Daming pirates

Looking at these large pieces of shrapnel, Yu Xiaotian was a little bit dumbfounded. What he took for granted turned out to be such a result, which made him disappointed.

Later, Yu Xiaotian thought about it carefully and found that this problem was not impossible to solve, because the black gunpowder used by the Eighth Route Army in later generations was not much stronger than the black gunpowder he used now, and the raw materials were even inferior to the raw materials he used now.

If you want to make the grenade usable, you must increase the amount of powder and reduce the thickness of the shell. If necessary, you can find a way to directly reserve grooves on the shell during casting, so that it becomes a prefabricated fragment.

So he did what he said and immediately called the blacksmiths from the artillery industry. He told these guys his idea and asked them to find a way to cast another batch of bullet casings according to his requirements.

When the second batch of cartridge cases were cast and loaded, they were immediately transported to the shooting range again for testing.

Yu Xiaotian placed a grenade on the ground, surrounded it with wooden boards, and then lit the fuse of the grenade. After a while, he only heard a roar, and then saw a cloud of smoke rising from the shooting range.

Everyone immediately gathered around to watch the effect. This time Yu Xiaotian saw dense bullet holes on the wooden boards near the explosion point.

This grenade, which had reserved fragments and increased the charge, finally succeeded in blowing the entire shell into pieces after the explosion. Except for the warhead part, which remained relatively intact, the rest of the grenade was shattered into pieces.

After counting, it was found that this grenade produced a total of twenty-one shrapnel, with an effective killing range of about one foot. Once thrown into a crowd, this thing would definitely be a killer, killing at least a few people.

A bit of a problem.

Especially when they are used to fight people at sea, boarding battles are still the main method of combat in this era. After approaching the enemy ship, you only need to throw a few of these things at the enemy ship. The effect is probably better than bombarding with cannons.

The other side's ships should be easier to use.

A few such grenades can basically sweep all the active forces on the opponent's deck. The subsequent battle to seize the side will be much easier, and it is much more powerful than the Molotov cocktails they used before.

So Yu Xiaotian was overjoyed when he saw such an explosion effect. After several tests in succession, he determined that there was nothing wrong with this design. In addition to being less convenient to operate than later generations of grenades, it was not as powerful as later generations of grenades.

, now this thing can reach a practical state.

So he immediately ordered the gunsmith to dedicate a few people and a furnace to start molding to produce the shells of this kind of hand grenade, and then handed them over to the gunpowder workshop for packaging, so that they could be used at any time in the future.

The gunsmiths are not to be left behind. In the past few months, the craftsmen have implemented the method of division of labor and cooperation, with those who build the barrels dedicated to building the barrels, those who build the firing mechanisms, the firing mechanisms, and the wooden stocks.

Some specialize in making gun stocks, and they are even so precise that they have someone responsible for drilling the bore, and some are responsible for tapping and making screws.

When the craftsmen became proficient, not only the output began to increase significantly, but the quality also improved greatly, and the scrap rate dropped significantly.

From the initial scrap rate of more than 70%, gun craftsmen have increased the finished product rate to more than 50% by this time. Basically, one of the two barrels produced meets the quality requirements.

This kind of yield rate cannot be underestimated. In the era of hand-made gun barrels, it is very difficult for any craftsman to increase the yield rate to 50%. Gun making has changed the production method.

After that, each craftsman specializes in one job and does the same job every day. It is not easy to achieve exquisite craftsmanship. Unless the craftsman is really a fool, practice makes perfect, and the yield rate will naturally increase.

And there is a big advantage in doing this, that is, if half a craftsman is lost, it will be difficult to effectively copy this kind of Nanyue-style flintlock gun with just their craftsmanship. To a certain extent,

It also ensures the safety of the technology.

So by August, the production of gun-making flintlock guns has increased to about a hundred per month. Although it is not very high, it adds up to a lot. After a while, Sea Wolf can popularize this kind of gun.

A flintlock rifle.

Nowadays, at least the musketeers in the war barracks have all begun to be generally equipped with this kind of flintlock gun. In the past, the messy muskets collected from everywhere, except for a small number of more refined and usable bird guns, and matchlock guns are still left.

In addition to being used for training in the training camp, they have been completely remade.

Even some of the soldiers on the ship began to gradually equip themselves with this type of flintlock rifle, which made the Sea Wolf tribe even more powerful. They all now looked awesome, and they felt like their legs were hanging from the wind even when they walked.

However, the flintlock muskets used by the war barracks and the flintlock muskets used by the sailors are not the same version. Because the war soldiers mostly move on land, the space requirements are not very high, so the flintlock muskets issued by the war barracks are extended versions.

, after putting on the butt of the gun, the total length of the gun reaches about 1.6 meters, which is about the same height as a soldier when standing up.

