Chapter 196 Border Area Weapons Experimental Research Bureau
Busy time always passes quickly, and before we know it, it is already December 1st.
Huang He's new laboratory was completed yesterday. In order to provide a good working environment for researchers, Director Li specially arranged an engineering team to be stationed near Gaoqiao Town.
New buildings of this era do not need to release formaldehyde. After various facilities and equipment are in place, comrades can move in directly to start scientific research.
The laboratory covers an area of 17 acres and is located in the west of the border area.
There are not only a variety of machine tools and power supply systems here, but also all the advanced equipment in the border area.
As the director said, Huang He was transferred from the Military Industry Bureau by his superiors.
The name of the new department is the Border Area Weapons Experimental Research Bureau, which has three departments under it. The position of the director naturally fell to Huang.
Huang He is responsible for all matters of the first department, and the current topic is to study rockets and individual anti-tank weapons.
The leader of the second department is Shan Wenbao, and all aircraft designs and experiments are carried out here.
It is worth mentioning that the second in command of this department is a ruthless person. He came to the border area last month, and in just a few days, he impressed all the researchers with his rich theoretical knowledge and strong hands-on ability.
He graduated from the Department of Aeronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and worked in Chicago's Xishi Aircraft Factory, Detroit's Voagesi Aircraft Factory, and Kansas's American Eagle Aircraft Factory.
Since he had a strong interest in aircraft since he was a child, during the time he worked in the Ugly Country, he used his salary and factory waste to design and produce a two-wing two-seat trainer.
At present, under the leadership of the two, the department mainly develops three levels of trainers, namely primary, intermediate and advanced, to contribute to the future air force of the border area.
Most of the comrades in the third department came from the Military Industry Bureau. Their work is based on French weapons to develop new infantry weapons that are more in line with our army's usage habits and tactics.
On the first day of moving into the new department, the director rarely put down his work and came to congratulate. Looking at the energetic comrades, he pulled Huang He's arm and said with a smile:
"You see, I said that you would have to work alone sooner or later. You have been a leader for more than a month since you came back. I worked as a deputy director for three years before I was promoted. Your speed is really outrageous."
"But then again, how is your research project going? When can you produce results? The new department has been established, and you, as the director, must set a good example for the comrades."
In fact, the director was just joking. As a scientific researcher, he certainly knew that every project was not easy.
Especially for a brand-new weapon, it often takes a lot of theoretical deductions and experiments to finalize.
But this matter is not difficult for Huang He. After all, he stands on the shoulders of giants and has a lot of experience from later generations to refer to.
Maybe the research progress of Katyusha rocket launchers and V2 rockets is a bit slow, but it is not difficult to develop a single-soldier anti-tank weapon under the current conditions.
Looking at the director eating melons on the side, Huang He showed his big white teeth and gave a Li Yunlong-style devilish smile.
"Hehe, or we get along well, this time our ideas coincide again. Give me five days, and I will hand in a satisfactory answer sheet to everyone."
"Just wait and see, our Military Industry Bureau doesn't keep idle people."
"Okay!"
————
At nine o'clock in the morning on December 5, Huang He made an appointment with the director to watch the test firing of the new weapon.
After recording the last set of data, he and Wang Dexing each carried a weapon box and went straight to the parking lot from the office.
Considering safety issues, the Weapon Experiment Research Bureau is more than 30 kilometers away from the border area, and it takes half an hour to drive there.
The new weapon Huang He made this time is a copy of the Type 56 40mm rocket launcher equipped by the PLA in later generations.
In the original plan, he wanted to develop a Type 69 40mm rocket launcher that uses double-base propellant and can be propelled in two stages. After all, the materials and technology in the bureau barely meet the standards, and it can be made in theory.
In the future, it will be combined with a 107mm rocket launcher to equip the world's most proficient guerrilla warfare troops with guerrilla weapons, which seems very reasonable.
But considering the working hours, production difficulty and commemorative significance, Huang He decided to develop the old version of 40 fire first.
This is also due to the awakening of the brave tiger system. The original infantry technology in the game includes anti-tank rifles and anti-tank rocket launchers.
It may be because the Gallic chickens did not develop such weapons during World War II. Most of their soldiers in North Africa used bazookas assisted by the ugly country.
