Chapter 309 John Moses Browning
The cabinet meeting emphasized the development of Australasia in all aspects, and the cabinet fiscal budget for the new year also increased by nearly 20 million Australian dollars.
This also means that if the fiscal revenue growth in the new year is not large, then Australasia may face fiscal losses again.
However, the fiscal budget of 20 million Australian dollars has been used where it should be used, so Arthur does not feel bad at all.
After all, spending 20 million Australian dollars at this time is better than spending several times more after the war, when prices soar and supplies are in short supply.
In particular, the advance preparation of medical supplies is very important for Australasia and future layout in Europe. The profit that these medical supplies can earn is enough for Arthur to prepare for it in advance.
Of course, in addition to the plans made at the cabinet meeting, Arthur also has a lot of preparations in private, such as the guest he is going to meet next.
The name of this guest is John Moses Browning, an American living in Belgium.
Of course, John Moses Browning also has a well-known identity, that is, the expert in developing the Browning M1910 dual-purpose automatic pistol.
This small pistol has a glorious history, with nearly 1 million produced in history.
Of course, the assassin Princip, who assassinated Archduke Ferdinand, used this pistol in the Sarajevo incident that shocked the world and even triggered the First World War.
Browning is not as famous now as he will be in the future. The weapons he produces, in addition to the breech-loading single-shot rifle designed decades ago, are only Browning series automatic pistols.
But Arthur knew that this famous light weapons design expert also studied various automatic rifles, light machine guns, heavy machine guns and automatic pistols in the future, making a significant contribution to the light weapons of the United States.
Before Browning's name resounded throughout the United States, it was also the best time to dig him to Australasia.
The good news is that because the automatic smoothbore rifle produced by Browning in 1897 was rejected by Winchester, Browning went to the Herstal National Arsenal in Belgium in a rage and became the chief designer of the Belgian National Arsenal.
Australasia has some difficulties in competing with the United States, but it is no problem to compete with Belgium.
After Arthur proposed two conditions: inviting Browning to become the chief expert of light weapons at the Royal Australasia Ordnance Factory and allowing Browning to design and produce his own weapons while helping the ordnance factory with weapons research, Browning was very tempted to come to Australasia.
After all, the reason why Browning went to Belgium was entirely because his talents could not be well demonstrated in the United States.
American companies did not believe in Browning's technology, which made Browning go to Belgium, a small European country, in a fit of anger.
But the problem is that even if Belgium is willing to produce Browning's firearms, the ordnance factory's business is limited, and the competitiveness of the Belgian ordnance factory is completely inferior to that of the British and German ordnance factories.
What's more, under these two major powers, there are also arsenals of European powers such as France, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Russia competing for the market, which also led to Belgium's production orders being very few, and naturally there would not be too much funding for Browning to use for research.
But Australasia was different. The people sent by Arthur vowed that as long as Browning was willing to become the chief expert of light weapons at the Royal Arsenal of Australasia, his research funding would be unlimited.
And the Royal Arsenal would help Browning produce the weapons he researched on the premise of producing existing weapons and equipment, and strive to sell the weapons Browning researched to the world.
You know, the arms trade between Russia and Australasia is not confidential, and Browning naturally knew about this arms purchase treaty.
This also means that the weapons produced in Australasia have a market at the international level, and the guns designed by Browning can also be better developed in the Royal Arsenal.
After thinking about it, Browning finally decided to agree to go to Australasia, first to go to the Royal Arsenal for a field visit, and second to see if what Arthur said was true.
On January 2, 1912, at Sydney Palace, Arthur finally met this famous ordnance expert.
Browning is now over 50 years old, but his eyes still look bright and energetic, and he seems to be full of energy.
After meeting Arthur, Browning asked excitedly whether he could start work the next day.
Yes, before being summoned by Arthur, Browning had already visited the Royal Arsenal, and the response he got was that the scale and expert reserves of the Royal Arsenal had completely exceeded Browning's expectations.
Browning was also looking forward to working in such a large military factory, and he couldn't wait to get involved in the research and development of weapons.
Arthur smiled. What Australasia lacked at present was a motivated talent like Browning.
