As for the equipment, this is something to consider. Zhou Wen combined the experience of two lives, plus he was originally an international mercenary, and he had seen and heard a lot.
The first is mountain artillery. Considering that the main combat environment in the future will basically be mountainous areas, those that are too heavy and have too large a caliber are not suitable. It is best to have an artillery that is easy to disassemble and can carry individual parts by manpower, has a range of more than five kilometers, and can shoot both in a straight and indirect direction.
At that time, domestic imitation mountain cannons were first eliminated by Zhou Wen. There was no way, let alone accuracy and range, the weight was daunting. Even the Type 94 mountain gun, which was developed by Japan four years later, has the lightest component of nearly 60 kilograms, making it basically impossible to move it over long distances by manpower.
During this period, there was only one little-known mountain cannon that met Zhou Wen's requirements. That is the French Schneider 1928 75mm SEL "Light Mountain Cannon", also called an infantry gun.
The most significant advantage of the SEL infantry gun is its range. The SEL barrel has to consider weight and other factors. The length is as short as 710 mm (9.4 times). When using a normal charge (weak charge), the muzzle velocity is 175m/s, and the maximum range is 2560 meters, which is roughly the same as a general rifle howitzer. However, SEL uses a strong charge, which can achieve a muzzle velocity of 300m/s and a range of up to 6,000 meters!
A 75mm light gun with a barrel of only 9.4 times can actually hit 6,000 meters. Schneider's strong charge shooting was the most powerful technology at the time. Moreover, the two kinds of charges can also ensure the accuracy of SEL when shooting at various distances. Later actual combat proved that the accuracy of SEL is no less than that of a flat-firing gun.
However, the design miracle of SEL has just begun. A deflection infantry howitzer that was almost destined to only be able to shoot low-power artillery shells was actually designed by Schneider to be an anti-tank gun that can shoot tanks!
Combat defense artillery emphasizes high muzzle velocity and very low trajectory in order to exert its penetrating power through armor. Therefore, the gun body of the combat anti-aircraft gun must be long and the ballistic trajectory must be low. The design requirements are exactly the opposite of those of the infantry howitzer. No matter how clever the designer is, it is impossible to launch a high muzzle velocity armor-piercing projectile with a short barrel of 9.4 times. So the designers spread their thinking. Since you can't use a 9.4 times shorter barrel to hit a tank, then change the barrel.
Schneider adopted the "double barrel" concept that was very popular at the time. The same gun mount and breech block are prepared with two barrels of different calibers and functions. In battle, two barrels that can be quickly replaced are equivalent to giving the artillery two completely different functions. So Schneider designers added a slender 24.7x 47mm barrel to the SEL to become a part-time anti-tank gun.
In terms of surface muzzle velocity alone, the SEL with a 47mm barrel is only a barely qualified anti-tank gun. At that time, the anti-tank guns of various countries had a muzzle velocity as high as about 700 meters per second, so that the shells could accumulate kinetic energy that could penetrate armor. However, the muzzle velocity of SEL is only 600m/s, and it is used to penetrate armor-piercing projectiles. I am afraid there is no way to effectively penetrate the armor of a tank.
The reason for the poor muzzle velocity of the SEL is easy to speculate. The barrels of the double barrels use the same breech block. The weight of the breech block of the rifle howitzer must be controlled, and the strength and tightness are bound to be inferior to that of a specialized anti-tank gun. Moreover, the decomposable gun mount is fixed with cylindrical bolts and cannot withstand too much recoil. Therefore, the propellant of the 47mm barrel cannot be too strong, and the muzzle velocity is not as good as that of ordinary anti-tank guns. In order to reduce recoil, the SEL's 45mm barrel even uses Schneider's supreme masterpiece muzzle brake. The muzzle brake back then was still the latest technology.
Schneider's designers did not succumb to the breech block's inherent limitations, however. If the muzzle velocity of 600m/s cannot exert the power of armor-piercing bullets, then throw away the armor-piercing bullets and let the 45mm barrel fire brand-new armor-piercing bullets!
Therefore, SEL's anti-tank artillery shells are "semi-explosive armor-piercing shells" that can "break steel armor", which are also known as conical charge armor-piercing shells today. This is another advanced weapon in the world. Ultra-new technology. With the latest armor-breaking bullets, no tank of the year could withstand the power of SEL.
The armor-piercing projectile enables SEL to completely break through the limits of infantry howitzers. Infantry howitzers are all high-elevation angle-firing cannons. Although various countries want infantry howitzers to have a flat-firing function, the results of various attempts are not ideal. Take Japan's famous Type 92 infantry gun as an example. The function of Type 92 is theoretically capable of both horizontal and curved fire. The Japanese used the method of incrementally increasing the muzzle velocity and lowering the ballistics by adding four modified charge packs. However, even if all four projectile charge packs were used with full charge, the muzzle velocity of the Type 92 could only reach 197m/s. , it may be okay to build a brick house, but there is nothing you can do when encountering a chariot.
However, these top technologies can only be regarded as SEL’s gimmicks. SEL's human mobility concept is the supreme and outstanding feature of this amazing gun.
Infantry artillery must be very lightweight to accompany infantry in combat on any terrain. During this period, the total installed weight of Germany's lightest mountain gun was only 440 kilograms, and the total installed weight of Belgium's was 243 kilograms (slightly increased to 275 kilograms when the anti-tank 47mm barrel was used). The later Japanese Type 92 infantry gun The weight is incredibly light, only 204 kilograms, and it doesn't look like a cannon.
Secondly, to be closely integrated with the infantry, the infantry artillery must get rid of the mules and horses. Only artillery that can be transported directly by manpower can closely follow the footsteps of infantry on the battlefield, climb over rugged hills, and sneak into bomb craters and trenches. Therefore, most infantry guns can be equipped with human harnesses to allow soldiers to tow the guns. However, towed guns still have limitations. For example, how to tow a cannon when climbing an attached mountain wall using both hands and feet?
As a result, Schneider launched the ultimate concept of human mobility: a super lightweight gun that can be carried on people's backs.
The total deployed weight of the SEL is 345 kilograms (slightly increased to 361 kilograms by using a 47mm barrel). Compared with ultra-light infantry cannons such as the Type 92 infantry cannon, the weight is not outstanding, but thanks to Schneider's delicate Due to the arrangement, the SEL's 345 kg has become the lightest 345 kg. Because SEL can be broken down into 12 parts, and each part weighs only about 35 kilograms, which is incredible.
What's even more exciting is SEL's human-powered rack. The carrying frame is an iron frame that fixes the gun parts to the saddle. Its shape is tailor-made according to the shape of the gun parts. Schneider designers applied the carrying rack to soldiers. The least strenuous way to transport the human body is to carry cargo on your back, so Schneider carefully built a human-powered carrying rack.
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Note: Many of the data descriptions in this chapter and the next chapter are recorded in Mr. Huo Anzhi's article "The Perfect Mountain Cannon for Anti-Japanese War Artillery - Schneider's 1928 75mm SEL "Light Mountain Cannon"".
