Canteen System Assistance Notes

Nikolai Polikarpov, one of the advisors to the "counter-revolutionary White Russians," asked the young man beside him. The young man, surnamed Lu, glanced at his watch and quickly calculated the answer.

"Mr. Nicola, 103 hours, 26 minutes, 23 seconds, 24 seconds, 25 seconds."

"Okay, Lu, stay calm - it's just an engine, nothing to get all worked up about."

"Okay, no problem, Mr. Nicola!"

The engine did not drive the aircraft's propeller, but was fixed to a large steel platform used for engine testing and connected to a horsepower dynamometer. An additional high-speed fan was outputting strong convection air to the engine to cool the device.

The large engine is designed to be air-cooled, and a high-speed liquid cooling loop connected to an electric pump is used to cool the resistance box of the damping power tester.

It can be seen that even with the powerful forced-circulation water-cooling system, the power output of the R-2800 is enough to instantly heat the cold water to near boiling point. On the power meter, the pointer gently presses on the 2000 horsepower mark and sways slightly, showing its ease.

"Okay, Lu. After 105 hours, we'll perform another 'hydraulic boost' to increase power to 2800 horsepower. Run for five hours before concluding the test. Afterward, we'll wait for the engine to cool down and conduct a detailed inspection."

“Okay, no problem!”

The university student surnamed Lu jumped and ran away. Mr. Nikolay Polikarpov laughed dumbly: this new student he had accepted had a solid foundation and worked hard, but his temper was still a little bit erratic. Ah, it reminded me of my youth.

When he was young... he lowered his head and began to review the test data that the students had helped to organize: This engine has been running at 2600 horsepower for 5 hours and 2000 horsepower for nearly 100 hours without any maintenance.

Repair; and it looks like there will be no problems in the next 5 hours of afterburner.

It is truly a terrifying existence of Sukabulie, with terrifying horsepower, terrifying robustness, and terrifying reliability...

"Mr. Consultant! You can rest assured. I told you: there will be absolutely no problems with the Twin Wasps!"

The American engineer next to him patted his chest and boasted conceitedly: "Every Double Wasp that leaves the factory has this quality! You know, this engine was taken randomly from the production line. There is no such thing as picking a cherry.

Imagine you could build an engine like this in 2 years - so your $300 million was well spent!"

This engine was originally produced by Pratt & Whitney and was one of the first second-hand engines that had been tested. The technicians prepared by the Eighth Route Army refurbished and maintained it under the guidance of American engineers. This is also a guarantee for the subsequent aircraft city.

Mission - The engine being tested is of this type.

"You can be very proud of making such an engine." The designer standing on the other side, Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev, spoke. As the wing designer and production process designer at this time, he became the

Another leader of the "White Russian remnants" who was "exiled" to China for the second time

"Oh, my dear fellows, I congratulate you personally."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

The American expert took a sip of his iced Coke and laughed. "As for the 'Twin Wasps,' I can say: We haven't innovated anything, we haven't revolutionized anything. We've simply made every part the best it can be."

This is indeed not bragging, the R-2800 engine is indeed the best of the traditional radial air-cooled engines. It is indeed exciting to be able to produce this engine in a few years.

Not very happy, he narrowed his eyes and asked tentatively:

"Does Pratt & Whitney believe that its further development path will basically end with the R 2800?"

"That won't happen," the American said, a little excitedly. "The R-2800 has more potential than that. With water injection, it can achieve a stable operation of 2800 horsepower."

He avoided talking about the subsequent engine development, but continued to show off, "MIT Laboratory and Republic Aircraft Company have done pressure tests for us. The R-2800 can actually fly under forced cooling, supercharged and continuously sprayed with water.

The maximum power output is 3600 horsepower and the engine can run for 250 hours without stopping. The engine speed is 2800 revolutions per minute.

"When the horsepower is increased to 3800 through supercharging, the engine will become unstable."

"So why do you limit the power to 1800 horsepower?" Myasishchev asked. "It's just... a complete waste, man.

