Chapter Sixty-Two: Grenades

However, even a simplified version of the stick grenade required a modern chemical industry as its foundation. Therefore, despite the simple manufacturing process, the weapons design team did not put it into the production plan. Instead, they waited until the chemical industry had taken initial shape and the “three acids and two alkalis” were in production before starting to consider it.

Manufacturing grenades required a variety of different chemicals.

Black powder was used as the explosive charge, mercury fulminate as the detonator, potassium chlorate as the friction igniter, and red phosphorus as the friction agent.

Black powder and mercury fulminate were the first to be solved by the chemical department. Red phosphorus was also quickly solved after obtaining the guano supply from Dongsha Island—the matches produced by the light industry department were based on the solution of red phosphorus.

The last thing to be solved was potassium chlorate.

Potassium chlorate itself could be used as an explosive when mixed with organic matter. It was widely used during the Great Leap Forward, but this explosive was extremely unstable and prone to combustion, and its military use was limited. The chemical department’s production of this substance was not only to solve the problem of grenade igniters, but also to solve the use of civilian explosives.

The manufacturing of potassium chlorate was not difficult, provided there was sufficient power supply and chemicals to remove other ions from the mother liquor. It was similar to the production of caustic soda by electrolysis of salt, both using electrolysis of salt solution. The difference was that the electrolytic solution used for potassium chlorate was an acidic solution, which required the addition of hydrochloric acid and red vitriol in advance. The mother liquor after electrolysis also needed to be mixed with soda ash, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, and other chemicals to neutralize and eliminate various impurities before potassium chlorate could be crystallized.

Because potassium chlorate itself is a sensitive chemical, Ji Tui’si and others in charge of the project set up the workshop in an open area away from everything else. The workshop did not use a wooden structure—potassium chlorate easily reacts with organic materials like wood and self-ignites. The current workshop and equipment were much improved compared to the time when they were making caustic soda by electrolysis of salt, and there was much less of a “makeshift” feel. Various specialized equipment manufactured by the mechanical department gradually replaced the makeshift substitutes.

The potassium chlorate workshop, designed and built according to existing blueprints, had an annual production capacity of 175 tons. Once completed, it would not only meet the needs of the military industry but also a portion of civilian demand. Although the Transmigration Group’s current production capacity could expand the potassium chlorate production to 300 tons, or even 500 tons, both Ji Tui’si and Xu Yingjie felt it was unnecessary. In terms of explosives, their next step was to move on to more powerful picric acid and TNT. Potassium chlorate was better suited as a friction igniter.

With potassium chlorate, the arsenal could mass-produce friction tubes. With friction tubes, soldiers would no longer need to carry a lit fuse when using grenades and explosive charges, and artillerymen would no longer have to fight with a lit linstock. The army had long complained about the equipment of the grenadiers, because both the crude grenades they carried and the slowly burning fuses gave people a great sense of insecurity—in fact, there were many training accidents among the grenadiers. As a result, only the most daring soldiers could be grenadiers.

The Lingao version of the friction tube used locally produced thin bamboo tubes, cut to a certain size, with one end having a joint. The bamboo tube was drilled at the joint and dried. Then, the friction line and cap were installed inside. The cap was made of hard paper and filled with ignition powder. The friction line was coated with friction powder. The ignition powder, in addition to potassium chlorate, had to be mixed with other materials in proportion. Lin Shenhe chose antimony sulfide and glass powder. The Transmigration Group could now produce both of these things. As for the friction powder, it was made by mixing red phosphorus with a certain proportion of antimony sulfide and glass powder.

A pull handle was installed at the end of the friction line, and the entire friction tube was complete. The first batch of fifty friction tubes was tested one by one. None of them failed, and all of them ignited the fuse.

“There shouldn’t be much of a problem with this thing itself. It all depends on the quality of the fuse. It won’t do if it burns sometimes fast and sometimes slow,” Pan Da said. “In the past, when we did demolitions and threw grenades, the fuse was exposed, so you could tell at a glance whether it was burning fast or slow. Now it’s hidden in the wooden handle, so you can’t see it at all.”

