I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 3 Making Hand Grenades with Limited Resources
Chen Chang rested here, lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) for seven days.

His body was severely depleted. Although he was still young, it would take several months to recover.

For those seven days, he even had to be helped to the toilet by soldiers from the special operations company.

Commander Chen and Political Commissar Liu gave a strict order: Chen Changzai's security level was higher than that of their commander and political commissar.

Seven days later, Chen Changzai was finally able to walk on her own.

For the past seven days, Chen Changzai has been lying on the kang (a heated brick bed).

But he didn't just eat and sleep all day; he was always thinking.

He was thinking about how to improve the firepower configuration of the troops as quickly as possible under the existing conditions.

Under the current conditions, it's impossible for him to build machine guns and cannons.

Even if you manage to make a few by hand, it's useless.

Manufacturing a rifle is not a simple task; it involves many processes and the assistance of various equipment.

However, once high explosives are created, the things that can be done become much more numerous.

For example, grenades and landmines are the simplest and most effective combat weapons.

There are many types of grenades and landmines.

Hand grenades include offensive and defensive types, as well as egg-shaped and stick-handled grenades.

They each have their own advantages and disadvantages depending on the environment in which they are used.

Landmines come in even more varieties.

There are various types of mines, including anti-personnel mines, directional mines, wounding mines (also known as butterfly mines), and anti-tank mines.

Everything can be a landmine, as long as it can be filled with explosives.

Later generations even formulated an anti-landmine convention to prohibit the use of landmines.

But when war breaks out, all the treaties are nothing but a piece of waste paper.

Chen Changzai was also thinking about what kind of grenades and landmines would be most suitable for the current troops under the current conditions.

Chen Changzai lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), holding a notebook and a pencil in his hand.

He was drawing blueprints. In addition to drawing blueprints for hand grenades, he was also drawing blueprints for the tools needed to make both hand grenades and landmines.

Regarding hand grenades, Chen Changzai still believes that the German-made M24 wooden-handled hand grenade, which is currently in widespread use, is more suitable for the present.

Because the combat environment here is mostly mountainous, egg-shaped grenades are not very suitable for this environment, as they are too easy to roll.

Wooden-handled grenades, on the other hand, are very suitable for mountain warfare.

Because it can be cast far and has a strong positioning capability.

Moreover, soldiers nowadays are more accustomed to using wooden-handled grenades.

Given the current conditions of the military, it is also simpler to manufacture wooden-handled grenades.

Although, in general, the American MK2 grenade is simpler to manufacture.

But that's when it appears simple within an industrialized system.

Given the current state of the military, let alone anything else, just processing the spring and firing pin inside a grenade, as well as the combustion chamber of the fuse, would be impossible even if the workers here worked themselves to death.

The M24 wooden-handled grenade is relatively simple.

These things can be made with just a simple stamping device and a simple woodworking machine.

Moreover, Chen Changzai even skipped the stamping process and directly designed a cast iron grenade warhead.

This immediately solved the problem of insufficient fragmentation damage in the M24 grenade.

Because Chen Changzai designed the warhead to be the same as the American M2 egg-shaped grenade, with a cylindrical, pineapple-shaped surface pre-set with fragments.

Such grenades would be more lethal.

The only processing equipment needed to manufacture such a grenade is a simple woodworking machine tool that can be driven by human foot pedal.

The kind of machine tool that only needs a large wooden wheel and a cowhide belt to move.

When you're extremely poor, this is the most practical thing to have.

As for landmines, the possibilities are much greater. The most advanced landmines capable of evading current landmine detectors are the gravel mine and the rock mine.

Because it contains no metal, this type of landmine is essentially invisible and undetectable.

In this regard, the movie "Mine Warfare" is the best textbook.

As for directional mines, they don't necessarily have to be electrically detonated; both tripwire mines and pull mines can be made.

Watching Chen Changzai lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), still using his withered hands to write and draw on the notebook.

Wang Ling became engrossed in watching it.

Wang Ling has now been assigned to take care of Chen Changzai's daily life.

Wang Ling was responsible for all of Chen Changzai's daily meals, laundry, and cooking.

The older women at the hospital all jokingly said that she was about to become Chen Changzai's little wife.

Every time the older women said that, Wang Ling would blush with embarrassment, but she never got angry.

After getting a haircut, Chen Changzai took a shower with the help of the male soldiers from the Special Service Company.

She then revealed her true self.

Although he was still very thin, he already looked like a somewhat handsome young man.

Especially when Chen Changzai was working on drawing blueprints while lying on the kang (a heated brick bed).

That kind of focus is what attracts Wang Ling the most.

Wang Ling couldn't understand the symbols and various diagrams that Chen Chang was writing and drawing on the small notebook.

But she knew those things must be incredibly powerful and extremely important to her team.

When Commander Chen and Political Commissar Liu saw the woodworking machine that Chen Changzai had mentioned, their eyes lit up.

At the time, the political commissar also asked, "We can't produce that many right now. How do we solve the problem of the iron workpieces on these lathes and drilling machines you drew?"

Chen Changzai said, "Use hardwood as a substitute. Except for drill bits and lathe tool heads, use hardwood for all tooling fixtures and other accessories that can be replaced with hardwood."

It's still possible to move a piece of softwood using hardwood.
Cork can be used as long as it's not extremely soft.

Although doing it this way results in a higher scrap rate for wooden workpieces, it can be used in emergencies.

Wang Ling also asked Chen Changzai what he did there.

Chen Changzai told her, "That's for making hand grenades."

Then Wang Ling discovered that the regimental commander and political commissar had started searching the entire regiment for anyone who could do carpentry to make this woodworking machine.

I heard that after the headquarters obtained the blueprints, all the people in the army who had ever done carpentry work were summoned.

The entire army is currently facing a severe shortage of weapons.

Now that a way to mass-produce hand grenades has been presented to us, who wouldn't be tempted?

Even if a grenade doesn't contain TNT, just black powder can still kill people.

In particular, black powder was used with pineapple-shaped bullets made from substandard scrap iron, such as rotten iron or sponge iron, after being loaded with black powder.

Although the explosive power is not as great as TNT, as long as more explosives are added, the shrapnel can effectively kill unarmored soldiers within five or six meters without any problem.

Although this would make the grenade a little heavier and the throwing distance shorter.

But anything that can kill enemies is a good thing.

As for the firing mechanism and the delayed ignition mechanism, these are not difficult for the troops.

There are many talented people in the military.

Besides, anyone who has ever played with fireworks can make these things by hand.

Delayed ignition tubes can be made by twisting paper; they don't necessarily have to be metal.

The military just doesn't have anyone who can quickly develop a good tool for making grenade handles.

Now that we have this simple woodworking machine, everything can be done simply and efficiently.

(End of this chapter)