Technical tips for Colt revolvers?
Gao Qingshi felt a little headache. When it comes to the basic structure of the revolver, he can indeed give you some pointers, because the technical principles of this thing are not difficult, and the structure itself is almost understandable to a modern person at a glance. However, this does not mean that his technical guidance can be translated into production, especially mass production.
How to put it, it's like a famous meme in later generations, mortar. The principle of the mortar is very simple, but for such a simple and easy-to-use weapon, it does not mean that everything will be fine once you understand the principle. As long as you can't make a seamless steel pipe, you will always be stuck in despair. The drawings stared dryly.
Compared with mortars, revolvers are indeed less difficult to manufacture, but it is hard to say whether Jinghua can do it now. Not only revolvers, but also the entire "pistol" family is actually quite difficult to manufacture, especially It's mass production - he's a bit high on the pragmatic side and values mass production the most. If a weapon can't be mass-produced, he generally won't consider putting it into production according to his habits. What's more, considering that revolvers are based on the needs of cavalry, they are not Only assigned to guards of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In fact, the original pistol in Europe appeared quite early. It appeared in the 14th century. It was a hand-held fire door gun fired with one hand. After the 15th century, it developed into a matchlock pistol and was later replaced by a flintlock pistol. However, progress was very slow after that. It was not until the early 19th century that a percussion-type breech-loading multi-barrel rotary pistol appeared, that is, a revolver or revolver.
Later generations generally believe that the revolver was invented by American Samuel Colt in 1835, because on October 22, 1835, Colt obtained the British patent No. 6909, and his patented product was the revolver. Wheel pistol.
Of course, Colt was not actually the earliest inventor of the revolver, because in the Royal United Forces Museum in Whitehall, England, there is a ignition revolver made before 1650, with a caliber of 12.7 mm. The barrel and wheel are both made of copper.
However, it is generally believed that the revolver invented by Colt was the first truly successful and widely used revolver in the world.
In fact, during the era of matchlocks and flintlocks, a variety of primitive revolvers appeared, but they needed to be turned by hand, which was very inconvenient to use. Of course, this early revolver also has the advantages of simple structure, reliable action, and safe use. It stands to reason that it is not impossible for Gaowu to consider it now. But he still felt that the revolver itself was not a weapon with a complex structure. If it was really going to be made, why would it be necessary to make an "original version" first? Wouldn't it be better to have the basic structure in place in one step?
In 1818, before Colt obtained the patent, Americans Collier and three other people actually invented a flintlock revolver. For the first time, the action of the firing mechanism was combined with the revolver, making it the earliest revolver in use. Wheel pistol. However, due to the poor craftsmanship at the time, which resulted in the high price, and the lack of flash caps, it was not widely used.
The revolver invented by Colt in 1835 was a flash cap firing type, using a 10.16 mm paper cartridge cone bullet, which was almost the same as a modern revolver. Therefore, many history books refer to Colt as a "revolver." "Father of the Wheel Pistol".
Gao Pragmatic recalled it carefully and remembered that before Colt invented the revolver, all revolvers were manual revolvers, and Colt's revolver was rotated by the hammer to be fired. This kind of automatic revolver The birth of the revolver naturally dwarfed all manual revolvers in the past.
Beyond that, there are a few unique features about the Colt revolver compared to the original revolver. For example, the magazine is a runner with a magazine that can rotate around its axis. When shooting, each magazine fits the barrel in turn; the runner can hold 5 rounds of bullets, and the barrel diameter is 9 mm; it adopts the The most advanced impact-type bolt action, firing cap and rifled barrel, small size, light weight, compact structure and complete functions.
Only this? Gao Pragmatic always felt that he had missed something, so he thought about it again, and after a while he finally remembered some details. He thought that the revolver was different from all other firearms in that the barrel and chamber of the revolver were separated.
A revolver usually consists of three parts: the base of the gun, the revolver and its rotation, the braking device and locking, and the firing and firing mechanisms.
The bottom of the gun is similar to the receiver on a general gun, with many slots on it to combine all the mechanisms and parts, such as the barrel, frame, grip, etc.;
The runner, rotation and braking device are fixed on the frame through the rotation axis. The runner is both the chamber and the magazine. There are 5 to 7 bullet nests on it, but the most common one seems to be 6, so people also call this A revolver called "Six-Ring Zi";
The locking, firing, and launching mechanisms are the most complex parts of the revolver. According to the action principle, it can be divided into single-action and double-action. When firing a single-action gun, you must first press down the hammer with your hand to make it ready for firing, and then pull the trigger to fire. In the double-action type, you can press the hammer with your hand to cock it, or you can directly pull the trigger to fire automatically.
