I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 40 Helpless Choice
It was already late at night, and a gentle breeze blew into the cave dwelling through the open window, bringing in a breath of fresh air.

Under the kerosene lamp, Chen Changzai looked at the six blueprints scattered on the workbench and gently shook his head.

"Sigh, it still won't work. It's not suitable. Weight, industrial processing precision, and logistical support are all problems."

It seems we still have to use bolt-action rifles.

Rather than forcing it like this, it would be better to use a small number of submachine guns to fill the firepower gap in the future.

That might be even better.

The six blueprints that Chen Chang had placed on the workbench were five blueprints for semi-automatic rifles and one blueprint for bolt-action rifles.

These five semi-automatic rifles are Czech-made ZB29 semi-automatic rifles.

The M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle is manufactured in the United States.

The German-made G43 semi-automatic rifle.

The Soviet-made SVT40 semi-automatic rifle.

And a simplified structural diagram of the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle from later generations.

Apart from the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, the remaining four semi-automatic rifles are all full-power rifles.

Of these rifles, apart from the Czech ZB29, they have already appeared on international and domestic battlefields.

The M1 Garand was only finalized this year and is in small-batch production.

Germany's G43 had not yet been designed at this time; it would not be available until 1943.

The Soviet SVT40 was not finalized until 1940.

Having spent his entire life dealing with weapons, Chen Changzai considers understanding the history of firearms development an essential part of his education.

So the development and configuration of these semi-automatic rifles were basically all in his mind.

The Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, needless to say, was one of the products produced by their military factory.

Today, in the machine manufacturing plant, his students are pressing out the first machine gun barrel.

He was also thinking that perhaps the time had come to turn some of his ideas into reality.

For example, the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle could be modified into a semi-automatic rifle capable of firing 7.92mm full-power rounds.

This idea didn't just come to him today.

He already had this basic idea in his mind.

That is to replace the Type 5 or Type 6 short-stroke piston with an integrated long-stroke piston.

This can significantly reduce the number of parts in a rifle.

Reduce the difficulty of manufacturing processes.

But when he returned and actually put his ideas on paper, he realized that he had been a bit too optimistic.

Firstly, this semi-automatic rifle, after being fitted with a long-stroke gas piston.

Due to the steel material, the weight of the entire gun will increase to 4.5 to 4.8 kilograms.

If the manufacturing process is not well controlled, it is very likely that the final weight will reach five kilograms, or ten pounds.

A ten-pound rifle is too heavy for a soldier who has to carry it into battle at any time.

After all, long-distance travel is never lightly loaded.

For a soldier on a long-distance raid, every pound of the weapon in his hand has a huge impact on him.

Furthermore, the powerful recoil of full-power bullets makes it extremely difficult for soldiers to fire accurately and continuously.

Although Chen Changzai could add a muzzle brake to the gun, this would increase the weight of the gun again.

Such a semi-automatic rifle is far too unfriendly to soldiers.

This is especially true for the physical condition of Eastern soldiers.

The soldiers in the army are currently suffering from severe malnutrition due to a lack of supplies.

He was already thin and weak, and on top of that, he was malnourished. So how could he possibly fight with a rifle that weighed more than ten kilograms?

This was torture for the soldiers.

For someone working in the military industry, this is a crime.

But I want to change this situation.

Therefore, using an intermediate-power round would be the only feasible option.

But in this day and age...

This was an era when battlefield resupply was extremely difficult.

Being able to seize usable ammunition from the enemy is also an optimal way to resupply.

Although we cannot rely on this method of resupply, we must still take this factor into account.

Currently, what type of bullet is most abundant and easiest to obtain in China?

That means it can only be the 7.92×57mm Mauser rifle round-nosed cartridge, or the Mauser pointed cartridge of the same caliber.

These two types of bullets have practically dominated the domestic market.

Other caliber bullets exist, but they are far fewer compared to Mauser bullets.

This requires that the rifle caliber currently used by the military cannot deviate from this mainstream bullet caliber for the time being.

