Chapter 333 Weapons Research and Development
As time entered November 1912, the reorganization of the Royal Australasian Institute of Physical and Chemical Research into the Royal Academy of Sciences was basically completed.
The former members of the research association have also become academicians of the Royal Australasian Academy of Sciences.
For these scientific researchers, the change in their status is a good thing. After all, although the Royal Society for Physical and Chemical Research was also valued by Arthur before, the status of their members was not that high.
Now, after becoming members of the Royal Academy of Sciences, they have guaranteed a status like the mayor of a city, and can be considered an upper-middle class in Australasia.
As long as they can break through the barrier between first-level academicians and second-level academicians and successfully reach the level of second-level academicians, these scientific researchers will truly enter the upper class of Australasia and have an extraordinary status. .
Now that the Royal Academy of Sciences has been established, it is time to start large-scale research by the Royal Academy of Sciences.
Arthur attended the first plenary meeting of the Royal Academy of Sciences and emphasized several research directions of the Royal Academy of Sciences.
The first was radio technology that Tesla had mastered. Radio technology is a vital technology for both civilian and military fields.
Radio technology will also become one of the main research directions of the Royal Academy of Sciences. Radio technology, mainly telegraphy, will be the main research direction of Tesla and the Royal Academy of Sciences.
In addition to radio technology, Tesla also wants to strengthen research on alternating current technology. A variety of power generation equipment and power generation, as well as current transportation equipment, require new improvements.
In addition to serving as the vice president of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Tesla was also appointed by Arthur as the chief architect of the Australasian National Electric Power Project, responsible for contributing to the power project of Australasia.
As the best electrical engineer and chief designer of electric power engineering in the United States, Tesla is naturally the most suitable.
It is worth mentioning that electricity is currently one of the frequently used energy sources in Australasia.
In big cities like Sydney and Melbourne, electric street lights are also everywhere. Electric lights have also entered thousands of households and become one of the most important lighting methods for urban residents.
In addition, electricity and equipment using electricity are also widely used in industry.
Although Australasia is independent of the British Empire, the most obvious difference between it and the British Empire is the innovation of equipment used in the industrial technology of both parties.
Many old factories in the UK still use old equipment, led by steam power. But in Australasia, many new factories have adopted electricity as the main energy source, and only a small number of factories have had to use steam and coal power.
Because air conditioners have been around for a long time, in some factories in Australasia, you can even see air conditioners running with electricity on in some workshops where the indoor temperature is relatively hot.
This meeting determined the main research directions of the Royal Academy of Sciences, which are basically projects of major interest to Australasia.
Of course, in addition to these projects, academicians of the Royal Academy of Sciences can also decide their own research projects and apply for their own research funds to the Academy of Sciences.
In addition to the Royal Academy of Sciences, Arthur also has ardent expectations for technical experts in arsenals and shipyards.
After talent recruitment from Europe, there is currently no shortage of talent in the Royal Arsenal and Royal Dockyard, and there are enough manpower to conduct research on new weapons.
After the meeting of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Arthur summoned Browning, who had been working for some time, to discuss the current research direction of the Royal Arsenal.
Browning's experience with small arms is definitely one of the top talents of this era.
Pistols, light machine guns, heavy machine guns, submachine guns and automatic rifles, there was almost no weapon that Browning would not design and improve.
Combined with the current Australasian weapons series, Arthur asked Browning to improve Australasian pistols and submachine guns and find a way to develop a lighter weight machine gun.
At present, the only pistol in Australasia is the AS-1898. It has been more than ten years since the development of this pistol, and it has obviously fallen behind the times.
Browning's accomplishments in pistols are undoubted. Letting him improve this pistol is definitely the most suitable talent in the military factory.
As for submachine guns, although Australasia currently has a Kassadin submachine gun, this submachine gun was originally designed based on Arthur's proposal and can only be regarded as a submachine gun that barely meets Arthur's requirements.
If Browning can improve the Kassadin submachine gun so that the rate of fire and power of the Kassadin submachine gun are increased, it will also be beneficial to the Australasian army.
After all, there are currently many troops equipped with Cassadine submachine guns. In addition to the intelligence personnel of the Royal Security Bureau, Arthur's guards and the palace guards are all equipped with this submachine gun.
When it comes to heavy machine guns, the need for improvement is not that great. Australasia currently has the MA-107 Maxim heavy machine gun, which is an advanced weapon improved from the MA-99 Maxim heavy machine gun. It is now a world-class heavy machine gun. However, there is currently no progress in Australasia in terms of light machine guns.