If I remember correctly, early revolvers were mostly single-action, while later revolvers were mostly double-action.
Revolvers are loaded manually, and after the bullet is empty, the shell must be ejected or reloaded. There are three ways to push the wheel out of the frame. The most commonly used is the swing-out type, which is to swing the wheel to the left or right. The wheel thrown to the left is called a revolver, and the wheel thrown to the right is called a right revolver.
Of course, from ancient times to the present, there seems to be no right revolver at all, so the revolver has become synonymous with the revolver, even more than the word revolver.
Based on the needs of mass production, Gao pragmatically thought about Jinghua's current level of metal finishing. He estimated that the problem with the barrel was not big. After all, he had so many years of experience in manufacturing firearms. Although the barrel of the pistol was much thinner, it should still be within the technical range that could be broken through.
However, the manufacturing of the runner may be a bit troublesome. This thing definitely cannot produce an iron lump first and then drill holes by hand, because even if it can be done, the production efficiency will be completely unsatisfactory, so a mold must be needed.
Jinghua artillery is famous all over the world and is definitely at the top level of technology in East Asia. Even compared to Europeans, it is highly pragmatic and confident. But the problem is that the artillery is a large mold after all, and it is obviously not the same thing as the small wheel of the revolver.
Jinghua Steel does have a subsidiary of Jinghua Seiko, but it’s funny to say that Jinghua Seiko has not actually taken over many military industry orders. Its main business is to make accessories for carriages. For example, Jinghua’s monopoly technology-springs, is a product of Jinghua Seiko.
In addition to springs, another key product of Jinghua Seiko in recent years is bearings. Bearings actually have a long history. Before Gao pragmatically named Jinghua Seiko's products "bearings", they were actually called "shaft receivers", also known as "bearings". [Note: Japan still calls bearings "shaft bearings" until now. ]
Ju is also interpreted as "axle end key", as evidenced by "The Book of Songs": "Carrying fat and carrying Ju, returning the chariot with words of strength. To reach the peak of Wei, is it harmful to be flawless?" This "axle end key" is used in ancient cars, It is equivalent to what later generations would call a pin, which passes through the end of the axle to "bind" the wheel and fix the wheel axially; "grease" refers to lubricant, "hui" means to go home, and "step" means to go fast.
In other words, bearings were already available in China by the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period at the latest. From the excavated cultural relics, it can be seen that the "shaft receiver" of the Qin and Han Dynasties had an inner cavity structure in which rollers could be placed. This "shaft bearing" is considered to be the first generation rolling bearing made by humans.
But since Gao Pragmatic dared to give Jinghua's axle bearing a special name, it was of course because Jinghua's product had made epoch-making progress. A big problem with early rolling bearings was that the rollers would collide with each other, causing unnecessary friction. Jinghua's modification is actually not difficult to put it bluntly, it is just to add a cage to the ball - but with just this cage, the performance of the bearing takes off immediately.
The reason why we talk about bearings is that Gao Pragmatic knows very well that the output of these things is very low, especially the key parts of the bearings - the rollers - the balls themselves come from the mold, but the mold is not precise enough and requires experienced craftsmen one by one. Hand polished.
The bearing is like this, what about the runner of similar size? It is conceivable that manual finishing is required after the mold is produced. Manual finishing of the bearings is not a big problem, because Jinghua's carriages are not only extremely expensive, but also require the same level of maintenance as a pig. They are not products for ordinary people at all. The profit margins are large enough, so they are not afraid of high manual labor costs.
But it's hard to say whether it can be used like this if it's a firearm that needs to be mass-produced. Maybe the cost of a revolver can buy several Wanli Type-2 rifles, then... it's too uneconomical, right?
What's more, even if Gao Pragmatic insists on doing it regardless of the cost, there is still a problem before him: bullets.
Later revolvers of course had metal cartridges, but the early Colt actually used paper-cased fixed-loading ammunition. However, Jinghua currently only has paper-cased fixed-loading ammunition but no paper-cased fixed-loading ammunition. These are two different concepts. , the former is actually just using paper shells to separate the gunpowder that needs to be filled each time in advance, while the latter is an integrated warhead, gunpowder, and flash cap, and the warhead should be a pointed bullet (cone-shaped) by now. Production and manufacturing The difficulty is not at the same level. In other words, the cost is not at the same level.
Gao pragmatically told Liu Xin his worries with a gloomy face. After listening, Liu Xin looked at him with a puzzled expression, frowned and said: "It seems that the financial pressure of the construction of Beijing City in the past few years has been too great for you. In the future, As for what you do now, the first thing you think about is the cost. But this is no good, you have serious misunderstandings in your thinking!"
Gao Pragmatic was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously asked: "How can you see it?"
