According to Sokov's idea, even if he provided relatively complete drawings, it would take at least a day or two for Bazarov and the others to build a prototype gun. Unexpectedly, early the next morning, Yakov banged the door loudly outside. As soon as he saw Sokov opening the door, he said excitedly: "Misha, the prototype gun has been built, let's set off now. Bar!"
Hearing that a prototype gun was built so quickly, Sokov was quite surprised: "What, a prototype gun was built so quickly?"
"That's right," Yakov nodded and replied, "It was the director of the factory, Nikolayevich, who personally called me and said that Chief Engineer Bazarov and more than 20 skilled workers were working overnight. Made by working overtime.”
Although the prototype gun has been built, Sokov is still not interested because the bullets used in this assault rifle are not yet available. If a gun has no bullets, it is no different from a fire stick. So after he waited for Yakov to finish speaking, he still stood there and turned the topic to the study of rocket propulsion systems: "Yakov, what progress has the Kurk engineers made?"
Sokov's words stunned Yakov for a while, then he remembered that he was talking about rockets, and asked tentatively: "Are you talking about rockets?" After Sokov nodded in affirmation, he continued, " There won't be any results if there are no ten days and a half months at Kurt's place, so let's go to the machinery factory first."
Seeing that Yakov repeatedly proposed to go to the machinery factory, Sokov could no longer object. After all, the new rifle that the other party wanted to see was "designed" by him. It would be unjustifiable if he, the designer, did not go.
As soon as the jeep they were riding in arrived in front of the factory building, Sokov saw Nikolayevich standing at the door through the car window. As soon as the car stopped, the factory director, who managed tens of thousands of workers, jogged all the way to the car, took the initiative to open the car door for Sokov, and said politely: "Major Sokov, welcome to our Come to the factory.”
After Yakov got off the car from the other side, he walked around from the back of the car in front of Nikolayevich and asked: "Comrade Factory Director, where is Comrade Chief Engineer?"
"Captain Yakov," Nikolayevich turned to Yakov and said, "Comrade Chief Engineer is waiting for us at the gun test range. Let's get in the car!"
Sokov was about to turn around and get in the car, but was stopped by Nikolayevich, who said politely: "Major Sokov, the car is over there." After saying that, he parked next to the factory building. He pointed to a jeep without a roof and said, "Let's take that car to the gun test range."
After Nikolayevich said this, Sokov immediately understood that the test gun range in the machinery factory was an important place, and outside vehicles were not allowed to enter casually, so he and Yakov got into the jeep.
Surrounding the test range is a two-meter-high wall, probably to prevent people from climbing over, with broken glass stuck on top. The militiamen guarding the door saw the factory director's jeep approaching and quickly opened the large iron door. Then they stood by the door and raised their hands to their foreheads in salute.
As soon as he drove through the gate, Sokov heard a crisp sound of gunfire. Before he could ask, Nikolayevich said first, "Listen, Comrade Chief Engineer can't wait any longer and has already started test firing."
"What, start test firing?" When Sokov heard what Nikolayevich said, he couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Comrade director, so you have even produced bullets?"
"Comrade Major, why are you so stubborn?" Nikolayevich turned to look at Sokov and said with a smile: "If there are no bullets, how can you test fire?"
"But, but," what happened in front of him was beyond Sokov's imagination. He asked with some confusion: "Our army currently does not have the bullets that this new rifle can use?"
After the jeep stopped in front of a row of bungalows, Nikolayevich jumped out of the car first, turned to Sokov and said: "Although our army does not have new bullets, we can make them. Don't forget, we can It is not a bad thing for us for a machinery factory that is responsible for military production to process a new type of bullet. Besides, you have already told the chief engineer the parameters of the bullet. He only needs to tell the technical staff these data. , such a bullet can be produced.”
Nikolayevich led Sokov and the others around the bungalow to the gun test platform. Seeing the happy Bazarov, he smiled and asked: "Comrade Chief Engineer, how is the situation?"
"How can I put it, Comrade Factory Director, this gun is really great!" Bazarov took the assault rifle from the hand of the gun tester, handed it to Nikolayevich, and said: "After Our test firing has preliminarily confirmed that this new weapon has the fierce firepower of a submachine gun and is close to the power of a rifle. After a few more basic tests, it can be considered for mass production."
When Bazarov said this, Yakov stood aside and listened carefully. After the other party finished speaking, he immediately interjected and asked: "Comrade Chief Engineer, this new rifle really has what you said. Is that good?"
"Yes, Comrade Captain." Bazarov turned to look at Sokov and said excitedly: "If this rifle can be equipped with troops as soon as possible, it will greatly improve the combat effectiveness of our army. Therefore, I We would like to conduct a series of tests as soon as possible to verify the performance and suitability of this rifle.”
"Comrade Chief Engineer," Sokov stared at the familiar assault rifle in Bazarov's hand and asked, "Have you discovered any design flaws with this rifle?"
"No." In response to Sokov's question, Bazarov shook his head and said, "At least I didn't find any problems in the first few rounds of test firings."
"Comrade Chief Engineer," the gun tester standing nearby said hesitantly after hearing what Bazarov said: "Can I talk about my feelings about this weapon?"
"Say it!" Nikolayevich cast an encouraging look at the other party: "You are a gun tester and you know the situation of firearms best. You may be able to discover many tasks that we have ignored."
"To be honest, the shooting performance of this new rifle is very good. When targeting targets at a distance of fifty to two hundred meters, the accuracy is very high." The test gunner said cautiously: "But when shooting continuously, The muzzle jump is serious, which affects the shooting accuracy."
The gun tester's words made Bazarov's smile freeze on his face. He turned to face the gun tester and asked seriously: "Since you discovered these defects when you tested the gun, why didn't you report them to me in time?" Report?"