But there was no rush for work. Arthur gave Browning nine days of vacation, plus seven days of National Day holiday, which added up to more than half a month, for Browning to solve problems outside of work.
After the National Day holiday, he officially started working to research and produce more light weapons for Australasia.
"Mr. Browning, do you have any suggestions for the semi-automatic pistols and submachine guns of the Royal Arsenal?" After talking about work, Arthur looked at Browning and started some small talk.
Browning was, after all, a well-known expert in the design of small arms, and although the Australasian light weapon had Arthur's vision, it was very difficult to realize.
Especially in terms of pistols, the only pistol in Australasia is the AS-1898 semi-automatic pistol developed and produced by the Royal Ordnance Factory in 1898. Compared with the automatic pistols popular in other powers, it has long been outdated.
Arthur's expectation for Browning is to develop the latest automatic pistol as soon as possible based on AS-1898 and equip the Australasian army and police with this pistol.
"Your Majesty, the current pistol design of the Royal Ordnance Factory has lagged behind the times. It is already the era of automatic pistols. Give me three months, I will improve the pistols currently owned by the Royal Ordnance Factory and design a brand new one. Automatic pistol." Browning thought carefully for a while and then said with a slight frown.
In fact, Browning does have this confidence.
Although currently not well-known in other weapons, Browning is considered one of the world's top design experts in pistol design.
The M series automatic pistols designed by Browning, whether it is the M11911, are among the most advanced automatic pistols in the world.
The M1911, in particular, has become the standard pistol of the U.S. military and has been equipped in large numbers to troops in the United States.
It is worth mentioning that, unlike the Browning M1910 automatic pistol, the full name of M1911 is Colt M1911 automatic pistol.
Although the designer of the M1911 pistol was Browning himself, it was the Colt Company, a competitor of Browning's company, that produced the pistol.
The Colt Company bought the patent rights for this pistol and named the pistol the Colt M1911 pistol. It won the favor of the US military and successfully became the standard pistol of the US military.
Historically, this pistol has been equipped with the U.S. military for 70 years. After the United States re-selected guns in 1985, the M1911 withdrew from the stage of the U.S. military’s intellectual weapons.
This also shows that the performance of the pistol designed by Browning is powerful enough to equip the United States, the most powerful country in the world, for 70 years after World War II.
Winning Browning to come to Australasia will not only improve Australasia's design capabilities in small arms, but also weaken the United States' design capabilities in small arms.
As one goes and the other goes, the gap between the two countries will always get closer, which is why Arthur attaches great importance to attracting talents in the United States and Europe.
Australasia attracts more talents at this time, and accordingly, the United States absorbs fewer talents after the war.
What's more, when the time comes, the United States' competitors in absorbing talents will also be Australasia, and the United States will definitely develop worse than it has historically.
Arthur nodded, having no doubts about the three months proposed by Browning.
After all, 13 years have passed since the development of AS-1898. This is an outdated pistol.
For a small arms expert like Browning, it is not impossible to improve a new pistol in three months.
"As for the Kassadin submachine gun from the Royal Ordnance Factory," Browning said about the Kassadin submachine gun, a hint of admiration and surprise flashed in his eyes, and he said sincerely: "The design of this weapon, which is different from that of a rifle, is very Advanced, I’m very much looking forward to meeting and working with the researchers of the Kassadin submachine gun.”
Perhaps because of the sympathy between talents, Browning was very curious about the submachine gun designer he had never met, and at the same time he admired his talent in weapons.
Arthur smiled and said: "That's for sure. You should be able to see Kassadin after the National Day holiday. Speaking of which, submachine guns are also small weapons, and you and Kassadin are both experts in small arms." Research experts should be able to come up with good topics.”
Although the Kassadin submachine gun owned by Australasia is already very advanced, Arthur does not mind having a more advanced submachine gun.
If Browning also has some unique insights into submachine guns, it will also be good for the development of submachine guns.
"Of course, improvements in pistols are also important. But as the chief expert on small arms at the Royal Ordnance Factory, you can have your own independent research laboratory and office. In addition to the series of weapons currently owned by the Royal Ordnance Factory, I am also looking forward to seeing Mr. Browning for your own weapon design. I believe that in addition to pistols, you are also a rare talent in other weapons." Arthur said with a smile.
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