I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 51 New Gun Testing and Mission Assignment

After Chen Changzai, along with Regiment Commander Chen, Political Commissar Liu, and their large force, returned to Wujiabao.

The three of them then went back to their own business.

Regiment Commander Chen needs to go to headquarters to report on the completion of his mission.

And the terrain, landforms, local customs, and social conditions along the way.

We should also suggest to headquarters that a troop be sent to Daqingshan to seize the copper mine and establish a stronghold.

And the planting of rubber grass next spring.

Political Commissar Liu was responsible for settling the more than two thousand people that Regiment Commander Chen had brought back.

And those horses, cattle, and sheep.

The first thing Chen Chang did upon returning was to have the students in the chemistry lab immediately extract and purify the crude natural rubber.

His students had previously extracted Eucommia gum, and the extraction processes for the two gums were quite similar.

He himself was going back to his heavily guarded cave dwelling to start drawing.

Before he went into seclusion to draw, he also had to arrange all the necessary work.

First, there are the two newly produced rifles and submachine guns.

They need to conduct extreme environment tests.

Classification based on sandy soil environment.

Sift out the loess, and you'll find extremely fine dust, fine soil, natural soil, fine sand, and mixed sand.

After the sand and soil were sorted, they were placed into large wooden troughs.

The new guns were made to roll around in the soil and kick up dust to simulate real combat conditions.

After each roll in a slot, pick it up, shake it, and then start firing continuously.

The rifle is required to fire fifty rounds without any jamming or stuttering.

Submachine guns require two magazines and can fire seventy rounds without jamming.

After the dry soil environment simulation is completed, the water ingress test will be conducted.

After rolling around in clear water, turbid water, thin mud, and thick mud, you pick it up, shake it off, and immediately start firing, with the same requirement of 50 and 70 rounds of ammunition per shot.

After passing these tests, the next step is the water spray test, which involves continuously pouring water onto the gun to ensure it can fire.

This is to simulate the safety of combat operations in heavy rain.

After all that is done, the next step is the extreme high and low temperature test.

Place the gun in a steam oven at 50 degrees Celsius.

After being left to sit for one hour, it is required that it be ready to fire continuously as soon as it is taken out.

This simulates operational requirements in a humid and hot southern region.

The low-temperature test involved using nitrate to create a large amount of ice, then burying the two guns in an ice nest for an hour.

The requirement is that it can be safely and continuously fired as soon as it is taken out.

This simulates ensuring the safe operation of firearms in extremely cold regions.

These requirements seem very demanding.

However, in later generations, in the military factory where Chen Chang worked, this was the simplest and lowest-level testing process.

Because the automatic rifles produced in later generations were all continuously firing, if they jammed during operation, or exploded due to being unsuitable for the environment.

Unlike bolt-action rifles, where you can feel something is wrong and potentially get a chance to eject the bullet.

Furthermore, the duration of rifle testing and the number of ammunition fired in later generations.

It also surpasses the number of shots fired by this bolt-action rifle and submachine gun.

Due to limited resources, these are the only tests we can conduct right now.

For example, in the shock-resistant vibration table destructive test, these two new guns were simply dropped hard a few times.

After the drop test, multiple disassembly and reassembly tests were conducted.

That's all.

As for conducting field tests in real-world environments, like in later generations, such as on Hainan Island in the south and Mohe in the north, that's out of the question now.

And electromagnetic compatibility testing is even less common.

After assigning his students to do these tests.

He then went to the hand tractor factory.

At the tractor factory, he took out the blueprints for the three-wheeled vehicle that he had already drawn up.

He started by meeting with Director Zheng of the hand tractor factory, as well as the factory's foreman and technicians.

A technical discussion was held.

Everyone discussed together the manufacturing process of Chen Chang's tricycle and the difficulties he might encounter.

