1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 503 Party A’s Requirements

Author: fish nest

Chapter 503 Party A’s Requirements

"Everyone here is an expert in the field of firearms. I think there is no need for me to say more about the benefits of firing bullets."

There is no need for Liang Yao to introduce the benefits of center-fired ammunition in detail to these experts.

The gunsmiths whispered to each other, commented on this ammunition, and praised it one after another.

At the same time, the gunsmiths at the Sacramento Arsenal were deeply ashamed that such an epoch-making ammunition was not developed by them, the most technologically powerful arsenal in California, but the product of an unknown small company.

Sutter's main attention was not on the bullets, but on the title of the bidding meeting. The theme of this bidding meeting was about the bidding meeting for new rifles and machine guns using center rounds.

In other words, Liang Yao is inviting bids for two types of weapons, one is a new rifle using center-fire bullets, and the other is an unheard-of machine gun.

Rifles are easy to say, everyone is familiar with them, and the Sacramento Arsenal also has rich experience in manufacturing rifles. If you want to develop a rifle that uses center rounds, there is no high technical threshold for a large factory like the Sacramento Arsenal, as long as you are willing to develop it.

The investment produces the product.

However, the Volcano Repeating Weapons Company participated in the bidding to disrupt the situation. This time, the pressure to bid for the Sacramento Arsenal was greater than before.

They must not only come up with products that meet the requirements, but also come up with products that are better than those of Volcanic Stone Continuous Company in order to win the bid.

As for the machine gun, this is an unheard-of continuous-fire weapon. Sartre still has no clue what a machine gun is. He only vaguely knows that it is a rapid-fire weapon with a faster rate of fire than a lever gun.

Not only did Sartre have no clue, but the gunsmiths present, including the gunsmiths of the Volcano Repeating Arms Company, which had just developed a new lever gun, also had no clue.

But at the moment, Sutter's biggest concern is not this, but if the Sacramento Arsenal wins the bid for a new rifle, what should be done with the arsenal's original Walter M1851 rifle production line?

These production lines are valuable, not to mention that the performance of the Walter M1851 rifle is still at the leading level in the world.

Under these circumstances, Sartre saw no need to launch new projects.

"I don't know what a machine gun is, but I know what a rifle is. The current performance of the Walter rifle is not outdated." Sutter stood up and spoke first.

"If a new project is launched rashly, regardless of the risk of development failure, if the development is successful, what should be done with the production line of the Walter rifle?

It took us five years to lower the cost of the Walter rifle to a unit price of US$14. If we continue to lower the unit price, we will soon be able to obtain an order from the Army.

Missing orders from the entire Army will be a huge loss for the arsenal."

"We cannot stop the research and development of new weapons just because the Walter rifle is not outdated yet." Liang Yao wrote and drew on the drawings without raising his head.

"In the first two years after its release, the performance of the Walter rifle was undoubtedly excellent. But with the entry of the British P53 rifle into service and the improvement of the Dresser needle gun by the Prussian Dresser Arsenal, our technical advantages have become increasingly

The smaller.

We need a weapon with better performance.

As for the existing Walter rifle production line, we have many choices. We can choose to retain it, or we can choose to sell it to France or the Qing Dynasty.

The French army and the Qing army are currently equipped with a large number of Walter M1851E (export version of Walter rifle) rifles, and they are very satisfied with the performance of Walter rifles. If we want to get rid of the production line, it is not a big problem."

During the Crimean War, the French army ordered 150,000 export models of Volta-style rifles from the Sacramento Arsenal because they were dissatisfied with the performance of domestically produced weapons.

Needless to say, there is no need to say more about the Qing army. In order to meet the needs of Yue Yong, the Sacramento Arsenal also set up a special ammunition factory in Xiangshan to produce ammunition for Yue Yong.

And now the Qing army is not only equipped with Walter rifles, but the Yueyong army is also equipped with Walter rifles. The Hunan Army has also purchased Walter rifles.

Liang Shaoqiong was suppressed by the imperial court and when he was idle at home, he even sold this weapon to the Taiping Army, using the Taiping Army to suppress the Hunan Army.

"We can improve on the existing weapons. In this way, the cost will be lower and the production line can be retained. Isn't that how the Springfield Arsenal came to be?" Sutter still wanted to struggle.

