Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology - Chapter 293

Chapter 293: Weapons Testing Chapter 293: Weapons Testing October 29th, 1655 Dakshin Bhartiya Empire, Vijayanagar State, Kaveri Riverbank Industrial Zone, Raya Armory.

*Bang* A projectile in the shape of a sphere hurtled across the testing grounds of the Raya Armory.

Within a split second, the bullet had firmly lodged itself into the target at the end of the training ground, raising dust and debris due to the impact of the projectile.

*Tsk* Hey Ram, who was the one who fired the gun, couldn’t help but click his tongue in annoyance.

After His Majesty had completed testing the wheel lock pistol, he decided to try it a few times, and although the gun worked as intended, his aim was bad, to say the least.

By the way, he was shooting, it would be a win if the bullet even hit the target’s face.

In the latest shot fired by Hey Ram, the bullet hit the 1-ring mark, which was the outermost ring on the target face.

This was one of his rare attempts where the bullet actually hit the target’s face.

Unlike the majority of others where it completely missed the target, so Hey Ram, knowing that his aim was absolutely horrid, did not continue to embarrass himself as he put down the pistol, which was very hot After all the rounds of ammunition it had fired, And left to see if his majesty needed anything.

“Good,” Vijay affirmed once again, satisfied that the alloy material used in manufacturing the gun was of high quality and could be relied upon.

This confidence came after the gun had been tested for dozens of rounds following his initial test.

After completing the test of the wheel lock pistol, Vijay went on to inspect the Puckle gun, but before that, he had to be sure.

“Hey Ram, has the Puckle gun been quality tested?” Vijay inquired, needing assurance before inspecting the weapon.

Hey Ram, who had just finished firing the gun, swiftly transitioned back to his engineer mode and promptly recited the data he had stored in the back of his mind, always ready to provide an answer.

“Your Majesty, the alloy’s hardness has reached 25 on the scale, with a tensile strength of 70,000 psi and a stress of 35,000 psi,” Hey Ram reported.

“Therefore, the material used in the Puckle gun is more than qualified for practical use on the battlefield,” he promptly informed Vijay, providing the necessary data.

Vijay nodded his head in acceptance.

The hardness scale mentioned here was one that Hey Ram had developed himself, modelled on the principle of the Rockwell Hardness scale from Vijay’s previous life.

Thus, he felt very satisfied with the rating it had obtained.

As Vijay approached the gun, he observed its large size, reaching up to his waist and standing on a tripod stand crafted from cast iron.

The gun resembled a cannon, reminiscent of those possibly used in attack aircraft in the future.

Its long barrel extended from the firing mechanism, with revolving chambers located at the back of this mechanism.

These chambers bore a resemblance to piston chambers found in a radial engine.

The Puckle gun featured a handle at the back used for removing the revolving chambers, which were attached to the gun via a screw mechanism.

Vijay extracted the chambers and loaded them one by one.

A convenient aspect of the Puckle gun was that once the chambers were loaded, there was no need to open them again until they were all empty.

The current version of the gun’s revolving chamber, being filled with projectiles and propellant by Vijay, comprised six chambers.

After carefully loading all the necessary ammunition and gunpowder, Vijay screwed it back into the firing mechanism.

Each chamber had a priming cover at its inner end, concealing the flash hole.

This cover remained shut most of the time and only opened when the chamber was armed and ready to fire.

Vijay turned the chamber by hand to align it with the iron sight.

As he did so, the priming cover automatically opened, revealing the flash hole at the top of the gun.

With the hammer or striker pulled back, Vijay prepared to fire the shot.

He positioned himself to the side of the gun to avoid being in the direct line of its fire, both forward and backwards, and firmly pressed the trigger.

“Zzzzzz” The striker, which was pulled back, was suddenly released and made contact with the flint.

Numerous sparks were generated, and these sparks fell into the flash hole of the chamber.

The gunpowder in the chamber was suddenly ignited, sending the standard half-inch projectile at lightning speed towards the target face.

The shot was not as accurate as the wheel lock pistol, but the firepower was a lot more, causing the target face to be completely obliterated.

Vijay was not done yet; he still had five more chambers to empty.

He unlocked the chamber mechanism called the frizzen, which is used to keep the chamber in the same place when it is armed.

Usually, the frizzen does not allow for the rotation of the chamber when it is attached to a single chamber.

Vijay quickly unlocked this mechanism, turned the chamber, and loaded the gun again.

*Bang* Another shot was fired, this time aimed at another target face, a few meters beside the old one.

This target face was also obliterated.

Vijay did this again and again, his movements getting faster and faster as he became more and more familiar with the operation of the gun.

He was doing two to three things at the same time: simultaneously unlocking the frizzen mechanism and turning the calibre manually.

When both of these tasks were completed, he quickly re-equipped the frizzen, and the gun was armed and ready again.

He fired the shot until all the chambers were completely emptied.

He was able to empty the chambers in under 40 seconds, which was very impressive considering that the rate of fire of the gun was rated for one minute.

*Bang**Bang**Bang**Bang* Vijay’s face was dimmed with a little smudge from the smoke he had been subjected to since the firing tests began, but his expression did not look gloomy; on the contrary, it looked bright and burning with passion.

He was very happy with the test of the Puckle gun.

