Development of productivity started in 1981

Chapter 149: Steel and Artillery (Part )

On December 1982, 12, Wang Jiankun followed the rough barrels of the guns that were being transported to the No. 12 Machinery Factory in Northern Myanmar in Magao.

"Uncle, have the machining equipment and other miscellaneous items shipped from the base been installed?"

At the First Machinery Factory, Wang Jiankun asked his uncle, the temporary general manager.

Now this machinery factory will mainly serve artillery manufacturing, so the internal security forces are responsible for security. My uncle is temporarily serving as the factory director, and he is currently making production arrangements in the factory with several reserve factory directors.

"Jiankun, you are here. The equipment has been installed, powered on and tested with common materials. The accuracy and other aspects meet the requirements."

"That's good, uncle, let's start making the cannon barrel."

"Okay, you take charge and we'll coordinate."

So Wang Jiankun began to arrange people to hoist the delivered gun barrel steel blanks into the heating furnace. After the gun steel reached the preset temperature, the workers hoisted the already red-hot gun steel onto the punching machine.

The processing table of this punching machine is 12 meters long. In the future, some parts that require large-size punching can be manufactured on this machine.

After the workpiece was placed in place, Wang Jiankun asked the operator to start processing.

One end of the punch is pressed against the red-hot gun steel and rotates forward, while the other end is pressed against an extremely hard steel cone.

The steel cone began to enter the center of the red-hot cannon steel, and was then gradually wrapped by the cannon steel.

During this process, it has been rotating forward, and the outside is also tightly wrapped. Because a hard steel rod enters the middle, it is also slowly squeezed and lengthened.

When the steel rod is completely inserted into the gun steel, the entire gun steel and the steel rod inside are moved aside to cool.

Because of the different shrinkage rates, the internal steel rods will gradually loosen, and then the steel rods can be taken out by a machine, and a rough blank of a gun barrel is completed.

After the first rough blank of the gun barrel was produced through the perforation process, the workers conducted a detailed inspection, and Wang Jiankun also used his superpowers to check it to confirm that the processed size met the design requirements.

The rough gun barrel is then lifted back into the heating furnace for further heating. After heating is completed, it is lifted away by workers in another process.

The next step is to straighten the barrel and preliminarily complete the outer diameter processing. After the previous perforation process is completed, the outer diameter of the barrel is uniform, but the actual barrel is generally thick at one end and thin at the other end, so on the precision forging and stretching straightening machine, the outer diameter needs to be processed to the required diameter.

The two ends of the red-hot gun barrel blank are clamped by huge claws, and the precision forging head in the middle precision forges the gun barrel according to the set processing standards.

The precision forging head squeezes one after another, and each time the barrel is squeezed, it is driven to move once due to the rotation of the claw plates at both ends.

In addition to clamping and rotating the barrel blank, the claws at both ends also play a straightening role.

The entire precision forging and straightening process lasted half an hour. The original length of the 9.8-meter-long gun barrel was stretched to 10 meters, and the outer diameter also changed from being of equal thickness to being thick at one end and thin at the other.

After the straightening work is completed, the barrel is put aside to cool. During the cooling process, workers have been recording the size changes. These data are collected and used to analyze the expansion coefficients of steels with different proportions.

After the temperature dropped to room temperature, workers nearby began to hoist the barrel blank onto a large external cylindrical finishing machine.

The worker uses a lifting equipment to lift the gun barrel, then clamps both ends. After measuring the size, the worker selects the program, presses the start button, and the lathe begins external cylindrical finishing.

The surface, which had turned blue-black after fine forging and straightening, became silver after lathe processing.

This large CNC machine tool was also designed by Wang Jiankun and asked Zhizi to design it based on the information, so he was watching the entire processing process and collecting data at the same time, preparing to modify and improve these equipment after completing the entire artillery processing process.

After the outer circle is finely processed, the barrel length has been fixed at 8990 mm, and the excess part has been cut off and is waiting to be recycled.

The outer wall is not only processed to be smooth and reach the required size, but also some fixing positions of peripheral devices are processed one after another by this CNC machine tool by changing the tool after the rounding process is completed.

Mainly, the front part is used for installing the thread of the muzzle, the middle part is used for installing the small holes and fixing ports of the smoke exhaust device, and the rear part is used for installing the running bolt and some bayonet fixings on the gun mount.