"Director Sarter, these issues are not the focus of today. Our focus today is the parameter requirements of new weapons, not how to dispose of the production line of old weapons." Liang Yao was already a little impatient.

"The center-fire ammunition has been released, the potential of the Walter rifle has been exhausted, and there is no need for improvement."

If the center-fire ammunition is not successfully developed, Liang Yao can accept the plan to improve the Walter-type rifle.

It’s just that center-fire bullets are now available. Furthermore, Liang Yao’s fundamental purpose in developing new weapons is to eliminate the inherently defective edge needle bullets, not to target Walter-type rifles.

Seeing that Liang Yao's tone became a little impatient, Sartre knew that he could not defeat Liang Yao, so he stopped talking.

While talking, Liang Yao drew a sketch of the Gatling hand-operated machine gun on the drawing and handed the sketch to Zeiss, who asked him to copy the sketch on the blackboard for the reference and understanding of the firearms designers present.

The concept and working principle of machine guns.

In terms of developing machine guns, Liang Yao had two jobs to copy, one was the Gatling gun, and the other was the Maxim machine gun.

Liang Yao was a pragmatic person. After much deliberation, he chose the Gatling gun instead of the Maxim machine gun.

If you compare the hand-operated Gatling gun and the Maxim machine gun, there is no doubt that the design concept of the Maxim machine gun is more advanced.

It's just that compared to the Gatling gun, the Maxim machine gun requires a higher technical level and a more complex manufacturing process, mainly because its working principle is different from the Gatling gun.

The working principle of the Gatling gun is to use the recoil principle. The primer ignites the salt of the bullet to generate exhaust gas to push the gun barrel backward, thereby achieving the effect of cyclic shooting.

The Maxim machine gun uses the principle of air pressure. The air pressure inside the barrel pushes the cartridge case out of the barrel, thereby achieving cyclic shooting.

This working principle requires a higher level of craftsmanship and higher requirements for the air tightness of mechanical components to ensure that the air pressure in the barrel is strong enough. In addition, the parts of the Maxim machine gun are more complex and require higher precision and technology

Only with high level can we create a machine gun with high precision and excellent reliability.

Not to mention the current precision machining industry in California, I am afraid that even the precision machining industry in the UK may not be able to meet the requirements for mass production of Maxim machine guns at this time.

The gunsmiths at the Sacramento Arsenal and the Volcanic Stone Repeating Arms Company did not have high expectations for Liang Yao's sketch.

Liang Yao is an expert in leading troops, and few people can match him in business skills, but they don’t think Liang Yao is capable in the highly professional field of firearms design.

What an achievement.

Except for Walter and Nobel, laymen did not understand Liang Yao's talent in invention, but Walter understood it very well.

Among other things, two great inventions, the pedal sewing machine and the bicycle, which are popular all over the country and sold overseas, were both made by Liang Yao.

As a general with rich experience in actual combat, it is not surprising that Liang Yao has some attainments and understanding in firearms.

He was full of expectations for Liang Yao's drawing.

Nobel was also looking forward to Liang Yao's design sketches. Although the center bullet was jointly developed by him and Walter, the inspiration came from Liang Yao.

They just followed the drawings provided by Liang Yao, solved the problems with details and materials, and developed the center-fire ammunition.

The first name on the patent for the center-fire bullet is Liang Yao.

After Zeiss finished drawing the machine gun blueprint on the blackboard, only one and a half of the people present understood what a machine gun was.

One is Walter, a genius in the world of inventions, with a very excited expression.

The other half was Winchester from the Volcano Repeating Weapons Company. Winchester asked for a drawing and carefully copied the sketch on the blackboard.

Other firearms designers were scratching their heads and thinking hard at the sketches on the blackboard.

Seeing that most people did not understand the essence and principles of machine guns, Liang Yao once wondered whether his drawing ability was too poor.

He asked people to find a small stone grinder and a small bag of wheat so that these people could quickly understand the working principle of this machine gun.

"Everyone, my inspiration came from the stone mill." Liang Yao walked up to the stage, grabbed the handle of the stone mill with his right hand, and grabbed a handful of wheat with his left hand.

"Look, everyone, let's say I'm holding the machine gun's crank in my right hand and the center-fire bullet in my left hand."

As he spoke, Liang Yao slowly poured the wheat in his left hand into the hole of the stone mill, and at the same time turned the handle to grind the wheat into powder.