“The quality problem of the fuse has long been solved,” Xu Yingjie said. “Don’t you feel it when you do demolitions?”

Pan Da chuckled. “To be honest, your fuses still have some quality control issues. They’re not perfect.”

Jiang Ye was in charge of grenade manufacturing. To simplify the process and save steel, the grenade body was made of cast iron. The shell was cast with pre-fragmented grooves. Each shell could hold about ** grams of black powder. It could also be filled with other explosives, leaving room for upgrades.

This amount of black powder charge could only be considered a “small offensive grenade” in modern warfare, but the explosive effect of throwing such an iron object in ancient times was already frightening enough.

The wooden handle was made of ordinary miscellaneous wood—in theory, birch was the best, but the Transmigrators had very little of this wood, so they used other fine-textured wood as a substitute. Hai Lin from the carpentry workshop first had the workers cut the dried wood into round sticks with a diameter of * cm and a length of * cm. Then, they were turned into grenade handles on a foot-powered lathe, and then a fuse tube was drilled with a spiral drill.

The last process was to steam the handle with paraffin wax. This process was to prevent moisture. Once the handle became damp, the fuse would fail, and the grenade would be useless.

“In the long run, the stick grenade is not the way to go. The production process is complex, it’s heavy, and it has a small charge. When our pyrotechnic equipment and machining capabilities are up to par, it’s better to switch to the egg-shaped grenade,” Lin Shenhe said, looking at the first batch of grenade handles from the carpentry workshop and the grenade shells from the foundry.

“Is this batch still filled with black powder?” Jiang Ye asked.

“Yes, black powder grenades don’t need a detonator. They can be detonated directly with a friction tube. Besides, we don’t have any suitable safe explosives,” Lin Shenhe said with some regret. With the same shell, if it could be filled with TNT or even ammonium nitrate explosives, the killing effect would be much better.

He casually inspected a few shells: the casting of the shells was uniform in thickness, and even the three screw holes at the bottom of the shell were beautifully made. He couldn’t help but praise:

“This shell is beautifully cast! Did you make it?”

“Hehe, an old foundryman made it. How’s his craftsmanship?” Jiang Ye said. “This kind of old craftsman has superb skills. With our modern technology and equipment, it’s like giving them wings.”

“It would be great if they could be so beautiful in mass production. This is a consumable. Two for each infantryman, that’s eight thousand.”

“Zhan Wuya is considering how to design a production line for casting shells. It won’t be a problem to produce ten thousand shells a month by then.”

“Now I’ll fill the body. You all watch carefully,” Lin Shenhe said to the weapons design and industrial personnel present. “I’ve filled old-fashioned black powder shells in the United States…”

“That’s not the same thing,” Bai Yu immediately came out to stop him. “Let me do it. At least I know how to fill it.”

“I know the contents of the book too. But you’ve definitely never filled black powder by hand.”

Lin Shenhe pulled the rope on the wall three times. The native on duty outside immediately rang a rapid series of gongs, and then three red lanterns were hung outside the weapons design laboratory—this was a warning to everyone that they were currently in a “very dangerous” state.

The others in the room hid in the explosion-proof room next door. The wall had an observation window inlaid with thick tempered glass.

“All safe?”

“Safe!”

“I’m starting!” Lin Shenhe took a deep breath and walked slowly to the table—in fact, this work was not very dangerous, but he had developed an attitude of treating all explosives and pyrotechnics with caution. These things could take your life at any time.

A cast iron shell was already fixed on the wooden table. Lin Shenhe opened a package of wax paper-wrapped black powder and poured it into a copper plate. Then he used a wooden spoon to slowly pour the fine-grained black powder into the shell through a paper funnel, tamping it down with a wooden stick as he filled it.

