Chapter 673: Smoothbore Cannon
Ultimately, Joseph reached an agreement with the U.S. military at a unit price of $160 per Garand rifle.
Joseph had offered the military a small discount. The original doubled price would have been around $170 per rifle, but Colonel Johnson argued that the U.S. Army's large and ongoing purchases justified a concession since it would help offset the rifle's development costs. Though slightly reluctant, Joseph agreed, and the first contract for 100,000 rifles was signed.
"This means millions in profit," Dreyoka said excitedly to Charles. "Earning over a hundred dollars per rifle, not even including ammunition, maintenance, and spare parts, is incredible!"
Millions of dollars was no small sum during this era. It was enough to build ten advanced destroyers, each displacing 2,000 tons.
Yet Charles felt it wasn't enough—far from it. Closing the report calmly, he turned to Dreyoka and said, "Now, let's sell submachine guns at half price."
"What?" Dreyoka stared at Charles in disbelief. "Submachine guns?"
After hesitating briefly, Dreyoka added, somewhat concerned, "Charles, this will ignite another crisis in the United States. Submachine guns might be even better suited to gang warfare than rifles."
Gang conflicts mostly occurred in urban areas, and submachine guns excelled in close-quarter battles within city streets. The U.S. military's Garand rifles were superior weapons, but they were best suited to open terrain and long-range engagements.
Charles replied calmly, "That's not our concern, Father. We're businessmen."
Dreyoka nodded with a resigned sigh, "Alright. I'll inform Joseph."
Charles watched Dreyoka leave, clearly sensing his father's reluctance and moral hesitation.
Dreyoka, a gentle man at heart, felt Charles should restrain himself regarding the gang situation. Selling rifles had already secured the Bernard Group's foothold in the American market; adding submachine guns at discounted prices would fuel even more violence, inevitably causing harm to innocent civilians and society—even if it was in America.
Charles felt no such moral qualms. His goal was to dominate the U.S. weapons market quickly, before American industry fully mobilized.
This wasn't merely about money—it was about power and influence.
Facing a powerhouse like the United States, Charles had no room for compassion. He needed the gangs to aggressively consume his products and secure his dominance over the arms industry swiftly.
Otherwise, American industrialists could leverage their immense productive capacity to surpass him.
Inside the Tank Cannon Laboratory, everyone was absorbed in heated discussion and intense activity.
Dreyoka had constructed the lab near an artillery factory, conveniently allowing constant exchange of ideas between researchers and technicians. The lab occupied over 3,000 square meters, designed to accommodate a complete tank cannon production line.
This space proved necessary, as researchers had already assembled nearly every piece of artillery-manufacturing equipment—except for barrel-making machinery.
But recently, Stokes realized they'd likely need to manufacture their own barrels as well.
The reason was simple: modifying the breech mechanism to shorten and lighten it had shifted the gun's center of gravity forward, rendering original barrel lengths unsuitable for new tank cannon designs.
Stokes and several researchers debated fiercely over two possible solutions:
One group advocated retaining original barrels to save time and cost, merely adding counterweights near the breech to rebalance the cannon.
"You're insane!" opponents argued. "Every kilogram matters in tank design, and internal space is precious. Adding useless counterweight defeats the entire purpose of lightening the cannon."
"But barrel production is extremely difficult and time-consuming," supporters insisted. "We're at war! We don't have the luxury of endless time."
Stokes had remained silent throughout the discussion, conflicted. Both sides had valid arguments—one focusing on immediate practicality, the other on long-term efficiency.
If only Charles were here; he was the only one capable of quickly making such critical decisions.
At precisely that moment, Stokes glanced toward the entrance and saw, to his amazement, Charles himself entering alongside Dreyoka. Charles, in full general's uniform, calmly approached, his authoritative presence instantly noticeable.
Stokes swiftly gathered his researchers and hurried to greet them warmly.
"Mr. Dreyoka, General," Stokes greeted them cheerfully, shaking hands. "Welcome!"
Researchers eagerly shook Charles's hand as well, openly expressing admiration:
"An honor to meet you, General."
"We've all heard of your accomplishments. Serving under your leadership is a privilege."
"Our British forces' battlefield performance pales in comparison to yours—we're ashamed to even discuss it!"
They laughed slightly, embarrassed. Being British, they frequently lamented the British Expeditionary Force's poor performance compared to France's success under Charles.
Charles replied with an approachable smile, "That's because your talents were severely underutilized."
"I've heard your government planned to draft you directly into frontline infantry. Unthinkable! You're all top experts—worth several infantry divisions at least. Handing you rifles and sending you blindly into battle is sheer madness."
Charles subtly praised their importance, understanding skilled specialists valued recognition above salary. His words visibly impacted the researchers, clearly touched by his acknowledgment.
Stokes promptly explained their dilemma regarding cannon barrels:
"We're debating whether it's necessary to produce barrels ourselves, General. The original barrels no longer meet the new tank cannon specifications."
"Of course, it's necessary," Charles replied without hesitation. "I'll fund everything, and you'll receive full technical support from the artillery factory."
The artillery factory already produced British 6-inch (152mm) guns; transitioning to produce 75mm barrels wouldn't pose significant problems.
Surprised by Charles's immediate decisiveness, Stokes cautioned, "General, this could easily double our development costs and significantly delay production. Barrel-making is complicated, particularly machining 28 rifling grooves inside."
(France's 75mm field guns featured rifled barrels measuring 2.69 meters with 28 right-hand twist grooves.)
"I understand," Charles calmly acknowledged. "But we can simplify the manufacturing process—for instance, switching to smoothbore cannons without rifling."
Stokes and the researchers stared at Charles in astonishment, quickly objecting:
"General, I strongly advise against that. Rifled cannons are far more accurate than smoothbores."
"Rifled barrels also provide greater range since the spinning projectile stabilizes flight."
"We'd prefer adding counterweights over sacrificing performance by adopting smoothbore cannons."
Charles knew future technological developments: tank cannons evolved from smoothbore to rifled, and eventually back to smoothbore. Initially, most tanks used simple smoothbore guns. Rifling improved accuracy, dominating tank cannons during WWII. Yet modern armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot (APFSDS) ammunition ultimately made smoothbores superior again.
Charles planned to bypass this entire cycle, directly adopting smoothbore cannons, knowing future ammunition would make rifled cannons obsolete and inefficient.
However, he couldn't openly reveal these future technologies or reasons now.
Instead, Charles presented a flawless justification:
"Gentlemen, we're at war. The battlefield can't wait for extensive production times. France desperately lacks manpower and resources. We must compromise temporarily."
Researchers fell silent, unable to refute this undeniable truth.
After a moment, Stokes reluctantly agreed. "The General is correct. Our designs must be practical and aligned with wartime realities."
One by one, researchers nodded:
"Indeed. We've overlooked current wartime constraints."
"France's new rationing policies make producing costly rifled barrels impractical right now."
"If we fail to deliver these cannons rapidly, their battlefield value diminishes anyway. The General's solution makes sense."
Thus, consensus formed: the new tank cannon would be smoothbore—simpler, cheaper, and quicker to produce under wartime conditions.
With this critical issue resolved, Charles handed Stokes another set of blueprints and asked firmly, "Mr. Stokes, can your team produce this?"
Stokes studied the blueprints carefully, recognizing immediately they depicted a specialized weapon resembling the captured German Becker automatic cannon, optimized as an anti-aircraft gun and adaptable for aircraft mounting.
"Yes, General," Stokes responded confidently after brief examination. "Improving this design appears straightforward. We can definitely manage it."
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