Chapter 62 Grenade
However, even a simplified version of a wooden handle grenade requires a modern chemical industry as a basis for raw materials. [No pop-up novel website] Therefore, even though the manufacturing process is simple, the personnel of the weapons design team did not put it into the production plan. Instead, they waited until the chemical industry began to take shape and three acids and two alkali were put into production before they were included in the agenda.
Several different chemicals are needed to make grenades.
Black powder is used as the explosive, mercury fulminate is used as the detonator priming agent, potassium chlorate is used as the pulling agent, and red phosphorus is used as the friction agent.
Black powder and fulminant were among the first to be addressed by the chemical industry. Red phosphorus was quickly solved after obtaining the struvite supply on Dongsha Island - the matches produced by the Ministry of Light Industry were based on the solution of red phosphorus.
The last thing to solve is potassium chlorate.
Potassium chlorate itself can be used as an explosive after being mixed with organic matter. It was widely used during the Great Leap Forward. However, this explosive is extremely unstable and easy to burn, and has limited military use. If the Ministry of Chemical Industry wants to put this kind of thing into production, it will not only solve the problem of gunpowder for grenades, but also solve the uses of civilian explosives.
The manufacture of potassium chlorate is not difficult, provided there is sufficient power supply and chemicals that can remove other ions in the crystallization mother liquor, and it can be produced in batches. It is similar to the production of caustic soda by electrolyzing table salt and is produced using electrolytic salt solution. It's just that the electrolytic solution used in potassium chlorate is an acidic solution. It is necessary to add hydrochloric acid and red vitriol in advance. The mother liquor after electrolysis also needs to be mixed with soda ash, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid and other chemicals to neutralize and eliminate various impurities before crystallizing potassium chlorate.
Because potassium chlorate itself is a sensitive chemical. Ji Tuisi, who was in charge of the project, and others set up the workshop in an open space with no surroundings. No wooden structure is used inside the factory - potassium chlorate can easily react with wood and other organic matter and burn itself. Today's factories and equipment have improved a lot compared to those used to produce caustic soda by electrolyzing salt, and there is no longer much of an "earthy" smell. Special equipment manufactured by various mechanical departments gradually replaced the makeshift substitutes.
The annual production scale of the potassium chlorate workshop designed and built according to the ready-made drawings is 175 tons. After completion, it will not only meet the needs of the military industry, but also meet some civilian needs. Although Chuan Chuan Group's current production capacity could expand its potassium chlorate production capacity to 300 tons or even 500 tons, it would not be a problem, but Ji Tuisi and Xu Yingjie both felt that this was not necessary. In terms of explosives, their next step would be to use more powerful explosives. Picric acid and tnt are marching in. Things like potassium chlorate are better used as gunpowder.
With the availability of potassium chlorate, military factories can manufacture flame tubes in batches. With the fire hose, soldiers no longer need to wrap a match rope when using grenades and explosive bags, and artillerymen no longer need to hold a ignition pole to fight. Originally, the Army had a lot of complaints about the equipment of the grenadiers, because whether they were carrying rough grenades or slowly burning match ropes, they made people feel a great sense of insecurity - in fact, Grenadiers also had many training accidents. So much so that the most daring soldier could not serve as a grenadier.
The Lingao version of the fire tube uses locally produced thin bamboo tubes, which are cut into a certain size and one section must be knotted. The bamboo tubes are drilled at the remaining joints and then dried. Then install the fire wire and flash cap inside. The flash cap is made of hard paper, loaded with gunpowder, and the firing line is coated with friction powder. In addition to potassium chlorate, gunpowder must be mixed with other materials in proportions. Lin Shenhe chose the glass powder. Both of these things can now be manufactured by the Traveling Group. As for friction medicine, it is made from red phosphorus mixed with glass powder in a certain proportion.
Install a fire handle on the top of the fire wire and the entire fire pipe is completed. The first batch of fifty fire tubes manufactured were tested one by one. None failed, all lit the fuse.
