In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 162: The troops with insufficient firepower and fear of cancer need a disposable barrel for each person

"Is this really a 40mm grenade?"

The grenade in front of him was as big as a child's arm and at least 20 mm long. It was completely different from the 40 mm sniper grenade in the picture that Xie Wei remembered.

For a moment, my brain was in chaos.

"Yes, the caliber is 40 mm and the length is 198 cm. The grenade warhead is only 60 mm long, and the rest is propellant."

Tang Daoxian looked at Xie Wei in confusion, then picked up a grenade and looked at it carefully: If this isn't a grenade, then what is it?
Doesn't it look like a grenade?
Unlike other ammunition, the top of the grenade is round.

"Xie Wei, is there any problem with this?"

Zhai Xinguo frowned slightly, not understanding what Xie Wei had discovered. "In order to reduce the recoil, the principle and technology of rockets were adopted. A small amount of propellant exploded in the launcher, providing an initial velocity of about 132 meters per second. After the grenade is fired, the propellant at the rear of the ammunition will be ignited, and the heat will provide the kinetic energy of the ammunition during flight..."

Using the rocket principle!

Secondary propulsion system!

Is this really a grenade?

At this moment, Xie Wei really didn't know what to say. This was definitely not the sniper grenade he knew.

Xie Wei didn't know what technology the LG-5 40mm grenade launcher used, but it was definitely not the thing in front of him.

The reason why a cannonball is a cannonball is that the propellant in the barrel burns violently and instantly to produce a powerful shock wave, which shoots the cannonball out.

Those with their own power are either rockets or missiles.

Individual rocket launchers are not this kind of thing.

The power of 40 fire is definitely greater than the self-powered grenade in front of you.

"Let's test its power and accuracy first."

Xie Wei said nothing more.

Let’s see the effect first.

Zhai Xinguo nodded, signaling Tang Daoxian to continue assembling the launcher and loading ammunition.

The launcher is similar to a gun, bolt-action, with no butt at the rear.

The caliber is so large compared to individual firearms that it looks short and thick.

Tang Daoxian pulled the bolt, loaded a grenade into the chamber, lay on the ground, placed the tail of the launcher against his right shoulder blade, and used the mechanical sight on it to aim at the target 200 meters away.

After aiming, he gently pulled the trigger.

"Bang~"

With a small sound, the grenade flew out in a cloud of smoke.

Tang Daoxian, who was lying on the ground, also moved his body backwards.

After the grenade was fired, it flew several dozen meters away from the launcher mouth, and a flame suddenly spurted out from the tail, and flew rapidly towards the target 200 meters away at an extremely fast speed.

"Boom~"

With the help of the telescope, Xie Wei and Zhai Xinguo clearly saw that the first grenade only hit the edge of the target.

Seeing this, Xie Wei shook his head silently.

The ignition of the propellant it carries after leaving the barrel has a significant impact on the trajectory.

Even if the caliber is increased to 40 mm, the grenade does not carry enough explosives and the power generated is not great.

If a 40mm round is used on the target in front of us at a distance of 200 meters, not only will the reinforced concrete target be blown to pieces, but a large crater will at least be left behind. However, in this test, almost nothing on the target was left but a layer of skin was lost.

The only advantage over the 40mm round may be that the ammunition is lighter.

"continue!"

Zhai Xinguo had a blank expression on his face. Seeing Tang Daoxian frowning and looking at the target in the distance, he spoke softly.

He pulled the bolt again to load the ammunition, aimed for a long time, and pulled the trigger.

"Bang~"

"Boom~"

After the explosion, there was no trace left on the target at a distance of 300 meters - it was off by about seven or eight meters.

"Bang~"

"Boom~"

……

Of the five sample bullets, except for the 200-meter target, all the others missed the target!
Tang Daoxian and Zhai Xinguo went to the target to measure the deviation data and explosion power. Xie Wei followed them and did not speak during the whole process.

"Don't be sad. It's only been a short time since we designed it... Although it uses the same two-stage ignition method as a rocket, the launch method is different..."

After obtaining the data, Zhai Xinguo comforted Tang Daoxian, who looked disappointed.

"Teacher, our sniper grenade not only fails to achieve the expected accuracy, but its power is also much smaller than that of the 40mm round..."

"Once we have the data, we can slowly improve it. How long did it take you? Any weapon cannot be completed in a short time."

Zhai Xinguo did not find this result unacceptable.

After the test, after saying hello to the officers at the shooting range, the three of them got on the jeep waiting nearby and returned to the school.

"No one in the army likes this thing. It's not as powerful as the 40mm round, and it's not that convenient to carry. It may even take up space in the army."

The person in charge of the shooting range looked at the jeep going away and shook his head.

