With the cooperation of the three treasures of passivation, external isolation, and cathode anti-corrosion, the first Virginia-class warship was finally built and officially launched in the spring of 1251. As for whether these anti-corrosion measures work and how useful they can be, no one knows, so they can only prove it with facts.

Hong Tao plans to build twenty ships in the first batch first. If their corrosion speed can last for more than three years without overhaul, it means that they can be used and can continue to be modified to build larger warships of the same type. If the corrosion speed is too fast, they can only reuse the full wooden structure. In addition to not being able to build too large warships, they can also meet the needs of the navy.

The structural anti-corrosion problem has been temporarily solved, and the new warship cannot be considered completely successful, because the reason why this special ship type can be used as a warship depends entirely on the new naval gun. Without this kind of naval gun with long range, high accuracy, fast loading, light weight, and can adjust horizontal and vertical angles, the new warship can only be used as a fast transport ship and cannot engage in high-intensity naval battles at all.

"I have tried to fire these guns dozens of times. The reliability is certainly fine, and the range and accuracy are guaranteed. The recoil is a bit too large. Xiaoqi's new ship is a bit narrow, and it seems that it can't be merciless. But if the gun cart does not release its strength, the shipboard will definitely not be able to withstand it. It must be able to move and fix it. You have to have a problem for me!" Qi Zu has not been idle these days. As long as the horizontal wedge blasting bolt has a correct idea, it is not difficult to make. It itself is a large steel ingot, nothing more than the machining accuracy of the displacement bolt. For old craftsmen like them, they can still be done by hand. It is just that the blasting bolt is solved, and the rear-loading blasting can be fired normally, but how to install this kind of gun with great recoil on the deck has become a big problem.

Qi Zu's 75mm caliber rear-mounted guns are fixed on a steel frame, and the pitch angle can be adjusted by a bolt at the bottom of the gun body. There are four wheels under the steel frame that can be pushed and pulled forward and backward. After tied up the rigging, the gun cart will be moved backward after the fire is turned on, and then the rigging is pulled back by manpower and the gun cart is returned to its position. In fact, it is no different from the original wooden gun cart, but it is replaced with a stronger steel.

However, there is a problem that Qi Zu has never solved, which is how to make this new type of naval gun rotate left and right. According to Hong Tao's design, these naval guns on the new warship can no longer use the original naval gun fixing method, and can only aim at the target with the side of the ship. They need to adjust the left and right angles of a certain amplitude, and the two cannons on the bow and stern of the ship must be able to rotate 270 degrees, and they cannot turn too slowly.

This is a big problem for a naval gun with a weight of 600 kilograms and a gun mount weighing more than 500 kilograms. A combination of more than one ton of naval guns is too big. Even if one cannon is equipped with five gunners, it is impossible to pull it back and forth. However, there are not so many sailors and gunners on the new warships. At most, one cannon is equipped with two people. It is neither humane nor reasonable to push the one ton of naval guns, and it cannot be pushed at all.

"Your cannon still needs to be equipped with a fuse to ignite and fire?" Hong Tao didn't care about the problem of the cannon stand. He had been tossing the new ship with Wen Xiaoqi, and he didn't care about Qi Zu's rear-loading gun development. This was the first time he saw its launch situation in the shooting range with his own eyes, and immediately saw an inappropriate place.

Qi Zu's rear-loading gun was really loaded from the back of the barrel, and the firing ignition device was no different from the front-loading gun. Open the bolt, stuff the pointed shell into the bore through the hole in the bolt, then stuff a medicine bag filled with tinder glue into the bolt to close the bolt, stuff the medicine strip and fire cap from a small hole on the tail of the gun body, and finally hit it with a small hammer. Although the fuse was replaced with the medicine strip and fire cap, and the torch was changed to a hammer, there was no difference in essence.

"What does it mean?" Qi Zu made Hong Tao say he was confused. Isn't the cannons fired like this? The rear-loading of cannons is just to make more convenient loading, and the rifling is just to make a farther and more accurate shooting. What does it have to do with ignition and launching?

