Chapter 105 Keeping a Secret

Seeing the silence of everyone who was working, Tesla stood up, walked to the blackboard in the conference room, and said to everyone: "I do have a design to solve the current rapid-fire cannon dilemma."

People in the conference room were immediately attracted to Tesla.

After that, he picked up the chalk, drew the design on the blackboard for demonstration, and explained to everyone: "I actually made changes to Conrad's design."

"Under the barrel of the cannon is a bracket with two hydraulic cylinders; the upper cylinder contains hydraulic oil and the lower cylinder contains compressed gas: a port connecting the two cylinders and a floating piston keep the gas and liquid separated. When the gun When firing, liquid is forced through the port into the second cylinder, compressing the air inside until the recoil energy is exhausted; at this point the gas pushes the floating piston, forcing the liquid back into the first cylinder. This "recoil" pushes the barrel. Return to firing position and prepare for the next shot. The system works so smoothly that the gun essentially stays in place after firing, eliminating the need to re-aim before firing again, which is a huge improvement. The speed of fire."

"If a prototype cannon is manufactured according to this design, I think the disadvantage of hydraulic oil leakage can be overcome."

Chaimiis, director of the Technical Office, asked doubtfully: "Are you sure? The artillery equipment equipped by the Greek army is imminent, and it cannot be delayed any longer."

"According to your design, Mr. Tesla, how long will it take to create a successful prototype cannon?" Constantine knew Tesla quite well. When this man encountered problems early on, he always tried mathematics first. reasoning, and only after the mathematical reasoning proves to work, he will proceed to physical verification.

Therefore, seeing that it was Tesla's design, Constantine could trust it.

"About three months," Skarloey replied.

Constantine and Chamiis exchanged glances, and both nodded.

If possible, the military would still prefer to purchase its own products to promote the domestic steel and machinery industry. Secondly, artillery is really expensive, especially in large quantities.

"Well, after three months, if you still can't produce a sample gun that meets the requirements, the army will have no choice but to purchase it from abroad," Constantine warned.

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Three months later, it’s still a shooting range on the outskirts of Athens.

After successfully manufacturing Tesla's rapid-fire gun sample, Skarloi, who was full of enthusiasm and high spirits, invited a group of Greek military and political leaders to come and watch the test firing of the prototype gun.

After getting permission, under the operation of the gun crew, first a single shot, then a burst of three shots, and then rapid continuous fire.

The sound of "rumble" was continuous. Everyone watching held pocket watches in their hands and moved their lips together to count the number.

After firing 50 rounds continuously, the artillery finally stopped.

Everyone was excited at the moment and looked at the artillery squad leader who came to report from a distance.

"Report, the artillery fired 50 rounds of artillery shells continuously, and no obvious abnormalities were found."

The crowd immediately cheered and congratulated each other.

"What is the rate of fire of this artillery under normal circumstances?" George I couldn't hide the joy on his face and asked the gun squad leader.

"Your Majesty, in the hands of professional artillerymen who have received artillery training, the rate of fire can reach 20 rounds per minute, and the maximum rate of fire can reach 25 rounds," the artillery squad leader replied with a trembling voice.

As an elite member of the Greek artillery, he was exposed to almost all artillery from various countries, but such a fast rate of fire was unheard of.

Artillery commonly equipped in various countries has a rate of fire of about 23 rounds per minute.

"Caveras, come here," Chief of General Staff Emmanuel suddenly said to a soldier about 30 years old in the distance.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, this is the Director of the Intelligence Division of the General Staff Headquarters," Chamiis said, pointing to the soldiers walking over.

"From today onwards, this artillery is the top secret of the Greek army. No one is allowed to have access to the rapid-fire gun without the presence of intelligence personnel, especially the hydraulic system of the gun," Emmanuel told Tsaveras. ordered.

"Can't our artillery do the same?" asked the artillery squad leader beside him.

"Even your artillerymen are not allowed to disassemble the artillery. Only the Intelligence Department personnel have this right," Emmanuel said solemnly.

It is conceivable that if other countries knew that Greece had such a rapid-fire gun with a firing rate ten times that of ordinary artillery, they would definitely try their best to figure out the secret of this artillery.

The biggest secret of this artillery is its floating piston, because it is sealed and can prevent liquid and air from mixing.

Constantine understood Emmanuel's eagerness to preserve the technology of the Greek army.

"The operating manual of this gun can add this article: When the piston is removed from the gun body, even these officers are not allowed to see the structure of the piston itself," Constantine also agreed.

"Captain Chavelas, since you are the head of the intelligence department, the first task of your intelligence department is to keep the secret of this artillery."

In order to keep the secret of the 75mm rapid-fire gun and the secret of the gun's internal structure, various internal regulations have been issued.

Only specific artillery repair and maintenance personnel can perform repair and maintenance tasks, and they must be supervised by officers when they work.

"Mr. Tesla, congratulations on another outstanding invention," Constantine said, looking at the equally excited Tesla.

"But I hope you can understand that in order to keep the secret that this cannon is unparalleled and enough to drive the armies of various countries crazy, don't introduce this special piston structure in various scientific journals in the near future," Constantine said with a guilty conscience.

In order to keep this secret for the Greek army on the expected battlefield, Constantine intends to block all possible leaks without leaving any loopholes.

"Mr. Skarloy, when can your machinery factory put this rapid-fire cannon into production?" Constantine asked Skarloy, the head of the machinery factory.

George I and Emmanuil also looked at Skarloy.

"If the army needs it, the machinery factory can produce it now," Skarloy was also very proud at this time.

Even though he was a manager who was born as a technician, Skarloy could understand that the performance of this cannon produced by his own factory was so powerful that it would attract the attention of various countries.

With this invention alone, the machinery factory he led would be recorded in the history of military technology. How could he not feel proud of it?

"Produce 20 guns as soon as possible and send them to the army for technical verification," Emmanuel said happily.

As the brain of the Greek army, there have been a lot of good things recently.