Ming Zuo

Chapter 102 Zuoying Cannon [Eighth More]

"It's not difficult to do a lot of craftsmanship."

Tu Yixian spoke on behalf of the craftsmen, very firm.

The thread thread is now widely used in Zuoying, and basically all craftsmen have mastered it.

After all, the end of the earliest matchlock barrel was blocked by this thing.

Since there is no problem with the thread, the problem of the closure of the warhead is solved.

But Bi Maokang asked one question after another.

"Even if your gun is loaded with gunpowder, how do you detonate it? Do you still want to catch up and ignite it?"

Zuo Menggeng's head was full of black lines.

"Dongjiao Gong is joking, catch up and light the gunpowder, aren't you afraid of being hacked to death by the enemy?"

Bi Maokang started to think about it.

"Do you want to leave a match rope outside the warhead, and then ignite it when it is fired? That's not possible. The gun is flying so fast, the match string is easily extinguished."

Seeing that everyone couldn't figure it out, Zuo Menggeng laughed.

He drew a small oblique hole in the center of the chassis, connecting the inside and outside.

"Look, everyone, how about putting the fuse here?"

Li Xiangzhu still didn't understand.

"How to light it?"

Zuo Menggeng then drew the cartridge.

"My idea is that when fighting, the warhead should be able to be connected to the cartridge. When the cartridge is put into the chamber, the warhead can be pushed into the barrel. You pay attention, in this way, the fuse of this warhead The fuse will be mixed with the gunpowder in the cartridge. When the gunpowder in the cartridge explodes, is it possible to ignite the fuse? In this way, after the warhead flies out, the fuse also burns to the warhead Inside, ignite the gunpowder inside to form an explosion. How about this plan?"

There was a lot of discussion, and many people were greatly inspired.

They just wanted to use an open flame to light the fuse, but they forgot that there was gunpowder in the cartridge too.And in order to fire the shells, it is necessary to rely on the gunpowder in the cartridge.

Bi Maokang gave full play to his true qualities as an expert and pointed out two problems in succession.

"Then how do you connect the cannon to the cartridge? Also, why is your cartridge shaped like this?"

The traditional Folang cannon is to put both gunpowder and shells into the cartridge, and then fire it all at once.

But the size of the warhead designed by Zuo Menggeng obviously cannot fit into the cartridge.

Moreover, Zuo Menggeng's painting of the cartridge is different from the original one with smooth lines.

The front of the cartridge, where it connects with the gun barrel, gradually converges inward, a bit like the neck of a porcelain bottle.

If future generations see it, it will certainly not be surprising.

Because the bullets and shells of later generations are like this.

Bi Maokang did not understand the meaning of this design.

Zuo Menggeng began to answer one by one.

"The size of the shell and the mouth of the cartridge must be controlled within a very small gap, and the bottom of the shell is slightly smaller than the mouth of the cartridge. When the cartridge is not in use, it is filled with gunpowder, and then sealed with mulberry paper. Mulberry paper, which is then used to wrap the bottom of the shell so that it can be firmly attached to the cartridge."

In daily life, there are many ways to fill gaps with paper or cloth.Now Zuo Menggeng uses this simple method in the assembly of shells.

"The tools we have now are sophisticated enough to keep the diameter of the warhead and the mouth of the cartridge within a reasonable range."

This sentence has been recognized by all.

Zuoying has now unified the measurement standards, and various precision instruments such as vernier calipers and compasses have been put into practical use.It is very easy to get the diameter of the base of the warhead to be similar to the diameter of the mouth of the cartridge.

As for the remaining insignificant part, as Zuo Menggeng said, just fill it with mulberry paper.

Zuo Menggeng continued: "After connecting the warhead and the cartridge together, use a cutter to cut off the excess part of the mulberry paper, and then the shell can be put into the barrel."

As he spoke, he drew a structural diagram of the interior of the cannon.

"Look, the part connecting the barrel and the barrel should also be cast like this. So, if the shells are put in like this, can they just get stuck?"

Everyone noticed that the interior of the gun barrel drawn by Zuo Menggeng is not the straight section of the current Folang machine gun, but there is a gradual constriction process from the barrel to the barrel.

This is exactly the same shape as the front end of the cartridge.

Tu Yixian was a little anxious and said, "Thousands, if it is cast like this, the shells may not be easy to put in."

It turned out that the barrel of the Flang cannon was a vertically open slot into which the cartridge could be easily placed.And according to Zuo Menggeng's design, the shell has one more warhead, so it can only be put sideways from the top.

Even so, the part behind the barrel would block, preventing the shell from being placed in it.

How could Zuo Menggeng not think of this question?

He showed everyone the back of the barrel.

