I want to be emperor

As for the huge [-]mm front-loading rifled cannon, Luo Zhixue actually didn't pay much attention to it. He just looked at it curiously and asked, but he didn't even bother to ask about the equipment plan... because he knew it without asking. It is an experimental weapon produced by the navy, and it is not planned to be equipped at all.

Because this thing is too heavy and manual loading will be very troublesome.

This is not a smoothbore gun, but a front-loading rifled gun.

The smoothbore gun uses a spherical shell, the volume of the shell is limited, and the weight of the shell is also limited.

However, the rifled gun uses a cylindrical shell, which is many times larger in size and weighs a lot more. This also leads to a [-]mm cylindrical shell, which is very difficult to carry by soldiers alone. Not to mention maintaining long-term handling and loading for combat.

If you want to use this kind of artillery, you have to equip it with a mechanical mechanism for handling shells and finally loading them.

Finally, this kind of artillery is actually a serious excess of firepower...

Looking around the world, there is no warship of any country that is worthy of the use of this [-]mm cannon by the Chu army... Even if it is necessary to siege a city, it can also use a [-]mm short-barreled howitzer of the same caliber. Load the cannon, that's not necessary!

And the most important reason is... this thing is very expensive without asking.

The Chu army has always disliked expensive weapons!

This is based on the unified large-bore theory developed in previous years.

And this is the 150mm front-loading rifled naval gun that also belongs to the Dangtu Heavy Artillery Factory.

Compared with using small-caliber cannons to launch solid shells, the Great Chu Empire Navy prefers to use large-caliber medium-barrel or even short-barrel artillery to directly launch large grenades into enemy warships.

This is how in 1920, the Polish cavalry Juliusz's troops had a total of [-] cavalry, holding what the world saw as an old-fashioned cavalry gun against the [-] Cossack cavalry of the Soviet First Cavalry Army. The cavalry was defeated, and the Polish army wiped out more than [-] Soviet troops at the cost of [-] casualties.

The cavalry was used in 1920, not to mention the saber, even the cavalry in the 21st century were still using the saber, although the cavalry in the 21st century had basically been reduced to a guard of honor, but during World War I and World War II, the saber was still It is the main weapon of the cavalry, and there was even a case where the cavalry attacked the infantry position head-on and achieved success.

It is not to equip whatever is advanced, nor to equip whatever is cheap, but to choose a relatively moderate weapon and equipment.

The reason why the cavalry continued to keep the breastplate was that when the cavalry fought, they often fought against the enemy's cavalry, and the cavalry was generally equipped with cold weapons. The application of cavalry weapons has a very long history. Until the 20s, cavalry still used lances as their main weapons and achieved great tactical success.

At present, the battleships of the Chu army are all equipped with 170mm naval guns. Whether it is a battleship refitted in the early service period or the battleship Huaian, which is the sister ship of the Suzhou battleship in service, they are all equipped with a large number of 170mm cannons. 170mm medium barrel and short barrel guns.

It passed the stereotype review and was awarded an official year number, which means that this artillery is the main artillery for the navy to prepare for large-scale equipment. This treatment is the only one for all the test artillery present.

This Battle of Camorro was the largest cavalry duel in the past 200 years, and it was also the last swan song of the Lancers. It was a typical military miracle in which the weak defeated the strong, at least the Poles thought so In fact, in this battle, artillery, machine guns, rifles and other firearms still occupy the main tactical position.

The calibers of the smoothbore guns in the battleships of the Great Chu Empire Navy were chaotic in the early days, but they were highly unified in the later stages.

This is a very unique unified large-caliber tactical thinking in the navy of the Great Chu Empire, and now in the era of front-mounted smoothbore guns, the navy still has a good impression of this tactical thinking.

From the armor and equipment of the Chu army, it can be seen that the equipment of the Chu army does not only depend on its own situation, but also on the enemy's situation.

This kind of artillery can be used as a general-purpose main gun for a cruiser of one or two thousand tons, and can also be used as a secondary gun for a new type of battleship above [-] tons. Some large-tonnage frigates and even river gunboats can also be equipped with this kind of naval gun in small quantities. Used as a deterrent weapon.

Why?Because apart from him, countless other generals who wanted to try the night attack all rushed to the street... What a pity!
After entering the [-]th century, cavalry charges became a miracle, but before the mid-[-]th century, cavalry charges were very common, let alone the earlier periods of the [-]th and [-]th centuries.

