Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Chapter 284: Puckle gun, Musket, Bayonet, and Culverin (Data Dump)

16th October 1655

Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, Vijayanagar State, Capital City Hampi.

Vijay is still in his study room in the Palace. He had just completed the development of the wheel lock pistol, and now he endeavoured to develop another gun which he is very excited about. The next gun Vijay decided to develop was called the Puckle gun, which was the predecessor of the machine gun.

This gun is an early automatic firearm designed by James Puckle, a British inventor, in 1718. In the last timeline, this gun was one of the earliest attempts at creating a rapid-fire weapon.

Although it was finally operational, it was not put into use in the military due to various reasons, such as its unusually complex mechanism, which made it very prone to jamming and subsequently decreased its reliability in combat. It also had limited practicability due to its large size and weight.

One more reason was its high cost, as the manufacturing of the Puckle gun was expensive due to its specialized components. Additionally, being produced in the early 18th century, it faced competition from traditional firearms like muskets and cannons, which were cheaper, more reliable, and easier and simpler to maintain.

Therefore, the militaries of various countries, who preferred simplicity and reliability at a lower cost, did not choose this gun.

Despite all these disadvantages, Vijay wanted to produce it because of two main reasons. One, he wanted to set up the foundation for the empire to eventually produce a mature machine gun before the dawn of the fully mechanized machine guns of the 19th and 20th centuries. Another reason was that he was confident in improving its design.

Although not capable of making it fully usable and error-free like the mature muskets and cannons, Vijay was confident enough to make it more usable and specialized in a certain area.

Making his will firm, Vijay got down to business. First, he outlined the design of the Puckle gun, its mechanism, and the tripod that would hold it. The Puckle gun is a hand-operated mechanical gun, so he had to outline the hand-operation mechanism as well. He then designed a special tripod stand made of cast iron and iron alloy for the Puckle Gun.

Then, Vijay went on to outline the specifications of the gun after he improved it.

First, he increased the size of the gun, with a larger caliber of projectiles, making it easier to manufacture and maintain. He introduced modularization to the gun, separating the barrel, firing mechanism, operation mechanism, and tripod mechanism, enabling the gun to be assembled from multiple standard parts. With this design, Vijay overcame many of the design flaws in the original Puckle gun.

The current specifications are as follows:

- Operation Type: Manually operated flintlock revolver

- Design: Tripod-mounted, single interchangeable barrel (modular)

- Caliber: Standardized to 0.50 inches

- Cylinder: Revolving cylinder holding eight shots

- Firing: Manually operated and requiring pre-trimming

- Modular Design: Barrel, cylinder, and firing mechanism

- Effective Range: 80 meters

- Rate of Fire: One shot per 10 seconds or six shots per minute

- Crew Required: Four men

- Weight: 200KG

Overall, the Puckle gun is suitable for various scenarios requiring mobility and continuous firepower.

*stretch*

After designing these two guns, Vijay felt a little tired, so he stretched his body a little. He went outside his study room for a while, talked to Kavya for a bit, and inspected the reports he received. These reports contained the latest updates on the battle situation in Gujarat and the riots occurring in the city of Surendra Nagar.

Upon seeing the results of the pamphlet he prepared, Vijay was very satisfied. After handling some more reports about the progress of multiple projects in the empire, he came back to the study room to immediately complete the next two designs.

The next firearm he is going to develop is called the Brown Bess. The Brown Bess is a musket developed by various British gunmakers in the late 17th century, which was used until the early 19th century.

It was famous for its reliability and robustness, and it was the standard issue for the British military for battlefield combat, line infantry tactics, bayonet charges, and other operations carried out at short ranges. Vijay is also planning to develop a bayonet for this musket, making it an additional feature.

Vijay chose this gun for the same advantage the British held onto it until the 19th century: its reliability, simple design, and ease of use and maintenance. Vijay didn’t make any modifications to the Brown Bess musket and bayonet, as they were already very suitable for use in the empire. Even the machining accuracy requirement for manufacturing this gun had been met by a small margin.

