Chapter 361 The Perfect Submachine Gun
"I modified it from a machine gun." Dominic handed Charles a document and explained, "A new piece of equipment appeared in Italy, the Perosa machine gun. I found it very suitable for use as a submachine gun, so I disassembled it and modified it slightly."
(The picture above shows the Perosa double-barreled light machine gun, produced in 1915. The OVP1918 submachine gun is almost disassembled into a single barrel and then equipped with a buttstock. Many people believe that it is the world's first submachine gun because it uses pistol bullets. However, it was designed to be used as a light machine gun and does not have the lightness and walking and shooting performance of a submachine gun.)
After looking at the information, Charles finally understood why Dominic's submachine gun came out so quickly. It turned out that it was really modified from a machine gun, and it was a machine gun that fired pistol bullets. It almost didn't need to change anything and was just copied directly.
"There is no industrial property rights issue?" Charles turned his head and looked at Dominic.
"Italy may well be our enemy, General," Dominic replied with a smile.
If Italy is an enemy, of course there is no need to consider property rights issues.
But Charles knew that was not the case.
Italy was indeed an ally and should have stood on the side of Germany, but it had been watching the wind since the war began, and when it saw that the Allies were more likely to win, it sided with the Allies without hesitation.
Dominic didn't know this, so he just used it, but changed the caliber: the Italian pistol bullet is 9MM, while the caliber of the French MAS revolver is 11MM.
Ciel held up the information and waved it towards Dominic. "Tell me why you like it, besides the fact that it can be used perfectly right out of the box."
Dominic felt a little guilty, he knew that Charles asked this question, most likely because he was not satisfied with the submachine gun.
But Dominic still replied: "First of all, it is light, only 3.6 kilograms."
Charles nodded slightly. This was no problem. Submachine guns did have certain weight requirements.
"Secondly, it has a capacity of 25 rounds," Dominic continued.
The 25-round magazine capacity is not a small amount for this era, so it is no problem either.
"Finally, it has a high rate of fire." Dominic moved closer and pointed to the data on the document and said, "900 rounds per minute."
On the surface, this seems fine, as a submachine gun is meant to unleash bullets on the enemy in a short period of time.
However, Charles shook his head.
"Have you thought of anything?" Charles asked.
"Is there a problem with this?" Dominic looked confused. He thought that this submachine gun could perfectly meet the requirements mentioned by Charles before.
Charles slowed down his speech and reminded, "The ammunition capacity is 25 rounds, but the firing rate is 900 rounds per minute. What does this mean in actual combat?"
Dominic was stunned for a moment, then asked hesitantly, "You mean, the firing rate is too fast compared to the bullet capacity?"
"Yes," Charles answered. "Nine hundred rounds a minute, or fifteen a second. Twenty-five rounds are fired in less than two seconds. It only takes a finger to pull the trigger, or an inadvertent pull of the index finger when jumping into the trench... and the bullets are all used up."
Dominic suddenly realized: "So, we should reduce its firing rate appropriately."
Then Dominic was in a dilemma again: "So, how low should we reduce the firing rate?"
This must be determined before mass production and is a very important indicator that determines the practicality of the submachine gun on the battlefield.
Charles did not rush to answer. He said calmly, "Before that, we should think about the tactics of the submachine gun."
This sounds normal, but Dominic looked at Charles in shock. The gun was still in the design and verification stage, and Charles could already consider its tactics?
"Can we?" Dominic asked with difficulty, "Shouldn't this happen after the baby is born?"
"Of course." Charles said affirmatively: "We can make inferences based on the current situation."
Charles confidently analyzed, "Think about it, Dominic. It uses pistol bullets. What are the advantages and disadvantages of pistol bullets?"
Dominic blurted out: "The advantages are small recoil and fast firing rate, and the disadvantage is poor penetration."
"Yes, the penetration is poor." Charles grasped this point. He gestured and said, "If the enemy is arranged in a '1' shape facing us, our bullets can only kill the enemy in the front."
Dominic agreed that this was very common in trench warfare. When soldiers jumped into the enemy trenches, they often faced enemies lined up in front and behind in the trenches, and pistol bullets could not penetrate the human body to kill targets behind them.
Dominic suddenly thought of something. He picked up the submachine gun from the gun box and said thoughtfully: "I understand. Its firing rate is too fast. Once the trigger is pulled, all 25 bullets will hit the first person. Then he can only wait for death!"
Charles pointed his finger in the air, as if to say, "That's what I mean. You hit the nail on the head."
"There is another possibility." Charles added: "The enemy may line up in a row facing us. What do you think will be the impact on us?"
This often occurs when two armies are charging each other face to face, or when they are standing on the edge of a trench looking down at the enemy.
Dominic thought for a while, shaking his submachine gun left and right, and then exclaimed: "We should fire in a fan-shaped pattern, right, General? This way we can kill several enemies in front. But if the firing rate is too fast, the bullets will be used up before we can fire in a fan-shaped pattern, and they will still be concentrated on one or two enemies!"
Charles nodded and concluded, "So, our firing rate should be designed based on these two tactical actions. Pulling the trigger once for a burst of fire should result in 6 to 7 rounds of bullets being fired, which can kill a target. This is for the first situation."
Dominic excitedly responded, "Hold the trigger and fire in a fan-shaped pattern. The bullet capacity and firing rate should be able to complete at least one sweeping motion, which is for the second situation."
Charles hummed in agreement, then pointed at the magazine that stood vertically on the gun and said:
"It will block the shooter's line of sight, making it inconvenient to aim and shoot in special circumstances. We'd better move it to the side."
"As for the ammunition capacity, 25 rounds is still a little insufficient. We can try using a drum magazine."
The ammunition capacity is very important for a submachine gun. Often, just a few bullets determine whether it can wipe out the enemy in one go.
If not, the gunman who has run out of bullets can only wait for death, because the enemy will not give you the chance to change the magazine.
Dominic was stunned. He thought his submachine gun was close to perfect, but Charles easily found a lot of shortcomings that seriously affected its combat performance.
Now that Charles has made this modification, it can be said to be a nearly perfect submachine gun!
But how did Charles do it?
Is this the gap between me and a genius?
(The above picture shows the MP18 submachine gun, which has a firing rate of 400 rounds per minute, or about 6 rounds per second. This firing rate is very consistent with actual combat, so it is called the world's first true submachine gun)
(End of this chapter)
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