Chapter 249 Grenade Test
In terms of manufacturing quality, the fuzes made by naturalized migrant workers are no worse than those made by veterans, and the difference in firing rate is so small that it can be ignored. [No pop-up novel website] It seems that Lin Shenhe's sophisticated approach to simplifying the fuze structure ensures that naturalized migrant workers with low technical levels can produce qualified products.
As for safety, it has been tested that if it falls from a height of 12 meters and hits the ground without pulling out the safety pin, it can ensure that it will not accidentally fire.
However, the ordnance industry team is not simply satisfied with this - in addition to meeting functional requirements, any industrial product also needs to control material costs and organize large-scale production. As a consumable item, fuzes should be as cheap and easy to produce as possible. Although phosphor bronze springs can be produced by oneself, in Lingao's industrial system they are considered "advanced precision parts" and are classified as "secondary controlled materials" by the Planning Institute.
At present, phosphor bronze springs are mainly used in more sophisticated industrial equipment, such as the timers and instruments that Dr. Zhong has been developing with all his heart - its production cost is very high.
It is best to use lower quality and easily available materials instead. Lin Shenhe thought twice and found Zhan Wuya and asked him if he could heat treat wrought iron wire?
"Of course, but what do you do with heat-treated wrought iron wire?" Zhan Wuya was very surprised.
"Making springs - for use in fuses for artillery shells."
Zhan Wuya glanced at him in disbelief: the spring used in the fuse of the artillery shell was a common stumbling block, but now Lin Shenhe actually came and told him to use heat-treated wrought iron wire!
The Industrial Energy Commission produces wrought iron wire of different numbers according to the standards of the old time and space, and the higher-end ones are also galvanized. Wrought iron wire is widely used in the industrial and agricultural production of the Senate. Lingao Telecom's telegraphs are also laid with wrought iron wire. .
Lin Shenhe took out the fuze structure model - it was a proportional cross-sectional model that he commissioned someone from the machinery factory to make. He explained the specific working conditions and principles in detail. Zhan Wuya studied it for a long time and finally agreed to use iron wire. Give it a try.
They chose 20 gauge galvanized wrought iron wire. A special spring rolling machine is used to roll wrought iron wire into springs, and then heat treated.
Lin Shenhe then used testing equipment to conduct comparative tests on wrought iron wire springs and phosphor bronze springs. He himself knew that it was impossible for the two springs to be identical in performance. The result certainly did not surprise him.
"It seems irreplaceable." Zhan Wuya said.
"Let's put it on a cannon and try firing it." Lin Shenhe refused to give up.
Fuze shells equipped with wrought iron wire springs were successfully fired on mortars with strong charges, and their safety and fire rate were no worse than those of phosphor bronze springs. However, the shooting effect on the 70mm cannon was not good, and the spring failed many times - the test of the fuze for high-pressure rifled cannons is much more severe.
Lin Shenhe was satisfied with all the test results and decided to conduct a formal live ammunition firing test.
The black powder columns that were sent to dry have all dried naturally. The last step is to apply alcohol-based shellac paint with a concentration of *% to *% on the surface of the medicine column. It is moisture-proof and prevents cracking and deformation.
Shellac is imported from India and Vietnam and is the secretion of the lac bug. It is widely used in the industrial field. For industrial systems such as Lingao that lack chemical products, the importance of shellac as a natural resin is even more significant.
Weapons enthusiasts in the mechanical department began loading shells. The high-compression black powder column can no longer be simply exploded with a fuse, and an ignition device - a detonator - must be used.
Making detonators is a very dangerous thing. Technically it's not that difficult. The process is to roll the kraft paper into a tube, then fill the detonating charge into the tube with a press, and finally seal it. In the past, in order to reduce the risk, the military industry department rarely manufactured detonators. Explosive weapons based on black powder generally did not require detonators. Detonators were only manufactured in small quantities when Dynamite and ammonium nitrate explosives were used.
There are a small number of detonator shells and safety caps in the warehouse of the First Research Center of the Special Chemical Industry Complex. The detonator casing is made from kraft paper rolls. The interior and exterior were painted with *% alcohol-based shellac paint to protect against moisture. Lin Shenhe personally selected twenty detonators for experimental shells.
Commonly used detonators are divided into single-type and double-type detonators. The single-type detonator is only equipped with mercury fulminant, while the upper part of the double-type detonator is equipped with mercury fulminant and the lower part is equipped with a booster charge - usually TNT or RDX.
Because the chemical industry department cannot produce TNT, the detonators produced by the military industry department in the past were all single-type detonators. This time, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the explosion, Bai Yu suggested making double-type detonators, but Lin Shenhe objected - no matter how capable they are I can't change tnt either.
"You can use the ammonium nitrate explosives in stock. Also, don't we still have the explosives Lando brought?"
"This makes no sense - we don't have the ability to mass-produce any of them yet. We should still test it according to the conditions that can be put into mass production in industry."