As a military man, he could naturally tell at a glance whether the weapon was used.

"Xie Wei, just say whatever you want to say. I didn't ask you to come here to keep silent."

On the way back, no one spoke except for the sound of the jeep's engine running.

When they had almost walked halfway, Zhai Xinguo saw that Xie Wei was just staring at the scenery receding outside the window, secretly glancing at himself and Tang Daoxian from time to time. He still couldn't remain silent.

"Professor Zhai, Student Tang, I think our design may be off."

Xie Wei thought about it and felt that he couldn't let Tang Daoxian go any further on this issue.

"Ok?"

Tang Daoxian looked confused, not knowing what Xie Wei meant by "off the mark".

"Talk about it."

Zhai Xinguo's expression remained unchanged, and he motioned for Xie Wei to speak.

"The concept of sniper grenade was proposed by Mr. Tang in order to enhance the firepower of individual soldiers and integrate precision shooting with range killing. The grenade uses the same two-stage ignition as individual rockets, which can effectively reduce recoil, but the grenade itself needs to be loaded with propellant, which further squeezes the amount of charge in the combat part... With the current design, it may even occupy the troop establishment..."

Xie Wei really didn't know what to say about the technology tree in front of him that was already a little off.

When Tang Daoxian heard him say the second-stage ignition, he wanted to refute, but after hearing Xie Wei's next words, he sighed helplessly and lowered his head in silence.

"You mean the entire design needs to be revised from the design concept?"

Zhai Xinguo's expression finally changed.

"I think it's okay."

Xie Wei thought about it and shook his head.

Tang Daoxian, who had been lowering his head, suddenly raised it and looked at Xie Wei with burning eyes; Zhai Xinguo also stared at Xie Wei.

"Uh~"

Xie Wei couldn't stand the gazes from the two.

Especially now that the road is flat, the driver is driving steadily, and the jeep is not shaking, his expression is a little unnatural.

Under the two people's anxious gazes, he could only make up his mind and said, "I think we should just use the technology of rockets and eliminate the propellant in the barrel; or use the grenade launching method and eliminate the propellant in the grenade..."

"If the propellant in the grenade is eliminated and the thrust is generated by the instantaneous explosion in the barrel, the recoil will be very large, otherwise the range cannot be reached."

Tang Daoxian raised a rebuttal, "If the technology of rockets is used, the role of the launcher is just a director. That would not make much sense." "That's true."

Xie Wei nodded, "However, what if we use rocket technology and add a guidance system on top of the warhead?"

"what?"

Zhai Xinguo and Tang Daoxian were stunned.

"Xie Wei, not to mention the technical difficulty, just adding the guidance system will make the weapon even less powerful."

A bitter smile appeared on Zhai Xinguo's face.

Xie Wei's imagination is really shocking.

"In the early stage, there is a launcher for orientation, so there is no need for a guidance system. That will be a future development."

Xie Wei also knew that the current technological foundation made it impossible to achieve this.

The LG-5 has programmable precision ammunition, but it is not a small-caliber, individual missile.

It's just possible that Tang Daoxian's design may develop in that direction.

The two's attention was quickly diverted. "The grenade launch method needs to be improved in terms of mechanical structure to minimize the recoil. As long as the performance is large enough, the troops will not mind equipping the infantry squad during missions even if it takes up space. Compared to individual rocket launchers, this individual weapon that combines precision shooting and range killing is more convenient to carry..."

The sniper grenade does not significantly improve the combat effectiveness of the infantry squad, but is more suitable for special operations forces.

The PLA suffers from a fear of insufficient firepower. Even if each infantry squad has two barrels and is equipped with anti-tank, anti-armor and other weapons, it still feels that the firepower is insufficient.

Thinking of this, Xie Wei suddenly remembered that from the Type 70 to the Type 84, and then to the PF89 individual rocket launcher that the troops had equipped and used for many years, and finally the Type 08 individual rocket launcher, etc., they were all disposable and would be thrown away after use.

Perhaps, we can first trick Zhai Xinguo and Tang Daoxian into making a disposable tube?

The tube is the favorite of the PLA infantry squad.

It was once reported that in the PLA's 9-man infantry squad, the rocket launcher operator is equipped with a PF98 120mm anti-tank rocket launcher, and the two rocket launcher assistants each carry a 120mm rocket; the other machine gunners, snipers, automatic riflemen, squad leaders and deputy squad leaders are all equipped with a PF89 disposable rocket.

The tube is more suitable for the PLA troops with insufficient firepower.

"Professor Zhai, although Tang has a certain foundation, he does not have much experience in weapon design. I think it is too difficult to develop a new weapon just relying on the basic theoretical design foundation of the library..."

As Xie Wei spoke, he turned his head to look at Zhai Xinguo's reaction.