After the external processing is completed, the shiny gun barrel is lifted to the inner wall cutting machine for inner wall processing.

At this time, the gun barrel is fixed vertically on the machine, and an extra-long drill starts to cut the inner wall from bottom to top.

In order to facilitate the subsequent barrel self-tightening process, the inner wall was not directly processed to 155 mm. Instead, based on the calculated data, a margin of 0.52 mm was left, and only an inner diameter of 154.48 mm was processed.

During this process, Wang Jiankun has been collecting data, and the laser positioning system of this equipment is also recording data in real time for subsequent improvements.

After all, with such a long processing size, the drill rod is constantly vibrating during processing, so in order to prevent out-of-tolerance, the position of the drill rod needs to be adjusted in real time according to the amplitude of the vibration.

After the inner wall is cut, the workers use a high-precision detector to check the inner wall bit by bit. After confirming that the entire inner wall size meets expectations, the gun barrel is transferred to a distant ultra-high pressure hydraulic press.

Both ends of the gun barrel are tightly grasped and sealed by a hydraulic press. The hydraulic oil enters the pipe wall through the pipeline. As the super compressor starts working, the pressure of the internal liquid rises rapidly, and soon the pressure reaches 120 atmospheres.

The workers then kept the compressor running at a certain power to keep the hydraulic oil at this pressure, and continued for 1 hour before slowly reducing the pressure.

Wang Jiankun used his superpowers to observe the changes in the barrel while pressurizing it, and found that the atoms of the hydraulic oil desperately collided with the atoms on the barrel wall, and then the pressure began to be transmitted from the inside to the outside, and the atoms in the inner layer of the barrel wall gradually became more compact.

When the pressure reaches 120 atmospheres, the inner diameter of the barrel expands to 155.06 mm, which still meets the design requirements.

When the pressure began to gradually decrease, the atoms in the inner layer of the tube wall began to move little by little. However, because it had been maintained for 1 hour, the atoms had already tightly formed new crystals, so they only deformed a little.

After the hydraulic oil was drained out, the inner diameter of the barrel wall finally returned to 155 mm, which fully met the design requirements.

If the gun is a smoothbore cannon, the basic manufacturing of the gun barrel is completed after this step. However, Wang Jiankun designed a rifled cannon, so one last process is required to complete the processing of the internal rifling.

This gun barrel, which had gone through many hardships, was hoisted and placed flat on a large deep-hole processing machine. With the work of the long processing head, the rifling was processed bit by bit.

The worker at this job is a senior talent invited by my uncle from China. He is said to be 55 years old, but he looks very strong. He must have reported his age a little too high.

He had been working in a third-tier factory, doing rifling processing work on a 120mm artillery. It was said that because the factory had very few orders and paid a basic salary, the factory asked them to find a solution on their own. Perhaps in order to leave a stable job for his son, he chose to retire and let his son take over. He went to Guangshi to find a job, and somehow he was introduced to work here.

In order to invite him, we gave him 5 yuan as a settling-in fee, and invited him to work here with a monthly salary of 5 yuan, and told him that after working for 3 years or training 3 qualified apprentices, he could choose to go back or stay and continue working.

This old worker who was hired was quite skilled. With his years of experience, he observed the vibration of the drill rod and constantly adjusted the speed and position of the machine tool.

Wang Jiankun used his super powers to observe and found that his adjustments were all timely and in place, ensuring that the accuracy of the rifling met the design requirements.

Wang Jiankun probably understood his working principle, which was to observe the vibration of the drill rod and make fine adjustments based on the position of the drill rod and the speed at that time. However, for the time being, he just recorded the corresponding data and told it to Zhizi, letting Zhizi think about how to use the existing technology to design the corresponding program for correction and compensation.

Once the internal rifling is completed, the gun barrel has completed the machining process.

Wang Jiankun temporarily arranged the subsequent assembly work within the base.

One reason is that this type of artillery has not yet been finalized, and the corresponding gun mount and loading mechanism have not yet been tested. Once the tests are completed and the shape of the entire artillery is determined, the corresponding ancillary equipment processing plant and artillery assembly factory will be established.

However, these supporting factories are already building their factories, with some general processing equipment being manufactured partly by processing plants in Hong Kong and partly by Wang Jiankun.