It was eventually decided to continue manufacturing single-type detonators. In the detonator workshop, Lin Shenhe carefully loaded the mercury fulminate into the tube shell in several batches, and then lightly compacted it with a press. To ensure safety, he operated while standing behind a thick steel plate. Wearing explosion-proof helmet. Mercury fulminate is extremely sensitive and can easily cause explosions during the suppression process.
After pressing the mercury fulminate powder, he picked up a safety helmet made of galvanized iron sheet, which contained a thin piece of silk and was mounted on the tube shell. Turn the press handle.
According to the technical requirements, the press presses the safety cap into the tube shell with a force of *~*kg per square centimeter. Lin Shenhe checked whether the combination was complete, then used a brush to brush off the powder scattered on the tube shell bit by bit, and carefully collected the scattered mercury fulminate into the waste tank. Finally, dot alcohol shellac paint on the bottom of the tube shell, and a detonator is made.
Then, another detonator test was conducted at the test site. The new detonator used in the artillery shell was equipped with a fuze, and firing tests were conducted in accordance with actual combat requirements to ensure that the firing pin of the fuze could effectively fire the detonator.
The first firing was unsuccessful - the position of the firing pin was incorrect. Jiang Ye adjusted it on the spot, and the second time it was successful immediately. After several consecutive tests, the detonator was fired accurately every time.
Lin Shenhe nodded: "It can be assembled now." He signed the assembly task list and formally ordered the assembly of the grenade equipped with the new fuse.
It was finally time for the new fuze to be officially unveiled. The 70mm rifled gun borrowed last time was still on the shooting range. Lin Shenhe borrowed another 24-pound smoothbore howitzer - there was no mortar, and the mortar was not very useful. Use it instead for now.
"Can conical shells also be fired with smoothbore cannons?" Zhan Wuya asked.
"Of course." Lin Shenhe said, "Mortars don't need to fire spherical shells."
Simple tracks have been laid at the shooting range, and rail cars were used to transport 40 newly produced grenades for two types of artillery: half of each of phosphor bronze springs and No. 20 wrought iron wire springs.
"Load the 24-pound howitzer with A shells one at a time!" Lin Shenhe commanded from inside the bunker with a large tin trumpet. An artillery crew of the army training team responsible for artillery firing quickly opened the rattan shell box, took out the shells, and installed the fuse. A gunner loaded the silk powder bag from the muzzle into the barrel, and the loader then loaded the shell from the muzzle.
The gunner inserted the ignition tube into the tail ignition port and hung up the pulling rope. To ensure safety, the pulling rope was very long and extended to the bunker 20 meters away.
With a whistle, all the gunners ran to the bunker and jumped in. Then, warning sirens for live fire echoed in the sky.
"Launch!" Lin Shenhe roared, then quickly retracted himself into the bunker and put his eyes on the newly built binocular periscope in the optical workshop.
The gunner jerked the matchlock. The 24-pound howitzer let out a roar, and the heavy gun body fell back, spraying thick white smoke. From the periscope, I saw the trajectory of the cannonballs in the air - the muzzle velocity was still a bit low due to the combination of the smoothbore cannon and the maroon powder.
The shell accurately landed in the predetermined impact area, and with a flash of fire, it exploded!
The power of the explosion, even with the naked eye, can be seen to be much stronger than the original spherical black powder grenade - the explosion after the shell hits the ground only creates a burst of black smoke. It also stirs up less soil.
"Let's go take a look." Lin Shenhe quickly climbed out of the bunker, climbed into the agricultural vehicle with Jiang Ye, Wang Ruixiang and several apprentices from the military industry department, and stumbled along the dirt road to the landing area.
The 24-pound grenade left a crater half a man deep in the impact area. There was still smoke curling up, and the pungent smell of black gunpowder filled the air. Lin Shenhe squatted down and fiddled with the soil beside the crater. Several students who were interns at the First Research Institute also quickly dispersed, searching for shell fragments in the surrounding area and marking them on the map.
"You see, the charge is more powerful, and the shells are more shattered than before." He pointed to the shrapnel he picked up.
Not only do the fragments fly farther than before, but the degree of fragmentation is also greater than that of spherical projectiles. In the past, spherical grenades exploded into more than 20 large fragments, and some even exploded into only seven or eight fragments, unable to form dense fragments of damage. Even the most highly charged large-caliber mortar shells could not break out more fragments.
Now, just a simple search found more than 70 shrapnel of various sizes within five meters of the crater. Lin Shenhe pointed out that if the projectile materials can be further improved and prefabricated fragmentation measures are taken, the fragmentation effect after the shell explodes will be much better.
Twenty attempts at firing A-fuzed shells assembled with phosphor bronze springs were successful on both types of artillery. Tests on firing B-fuzed shells were all successful on the 24-pounder smoothbore cannon. On the third firing of the 70mm rifled cannon, , everyone in the shelter felt a flash of fire, a huge muffled sound came from the ground, and the ground shook slightly - the shell exploded in the barrel.
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