If they only rely on the few production lines they've built to support the military's consumption of intermediate-powered ammunition.

That's a complete fantasy.

Industrial development requires accumulation. Without several years or even a decade of accumulation, expecting to achieve instant success is merely a dream.

In particular, the ammunition consumption of semi-automatic rifles is more than ten times that of bolt-action rifles.

Such a consumption level cannot be supplied by just one or two ammunition factories.

If we were to produce ammunition for these semi-automatic rifles.

That would not only consume a large portion of the already weak industrial capacity.

Even raw materials may be in short supply, such as cotton used to make nitrocellulose for propellants.

So all things considered, it's a losing proposition no matter how you look at it.

Thinking of this, Chen Changzai lit a cigarette.

He picked up a blueprint for a bolt-action rifle from the table.

This drawing was not actually made by Chen Changzai from memory, but was drawn based on actual gun measurements.

The Type 24 rifle, also known as the Type 24 carbine.

Originally named the Type 24 rifle.

It was derived from the German Mauser M1924 standard rifle.

However, the barrel of the Type 24 rifle was shortened by 140mm to suit the body size of Chinese people.

The barrel was changed from 740mm to 600mm.

This rifle began trial production at the Gongxian Arsenal in 1935 and is now in mass production.

The rifle that Chen Chang is using for surveying was one that the Special Branch comrades managed to obtain from enemy-occupied territory.

After overcoming numerous obstacles, it was finally sent back to headquarters some time ago.

After receiving the gun, the headquarters immediately sent it to Chen Chang here.

Moreover, it was personally delivered by the director of the headquarters' ordnance factory.

At that time, Director Zhao of the munitions factory said to Chen Changzai, "Director Chen, I know you are a capable person."

The fact that our ordnance factory now has so much equipment to produce rifles is all thanks to you.

This is the enemy's latest rifle, and after we saw it, we thought it was indeed quite good.

We also want to imitate it.

However, our technical capabilities are indeed incomparable to yours.

Although Director Chen, you have never produced rifles, machine guns, or mortars before.

But I know that someone who can produce gun and cannon manufacturing equipment must know a lot about guns.

So the reason I came here is to ask Director Chen to take the lead and help us draw up the blueprints for this gun.

Let's see if we can make any improvements to this gun.

After Chen Changzai picked up the rifle that Factory Director Zhao had placed on the table.

The advantages and disadvantages of this classic rifle immediately came to mind.

From the front sights to the high-temperature jamming of the bolt after firing a dozen shots, these are some of the problems discovered after long-term use.

However, he couldn't just pick up a gun he'd never seen before and tell everyone about its advantages and disadvantages before even using it.

That wouldn't be a genius, that would be a monster.

So Chen Changzai said to Director Zhao, "Old Zhao, here's what we'll do: you put the gun here first, and I'll take out the blueprints."

Then we can give our feedback after trying it out.

Do you think it will work? "

"Of course, I'd love to."

After seeing Director Zhao off, Chen Changzai had his students survey the rifle.

This is how the simplified overall diagram of the Type 24 rifle that Chen Changzai is holding now came about.

This is not a survey map.

This gun has 94 parts, and all the survey drawings together number over a hundred.

After staring at the blueprint for a long time, Chen Changzai sighed again and said softly, "Even a skilled cook can't make a meal without rice."

Hehe, then I'll use you for now.

When I have laid a more solid foundation...

My fellow warriors in the world, let's face off again on the battlefield of military industry.

　Thank you to all my friends who have supported me.

　　I've seen many friends expressing their concerns about the semi-automatic rifle being released so soon.

　　I thought about it for a long time last night and reviewed the whole situation at that time.

　　I realized I was still too hasty.

　　So I decided to go with the flow and let this semi-automatic rifle be released a few years later.

　　To fill the firepower gap between machine guns and rifles, I think a simple submachine gun using Mauser pistol ammunition would be more suitable.

　　When facing the Japanese in hand-to-hand combat, grenades and submachine guns are the best combination.

　　Thank you again to all my friends.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)