"In the past, when the Flang machine gun was cast, the rear part was cast in one piece. But let's change it to a breech that can be opened. Does the rear space become larger when loading ammunition? This way Is there any problem with reloading?"

"what?"

"Wonderful!"

"Why didn't you think of it?"

It's just a breech that can be opened, and the problem of loading ammunition that plagues everyone is solved.

And the breech function designed by Zuo Menggeng doesn't stop there.

"Pay attention, this breech block must be heavy when it is made because it has to withstand the recoil of the artillery fire. And the way it locks..."

Zuo Menggeng really wanted to use the breech block locking method of later generations, but unfortunately, this era can't do it.

However, the power of the artillery he designed is not that great, so there is nothing wrong with simplifying the breech block.

There is an additional pin on the side of the breech block, which can be inserted into a pre-made slot on the left side of the barrel.

The other side has to use some force to hang in the clip.

There is a semi-circular protrusion on the inner side of the breech block against the cartridge, a bit like a UFO.

The biggest function of this circular protrusion is that when the breech block is completely closed, it can firmly push the shell to death.

An important reason for the short range of the Folang cannon is that the tightness of the cartridge and the barrel is not enough, which causes the shaking cartridge to consume too much potential energy when firing.

Now there is a constricted gun bore fixed in the front, and the breech block is stuck in the back.When firing again, the cartridge could not shake anyway, and had to use the potential energy of the gunpowder explosion to propel the shell.

This method is actually the same as the principle of loading rifle bullets in later generations.

The reason why the front half of the bullet casing is thinner than the back is to keep the bullet from loosening while feeding the bullet into the barrel.

Then the bolt is resisted from the back, and under the clamping force on both sides, after the gunpowder in the bullet casing is ignited, it can only act on the warhead.

When Zuo Menggeng said this, everyone was addicted.

In particular, the design of the fixation of the cartridge is even more surprising to everyone.

"If this method doesn't discourage you, the guns will only be able to hit farther."

Bi Maokang gestured the drawings back and forth, thoughtfully.

Zuo Menggeng pointed to the cannonball and said: "The junior combines the warhead and the cartridge to avoid deflation. In this way, the energy of the gunpowder explosion is all in the cartridge. As long as the cartridge is fixed and cannot be shaken, then All the push will go to the warhead."

He pointed to the rifling in the barrel and said, "You have seen our musket. The reason why it can reach as far as [-] meters is because of these rifling. Now the shape of the bullet is the same as that of the musket. Hit further."

What he said, Bi Maokang has fully accepted.

The old man couldn't wait for a moment.

"Then don't delay, start work immediately."

The craftsmen were even more excited, wanting to see how powerful this new type of artillery was.

Zuo Menggeng was very cautious and made a final reminder.

"Because the warhead is an iron shell, it is relatively fragile. You have to test it many times to see if the warhead will smash in the barrel and find the best solution."

In order to make the black powder explode into fragments and have a killing effect, only wrought iron shells can be used.

This is similar to the grenade of later generations.

But what Zuo Menggeng was worried about was that the strong kinetic energy of the shells would cause the shells to shatter in the barrels, and the fun would be great.

This also requires artisans to experiment.

It really doesn't work, I'd rather switch back to solid shells.

"There is also the problem of the burning speed of the fuse of the warhead. If it is fast, it will not detonate the gunpowder before hitting the predetermined location; if it is slow, it will not explode, and no one will be injured. This requires you to be on fire. After concocting it, the range and speed of the projectiles were observed many times, and the burning speed of the fuse was adjusted after the rigorous data was obtained.”

The fuse of the Ming Dynasty can actually control the burning speed.

For example, the matchlock of a matchlock gun is actually a fuse, which can be used for a long time at a very slow burning speed.

What Zuo Menggeng needs is that the fuse used for the warhead can match the flight speed of the projectile, so that the enemy can be effectively killed.

The flight speed and range of the new artillery shells can only be improved after the artillery is made, and the fuse can be improved after one experiment after another.

The birth of a new type of weapon must go through very strict demonstrations and experiments before it can be applied.

However, these improvements proposed by Zuo Menggeng were eye-opening for everyone.

The main thing is that it is not difficult at all to improve with the existing technical level.

And once the new artillery is actually produced, the impact it brings is unparalleled.

If nothing else, the power of a warhead that can explode is not comparable to that of a solid shell of today's era.

Bi Maokang decided that he would personally preside over the research and development of the new artillery.

After thinking for a while, he asked, "This cannon is a new thing, does it have a name?"

Name the gun?
Zuo Menggeng pondered for a while, then said: "Since it is used by my Zuoying, then it should be called Zuoying Cannon."

(End of this chapter)