Chapter 54 New Equipment (Second Update)

  Sorry for the late update! I was held up with something today and had no choice but to stay up all night writing.

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  As for firearms, Jiang Yu has always been entangled.

  That's the problem with the caliber of ammunition.

  Jiang Yu can connect to the internet of later generations and understand English, French, German, allowing him to browse foreign websites. Some open online libraries are also accessible without any obstacles.

  Finding blueprints for some classic weapons is even simpler, and World War II-era firearms are easy to find.

  But the problem is that not every excellent firearm is suitable as a standard-issue weapon.

  For example, the M1 Garand is very good for rifles, but the semi-automatic rifle uses 7.62mm bullets, and Jiang Yu has a crush on the MG42 general-purpose machine gun, which uses 7.92mm bullets.

  If both types of firearms are equipped with troops, ammunition supply will become more chaotic and increase logistical pressure.

  The performance of the MP18 submachine gun was not yet mature, and the production cost was not low enough to reach the ideal range of Chiang Kai-shek. The most famous submachine guns in World War II were the PPSh-41 of the Red Army, the Sten gun of Britain, and the Thompson submachine gun of the United States.

  The Thompson submachine gun was first ruled out by the Jiang Yu, although it was a well-performing submachine gun, but the problem is that its structure is complex, and its production cost is higher than that of the MP18 submachine gun, and the bullet is not an internationally common pistol cartridge.

  The red-haired bear's PPSh submachine gun was also excluded by Jiang Yu because its bullets were not universal pistol rounds, and the only one that could be chosen was the British Sten submachine gun.

  The cartridge used by the Type 100 submachine gun is the same as that of the MP18, a pistol cartridge with strong stopping power. The PPSh-41 submachine gun was also excellent, but its stopping power was apparently not as good as that of submachine guns using pistol cartridges.

  Moreover, the production cost of the CDM machine gun was low, with a production cost of only $9 per unit. If it were produced in China, and considering the value of the US dollar at that time, the cost might be as low as $7, which is less than 15 silver dollars.

  The zero parts of this weapon can be produced in small shops. Once a full-scale war breaks out, not only can factories produce parts, but also the whole nation can engage in workshop-style production.

  The Sten also has a German relative, the MP 3008, which was a result of Germany's late-war attempt to copy the design. The MP 3008 further simplified the manufacturing process, making it even cheaper to produce, and also added a safety device that prevented the gun from discharging when dropped.

  And MP3008 is less prone to jamming than the StG 44 due to its use of German manufacturing technology.

  "It is obviously more cost-effective to adopt the MP 3008 than the Sten gun, and there is no risk of accidental discharge." After consideration, Jiang Yu decided to adopt the MP 3008 as a standard submachine gun.

  After obtaining the drawings on the Internet, Jiang Yu hid in his study and began to modify the MP3008. At this time, Jiang Yu had already laid a solid foundation in mechanical design and firearms design, and learned design methods beyond this era from the Internet.

  The change made by Jiang Yu is the removal of the MP3008's selective fire mechanism, which allowed for single-shot firing through controlled pulling and releasing of the trigger. The Germans likely added this feature to allow the submachine gun to be used by untrained civilians.

  And if it is used by professional soldiers, this design is completely unnecessary, so Jiang Yu cancels this design, making the production cost further reduced.

  A new version was derived from this.

  The MP3008 was ultimately produced in two versions: a modified military version for the Jiangsu province and an unmodified civilian version.

  The civilian version is more suitable for untrained civilians to use, while the military version requires a certain amount of training before it can be used better, but the military version has a lower production cost.

  The MP3008 has a magazine capacity of 32 rounds, and can ensure relatively accurate shooting within 110 meters, while exceeding this distance will deviate by about half a meter.

  As a close-quarters shooting weapon, it is generally seldom necessary to engage targets beyond 110 meters.

  Then Jiang Yu designed a silencer for it, making the MP3008 the world's first micro-sound submachine gun.

  As for rifles and machine guns, Jiang Yu considered it for a long time and finally chose the 7.62 NATO cartridge that appeared in the fifties, which is different from the current American Springfield .30-06 rifle cartridge but also similar.

  Of course, the current Springfield 0.30-06 rifle bullet has not yet appeared with a pointed head, so the 7.62 NATO bullet is absolutely the first to be created.

  Jiang Yu then modified the blueprint of the M1 Garand rifle again and changed the bullet to use 7.62 NATO standard.

  After World War II, the MG 42 was replaced by the MG 3, a 7.62 NATO version of the MG 42, with almost identical construction and shooting speed.

  The advantage of the MG 42 machine gun is that it has an extremely high rate of fire, and with just a casual pull of the trigger, five or six bullets fly out. In a machine gun duel, there are almost no machine guns that can be a match for the MG 42.

  Of course, the MG42's greatest advantage is also its biggest disadvantage. In just over 10 seconds, 75 rounds of ammunition are gone, and as a heavy machine gun, 300 rounds of ammunition can be fired in just one minute, which is still the rate of ammunition consumption after combining point shooting and sweeping on the battlefield.

  This is a machine gun that can only be played by industrial powers.

  But Jiang Yu has this confidence, with China's 400 million population, producing ammunition is still very simple.

  Produced M1 Garand, MP3008 submachine gun, MG3 general-purpose machine gun, infantry equipment basically reached a very luxurious level.

  Jiang Yu then found the drawings of a flamethrower online, which is the most effective weapon against enemies in fortifications.

  Of course, flamethrower soldiers are also the shortest-lived, with an average battlefield lifespan of only ten minutes, because the enemy fears flamethrower soldiers the most.

