my scientific age

Chapter 411 Four Light Machines
With four pistol models in front of them, an obvious question arises for everyone: which one to choose?

For the current Military Industry Bureau, there is not much time and resources to develop four pistols at the same time for actual competition. The only thing it can do is to stand as objectively as possible and choose the pistol model that best suits the Eighth Route Army.

German-made weapons are all the rage in China, and most of the people present have come into contact with the Mauser C96 pistol, which has German origins. This pistol, which looks ordinary, has proven itself in countless battles. It is stable, reliable, and has strong firepower. This is the pistol that all company and platoon-level commanders dream of.

If you don't know which one to choose, then the Mauser C96 is definitely the right choice.

People don't seem to be interested in the Luger P08 and Soviet-made revolvers, which are also of German origin.

As for the M1911 Browning pistol personally recommended by Director Li Qiang, no one knew how to evaluate it since they had never seen it before.

"The Ruger P08 pistol has a complex structure and cumbersome processing. It is difficult to copy and there are no imported original guns, so reverse engineering is difficult. I don't recommend it. Revolvers are not suitable for the fierce combat needs of front-line troops. Reloading bullets is very slow after shooting. I don't recommend it. As for the remaining M1911 and Mauser pistols, I have come into contact with them. From the feel and performance alone, the M1911 is an absolutely good gun, but this does not mean that the Mauser pistol is bad. Its 20-round magazine version and fully automatic function design can dump a large number of bullets in a short time and enhance firepower. Moreover, from the perspective of the Military Industry Bureau, the Mauser pistol is the easiest to copy."

Zhuang Qianding gave his own opinion: "Personally, I prefer the M1911, but as the head of the highest scientific group, I recommend the Mauser pistol. This pistol can be copied and put into mass production in a short period of time, and its comprehensive performance can meet all the combat needs of company and platoon commanders."

There is no need for fancy styles, and even less for complicated structures. What the front-line troops need is a pistol that can work stably and fire bullets in any environment, while the Military Industry Bureau needs a pistol with a simple structure and easy processing.

The Mauser C96 has proven itself in countless battles and is the most suitable and worthy choice.

"I recommend the Mauser pistol." Yu Hua raised his hand to show his attitude. He also liked the M1911 Browning, but the box gun was still the most suitable for the current Eighth Route Army.

As I said, solve the existing problems first, then pursue advancement.

Mauser is cheap, reliable, and functional, so what else do you need from a bicycle?

"Professor Zhuang and Yu Hua's vote counts as two votes, so Box Cannon has a total of 4 votes." Li Qiang said in a serious voice.

Seeing the choices made by the two leaders and deputy leaders of the highest scientific team, the scene of pistol model selection soon became one-sided. The five department heads and the remaining two people of the highest scientific team all raised their hands and voted on the side of Mauser C96.

11: 1.

The M1911 was eliminated, and the Mauser C96 won with an overwhelming advantage, becoming the official imitation pistol model of the Military Industry Bureau's light weapons production system.

"Okay, the pistol model is confirmed to be Mauser C96." Li Qiang was not surprised by everyone's choice. He adopted the votes to officially determine the model, and then looked at Zhuang Qianding and asked, "Professor Zhuang, what version of the Mauser pistol should we choose? Semi-automatic or fully automatic? 7.63mm or 9mm? Can the magazine hold 10 rounds or 20 rounds?"

There are many versions of Mauser C96. If we want to finalize and mass-produce it as the standard pistol of the Eighth Route Army, we must determine a series of design parameter specifications.

"When I was teaching at Tsinghua University, I used my spare time to make some modified designs based on the Mauser C96 prototype. Let's listen to it first."

Zhuang Qianding smiled and said, "It's a fully automatic design with single-shot and burst functions. It uses a 7.63mm caliber. The opening below the magazine uses a magazine for ammunition. The magazine has 30 rounds. When the bullets are used up, the magazine is replaced immediately. There is no need to use the traditional method of pressing the magazine into the magazine, which reduces the fire window period. Imagine that you and the enemy are in close combat, and neither of you has any bullets. He hurriedly uses the magazine to feed, which takes ten seconds. You directly use the magazine to change bullets, which takes three seconds. Everyone should know what the final result will be."

"30-round magazine..." Li Qiang's eyes suddenly lit up. This change was very clever.

The switch from magazine feeding to box feeding may seem insignificant, but it actually saves more than double the time spent on changing ammunition and reduces the firepower window period. Moreover, the number of thirty rounds of bullets can greatly increase the sustainability of firepower. The increase and decrease of the two indirectly improves the combat effectiveness of the soldiers on the front line.

As expected of a Tsinghua professor, wonderful. ——Yu Hua already had the changes of the new Mauser pistol in his mind, and he did not hesitate to praise these changes.

"Professor Zhuang's design changes are very good. I support them." Zhu Rui broke the silence of the meeting and was the first to express his opinion.

The others looked at each other and nodded. Most of the people present had experienced real battles, and they knew the importance of reducing firepower windows and increasing firepower sustainability.

"I have a question. Although we think these design changes are very good, we don't know whether the soldiers on the front line can get used to this new box gun." said Zhao Shu, head of the Engineering Department.

"This is an easy solution. The caliber is unified to 7.63 mm. Two versions are developed, one is a classic model with a 20-round magazine semi-automatic, and the other is an improved model with a new 30-round magazine fully automatic. Two hundred of the two versions are produced on a small scale, and the production volume is adjusted based on the feedback from the troops and their actual combat performance." Li Qiang quickly gave a solution after hearing this: "Professor Zhuang, what do you think?"

"The internal structure of the classic model and the improved model is the same, with minor changes, so there is no problem in producing them at the same time." Zhuang Qianding affirmed. He was very familiar with the box gun that was popular in China.

