Bright Sword: Follow Kong's fun and build the strongest military industry

Brigade Commander Chen was considering that if this method of producing grenades could really achieve the effect described in the documents, it would be a huge boost to the strength of the front-line combat troops.

Only seven people are needed to make grenades at any time, and they can be replenished at any time in battalion-level combat units.

Although gunpowder, detonators, pull rings, etc. still need to be provided by the arsenal, they are completely negligible compared to the shells and wooden handles.

The current process of making grenades in various bases is that the troops collect various iron tools and iron sand from all over the place, transport them to the arsenal for refining, and after they are made, they spend a lot of manpower and material resources to deliver the grenades to the front-line combat troops.

It would be fine if it just took a little more manpower, as the Eighth Route Army has no shortage of it. However, every arms transportation faces various dangers, especially for front-line combat troops entering enemy-occupied areas. If they are discovered by the enemy, it is easy for the arms to be destroyed and all the transportation and escort personnel to be sacrificed.

But if the front-line combat troops could produce their own grenades, it would save a lot of trouble, and the number of grenades would increase sharply.

For most of the Eighth Route Army soldiers at present, the most trustworthy heavy weapon is the hand grenade. Even the kind that is loaded with black powder and has only two pieces after the explosion is still sought after by many troops.

After all, only a few are blown into two pieces. As long as four or five pieces are blown into pieces, an enemy can still be killed.

Kong Hao continued, "In fact, I have trained five groups of technicians who are proficient in using the seven-man back process to produce grenades."

"But it's almost time for dinner now, why don't we go take a look together after we finish eating."

Brigade Commander Chen was deeply shocked by this amazing design and said loudly:

"It's already so late, how can we have the heart to eat? Take us to see it quickly. It's safest to see this kind of thing with your own eyes."

Factory Director Ren and Political Commissar Qin also nodded in agreement. They had been busy building a cement plant and a hydroelectric power station recently, and had been working around the clock every day. They had never imagined that Kong Hao had quietly caused such a big fuss.

At this moment, their hearts were filled with endless anticipation, wanting to see if this seven-person backpack was really as magical as described in the information.

After the few people arrived, Kong Hao had already sent someone to notify the technical staff to get ready.

"Now I order all seven people to carry the grenade production team, take all the equipment, march to two kilometers of wasteland, and then produce grenades on the spot."

After receiving the order, everyone immediately packed up the tools they brought with them and set off on time ten minutes later.

Seeing this, the brigade commander asked curiously:

"Xiao Kong, didn't you ask us to come and see the production of grenades? Why are they all gone? What are we going to see?"

"Brigade Commander, since I call this production process Seven-Man Carry, it means that only seven people are needed to carry the entire set of equipment during the march."

"Of course, it would be even better if a group of people had pack horses or mules. This would greatly increase the marching speed and make it possible to keep up with the rapid march of the large army. In addition, they could carry more raw materials."

"Since the leaders want to see it, we must show you the whole process, so that everyone can understand the whole process as soon as possible."

Minister Zhang and his colleagues had never seen this kind of display before, and they immediately felt it was extremely fresh, so they followed the team with great interest.

In fact, the equipment used in the seven-person grenade-making process has been streamlined. If the seven people have clear division of labor, it is still very easy to carry it.

Of course, the raw materials for making grenades cannot be too much, otherwise other people will be needed to assist in transportation.

The marching team's speed is definitely not as fast as that of the light infantry, but it is not slow either. If there are a few more people to help, they should be able to keep up with the large army.

This is a remarkable achievement. If a battalion has such a mobile arsenal, perhaps it would be enough to send just one squad of soldiers to help and stand guard.

If a battalion of troops is only divided into one squad, it will have no impact at all.

After everyone arrived at the destination, each group found a piece of flat ground and started producing grenades according to the previous division of labor.

The first step is to cast the bullet casing. This process requires four people: one to shape it, one to smelt the iron, one to cast it, and one to pull the bellows.

The raw materials of grenade shells are pig iron sheets, which have been processed into the size of matchboxes in advance, and the fuel is also prepared in advance, such as charcoal or coke.

Next, one person is required to produce the grenade body, using a simple foot-operated hand-cranked woodworking lathe that can quickly process the prepared wood.

Then there is someone who makes the firing device, which requires the firing ring, primer, firing rope, drawing spring, fixing plate, fixing ring, fuse and corresponding detonator, which are all prepared in advance. This is a bit complicated and requires a very careful person.

After all this is done, the final step is assembly, which is the most important and technically demanding step.

The first step is to load the prepared gunpowder into the cast shell, the second step is to install the firing device into the handle, the third step is to combine the grenade handle and the shell, and finally, fix the parts and screw them on with the cover, apply wax to seal and prevent moisture, and it is done.

After this operation, several leaders present were watching with great interest. At the same time, they kept sighing in their hearts that they had really broadened their horizons. It turned out that producing grenades was such a simple thing.

Next, the five teams completed the production of the first grenade, and the technicians nearby quickly used their watches to record the time, which is very important data.

In this drill, from igniting the iron to completing the first grenade, the fastest took thirty-eight minutes and the slowest took forty-five minutes.

After the first grenade was produced, everyone continued to produce until all the iron materials brought this time were produced. Each group produced ten grenades before finishing, which took four hours.

The reason why it takes such a short time is mainly because the first grenade takes the longest time, and the rest are basically produced on an assembly line. If the quantity is larger, the average time will be even shorter.

The next step was to test the performance of the grenades. Only one of the five grenades failed to explode due to assembly problems, and the other four exploded successfully, with a success rate of 80%, which far exceeded everyone's expectations.

After reading this, Brigade Commander Chen couldn't wait to ask:

"Xiao Kong, how many grenades can be produced in a day using this grenade production method?"

"Commander, if there are enough raw materials and spare parts, a team can produce fifty grenades if they work for sixteen hours."

"But this is the most extreme approach. Usually, one set of tools is equipped with two groups of people, who rotate every two hours. This ensures the quality of the grenades."

"good, very good!"

After hearing these data, Brigade Commander Chen immediately praised them loudly.

Fifty grenades can be produced a day. If a soldier carries three grenades as required, it can almost replenish the consumption of an infantry squad in a day.

It only takes one month to produce enough grenades for an infantry battalion, which is a remarkable achievement.