Chapter 522

At the Bohemian Holdas Arsenal, engineers were conducting weapons tests. Twenty experimenters raised their guns at the same time and fired at the shooting range in front of them.

After a series of gunshots, the weapon designer, Holman Stellen, stepped forward to take a look and calculated the parameters as quickly as possible. He said with satisfaction, "It's qualified."

The parameters were as follows:

Caliber: 12.68 mm

Weight: 4.2 kg

Length: 1417 mm

Barrel length: 920 mm

Bullets: Paper shell acorn-shaped lead bullets

Loading Method: Reloading

Rate of fire: 12-15 rounds per minute

Initial speed: 410 m/s

Effective range: 650 m

Maximum range: 1512 m

Ammunition feed: Single round feed

Holdas, the director of the arsenal, walked over with a smile and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Stellen. You've designed another excellent rifle.

This rifle is very good. It allows soldiers to load ammunition while lying down and the accuracy of close-range shooting is higher than most rifles.

I heard that the people of Prussia have changed their equipment on a large scale. We've also gotten a few of their rifles, but their performance is not as good as ours. "

Holman Stellen said calmly, "Mr. Holdas, this is only a laboratory product. It's still unknown whether it can be produced on a large scale.

In fact, our laboratory has made a lot of advanced firearms over the years. Because of the production cost, very few of them have the value of being assembled.

For example, the 1850 series rifle from the previous model has much better performance than this one. Because of the production cost, we had to give it up. "

As a weapon designer, the first thing he had to learn was to give up. The more advanced the weapon, the better. There was also the overall cost to consider.

From a design point of view, even a rifle from a hundred years in the future could still be designed now. Whether or not it could be produced was still an unknown.

Holman Stellen was used to it. More than 95% of the weapons he designed were lying in the laboratory. Although this rifle was good, it was still unknown whether it could be used in the Austrian army.

Holdas said optimistically, "It doesn't matter. Now that the war in the Near East is fierce, we can sell it to Montenegro Principality for trial. As long as the excellence of this rifle is proven in actual combat, the military will not refuse it.

In terms of technology, this rifle's requirements are much lower than the 1850 series. I can judge that the production cost of this rifle will not be much higher than the current rifles. "

He could not say that His Majesty had ordered him to design a breech-loading rifle suitable for the Austrian army, right?

Almost every Austrian arsenal had taken out sample guns. There were more than a dozen breech-loading rifles on the shooting range in the palace. Based on his experience, Holdas thought that the rifle had a high chance of winning.

Cheap, easy to operate, and stable performance were the advantages of this rifle. The only disadvantage was its low lethality. However, the accuracy of the hit rate and the advantage of being able to lie prone and reload could still make up for this.

Now, there was only one last round of actual combat left. The Near East War was a good opportunity.

After the outbreak of the war, the Principality of Montenegro relied on Austria's logistical supply. In order to facilitate the supply, they had been fully equipped with Arcana weapons and had now become the testing ground for Austria's weapons.

The Austrian military had also sent out weapon observers to collect the actual combat parameters of various weapons. This would serve as an important reference factor for future equipment changes.

Holman Stylen said seriously, "Alright then, Mr. Holdas. Make arrangements as soon as possible. This time, I will personally lead a team to the battlefield to collect information. "

It's too dangerous on the battlefield. You're the best weapon designer in Austria. You can't take the risk. " Holman Stellen smiled and said, "Don't worry. The Montenegrins will protect us. If you're worried, you can ask the military to send someone to escort us.

Holman Stellen smiled and said, "Don't worry, the Montenegrins will ensure our safety. If you're worried, you can even request for the military to send someone to escort us.

Danger is relative. If God wants to take me away, there will be accidents even if I stay in the country. "

…

In the Belle Spring Palace, the new rifle of the Holdas Arsenal had already appeared on the shooting range. Franz skillfully loaded and fired.

Maybe it was because of his talent, but his shooting skills were really embarrassing. It was God's blessing if he could not miss the target within a hundred meters.

Franz had always thought that the rifle's performance was not good and the recoil was too strong, causing the bullets to miss the target. The evidence was the bullet kill rate after each battle. It was usually thousands or tens of thousands of bullets to kill an enemy.

"Bang, bang, bang …"

After the gunshots ended, Franz's face turned green. He had actually hit the target next door. There was no one else who could miss the target like that.

With a snort, several little guys laughed gloatingly. Franz glanced over and found the culprit.

"Is it that funny? It's just a bullet missing the target. What's so strange about that?"

Franz had been famous for a long time. His three brothers and two cousins held back their laughter. Their expressions were cute.

After suppressing the kids' mockery, Franz said with a smile, "Come and try. Keep your distance."

They had never played with these rifles before. If they were used as rifles, Franz's performance just now could tell that the bullets could be deflected by more than ten meters.

"Bang, bang, bang …"

A series of gunshots rang out. Looking at the target from afar, Franz rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Were they all God's shooters?

It turned out that he was thinking too much. Everyone's hit rate wasn't good. Those who could leave their bullets on the target were considered experts.

"Cousin Franz, you're still last!" Princess Qianqian exclaimed.

Franz glared at her. He decided that he would increase her etiquette class time later. She really didn't know the rules.

Was there a need to say such an obvious thing? One had to know that the youngest participant was only ten years old. Where would Franz put his face?

"Elizabeth, pay attention to your image!" Princess Helen reminded.

"What happened?" Empress Dowager Sophie's voice came from afar.

Seeing Franz's ugly expression, no one answered the question. Seeing everyone's expressions of wanting to laugh but holding back, Empress Dowager Sophie glanced at the target on the field and laughed out loud.