Although the heavy machine gun is good, it not only requires several people to control it, but transportation is also a big problem.
If there is a light machine gun that is lighter in weight and does not have much weaker firepower to make up for the shortcomings of the heavy machine gun, it will not only increase the diversity of firepower of the Australasian army, but also can also be used when the Australasian army needs to travel long distances. It can also ensure that the troops can carry sufficient firepower weapons.
With the technology of European countries now available, Australasia's artillery technology does not need much improvement.
The Royal Ordnance Factory in Australasia is currently able to produce everything from a 37mm machine gun to a 283mm Krupp giant cannon, and the technology is trustworthy.
Of course, although the 283mm artillery seems very exaggerated, the Australasian army has the most equipment. In fact, it is still CA-1-37mm machine gun, M1897-75mm artillery, GA1902-75mm rapid artillery, Krupp 105mm howitzer, Krupp 155mm howitzer, GA1906-105mm semi-automatic artillery series.
The M1897 artillery is the famous French Miss, and the GA1902 artillery is a more powerful artillery obtained after Australasia and Germany cooperated to improve the French Miss.
The rate of fire of Miss France can reach 15 rounds per minute, while the rate of fire of the GA1902 artillery can reach 20 rounds per minute.
At present, the Australasian army has completely replaced the GA1902 artillery, gradually giving up the previously trusted French Miss.
The GA1906 105mm rapid artillery, also in the GA series, is still a cooperative product between Australasia and Germany.
Borrowing the principle of Miss France, the rate of fire of this artillery can also reach 12 rounds per minute.
Coupled with the huge lethality of its 105mm caliber, the three types of rapid artillery, 37mm, 75mm and 105mm, have become the most equipped artillery in the Australasian army.
Semi-automatic artillery and machine guns with a fast rate of fire are used to cause large amounts of damage, while giant artillery with calibers up to 155 mm and 283 mm are used to bombard and destroy enemy fortresses.
This also allows the firepower of the Australasian army to reach a perfect level in theory. Artillery of this caliber has been equipped in large quantities. In terms of firepower, the Australasian army is not inferior to any country.
Coupled with a variety of machine guns, submachine guns and advanced rifles, this is why Arthur firmly believes that the combat effectiveness of the Australasian army is among the best in the world.
What's more, in addition to these very powerful firepower weapons, the Australasian army does not save any money on various ammunition and artillery shells when training.
With a lot of training and advanced equipment, how can the army's combat effectiveness not be strong?
Speaking of artillery, the artillery experts at the Royal Ordnance Factory also received tasks and requests from Arthur.
The largest caliber artillery currently equipped by the Australasian Army is the 283mm giant artillery from the Krupp factory.
But in terms of the navy, in addition to the 283 mm artillery, the Royal Ordnance Factory and Shipyard also have 305 mm and 343 mm naval guns.
These two calibers respectively correspond to the artillery calibers of the current dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts, and are the guarantee and source of the powerful firepower of current warships.
Australasia's 305mm artillery technology comes from Germany, and its 343mm artillery technology comes from the British Empire.
After acquiring artillery experts from the British Empire, France, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and other countries, Arthur would naturally not be satisfied with the current artillery caliber.
You know, during World War I, the British Queen Elizabeth-class battleships used 15-inch caliber guns.
15 inches is almost 381 mm. This artillery caliber will be far ahead of the warship artillery calibers of other countries, giving the British Empire's navy a unique advantage in firepower.
In fact, in order to cope with the pressure from the German naval competition and to consolidate the superiority of British warships in terms of firepower, British Admiralty Minister Churchill strongly advocated the installation of larger-caliber weapons on new warships, namely the Queen Elizabeth-class battleships. Artillery, namely 15-inch caliber artillery to replace the original 13.5-inch caliber artillery.
In later history, in order to catch up with the progress, the British conducted experiments and manufacturing of 15-inch caliber artillery at the same time. Finally, before the war broke out, in January 1915, the British successfully equipped it on the Queen Elizabeth-class battleship and put it into use. During the war.
Although the British were very pressed for time to study the 15-inch main gun, the good performance of the 15-inch main gun studied by the British, coupled with the huge increase in the power of the gun, led to the construction of the Queen Elizabeth class battleship It was very successful and showed good combat effectiveness in the war.
The second update of 3000 words, please vote for me and support!
Today, 7000/10000 has been updated. Please vote for me and support!
(End of chapter)