Liu Xin sighed and said: "How can you consider the cost of scientific research and innovation from the beginning? Especially military scientific research. Let me just give you an example. The United States built GPS only for military needs, so they invested in it. After the huge amount of money was invested, not even a cent of benefit could be produced for a long time, but so what? After it was later transferred to civilian use, how much profit did GPS bring to Midi? As for other things besides wealth and profit What about 'profit'? It's even more difficult to measure."
Gao pragmatic was stunned, and after a while, he suddenly slapped his thigh: "What a word that woke up the dreamer, I was short-sighted! Metal finishing will be a key technology for at least hundreds of years, and I can't bear to do it. Spending money is really stupid...I really want to thank you for the wake-up call." After saying that, he straightened his face and bowed his hand seriously.
Liu Xin smiled and avoided it, saying: "It's been a long time since I've seen you so polite. I don't dare to accept it." Then, without waiting for Gao's pragmatic answer, she quickly became serious again: "But after hearing what you said, this revolver I'm afraid there's still a way to go before the pistol comes out, but water from a distance can't save fire from near. I'm afraid the cavalryman's lack of melee strength will require another solution, or at least a backup option to deal with it for a while. "
Gao Pragmatic shook his head and said: "In terms of technology, I can't think of any good ways to temporarily support it for a while. I always feel that it is because of my lack of understanding of cavalry tactics that the current cavalry equipment and tactical system are not perfect. match."
Liu Xin thought about it and said: "Our family is mainly based on infantry, so we can't provide much reference on this matter; Erdemutu is a Mongolian and knows enough about cavalry. Unfortunately, the Mongolians now don't know much about firearms." He's very unfamiliar, and he hasn't put forward any unique insights into your musketeers in the past few years... I think the Ma family and the Ma family both have elite cavalry. Why don't you ask people from both of them to see if you can Can’t you have any good ideas?”
Gao Pragmatic nodded slightly: "I will send a letter to inquire. In addition, what you said made me think of one thing: the configuration of muskets and swords like our Jinghua Cavalry is actually not uncommon in Europe in history. For example, Napoleon’s army also has this kind of cavalry, which they call Chasseurs. In many portraits of Napoleon, the uniforms he wears are Chasseur uniforms. It can be seen that the status of Chasseurs in the French army should be very high. Of course, the combat power should also be very strong.”
Liu Xin said in surprise: "I didn't know much about the military before, but I watched a movie whose name I forgot. It seemed to mention that the most famous French cavalry at that time was the cuirassier, right? What about the Chasseurs?"
Gao Pragmatic waved his hand and said: "The cuirassiers are also equipped with muskets, but they are different from the hunting cavalry. To put it simply, the cuirassiers are heavy cavalry, while the hunting cavalry is light cavalry - most of our Jinghua cavalry are now They all use Mongolian horses, and obviously I won’t make them heavy cavalry, so judging from their current equipment configuration, they can only be hunter cavalry.”
"Okay, so do you remember what tactics Napoleon's Chasseurs followed?" Liu Xin asked.
Gao Pragmatic shook his head decisively: "It's not a question of whether I can remember it or not. It's because none of the information I've read has detailed the tactics used by the Chasseurs. They just talked about it in general terms."
Liu Xin frowned: "What did you say?"
"Describe the equipment configuration, and then say that their equipment was cheap, their army expanded quickly, and they later became the main force of the French light cavalry... That's all." Gao Pragmatic sighed. Judging from his expression, he must have regretted not reading some relevant monographs back then.
However, Liu Xin seemed to have gained a little bit, thinking: "It's cheap, it can quickly form an army, and later it became the main force of the French light cavalry - in fact, the information revealed here is enough."
Gao Pingshi's heart moved: "You mean..."
"That's right." Liu Xin shrugged slightly: "Our requirements for the cavalry are too high. This kind of equipment configuration is actually used to fight the cavalry sea, and we use the strategy of 'kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred' The record is not enough, it is simply because I am too accustomed to the records of the navy and infantry."
Gao Pragmatic put his hand on his forehead: "But our cavalry in Jinghua is much 'more expensive' than the Mongolian cavalry!"
Liu Xin smiled bitterly and said: "Then what can we do? We can only assign the task of the revolver quickly, try to let the cavalry have continuous firepower early, and then do less rushing, and try to use tactics such as harassment and diagonal cuts as much as possible. "
Gao pragmatic sighed, nodded and said: "You can arrange the development of the revolver. I will go to the Ma family and the Ma family to discuss tactics with them."
Liu Xin nodded, and just as she answered, Gao Mo's voice came from outside the door: "Master, an angel is coming, and the emperor has summoned him."
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