Mediterranean hegemon

"Why should we use the same rifle as ours?" Sickert asked, only to find that he had asked a very stupid question.

Contini blinked and said seriously: "Germany has a large production volume and is easy to import. Besides, there are so many indemnities. If we can't pay them in the future, we can use bullets to pay them..."

Sickert smiled and stopped nagging about this matter. He knew very well that although Contini supported the National Socialist faction politically, he had a good impression of Germany in other aspects. Not only could he speak fluent German, but he also liked German armaments and weapons, German officers and mercenaries, German industry and products, and even German engineers and technicians. German employees who spoke German could be seen everywhere in the United Group, so it was natural for him to choose rifle calibers close to German standards.

In fact, Contini thought more than him. The 6.5mm caliber of the Italian Army must be changed. As for whether to change to 7mm, 7.62mm or 7.92mm, there was no particularly obvious difference, but once it was changed to 7.92mm and unified with Germany, the steel axis would be much more convenient in the future, and the bullets would at least be universal. As for another possibility - Germany and Italy jointly changing the caliber of bullets, that is absolutely impossible. Not to mention that Germany's conservative forces are so strong, the inventory and old goods in the field of German armaments cannot be ignored.

You should know that in order to solve the problem of 98k production, Mauser Company also shortened the barrel of g98 - this practice seems to meet the standards on the surface, but there is a big difference in actual performance, because the scale, center of gravity, rifling and structure are still old. If it is so simple to make a new gun as long as you can shorten the barrel, it will be too easy to become a military power.

As for the small and medium calibers of later generations, what 5.56mm rifles, Contini has never thought about it. Now it is not even the era of intermediate power bullets, how can these be used? If he dares to use these ammunition for the army, the army will probably go crazy.

98k is not a huge innovation, nor does it have any special advantages. It is nothing more than a logical improvement. Sickert and others quickly cast their sights on the second rifle, which is much more creative and special.

"This is a rifle I liked when I was inspecting the United States last year. The designer is John Garand, who works at the Springfield Armory in the United States. He developed a semi-automatic rifle, which I think is very good... It is tentatively named the 1926 Experimental Rifle, and you can also call it the Garand Rifle."

Sickt raised his eyebrows: "Does the US Army plan to use this weapon?"

Contini shook his head: "The US Army has the idea of ​​improvement, but at present they themselves do not know what they really need. They are adjusting it back and forth every day, which makes the designers at a loss...Mr. Garand was very distressed about this. When he heard that I wanted to make a new rifle and was interested in his product, he came immediately-this product is not yet an official US military rifle, so there is no question of technical control. Well, we signed a clause to buy out the right to authorize production in Europe at a one-time cost of $100,000. We can not only produce it ourselves, but also commission other factories to produce it. According to our requirements, he changed the caliber from the American standard 7.62mm to 7.92mm. Now more than 50 types of guns have been produced and are undergoing various tests. "

Sickt handed the rifle to his men: "You go and try it! Fire more rounds!"

The gas guide device used by the Garand rifle that just came from the United States is still very special. There is no gas guide hole on the barrel, but a sleeve-type gun mask is installed at the muzzle. When the bullet is pushed out of the muzzle, part of the gunpowder gas enters the piston cylinder through the gap between the end face of the barrel and the gun mask and pushes the piston backward. This gas guide method has an obvious disadvantage - the connection between the piston cylinder and the gun mask is not firm, the bayonet assembly is unstable, and the movement of the front sight affects the accuracy. Contini put forward his own modification opinions and believed that the gas guide device with a gas guide hole under the barrel is more reasonable.

Garland accepted this suggestion and made improvements, and found that the effect was much better than the actual one - this improvement appeared more than 10 years ahead of schedule. It was precisely because of Contini's technical suggestions and improvement suggestions that Garland, who was deeply inspired, generously sold the secondary patent rights in Europe for $100,000. Although $100,000 is not cheap, at least the intentions of both parties are very suitable.

"Pah pah pah", Sickert had just chatted with Contini for a few words, and several of his men had already left the shooting range with guns.

"So fast? Didn't I tell you to fire more rounds?" Sickert reprimanded his men with some dissatisfaction, "You have to be serious in the test, don't be perfunctory. If you are careless now, you will suffer in the future when you go to the battlefield."

"Uh... sir, each of us fired 20 magazines, 160 rounds of bullets."

"What?" Sickert opened his mouth into an O shape, "160 rounds? Just ten minutes? Only 9 minutes to be exact."

"If we really fight, we can finish it in 5-6 minutes. A skilled shooter can fire 30-40 rounds a minute. We fired more than 20 rounds in a minute at the beginning, and then we fired faster and faster!"

