Chapter 962 Paratrooper Rifle
Charles was a little surprised by Dominic's words. He could actually see the problem with the paratrooper's rifle!
…
Charles has always focused on aircraft, tanks and artillery in the development of equipment.
Because these things require technology and industrial base.
For example, even if Britain, the United States, Germany and other countries knew that France was equipped with all-metal transport aircraft, they would not be able to imitate it because their aircraft engines had not yet reached the required horsepower and were unable to drive the all-metal fuselage.
Even if the engine horsepower is reached one day, there are still many details that they need to develop step by step.
Tanks and artillery are similar.
But the situation is different with light equipment. Rifles, machine guns, submachine guns, mortars, mines...what Charles invents today will appear in the hands of the German army tomorrow, and may even be used on a large scale.
Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary in actual combat, Charles will push for light equipment.
This is why Charles developed attack aircraft instead of equipment such as Panzerfaust, rocket launcher, and bazooka, although the latter are much simpler.
French tanks have an absolute advantage on the battlefield, and developing these things is purely a nuisance to themselves.
This is just like the British having the most and strongest battleships, but insisting on launching torpedo boats that can fight against larger enemies with smaller ones.
…
Seeing Charles in a daze, Dominic laughed:
"Don't be so surprised, General."
"I was reminded by Mr. Browning, who always emphasized that guns were designed to kill the enemy, so they had to be combined with warfare."
"My first thought was of your paratroopers."
"I think once a new type of soldier appears, many new problems will arise, including firearms, don't you think?"
Charles gave an affirmative answer: "Yes, you are right."
"So," Dominic continued:
"I have looked up some information about paratroopers, and I also hope to interview a few paratroopers who have participated in the battle and ask them to talk about the difficulties they encountered in the battle."
“But unfortunately I failed.”
"Because they said it was confidential, I was almost arrested as a spy, and they didn't let me go until I revealed my identity."
Dominic looked helpless, this didn't seem to be a good experience.
Ciel laughed. "This is the newest type of soldier, Dominic. There are many spies who want to know their details. We have to do this."
"I know." Dominic expressed his understanding. "So my investigation is not comprehensive. I can only make a judgment based on the known information, or you can say it's a guess."
Charles asked with great interest: "Tell me your judgment and guess."
Dominic took out two photos from his briefcase and stood up and handed them to Charles:
"The paratroopers are equipped with M1 semi-automatic rifles and PPD submachine guns. The PPD submachine gun is okay, it has a large ammunition capacity and a short gun body."
"But the M1 rifle is 1107mm long, and it would be inconvenient for soldiers to carry it when parachuting."
"For example, in a cramped and crowded cabin, or when parachuting, it's easy to get caught on the net rope, and when landing, you may get injured because you roll around carrying it."
Charles couldn't help but praise him: "You guessed right. Some soldiers were indeed injured during parachuting."
Steed was puzzled: "Then why don't we equip all paratroopers with PPD submachine guns..."
"Father." Dominic stopped Steed from continuing with his eyes: "It's because of the range."
Dominic turned his gaze to Ciel: "I'm sorry, my father doesn't know much about military affairs."
"It's okay." Charles smiled and nodded at the two of them: "No need to be so restrained, and I have plenty of time. After all, it's the British and Americans who are fighting the Germans now!"
Steed and Dominic laughed, and the atmosphere became a little more relaxed.
Ciel continued the previous topic:
"Dominic is right, it's because of the range."
"Although the PPD submachine gun has a large ammunition capacity and a short gun body, its range is only about 200 meters."
"If the enemy is 300 or more away..."
It suddenly dawned on Steed that he hadn't considered actual combat.
But it's no wonder. The wars he knew were ones in which everyone used the same rifle. They were not as complicated as they are now, and of course there was no concept of complementary range.
Dominic continued what Charles said:
"My guess is that the paratroopers will probably still have a problem with insufficient firepower."
"The reason is that the paratroopers only carry light equipment and very few mortars."
"But the enemy has heavy machine guns, infantry artillery, and ample ammunition."
Charles said, "You guessed right. So, you found a solution?"
Dominic excitedly took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to Charles: "This is the gun I designed, General. It may solve the paratroopers' difficulties."
When Charles took it and looked at it, he found that it was the FG42 rifle developed by Germany during World War II specifically for paratroopers.
(The picture above shows the FG42 paratrooper rifle developed by Germany for airborne troops.)
Dominic explained to the document:
"The entire gun is 975mm long, and can be shortened to 710mm after the buttstock is folded to the right, which is shorter than the PPD."
"But its range is about the same as the M1 rifle, that's my estimate, because it uses rifle bullets."
"In addition, it has two modes: single-shot and continuous-fire, and it provides 20 rounds of ammunition."
…
Its performance in all aspects is much better than that of the M1 rifle, and it seems to have perfectly solved all problems: gun length, firepower, range, etc.
It is almost tailor-made for paratroopers.
Steed came up and looked at the gun with his eyes shining. From time to time, he cast admiring glances at Dominic, and seemed very proud of Dominic.
This is indeed something to be proud of. Dominic is quite outstanding and was able to design such a groundbreaking and targeted rifle.
But Charles knew that this was still not appropriate.
"It's heavier than the M1 with the tripod, Dominic," said Charles.
"Yes," Dominic replied. "I estimate that the empty gun might weigh 5 kilograms, but that's acceptable, isn't it?"
The M1 rifle weighs 4.3 kg, and it only weighs about 0.7 kg.
Charles wasn't finding fault; he just had a better plan and he couldn't bear to take a detour.
"If it's just a matter of guns, it's acceptable," Charles said.
"But perhaps we should take into account that most combat takes place at a distance of 300 to 400 meters."
"And yet our rifles have a range of 800 meters, which seems unnecessary."
Dominic was stunned: "The range is too far? You mean, even the bullets need to be redesigned?"
Charles nodded slightly:
"The bullets we use nowadays are so powerful that it's hard for a rifle to fire as fast as a submachine gun."
"And submachine gun bullets are too weak."
"If there is a bullet with a power between that of a rifle and a submachine gun, which can meet the combat needs of soldiers and can be fired continuously in the hand..."
Dominic's eyes widened instantly: "That's the gun that the battlefield really needs, a brand new rifle!"
(End of this chapter)
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