"It means that you can put the bullets and the fire pack together like bullets, and then make a firing device on the blaster, firing the fire cap like pulling the shotgun trigger, then hit the bullets, blow the bolt, remove the shell, load a new shell, close the bolt, and fire it again!" Hong Tao was so upset by Qi Zu's mind that he simply pulled out his revolver, marked the barrel into a gun barrel, and compared the bullets to shells, and demonstrated the process of loading, firing, retracting, and reloading.

"Well! I'm so old. After making so many guns, I didn't expect that the shells were just large bullets." Without Hong Tao's explanation too much, Qi Zu could see clearly that his thinking was limited by the name cannon.

"Actually, it's about the same, but the recoil of the shell is too strong. We can't stand behind the cannon car to pull the trigger. It's too dangerous. See if we can make this trigger a hair pull, tie it with a rope, and pull it away, even if it explodes." With this lesson, Hong Tao didn't dare to expect Qi Zu to think more comprehensively, so he would say it's safer first.

"Yes, pull it with a rope! It's not difficult. I'll put the hole on the barrel behind the bolt. I'll just need to activate the fire cap. It's still good for you, but I'm asking you not to talk about the bolt, but the problem of the bolt. You have to move it left and right. This is still a small cannon. If you make a larger caliber in the future, I really can't think of how to turn it." Adding a collision behind the bolt is not a difficult task to target Qi Zu. What he is most worried about is how to turn the bolt.

"I can't explain this problem just by saying it. Come here, dig a hole for me, and then get two three or four-meter-long rails. I'm useful." How to make the cannons rotate left and right is actually closely related to reducing the recoil of the cannon. If one is solved, it will be solved.

This requires a relatively complex mechanical gun mount to solve the problem. In later generations, the cannons that adopt this structure are called annealing cannons, and similar ones are also pipe annealing cannons. The latter has higher technical requirements and requires hydraulic devices to be used. Now Hong Tao cannot create a pipe annealing cannon, so he can only play with a relatively simple technology-based annealing cannon. Since it is a relatively complex device, I am afraid it is impossible to explain it alone, so I should start with the experiment.

The soil pit was quickly dug according to Hong Tao's instructions. One end was deep and the other was shallow, forming a slope of about twenty degrees. The two steel rails were also fixed on the slope by steel nails, and the width was exactly the same as the wheels of the cannon. At this time, Hong Tao began to direct the craftsmen present to lift the cannon from the cannon, then lift the cannon onto the rails, and then put the cannon on. This is not the end. There are still a few wedges in front and behind the pit, and then pull the cannons with ropes with pulleys.

"Recharge and prepare to shoot!" After checking the cannon truck, rails, and rigging, there was no problem. Hong Tao took the lead in hiding behind the bunker and issued a launch order.

"boom"

"You can't do this, the muzzle is raised too high and the slope is a bit large." After a roar, everyone looked out from behind the bunker and found that the cannon truck did not slide back along the rails, but derailed. Although Qi Zu didn't quite understand what Hong Tao was going to do, he probably understood the role of the cannon truck and the rails, and proposed an improvement plan with his professional perspective.

"Okay, just do what you said, and then make a new gun cart so that the gun can also shoot horizontally on this ramp, and change the ramp according to the slope you think is appropriate, and I guarantee it will succeed." The failure of the experiment made Hong Tao feel embarrassed. He only knew a general principle, and the specific angle and technical details were not clear. To make this type of backing device suitable, it has to rely on craftsmen who are familiar with mechanical manufacturing to figure it out.

In fact, the early retreat structure was as simple as the ramp made by Hong Tao, and there was no rail. It just made a rut that was the same width as the wheel of the cannon truck, and then put the wheel of the cannon truck into the rut. As soon as the cannon truck was fired, the cannon truck was pushed back along the rut by the recoil. Since there was an uphill behind it, the recoil of the cannon truck was greatly consumed. When the recoil was consumed, the cannon truck took its cannon and began to slide down the rut with its own weight, thus returning to the deepest position at the bottom of the pit, which was the initial position of the cannon truck.

