Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 187 Ding Wei Delivers Alcohol

That's right, the alcohol used in American torpedoes is not pure alcohol, but alcohol with an alcohol content of 90%.

In this way, when the alcohol burns in the torpedo engine cylinder, the water contained in the alcohol will absorb heat and turn into water vapor. This will not only absorb heat for the engine, but also expand and do work. Furthermore, when the water vapor is ejected from the tail of the torpedo, it will also provide a propulsive force.

It's worth noting that when water turns into water vapor, its volume can expand more than 1,600 times!

Although the torpedoes were powered by alcohol, not gasoline or diesel, Wang Gensheng still sent a telegram to headquarters requesting alcohol support.

However, because Wang Gensheng's location at this time was very close to the Fourth Field Army, it was actually within the Dongbei area belonging to the Fourth Field Army.

After all, Wang Gensheng is not far from Qinhuangdao, so the task of collecting alcohol to support Wang Gensheng's naval mission was handed over to the Fourth Field Army.

Then the Fourth Field Army sent one of Wang Gensheng's acquaintances to deliver alcohol to him. This person was none other than the master brewer Ding Wei.

There was no other way. Master brewer Ding Wei was very famous in the Fourth Field Army. So when the General Headquarters assigned the task to the Fourth Field Army, the Fourth Field Army's command naturally handed the task over to Ding Wei without even thinking about it.

After meeting at the agreed location, Wang Gensheng naturally saw Ding Wei, who was personally escorting the alcohol.

"I have to say, you're something else! You've quietly become the Navy's Chief of Staff!"

In response to Ding Wei's praise, Wang Gensheng waved his hand and said:
"With just a small, dilapidated boat, how could I possibly be qualified to be a naval commander? But I really have to thank you this time. Without your alcohol, my cruise torpedoes would be nothing but decorations!"

When Ding Wei heard Wang Gensheng mention cruise torpedoes, he immediately asked, puzzled:

What exactly is a cruise torpedo?

Wang Gensheng didn't hide anything and briefly explained the matter of cruise torpedoes and the importance of alcohol for them. Ding Wei then said:

"Since my alcohol is so important to you, you can't let me come all this way for nothing! I've emptied my pockets to support you!"

Wang Gensheng naturally understood that although the higher-ups said that the Fourth Field Army was to provide him with unconditional support, Ding Wei had gone to great lengths to deliver the alcohol, so even if he didn't do anything special, he had still put in a lot of effort!
We can't just let Ding Wei go back empty-handed! Of course, Wang Gensheng didn't have much money, but he did have a lot of weapons, especially after salvaging a lot of weapons and ammunition from the seabed and ambushing the old quail soldiers around him. Wang Gensheng now had a lot of weapons.

At this time, Wang Gensheng had already begun to have his troops re-equip themselves with American-style equipment captured from the old guerrilla unit, thus initially replacing the Japanese equipment.

After all, Wang Gensheng still wanted to participate in the Korean War in the future! Therefore, replacing a large number of equipment with American-style equipment would help Wang Gensheng's troops get rid of their dependence on logistics.

It was precisely for this reason that Wang Gensheng began to phase out the Japanese Type 96 light machine gun and replace it with the American Browning M1918 rifle. Compared to the Japanese Type 96 light machine gun, the Browning M1918 light machine gun was not only lighter, but also much more powerful.

After all, the Browning M1918 light machine gun used 7.62mm rifle cartridges, while the Japanese Type 96 light machine gun used 6.5mm rifle cartridges.

Not only is its kinetic energy 50% greater, but its effective range is also much greater than that of the Type 96 light machine gun, and it is even 2 kilograms lighter than the Type 96 light machine gun. It is precisely because of this that Wang Gensheng's fire support group has begun to partially replace its equipment with the M1918 light machine gun.

The original fleet of 1,000 Type 96 light machine guns had been largely mothballed, but since Ding Wei had come to deliver alcohol, Wang Gensheng decided to use the machine guns as a bargaining chip. Considering the cost of alcohol, Wang Gensheng said:

"Of course we won't take it for free. We've ambushed the enemy's team several times and obtained quite a bit of Mi-type equipment. Considering logistics and equipment performance, how about this: one ton of alcohol in exchange for a Japanese Type 96 light machine gun?"

Upon hearing Wang Gensheng's words, Ding Wei's eyes lit up immediately, and he promptly agreed:

"You said it yourself, one ton of alcohol for one light machine gun, no backing out!"

Wang Gensheng stated unequivocally:

"A promise is a promise, how could I possibly go back on my word!"

Ding Wei was so happy mainly because it was like getting the light machine gun for free. You see, the alcohol support given to Wang Gensheng was practically free. Even if Wang Gensheng didn't give him a penny, Ding Wei wouldn't have anything to say.

But now that Wang Gensheng was willing to exchange a light machine gun for a ton of alcohol, Ding Wei naturally agreed immediately.

However, Ding Wei didn't bring much alcohol this time, only ten tons.

Ten tons of alcohol may seem like a lot, but this torpedo is a real alcohol guzzler. Although a single torpedo weighs only 1.5 tons, equivalent to the weight of a small car, the amount of alcohol it consumes when it's in operation is comparable to that of a truck.

During previous experiments, Wang Gensheng tested the alcohol consumption at full speed and found it to be terrifying, reaching approximately 50 liters of alcohol per 100 kilometers.

However, at an economical speed of 40 to 50 kilometers per hour, its alcohol consumption is about 20 liters per 100 kilometers. The extra space in the torpedo that originally stored compressed air can be filled with an alcohol container that can hold 200 liters of alcohol, allowing the cruising torpedo to reach a range of about 1,000 kilometers.

Of course, if the compressed air storage space were used entirely to store alcohol, its range could reach 3,000 kilometers, but in that case, the cruise torpedo driver would have no space to operate it.

The reason Wang Gensheng needed so much alcohol was naturally for the upcoming training. Of course, Wang Gensheng didn't plan to train too much; training about a hundred combat personnel who could drive torpedoes would be enough.

After all, at this stage, Wang Gensheng only has ten modified torpedoes. Perhaps if he salvages the warship that was sunk in the port, he can get another ten torpedoes!

However, even if each driver could learn to drive a cruise torpedo after driving only 100 kilometers, the alcohol alone would require 2,000 liters, or one and a half tons of alcohol.

Time slipped away quietly during training, and before we knew it, it was the end of 1947 and we were in 1948.

Wang Gensheng now possessed twenty modified cruise torpedoes.

The extra ten torpedoes were naturally from the torpedoes salvaged from the sunken warship in the port.

However, with the arrival of 1948, the situation in Dongbei was also very good. With the successful reform of the land, the people of Dongbei were mobilized to defend their land, and more people volunteered to join the army to defend the land.

(End of this chapter)