Hopefully, with the simplifications he made to the gun, it could be more reliable and durable.

Then he moved on to the next station where two guns with similar appearances were laid down: the Brown Bess Musket and the Brown Bess Bayonet.

These weapons were very long, as their height reached that of a growing child at 10 years old.

Vijay first picked up the Brown Bess Musket and inspected it carefully.

It was dark brown in colour throughout the body.

Its butt was angled at an inclined position in order to get a better grip and to optimally transfer the recoil force after the gun is fired.

Operating on the principle of a flintlock, Vijay observed the familiar mechanism with parts such as the cock, pan, hammer, and lock, commonly found in flintlocks.

The gun featured a wooden stock and a metal alloy barrel, with a sight attached in front of the barrel that could double as a bayonet lug.

Beneath the barrel, a ramrod was present to feed the paper cartridge into the musket.

Vijay, being aware of the standard firing protocol of this famous gun, picked up a paper cartridge where a lead ball was installed on the corner part of the cartridge, and the other two parts were filled with gunpowder, one with more gunpowder and the other with less.

Vijay tore apart the cartridge containing less gunpowder and Poured it onto the pan.

He then rearranged the cock and the hammer into the firing position.

Next, Vijay opened the second part of the cartridge, which held a larger amount of gunpowder, and carefully poured it into the barrel.

Afterwards, he slowly inserted the lead bullet into the barrel, retrieved the ramrod, and firmly pushed the lead bullet into place.

With the gun armed and loaded, Vijay brought it near his shoulder, positioning the butt perpendicularly against his body.

Leaning forward slightly with a widened stance, he took aim and decisively squeezed the trigger.

*Bang* The lead bullet projectile shot outwards from the barrel, leaving behind a fiery trail.

Vijay experienced a much stronger recoil from this gun than from any other he had tested.

His body jerked back a few centimetres due to the recoil, but fortunately, he had followed the standard protocol and leaned forward slightly to better brace himself and maintain aim after feeling the recoil.

In a split second, the bullet firmly lodged itself in the target’s face at the 8 ring.

Eager to further test the gun, Vijay fired a total of nine rounds.

The entire firing cycle took around three minutes, reaching the standard rate of fire of three rounds per minute.

While the most elite shooters could fire faster, three rounds per minute represented the basic achievable time for a soldier trained in operating this gun for a few months.

He was very satisfied with the results he had obtained.

Then, he took out the bayonet, which was around one foot-five inches long, and attached it to the musket with the help of the lug.

Vijay tested the hardness and sharpness of the bayonet, and as expected, it held up against the torture he put it through.

He tested it out by piercing rocks and sand, and he also used tough iron armour to do the same.

Although the bayonet could not pierce through a lot of these things, it did not break apart; on the contrary, it held its shape intact with only its sharpness being dulled.

Eventually, Vijay made his way to a separate section of the testing grounds designated for testing large artillery such as field artillery, naval guns, and cannons.

Upon arrival, he spotted a sleek cannon positioned on the ground.

It differed from a typical cannon; boasting a longer barrel length and a lower stance, the entire carriage arrangement resembled that of a low-rider car from the 21st century.

The carriage was reinforced with iron and equipped with support at the back to withstand the recoil of the massive cannon.

Beside the cannon lay a measured amount of gunpowder in a paper cartridge.

Vijay retrieved the cartridge, tore open one side, and emptied its contents into the barrel.

The gunpowder flowed through the muzzle, then to the Bore, and finally to the chase griddle of the cannon.

Next, the solid shot, weighing approximately 6 kilograms, was inserted through the muzzle.

Using a long ramrod, everything was tightly packed in place.

Vijay positioned himself to the side of the cannon, ensuring he was clear of its linear direction both forward and backwards.

With caution, he lowered the lit rope down onto the flash hole in the cannon.

The gunpowder was ignited immediately, and “BOOM!” The shockwave reverberated through the ground, lifting dust into the air.

The cannonball streaked through the sky at an astonishing speed, surpassing any previous demonstration witnessed on the testing grounds.

Despite having seen various cannon tests before, this was the first instance of a cannonball moving so swiftly that the eye struggled to track it.

One moment, they heard the deafening roar of the cannon and the next, they witnessed a shockwave where the cannonball struck.

Despite the cannon’s relatively modest calibre, its incredible speed and thunderous blast left a lasting impression on all who witnessed it.

*Dhum* The cannonball blasted through the wooden obstacles like they weren’t there and firmly lodged itself into the sand mountain at the end of the testing grounds.

Vijay confirmed that the speed surpassed even that of the thirty-kilogram giant cannon of the empire.

He was very satisfied with the performance of the cannon that had been produced.

Immediately, he proceeded to the director’s office of the Raya Armory and penned an order for the production of wheel-lock pistols, Puckle guns, Brown Bess muskets and their bayonet attachments, and the Culverin Cannon.

Vijay aimed to gradually phase out the old muskets and flintlocks used in the empire with the new Brown Bess musket and bayonet.

The introduction of the Puckle gun and the Culverin Cannon would enhance the empire’s offensive capabilities, both on land and at sea.

Additionally, the inclusion of the wheel-lock pistol would offer greater flexibility to the empire’s Bharatiya commando unit, which frequently operated behind enemy lines.

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