"Uncle, how is the preparation of the artillery test site going? And have all the recruited artillerymen arrived?"

On the way back to the base, Wang Jiankun talked to his uncle on the phone.

“Jiankun, the artillery test site has been built according to your requirements. The observation equipment and personnel are also ready. We are just waiting for your notification. Two artillery groups are already in place. They are all retired personnel who participated in the counterattack in the south.

By the way, when will they be notified to go to the test site to test-fire the artillery?"

"Well, they will be in place at 8 am tomorrow. I will bring people to bring the gun and the corresponding shells to the test site." "Okay, I'll notify them and they will be in place at 8 am tomorrow."

Wang Jiankun transferred the gun barrel from the ship to an electric trailer, and then he drove the trailer with the gun barrel to a simple factory building.

Various elements for manufacturing the gun mount and gun barrel ancillary equipment have been prepared here. Wang Jiankun also prepared the shells early, a total of 60 rounds, packed in 30 wooden boxes, 2 rounds in each box.

The fuse was also made using superpowers and stored separately in a shock-proof wooden box. The corresponding propellant bags were also manufactured and packed in waterproof and moisture-proof engineering plastic boxes.

The shells for this cannon have not yet been finalized, so in the early stages it is planned to use superpowers to manufacture them all. After the finalization is completed, Wang Jiankun plans to use his superpowers to manufacture several high-precision parts inside the fuse that are more difficult to manufacture. After the output reaches a certain level, the corresponding equipment will be manufactured for production.

This arrangement also serves as a preventive measure, as the number of artillery shells will be under the control of Wang Jiankun.

In this simple factory, Wang Jiankun manufactured five gun mounts according to the gun mount drawings designed by Zhizi. These gun mounts will carry the gun barrels that will be manufactured later and then undergo a large number of tests.

After the test is completed, one model will be selected for finalization based on the scores given to the gun mounts by the recruited artillerymen.

After the gun mount was completed, Wang Jiankun lifted the gun barrel with the muzzle, smoke suppressor, sight and barrel cover installed on it and installed it on the gun mount.

After the assembly was completed, Wang Jiankun towed this towed 58-caliber howitzer behind a truck imitating a US military truck, and then drove the truck with the artillery to conduct a preliminary transportation test in the field outside.

During the test, Wang Jiankun asked Chieko to adjust and optimize the gun mount according to the conditions at the test site. With Chieko's modifications and Wang Jiankun's transformation of the gun mount with his superpowers, it became easier to drag.

After the traction test was completed, Wang Jiankun took the artillery back to the factory, then hoisted 60 shells, corresponding fuses and propellant into the truck compartment, and then waited for the next day.

On December 1982, 12, the weather was clear with only a few white clouds hanging high in the sky and excellent air visibility, which was good weather for artillery testing.

"Jiankun, is this the 155mm howitzer you mentioned? I never thought that a dull gun barrel would eventually turn into such a majestic looking cannon."

Wang Jiankun asked Zhizi to design it to look as advanced as possible, so the appearance is very sci-fi, which is different from the pictures of artillery taken in some existing materials.

This artillery has an auxiliary loader, and this auxiliary loader is based on the loading mechanism of naval guns, so installing shells will be easier than all existing artillery, and the corresponding firing speed will be greatly accelerated. The design speed is 12 rounds per minute.

"Uncle, how about it? Doesn't it look good? I specially configured the sand model camouflage paint, which is both high-end and suitable for the geographical environment of the Middle East."

"It's really good-looking. It's better looking and more domineering than artillery made in other countries. Does this paint have forest green camouflage? We still have to use green camouflage for our own use. This sand mold camouflage is not suitable for us."

“Yes, we will paint a batch of green camouflage models for our own use, don’t worry.

It's almost 8 o'clock. Let the gun crew come and listen to my introduction on how to operate. Then you notify the shooting range and the corresponding observers to get ready. When I start firing, all observers must record the data."

"Okay, let's split up."

"First artillery group, squat down, second artillery group, at ease. Next, I will briefly introduce the key points of operating this 155mm artillery, and then you two artillery groups will take turns to operate it. Do not reload for the first five times, and perform simulated operations. Do you understand?"