"Oh, this is it."

Pratt & Whitney engineers clenched their fists and compared the piston and connecting rod to a circle in front of their chests. "The output of the Twin Wasp engine is too strong. We found that when it is at high power output, the crankshaft will gradually produce slight vibrations under the continuous impact.

After a few hundred hours, the crankshaft's eccentricity may not meet the standard. If you come up with a solution to this problem, please let me know. I will report it to the company and apply for some awards for you.

励。

"Also, for single-engine aircraft, an engine with too much horsepower requires a larger propeller to generate driving force, and it will generate a large yawing torque - which is not very friendly to the pilot.

"In short... 800 horsepower is enough for now. I can't say more than that. You understand, buddy."

The experiment went on smoothly. As expected, the "Double Wasp" withstood the final few hours of 2000 horsepower testing and the 5-hour 2800 horsepower test without any problems.

The carbon deposits in the cylinders caused by water injection and boost need to be cleaned in time, and the wear of components caused by boost operation exceeds the rated value. There is no need for additional maintenance on the entire engine.

The Chinese technician team and Polikarpov's new students cheered and took several engineers sent by Pratt & Whitney to a celebration banquet - after all, it was a great honor to be able to refurbish an old engine and have it repaired for such a long time.

The rigorous testing can be considered a phased victory for the technical team.

At the launch test site, only the two "White Russians" Polikarpov and Myasishchev were left.

"Comrade Nikolay, the 51st Factory has already been established in Xinjiang Province. Together with the Chinese comrades, they have taken over the Touhunhe Aircraft Factory. They will send some people here to help." Myasishchev suddenly said something out of the blue. "Listen to him.

They said that the machines there were almost all brand new, had not been used much, and were covered with a thick layer of dust. After cleaning, they could be put into production immediately.

"This is another, complete waste."

"Well, they plan to use up the aircraft and parts they have first to complete the production of the last batch of Il-4 bombers." Polikarpov seemed to have just come back to his senses from his deep thoughts. He thought for a moment and replied, "This will probably last for a while."

It will continue until the end of this year, unless the Aviation Commission places further orders... By the way, Comrade Vladimir, what else did you bring with you besides yourself?

"A scaled-down high-speed wind tunnel can provide a maximum airflow speed of 275m/s, which is just right for your low-speed wind tunnel." Myasishchev raised a finger. "My main purpose is to help comrades from friendly parties build something from scratch.

Build an aircraft industry, starting from maintenance, assembly, overhaul, and perfect their craft technology...

"My dear Comrade Vladimir Mikhailovich," Polikarpov turned and looked Myasishchev in the eye, "I just want to ask, how many Double Wasps will Comrade Tupolev need next?"

"Comrade Mikulin is producing engines for the Il-21 and MiG, and the schedule for Factory 19 is also very slow." Myasishchev's eyes wandered. "Here we have aluminum, engines, workers, and ready-made equipment..."

"Actually, there aren't any nasty M-107 engines here, and we can use less wood.

Polikarpov smiled and shook hands with Myasishchev. "But after all, we are here to assist our comrades from a friendly party. Vladimir, do you think twin-engine attack aircraft are more necessary on the Chinese battlefield, or single-engine heavy fighter-bombers are more urgent?"

Chapter 499: Consultants, Equipment, New Requirements

Comrade Liu Helian was reading a report at his desk. The report was very thick. It was printed out and neatly bound together into several volumes.

In terms of organizational relations, Liu Helian was a member of the Communist Party of China who had transferred back to the Soviet Union. The relevant files were placed under a specially established agency, the "Central Logistics Special Committee." Normally, this level was directly managed by Political Commissar Wang Da and the Premier, with Staff Officer Zuo in charge of political and ideological work. It was a very high level.