"Comrade Chief Engineer," the scolded gun tester replied in a panic: "During the second set of shooting data tests, I used the remaining ten bullets to fire a continuous fire. I didn't test again after that, and I don't know. Is this situation representative?"
"Comrade Chief Engineer," seeing that Bazarov was about to criticize the test gunners again, Sokov quickly changed the subject: "I want to know, how many sets of shooting tests do you conduct?"
"Four groups of shooting tests were conducted." Bazarov stretched out four fingers and said: "We used a curved magazine with a capacity of 30 bullets to supply ammunition. Four groups equals 120 rounds of bullets."
Sokov originally thought that even if Bazarov and the others produced intermediate-power bullets, they would not be in large numbers. Unexpectedly, they actually fired four magazines and quickly asked: "How many bullets do you have left?"
"There are still six magazines." This time it was Nikolayevich who answered the question. He said with some excitement: "The chief engineer and his colleagues have produced a total of 300 rounds of intermediate-power ammunition, so that we can pass ten groups. Data testing to determine the advantages and disadvantages of this new rifle."
Sokov knew very well in his heart that the situation mentioned by the gun tester was indeed a problem with the AK47 assault rifle. Not to mention now, even in future generations, it cannot be effectively improved. For this reason, he specially reminded Nikolayevich and Bazarov: "I think the situation mentioned by the gun tester comrade should exist. But I think this is just the existence of this rifle. Despite its minor flaws, it will become the future standard weapon of our army with its reliable performance and powerful power."
Neither Nikolayevich nor Bazarov took a position on Sokov's statement. Only Yakov, who was standing next to him, felt that Sokov's words were a bit bragging. He coughed hurriedly and said: "Misha, whether this new rifle can become the standard weapon of our army in the future, you have no say in this. Nikolayevich and Bazarov need to decide. .”
Unexpectedly, after Yakov finished speaking, Bazarov actually took the initiative to speak for Sokov: "Captain Yakov, your statement is wrong. According to my feelings about this new rifle, what the major said is , is entirely possible.”
Bazarov's statement surprised everyone except Sokov. It is inevitable that a new weapon that has just produced a prototype gun and fired more than a hundred rounds will become the standard weapon of the army in the future. Isn’t it a bit fanciful?
Although there are still many follow-up tests, Sokov already knows very well in his heart that it is only a matter of time before the assault rifle is installed in the army, but before that, he should first do some to enrich his army. Therefore, he took the factory director and engineer to the side and whispered to them: "Comrade factory director and chief engineer, I have something to say to you privately."
"Please tell me, Major Sokov." Nikolayevich said: "If you have any requests, just put them forward. As long as they are within our capabilities, we will definitely meet your requests."
"I want fifty of these new rifles before mid-April." Sokov looked at the two men and asked tentatively: "I wonder if you can supply it to me?"
"There are difficulties, Major Sokov." Nikolayevich sighed and said: "Although today's test shows that the performance of this gun is good, it still needs to conduct a series of tests and report it to the weapon Equipment Department. Only after obtaining the license can it be put into formal production."
"Comrade Factory Director, I know that this testing process will be very long." Sokov looked at Nikolayevich and said: "But as a designer, I have confidence in this new rifle, so I still ask you to manufacture it." In the name of prototype guns, produce fifty new rifles for me."
Sokov's request gave Nikolayevich a headache, so he refused intentionally because the man standing in front of him was the designer of this new rifle; agreeing to his request seemed to violate the relevant regulations. Just when Nikolayevich was in a dilemma, Yakov asked: "Misha, I want to ask, why do you want a batch of new rifles privately?"
"Yakov, you should know that after a long battle, our battalion has suffered a very serious troop attrition." Sokov felt that if he wanted to convince Nikolayevich, he must first convince Yakov. After all, he It was a representative sent by Ustinov. As long as the representative of the Ministry of Weapons and Equipment agreed, Nikolayevich would be able to agree to his request. Therefore, he worked hard to find suitable reasons to persuade Yakov: "When it is temporarily impossible to obtain reinforcements from superior soldiers, Under such circumstances, I can only maintain the combat effectiveness of the troops by increasing the power of firearms."
I don’t know whether Yakov was persuaded by Sokov, or he was worried that Sokov’s troops would suffer losses in the upcoming battle of Kharkov, so he hesitated for a moment and said to Nikolayevich: “Factory Comrade Commander, since Major Sokov has requested fifty new rifles, you will be responsible for providing him with the necessary weapons and supporting ammunition. As for Comrade Ustinov, I will explain it myself."
Now that Yakov has expressed his agreement, Nikolayevich has no reason to object. He turned to face Bazarov and asked: "Comrade Chief Engineer, how long will it take you to produce fifty rifles?"
"Two days at most." Bazarov stretched out two fingers and said: "Although it took us almost a day to make the prototype gun, that was because we had to temporarily process various required parts, which wasted a lot of time. time. Now the workers involved in assembling sample guns have mastered the assembly technology proficiently. Let alone fifty new rifles, even five hundred, we can complete it in a very short time."
Although Sokov understands in his heart that the more excellent firearms like AK47, the better, but considering the difficulty of manufacturing intermediate-power bullets and the ability to provide logistics, he feels that fifty is already the limit. If the number is too many, If so, there won't be enough bullets.
Thinking of this, he quickly said to Bazarov: "Comrade Chief Engineer, thank you for your kindness. I think fifty is more than enough. If there are more, the supply of ammunition may not be guaranteed."
"Yes, you are right." After hearing what Sokov said, Nikolayev immediately nodded and agreed: "This new type of bullet is produced manually, which means that the output is not high. It’s going to be too high, so you have to be mentally prepared for that.”