"There won't be many problems with this thing. It just depends on the quality of the fuse. If it burns suddenly fast and sometimes slowly, it won't work." Panda said, "In the past, the fuse of grenades was exposed outside when blasting. , you can tell if it burns quickly or slowly. Now it’s hidden in the wooden handle and can’t be seen at all.”
"The quality problem of the fuse has been solved long ago." Xu Yingjie said, "Don't you feel anything when you are blasting?"
Panda chuckled: "To be honest, your fuse still has problems with quality control. It's not perfect."
Jiang Ye is responsible for the manufacture of grenades. In order to simplify the process and save steel, the grenade body is made of cast iron casing. Prefabricated fragments are cast into the shell. Each cartridge case holds about a pound of black powder. It can also be loaded with other explosives, leaving room for upgrades.
This black powder charge can only be regarded as a "small offensive grenade" in modern warfare, but in ancient times, the blasting effect of throwing such an iron thing was appalling enough.
The wooden handle is made of ordinary miscellaneous wood - in theory, birch is the best, but traversers rarely have this kind of wood, so they use other woods with fine texture instead. Hailin at the woodwork factory first asked workers to cut the dried wood into round wooden rods with a diameter of *cm and a length of *cm, then turned them into spring handles on a foot-operated wood lathe, and then drilled them out with an auger. Fire tube.
The last process is to steam the spring handle with paraffin. This process is to prevent moisture return. Once the handle becomes wet, the fuse will fail and the grenade will be useless.
"In the long run, wooden-handled grenades are not the way to go. The production process is complex, heavy, and has less explosive charge. After our pyrotechnics equipment and machining capabilities have improved, it will be better to switch to egg-shaped grenades." Lin Shenhe Looking at the first batch of cartridge handles coming out of the wood processing factory and the cartridge cases coming out of the foundry.
"Is this batch of reloading still black powder?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Yes, black powder grenades can eliminate the need to load detonators. They can be detonated directly with a detonator. Besides, we don't have suitable safety explosives available." Lin Shenhe was a little regretful. If the same cartridge case can be loaded with TNT or even ammonium nitrate explosive, the killing effect will be much better.
He casually inspected several cartridge cases: the thickness of the cartridge cases was evenly cast, and even the three screw holes at the lower end of the cartridge cases were beautifully made. I couldn’t help but praise:
"Did you make this beautiful bullet case?"
"Haha, it was made by an old caster. How is the craftsmanship?" Jiang Ye said, "This kind of old craftsman is very skilled, coupled with our modern technology and equipment. It is even more powerful for them."
"It would be nice if they could be this beautiful when mass-produced. These are consumables. Two for one infantryman, that's eight thousand."
"Zhan Wuya is considering how to design a production line for cartridge case casting. By then, it will not be a problem to produce 10,000 cartridge cases a month."
"Now I'm going to load the projectile. Look carefully." Lin Shenhe said to the weapons design and industry personnel present, "I have loaded old-fashioned black powder shells in the United States..."
"This is not the same thing." When Bai Yu heard this, he quickly came out to stop him, "I'll do it. At least I know how to pretend."
"I also know the contents of the book. But you must have never loaded black powder with your own hands."
Lin Shenhe pulled the rope on the wall three times. The indigenous watchman outside immediately struck a rapid gong sound, and then hung three red lanterns outside the weapons design laboratory - this was to warn everyone that they were currently in a "very dangerous" state.
Everyone else in the house took shelter in the bomb-proof room next door. The walls have observations inlaid with thick tempered glass.
"Everyone safe?"
"Safety"
"I'm starting." Lin Shenhe took a deep breath and walked slowly towards the table. In fact, this job is not very dangerous, but he has developed an attitude of treating all explosives and pyrotechnics with caution. These things can kill you anytime, anywhere.
A cast-iron cartridge case had been fastened to the wooden table. Lin Shenhe opened a pack of black powder wrapped in wax paper and poured it into a copper plate. He then used a wooden spoon to slowly load the fine black powder into the cartridge case through the paper funnel, pounding it firmly with a wooden stick while loading.