Liang Yao's vivid metaphor made these firearms designers react quickly.

Winchester raised his forehead as if suddenly enlightened: "I understand, rifles are like before the invention of stone mills, people used grinding rods made of stone and wood to grind flour, and machine guns use stone mills to grind flour!

What a genius idea! In this way, just as the stone mill continuously grinds more flour, the machine gun continuously shoots more bullets!”

"I have improved the water turbine! This is essentially the same operating principle as the water turbine!" a gunsmith said very excitedly.

"If a machine gun could be developed, one machine gun would be worth a platoon! Or even a company!" Sartre's eyes also lit up.

"My God, if this invention comes out, how many soldiers will be unemployed!"

Liang Yao sneered at Sartre's statement. History has proven that the invention of the machine gun did not make many soldiers unemployed.

Humanity has just changed to a more efficient war model and continues to kill each other, making war more cruel and making human life more fragile and cheap.

"It's good that you understand."

Seeing that the gunsmiths had already understood the basic principles of machine guns, Liang Yao was relieved, and then he put forward the parameter requirements for new rifles and machine guns: "The parameter requirements for new rifles using medium-loading ammunition are as follows:

Ammunition: Must use medium-round ammunition.

Caliber: 0.50 inches or less.

Barrel length: shall not exceed 850 mm.

The total length of the gun: shall not exceed 1400 mm.

Weight: no more than 4kg.

Magazine capacity: single shot loading and above.

Effective range: must exceed 400 meters.

Bore: Must contain 4, right-hand, deep groove rifling.

Firing method: A reliable manual firing pin ignition system must be used.

Sight: Must include a fixed front sight and an adjustable rear sight to facilitate accurate shooting by the shooter.

Cost: In principle, the unit price should not be higher than US$20.

The machine gun parameter requirements are as follows:

Caliber: 0.50 inches or less.

Barrel length: less than 900 mm.

Total weight including gun frame: less than 30 kg.

Gun body length: less than 1200 mm.

Bullet type: Must use medium-round bullets.

Loading method: manual, loading by rotating the barrel with the crank, or a more convenient loading method.

Rate of fire: up to 300 rounds per minute.

Range: The effective range is more than 500 meters, and the ultimate range must be more than 2,000 meters.

Cost: The unit price shall not exceed US$1,000.”

After the meeting, both the representatives from the Sacramento Arsenal and the Volcano Repeating Weapons Company looked gloomy.

The requirements for new rifles and machine guns proposed by Liang Yao are very demanding, and neither company is fully sure that they can produce products that meet Liang Yao's requirements.

Such stringent parameter requirements made Sutter once wonder whether his worries about the elimination of the Walter rifle production line were unnecessary.

However, compared to the Sacramento Arsenal, the Volcano Repeating Weapons Company has a bigger headache.

The Sacramento Arsenal has deep pockets, and when the Sacramento Arsenal manufactured the Walter rifle, it had already accumulated rich experience in rifle development and absorbed the technology of the Dreiser needle gun.

The new rifle requires the use of a reliable manual firing pin ignition system in terms of shooting method. This requirement is almost tailor-made for the Sacramento Arsenal.

Lava Stone Repeating Weapons Company does not master this technology.

"Chairman Kony, our Volcano Repeating Weapons Company is not as wealthy as the Sacramento Arsenal. If we do both projects, I'm afraid it will be difficult to successfully bid in the end." Winchester looked at the sketch he had just copied at the meeting.

.

"My thoughts coincide with yours." Coney nodded, deeply agreeing with Winchester's point of view.

"In the new rifle project, we have no advantage and the possibility of successful bidding is extremely slim. I also advocate giving up the bidding for the rifle project directly.

The limited funds, manpower and material resources were invested in the development of the machine gun. The machine gun was a brand-new weapon, and the Sacramento Arsenal had not manufactured a similar weapon before.

We are on the same page as the Sacramento Arsenal on this project."

Kony advocated directly abandoning the bidding for new rifles and focusing on the machine gun project. Only in this way can Volcano Repeating Arms Company win the bid.

"Heroes think alike." Winchester smiled, "This project was proposed by General Liang himself. As long as we can develop a machine gun that meets the requirements, there will be no shortage of subsequent orders."

(End of chapter)