This is a complete set of back-up and reset devices that allow the artillery to automatically offset the recoil without relying too much on manpower after the fire is completed, and can basically restore it to its original position. Although it is just a pit, it can restore the cannon as soon as possible, speed up the loading and aiming time, eliminate the heavy physical labor of the artillery, and greatly improve the firing speed and accuracy of the artillery.

The mount retreat refers to the artillery retreating with the frame. On this basis, later generations have developed a pipe retreat device to offset the recoil. That is even more advanced. The artillery basically does not move, and only the barrel will telescope backwards, canceling the recoil through hydraulic or pneumatic devices, and then you can continue shooting immediately, with higher loading speed and shooting accuracy.

In just one day, Qi Zu led the craftsmen to rivet a new gun mount with various models of I-shaped steel. The gun mount is a bit strange in shape, with a high front and a very low back, just like a right-angle triangle lying down, and the naval gun is fixed on the long side of the triangle. If the gun mount is placed on the flat ground, its muzzle will point to the sky at a twenty-degree angle. However, when the rails of the ramp are placed, one is high in front and the other is low in front and the other is high in front and the other is high in the back, which complements each other. When the angle is not adjusted by screws, the gun will naturally become horizontal to the ground.

"boom"

"Hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey heyer had been re-adjusting, but heyered up the slope along the rails. After about two meters of climbing, the recoil was consumed, the car stopped a little and was pulled down by gravity. Qi Zu was afraid that the cart would rush down too fast, so he knocked his cannon on the front edge of the earth pit and jumped out from behind the bunker, yelling at the craftsmen responsible for pulling ropes. He didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the cart returned to its position smoothly.

"Sure, your method is very good. No one needs to push it, but there is one thing. You can't dig a hole on the deck, right?" Running to the cannon truck, looking down at the marks drawn on the ground, Qi Zu was very satisfied with this way of retreating. This thing is very suitable for army cannons. But the problem comes again. You can't dig a pit on the ship. The paved track deceleration effect is very important. After the gun is opened, the cannon truck will rush into the sea with the cannon from the other side of the ship.

"There is no pit on the deck, so you won't use a steel frame to create a slope! It's also a triangle, longer than a cannon chariot, don't even make tracks on it, and don't install wheels under the cannon chariot, just make a steel trough so that the cannon chariot can rub and retreat inside, so that the cannon chariot can be reduced. It's enough to fix this cannon, and there's no need to consider transportation. It's installed on the deck and does not have to run around, so I think it can also reduce the weight." This time, Hong Tao did not conduct experiments again, but squatted on the ground and used a small branch to draw a sketch for Qi Zu. This device was the initial ship gun chariot retreat device, which was used until the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. At that time, the large-caliber naval guns on many warships used this mode to deal with recoil problems, and the same was true for large-caliber naval guns weighing several tons.

"It should be true. If there are no wheels, I think the slope can be reduced so that it will not slide too fast. Install two sets of ziplines in front and back, and maybe one or two people can return the cannon cart to its position! But if you only solve the problem of recoil, turn left and right? Let me just tell me together, don't tease me, the old man." Hong Tao drew it very specifically. According to Qi Zu's understanding of machinery, he probably understands how to build this device more thoroughly than Hong Tao. Since Hong Tao can solve the problem of front and rear reset of the cannon cart so easily, he should have an idea about the rotation problem.

"Hehe, it's even simpler. I found that you are really old and your mind will not turn. Install a few rotatable wheels under the gun mount, and then install a circle of rails on the deck. If we don't turn the naval gun itself, it will be possible to turn the entire gun cart together. Install the rails at any angle, install one-third of the circle on both sides, and three-quarters of the circle on both sides. Install slip-resistant steel blocks on both ends of the rails, so the gun cart will not be able to turn over, so as not to get confused at the bow of the gunner and shoot directly at the stern." Hong Tao didn't even draw a picture for Qi Zu's question. This simple device is enough to describe it with a mouth. Not only does it answer the questions, but it also has to spray poison, and the old man can't let it go.

"Go and go! Let me discuss renovating the deck with Xiaoqi. Don't mess around with me. My mind is just messed up by you!" The older Qi Zu, the more he was afraid that others would say he was old. He said he was fine, others would not succeed, and Hong Tao would not succeed.

To be continued.
Chapter completed!