This 60 mm mortar in the base is based on the most classic Brand 60 mortar. The design uses a short barrel with a barrel length of 600 mm. The breech adopts a cast ball shaft firing pin structure. The total length is 670 mm and the caliber is 60 mm.
mm, ±0.3 mm tolerance to ensure better interference fit and launch performance and accuracy.
The total combat weight is 19 kilograms, and the effective range is 1.5 kilometers. Through the ball axis structure of the gun tail, it can achieve a 360° circumferential firing range, with a high and low firing range of 45 degrees to 70 degrees.
In terms of performance data alone, the performance parameters of this mortar are basically the same as those of the yet-to-be-born Republic of China Sany-type 60mm mortar. However, improvements have been made in the directional firing area to achieve a 360° circumferential firing area, increasing the number of battlefields.
Fire strike range.
Late at night, in the mortar workshop of the arsenal, Zhao Zhangcheng and a dozen technicians formed a manual assembly line and worked overtime.
Fourteen qualified gun barrels with inner holes tapped were accurately cut and divided into two. The ribbed one was used as the breech and the non-threaded one was used as the muzzle.
After the barrel is processed, the pre-processed cone ball shaft firing pin structure is filled with sealing material to close the thread and the breech thread to achieve a sealing effect.
Immediately afterwards, the water tightness of the entire gun barrel was tested to check whether there was any air leakage at the rear of the gun. After confirming that there was no air leakage, it was sent to the painting station for manual painting.
The paint was dark green, and not long after, a brand new gun barrel exuding the smell of paint came out of the oven. After it solidified a little, it was moved to the next station to install the barrel's mechanical sight.
The original production process did not have mechanical sights. However, after Zhuang Qianding's improvement, mortar mechanical sights were specially added to improve accuracy and aiming efficiency.
There is a huge difference between having sights and not having sights. After all, not everyone in the Red Army is like Zhao Zhangcheng.
With the installation of the mechanical sight, the first mortar in the history of the base was assembled. This was independent manufacturing in the true sense. In the words of later generations, this was called 100% intellectual property rights.
As the first truly independently produced 60mm mortar in the base area, its importance and significance are self-evident.
The Guantian Arsenal period was the peak period of military industry development in the history of the Red Army. From 1931 to 1934, a total of more than 40,000 rifles, 400,000 rounds of ammunition, 2,000 machine guns, more than 100 mortars and two mountain cannons were repaired.
, providing the Red Army with extremely precious weapons and ammunition.
However, even so, Guantian Arsenal does not have the production capacity for 60mm mortars.
Nowadays, the military production level of the entire Liushugou Arsenal has far surpassed the former Guantian Arsenal and reached a new height.
After assembling the first mortar, Zhao Zhangcheng, who was excited, did not stop there. Instead, he motioned for everyone to continue working and assemble the remaining barrels into a mortar first.
Thanks to Professor Zhuang Qianding's previous arrangements, there are hundreds of sets of cast ball-axis firing pin breech pins, mechanical sights, or gun mounts and bases.
The manual assembly line is very efficient, and a mortar can be assembled about every twenty minutes.
At nine o'clock the next morning, the manual assembly line led by Zhao Zhangcheng completely completed the assembly of 28 mortars. Then, the news was reported to the headquarters and applied for test firing of the mortars before leaving the factory.
To sum it up in one sentence, test the gun.
"What, Chen Cripple, tell me again, did you really build twenty-eight mortars?!" The news was reported layer by layer. When the boss learned the news from Chen Kang on the phone, he suddenly became confused.
He looked like he had seen a ghost, with a look of disbelief in his eyes.
A total of twenty-eight mortars!
The boss seriously doubted whether he heard correctly.
What is the concept of twenty-eight mortars?
It's very simple. The total number of artillery in the entire army is less than twenty-eight. How much money do you have? The boss is clear. The mountain artillery company of the secret service regiment directly under the headquarters has four 75-meter mountain artillery. Each division of the Red Army has a total of eight.
Mortars, four mortars of the Second Red Army Corps, two mortars of the 15th Red Army Corps.
Then……
It's gone.
There are more than 80,000 troops and a total of 18 artillery pieces.
But now the arsenal has produced twenty-eight doors overnight.
"Yes, boss, Comrade Zhao Zhangcheng led the project team members to conduct manual assembly. From last night to now, twenty-eight 60-gun mortars have been assembled and applied for pre-factory test. There is currently not enough space in Liushugou to meet the mortar test requirements.
Shoot." Chen Kang was not impatient and reiterated the contents of the application earnestly. He had no idea what to do. When he knew the good news from the arsenal, he was also in a state of disbelief.
"..."
There was silence on the phone for a while.
