The M1902 76.2 mm field gun was born during the Tsarist Russia. It has the blood of the French Schneider Company's Seventy-Fifth Miss. It has a 30-fold diameter barrel, a combat weight of about 1.1 tons, a maximum range of 8,500 meters, and a rate of fire of 12 rounds per minute. Although it is a
It is an old antique born in the pre-war period, but its overall performance is not weak.
This artillery was used as a prototype to carry out all-round improvements. The same gun mount as Red Peony was used with a Red Star tractor for traction. The barrel diameter was increased to the 40-50 range, the combat weight was reduced to less than one ton, and the maximum range was increased to 13 kilometers.
Such changes can make up for the current shortage of direct firepower and medium-caliber artillery in the army, and work together with the 120mm heavy mortar.
"With this medium-caliber field gun, the army's artillery system has basically taken shape." Zhuang Qianding said slowly.
Upon hearing this, Li Qiang and Yu Hua nodded, agreeing with Zhuang Qianding's decision.
Currently, the Eighth Route Army needs not only a mature machine gun system, but also an artillery system with deterrent value. The addition of the 76.2mm field gun will undoubtedly improve the entire artillery system.
Division support firepower - 105 mm howitzer.
Regimental support firepower - 120mm heavy mortar.
Battalion support firepower - 82 mm mortars.
Company support firepower - 60 mm mortar.
When the 76.2mm field guns and 155mm howitzers are officially put into service, they will be able to fill the gap in brigade-level support firepower and the gap in corps-level support firepower.
"I suggest that a batch of high-quality gun steel and advanced steel-making technology should also be added. The whole show should be done. We can't just rely on weapons technology and not material technology. This is not in line with common sense."
Yu Hua said: "In addition, I propose to add a small weapon, the American-made M1897 shotgun. This shotgun uses the pump-action principle. It fires No. 12 deer bullets with great destructive power. One shot at close range can cause fatal damage.
, this shotgun can greatly enhance the firepower of frontline troops in close combat, and can be used in conjunction with the Mauser pistol to assist in combat."
American M1897 shotgun?
After hearing about this weapon, Li Qiang and Zhuang Qianding immediately became energetic, looked at each other, and then thought carefully.
"What is this M1897 shotgun? Is there anything special about it?" Seeing Li Qiang and Zhuang Qianding looking like this, the old chief couldn't help but asked curiously.
"This shotgun is very interesting. It was designed by Browning and produced by Winchester Company. It was the world's first pump-action shotgun. It participated in World War I and beat the German army to their knees during the trench warfare era. The caliber is 18.4 mm.
, it is powerful at close range, and soldiers who are familiar with the performance of firearms can even produce the effect of semi-automatic weapons. The German submachine guns are also suppressed in terms of firepower." Li Qiang briefly introduced the characteristics of this gun: "It dominates the range within fifty meters.
"
Trench sweeper, widow maker, and the nightmare of the German army, these are the reputation and glory that the world has left on the American-made M1897 shotgun.
"Semi-automatic shotgun?" The old leader was stunned. Through this short text, he felt the power of this shotgun: "Does the Soviet Union have this kind of gun?"
"It should be true. The M1897 became very popular after World War I. European countries and the Soviet Union purchased it. We only need to obtain mass-produced guns and conduct mapping and imitation." Yu Hua responded.
The old leader Wen Yan nodded and said nothing more.
"I support this gun."
After some time, Zhuang Qianding cleared his thoughts and said seriously: "It is indeed necessary for the troops to equip a shotgun to enhance the firepower of close combat."
Li Qiang also gave his own attitude: "I also support it."
"Okay, is there anything else you want to add about weapons technology?" Zhao Erlu, the head of the supply department, asked with a serious face.
Current projects in weapons technology: Mosin-Nagant rifle, DP-28 light machine gun, M1902 field gun, and 1897 shotgun, a total of four projects.
The three of them shook their heads and had nothing new to add.
As the saying goes, the advanced ones will not be given, and the backward ones will be of no use.
Today's base area is no longer in the state of zero foundation. Whether it is military industry or heavy industry, it has a preliminary system.
Your own is the best.
"Then it's settled." Zhao Erlu said seriously.
As the content of weapons technology was finalized, the secretary-general next to him held a pen in his right hand to record all the selected items.
"Let's discuss industrial equipment next. I don't understand this field, so I can only trouble you." The old leader took over the conversation and said seriously: "We must try our best to find out the bottom line of the Soviet Union's aid and strive to maximize the support for us.
Industrial equipment or related technology that helps the most.”
Assistance in industrial equipment is undoubtedly crucial. In terms of its importance, it even surpasses assistance in weapons technology to the Eighth Route Army.
The first thing at present is to figure out the bottom line of the Soviet Union's aid, and then according to its own needs, select the relevant equipment and technology that will be most helpful to the industrial development of the base area.
So, what is the bottom line for aid?
“I believe that the Soviet Union’s aid to industrial equipment should be biased towards the military industry, covering the fields of mechanical processing and metallurgy. The bottom line of aid should be machine tools around the time of World War I, as well as steelmaking technology that was developed earlier, which will not provide advanced performance.
machine tools, and will not provide machine tool technology for all categories.”
Yu Hua spoke slowly and put forward his own opinion: "The Soviet Union will only allow us to have basic military manufacturing capabilities. At most, we can independently manufacture some light and heavy machine guns, but not too many."
After hearing what Yu Hua said, everyone fell into deep thought, considered it carefully, and finally nodded in agreement.
Li Qiang's view is even more pessimistic: "I think at most it will give us the ability to manufacture light machine guns."
"In terms of the performance of machine tools, we have German-made machine tools with first-class comprehensive performance. In terms of types of machine tools, we already have all types of machine tools. I don't think we need to care about what the Soviet Union thinks. We have to start with our own needs. What is most urgently needed for industrial development in the base area is
What? It’s not all kinds of technical equipment, but raw ore production.”
Zhuang Qianding lit a cigarette, his mind was clear, his thinking was clear, and he looked at the problem from an overall perspective: "Currently, the mining of various ores in the base area is in the blasting + manual processing stage, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the output is low. If you can choose a
If engineering machinery is used in ore mining to increase raw ore production, the problem of limited weapons production and industrial development will be greatly alleviated.
"excavator."
Upon hearing these words, Yu Hua's eyes suddenly lit up and he spoke a word without thinking.
"Yes, excavator, this is the material basis for the industrial development of the base area and the most important construction machinery at present."
Zhuang Qianding smiled: "The success of the U.S. Panama Canal project is inseparable from the Thomson railway steam excavator developed by Bucyrus. This excavator uses steam power, with a total power of 150 horsepower and a bucket capacity of
1 cubic meter can excavate 4,000 cubic meters of earth per day. This is a model of American industrial construction and a contributor to Tsarist Russia's large-scale railway construction. A Thomson steam excavator can liberate a thousand workers."
"We currently need this kind of excavator to build our base."