Li Qiang looked at everyone: "What do you think?"

Everyone shook their heads, indicating that they had no objection.

"Okay, the pistol model has been preliminarily decided. Next, we will choose the squad light machine gun model. There are many kinds of domestic light machine guns, and the caliber of bullets is not universal. We need to choose the squad light machine gun that is most suitable for our army."

Li Qiang opened his notebook and wrote down the words of Mauser C96 and two versions, then quickly moved on to the next stage, giving the basic requirements for the selection of light machine gun models: "Let's talk about the requirements first. The comprehensive performance must surpass the Japanese Taisho 800-year light machine gun, with an effective range of 7.92 meters. The design must have universal parts, light weight, stable and reliable, simple structure, and meet the mobility and firepower sustainability of individual soldiers. Finally, the ammunition caliber must be unified with the Zhongzheng rifle, that is, using 57×mm S-pointed bullets."

The requirement of uniform bullet caliber and specifications is crucial. On the one hand, it can greatly alleviate the logistical pressure and ensure the ammunition replenishment and supply of front-line troops, and on the other hand, it is very suitable for large-scale production of ammunition in rear arsenals.

When they heard the requirements for selecting the model of light machine gun for the squad, everyone nodded in agreement.

"It's the same as before. I will first roughly list four light motorcycles. Everyone can vote by raising your hands. If you have a better choice, you can also recommend it." Li Qiang looked at everyone and said seriously.

"The Madsen light machine gun, the original caliber is 6.5mm, using 6.5×55mm pointed rifle bullets, the German caliber is 7.92mm, firing 7.92×57mm S pointed bullets, 30 rounds of magazines, fierce firepower and strong continuity. Although it was born in 1902, its comprehensive performance still surpasses the Japanese Taisho 1908-style light machine gun. In , the Guangdong Manufacturing Ordnance General Factory began to imitate it, and the Gongxian Arsenal also had imitation models later, but the number was not large. The disadvantage is that the internal structure is relatively complex, the parts tolerance requirements are strict, and the imitation is difficult. We do not have this gun for the time being, but we can purchase domestic imitations from outside for surveying and mapping."

"Lewis light machine gun, British-made, caliber 7.7mm, uses 7.7mm×56mm pointed rifle bullets, 47-round drum magazine. Its advantages are strong firepower continuity and effective range of more than 800 meters. Its disadvantages are that the drum magazine leads to a complex bolt structure and relatively difficult processing. It is easy to freeze and malfunction in low temperatures in winter. Our army seized some of these guns during the Long March. They were basically imported firearms. They can be mapped and copied and modified to 7.92mm caliber."

"The Czech ZB-26 light machine gun, manufactured in the Czech Republic, has a caliber of 7.92 mm and fires 7.92×57 mm S-pointed bullets. It is fed by a 20-round magazine. Its advantages are high lethality, simple structure, stable and reliable performance, excellent overall performance, and it is not prone to jamming and other malfunctions. Its disadvantages are that its firepower is insufficient and the processing is relatively time-consuming. Its bolt needs to be milled from a whole piece of high-quality steel and cannot use mainstream stamping technology. We do not import original products, and the troops have a large number of domestic imitation models."

"DP-28 'Degtyarev' light machine gun, Soviet-made, caliber 7.62mm, fires Mosin-Nagant 7.62×54mm rifle bullets, 47 rounds of round magazine feed. Its advantages are simple structure, light weight, easy operation, and strong firepower continuity. Its disadvantages are long firepower window period, time-consuming and labor-intensive magazine replacement, and easy feeding failure. I have come into contact with this gun in the Soviet Union. The internal structure is simple, and the parts manufacturing process requirements are not high. The part with the highest processing requirements is the bolt, which is suitable for mass production. If the magazine structure is improved, it is a good gun. It can be mapped and copied and changed to 7.92mm caliber. We don't have this gun, so we can only obtain it through organizational channels. If we are lucky, we can even get the complete drawings of the gun."

Li Qiang calmly listed four light machine guns that are more suitable for the current environment, and gave a general introduction to the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of each light machine gun.

Everyone was talking about it, discussing the four light aircraft in low voices and thinking constantly.

"Director, have you ever come into contact with the latest MG-34 general-purpose machine gun developed by Germany?" At this time, Zhu Rui suddenly said, "I heard that this general-purpose machine gun has excellent performance and a very fast firing rate of 1200 to 1500 rounds per minute."

"I haven't seen the real thing up close, but I have a general understanding that this machine gun is the latest new machine gun developed by Germany. It takes into account the needs of both light and heavy machine guns. It is light and can be carried by a single soldier and moved with the team. After setting up a triangle, it forms the basis for stable shooting and becomes a heavy machine gun." Li Qiang nodded and responded in literary language: "The overall performance is very good, and it is among the top two in the world. However, this machine gun is not suitable for us. The structure is complicated and the firing rate is too fast. The ammunition consumption is two to three times that of traditional light machine guns. We can neither obtain the prototype gun for mapping and imitation, nor can we afford it."

MG-34, is this thing good?

Of course, no doubt about it.

Although Li Qiang had never touched the real thing, he could keenly sense how excellent the performance of this machine gun was through hearsay.

However, the base cannot afford it, really cannot afford it.

"I personally recommend the Czech light machine. I have seen the real Madsen, and the mechanical structure is complex. If water or sand gets into it accidentally, it will easily cause ammunition supply failure." Zhuang Qianding said slowly, giving his attitude: "The biggest disadvantage of the Czech light machine is the lack of sustained firepower. We can improve on its shortcomings."

Hearing Zhuang Qianding's words, everyone immediately perked up, looked forward, and their eyes were fixed on Professor Zhuang.

"Professor, how can we improve it?" Li Qiang asked immediately with a look of joy on his face.