After receiving Chen Kang's second affirmation, the boss was silent. He didn't know what to say. He took a deep breath and said, "I understand. The test site is at the headquarters' special agent station. Chen Qizi, I want to come here in person for this test.
If something goes wrong, you are the only one I can ask!"
"Boss, please rest assured. I have confidence in the Sixty Force produced by the Military Industry Bureau, and I have even more confidence in the top technology group represented by Professor Zhuang." On the phone, Chen Kang was solemn after hearing this, knowing the seriousness of the situation, and immediately responded loudly.
"Okay, that's it."
The boss spoke directly and hung up the phone immediately.
After the boss approved the gun test and specified the test site, the news that the Military Industry Bureau was producing 28 mortars for gun test spread like wildfire, quickly alarming the heads of the headquarters.
Test guns, twenty-eight guns, produced by the Military Industry Bureau, no matter which keyword is used, it is enough to attract attention.
Regarding the Military Industry Bureau's 60mm mortar project, the heads of the headquarters basically knew something about it, but they had no idea that the Military Industry Bureau's research and development speed would be so fast, and twenty-eight mortars were built at one time.
According to the scheduled time given by Chen Kang, it would take at least half a year from the establishment of the imitation research and development project to the first prototype gun, but now it is directly to the test gun stage!
At eleven o'clock in the morning, the sky was blue and cloudless, and the weather conditions were very good.
At the headquarters' special service station, soldiers were constantly busy, and as required, the station was temporarily converted into a mortar test firing site.
In the far north direction, at a distance of 1 km and 1.5 km, target points with a diameter of about 15 meters were set up. Multiple scarecrows with straw paper on the surface were arranged in the target points for testing the lethality effect.
After more than two hours of preparation, the mortar test firing site was renovated and all work was ready. Twenty-eight 60mm mortars and artillery shells were transported here and awaited test firing.
At the center of the test firing point, the boss, commanders of each unit, General Liu, Chen Kang, Hu Zhigang from the Ordnance Engineering Department, and all members of the 60mm mortar project team were all present to participate in this test.
Professor Zhuang and Lin Wan did not participate in this test. Lin Wan went to the cement factory in the morning, while Professor Zhuang led the first group of lathes in the machinery manufacturing plant to start processing key components of the compressor unit.
The main test gunner this time is Zhao Zhangcheng, the gunner who has the honor of "Master Gunner".
Today is an important day for Zhao Zhangcheng, and it is a historic moment for every soldier present.
Test firing of a 60mm mortar independently manufactured in the base!
If the test firing is successful, then after today, all major armies will be able to use their own mortars.
"Report, the mortar test firing test is ready, please give instructions!" After the two target points were cleared, Zhao Zhangcheng, wearing a gray-blue military uniform, took a deep breath, straightened his back, came to Chen Kang, and reported loudly
road.
"Start testing." Chen Kang raised his hand in return and said seriously.
"yes!"
After receiving approval, Zhao Zhangcheng went straight to the test firing site with a serious face.
At this moment, everyone is paying attention.
The eyes of the boss and the commanders of each unit were all focused on Zhao Zhangcheng, as were Chen Kang and his comrades in the Ordnance Engineering Department. Their eyes were filled with expectations, nervousness, confidence, and worry.
The atmosphere at the test firing site was almost solid.
"We have the first artillery group, use artillery towards target point No. 1!" Sensing the attention of everyone, Zhao Zhangcheng looked calm and unafraid. As the gunner, he ordered the four artillerymen standing around him in an orderly manner.
Immediately afterwards, the four artillerymen performed their duties and quickly became busy.
Since the first mortar for the first test was in a scattered state of three large parts and needed to be assembled, the two artillerymen built the firing position as quickly as possible, fixed the base steel plate, and then inserted the barrel ball shaft into the center of the base.
Connect and finally build the gun mount.
The other two artillerymen opened the ammunition boxes, prepared the ammunition as quickly as possible, and installed the fuzes.
The whole process is standard and fast, and the prototype of modern artillery has already been formed.
Soon, the mortar position was constructed and the gun body was leveled. As the main test gunner, Zhao Zhangcheng stepped forward and used his extremely rich experience in gunfire to calculate the secret position. He controlled the mechanical sight to adjust the height and direction angle of the gun barrel and aimed at a target.
Kilometer target center.
"Cannonball!"
A mortar shell with the fuse installed was handed over and handed to Zhao Zhangcheng. He took the heavy shell, put it into the barrel, and then released it.
"Bang!" Accompanied by a dull and short sound, the gun body shook slightly, and the 60mm mortar shell flew out at a speed of more than one hundred meters per second. The tail of the projectile divided the airflow and kept the projectile in a state of dynamic balance.
