Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 184 Modifying Torpedoes
Wang Gensheng thought about this question and said:
"Captain Wang, since that's the case, why don't we combine the periscope and the ventilation duct into one unit? Wouldn't that solve the problem? Besides, I also discovered that our warship's repair shop has steel cutting and welding tools."

In this way, we can cut off unimportant pipes from warships, such as the steel railings on the deck, and repurpose them into periscopes and snorkels.

That's right. This surrendered chief engineer had switched sides after a long period of interaction, and he was even from the same clan as Wang Gensheng, sharing the same surname.

Of course, that's not all. The warship has a maintenance tool workshop, which is fully equipped with angle grinders, welding machines and all sorts of other maintenance tools.

Wang Gensheng was not surprised by this. After all, warships sail at sea for long periods of time, and it is not easy to call a tugboat without complete maintenance tools.

Moreover, if there's a leak somewhere, we can use welding tools to repair it!

As for welding machines, they are not a new thing; they have been around for a long time.

It's important to know that the development of electric welding machines can be traced back to the late 19th century, more than half a century ago. Before that, traditional welding methods mainly relied on forging and welding, which joined metal parts together through heating and hammering. However, with the development of electrical technology, welding technology has also been revolutionized.

The earliest electric welding technique was arc welding, invented by Wales of England in 1801. However, it wasn't until 1881, when the French scientist Auguste de Maire first used carbon electrodes for arc welding, that arc welding technology became practically applicable. Therefore, strictly speaking, the history of electric welding can be extended to 150 years.

Of course, with the development of electric welding technology, welding methods have also been continuously innovated. In 1903, Oscar Kelberry of Riddick invented the welding electrode, a technique known as shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), which became one of the mainstream welding methods in the following decades.

Then, in the 1930s, gas-shielded welding technology developed. Argon arc welding and metal inert gas welding gradually matured during this period. Argon arc welding was mainly used for high-quality welding requirements, while metal inert gas welding was widely used in industrial production due to its speed and efficiency.

Then, during and after World War II, welding technology developed rapidly. Welding equipment became more portable and automated. In the 1950s, the advent of plasma arc welding technology further improved the precision and efficiency of welding.

Then, in the 1980s, with the development of electronic technology, welding equipment began to evolve towards digitalization and intelligence. Digital welding power supplies and automated welding systems greatly improved the control precision and production efficiency of the welding process.

Finally, in the 21st century, welding technology continued to develop towards higher efficiency, precision, and intelligence. The emergence and widespread adoption of laser welding technology marked a new stage in welding technology. Laser welding has advantages such as high precision, high speed, and low heat input, and is widely used in high-end manufacturing industries.

In the future, with the deep integration of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, intelligent welding robots will inevitably become a new trend in the welding industry. These robots can adjust welding parameters in real time through sensors and algorithms, improving welding quality and efficiency.

Therefore, the history of the development of welding machines is actually a history of mutual promotion between technological progress and industrial needs. From the initial electric arc welding to today's laser welding and intelligent welding robots, welding machines have continuously evolved and provided indispensable technical support for modern industry.

Of course, it's not just welding machines. Cutting tools such as angle grinders were also invented at the end of the 19th century, and after half a century of development, they have long been widely used in factories and households in Qianfang.

Therefore, apart from their appearance, the tools of this era and those of half a century later are actually no different in function. So if Wang Gensheng was a skilled welder before time travel, he will also be a skilled welder after time travel.

When Wang Ge started learning how to use the welding machine, the members of the special cavalry regiment were incredibly curious about it, even staring intently at the welding arc. Although Wang Gensheng was also a beginner in welding, he knew that the arc could damage the eyes, so he immediately reprimanded these curious fellows.

The modification process went very smoothly, and it was completed in just a few days.

Of course, the reason why it was modified so easily is mainly because there were not many changes to the torpedo. It was just that a three-meter-long iron pipe was added, and a hole was made in the torpedo's compressed air storage tank so that a person could crawl in.

Yes, it's designed to let people crawl inside. Don't be fooled by its torpedo-like appearance; it's quite large, with a length of 6.2 meters.

As for its diameter, it reaches 530 millimeters, and its weight is 15 tons. That's right, this torpedo is the MK15 torpedo developed by the United States in the 1930s.

This type of torpedo is also a steam torpedo, with a maximum speed of 85 kilometers per hour.

Of course, such a speed can only be achieved by sacrificing range. After all, the faster the speed, the greater the resistance, and therefore the more compressed air is consumed. At the maximum speed, its range can only be reduced from the original maximum of 8,000 kilometers to less than 5,000 kilometers.

There's nothing that can be done about it; the faster the speed, the greater the resistance, and therefore the more compressed air is consumed, which naturally leads to this situation.

But now there's no need to worry. With Wang Gensheng's modifications, the torpedoes have been changed from using compressed air as a combustion aid to directly accessing the outside air for power via an external vent pipe.

Although this changed the torpedo from a deep-sea to a semi-submersible vessel, greatly increasing the chances of detection, the torpedo was able to maintain a high speed of 85 kilometers per hour because it no longer had the limitation of an oxidizer.

This allows the compressed air storage compartment in the midsection of the torpedo to be converted into a driver's cabin. After all, a diameter of 530 millimeters is more than enough to fit a driver, considering that the maximum shoulder width of a person is only 48 centimeters.

As for its length, in order to store more compressed air, the MK14's compressed air storage tank is located more than three meters in the middle of the torpedo. It should be noted that other liquid fuels such as gasoline, kerosene or diesel require a huge amount of air to burn completely, basically thirteen, fourteen or five times the amount of air needed to burn.

In other words, burning one kilogram of gasoline requires fourteen kilograms of air, which is because burning one kilogram of gasoline requires three and a half kilograms of oxygen.

Oxygen makes up only 22% to 23% of the air, so it would take more than 14 kilograms of compressed air to fully burn one kilogram of gasoline.

Of course, the most crucial point is that the density of compressed air is much lower than that of gasoline, which is why the compressed air in a torpedo occupies more than half of the entire internal space of the torpedo.

(End of this chapter)