"It's not difficult to do multiple craftsmanship."
Tu Yi first spoke on behalf of the craftsmen, very firmly.
Thread thread is now widely used in Zuoying, and basically all craftsmen have mastered it.
After all, the end of the earliest matchlock barrel was blocked with this thing.
Since there is no problem with the thread line, the problem of bullet closure is solved.
Bi Maokang had one problem after another.
"Even if your cannon is loaded with gunpowder, how do you detonate it? Do you still have to catch up and ignite it?"
Zuo Mengeng's head was covered with black lines.
"Dongjiao Gong was joking. If you catch up and light the gunpowder, aren't you afraid of being hacked to death by the enemy?"
Bi Maokang started to think about it.
"Do you want to leave a match rope outside the warhead and light it when you want to fire it? That's not possible. The cannon flies so fast and the match rope is easily extinguished."
Seeing that everyone couldn't figure it out, Zuo Mengeng laughed.
He drew a small diagonal hole in the center of the chassis, connecting the inside and outside.
"Everyone, please see, how about installing the fuse here?"
Li Xiangzhu still didn't understand.
"How to light it?"
Zuo Mengeng then drew the medicine cartridge.
"My idea is that during combat, the warhead should be connected to the cartridge. When the cartridge is placed in the barrel, the warhead can be inserted into the barrel. Pay attention. In this way, the warhead's ignition The cord will be mixed with the gunpowder in the cartridge. When the gunpowder in the cartridge explodes, can the fuse be ignited? In this way, after the warhead flies out, the fuse will also burn to the warhead. Inside, ignite the gunpowder inside to form an explosion. What about this plan?"
There was a lot of discussion, and many people were greatly inspired.
They only thought about using an open flame to light the fuse, but they forgot that there was also gunpowder in the cartridge. To launch the cannonball, you must rely on gunpowder in the cartridge.
Bi Maokang gave full play to his expert qualities and pointed out two issues in succession.
"Then how do you connect your cannon to the cartridge? Also, why is your cartridge shaped like this?"
In the traditional Franco machine gun, gunpowder and shells are loaded into the cartridge and then fired at once.
But the size of the warhead designed by Zuo Menggeng obviously cannot be inserted into the cartridge.
Moreover, the medicine cartridge painted by Zuo Mengeng is different from the original smooth lines.
The front of the cartridge, where it meets the barrel, gradually converges inward, a bit like the neck of a porcelain bottle.
If future generations see it, they will definitely not be surprised.
Because this is what the bullets and cannonballs of later generations will look like.
Bi Maokang didn't understand the meaning of this design.
Zuo Mengeng began to answer them one by one.
"The size of the artillery shell and the mouth of the cartridge must be controlled within a negligible gap. The bottom of the shell is slightly smaller than the mouth of the cartridge. When the cartridge is not in use, it is filled with gunpowder and then sealed with mulberry paper. During combat, uncover it Mulberry paper is then used to wrap the bottom of the shell so that it can be firmly connected to the cartridge."
In daily life, there are many ways to use paper or cloth to fill gaps. Now Zuo Mengeng used this simple method in the assembly of artillery shells.
"The tools we use now are sophisticated enough to keep the diameter of the warhead and cartridge mouth within a reasonable range."
This sentence was recognized by everyone.
Zuoying has now unified measurement standards, and various precision instruments such as vernier calipers and compasses have been put into practical use. It is very easy to make the diameter of the base of the bullet similar to the diameter of the barrel mouth.
As for the remaining negligible part, just fill it with mulberry paper as Zuo Mengeng said.
Zuo Mengeng continued: "After connecting the warhead and the cartridge together, use a cutter to cut off the excess part of the mulberry paper, and then you can put the shell into the barrel."
As he spoke, he drew a structural diagram of the inside of the gun barrel.
"Look, the part where the barrel and barrel are connected must also be cast like this. So, if the cannonball is put in like this, will it just be able to get stuck?"
Everyone noticed that the inside of the gun barrel painted by Zuo Menggeng is not the straight cross-section of today's Franco machine gun, but there is a gradual convergence process from the barrel to the barrel.
This is exactly the same shape as the front end of the cartridge.
Tu Yi was a little anxious at first and said: "Qianzuo, if it is cast like this, it may not be easy to put the shells in."
It turns out that the breech of the Folang machine gun is a vertically open slot, and the cartridge can be easily placed in it. According to Zuo Mengeng's design, if the cannonball has an extra warhead, it can only be inserted sideways and diagonally from above.
Even so, the part behind the barrel will be blocked, making it impossible for the shell to be placed.
How could Zuo Mengeng not think of this problem?
He then showed everyone the back of the barrel.