Moreover, the musketeers in the war barracks have poor self-defense ability at close range. It is very simple to solve this problem. That is to simply equip these flintlock guns with a short knife that is more than a foot long, which is often called a bayonet in later generations. It is not used normally.

When you put it on the muzzle, just insert it into the scabbard and wear it close to your body. Once you need to fight in close quarters, you can pull out the short knife and stick it on the barrel of the gun.

Yu Xiaotian asked his subordinates to experiment many times with this kind of dagger and create many shapes of daggers before finally settling on one. The dagger is one and a half feet long with the handle, and the blade is over a foot long. The spine is thick, and the sides of the blade are

There are two blood grooves, the tip of the knife is sharp, the blade is sharp, and the whole knife looks thick and heavy.

Once such a short knife is attached to the muzzle, it can be held by the musketeer as a short spear to stab and kill the enemy, or it can be rounded and used as a simple knife to chop the enemy. The power is really impressive, even if it is too urgent to reach the gun.

On the mouth, the user can also draw it out to fight the enemy at close range, so that once the gun is empty and the enemy is approaching, the musketeer will become meat on the chopping board and be slaughtered by others.

Moreover, Yu Xiaotian directly bypassed the detour in the development of the bayonet. When designing the bayonet, he directly designed the bayonet so that after it is raised to the muzzle, the gun can continue to aim and fire.

The earliest bayonets that appeared in history did not have such a function. The earliest bayonets that appeared in history were very crude. When using them, the handle had to be inserted into the barrel of the gun and fixed before it could be used. However, at this time, the musket could no longer be used.

After shooting, and many times after attaching the bayonet, the bayonet may come out of the muzzle and fall to the ground if it is bumped. As a result, the musketeer is left with only a fire stick, waiting to be killed.

Yu Xiaotian's design is a dirty trick. Think about it, if the musket has been loaded, but it has not fired. After attaching the bayonet, and waiting for the enemy to rush in front of them to risk their lives, they suddenly draw fire and close the fire.

At this distance, the enemy has only one way to die.

However, there are certain drawbacks to this. Once a musketeer is too nervous, the ammunition is already loaded in the barrel of the gun when the bayonet is used, and the nose of the machine is opened. If he suddenly fires, he may also hit one of his own.

, so this needs to be regulated during training. Under normal circumstances, bayonets are not allowed to be loaded.

In this regard, Yu Xiaotian's approach can be said to be completely ahead of history, because when the Nanyue-style flintlock gun was finalized and produced, although Westerners had also developed flintlock guns at this time, the Westerners designed

The flintlock mechanism is not yet fully mature, and it is not widely equipped. It is only used by a small number of personnel in a few countries.

Moreover, before the West developed flintlock muskets, they first developed revolving muskets and then gradually improved them into flintlock muskets. However, Yu Xiaotian, a Xibei man, could stand on the shoulders of historical giants and bypassed these problems.

Taking a detour, we directly took out a relatively mature flintlock mechanism, so that the Nanyue-style flintlock gun quickly matured and was finalized and produced.

In addition, the bayonet had not been invented by Western countries at this time. If we follow the historical process, Westerners gradually developed the bayonet many years after this. However, at this time, Yu Xiaotian had already begun to give it to his men.

Equipped with a standard bayonet, as the last weapon of the musketeer, the musketeer not only has long-range strike capabilities, but also has considerable close combat capabilities, which undoubtedly greatly improves the combat effectiveness of the Sea Wolf soldiers.

However, the flintlock used by sailors is somewhat different from the flintlock used by soldiers. Because the space on the ship is relatively small, if the flintlock is too long, it will not be easy to operate, and it is not easy to use this guy on the ship.

At that time, they are usually close to a very close distance, and the sailors' flintlock guns do not need to have a very long range. Therefore, the flintlock guns used by the sailors on the ship are relatively shorter, which can ensure the effectiveness of fifty steps.

The range is enough.

In addition, during a boarding battle, it is not appropriate or convenient to hold a flintlock gun to fight with a bayonet. Therefore, once a sailor starts a boarding battle with the enemy, it is better to grab a long gun or a single sword.

Therefore, the flintlock guns used by sailors also cancel the bayonet, leaving only the bayonet holder. When necessary, they can be issued with a bayonet. Usually, each sailor is issued with a wild goose feather knife as their weapon.

When it comes to the use of melee weapons on the ship, some sailors don't even like to use single swords, preferring to work with axes. Yu Xiaotian does not deliberately restrict them, and allows them to choose their own weapons for close combat based on their personal preferences.

Weapons, in short, as long as they can win the battle, it doesn't matter even if they bite the enemy with their teeth or strangle the enemy with their underwear.