"Understood~"

"Okay, let me introduce the relevant data of this gun. The caliber of the gun is 155 mm, 58 times the caliber, the barrel length is 8990 mm, and the overall weight is 3.6 tons..."

Wang Jiankun first instilled the basic data of the artillery into the personnel of the two artillery crews, and then began to explain to these veteran artillerymen how to operate the artillery.

The biggest difference between this gun and the guns previously operated by these retired artillerymen recruited from the country is that it has an auxiliary loading mechanism and a coordinate computer.

Because it is still in the finalization stage, the initial stage is still a fixed-coordinate shooting test. The role of the coordinate computer is not very necessary yet. After the finalization is completed and the corresponding ballistic data are collected, this coordinate computer integrated into the artillery will greatly speed up the target measurement time.

"The artillery simulation firing test has begun. Is the first group ready?"

"Ready."

"Beep~" Wang Jiankun heard the first artillery group answer that they were ready, so he blew the whistle at his mouth and pressed the timer.

The second group of people will supervise the first group to ensure that their movements are completed properly. If they do not perform them properly, they will be asked to redo them and have 10 seconds added to their score.

The two groups will conduct five simulated shooting without live ammunition respectively, and the group with the shortest total time will be rewarded 5 yuan.

"Second group, get ready, beep~"

Both groups conducted five simulated shootings, and the final result was that the second group won, with 5 seconds less than the first group.

"The second group wins. Please send a representative to collect the 1 yuan in cash. You can discuss how to divide it among your group."

After the results came out, Wang Jiankun distributed the rewards on the spot.

"Don't be disappointed if you are the first group that didn't win a prize. There are still several more artillery models to be tested in the future. There will also be a simulated operation competition, and there will be prize money."

Wang Jiankun saw that the people in the first group were in a bad mood and did not want them to affect the subsequent tests, so he told them the subsequent arrangements in advance.

"Okay, the simulation test is complete, you are familiar with this artillery, and you are all experienced gunners, so I will not repeat the corresponding safety regulations.

Now, I order the second group to fire the first shot, the coordinates are... "

"Understood. The second group, go ahead." The second group was led by a short, sturdy fat man who led them forward to deploy the artillery. He then assigned people to move the gun barrels while fetching shells, fuses and propellant bags.

"Preparation for launch is complete. Please instruct us whether to launch or not."

Wang Jiankun used his cell phone to inform the observers and range personnel along the route, asking them to get ready, and then gave the order: "Launch."

"Boom~"

I saw that inside the barrel of the 155 cannon, the gunpowder bag was ignited by the percussion cap, and it burned instantly to produce high-pressure gas.

This powerful force surged like a raging wave, pushing the shells out of the barrel at an extremely fast speed.

The moment the shell flew out of the barrel, it was like a shining meteor across the sky, with a blazing tail flame and amazing momentum.

It flew at high speed in the air, rubbing violently against the air, making a sharp whistling sound, as if declaring its powerful power.

As the shells got closer to their impact point, the feeling of oppression became stronger and stronger.

When the shell finally hit the ground, a deafening bang exploded, as if the whole world was shaking.

The land around the impact point seemed to be slapped hard by a huge invisible hand. Mud and rocks were blown everywhere, forming a huge crater.

The powerful shock wave spread wildly in all directions from the point of impact. Wherever it went, the grass and trees were broken and destroyed, and the whole place was in a mess.

Thick smoke billowed up into the sky along with flames, blocking out the sun. The scene was extremely shocking, as if the end of the world had come, making people feel awe and fear.

The sound of a shell hitting the ground and exploding was heard from afar at the shooting range 10 kilometers away. The sound was so pleasant to the ears that my uncle was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. He immediately used his mobile phone to call the other four senior leaders of the Southern Liberation Front who were waiting for news.

The sound of the shell successfully hitting the ground and exploding represented the successful trial production of this artillery designed by Chieko, whose barrel was pressed by a 10,000-ton hydraulic press and then underwent a series of conventional processing.

Everyone present cheered and rejoiced. The people brought by the old base of the Southern Liberation Front had tears in their eyes, thinking back to the hardships they had gone through when they had risen up in rebellion and defeated the warlords who oppressed them with homemade shotguns and earth bombs.

Now that they have such a powerful artillery, they are more hopeful about their future. They believe that as more artillery is produced, they will be able to conquer large tracts of land and have a better tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)