Finally, he used a wooden stick to press out the detonator chamber. Then he connected the draw cord and draw tube. Pick up a bullet handle and put the fire-pull device into the bullet handle. One section leads to the fire-pulling rope, and the other section exposes a section of the fire-pulling tube.
In order to fix the fire into the handle, Lin Shenhe stuffed pieces of paper into the gaps. Then use a small spoon to pour in the melted asphalt. After cooling, the spring handle is completed.
Finally, he installed the cartridge case on a screw press with a steel shield, and slowly pressed the cartridge handle into the cartridge case. Then secure the two together with three screws.
Finally, he applied a layer of asphalt to the joint.
That's it. Lin Shenhe finally sighed and said.
During formal production, moisture-proof wax paper must be pasted on it, and the grenade cover must be screwed on. Now it is purely a test product, so these are no longer needed.
"It's too slow to assemble..." Jiang Ye said.
"During actual production, of course the spring handle must be manufactured in a separate workshop." Bai Yu said, "It can only be put together when the finished product is assembled. Once you are proficient, the assembly speed will not be slow."
"How's the killing effect?"
"It's very poor." Lin Shenhe said, "A grenade made according to this size, even if it is loaded with TNT, can only be regarded as an offensive grenade in the eyes of the US military. The TNT charge of 26a1 is three times that. At the time, North Korea The U.S. military on the battlefield simply calls the wooden handle grenade a shock grenade. Now it goes without saying that we use black powder."
When the grenades were transported to the shooting range, a grenadier squad was already on standby here under the leadership of You Huhu.
Lin Shenhe first randomly detonated several grenades on the spot and tested the delay: the delay of this grenade was about 4 to 5 seconds. Then, the live ammunition throwing test began.
Although the grenadiers have never been equipped with wooden handle grenades, it is common to throw them with training bombs. So there is no need to retrain and start throwing live ammunition directly.
In order to fully demonstrate to them the difference of this new weapon, Youhuo threw two first. Both detonated accurately. Then, it was switched to grenadiers, each throwing five.
Fifty-one of the sixty pre-production grenades detonated and nine failed. The success rate is quite high. An average grenadier can throw grenades 60 meters away in a standing position. This distance is almost the effective range of the matchlock gun.
When I think about the enemy's arquebusiers being hit by countless grenades as soon as they reach the effective shooting range, no matter who is involved, I'm afraid they will collapse.
In terms of killing power, it is a bit lackluster, with an effective killing distance of less than 10 meters. Moreover, the crushing degree of the cast iron cartridge case is not ideal - the explosive power of black powder is still too weak.
"It's already very good. At least it was broken into pieces and didn't explode in two." Bai Yu said, "Our military industry level is much better than the old military industry in the base area. And the enemy is based on intensive troops. If we attack on foot, the killing effect will not be too bad."
This kind of grenade was put into official production with the number of Type 5 bomb. The teaching team began to conduct grenade throwing training for all the officers of the Sixth Army and the grenadiers of each infantry battalion. For the time being, grenades are only equipped to grenadiers. Once the batch is large, they will be equipped to all 6 armies.
Lin Shenhe immediately asked someone to buy a batch of paper flame tubes. This kind of flame tubes were prepared for artillery.
"With this, artillerymen no longer need match ropes and ignition rods." Lin Shenhe told Zhang Bolin, "Just plug the fire tube into the ignition hole, connect the match rope and pull it."
Although this is not a huge improvement, it is still a small improvement. But Lin Shenhe's mission is not over yet. He is also responsible for conducting a comprehensive inspection and improvement of the field artillery units of the Sixth Army - especially improvements in ammunition.
Because the war was approaching, He Ming had ordered the immediate deployment of some personnel and equipment from the artillery training team to build three new field artillery companies to cooperate with the infantry operations. Two of them were 12-pounder cannon batteries and one was a 24-pounder howitzer battery.
According to Lin Shenhe's suggestion, the artillery training team was organized according to the establishment of the US military during the Civil War. The four standard artillery pieces originally equipped by the Sixth Army were also reduced to three types. The 6-pounder Type 1841 gun was quickly eliminated in actual training. The artillerymen found that the maximum range of this 1841 gun was only 1400 meters, but its weight reached two-thirds of that of the 1857, and the shells it fired were only half as heavy as the latter.