Finally, he used a wooden stick to press out a detonator chamber in the middle. Then he connected the pull cord and the pull tube. He picked up a handle, inserted the pull device into the handle, with one end of the pull cord leading out and the other end exposing a section of the pull tube.

To fix the pyrotechnic device in the handle, Lin Shenhe stuffed paper into the gap. Then he used a small spoon to pour in molten asphalt. After it cooled, the handle was finished.

Finally, he placed the shell on a screw press with a steel shield and slowly pressed the handle into the shell. Then he used three screws to fix the two together.

Finally, he applied a layer of asphalt to the joint.

“OK, that’s it,” Lin Shenhe finally said with a sigh.

In formal production, it would also be covered with moisture-proof wax paper and the grenade cap would be screwed on. Now it was purely a test product, so these were not necessary.

“It’s too slow to assemble…” Jiang Ye said.

“In actual production, the handle will of course be made in a separate workshop,” Bai Yu said. “Only when the finished product is assembled can they be put together. The assembly speed will not be slow after becoming proficient.”

“What about the killing effect?”

“Very poor,” Lin Shenhe said. “A grenade of this size, even if filled with TNT, would only be considered an offensive grenade by the US military. The TNT charge of the M26A1 is three times that. In the Korean War, the US military simply called stick grenades concussion grenades. Now that we’re filling them with black powder, there’s no need to say more.”

The grenades were then transported to the firing range, where a grenadier squad was already on standby under the command of You Laohu.

Lin Shenhe first detonated a few grenades on the spot to test the delay speed: the delay speed of this type of grenade was about 4-5 seconds. Then, the live-fire throwing test began.

Although the grenadiers had never been equipped with stick grenades, they often threw training grenades. So there was no need for new training, and they started throwing live grenades directly.

In order to fully demonstrate the difference of this new weapon to them, You Laohu first threw two. Both detonated accurately. Then, it was the grenadiers’ turn, and each person threw five.

Of the sixty pre-production grenades, fifty-one detonated and nine failed. The success rate was quite high. The average grenadier, in a standing position, could throw a grenade over 60 meters. This distance was almost the effective range of a matchlock.

The thought of the enemy’s matchlock gunners being hit by countless grenades as soon as they reached effective range would probably cause any force to collapse.

The killing power was a bit lacking. The effective killing distance was less than 10 meters. And the fragmentation of the cast iron shell was not ideal—the explosive power of black powder was still too weak.

“It’s already very good. At least it broke into fragments and didn’t just split in two,” Bai Yu said. “Our military industrial level is much stronger than the old military industry in the base areas. And the enemy is advancing on foot in dense formations, so the killing effect won’t be too bad.”

This grenade was put into formal production with the designation of Type 5. The training team began to train all army officers and the grenadiers of each infantry battalion in grenade throwing. For the time being, grenades were only equipped to the grenadiers. After a large batch was produced, they would be equipped to the entire army.

Lin Shenhe then had someone make a batch of paper friction tubes. These friction tubes were for the artillery.

“With this, the artillery won’t need fuses and linstocks,” Lin Shenhe told Zhang Bolin. “Just insert the friction tube into the vent, connect the pull cord, and pull it. It’s that simple.”

Although this was not a earth-shattering great progress, it was a small improvement. But Lin Shenhe’s task was not over yet. He was also responsible for a comprehensive inspection and improvement of the army’s field artillery units—especially the improvement of ammunition.

Because the war was approaching, He Ming had already ordered the immediate transfer of some personnel and equipment from the artillery training team to build three new field artillery companies to cooperate with the infantry. Two of them were 12-pounder cannon companies, and one was a 24-pounder howitzer company.

The artillery training team was organized according to the US military organization during the Civil War, as suggested by Lin Shenhe. The four standard artillery pieces originally equipped by the army were also reduced to three. The 6-pounder M1841 cannon was quickly eliminated in actual training. The artillerymen found that the maximum range of this M1841 cannon was only 1400 meters, but its weight was two-thirds of the M1857, and the shell it fired was only half the weight of the latter.