Logically, as an associate professor, Zhai Xinguo could not be unaware of the problems in Tang Daoxian's design.

He still supported Tang Daoxian to produce samples and conduct tests after modifying his previous design. He must have his considerations.

"Yes, that's why I asked him to produce samples and test them first."

Zhai Xinguo did not refuse to answer the question just because Xie Wei was a student. "Only when you know the true situation of the things you designed can you know what basics you need to improve."

Tang Daoxian looked surprised.

Immediately, his face turned red.

Before, he thought he was a genius. After his tutor guided him in revising and proving the theory, he felt that there was no problem and directly asked the metalworking workshop to help produce samples. He thought he had a talent in this area.

Even before Zhai Xinguo said this, the test results were very unsatisfactory, but he believed that there would be no problem as long as they continued to make changes.

Who knew this would be the result.

"Perhaps, we can try the rocket launcher first. Since we can use the principle of rockets to make such a thing, making a disposable rocket launcher that can be thrown away after firing will be more useful for front-line infantry. The school's materials research institute also has new materials research projects..."

"The effect of the previous Type 70 was not ideal and was not promoted in the army."

Zhai Xinguo frowned again.

"Type 70?"

Tang Daoxian looked at the teacher in confusion.

Apparently he had no idea what the Type 70 was.

"The Type 70 double-barreled rocket, with a caliber of 62 mm, is a disposable rocket launcher inspired by the M72 rocket launcher. It adopts a double-barreled design, has low technical performance, and is expensive..."

Zhai Xinguo did not avoid Xie Wei and the driver.

This disposable individual rocket launcher with low technical performance is not welcomed by the troops, so the level of confidentiality is naturally not high.

"There's this kind?"

Xie Wei pretended to be surprised.

Zhai Xinguo did not give them a more detailed introduction.

"For the infantry on the front line, disposable rocket launchers are more powerful, so they don't have to squeeze the organization. When on a mission, each person has one. When facing enemy armored targets, fortifications, bunkers, etc., it is too troublesome to call for artillery support, so they can just use the tubes they carry. After firing, they can throw away the launch tubes without affecting the continued combat. If the infantry squad has used up all the tubes and still can't solve the problem, they need artillery support."

Xie Wei said with his eyes shining.

Zhai Xinguo and Tang Daoxian both looked strange when they heard what Xie Wei said.

A bazooka for everyone?

Aren’t you afraid of bankrupting the already poor army?
Besides, which army in the world could be so crazy and equipped with so many bullets?

After returning to school, Xie Wei didn't care what the master and apprentice thought, and went straight back to the electromechanical training room to continue working on CNC systems and PLC programmable controllers with Du Guowang and others.

Xie Wei almost forgot what a tank was.

But what he didn't expect was that in less than three days, Li Rui angrily pulled Xie Wei out of the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Department's training room.

"You always say that we are messing around with projects. Tell me, what does this disposable rocket launcher project mean?"

"what?"

"What? Look, your name is on it too. Apart from you, Zhai Xinguo would never do this!"

Li Rui slapped a funding application in front of Xie Wei, "Take a look for yourself!"

When Xie Wei heard Zhai Xinguo's name, he knew there was no need to look.

He looks like a nice person, just like those old guys like Li Rui and Du Guowang.

"Principal, I want to say that this has nothing to do with me. Do you believe it?"

Xie Wei had an awkward smile on his face.

"Do you believe it?"

At Principal Li's reaction, Xie Wei shook his head.

He doesn't believe it himself.

It was he who proposed the disposable rocket launcher.

"In fact, I think it is feasible to have one barrel for each front-line soldier. For example, on the southwest border. Although the counterattack is over, Monkey has not given up... Both sides are small reconnaissance troops competing..."

Xie Wei explained to Li Rui with a smile.

Li Rui was born a soldier, so he should know how much a rocket launcher per person can improve the combat effectiveness of an infantry squad.

As long as it is made, Xie Wei doesn’t even need to think about how to sell it to the troops.

Principal Li would find ways to send the equipment to the battlefields at the border where the situation had not yet been completely pacified to test their actual combat performance.

"Can it really work?"

Principal Li was tempted. He immediately thought of something and looked at Xie Wei. "The army is so poor that they have to tighten their belts to make ends meet. Do you think the army is not prepared?"

If each man has a tube, even if the cost is low, the troops will not be able to bear it.

In 75, the number of PLA troops reached 610 million.

Last year, in 78, a small-scale disarmament campaign had already begun, but even so, there were still more than 500 million troops.

Each person has a tube...

The thought of it made Principal Li shudder.

"It will definitely work! As long as the launch tube can launch the rocket and the cost is low enough."

(End of this chapter)