However, the caliber cannot be increased indefinitely. If the caliber is too large, the cost of the artillery will increase, and at the same time, it will become more difficult to load, resulting in a decrease in the rate of fire... Battleships within a distance of 300 meters are bombarded, the number of naval guns is small, and the rate of fire Slow is not enough, so the caliber of the main gun of the battleship also needs to be kept within a certain range.

Therefore, a naval gun with moderate caliber, powerful power, and not too heavy artillery, which can be deployed in large numbers by cruisers and even frigates, is very important.

And more, it will be equipped with smaller caliber front-loading rifles, such as 170mm front-loading rifles, 150mm front-loading rifles, and 130mm or even smaller 75mm calibers.

At the same time, this is also the reason why the infantry of the Chu army are not equipped with heavy full-body armor, because even heavy armor cannot stop bullets. It is better to expand the protective area and save some weight to enhance mobility.

When the aborigines didn't even have a matchlock gun, the Chu army liked to let the grenadiers wear these full-body heavy armors, and then hit their opponents with muskets... so that the bows and arrows of the aborigines could not hurt these iron cans, etc. After the natives rushed up at a heavy price, these iron cans can also protect the soldiers well and reduce casualties.

Therefore, in terms of armor, it can be clearly seen that whether a weapon will be used on a large scale is affected by many factors, among which the threat of the enemy is a more important part.

Since the cavalry are all using cold weapons, and the cavalry as opponents, in order to prevent the opponent's cavalry from being killed by cold weapons, they naturally have the motivation to attach armor, so the cavalry's breastplate has been equipped until the First World War.

Even the previous [-]mm front-loading rifled guns failed to obtain official military numbers one by one, and could only use the manufacturer's number.

why?
Because the enemies that the line infantry of later generations need to face are contemporary enemies, and their enemies are mainly line infantry, and unless the armor is made into a relatively thick breastplate shape with a relatively small area, otherwise it will basically block it. Can't hold the musket!
In other words, in the line era, infantry armor is basically useless, and it will increase the infantry's load, affect mobility, and increase costs... This is an important reason why infantry in the line era abandoned armor.

Well, in fact, in modern times, large-scale cavalry launched a frontal charge, but there were more cases of failure in the end, but no one cares about the losers, so I won’t talk about it.

However, the Great Chu Empire Army is still equipped with armor on a large scale, especially the line infantry is still equipped with a large number of light half body armor.

Simply put, it depends on the price-performance ratio.

In addition, it also depends on whether the weapon has a relatively large actual use value. The actual use value mainly depends on the opponent...Equip the weapon according to the enemy's situation.

This is a tactical thinking shown by the Chu army after adopting howitzer bombardment as the main combat method, and the tactical thinking has affected the development of equipment.

This is why in the past two decades, the battleships of the Chu Army have always used 170mm naval guns as their main artillery.

Therefore, I took a special look at it, and repeatedly asked about some performance data and production status. After getting a satisfactory answer, Luo Zhixue also said: "When this gun is tested later, fire a few more rounds!"

Even in some backward indigenous countries, there are no matchlock guns, and cold weapons such as bows, arrows and spears are still used.

Because the enemy is still equipped with a large number of cold weapons, the armor attached to the Chu army can still play a certain defensive role.

This is why the line infantry in the Chu army are still equipped with light half body armor... This kind of armor is not used to block bullets, but in fact, it is more used to block the enemy's spears, bows and arrows, sabers, cavalry, etc. Cold weapons like guns.

The most typical is the armor. According to the concept of later generations, the Chu Empire Army is all line infantry, artillery and cavalry units. This kind of army in the era of queuing and shooting, except for the cavalry will be equipped with breastplates, other Troops don't wear armor.

In this case, cruisers, frigates and even inland river gunships also pursue a unified large-caliber idea. The main guns in a battleship, except for auxiliary artillery, such as small-caliber artillery and ultra-short-barreled mortars, other main guns Basically use the same caliber.

This is true of armor, and even more so of artillery.

The three main guns have different barrels, but the caliber is the same, and the ammunition used is also the same.

But it is undeniable that the lance of the Polish Lancers still stole all the limelight at the end!

Because the core of the unified large-caliber tactical thinking is to use howitzers to kill enemy ships, and under limited conditions, increase the amount of ammunition projected as much as possible.

