I was a tycoon in World War I: Starting to save France

Chapter 962 Paratrooper Rifles
Charles was somewhat surprised by Dominic's words; he actually noticed the problem with the paratrooper rifle!

……

Char has always focused its equipment development on aircraft, tanks, and artillery.

Because these things require a technological and industrial base.

For example, with airplanes, even if countries like Britain, the United States, and Germany knew that France was equipped with all-metal transport aircraft, they could not replicate them because their aircraft engines had not yet reached the required horsepower to power the all-metal fuselage.

Even if the engine horsepower reaches a certain level one day, there are still many details that they need to develop step by step.

Tanks and artillery are similar.

But light equipment was a different story. Rifles, machine guns, submachine guns, mortars, landmines... whatever Char invented today would be in the hands of the German army tomorrow, and might even be used on a large scale.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary for actual combat, Sharl would push for light equipment.

This is why the Shar developed attack aircraft instead of weapons like the Panzerfaust, rocket launcher, or bazooka, even though the latter are much simpler.

French tanks held an absolute advantage on the battlefield, so developing these things was just adding to their own troubles.

This approach is similar to the British having the most and strongest battleships, yet insisting on launching torpedo boats that could achieve great victories with limited resources.

……

Seeing Charles in a daze, Dominic laughed:
"Don't be so surprised, General."

“I was reminded by Mr. Browning, who always emphasized that firearms were designed to kill the enemy and therefore had to be designed in the context of warfare.”

"The first thing that comes to mind is your paratroopers."

"I think that once a new branch of the military is introduced, many new problems will arise, including firearms, wouldn't you agree?"

Charles replied affirmatively, "Yes, you're right."

"So," Dominic continued, "..."
"I've looked up some information about paratroopers, and I also hope to interview a few paratroopers who participated in the combat to hear about the difficulties they encountered."

"But unfortunately I failed."

"Because they said it was classified, I was almost arrested as a spy, and they only let me go after I revealed my identity."

Dominic looked helpless; this didn't seem like a very pleasant experience.

Charles laughed: "This is the newest unit, Dominic. There are many spies who want to know their details. We have to do this."

“I know,” Dominic said understandingly. “That’s why my investigation was incomplete, and I can only make judgments based on the information I have, or you could say it’s a guess.”

Charles asked with great interest, "Tell me your judgment and guess."

Dominic took two photos from his briefcase, stood up, and handed them to Charles:

"The paratroopers are equipped with M1 semi-automatic rifles and PPD submachine guns. The PPD submachine gun is fine; it has a large magazine capacity and a short barrel."

"But the M1 rifle is 1107mm long, and it would be very inconvenient for soldiers to carry it when they parachute."

"For example, in the narrow and crowded cabin, or when skydiving, you may get caught on the netting rope, and you may be injured when you roll around with it on your back upon landing."

Charles couldn't help but praise, "You guessed right, some soldiers were indeed injured during the parachute jump."

Steed asked, puzzled, "Then why don't we equip all the paratroopers with PPD submachine guns...?"

“Father,” Dominic stopped Steed with a look, “it’s because of the range.”

Dominic turned to Charles: "I'm sorry, my father doesn't know much about military matters."

“It’s alright.” Charles smiled and nodded to the two of them. “There’s no need to be so formal. Besides, I have plenty of time. After all, it’s the British and Americans fighting the Germans right now!”

Steed and Dominic laughed, and the atmosphere immediately lightened.

Charles continued the previous topic:
"Dominic is right, it's because of the range." "Although the PPD submachine gun has a large magazine capacity and a short barrel, its range is only about 200 meters."

"If the enemy is 300 or more away..."

Steed suddenly realized that he hadn't considered practical application.

That's understandable, though. The wars he knew involved everyone using the same type of rifle, not as complex as they are now, so of course there wouldn't be this concept of complementary ranges.

Dominic continued Charles's words:

"My guess is that the paratroopers are likely to also have a problem with insufficient firepower."

"The reason is that paratroopers only carry light equipment and have very few mortars."

"But the enemy had heavy machine guns, infantry guns, and a large stockpile of ammunition."

Charles hummed in agreement: "You guessed right. So, you've found a solution?"

Dominic excitedly took a document from his briefcase and handed it to Charles: "This is my newly designed gun, General. It might solve the paratroopers' problem."

Charles took a look and discovered that it was actually the FG42 rifle, which Germany had developed specifically for paratroopers during World War II.

(The image above shows the FG42 paratrooper rifle, developed by Germany for paratroopers.)
Dominic explained to the document:
"Its overall length is 975mm, and it can be shortened to 710mm when the stock is folded to the right, which is even shorter than the PPD."

"But its range is about the same as the M1 rifle, that's my estimate, because it uses rifle ammunition."

"In addition, it has both single-shot and burst-fire modes, with a 20-round magazine."

……

It outperforms the M1 rifle in every aspect and seems to have perfectly solved all the problems: length, firepower, range, etc.

It was practically tailor-made for paratroopers.

Steed leaned closer to examine the gun, his eyes shining, and occasionally cast admiring glances at Dominic, seemingly very proud of him.

This is indeed something to be proud of. Dominic was quite excellent, able to design such a groundbreaking and highly targeted rifle.

But Charles knew that this was still not quite right.

“It’s heavier than the M1 with the tripod on, Dominic,” Charles said.

“Yes,” Dominic replied. “I estimate the empty gun might weigh 5 kilograms, but that’s acceptable, isn’t it?”

The M1 rifle weighs 4.3 kg, which is only about 0.7 kg heavier.

Charles wasn't nitpicking; he simply had a better solution and couldn't stand having to take a roundabout and circuitous route.

“If it’s just a matter of the gun, then it’s acceptable,” Charles said.

"But we should perhaps consider that most battles take place at a distance of 300 to 400 meters."

“But our rifles have a range of 800 meters, which seems unnecessary.”

Dominic was taken aback: "Too long a range? You mean, even the bullets need to be redesigned?"

Charles nodded slightly:

"Now, with bullets, it's difficult for a rifle to fire in bursts like a submachine gun."

"But submachine gun bullets are too weak."

"If there were a bullet whose power lay between that of a rifle and a submachine gun, satisfying the combat needs of soldiers while also allowing for continuous fire..."

Dominic's eyes widened instantly: "That's the gun the battlefield really needs, a brand new rifle!"

(End of this chapter)