Chapter 30: Proper Compensation
Within one of several arms factories that the von Zehntners own, a group of engineers were working together to come up with a functional prototype for one of several designs which Bruno had given them.
His first drafts were crude and needed much work to perfect if they were to ever be adopted into service. But they were detailed, and accurate enough to create a functional prototype off of. Even if the weapons platforms operated via means that were well beyond the current era. The first of the three small arms that were chosen to be manufactured into a crude prototype was the easiest of the three to manufacture. Which was the Gewehr 43 auto-loading rifle. The weapon would undergo a new destination in this alternate timeline when it was adopted.
But at the moment, the engineers and machinists had come up with a semi-functional prototype, which they designated the "Gerat 01." After much argument between the engineers and machinists, the lead designer at the arms factory was highly critical of Bruno's design. Citing concerns that many engineers of the era had when it came to the practicality of auto-loaded firearms.
The man had a smug attitude as he expressed this very sentiment to Bruno's oldest brother, a man by the name of Franz von Zehntner, who was also the head of the von Zehtnner arms corporation after his father retired to pursue a career in politics.
"My Lord, Franz. Although I don't doubt the intelligence of your youngest brother. I must assure you that I have been working on the development of smalls arms and artillery alike for over forty years of my life. And I am telling you, this design is severely flawed with its approach.
If we drill a port into the barrel to tap gas from in order to propel the piston, it will cause unnecessary erosion to the barrel itself. The service life of such a design is too limited to be properly adopted as a military rifle. This is a mere novelty, not a service weapon. Why must we perform such an exercise of futility?"
Franz however trusted Bruno and his superior intelligence. Even if the design proved to be faulty, the experience gained from this venture could be used to further develop a more practical auto-loading rifle in the future. And because of this, he dismissed the lead engineer's concerns.
"Just humor me Fritz. I am well aware of your expertise, but this design intrigues me no less, and I will see this prototype properly seen through to its ultimate end. Whether that is as a replacement for the Gewehr 98, or simply a means of experimentation for future designs." While Bruno had given a general blueprint of the rifle and its overall design to his family, the reality was that there were more that were required to make a functional rifle. Such as the composition of steel, and the heat treatment of various components which were critical to the functionality, reliability, and durability of a service rifle.
And Bruno honestly did not know exactly what type of steel and heat treating the Germans had used in his previous life for their Gewehr 43 rifles. He had made educated estimations based upon his understanding of engineering, metallurgy, and material science. But to say that his estimations were perfect without substantial trials would be arrogant beyond belief. Bruno was not the only one who thought this way. Everyone working on the project knew that these things would need to be tinkered with over a span of years to reach a state of perfection. And it was with this in mind that the machinists finished off the last parts required for the prototype rifle before assembling them together into something semifunctional.
They had not necessarily built a fully functional rifle. Rather, they merely constructed a prototype receiver with barrel assembly, bolt carrier group, gas piston, and a functional trigger assembly.
It had been nearly two months already since Bruno first gave the designs to his father, and finally a prototype had been completed for what would supposedly one day become the Reich's primary service rifle.
After making sure that everything was properly assembled together, and that there were no glaring issues with fitment or functionality, the machinists took the barreled receiver assembly towards the test firing range. Where they attached a string to the trigger and inserted a single round in the chamber.