However, this organization was specifically responsible for managing the "canteen," destined to remain a mystery in Party history research. Therefore, to facilitate Comrade Liu Helian's daily work and his role as a "minister without responsibility," he was given a host of "advisor" titles: Special Advisor to the Central Military Commission, Special Advisor to the Central Finance and Economics Commission, Special Advisor to the Central Industrial Commission...

Thus, after every major battle, Liu Helian's regular task was to review the reports forwarded by the Military Commission, draw on his own knowledge to offer suggestions and recommendations, and coordinate with other departments to help resolve the issues. This wasn't an easy task; reviewing lengthy reports containing interview material, telegrams, and summary texts was quite exhausting. However, Liu Helian relished this work: as a time traveler, seeing the historically distinct changes in the People's Army on the battlefield from these summary reports—especially those for the better—instilled in him a deep sense of motivation and a strong desire to continue participating in the transformation of history.

Although commanding a vast army to fight on the battlefield, expel the invaders, and liberate all of China was appealing, Liu Helian felt he didn't have the talent to compete with the bright future generals and marshals for such work. Therefore, he focused more on achieving success in construction, development, and research. While ensuring the quality and quantity of the tasks were completed on time, if he had the spare time, he could also "do something else" by the way.

The first report he read was about weapons and equipment.

The Eighth Route Army's combat style at this time was very interesting.

The Eighth Route Army, having yet to experience the Liberation War and the Korean War of the original time and space, hadn't yet developed the ultimate mobile warfare style of deploying across the entire front, combining deep maneuvers with shallow, deep assaults, and launching a cascading offensive from a large number of battalion- and company-level units. This type of tactical system required a cadre of grassroots commanders with unparalleled battlefield instincts and tactical acumen, capable of seamless coordination based solely on tacit understanding, and imbued with a wealth of initiative. The Eighth Route Army of 1941 in this time and space could only say, "I'm not interested."

However, the Eighth Route Army, which still retained the Red Army's combat style and was instilled with a large number of future battle examples and research experience by Liu Helian, obviously had some development context different from history: After this battle, many grassroots commanders strongly expressed their desire to strengthen the coordination of echelon firepower and enhance the firepower available on the front line.

Simply put, the soldiers realized that carrying equipment on their backs ultimately had its limits. So, while increasing the density of frontline firepower, it was also best to increase the firepower they could command via walkie-talkie. This need was significantly reflected in the suggestions for improving weaponry.

For example, regarding light weapons, there's no need to dwell on the general public's fondness for rifle grenades, bazookas, and the Type 82 rifle. Liu Helian noted that many units have expressed demand for improvements to their machine guns. For example, the DP light machine gun, the core of our Soviet-equipped units, was once a favorite among Eighth Route Army commanders and fighters for its ease of production, simple and reliable construction, and sustained firepower far exceeding that of the Czech-style machine gun.

But this time, this reliable new comrade could not avoid being criticized.

Some troops reported that some DP machine guns would lose their ability to recoil when firing more than five magazines in a row, turning them into "semi-automatic rifles"; some troops focused on complaining about the inconvenience of the magazine, feeling that the large iron pan was inconvenient to carry, had a small capacity, and was extremely painful to load; other troops pointed out that the front gun part of this thing lacked a grip, making it difficult to fire while moving, and the bipod was extremely crude, difficult to grasp, and difficult to use when it was deployed for firing, and hoped that the military industry department would find ways to improve it.

The report also includes some preliminary analysis and improvement suggestions.

The failure of the full-automatic function only occurred in the DP machine guns imported from the Soviet Union. The ones produced by the border region itself did not have this problem. It is speculated that this is because the recoil spring of the original Soviet DP machine gun is under the barrel, which is prone to heat fatigue during continuous shooting. The version produced by the border region moved the recoil spring to the rear of the receiver, avoiding this problem.

The Mobile Corps Training Division and the Jinsui Field Army's military repair shop also modified some DP machine guns for the field, creating a "blasted DP"—they fashioned a small side grip from scrap wood and wire, welded to the DP's front heat shield, allowing the machine gun to be gripped from the front. Furthermore, the repair shop's technicians also attempted to adapt the DP to Maxim's metal belt, but this attempt was unsuccessful. The rim of the 54R round meant that the belt-fed DP machine gun required two rounds of reloading, a modification that was beyond the capabilities of the field repair shop.

