xymnovel Chapter 168 Threaded Locking Rear-Loading Gun
Chapter 168 Threaded Locking Rear-Loading Gun
Chapter 168 Threaded Locking Rear-Loading Gun
November 12th, light rain.
Robin Machinery Factory, Manager's Office.
Raindrops pattered against the windowpane, leaving streaks of water. The office was warm and cozy, making one want to doze off.
But Chen Wenbin was very excited at this moment because William Marcus had just brought him a brand new breech-loading flintlock rifle.
That's right!
It's a breech-loading gun from 1765!
Chen Wenbin carefully examined the musket in his hand, which had a threaded locking device.
This was a weapon he had racked his brains to create, and it was also the world's first flintlock rifled gun that used black powder and adopted a breech-loading locking firing mechanism!
The principle of this gun is not complicated. It is similar to the threaded breech of a cannon. It is directly sealed with a screw plug and then connected to the trigger guard. The threads are used to compact and seal the gunpowder.
Because it does not require a purging rod to compact the gun, this type of gun has a much faster rate of fire than a muzzle-loading gun. It can also be fired from a kneeling or prone position. In addition, with the addition of rifling, the theoretical accurate range should exceed 200 meters.
He tried turning the trigger guard connected to the screw plug a few times and found that there was no obvious jamming. He then looked down at the machining level of the bolt thread groove and saw that the screw plug was closed perfectly, which made him very satisfied.
"—Dear William!"
He looked up at William Marcus, whose face beamed with pride, and chuckled, "The quality of this gun is even better than I imagined. How many have been produced? Have you calculated the cost of each one?"
William Marcus quickly complimented, "With your tool post lathe, we are able to produce standard threaded parts!"
The machine shop's gun workshop can now produce 5 to 8 Robin 1765 breech-loading rifles per day, and there are already 36 in stock.
As for its production cost —
He paused, then said helplessly, "Because the breech locking plug and threaded groove machining require more time, and our workers are not yet skilled, it currently costs about £8.40 to manufacture each Robin 1765, which is twice the cost of a muzzle-loading Robin rifle and five times the cost of a regular Brownbes smoothbore rifle."
This is only because our machine shop has a unique lead screw tool holder lathe. If an ordinary craftsman were to replicate it, I think the cost would probably exceed 15 pounds or even higher, and the yield rate would be very low!
One costs £8 and 4 shillings!
Chen Wenbin thought to himself that the British army couldn't afford to equip themselves with this, or at least couldn't deploy it on a large scale.
Brown's Beef is so cheap!
You can buy one for less than two pounds. Downing Street thinks that the British Army’s cannon fodder probably only deserves cheap and durable Brown Bass.
He continued, "Has its performance been tested? How many times can it fire per minute? What about the failure rate?"
"It's excellent!"
William Marcus glanced at the rifle on his desk and smiled. "We've already conducted extreme tests on ten rifles."
Under ideal conditions, skilled users can achieve a firing rate of six to nine shots per minute. Due to the high precision of the machining, continuous firing for sixteen shots is unlikely to cause any malfunctions.
Furthermore, we also used a new quenching technology proposed by a steelmaking engineer at the steel plant, which improved the performance of the high-carbon steel in the bolt carrier and reduced the risk of barrel explosion.
Chen Wenbin thought for a moment, then shook his head and laughed, "It can't possibly have only advantages and no disadvantages, right?"
Don't just praise it because it's my design; tell me what its flaws are!
"—You're right!"
Knowing his boss's pragmatic style, William Marcus could only nod and say, "There is no such thing as a perfect rifle in the world, and we have also found three shortcomings in the Robin 1765."
He picked up the rifle, turned the trigger guard, and showed Chen Wenbin the internal threaded grooves, explaining: "First of all, gunpowder residue will affect the engagement of the threads, so lubrication is necessary before firing."
Secondly, the bolt carrier will get hot after multiple shots. It is best to cool it down after each shot to prevent it from exploding.
Finally, it needs to avoid environments with fine sand and gravel, as small sand and gravel may prevent the screw plug from closing.
However, these shortcomings are not insurmountable given its excellent rate of fire and its ability to adapt to various terrains!
This is a weapon that can change the course of war!
Your Excellency, I strongly recommend equipping our Western Legion with the Robin 1765—this will make your Western Legion the most formidable striking force in the West!
As he said this, he carefully put down his rifle, his eyes filled with anticipation as he looked at Chen Wenbin.
Boss Chen knew, of course, that this guy wanted to take the order from him. The production cost of the Robin 1765 breech-loading rifle was £8.40.
A shilling, the factory price must be at least £10, right?
A gun costs ten pounds. If he were to equip all the soldiers in the Western Army with new gear, that would be six thousand five hundred pounds. That amount of money would be enough for him to build another clipper boat!
However, the rifle that doubled the rate of fire was originally his own insurance policy, so he had to spend the money. Therefore, he waved his hand and laughed, "Alright, do you think I won't order my own rifle?"
Now that you have produced more than thirty, just like when you tested the flintlock pistols and short-barreled cavalry rifles, take them all to the barracks and have officers and soldiers test them, collect problems and opinions, and make improvements.
The design was finalized three days later.
I'm giving you an order for 300 units. Can you fulfill it before we leave at the end of the month?
William Marcus mentally calculated the time. Today was the 12th, and in three days it would be the middle of the month. There were still half a month left for production. Time was a bit tight, but it wasn't impossible to complete.
He nodded and assured him, "No problem! Your Excellency, we already have 3,700 Robin rifles in stock, which is well overdue to your requirement of 3,000. I will transfer the workers who produce the Robin rifles to this location to start production, and we will definitely be able to complete the task by the end of the month!"
"Great, I'll give you a bonus after you complete the task!"
Chen Wenbin stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and encouraged him, "William, you've been one of my long-time employees. The machinery factory is the foundation of our development in the west. Do a good job during this time—once the machinery factory in the west is rebuilt, I'll put you on the company's board of directors!"
"—Yes, Your Excellency!"
William Marcus was taken aback, then exclaimed with delight, "I definitely won't let you down!"
The Robin Company Board of Directors is the newly established core of senior management decision-making following the restructuring of various companies at the end of February.
Including Chen Wenbin himself, there are currently only seven directors: Diana, who is far away in London; Pastor Jason from the church; John Morris from Providence Shipping Company; John Smith from Bank of America; David Klein from Robin Hospital; and David Jones, the legal director and chairman's secretary of Robin Company.
Although Mr. Chen has veto power on the board of directors, these directors also have a certain say in the finances and personnel of Robin Company's various businesses.
More importantly, according to Robin Company's articles of association, becoming a company director also grants a large number of stock options, which are tangible benefits.
Therefore, the remaining seats on the board of directors have become the target of pursuit for subsidiary executives like William Marcus.
These company executives are well aware of one fact: the combined assets of all the companies will definitely exceed one million pounds in the future!
A promotion and a raise, plus control over a portion of the power of the behemoth Robin Company—who wouldn't be tempted!
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