  Then Jiang Yu also brought high-altitude machine guns and high-altitude artillery drawings, mainly used for air defense.

  There are also anti-tank mines, anti-tank machine guns and anti-tank artillery, which are planned to be used against tanks in future wars.

  These equipment are not too large in scale, so the technical difficulty is not high, and it's easy to develop them. However, in order not to spread the technology prematurely, even if these equipment are developed, they will not be equipped with troops for the time being.

  It's actually the Japanese grenade launcher used in the invasion of China that is pretty good, and it's one of the few pieces of Japanese equipment that Jiang Yu can appreciate.

  These grenade launchers are inexpensive, with an effective range of 500 meters, belonging to micro-mortars. In the hands of experienced infantrymen, they can cause considerable casualties to the enemy.

  The drawback is that it relies too much on experience and cannot be promoted throughout the army, so Jiang Yu only plans to use the grenade launcher as a weapon that soldiers can choose from, and does not necessarily require soldiers to learn how to use this equipment.

  These equipment would have been no problem if they were all developed and used until the end of World War II.

  Apart from these equipment, there is heavy equipment.

  Tanks, self-propelled artillery, aircraft and warships.

  The drawings of these equipment were searched for by Jiang Yu for several days and then sent to the military weapons research base in Huai'an.

  At this time, Jiang Yu established a large military weapon research base in Huai'an, covering the army and air force, with more than 1,000 technical researchers, and the scale is still expanding.

  To manufacture these equipment, Jiang Yu established many research groups and recruitment of personnel began in Europe and the United States.

  At this time, various countries did not attach great importance to controlling the activities of scientists, which gave Jiang Yu an opportunity.

  Chiang Kai-shek lavished these technical personnel with money to attract them to come to China for research work.

  ……

  The weather in September entered a very hot season, the Northwestern Defense Army began to advance into the Northwest, and in various provinces in East China, the Northwestern Defense Army was recruiting soldiers everywhere.

  At the same time, troops advancing northwest also began recruiting Han soldiers in Shaanxi and Gansu.

  "One person joins the army, the whole family is honored."

  "Joining the army, defending the motherland..."

  These slogans were written on the streets and alleys of various provinces in East China, and even towns and villages had these slogans. The propaganda teams organized by the Administrative Office of Huai River were all working hard to publicize them.

  For those who are about to go to the Northwest for reclamation, the future is full of unknowns for many young people. However, in order to put on a majestic military uniform, many young people still signed up resolutely.

  This recruitment compared to the previous revival of the army's recruitment requirements have been greatly reduced.

  The previous revival of the army's recruitment requirements was astonishingly high, even incorporating physiognomy into the recruitment process. This time, the scale of recruitment is larger, so although physiognomy is still used to select soldiers, it's not as strict, as long as they don't have a murderous aura about them.

  The first phase of recruitment is 300,000, with 15,000 people as a production brigade, and each production brigade is responsible for reclamation in an area. That is to say, the first phase will establish twenty production brigades, which will be distributed in Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Outer Mongolia and other places.

  The commodity grain base in Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province and the cotton production base in Xinjiang are crucial.

  Soldiers of the production brigades receive only three silver dollars in military pay per month, similar to a system of compulsory military service, but it's really not easy to implement compulsory military service these days.

  Ordinary people are generally quite poor, and half-grown children have to start working to support their families.

  So the military pay is still to be given, and the factories established by Jiang Yu are more and more, those family members of soldiers as long as they have labor ability can be recruited into the factory as workers.

  If there is no able-bodied person in the family, the military department will provide support.

  These soldiers producing troops only need to serve for three years, and those who perform well are converted into professional soldiers, while those who perform generally are converted into reserve forces, assigned by the military to work in factories.

  Once an all-out war breaks out, these reserve soldiers can be mobilized.

  At the same time, officers also retire every year and become reserve officers.

  The reserve forces are very important, and Jiangsu has already begun to establish a planned reserve system in response to the outbreak of full-scale war in the future.

  In comparison, Yuan Shikai was secretly training the Model Troops in Beijing and also established a military academy in Baoding to cultivate military talents on a large scale.

  The former principal of Baoding Military Academy was then assisting Jiang Yu, helping him lead the Huai'an Military Academy.

  The establishment of Baoding Military Academy was not smooth, and the power struggle between Yuan Shikai and Duan Qirui was very intense.

  Duan Qirui's faction of instructors had poor quality and their work style was not good, which historically led to students' dissatisfaction. Jiang Fangzhen even shot himself in front of the students because his expenses were cut off, but the suicide attempt was unsuccessful.

  China's two major military factions were formally formed in the year of Renzi, and Yuan Shikai began to continuously borrow from the Bank of China, and the Bank of China also provided loans to Yuan Shikai very readily.

  Yuan Shikai's continuous expansion of his military forces may not necessarily be aimed at a showdown with Jiangsu, but to a large extent also for self-protection and defense.

  Both sides have a certain degree of defense and close cooperation.

  For example, the equipment of Yuan Shikai's expanded Beiyang Army was all purchased from the Hua Dong Group. At the same time, Yuan Shikai also began to build an air force, which was provided by the National Defense Army, and the National Defense Army also helped train pilots for the Beiyang Army.

  In the army, Jiang Yu also sent a batch of military officers to provide military guidance to Yuan Shikai, and the guidance was more careful, making Yuan Shikai's model division training very smooth. The combat effectiveness was also improved due to the use of advanced weapons sold by the East China Group to the Central Government, and the adoption of more advanced tactics.