Hmm...is the RP-46 being produced ahead of schedule? When the DP was being produced in the border region, Liu Helian had Minister Liu, who was in charge of organizing light weapons production, replace the recoil spring with the DPM. Now it seems the DPM can no longer meet the needs of the Eighth Route Army.

Liu Helian continued to scroll through the report. There were many other items in the light weapons report. For example, "The Maxim water-cooling sleeve is too heavy and inconvenient to use. Can it be modified?" and "The Avs-36 can't be controlled in full auto. Should I lock it off and switch to a three-shot burst?" He noted his comments in the feedback column for each, preparing to forward them to the light weapons system along with the feedback on the DP.

Of course, opinions such as "The M2 machine gun is so effective in hitting people, can it be made as light as the Maxim?" cannot be adopted and implemented for the time being.

The reports that have been able to pass the grassroots filtering and be submitted here are already very concise, so there are not many opinions and suggestions for the front-line armed forces. There are only a few in total. Most of the suggestions are about "firepower shouted by walkie-talkie".

The APU's direct-fire artillery was well-received. In urban combat, where tractors often lost contact with the artillery, the self-powered 45mm AT gun and 82mm high- and low-pressure gun could be easily attached to the lead vehicle, towing themselves and moving positions at the speed of an adult trot, providing fire support. However, even in the incredibly fast-paced urban combat, assault teams still found the APU's firepower and mobility insufficient: they couldn't climb slopes of debris, and the APU's range was limited to 25 kilometers.

They hoped to have a larger-caliber direct-fire howitzer to accompany the troops for support - preferably, this thing has better mobility and can drive through ordinary barricade obstacles on its own; it should be more powerful than the 82mm high-pressure and low-pressure guns and be able to blow open common bunkers with one shot; it should also have some armor to block the Japanese anti-tank guns.

Hmm... Liu Helian thought, the Eighth Route Army wants an assault gun. He silently wrote this request down in his notebook, ready to consult with the vehicle manufacturer when the time comes. Speaking of which, apart from the German "Tanzan", there seemed to be no real "assault gun" at the moment!

接下来，首次上阵的M3O122毫米榴弹炮收到了大量的赞"，连带着已经陪了八路一段时间的英制25磅火炮也是。这两款榴弹炮的射程和威力都超过7乃5毫米M1山炮，挑起了本次战役中曲射火力的大梁。

Among them, the M30 was mainly responsible for fire preparation before the start of the battle, while the 25-pounder (Vickers gun mount model) was responsible for suppressing fire and counter-artillery, blowing the Japanese artillery away.

The artillery column raised objections to this. They felt that the two artillery pieces, one with a range of 11.5 kilometers and the other with a range of 13.5 kilometers, were great. However, it would be better to have a howitzer with a range of about 15 kilometers that could completely suppress the Japanese field artillery, to serve as an attached artillery piece at the army level or to be independently organized into an artillery regiment; and they also needed a military cannon that could be towed by an AEC four-wheel drive truck, preferably with a longer range.

-Some, capable of reaching 18 kilometers, are specifically designed for deployment at the campaign level.

Furthermore, the artillery column's howitzer regiment assigned to the mobile corps had a specific requirement: the mobile corps' speed far surpassed that of a typical field army, surpassing even a Class A field army operating on a mix of mule, horse, and motorcycle. To keep up, the howitzer regiment had to frequently withdraw and deploy its positions, a waste of time. So, was there a way to mount the artillery and its supporting equipment onto a mobile chassis, allowing the vehicle to fire upon arrival, connect to the communications network, and then, after firing, simply hit the gas and run away?