If it’s too small, it’s not powerful enough, if it’s too big, it’s too troublesome, 170mm is just right...so I got all 170mm naval guns.

When the Chu army is equipped with artillery, in addition to the leading advantage, it also needs to consider cost performance and practicality.

The Battle of Camorro and the Battle of Beersheva are famous because they are very rare examples of success...just like the ancient night raids won... Li Yan attacked Caizhou at night in a snowstorm and was blown away for more than 1000 years ah!

It is worth mentioning that this is also the second time since the Crimean War in the 50s, and the last time in human history that large-scale cavalry directly attacked the enemy's infantry line of defense and achieved success.

"This new type of naval gun is an improvement of the experimental front-mounted rifled naval gun on the cruiser Busan. We have improved the smelting process of the gun barrel, used steel with higher performance, and improved the winding degree of the rifle. , the improved new type of artillery, the barrel life can reach 250 rounds, and the hit rate has also been improved, and after the substantial performance improvement, its production cost has only increased by less than [-]%."

Due to various reasons, this kind of [-]mm front-loading cannon is likely to be equipped with a large number of internal guns in a short period of time. At most, a dozen or twenty cannons are equipped. Shell the enemy's strong coastal defense forts with powerful firepower against the sea.

In 1917, in Palestine, [-] cavalrymen from British Australia attacked Beersheba, where [-] Turkish troops were stationed. Unexpectedly, they did not choose to dismount and fight on foot, but directly launched a charge on horseback, crossing the The fire blockade formed by guns finally broke into the position of the Turkish army and successfully captured the city.

However, the troops sent overseas will be equipped with a small amount of full-body heavy armor, which is not usually used, and is usually used when facing the indigenous army with few firearms.

"At present, this gun has passed the navy's finalized review and has been awarded the official number of '27-year 150mm front-loading rifled naval gun'."

In the era of musket guns, the cavalry's lances and sabers were extremely lethal, and they were indispensable arms.

The number of official year numbers is very limited, because it is impossible for the military to name a large number of weapons with years, which is easy to confuse... Therefore, only some major weapons equipped with large-scale equipment will be given official numbers, and other small-scale weapons will be given official numbers. The non-main equipment of the equipment does not have this treatment, and can only use the manufacturer number.

In the Great Chu Empire, whether the military equips a new weapon or other equipment depends not only on performance, but also on cost and actual needs.

He is looking forward to the scene when this kind of artillery will be tested, but he has long heard reports that the cylindrical howitzer fired by a rifled gun of this caliber is more powerful than a 250mm smoothbore mortar. Spherical grenades are even bigger.

This kind of humanoid tank often has miraculous effects when facing some pure cold weapon troops, or indigenous troops with only a few primitive firearms!
The whole body heavy armor is a typical equipment for the strong to bully the weak...

In the current middle of the seventeenth century, the enemies faced by the Great Chu Empire Army are generally still in an era of alternating hot and cold, and even the European army is not equipped with many flintlock guns.

The calibers of each of the above-mentioned artillery are the calibers of the main guns or secondary guns of different types of warships in the Great Chu Empire Navy.

Luo Zhixue is very interested in this 27-year-style 150mm front-loading rifle gun. If this thing is done well, it means that the Chu Empire Navy will get a powerful and widely applicable gun. Main artillery.

The main naval guns on the battleships adopt a unified large caliber, and control the weight with different barrel lengths to obtain greater firepower while simplifying logistics. This is the main naval gun development idea of ​​​​the Great Chu Empire in the past ten years.

This situation will not change much after the era of front-loading rifled guns. The core goal of the navy is still to hit the most explosive grenades on enemy ships in the shortest time.

With such power, coupled with the fact that this kind of artillery needs to be equipped on a large scale, one can imagine how powerful the firepower of the Chu army's warships will be at that time!

Coupled with the range advantage of rifled guns and the maneuverability brought by steam engines, the Great Chu Empire Navy will not need to rely on a huge fleet to siege opponents in the future. It only needs a few advanced warships to beat any indigenous navy.

The day when the Great Chu Empire's navy dominates the world's oceans is almost here!

Luo Zhixue is looking forward to this!
So after a brief look at several other types of front-loading rifled guns, Luo Zhixue ordered the live ammunition test to begin.

The live ammunition test is the highlight of today!
He not only wanted to see it for himself, but also let the accompanying army and navy generals experience the great power of rifled artillery and the huge battlefield advantages it brought!