Such a weapon with poor cost-effectiveness is unpopular in a time travel group that values standardization and economy. The artillery of the 6th Army quickly eliminated all 1841. Now the 1857-type 12-pound cannon has become the absolute main artillery equipment.
Half of the personnel of the three newly formed artillery companies were drawn from the artillery training team and half from the infantry.
Judging from the artillery production capacity of the Crossing Group, it is not a problem to equip 20 artillery batteries, but the number of horses and trained gunners is not enough. Not only are only 3 companies formed, but each company is also equipped with only 4 artillery pieces - normally it should be Create 6 cannons.
Each company is divided into three platoons. Two of the platoons are artillery platoons, each consisting of 2 artillery pieces and 40 people. The third row is the "conveyor row", which is also the so-called "replacing animals and losing soldiers". The third platoon is a large platoon with over 100 people. It is composed entirely of infantry and is used to pull cannons during the march. During battle, it serves as a cover force for the artillery company. It can also be used to help the artillery reset and move. It can also serve as an ammunition hand when necessary.
According to the establishment of the Union Army during the Civil War, each artillery company must have at least 110 horses. Now it is replaced with 100 soldiers. Obviously, the transportation capacity is not the same. Even if all personnel are equipped with Zidian modified trolleys, the carrying capacity of a trolley is always limited. Zhang Bolin said: If there are no horses to transport ammunition, the artillery company will have to increase the number of "animals and soldiers" by 200 people.
Fortunately, the Crossing Group has mechanized transportation. Since this time is a "national war", I will no longer begrudge the motorcycle hours. The Planning Institute temporarily strengthened two four-wheel-drive agricultural vehicles for each artillery company to carry the heaviest ammunition. According to the establishment of the Union Army during the Civil War, each gun had to prepare 200 shells.
Agricultural vehicles and human-pulled Napoleon cannons were the strange equipment of the Fubo Army's field artillery company.
The field artillery battery's 12-pounder Napoleon gun had been partially improved by the Ministry of Machinery Industry. Originally, Jiang Ye and others wanted to install a simple retraction device - for the gunner who set up the retreating gun, resetting and re-aiming the gun after firing was very physically demanding. But after testing several options, we found that the material limitations were too great. So Jiang Ye and others had no choice but to do the next best thing and add steering gear.
The Napoleon gun only had a simple elevation device and no direction adjustment device. When the shooting direction needs to be changed, it can only be solved by moving the gun mount. This is definitely not an easy job for a gun that weighs nearly half a ton. If there is a steering machine - even if it can only be adjusted at a small angle, it will be a great advantage in actual combat.
This improvement finally succeeded after a series of experiments, at the cost of an increase in the weight of the gun. In order to reduce the overall gun weight. Jiang Ye cooperated with vehicle factories Li Chiqi and Jiang Muzhi to build a new gun mount.
"I don't think we need to be too retro and fashionable, and use all wooden frames - the strength of wood itself is limited, and the materials used to ensure the gun frame are strong and durable must be thicker. I remember that we deliberately used dense hardwood at that time." Jiang Muzhi studied the cannon for a long time Mount, "How about switching to an all-metal gun mount? This can significantly reduce weight."
"Do you still use wooden wheels for wheels?"
"We will use wooden wheels for the time being - we don't have rubber. But the axles are equipped with ball bearings. Now even the trolleys use ball bearings. There is no reason why our artillery carts don't use them." Jiang Muzhi said, "This way the artillery cart can be towed more easily. many."
After the improved materials, the total weight of the gun mount was controlled within half a ton even with the addition of a steering gear.
The 12-pound cannon installed with a new gun mount was immediately tested on the shooting range - it was proved that the steering gear was effective, but the steering gear lacked a direction locking device, and the barrel would deflect under the recoil when shooting. Then a 5o kilometer march test was conducted. The new gun mount performed better than the old gun mount in terms of flexibility and towing performance, but inferior ball bearings resulted in several mid-stream repairs. a! ~!