Commander Zhu of the Artillery Corps was also very considerate and attached his own instructions: If the military industry system feels that the difficulty is relatively high, you can try it first with the barrel of the 75mm M howitzer - after the war, the Artillery Corps helped the armored troops drag out many T26 tank chassis at the Daqingshan base, which can also be used as experimental materials.

Ah, Commander Zhu Dunzhong, you not only want the D1 howitzer, the Type 66 howitzer, but also the SU-5 self-propelled artillery, right?

Chapter 500: Fantasy about Firing

Commander Zhu Dunzhong is a very talented person.

In 1924, at the age of 19, he was admitted to Guangdong University. After studying there for a year, he was sent to the Soviet Union to study at Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow and the Krasin Artillery School. Afterwards, Zhu Dunzhong joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, then returned to the Communist Party of China, and returned to China in 130.

In the following time, he worked in party affairs, engaged in military mobilization, fought in anti-encirclement and suppression campaigns, served as a political commissar, and commanded battles - well, although apart from military mobilization, he did not do other jobs such as political commissar and command very well.

However, during his artillery career after 1945, Zhu Dunzhong's excellent professional qualities were finally put to good use. He not only recovered numerous artillery pieces left behind by the Japanese army and trained thousands of artillery personnel for our army, but also standardized the organization, training, and operations of our artillery. Chairman Mao called him our army's artillery marshal.

Unfortunately, during the Liaoshen Campaign, he stepped on a mine while working and died on the eve of victory.

During this time and space, Comrade Zhu Dunzhong's life trajectory changed to a certain extent. He and his wife were recalled to the border area in advance in 39, and Secretary Zhu Dunzhong became Commander Zhu of the Eighth Route Army Artillery Column.

Here, he quickly learned the relevant data of various new artillery in the hands of the artillery commanders. He not only translated and compiled the operating procedures and training manuals for the M30 and 25-pound artillery, but also devoted himself to the improvement and standardization of our army's artillery regulations. He also spent the whole day consulting and discussing with a certain consultant comrade.

Comrade Liu Helian is like a date tree; sometimes he doesn't even know how many fruits it has borne. "Zhu Dunzhong said, 'If you hit him with a stick for no reason, he'll often drop a terrifying pile of dates.'"

"We have a batch of French-made 22-gauge 155mm gun barrels. The 6th Artillery Arsenal, which produces the M30, is currently installing these barrels on MO gun carriages. As far as I know, the factory is already conducting live-fire tests, and the progress is very good."

"After that, the Artillery Corps will just need to bring their computers over, compile firing tables together, and finalize the guns... As for the other accessories and accompanying equipment, both the 6th and 5th Artillery Factories are already familiar with them, so there won't be any problems. I think the Artillery Corps will be able to receive the first batch of 155mm howitzers with a range of 15 kilometers before the end of this year—and remember to give them a new name when the time comes!"

Liu Helian introduced the current progress to Zhu Dunzhong. After all, he was still a special adviser to the Central Industrial Commission, so he could help the artillery factory speed up.

"Name it? No problem." Commander Zhu ignored the details and pressed on. "Looking at the technical specifications, it's roughly on par with the Type 18 howitzers the Germans sold to Guojian... How heavy is it?"

"It's significantly lighter than the German 150. The one Rheinmetall sold to Guojian weighed nearly seven tons. Ours is just under four tons, about 3.8 tons. Using aluminum in unstressed areas could make it even lighter." Liu Helian reviewed the data in his mind. "Even though it's significantly lighter, it still doesn't have an animal-drawn lead vehicle. It has to be towed by a truck."

"That's good. What about the cannon, and that 'self-propelled gun'?"

"As for the cannon or howitzer you're looking for, the only available options right now are the 3.2x Schneider barrels delivered by France. I think the existing mounts suitable for them are too heavy. For example, the original Schneider M1929 weighs over 8 tons... so you probably can't rush it."

Commander Zhu's questions came one after another, and Liu Helian could only answer them one by one, trying to clear his mind as much as possible. "As for the self-propelled artillery, the Soviet comrades said they have a ready-made design that can be used, so the current plan of modifying the T26 to install a 75mm gun is no problem."

