388: Chapter 386: Not a Good Gunner, But a Godlike Gunner.
388: Chapter 386: Not a Good Gunner, But a Godlike Gunner.
Tommy cradled the barrel in his arms, took two steps back, then turned and sprinted before dropping to one knee.
He placed the barrel onto the deck, gripped it with his left hand, and with his right hand swiftly slipped a mortar shell, already fitted with a fuse, into the muzzle.
With a blast, a target on the sea surface shattered in response.
Using just a barrel, Tommy demonstrated a rapid, single-person firing technique, relying solely on memory to hit a target without sight.
Surprise, Tommy’s demonstration was a pleasant surprise for Gao Yang.
The thing about mortars is that they’re not particularly technical; a few glances and one could use them.
But it’s one thing to launch a shell, quite another to hit the target accurately.
Glolov knew how to use a mortar and had taught a number of students, but the problem was, Glolov himself was only half-trained, and so were his students—half-trained of the half-trained.
They were not familiar with the shell’s ballistic table, and despite extensive shooting practice, they only grasped a general range and had no idea how to adjust for wind drift.
Apart from attacking large groups, they were incapable of hitting other targets, which meant that the Skull Gang’s artillery could only bully armed groups as inept as the Mokadi Faction.
Knowing the direction and distance of the target, knowing what type of mortar shell to use along with its ballistic table, and being able to launch it in accordance with the situation—anyone capable of these had the makings of a qualified gunner.
In normal conditions, hitting the target was not difficult, and they could effectively complete tasks such as providing fire support to infantry, blocking enemy pursuit, and striking enemy firepower points.
The main components of a mortar consist of four major parts: the barrel, the bipod, the base plate, and the sighting device.
To fire using only a barrel, without any of the other parts, and still hit the target accurately, is difficult enough without saying; but for Gao Yang and his team, this particular skill proved extremely useful.
The mortar Tommy fired was a Type 63 60mm mortar.
The entire weapon weighed 12.5 kilograms—not particularly heavy, but cumbersome.
Without a vehicle, carrying a mortar during movement and combat was excessively difficult; however, carrying only the barrel, all problems were immediately solved.
The barrel alone weighed only 4.5 kilograms, which meant that Tommy could carry a full set of infantry gear and still manage an additional barrel, providing the Satan Mercenary Corps with the firepower of a mortar.
And the price Gao Yang and his team had to pay was merely carrying an extra 1.33-kilogram high-explosive fragmentation shell each.
After Tommy fired, Gao Yang promptly burst into applause and laughed, “Fantastic, Tommy, absolutely fantastic.
An impressive display of gunnery.”
Tommy shook his head and said, “Sir, the target’s not finished yet.”
The barrel of the Type 63 60mm mortar is 618 millimeters long, with a spherical base designed to rest on the base plate.
After firing, the recoil shifts the barrel’s position slightly.
After repositioning the barrel, Tommy shook his head again, then fetched the base plate.
After setting the barrel onto it, he called out loudly, “Gentlemen, who can help load?”
Glolov immediately replied, “I will, any special instructions?”
Tommy shook his head and said, “Nothing special, just wait for my call to ‘put,’ and then drop the shell into the muzzle.”
After finishing his words, Tommy placed his hands on the barrel and, still on one knee, with one foot on the base plate, he immediately said, “Three rapid shots, fire.”
Grollov loaded a shell, waiting for the mortar to fire.
As the base plate on the deck shifted slightly, Tommy made a quick adjustment to the muzzle and called out urgently, “Fire!”
Tommy shouted three times in succession, firing three shells, which then landed near the same target.
Unsurprisingly, the target was shattered, but Tommy seemed unsatisfied, he shook his head and said to Gao Yang, “Sir, since we are on a ship, I cannot fix the barrel, so I had to use the base plate, and I needed someone to help me load.
If it were on land, I wouldn’t need the base plate or someone to help me load.
In fact, it’s been a long time since I’ve fired a complete mortar.”
One man, one barrel, capable of conducting a barrage, Gao Yang couldn’t stop smiling, nodding repeatedly, “Understood, understood, you’ve performed well enough, extremely well, better than I expected.”
Tommy showed no sign of pride after the exaggerated praise, he nodded and said, “Sir, there are still targets.”
As it turned out, the surprise Tommy had for Gao Yang was yet to come.
Glancing up briefly at the position of the last two targets, Tommy bowed his head in thought for a moment before saying to Grollov, “Please help me load the shells again, thank you.”
Tommy aimed at a target and shouted, “Fire!” After Grollov loaded the shell in the barrel, and as soon as the shell was fired, Tommy, with the speed of greased lightning, rapidly adjusted the muzzle and immediately shouted again, “Fire!”
Gao Yang saw clearly that two shells nearly exploded simultaneously next to the same target, but Tommy’s performance was not over yet.
After swiftly adjusting the barrel, he fired rapidly two more times, with the shells launched in succession but almost landing together on the sea surface, albeit the second shell was slightly farther from the target but definitely within the lethal range of the shell.
By adjusting the angle of fire to achieve the effect of two shells launched in succession but landing at the same time, still using only one barrel, still firing at two targets in succession, still visually observing the targets, still calculating the trajectory in an extremely short time, well, there were just too many things, and with Gao Yang’s limited knowledge of mortars, he knew Tommy achieved the impossible.
Gao Yang didn’t know what to say anymore, he just stared at Tommy with his mouth agape, and he wasn’t the only one stunned.
Tommy’s display amazed the audience, and this time there was neither applause nor cheers because people were still stuck in a daze after being shocked.
Still, Tommy seemed dissatisfied with his own performance.
He shook his head and said to Gao Yang, “I’m sorry I messed up, sir.
Because the range was too short, I couldn’t make the two shells explode at the same time.
If it were a 120mm mortar, I definitely could have done it.
Of course, I would need assistance.”
After a moment of being dumbfounded, Gao Yang looked at Tommy as if he were an alien, shook his head, and said, “Tommy, I’ve realized you’re not just a good gunner, you’re a god gunner, that’s right, you’re a god gunner!”(To be continued.
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