Daming 1805

Chapter 85 Airborne Weapons
Zhu Jingyuan knew how to mount a weapon, but he still didn't answer directly, and of course he wasn't going to hold back on purpose.

Regarding the application of his creativity and ideas, Zhu Jingyuan thought about it again in the past two days.

Now is the industrial age, not the time when industrialization has not yet started.

You don't have to think about your own mature ideas at all, which will affect the ideological enlightenment effect of traditional craftsmen.

Now the senior craftsmen of these big countries have received systematic education and training, and all have modernized cognitive logic and way of thinking.

Now in all walks of life in Daming, there must be relatively mature processes in terms of exploration and research and development methods.

I just gave them some ideas and they couldn't stop thinking about it.

To put it bluntly, their creativity is just a suggestion from the first party, and they usually get various suggestions from officials and users.

It's just that their requirements are more reliable, so they will trust themselves more.

It is up to them to figure out how to implement these requirements.

With his own strength, he can make these senior craftsmen give up thinking completely, then he is too arrogant.

Taking a ten thousand steps back, there are so many senior craftsmen in the entire Daming, and there are only a few that I can often contact, which can't affect the overall situation at all.

When I introduce myself, I can add a little bit of guided thinking to conceal my determination.

To prevent them from feeling like they can do anything, and to avoid problems that go wrong on their own.

"I think Lao Zhao's idea is very reasonable. After the aircraft itself is formed, what we need to do in the future is to continue to experiment and improve.

"Pilots find problems, craftsmen solve problems, pilots make reasonable demands, and craftsmen fulfill those demands.

"Now that the pilots want to install weapons, the craftsmen should think about how to install the weapons."

The craftsmen and test pilots nodded, and Li Rui said directly:

"His Royal Highness's reasoning is transparent, and people will understand as soon as they hear it. I don't think it is difficult to achieve Lao Zhao's request.

"You can put some bombs on the plane, but you don't have to put them on the pilot's hand, as long as the pilot can control it.

"You can add several self-locking buckles on the belly or both sides of the aircraft, and also weld the corresponding buckles on the bomb and hang on those buckles.

"The snap-on controller, like the steering rudder surface, is wired to the cockpit and fixed to a dedicated movable handle.

"Let the driver pull the handle, release the buckle that hooks the bomb, and the bomb hanging under the belly is dropped.

"As for the machine gun, I think it can be mounted on the wing, close to the side of the fuselage, and controlled by the tow structure.

"It doesn't necessarily need to add an extra person, that would affect the carrying capacity of the aircraft too much."

Zhu Jingyuan nodded lightly.

There is nothing to say about the way of hanging bombs. Now it is considered to be quite advanced, and it will basically be the same idea in the future.

The airborne machine gun scheme proposed by Li Rui is also the most stable and least restrictive scheme in history, but Mr. Li's ideas are not broad enough:

"Then, since the pilot does not need to manually pull the trigger, is it possible to install multiple machine guns at the same time?"

Li Rui suddenly smiled and said:
"Yes, we can install a machine gun on each side of the fuselage, and make the traction structure together, so that the pilot can control two machine guns at the same time."

When Lao Zhao next to him heard that he could hold two machine guns, he was a little excited, and then also a little confused:
"Mr. Li, you can put a machine gun on your wings, and you can actually use a steel wire to fire it, but how do the people who fly the plane aim?"

Li Rui was also stunned for a moment, then after thinking about it, he said:

"Aiming is indeed a problem, but the target that the plane is going to attack will not be too small and accurate, and you will not be able to directly hit a specific person.

"It should be all about strafing enemy positions and airships, or even attacking enemy planes. You don't need to be too precise and aim at too small targets.

"We try to calibrate the sights as much as possible, and the pilots should do more practice in the future to adapt to the firing space margin, and they should be able to complete the task."

Lao Zhao scratched his head:

"Mr. Li, what you said is easy, even if it can be achieved, the hit rate will not be high. It is best to put it in the middle and be able to directly face the target..."

Li Rui also spread his hands:

"Isn't there no way? The machine gun can only be installed on the side of the fuselage, which is convenient for installation and maintenance. If it is installed in the middle, it will be blocked by the propeller..."

Lao Zhao also felt that what Li Rui said was reasonable, but he still looked at Zhu Jingyuan subconsciously.

That look was to ask if Zhu Jingyuan had a better way, after all, this His Royal Highness has always had an idea.

When Zhu Jingyuan listened to the discussion, he wanted to laugh a little in his heart.

This is a typical conflict between pilots and engineers. Pilots demand ideal combat effects, but engineers can only accommodate reality.

The machine gun is installed at the root of the wing, which is the most secure and moderate choice, but it does take more time to get used to it.

Zhu Jingyuan smiled and nodded and said:

"I think the design of the machine gun mounted at the root of the wing should be considered the most conservative and safe solution.

"It can be used as the main optimization direction to improve the aiming effect in this state as much as possible and reduce the difficulty of attacking.

"But at the same time, we can't just stop thinking, we can think about it in other directions.

"For example, if a machine gun is mounted on the nose, will it be blocked by the screw?"

When the craftsmen heard this guidance, they subconsciously discussed:

"Of course it's not guaranteed to be blocked. After all, there are only two propellers."

"But some of the bullets will definitely hit the propeller, and the result will definitely be very dangerous."

"If the machine gun is pulled away and installed away from the range of the propeller, the distance from the pilot will become larger..."

"The effect is no different than putting it on a wing."

Zhu Jingyuan felt that it was not enough, so he used a more direct method to lead directly in two clear directions:

"Don't be bound by the existing framework and understanding, sometimes you have to look for possibilities in the impossible direction.

"For example, is there a way to mount a machine gun on the nose without the bullet hitting the propeller? Is there such a way?

"Or the machine gun is mounted within range of the propeller without being blocked by the propeller? Is there such a place?"

Listening to Zhu Jingyuan's obviously instructive tone, many craftsmen subconsciously turned to the plane not far away, watching the nose propeller start thinking.

After all, they are all the best craftsmen, and they are certainly not qualified to work directly in the Ministry of Industry.

Without Zhu Jingyuan's guidance, he had made various designs before, but he was not a person with a particularly rigid mind.

Zhu Jingyuan's hint was enough to start their thinking.

So after a brief discussion and deliberation at the scene, a young craftsman spoke uncertainly:

"The place that won't be blocked by the rotating propeller...the only place is...the middle, a hole can be opened in the middle!

"So... the barrel of the machine gun, can it be installed in the middle of the propeller?"

A craftsman next to him immediately reacted:
"You mean the shaft? Make the barrel the shaft of the propeller? Let the propeller turn outside?"

Several craftsmen were excited, but there were also doubts.

"How to deal with the heat dissipation problem of the gun barrel?"

"How to arrange the gun body structure?"

"It's not just the heat dissipation of the machine gun, but also the heat of the engine."

"That's really the problem..."

When Zhu Jingyuan heard this, he immediately understood that the plan proposed by this craftsman was commonly known as the "axis cannon".

Make the main shaft of the propeller hollow, install the barrel or barrel directly in the shaft, and let the propeller rotate outside the barrel.

In history, many propeller aircraft have used this "shaft gun". It can be said to be the most convenient airborne gun for aiming and shooting, and it is the favorite of many pilots.

However, the shaft gun plan is good, but there are certain requirements for the level of industrial design and the level of manufacturing technology.

The key will limit engine design and installation.

Now Daming doesn't know if he can handle this plan, but he can definitely try it.

Anyway, I have a simpler shooting coordinator solution.

(End of this chapter)