Chapter 32: Current Situation of Military Factories
"How are our steel plants and military factories doing now?" As asked the same question he was concerned about.
Forget about steel plants. Because of the equipment, Australia can build more steel plants at any time. It’s just that if the employees want to reach that level of proficiency, they need to be trained for a while.
But that military factory was different. In this era when military technology had not yet taken off, the most advanced weapons were machine guns and artillery.
As the former Commander-in-Chief of Ireland, Duke Arthur naturally had a strong interest in weapons and equipment, and he also founded the current Connaught Comprehensive Arms Factory.
What is a comprehensive military factory? It is a large-scale military factory that integrates the research and development and manufacturing of light and heavy weapons and artillery.
Even most of the employees of this arsenal were excavated by Duke Arthur from the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield.
The name of the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield is well known in the UK. The Lee-Enfield rifle developed and manufactured is the standard army equipment throughout the British Empire.
The performance and power of the Lee-Enfield rifle even surpasses another famous rifle, the Kar98k rifle.
You know, the Kar98k rifle was the standard rifle used by Germany during World War I and World War II, and it is also one of the world-famous sniper rifles.
Speaking of which, these two rifles were born at about the same age. The Lee Enfield rifle had its prototype in 1888. The Lee Metford magazine rifle was officially renamed the Lee Enfield magazine five years ago. rifle.
The predecessor of the Kar98k rifle, the Type 88 rifle, was also born in 1888. However, due to many shortcomings in its own design, Mauser developed a new rifle in 1898, the Mauser Type 98 rifle.
During World War II, Germany was obsessed with the research and development of tanks and aircraft, but did not pay much attention to the research and development of light weapons.
Therefore, the shortened Mauser Type 98 rifle, also known as the Kar98k rifle, officially entered the stage of history.
The reason why the Lee-Enfield rifle is not as famous as the Kar98k rifle in history is that the British did not pay attention to the already very important sniper tactics during World War II. As a result, the Lee-Enfield rifle, which originally had a slight advantage in sniping, was far from equipped with four The Kar98k rifle and Mosin Nagant rifle became famous after the magnification.
But at this point in time, no one can deny that the Lee-Enfield rifle is one of the most powerful rifles currently available, and its lead can be maintained for at least another fifty years.
As a comprehensive arms factory that Duke Arthur has high hopes for, Connaught Arms Factory, under the strong power of Duke Arthur, has introduced Lee-Enfield's production lines and technology, enabling it to independently produce Lee-Enfield rifles and supporting parts and bullets. Ability.
In terms of heavy weapons, Connaught Integrated Arms Factory has also made great achievements. After the Maxim heavy machine gun became famous all over the world, Connaught Military Factory quickly introduced this technology and researched and produced a replica MA-96 Maxim machine gun.
In addition, Connaught Arsenal is also involved in artillery. Although it has not mastered the research and production of heavy artillery, it has basically fully mastered the technology of small-caliber artillery.
For example, 37mm machine gun, 65mm cannon, 88mm howitzer, 105mm cannon.
It is worth mentioning that, especially for the 37mm minimum caliber artillery, Connaught Military Factory has made great achievements. It has made certain progress in artillery automation and independently developed a 37mm cannon, which is the CA- 1 machine gun.
How powerful is the firepower of the CA-1 cannon? Because it has initially achieved semi-automation, although the caliber of this artillery is small, its rate of fire is as high as more than 70 rounds per minute. In terms of firepower output, it is enough to crush artillery of other calibers. As for why the semi-automatic artillery technology is only applied to 37mm-caliber artillery, it is because the powerful recoil generated when a large-caliber artillery is fired is enough to destroy the automated device. The current technology cannot make large-caliber artillery Semi-automation is also achieved.
But semi-automatic small-caliber artillery is enough to be proud of. Semi-automatic artillery from other countries would not come out until 1902, two years later, but Connaught Arsenal was two years early.
"The steel plant will not be built until the government completes the planning of the industrial zone, but before that, our wages will still be paid to employees as usual." Butler Hunter explained: "The location of the military factory has not yet been determined. Wait until His Highness makes the decision in person."
Whether it is a steel factory, a military factory, or a shipyard, for Arthur, the most precious thing is not only the equipment, but also those who have traveled thousands of miles to come to Australia with Arthur. staff.
Employee benefits at these factories are very high, well above the average in the UK, let alone Australia.
This is why Arthur can easily let these employees come to Australia. No one is willing to give up this stable and high-paying job, even if he has to move abroad for this.
These factories have indeed lived up to expectations and have always been in a state of loss. It was fine when I was in the UK before, and my monthly losses were not much. But now, the four factories combined are losing more than 200,000 pounds to Arthur every month, and a total loss of 2.4 million pounds a year.
But the results gained from this loss are definitely worth it. Leaving aside the steel plants for the moment, military factories and shipyards can definitely be regarded as technologically advanced factories even in Europe.
These employees and equipment, as well as the technology possessed by military factories and shipyards, are wealth that cannot be exchanged for even hundreds of millions of pounds.
Duke Arthur also relied on his strong power to create these factories in decades.
"How are the workers doing? Are any of them dissatisfied with their current lives?" Arthur asked.
After all, he came to a new country. Even before the factory started working, Arthur paid his wages as usual, so it was normal for his emotions to fluctuate.
"Basically everything is fine, Your Highness. Our salaries have been paid as usual, and accommodation and nationality have been arranged for all employees. At least no one has shown dissatisfaction yet, they are just adapting to life in their new country." Hunter The butler explained with a smile.
It is true that even though they live in a different country, they can bring their entire family with them, and they also provide accommodation for their entire family, and their wages are paid as usual when they are not working.
This kind of treatment is much better than that of the greedy capitalists in Europe, and it is even uncommon in the entire world.
"That's good, Butler Hunter. The location selection for the military factory has also started soon. The industrial zone is expected to be in the western mining area, and the location of the military factory should be in Western Australia. The construction of the steel plant should start quickly. In the military Before the factory is completed, at least a certain steel production capacity must be guaranteed." Arthur ordered.
The military factory is also a big beast that swallows iron. If Australia does not have a certain steel production capacity before the military factory is built, then we will only be able to shed tears looking at the drawings of various weapons.
This chapter mainly introduces Arthur's arsenal, which is the protagonist's only golden finger. Second update, please support!
(End of chapter)