"In the past, when the Folan cannon was cast, the back part was cast in one piece. But let's change it and change it to an openable breech. Will the space at the back become larger when loading ammunition? Is that so? Are there any problems with reloading?”
"Huh?"
"Wonderful!"
"Why didn't you think of that?"
There is just a breech that can be opened, and the reloading problem that troubles everyone is solved.
And the function of the breech designed by Zuo Mengeng goes beyond that.
"Pay attention. Because this breech block has to withstand the recoil when the artillery fires, it must be thick and heavy when it is made. There is also the way it is locked..."
Zuo Menggeng really wanted to use the breech locking method from later generations, but unfortunately, it was not possible in this era.
However, the power of the artillery he designed is not that great, so there is nothing wrong with simplifying the breech.
There is an extra pin on the side of the breech block, which can be inserted into the pre-made hole on the left side of the breech.
The other side must use some strength to hang in the buckle.
There is a semicircular bulge on the inside of the breech block where it is against the cartridge, a bit like a UFO.
The biggest function of this circular protrusion is to firmly push the shell when the breech block is completely closed.
An important reason why the Folan cannon has a short range is that the cartridge and the barrel are not tight enough, causing the shaking cartridge to consume too much potential energy when firing.
Now there is a closed-type breech fixing in the front, and the breech block is stuck in the back. When firing again, the cartridge could not shake no matter what, and had to use the potential energy of the gunpowder explosion to push the shell.
This method is actually the same as the principle of loading rifle bullets in later generations.
The reason why the front half of the bullet case is thinner than the back is to secure the bullet from loosening while feeding the bullet into the barrel.
Then the gun bolt is pressed from behind, and under the clamping force on both sides, the gunpowder in the bullet case ignites and can only act on the warhead.
When Zuo Mengeng said this, everyone became obsessed.
Especially the design of fixing the cartridge is astonishing to everyone.
"If this method does not cause discouragement, the cannon will be able to hit farther."
Bi Maokang gestured back and forth on the drawings, thoughtfully.
Zuo Mengeng pointed at the cannon ball and said: "Junior combined the warhead and the cartridge to avoid deflation. In this way, all the energy of the gunpowder explosion is in the cartridge. As long as the cartridge is fixed and cannot shake, then All the push is going to the warhead."
He pointed to the rifling in the barrel and said: "You have seen our musket. The reason why it can reach four hundred meters is because of these riflings. Now the shape of the warhead is the same as that of the musket. It uses more medicine, so it can naturally Hit farther.”
Bi Maokang has fully accepted what he said.
The old gentleman couldn't wait a moment.
"Then don't delay and start work immediately."
The craftsmen were even more excited and wanted to see how powerful this new artillery was.
Zuo Mengeng was very cautious and gave a final reminder.
"Because the warhead is made of iron, it is relatively fragile. You need to test it many times to see if the warhead will shatter in the barrel and find the best solution."
In order for the black powder explosion to break the warhead into fragments and have a killing effect, the casing can only be made of wrought iron.
This is similar to the grenades of later generations.
But Zuo Mengeng was worried that the powerful kinetic energy of the shell when it was fired would cause the shell to shatter in the barrel, which would be a lot of fun.
This still requires craftsmen to experiment.
If that doesn't work, I'd rather switch back to solid shells.
"There is also the problem of the burning speed of the warhead's fuse. If it is too fast, the gunpowder will be detonated before it reaches the intended location; if it is too slow, the shells will not explode even after they hit the ground, and no one will be hurt. This requires you to be on fire. After it was concocted, we observed the range and speed of the shell many times, and then adjusted the burning speed of the fuse after we had strict data."
The fuse of the Ming Dynasty could actually control the burning speed.
For example, the matchlock of a matchlock gun is actually the fuse, and it can be used for a long time with an extremely slow burning speed.
What Zuo Menggen needs is that the fuse used in the warhead can match the flight speed of the cannonball, so that it can effectively kill the enemy.
The flight speed and range of the new artillery shells can only be tested one after another after the artillery is developed, and the fuse can be improved after the data is obtained.
The birth of a new type of weapon must go through very strict demonstrations and experiments before it can be applied.
However, these improvements proposed by Zuo Mengeng were eye-opening for everyone.
The most important thing is that it is not difficult at all to improve based on the current technical level.
And once the new artillery is actually produced, the impact it will bring is unparalleled.
Apart from anything else, the power of an explosive warhead alone is not comparable to the solid artillery shells of today's era.
Bi Maokang decided that he would personally preside over the research and development of new artillery.
After thinking for a while, he asked: "This cannon is a new thing, does it have a name?"
Name the artillery?
Zuo Mengeng thought for a while and then said: "Since it is used by my Zuoying, let's call it Zuoying Cannon."