She pointed at Franz while laughing and said, "Not bad. There's progress. Franz, you've finally broken the record of five rings."

Only then did everyone realize that there was a bullet hole in Franz's target. He didn't know who had knocked the bullet away, but it was a mistake.

Everyone couldn't hold back their laughter anymore. Franz said helplessly, "That's enough. Continue with the live shooting practice."

Duke Carr laughed and patted Franz's shoulder. "See, I asked you to go hunting with me, but you didn't go. Now you know how embarrassing it is, right?

Don't be discouraged. As long as you go hunting with me a few more times, your marksmanship will catch up to them. "

Franz nodded cooperatively, as if to say that his marksmanship wasn't good because he had too much homework and lacked practice. As long as he trained hard, he would definitely catch up.

Hunting was impossible. Franz knew his own limitations. With his marksmanship, it was unknown whether he could hit an elephant from a hundred meters away.

He didn't even bother to shoot pheasants or rabbits. It was purely a waste of bullets. Franz finally understood why there were so many hunting rifles among the people.

"Father, why didn't you go hunting today?" Franz asked, puzzled.

"He saw that you guys were having fun, so he wanted to come over and teach you marksmanship," Empress Dowager Sophie said first.

"Yes, your marksmanship is too bad. It's a disgrace to the nobles. I came over to teach you how to use a gun," Duke Carr said, feeling wronged.

Franz roughly guessed the reason and said decisively, "Is that so? That's great. You teach them. I have something to do, so I'll go first. "

With that, Franz turned around and left. It was as if he really had something to do and was in a hurry to deal with it.

This was an all-purpose excuse. There were rules in the palace of Vienna. No one could interfere with the Emperor's official business.

Even if Empress Dowager Sophie knew that Franz was stalling for time, she couldn't do anything. Under normal circumstances, it was enough for the European nobles to get engaged with their parents. Franz was obviously not normal.

She also felt pressured facing a son who was too assertive.

Franz was even more pressured. What should the royal family do after the war of engagement broke out?

…

St. Peter's Castle

Inside Coors Manor, it was still chilly even though it was the height of summer in August.

"Everyone, we can't go on like this. The expeditionary army at the front line is already equipping themselves with Austrian weapons. It won't be long before the entire Russian army is equipped with Austrian-produced weapons.

What should we do then? Shut down the arsenal? Or to compete for the narrow civilian market and sell shotguns? "An old man said with righteous indignation.

Kurse, the host of the meeting, advised, "Mr. Ivanov, calm down. Things aren't that bad. The government can't just watch us all die.

This is a time of war. Everything has to serve the war. The logistics of our frontline army are supplied by the Austrians. It's impossible to kick them out.

It's our time after the war ends. The government doesn't want to see the Austrians control our military production. We'll have our market back then. "

Everyone was here for the benefits. The military and the government were very dissatisfied with the inferior weapons they produced. That was why the expeditionary army was equipping themselves with Austrian weapons.

Stupid, big, and crude were the characteristics of the Russian Army's weapons. If that was the only shortcoming, the military could bear with it. The problem was that these weapons often jammed and might even explode.

If there was no other choice, or if everyone was using the same weapon, then forget it. The problem was that the Fao had the advantage in terms of geographical advantage. Even the Osman had begun to equip themselves with new weapons.

To win the war, to increase the chances of survival on the battlefield. They could no longer be suppressed by the interest groups in the government. They could only buy Austrian equipment for the expeditionary army.

The young man complained, "Mr. Kurse, even if the market is back, I still have to face the competition from the Austrians. The military is used to using Austrian weapons. Will they still use our junk?

Sorry, I'm too straightforward. Compared to our European counterparts, the weapons we produce are indeed a generation behind.

Doesn't everyone want to change? The government can't tolerate it forever. If this goes on, we'll be eliminated sooner or later. "

Kurse laughed and explained, "Little Peter, you're still too inexperienced. Didn't the old Peter tell you?

On the surface, we have a monopoly on the domestic supply of weapons and equipment, so we're definitely rich.

In fact, we don't earn much. How much does the army spend to upgrade weapons and equipment every year? Less than 10 million rubles. Almost half of the money is taken by others, and the rest is used to buy equipment.

The development of weapons is full of uncertainty. More than 90% of the weapons and equipment that come out don't have any practical value. More than 95% of the weapons can't make money.

In this case, if we can't maximize the profits from each weapon, how can we protect everyone's interests?

The time when everyone gets rich is during the war. Unfortunately, the biggest fruit of the Russo-Turkish war has been plucked by the Austrians. "

Little Peter lowered his head dejectedly and didn't say anything. The arms market was limited, and there were too many people who wanted a piece of the cake.

In addition, it was a monopoly. Developing new weapons would not bring them more profits, so everyone was naturally not enthusiastic.

A middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "Since we can't stop the change of equipment, we might as well join in.

Send someone to buy the production line from the Austrians, and we'll produce it ourselves. The expeditionary army needs them to provide logistics, and we can't compete for that market.

However, we must occupy the remaining domestic market. After the war, the domestic arms market will still be ours. "

Ivanov, who was angry earlier, said, "This is also a solution. Based on past experience, this war won't end anytime soon. If we join in, we can make up for our losses."

Little Peter was a lot more cautious this time. He asked uncertainly, "Will the Austrians sell me? You know, this is a good time for them to make money."

Kurse replied with certainty, "They will. These production lines are not only produced in Austria. If they don't sell them, we can find someone else to buy them. We just need to modify them a little.

We can even produce them in our country, but it's not very good. To save costs, everyone is used to importing from abroad. "