Sickt nodded thoughtfully: whether it is 98k or g98, a skilled shooter can fire at most 10 rounds a minute, and 160 rounds of ammunition are almost all the ammunition for a battle. He was shocked by the firing rate of the Garand rifle, but his face remained calm, "Since you have all finished, tell me the advantages and disadvantages."

"Disadvantages first or advantages first?"

"Advantages first!"

"The first and biggest advantage is the fast rate of fire! I think that if both sides have no machine guns, 3-4 of these rifles are enough to suppress a squad on the opposite side!"

"The second advantage is that the structure is relatively simple and the disassembly performance is good... We have also seen semi-automatic rifles from Mexico and France, and dismantling them is much more troublesome than this."

"The third advantage is that the accuracy is pretty good. I think the accuracy within 300-400 meters is almost the same as that of 98k."

Sickert nodded: "What about the shortcomings?"

"The weight is a bit heavier, nearly 500 grams heavier than 98k and more than 200 grams heavier than g98, which will increase the burden."

"The second disadvantage is that the range and accuracy of medium and long distances are not good. Beyond 400 meters, the accuracy begins to decline. After 600 meters, it is almost impossible to see. I heard engineers say that the lethality almost disappears at 800 meters, so they only have a maximum scale of 800 meters. , only 400 is actually recommended.”

"The third disadvantage is that loading bullets into the magazine is a little troublesome. Due to the fast rate of fire, although the magazine has 8 bullets and 5 rounds exceeding 98k, it is still consumed quickly unless you keep using the magazine that has been loaded for a long time. Temporarily suppressing the ammo load will slow down the speed..."

Experts will know if they are there as soon as they take action. These officers from the German Weapons Bureau only fired 20 magazines and basically figured out the advantages and disadvantages of the Garand rifle - this is a rifle with very distinct advantages and disadvantages. .

"What do you mean, President?" Sickert asked Contini.

"I won't add the advantages. There are some other disadvantages that I would like to mention by the way. One is that the production is slightly more difficult and the cost will be higher than 98k; the other is that there is a ding sound when the magazine is ejected, which sometimes occurs in close combat. Exposed position." Contini smiled, "But I think the choice of weapons mainly depends on the advantages... Personally, I think that in future wars, rifles will hardly be used for firefights above 400 meters. That is the domain of machine guns, but they may be used within 200 meters. to a submachine gun, so the rifle focuses on solving the problem between 200 and 400 meters. At this point, the Garand will be more suitable than the 98k - the ammunition has the same power but the rate of fire is much faster!”

"But this consumption..."

"Consumption is definitely a problem... I haven't considered a world war, but I think the current conventional and local wars can be dealt with. At worst, the ammunition for the front line should be three times that of traditional rifles..." Contini smiled, "I I hope that this rifle will be further improved and then verified in North Africa. After obtaining reliable results, it will be recommended to become the official equipment of the Italian Army. This will still give us a lot of room. If you are really worried about consumption, I think you can make a compromise - Why do all the rifles in a squad have to be the same? You can have 2 Garands and 8-10 98k rifles. For non-line arms such as artillery, baggage, and logistics, 98k or even shorter rifles are enough.”

Sickert nodded: If bullets are universal, the ratio of 2+8 does not really matter, and they can be flexible. 3+7, 4+6 are also possible.

"You mean, you would recommend this Garand rifle and 98k as your country's standard preparation?"

"I basically think about it this way. If they can overwhelm Carcano's new rifle..." Contini suddenly lowered his voice and said, "In fact, it doesn't matter if they can't overwhelm them. As long as they are similar, I can recommend them successfully. After all, these two rifles will soon be Other rifles don’t have this opportunity to undergo actual combat review. You have to believe that I still have the weight of this in Italy!”

Sickert was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: Isn't this the benefit and power of the three flags theory? Why are there so many discordant noises? He is really envious of the Italians now - they dare to do whatever they want, unlike him who is secretive and doesn't say anything, and there are still a bunch of hindrances in the country!

After reading the rifle, there is the machine gun. As soon as he walked to the project site, Sickert heard complaints. It was the designer Harlick complaining about Contini: "Your Excellency, Mr. President, I have tried your request for 48-50 round drums. Many times, the only solution is to lay it flat on top to form a bullet disc, but you also said that the cross-section is too large and is not conducive to carrying..."

"Stop! I understand your complaint, so what is the appropriate amount of drum playing?"

"41 rounds! This is the most appropriate number taking into account performance, capacity, and portability."

"Okay, let's do 41 rounds..." Contini smiled, "I said 48-50 rounds, but if it doesn't work, you can change it appropriately. You have to be flexible..."

"Great, great, I can finally sleep peacefully..."

"Now bring up your machine gun and test it... there is a general who wants to see it."

"Oh, okay..." Hallik ordered his entourage to bring out the samples. Suddenly he found Sickert and his entourage staring intently. He was stunned for a moment and subconsciously blurted out, "Germans?"