I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 41 This gun barrel is really durable.

At the firing range.

A half-new ZB26 Czech light machine gun was mounted in its firing position.

The reason this machine gun is said to be half new is because everything except the barrel is old.

The barrel of a machine gun wears out the fastest.

Secondly, there are the gas piston, firing pin, and chamber, which is where the bullet explodes and burns.

Today's test is to determine whether this first light machine gun barrel, produced using the extrusion method, is up to standard.

After being extruded and shaped, the gun barrel undergoes straightening, precision machining, quenching, phosphating, and nickel plating before it is considered complete.

There aren't any good testing methods available right now, and we can't use a lot of bullets to conduct experiments.

The only way to check for signs of burning and peeling off is by observing the internal coating of the barrel after continuous firing.

By tapping and listening to the sound, one can determine whether cracks have formed inside the gun barrel due to continuous firing.

If nothing changes, then it's ready to use.

At this point, using flaw detectors, X-ray machines, or other flaw detection tools is out of the question.

The number of test bullets will not be too many; two hundred bullets in continuous firing will basically be enough.

Chen Changzai could still produce these bullets.

Ten magazines, each containing twenty bullets, were neatly arranged on the ground in two rectangular wicker baskets.

The machine gunner operates the machine gun, while the assistant gunner is responsible for feeding ammunition.

"preparation"

At the test site, the company commander of the machine gun company of the 3rd Independent Regiment personally took charge of the test command.

A machine gun platoon leader was responsible for being the main gunner.

"Open Fire"

As the company commander gave his order.

The machine gun platoon leader, an extremely experienced and skilled marksman, began to pull the trigger.

"Da da da, da da da, da da da da da da~"

Apart from the first two three-round bursts to establish the baseline, the rest of the firing was in continuous bursts.

The twenty bullets in the magazine were quickly fired out. The platoon leader quickly removed the empty magazine and took the new magazine handed to him by the assistant gunner to load the bullets.

The platoon leader loaded a bullet and pulled the bolt in one smooth motion without pausing, and continued firing.

At this moment, Chen Changzai, Political Commissar Liu, Political Commissar He, and Director Zhao of the gun factory were all behind him, holding binoculars and looking at a huge target plate, two meters by two meters, four hundred meters away.

The reason for using such a large target is to test the distribution of bullets when firing continuously from 400 meters away.

From 400 meters away, if you look at a person who is 1.7 meters tall with the naked eye...

So, in your eyes, he is...

This person is about the size of a tiny 2.7-millimeter object that you're holding in your hand with your arm outstretched.

It's probably a little smaller than the rounded end of the chopsticks we use at home.

So looking at something two meters tall doesn't seem like much.

However, this distance is already the optimal firing range for the Czech light machine gun.

In the telescope, there was a thick wooden target made of logs inserted side by side into the ground, with a wooden board nailed to the front, and target rings drawn on the board.

At this moment, sawdust was flying everywhere on the wooden target.

Bullets kept hitting the wooden target, their tips penetrating the target board and embedding themselves in the wooden stakes behind it, or simply passing right through it.

However, the bullets generally hit the target ring or nearby.

The ten magazines were quickly emptied.

The machine gun platoon leader removed the magazine, pulled the bolt, and confirmed that there were no more bullets in the gun.

He and the assistant gunner stood up and stepped back to make way for the machine gun.

However, judging from the smile on his face, he was very satisfied with the test shot.

Standing behind Chen Changzai are Master Zhang and Master Liu, as well as Chen Changzai's students who made the gun barrel by hand.

After the machine gun stopped and the gunner stood up, the first person to run over was...

They need to see the condition of the gun barrel as soon as possible.

The Czech ZB26 light machine gun requires a barrel replacement after firing 250 rounds at slow speed.

If you fire continuously like this, you'll need to replace the barrel after firing 100 to 150 rounds.

Otherwise, the barrel would turn red-hot and deform, potentially even causing a barrel explosion. This time, Chen Changzai took on an extreme challenge, attempting to fire two hundred rounds in succession.

This is also why he wanted to see where the barrel's limits were.

However, he didn't take too many risks.

I only kept it at 200 shots, which is a slightly higher number.

At this moment, Master Zhang and Master Liu stood beside the machine gun, observing the changes on the surface of the machine gun barrel.

Looking at the surface of the gun barrel, Master Zhang said, "The barrel is already red-hot. It's been hot since the magazine was ejected, plus the time it took us to get here."

The dark red color of the gun barrel is acceptable now.

In other words, it is far from reaching its limit.

Master Liu nodded after hearing this, but he didn't say anything.

Instead, he took a calibration ruler from his apprentice.

The barrel was still on the machine gun; it hadn't been removed.

Using the machine gun barrel base as a reference, Master Liu began to check whether the barrel was bent.

After the inspection, Master Liu smiled and said, "There is no bending on the outside of the gun barrel."

Its strength withstood the continuous firing.

After the two experienced workers finished their inspection.

Chen Changzai's students then put on thick gloves and removed the gun barrels.

The barrel of the ZB26 Czech light machine gun is very easy to replace. Just lift the carrying handle, unlock the barrel lock, and turn the barrel to remove it.

The students first held the gun up to the sun to check the condition of the barrel.

The silver-gray inner wall of the gun barrel has specks of yellow reflection, which are the copper plating of the bullets stuck to the inner wall of the barrel.

In addition to these, there was some soot inside the barrel.

These are all normal phenomena.

No bulging or peeling of the coating has been found so far.

At that moment, a student brought over a thin steel rod that was longer than a gun barrel.

Its diameter is exactly the same as the inner diameter of the gun barrel.

Its exterior also has the same spiral rifling as the inside of the barrel, but in the opposite direction.

This is an inspection tool used to check whether the inner wall of the gun barrel is straight.

By this time, the barrel temperature had dropped, and the deformation was basically fixed; it couldn't deform much further.

After the students inserted the steel bar into the barrel, they gently applied force.

Tiny copper filings fell out from the other end of the gun barrel.

After the measuring rod passes easily through the other side.

All the students cheered.

This means that the gun barrel actually withstood the test.

Both the steel used in the barrel and the internal coating withstood this test.

At this moment, Chen Changzai, who had been watching the students from behind for a while, was the first to clap, and then everyone clapped, and the applause was thunderous.

When Director Zhao of the headquarters gun factory took the gun barrel and examined its inner wall against the sun again...

He discovered that the coating on the inner wall of the gun barrel showed no signs of burning or peeling.

Even the signs of wear and tear are not obvious.

"Wow, wow, that's impressive, really impressive."

That gun barrel is really impressive.

Director Chen, the gun barrel you've made is truly amazing.

I admire you, I really admire you.

This gun barrel is incredibly durable, hahaha.

　Thank you to all my friends who have supported me.

　　Sigh, I spent two hours typing and four hours researching data.

　　There are always data inconsistencies and errors, sigh.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)