Such a weapon with poor cost-effectiveness was not popular in the Transmigration Group, which emphasized standardization and economy. The army artillery quickly eliminated all M1841s. Now the M1857 12-pounder cannon had become the absolute main equipment of the artillery.

Of the three newly formed artillery companies, half of the personnel were transferred from the artillery training team, and half were transferred from the infantry.

In terms of the Transmigration Group’s artillery production capacity, it was not a problem to equip 20 artillery companies, but the number of horses and trained gunners was not enough. Not only were only 3 companies formed, but each company was only equipped with 4 guns—normally it should be 6 guns.

Each company was divided into three platoons. Two of them were artillery platoons, each with 2 guns and 40 men. The third platoon was the “transport platoon,” the so-called “animal-substitute soldiers.” The third platoon was a large platoon of over 100 men, all composed of infantry. They were used to pull the guns during marches. During battle, they acted as the covering force for the artillery company, and could also be used to help reset and move the guns, and if necessary, could also serve as ammunition handlers.

According to the organization of the Federal Army during the Civil War, each artillery company had to have at least 110 horses. Now, using 100 soldiers to replace them, the transport capacity was obviously not comparable. Even if all of them were equipped with “Zidian-kai” handcarts, the carrying capacity of a handcart was limited. Zhang Bolin said: if there were no horses to transport ammunition, the “animal-substitute soldiers” in the artillery company would have to be increased by 200 men.

Fortunately, the Transmigration Group had mechanized transport. Since this was a “national war,” they were no longer stingy with motorcycle hours. The Planning Institute temporarily strengthened each artillery company with two four-wheel-drive agricultural vehicles to transport the heaviest ammunition—according to the organization of the Federal Army during the Civil War, each gun had to be prepared with 200 rounds of ammunition.

The agricultural vehicles, plus the manually pulled Napoleon cannons, this was the strange equipment of the Fubo Army’s field artillery companies.

The 12-pounder Napoleon cannons of the field artillery companies had already undergone some improvements by the Ministry of Mechanical Industry. Originally, Jiang Ye and others wanted to install a simple recoil device—for the gunners of a recoiling gun, resetting and re-aiming after firing was a very physically demanding task. But after trying several solutions, they found that the material limitations were too great. So Jiang Ye and others had to settle for the second best and add a traversing mechanism.

The Napoleon cannon only had a simple elevation device and no traversing adjustment device. To change the direction of fire, it could only be solved by moving the gun carriage. For a gun weighing nearly half a ton, this was definitely not an easy job. If there was a traversing mechanism—even if it could only make small angle adjustments—it would be a great advantage in actual combat.

This improvement was finally successful after a series of tests, but the price was an increase in the weight of the gun. In order to reduce the overall weight of the gun, Jiang Ye cooperated with Li Chiqi and Jiang Muzhi from the vehicle factory to develop a new gun carriage.

“I don’t think we need to be too retro and use all-wood carriages—wood itself has limited strength. To ensure that the gun carriage is sturdy and durable, the materials have to be thick and heavy. I remember that they specifically used dense hardwood at that time,” Jiang Muzhi studied the gun carriage for a long time. “How about changing to an all-metal gun carriage? This can greatly reduce the weight.”

“Are the wheels still wooden?”

“For now, we’ll use wooden wheels—we don’t have rubber. But the axles will be fitted with ball bearings. Now even handcarts use ball bearings, there’s no reason our gun carriages shouldn’t,” Jiang Muzhi said. “This will make the gun carriage much lighter to pull.”

The total weight of the gun, even with the traversing mechanism, was controlled within half a ton after the material of the gun carriage was improved.

The 12-pounder cannon with the new gun carriage was then tested on the firing range—it was proved that the traversing mechanism was effective, but it lacked a direction locking device, and the barrel would shift under the recoil during firing. Then, a 50-kilometer march test was conducted. The new gun carriage performed better than the old one in both flexibility and traction, but the poor quality ball bearings caused several mid-way repairs.