As a result, Huang He can only research and produce by himself, and even the 40 fire cannot be fed back to the system, and cannot be mass-produced through the military factories in the system, and he has to work harder in vain.
After arriving at the shooting range, the two saw the director who was a little tired at a glance. There were also several backbones of the military industry bureau beside him waiting for today's test firing.
The comrades have more or less heard about Huang He's research field, but unfortunately due to the limitations of the times, everyone only has a general concept of rockets.
After all, the earliest tube to appear in World War II was the bazooka, which made its debut in the North African battlefield a year later.
Seeing that today's protagonist had entered the scene, the director trotted over and took the weapon box from Huang He's hand, and then carefully took out a one-meter-long hollow tube from it.
Although it is a brand new weapon, it is not difficult to tell that this part is the launcher through the grip and trigger of the front half.
Since the border area has a variety of new weapons, the comrades' views and requirements on weapons have changed.
In the past, the requirements for infantry light weapons were very simple, just being able to spray bullets to hit the devils. Now that life has improved, everyone has begun to pursue suppression of the enemy.
The view on artillery is similar. People in the Military Industry Bureau prefer large-caliber weapons. Although the transportation problem has not been solved, who doesn't want to be a happy bomber?
After groping for half a minute, the director looked at Huang He with a suspicious look, and the first question he asked was a soul-piercing interrogation.
"Is this the new weapon you developed? Why are you getting smaller and smaller?"
"I estimate that the caliber is at most 40 mm. From the appearance, it looks a bit like an extended version of a grenade launcher. Come and introduce it quickly. I can't see what's the point."
In fact, it's okay to say that the new weapon looks like a grenade launcher. After all, the Type 56 40mm rocket launcher is copied from the Russian RPG-2.
The RPG-2 is an improvement on the Panzerfaust PzT 250. They all rely on the combustion of gunpowder to push out the warhead. From the time of launch to the time of hitting the target, the warhead has no power.
In principle, it is indeed the same as mortars and grenade launchers, and is essentially different from the subsequent version of the Type 69 40mm rocket launcher that uses rocket boost.
However, this does not hinder its power. This weapon is definitely the best solution for infantry anti-armor at the moment.
Hearing the word "smaller and smaller", Huang He shook his head helplessly. He ignored the other party's ridicule and started to introduce the weapon to the comrades present.
"You can call it a grenade launcher, but I still think the rocket launcher is more domineering. This weapon is not a complete version for the time being, and there will be an upgraded version in the future."
"The principle of the weapon is very simple, which is to use the reaction impulse of the jet gas after the combustion of gunpowder to provide the warhead with kinetic energy for flight."
After saying this, he took out the warhead from another box.
"This thing fires 82mm super-caliber rockets, so don't say I'm small. Its armor-piercing effect is 200mm within a distance of 100-150 meters."
"After the front-line troops are equipped with 40 rockets, even if a lone infantryman encounters the Japanese armored vehicles and tanks, there are ways to deal with them."
"Even if facing an armored train, you can fire a few shots at the front of the train, and the effect is excellent."
Although most of the comrades present have not been on the battlefield much, their years of experience in developing weapons have made them understand what the soldiers want very well.
After a short study, they believe that this weapon is very suitable for the current fighting style of the troops.
The lying firing position is extremely concealed, whether in guerrilla warfare or siege warfare, it can bring great surprises to the Japanese.
The rocket launcher is only more than one meter long with a warhead and weighs less than five kilograms. This powerful mobility can be fully delegated to the squad.
The chief and deputy shooters can carry it and run, and it is not a problem to hit a turret or something.
Everyone even saw the beautiful scene of soldiers riding bicycles and carrying rocket launchers, taking down a group of bunkers and artillery towers in one night.
Thinking of this, the director was excited, and he pulled Huang He's arm to the shooting position.
"Okay, stop talking nonsense! Let's try one shot quickly, let's open our eyes and see the specific power of the new weapon."
Huang He nodded, he opened the ammunition box, and took out an 82mm rocket from it. Then he took the 40 fire handed over from the back and put it directly on his shoulder.
Because it was a rushed product, this rocket launcher used a simple folding mechanical sight consisting of a front sight and a rear sight.