At this technical discussion meeting, Mr. Liu from the machinery manufacturing plant, Mr. Wu from the precision parts and mold plant, Mr. Cui from the engine plant, and Mr. Zhang from the metallurgical casting plant also came to participate in the discussion.

When introducing this tricycle in detail.

Chen Changzai said, "The structure of this vehicle is very simple. It is just an engine that drives the rear axle, which is a gearbox and a bridge integrated with the rear axle, via belt drive."

This box axle has two forward gears and one reverse gear.

The rear axle differential is directly connected via gears.

I designed a differential lock for this differential, which can improve the vehicle's passability on muddy roads.

This design solves the problem of having to add a drive shaft in the middle for split transmissions.

This can greatly reduce the failure rate of the tricycle chassis.

This tricycle uses the same engine as a hand tractor.

So I put it under the seat, which is a convenient location for maintenance. I can easily inspect the engine by simply flipping the seat over.

In terms of shock absorption, the rear axle uses steel plate shock absorbers, while the front axle uses a combination of hydraulic and spring shock absorbers.

This can improve the comfort of the driver and passengers.

Under the current circumstances, we still have a significant shortage of copper.

But I believe it won't be long before we're no longer short of copper.

So I added a headlight to the front of this car.

Its electricity comes from a small generator driven by the engine belt.

As for the car's tires.

In the chemical laboratory, a tire rubber material made from a mixture of eucommia gum and carbon black has been synthesized through experiments.

However, because there is so little Eucommia gum, there are many other places where we use Eucommia gum.

So tire production never actually began.

We now have a certain amount of rubber.

Although we cannot yet mass-produce tires, we can still meet the necessary needs of vehicles.

By early the following year, we will be able to partially harvest the first batch of rubber grass we planted.

At that time, we will be able to gradually alleviate the demand for rubber.

However, manufacturing tires requires specialized equipment.

Therefore, from now on, I will focus my efforts on designing and manufacturing tire equipment and drawing up blueprints.

The other castings, machining, and manufacturing processes for this vehicle require the expertise of our skilled workers.

Based on the drawings and process flow I have provided, we have come up with a practical and feasible process flow that suits our current situation.

Then, for the hand tractor factory, a simple assembly line was designed.

If possible, I think this production line should ideally have an annual production capacity of 300 vehicles.

By next summer, we will be able to provide the troops with at least 100 to 150 tricycles.

With these vehicles, our troops can at least organize a battalion-level rapid heavy firepower force.

They can quickly reach the designated locations on the battlefield, carrying heavy weapons.

Provide support to other units.

I believe that such a force would play a crucial role in enabling us to achieve a decisive victory on the battlefield.

After Chen Changzai finished speaking.

The craftsmen were all nodding as they looked at the blueprints.

Master Zhang said, "Director Chen, the only castings I see on this vehicle are the integrated rear axle housing, the gear set frame, and the brake hubs."

Such castings pose no problem for us.

I guarantee I can complete the task.

Master Liu from the machinery manufacturing plant was looking at the blueprints for the gear set inside the rear axle.

After looking at the drawings of the bevel gear, ring gear, planetary gear, and cross shaft for a while, he said, "No problem, we can process this gear set."

The other factory workers also looked at the blueprints in their hands and nodded, saying there were no problems.

Whether it's engines from an engine manufacturer or bearings and hydraulic shock absorbers from a precision parts manufacturer.

They can all meet the requirements of the drawings.

As for chassis frame riveting and fork-shaped handlebars, those are minor issues.

I saw that the masters had all given their guarantees.

Chen Changzai said with a smile, "Since all the masters can complete the requirements of the blueprints, then I won't get involved here."

I would like to trouble you all to discuss the entire vehicle manufacturing process.

So I went back into seclusion; I had to figure out how to develop that tire-making equipment.

　Thank you to all my friends who have supported me.

　　Sigh, the elderly have weaker immune systems as they get older, and they keep catching colds lately due to the changing weather.

　　Ah, life is so full of hardships.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)