Since he planned out everything, he outlined the two different guns on paper in the form of a design drawing: one, a standalone musket, and another with a bayonet attached to the musket with a plug adaptation.

The overall specifications of the musket are as follows:

- Type: Flintlock musket

- Calibre: 0.71 to 0.75 inches

- Barrel length: Between 46 inches and 42 inches

- Total length without the bayonet: 62 inches and 58 inches

- Total length with the bayonet: An additional 17 inches to the existing length

Other specifications include:

- Effective range: Around 150 feet or 45.7 meters

- Rate of fire: Two or three shots per minute

- Sight: Iron front sight

- Attachment: The bayonet slips over the musket barrel and is secured by a lug.

Finally, for the last weapon Vijay was developing, a culverin.

Culverins are a type of cannon developed in the late 15th century and were popularly used until the 18th century. In the last timeline, they were developed by various European manufacturers around that era.

A culverin stands apart from a regular cannon in several distinct ways. Firstly, its barrel is notably longer, boasting a length-to-bore ratio of approximately 20 to 1. This elongated barrel contributes to its unique performance and capabilities on the battlefield.

Additionally, culverins feature a relatively narrower bore diameter compared to conventional cannons, giving them a distinct advantage in terms of precision and accuracy.

Moreover, culverins are typically smaller and lighter than their larger counterparts, making them more manoeuvrable and versatile in various combat scenarios. Despite their smaller size, they possess a remarkable capability to fire different types of ammunition, showcasing their adaptability and utility on the battlefield.

Primarily employed for siege warfare, culverins play a crucial role in providing field artillery support and naval engagement. Their versatility makes them invaluable assets in military campaigns, where their ability to engage enemy forces from a distance can often turn the tide of battle.

Whether positioned on land or at sea, culverins serve as formidable weapons capable of delivering decisive firepower when needed most.

Vijay aimed to enhance the Dakshin Bharatiya Empire’s battles’ unpredictability by developing the culverin. This artillery piece could offer the military just that. Despite its smaller ammunition calibre, the culverin packed a greater power projection capability for its projectile weight. Its thicker bore allowed it to withstand much more firing than its size might suggest.

This surplus firepower could extend the cannon’s range and improve its accuracy.

Vijay’s culverin design wasn’t based on any existing models. Instead, he opted to customize it into a rifled culverin, greatly boosting its range and accuracy. With this modified culverin, he envisioned using strong alloy ammunition at high velocities, enhancing its armour penetration capabilities. This combination would allow it to effortlessly breach defensive fortresses.

Vijay rubbed his hands a little, feeling a bit fatigued from designing various components of the weapons in succession. Fortunately, his strong body could handle it or else he would have already collapsed. Considering that this was the last design of the day, Vijay gritted his teeth and quickly outlined the culverin.

-Type: Cannon (Rifled)

-Caliber: 7.3 KG

-Barrel Length: 3.7 meters

-Total Length with Carriage: 4.6 meters

-Weight: 1.4 to 2.2 tonnes, potentially even heavier

-Bore Diameter: 4.5 to 5.5 inches

-Effective Range: 500 meters, which directly competes with the culverins of the 18th century

-Muzzle Velocity: 350 meters per second, making it an absolute missile.

Finally completing all the tasks he set out to do, Vijay quickly sealed and signed all the design drawings and sent them to Ravichandra Rao to get them patented. Then, exhausted, he lay down on the table.

Although the Empire currently operates under a military economy system, the patent system still functions. However, if the patent is related to the military field, it is directly authorized to the military, and the payment is deferred until the military economy system is lifted.

As a temporary compensation, the individual who develops the patent could receive more resource allocation in any government institution to further his/her research. However, since Vijay is the highest leader of the empire, he does not need this benefit.

Vijay, struggling to sleep with a nagging feeling of forgetting something, abruptly woke up with a realization. With his droopy eyes , he directed Ravichandra Rao to send the designs to the Raya Armory once the patenting process was finished, aiming to swiftly develop the initial prototype of the guns.