers.
"Guns must not be given." Chen Haiyang said, "Don't say that I don't have the power. The executive committee has to discuss the matter of giving firearms to the indigenous people. Your wish is beyond the scope."
Li Haiping said anxiously: "When people train us sailors, they must give us benefits."
"There are many benefits, why do you have to make up your mind on guns?" Chen Haiyang said, "I can't make the decision on this matter. I will report it to you during the meeting. How to decide depends on the executive committee."
"Isn't this too bureaucratic? We are in urgent need of friends now! It's okay to go visit the Fengcheng Ship, right? Instead of entering the cabin, just walk around on the deck."
"Whether we are friends or not is not something that our Navy has to deal with. Also, if you apply to take her to visit the Fengcheng Ship, this matter must be approved by the Executive Committee."
"Damn, what is this-"
At this time, the phone rang. Chen Haiyang picked up the phone, said "yes" several times, and then explained Li Haiping's application again:
"Yes, that Li Huamei's attitude seems to have changed, so - eh? Yes, yes, okay. I understand!" He hung up the phone and said to Li Haiping:
"You're lucky. The executive committee agrees that you take her on board the ship for a visit, but you can't enter the cabin! The executive committee has a task that requires her cooperation."