Chapter 385 New Firearms

"Mortar? It's a bit like a bucket. Read М"

In the Arms Department, Wang Ying carefully looked at the short, thick artillery on the blueprint.

"Well, you can say that. I don't need to teach you how to make it, right?" Zhao Xu said.

The technology required for the mortar is not high.

Having personally developed artillery, Wang Ying found that making a mortar was just like a middle school student doing elementary school questions.

"I can handle it." Wang Ying had confidence on his face.

The height of this mortar is only about 60 centimeters, the muzzle is about 150 millimeters, and the wall is 5 centimeters thick.

There is a hole at the tail end, which is the ignition hole.

The entire gun body is fixed on an iron plate.

It is estimated to weigh about 100 kilograms, and two soldiers can carry it.

Zhao Xu nodded, turned a page, and pointed to the second page.

"Also, the mortar shells are different from the solid shells of artillery. They are hollow, and the principle is similar to firecrackers." Zhao Xu said.

Smoothbore can not use hollow shells.

The high chamber pressure of the strong explosion will damage the hollow bullet in the barrel.

So a special bullet must be configured.

He would not let Wang Ying figure it out on his own. After all, the situation in Dasong is complicated now, and there is not so much time to waste.

Especially on weapons related to war.

Wang Ying stared at the pattern on the drawing. Like solid bullets, the shells of mortars are also spherical.

However, the inside of the sphere is required to be hollow, but there is a hole as thick as a finger on the sphere.

Then he saw that the King of Yan also drew something like a cork.

The complete shrapnel shell is to insert the cork into this hole.

"Your Highness, what is the use of this cork? It seems to be the key to this kind of shell." Wang Ying asked.

Zhao Xu looked relieved. Wang Ying could still see something.

He said, "This kind of shell is called a shrapnel shell. Just like the fuse is needed to ignite the gunpowder in the barrel, this shrapnel shell also needs a fuse."

"However, how can we ensure that this shrapnel shell explodes at the required position?" Wang Ying asked in confusion, and then he suddenly realized, "I understand, this cork is..."

Zhao Xu laughed, "Yes, "There is a small hole in the middle of this cork, and the fuse can be inserted. If the explosion time needs to be short, push the cork in a little bit, if the explosion time is long, pull the cork out a little bit, so as to control the length of the fuse."

Wang Ying understood, "I see."

Zhao Xu continued, "However, the distance at which the cork can explode after pulling out or inserting the cork still needs to be tested, and then the results can be engraved on the corks produced. "

After a pause, he said, "For example, if the cork explodes at a distance of 100 meters, it needs to be inserted one centimeter. Write this down and mark it when manufacturing the corks in the future to form a standard. In this way, the artillery battlefield can directly control the explosion distance according to the mark."

Wang Ying nodded frequently, "I understand. "

Zhao Xu exhaled lightly. This is the cork fuze.

Compared to a long fuze directly on the shell, it is more reliable to use scissors to cut the fuse when fighting and rely on the soldiers to judge the distance by feeling.

In short, this is a fool-proof method, and the error is much greater than that of the soldiers cutting it themselves.

This type of fuze appeared in the late eighteenth century and was used in the primitive howitzers at that time.

However, since black gunpowder was still in use at that time, the shrapnel shells were not powerful enough and did not attract attention.

After explaining the matter, Zhao Xu returned to the palace.

In just over nine days, Wang Ying built the first mortar, along with several hollow shells and corks.

This mortar was transported to the artillery training ground, and Zhao Xu ordered Chang Wei to bring the artillery generals to visit.

After all, this will be one of the artillery they will use in the future.

"Why is the muzzle of this artillery facing the sky? Is it going to shoot the shells into the sky and then drop them to kill people? "An artillery commander thought he was very humorous and laughed out loud.

Turning around, he saw that everyone else was pursing their lips, and he suddenly shut up.

"Tang Qing, you are laughing so happily, come, you come and load the shells and fire the cannons yourself." Zhao Xu waved to Tang Qing.

This Tang Qing was an artillery lieutenant, in charge of the artillery under the command of the captain, and in charge of 72 cannons.

In the military school, he often saw him, but he was a bit nonsense.

"Yes, Your Highness." Tang Qing moved to the mortar under the gloating eyes of other generals.

Looking at the shells on the ground, he didn't know how to use it, so he looked at Zhao Xu.

"Can you tell me what this cannon is used for?" Zhao Xu ignored him and asked first.

Tang Qing scratched his head and looked at the mortar from front to back, and then observed the shells, and hesitated: "It seems to be able to hit the enemy hiding behind the wall."

"You are right, now loading the shells, the order is the same as that of the cannon. "Zhao Xu said.

Tang Qing followed his instructions to clean the barrel, fill the gunpowder, and finally load the shells, and then ignite the fuse.

"Boom!"

After a thunderous sound, the shell flew out.

After flying a hundred meters, the shell fell.

But at this time, there was another "boom", and the shell exploded in the air, flashing a ball of flames and smoke.

The generals had a very calm expression, but they trembled slightly when they saw this scene.

The ball of fire in the air is much bigger than a firecracker.

"This is a blooming bomb, which is many times more powerful than a firecracker. If you put a marble like a flintlock bullet in it, it can kill or injure a small group of enemies." Zhao Xu explained, "Put lime in it, it is a lime bomb. This explosion can at least form a lime dance in a range of ten meters, causing trouble for the enemy infantry and cavalry. "

The power of the bomb lies in the performance of the gunpowder.

Even in modern times, the research and development of high-energy gunpowder has never stopped, and they are all pursuing the same volume and greater power.

In the period when smoothbore guns and mortars coexisted, the power of smoothbore guns was better than that of mortars.

The reason is that the explosion of black gunpowder is not powerful, at most it is just a large firecracker.

However, what he wants is not how powerful the mortar is.

But its function is different from that of smoothbore guns.

The difference between fighter jets and helicopters.

"So it can be done this way." Tang Qing's eyes lit up.

The firecrackers in the hands of soldiers are only thirty or forty meters, and this thing can be used to throw lime bombs directly on the battlefield.

"Your Highness, what is the maximum range of this mortar?" Chang Wei and other generals naturally realized the important role of the mortar and asked hurriedly.

"This still needs to be measured, but it will not exceed 500 meters." Zhao Xu gave Wang Ying a look.

Wang Ying understood and immediately changed the largest medicine bag and pulled the wooden cork to the longest.

"Boom!" Another test shot.

This time the noise was louder than the first time. The shell flew out very far, drawing a long parabola, and finally landed at a position of more than 400 meters, rolling for several meters before exploding.

The craftsman immediately measured the distance and came back and said, "Your Highness, about 462 meters."

Zhao Xu nodded. This was the maximum distance, after all, the largest medicine bag was replaced.

"Enough." Chang Wei laughed, "This distance is more than enough to torment the enemy."

Then he held Wang Ying's hand, "Master Wang, build a hundred or eighty guns for the army as soon as possible."

Wang Ying looked disgusted, but still nodded.