Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

960 Factory, a certain office.

A disheveled middle-aged man sat at his desk, a TRS-80 computer in front of him. His fingers flew across the keyboard, generating code at a rapid pace.

Creak!

Just then, the sound of a door opening came from behind.

"Dr. Bull, are you still busy?"

Qin Yang looked down and saw that the power cord tripping him led to Dr. Bull's main unit. The plug had been pulled out, and Dr. Bull's computer had stopped running due to the power outage.

How is this my fault? It's too messy here, okay? When it was first installed, the power cord was placed along the corner of the wall. How did it get pulled out now?

Qin Yang looked at the electric kettle plugged into the socket and was speechless. If you wanted hot water, you could have told me, and I'd have someone bring it to you. Why did you have to mess with it yourself? You almost tripped me, and now you're blaming me?

"You damned fellow! Why didn't you go see God sooner! My program, my program!"

Looking at Dr. Bull's fury, Qin Yang knew why this guy had ended up in such a bad state. No one would want to work with someone like this!

He was his partner, or rather, his superior, and he could just curse whenever he felt like it.

"I actually met God today," Qin Yang said. "He commissioned us to develop a 330mm caliber cannon."

At this time, Dr. Bull was still rambling: "If this happens again, I will let you… wait, what did you say?"

"A 330mm caliber cannon, with a range of six hundred kilometers. What do you think? Can it be done?"

Even Qin Yang, a military industry expert, had never researched super cannons. At most, he had seen pictures and definitely didn't know how they were designed internally. All of this was only known by the artillery genius in front of him.

Dr. Bull swallowed. "Are you serious?"

"Nonsense." Qin Yang couldn't help but retort, "Our time is precious, give me a straight answer."

"A range of six hundred kilometers can be achieved, but this kind of cannon requires very good steel that can withstand high chamber pressure. Only modern electroslag remelted steel can meet the requirements," Dr. Bull said. "The weight of the warhead should be kept around four hundred kilograms."

"Then can you prepare a detailed design report for my mom now?" Qin Yang asked.

"Qin, can I know who the client is?"

Qin Yang shook his head. "The client's identity is confidential. Even we are looking for an intermediate agent. We only care about production. The client gives us a million dollars in research and development funding. I don't know if it's enough?"

"A million? Damn it, what can a million do? Our test firing costs alone can be a hundred thousand dollars."

A tank shell costs tens of thousands of dollars. A 330mm caliber cannon shell could easily sell for a hundred thousand dollars each! Without dozens of test firings, how can we determine the difference between the actual trajectory and the theoretical parameters?

"We don't care about test firings; we only care about building the cannon," Qin Yang said.

"Building the cannon isn't enough either. At least five million dollars is needed, and that's according to the economical plan, with the lower half of the cannon being thicker and the upper half thinner."

The inner diameter of the cannon must be the same, after all, it has to load the shells. If the thickness is different, the shells won't be able to seal the gas or get stuck and cause the cannon to explode. However, as the shell moves forward, the chamber pressure will decrease, so the front doesn't need to withstand as much pressure as the back. Making it thinner is, of course, to save money, since cannon steel is very expensive.

Ordinary cannons are usually the same thickness throughout. Super cannons definitely need to be thinner in the front, which not only saves money but also reduces weight, making it easier to erect the cannon.

"What if we use electroslag remelted steel for the bottom and ordinary cannon steel for the top?" Qin Yang continued to ask.

It's not that ordinary cannon steel can't be used to make cannons. Most of the cannons in the country now are made of ordinary steel, and only a few tank cannons use electroslag remelted steel.

After electroslag remelting, the steel is refined and can withstand higher chamber pressure, so it can be used at the bottom of a super cannon, allowing for more propellant to be packed in, thereby increasing the cannon's range.

However, as the chamber pressure gradually decreases towards the top, ordinary cannon steel can withstand it, so using ordinary cannon steel can save a lot of money.

"If designed that way, it can be reduced to three million dollars," Dr. Bull said.

"If it only costs three million dollars abroad, then a million dollars is enough here," Qin Yang said. "After all, we have a cost advantage."

Dr. Bull sighed. "If I can only build the cannon and can't participate in the test firing myself, it's still a pity."

"Dr. Bull, this is also for your safety. If you go to that country to research super cannons, then I'm sure you'll be assassinated."

"I'm not afraid of assassination."

"But if something happens to you, how can you continue researching your super cannon? Your dream is to launch satellites with a super cannon!"

Dr. Bull was moved. "President Qin, do you also believe in launching satellites with a super cannon?"

"Of course, Dr. Bull, we are responsible for contacting clients, and you are responsible for research. As long as our cannon satisfies the client, they will continue to order cannons with a one-meter caliber. We will get closer and closer to our dream!"

Dr. Bull nodded immediately without hesitation. "Okay, I'm waiting for the one-meter caliber cannon. I don't need to go to the site, but you have to give me all the test firing data."

"Of course. You should start designing the 330mm cannon now."

The computer rebooted, and Dr. Bull once again immersed himself in his intense work. Compared to improving the 155mm howitzer, this super cannon was even more intoxicating to him.