A few seconds later, the entire artillery shell cut through the sky along an ultra-high trajectory and hit the center of the No. 1 target in a nearly vertical manner.
"Boom!" A loud explosion came as promised, a ball of flame burst out, and the shell exploded the moment it touched the ground, sending countless metal fragments flying in all directions.
One hit!
Others may need to test fire and calibrate their cannons, but Zhao Zhangcheng didn't.
"Okay!" Looking at the scene of the explosion of artillery shells one kilometer away, the boss immediately cheered. The commanders of the surrounding units nodded one after another with a look of affirmation on their faces.
When Chen Kang saw this, he breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, nothing went wrong.
The first shot hit the No. 1 target, directly sending Party A's bosses outside the safety zone of the test firing site into high spirits. Zhao Zhangcheng, who was the focus of the audience, was not affected and continued the test firing work.
Next, the maximum range accuracy test is carried out. As the name suggests, it tests whether the mortar can hit the No. 2 target with a diameter of 15 meters at a maximum range of 1.5 kilometers.
Zhao Zhangcheng regained control of the mechanical sight, adjusted the muzzle to 45 degrees, and aimed it at the No. 2 target.
Aim at the target and load the shells.
"Boom!" The second artillery shell shot out, flying at high speed along the ballistic trajectory, cutting through the sky, and accurately falling into the center of the No. 2 target. The explosion sounded, like thunder, echoing around, countless irregular cast iron
Debris flew, tearing apart the scarecrows arranged in the surrounding area.
Seeing this scene, Party A's bosses were elated, and a smile like the spring breeze appeared on the boss's face.
In a word, satisfied.
Not far away, the onlookers from the Secret Service Group of the headquarters watching the soldiers of the Chiguashan Artillery Battery looked at the more than 20 60 guns waiting for test firing in the test firing range. Their eyes were almost straight, as if they had seen a peerless beauty.
…
Two shots and two hits. As the main test gunner, Zhao Zhangcheng conquered the hearts of every Party A boss with his miraculous top gunnery skills. The high-quality six-zero force produced by the Military Industry Bureau even won the hearts of all Party A bosses.
unanimously praised.
A rare mechanical sight, with a total combat weight of 19 kilograms that can be carried by one person, a 360° circumferential firing range, a reliable electric furnace steel barrel, and a 1 kilometer-level 5-meter radius shooting accuracy, among other things.
This is exactly the dream gun of countless Red Army troops today.
The most important thing is that when holding the gun with one hand, the shooting accuracy is still good, much higher than any mortar currently equipped by the army, and it can carry out short-term high-intensity fire support.
As the last shell was fired, Zhao Zhangcheng, who had a great time playing cannon today, was really addicted to cannon.
When the twenty-eight 60mm mortars passed all tests before leaving the factory, the boss announced on the spot that the Military Industry Bureau's 60mm mortar project had been finalized for mass production and installed in the troops, and placed the first batch of orders for a total of 300 mortars with Chen Kang. Unexpectedly,
, the first batch of production task indicators.
300 60-guns, based on the standard of 4 for each mortar company, can equip 75 mortar companies. This is enough to increase the unit's firepower projection density and strike capability by an order of magnitude.
"Chen Kang, how long will it take for these 300 mortars to be produced?" In the corner of the test range far away from the crowd, the boss looked at Chen Kang and asked: "The Japanese army is about to capture Pingjin. It won't be long before they are ready."
To go south to attack Shanxi and Shandong, the organization has sent people to contact Nanjing, and the troops may be preparing to reorganize."
A week ago, the organization sent a telegram to Nanjing, issued a declaration of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, called for joint resistance against Japan, and stated to the outside world that the Red Army designation could be canceled and reorganized into the National Revolutionary Army, under the jurisdiction of the Military Commission of the National Government, and jointly responsible for the resistance against Japan.
Nanjing has already moved, and the two sides are negotiating. After the negotiations are over, the troops will transform into the National Revolutionary Army's battle order.
Once the adaptation is completed, it’s time to go out to fight against Japan!
At this juncture, the mortars produced by the Military Industry Bureau are extremely important to the troops.
"Based on the calculation of 5 barrel blanks per day at the electric furnace steel plant, in theory, it takes about one month. Of course, the actual production speed is not that fast. Professor Zhuang and the lathe team are stepping up the production of key parts of the air separation equipment. In about three months,
It can be produced and delivered to the troops." Chen Kang looked solemn when he heard this and said quickly.
"Three months... I understand. Li Qiang will be back in a few days. Be prepared." Hearing this, the boss nodded and did not give an order to shorten the time. He understood the current situation of the Military Industry Bureau.
Whether it is the top technical group or various departments, they are all in the most stressful state and are extremely busy every day.