Chapter 124: Visiting the Military Factory
In fact, as the military experts had predicted, Arthur's reward in terms of funding was very generous. Each expert received a check for £2,000.
Although this included talented researchers and experts like the German specialists, whose salaries were also very high, with annual incomes reaching hundreds or even thousands of pounds, this did not mean they were uninterested in money, especially when it was several years' worth of salary handed to them for free.
As for Australia's military experts, many of whom had come from the UK, their salaries were not high, with the average income only around £300. A cheque of £2,000 was equivalent to six or seven years' worth of income for them.
Arthur could have given different bonuses to the German and Australian experts, but he didn't do that. Firstly, £2,000 was not an excessive amount, and even if all the Australian military experts were included, the total reward would not exceed £100,000. Secondly, both the German and Australian experts had worked tirelessly on replicating the M1897 automatic cannon, so Arthur felt it was only right to treat them equally.
Moreover, once the time stipulated in the assistance agreement passed, the German military experts would return to Germany. There were very few who could continue working in Australia, and possibly none.
On the other hand, the Australian experts, having come from the UK, were now considered true Australians. They had been serving Arthur and contributing to the rise of Australia's military-industrial sector, making them the future hope for the industry.
Making them satisfied and gaining their loyalty was what Arthur truly wanted. After the German experts left, these Australian experts would be the true backbone of Australia's military-industrial sector.
Arthur's hope was that these Australian experts could learn something from their German counterparts. If they could absorb the essence of German military-industrial techniques, Australia's military industry would have a better chance of rising.
After the successful distribution of the cheques, Arthur, along with the military experts, went into the military factory to visit the process of replicating the M1897 automatic cannon, as well as see the simple production line the military experts had already created.
"So, we have now fully mastered the replication technology for this cannon? Have we completely studied and understood both the design principles and the construction techniques?" After listening to the experts speak one after another, Arthur finally asked.
"Yes, Your Grace. After disassembling and studying the cannon and its ammunition, we have essentially mastered the design principles and construction process. The two replicated cannons are made 1:1. It is because of this that the replicated cannons can achieve the same output frequency as the original ones, with virtually no difference," the German expert nodded and replied.
Arthur turned his gaze toward the Australian experts, and after receiving confirmation from them, he continued, "What about the production speed of the production line? How long does it take to produce one cannon?"
Since the principles and construction techniques had been fully mastered, and the experimental tests had confirmed that the replicated cannons were stable and had similar firepower to the original, the next step was clearly mass production and deployment to the troops.
The M1897 automatic cannon was one of the most powerful cannons of its time and was a product of French artillery technology.
Arthur would be happy to see it equipped by the troops as soon as possible, especially now that the Australian military had just been reorganized into an important new phase.
"Your Grace, the current production method requires a lot of manual labor and even the involvement of many experts. This greatly reduces the efficiency of cannon production. To produce these two cannons, we used over ten experts and it still took nearly a week," the German expert explained.
"So, if we want to mass-produce cannons, we need to establish a fully automated production line. This won't take too long, but at least a month," he added.
Upon hearing the German expert's explanation, Arthur nodded in understanding.
"Is there any room for improvement with this cannon? Can this semi-automatic technology be applied to other cannons?" Arthur asked, somewhat curious.
The French had been pioneers in automatic cannon technology. Although many of the military experts at Arthur's factory were from the UK, the most advanced automatic cannon technology they had mastered was the 37mm CA-1 machine cannon.
This small-caliber automatic cannon, while having an incredibly high firing rate—up to an alarming 60 rounds per minute (one shot per second)—had a significant drawback: it was only effective against poorly protected facilities and armies and was unsuitable for breaking down cities or fortresses.
This machine cannon was primarily used for two things: defense in positional warfare and, in the future, for installation on aircraft to enhance aerial firepower.
Arthur's goal was to install small-caliber machine guns on bombers to become a nightmare for ground troops.
However, to equip armies with truly powerful artillery, large and medium-caliber cannons were required. These cannons were suitable not only for defensive battles but also for siege warfare.
Only large-caliber howitzers and cannons had the power to break through solid fortifications, such as fortresses. If automatic cannon technology could be applied to medium or large-caliber artillery, it would be a significant improvement to firepower and would require fewer cannons to build more powerful artillery units.
Imagine if large-caliber artillery could adopt automatic firing technology. A group of ten giant guns firing ten rounds per minute each would unleash the combined power of dozens of large-caliber guns, making it possible to achieve more firepower with fewer guns.
Not only would this make fire suppression stronger with fewer artillery units, but it would also devastate the enemy's morale and determination.
Currently, each cannon's cost was high, and the ability to fire more powerful shots with fewer cannons would be a financial relief. The savings in military expenses could be used for other purchases, further enhancing the army's combat capability and morale.
(End of Chapter)
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