There are three square frame slots for observation on the rear sight, which are used to aim at targets at 50 meters, 100 meters and 150 meters respectively.
After slightly adjusting the angle, Huang He loaded the bullet from the front end, then opened the trigger safety, pressed the hammer to adjust the 40 fire to the ready state.
"I'm going to shoot. You guys stay a little further away. Don't get too close."
After everyone dispersed, he adjusted his breathing and aimed the weapon in his hand at the human-shaped target and sandbags more than 130 meters away. After completing the aiming, he immediately pulled the trigger.
The flange on the trigger lifted the sear to release the hammer, and the hammer hit the firing pin under the action of the hammer spring, and the firing pin hit the primer of the shell.
The propellant ignited and the armor-piercing shell was successfully launched.
A flash of fire appeared at the tail of the rocket launcher, and the shell at the front suddenly rushed out. Drawing a visible trajectory in the air, the armor-piercing shell flew towards the human-shaped target and sandbags in the distance.
Boom!
A deafening explosion sounded, and the target and sandbags in the distance were blown up.
Such a big noise, even if the comrades of the Military Industry Bureau were mentally prepared, they were still shocked.
The theorem of smoke without damage does not apply to modern weapons. When the smoke and dust dissipated, the target was already a mess.
Now that everyone has seen the power of the new weapon up close, they have reached a consensus. Even the reinforced concrete bunkers and turrets should not be able to withstand the continuous attacks of the rocket launcher.
Huang He was very satisfied with the reaction of the crowd. He was very confident in the new weapon he developed. After pulling the trigger, he did it like a real man who never looked back at the explosion.
"How is it, Lao Zeng? Is the power of this rocket launcher okay? Can it meet your old man's standards?"
The corner of the director's mouth twitched. When he heard the word "super-caliber", he expected someone to show off.
According to his experience, the effect of this armor-piercing shell is definitely not less than that of the 82mm mortar.
"What kind of explosives did you use? How can it be so powerful? And the accuracy of this rocket launcher is too high. The trajectory just now was almost straight."
"Ah, of course it is a mixture of RDX and TNT. There are 420 grams in one warhead."
The chemical industry capacity of the border area is much stronger than that of the Eighth Route Army Logistics Department. The grenades in Shanxi Province are still using nitrostarch and nitroglycerin.
But in October this year, the border area already had the ability to produce RDX and TNT. Although the output is not high, it is definitely enough to make rocket launchers.
As for the accuracy, it is not bad because six elastic steel tails are welded to the tail of the rocket.
They are usually wound on the tail tube, and the tail hoop will slip when loading from the front end of the barrel. After firing, it flies away from the barrel, and the tail bounces off to ensure the stable flight of the projectile.
Theoretically, an experienced soldier uses 40 fire, and the standard deviation within a range of 100m is only 0.5×0.4m.
Just as everyone was preparing to test fire the second round, a middle-aged man walked into the shooting range. He was just walking nearby and was attracted by the strange sound of artillery.
"Haha, why are there so many people today? Are you testing some new weapons? The noise just now was quite loud. I heard it from hundreds of meters away."
"A new type of cannon? Gallic goods? Let me see."
After hearing the sound, everyone turned around and saw that the person who came was the Army Morale Wizard. Huang He saluted first, and then handed the rocket launcher in his hand to the boss.
When he was young, he often led the guard platoon to charge into battle with a flower machine gun. On weekdays, he likes to study new weapons the most. Today, when he saw the 40 fire, he had the urge to fire a few rounds.
After testing three rounds in a row, the Army Morale Wizard clapped his hands with satisfaction.
"This weapon is very suitable for our grassroots soldiers. If we can ensure the production, the success rate of our operations in Shanxi Province next year will definitely increase by 10%."
"You study it and see when it can be mass-produced. Submit a report to me in a few days."
After the boss left, the director's face immediately became worse. He complained to Huang He with a sad face:
"Hey, this work is really getting more and more. Originally, a group of people from the Military Industry Bureau were assigned by you, and now there is another big job! Send me the drawings as soon as possible and send a few more researchers!"
"Is there another 50mm mortar at the end of this month? I will be exhausted to death by you sooner or later!"