"Okay, He Lian, this is for you."

Finally, Commander Zhu Dunzhong seemed to have finished asking questions. He sat down in his office chair and pulled out a photo album to show Liu Helian. It was a collection of newly developed black and white photos, showing various types of artillery and artillery used in this battle.

There are photos of 12-pound guns being collected and transferred, photos of 25-pound guns firing continuously, and photos of artillery cadets posing in front of a dilapidated tank chassis - this photo was taken in the north of Lucheng. This group of fledgling cadets used Polish French-made M1917 howitzers to bombard the Japanese mechanized troops. The 95 light tank chosen as the background was said to have been directly hit by a 155 warhead, leaving only a pool of metal cake.

"I took quite a few photos myself, and I also asked reporters from the Xinhua Daily to take some. Oh, and that American journalist Hemingway also gave me some photos." Zhu Dunzhong patted a leather case on the table, which contained his "Feide" camera. "I'll have to keep a copy of these photos in the archives of the Artillery Column later - they all show the development of our artillery."

"This is wonderful, thank you Commander Zhu." Liu Helian accepted the gift. It was indeed wonderful, photos of the People's Artillery's first large-scale battle... shouldn't they be scanned and digitized? he thought.

"In 1935, I was the political commissar of the First Red Army Corps. Back then, I always loved going to the artillery battalion." Commander Zhu, seeing Xiao Liu, began to reminisce. "The First Red Army Corps' artillery battalion had two artillery companies and one engineering company. But the entire artillery battalion had only four mortars and 31 rounds of ammunition, and that was after we captured the enemy's shells. The engineering company had dozens of people, but only a few wooden iron shovels and axes...

"Now the old Red Army can also use big artillery."

"Yeah, time flies, it's only been six years." "Well, so He Lian..."

Zhu Dunzhong and Xiao Liu were already quite familiar with each other. After a pause, he suddenly asked, "In six years... no, what do you think the artillery of the future will be like?"

Artillery of the future?

A bunch of things immediately started popping up in Liu Helian's mind, such as modern self-propelled artillery, artillery command systems and even 30 long-range artillery, but before he could finish his thoughts, Zhu Dunzhong continued talking on his own.

Comrade He Lian, during the Lucheng battle, the Industrial Committee's new command system really opened my eyes. It can relay communications, transmit data, and even locate targets. It's truly impressive. The only downside is that it only covers a 30-kilometer radius. "I've been researching it for quite a while, and then I started thinking about some things. It's still not very systematic..."

Commander Zhu began to slowly describe what was in his mind.

"I still remember the lessons I took in the Soviet Union—for a specific artillery piece and a specific ammunition, knowing the distance from the enemy and the direction of the fire satisfied the basic firing conditions. Of course, for accurate firing, one also had to consider wind direction, temperature, altitude differences, and even the temperature of the ammunition itself... But those weren't a problem. The artillery scouts ahead not only transmitted firing parameters but also helped correct the impact."

"In short, traditional artillery fire is based on a system similar to polar coordinates. Distance, direction, and known firing tables constitute the most basic firing conditions," Zhu Dunjian said, staring into Xiao Liu's eyes. "This raises a problem. It's almost impossible to command an artillery group without being at the artillery observation post to which it belongs. No, even mobile artillery scouts find it difficult to command the group's artillery.

"This makes counter-artillery operations very difficult. Artillery positions and artillery spotters must first determine their positions on a map using geodesy, then observe the enemy using range and direction-finding equipment. This data must then be reported. After a series of calculations, it is finally converted into the parameters necessary for artillery fire. When I was studying in the Soviet Union 25 years ago, the Soviet Red Army would take at least an hour to complete such an operation."

"But what about us? The 3rd Howitzer Regiment only took 16 minutes and 24 seconds to defeat the Japanese field artillery. It's less than 20 minutes..."