The Rise Of Australasia - Chapter 357

Chapter 357: Chapter 308: John Moses Browning

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The Cabinet Meeting emphasized the development of various aspects of Australasia, and the new year’s Cabinet budget also increased by nearly twenty million Australian dollars.

This means that if the new year’s fiscal revenue growth is not significant, Australasia may once again face a fiscal deficit.

However, the twenty million Australian dollars budget was used for the right purposes, so Arthur did not feel distressed at all.

After all, spending twenty million Australian dollars now is better than facing skyrocketing prices and material shortages during a war, which would lead to multiple times higher expenditures.

Especially the preparation of medical supplies in advance, this is very important for Australasia and the future layout in Europe, just the profits that can be earned from these medical supplies are enough for Arthur to prepare in advance.

Of course, in addition to the cabinet meeting plans, Arthur had many other private preparations, such as an upcoming guest.

This guest’s name is John Moses Browning, an American living in Belgium.

Of course, John Moses Browning has another well-known identity, that is, the expert who developed the Browning M1910 dual-use automatic pistol.

This small pistol has a glorious history, with nearly a million produced in history.

Of course, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the event that shocked the world and even triggered World War I, was carried out by the assassin Princip using this pistol.

At present, Browning’s reputation is not as great as it will be in the future, and the weapons he produces, apart from the single-shot breech-loading rifles he designed several decades ago, are just Browning series automatic pistols.

But Arthur knows that this famous light weapon design expert will later research various automatic rifles, light machine guns, heavy machine guns, and automatic pistols, making great contributions to the United States’ light weaponry.

Before Browning’s name has been heard throughout the United States, it is the best time to dig him to Australasia.

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Good news is, because the automatic shotgun made by Browning in 1897 was refused production by the Winchester Company, Browning angrily went to the Belgian Herstal National Arsenal to become the chief designer of the Belgian National Arsenal.

It is a bit difficult for Australasia to compete with the United States, but there is no problem competing with Belgium.

After Arthur invited Browning to be the chief expert of light weapons of the Australasia Royal Military Factory, and allowed Browning to design and produce his own researched weapons while helping the military factory weapons research, Browning was tempted to come to Australasia.

After all, the reason why Browning went to Belgium was that his talent couldn’t be fully showcased in the United States.

The American companies didn’t believe in Browning’s technology, which led Browning to go to the small European country Belgium in a fit of anger.

But the problem is, even though Belgium is willing to produce Browning’s firearms, the business of the military factory is limited, and the competitiveness of the Belgian military factory is far inferior to that of British and German military factories.

Apart from these two major powers, there are also the military factories of France, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, and Russia Nation’s national arsenal competing for the market, which has resulted in fewer production orders for Belgium and naturally not much funding for Browning to research.

However, Australasia is different, and the person sent by Arthur solemnly stated that there would be no limit to Browning’s research funding as long as he was willing to become the chief light weapons expert of the Australasia Royal Military Factory.

And the Royal Military Factory will help Browning produce his researched weapons and try to sell Browning’s researched weapons to the world under the premise of producing existing weapons and equipment.

Keep in mind, the arms trade between Russia and Australasia is not confidential, and Browning naturally knows about this weapons purchase treaty as well.

This also means that there is an international market for the weapons produced by Australasia, and the firearms designed by Browning in the Royal Military Factory will have better development.

After a lot of thinking, Browning finally decided to go to Australasia, not only to visit the Royal Military Factory in person but also to see if what Arthur said was true.

On January 2nd, 1912, at Sydney Palace, Arthur finally met this famous firearms expert.

Browning is now over 50 years old, but his eyes still look sharp and energetic all over.

After seeing Arthur, Browning eagerly asked if he could officially start working the next day.

Yes, before being summoned by Arthur, Browning had already visited the Royal Military Factory, and the response he got was that the scale and talent reserve of the Royal Military Factory had far exceeded Browning’s expectations.

Browning was looking forward to working in such a huge military factory and was eager to dive into weapons research.

Arthur smiled, as what Australasia was lacking right now were talents full of enthusiasm like Browning.

However, there was no need to hurry with work, as Arthur gave Browning nine days of holiday, plus seven more for the National Day, amounting to more than half a month to deal with issues outside of work.

After the National Day holiday, he officially joined the workforce, researching and producing more light weapons for Australasia.

“Mr. Browning, do you have any suggestions about the current semi-automatic pistols and submachine guns in the Royal Military Factory?” After discussing work matters, Arthur looked at Browning and began some casual conversation.

Browning, after all, was a renowned light weapons design expert; and although Arthur had ideas for Australasian light weapons, their implementation was fraught with difficulties.

Especially in the area of pistols, Australasia’s only pistol was the AS-1898 Semi-Automatic Pistol developed by the Royal Military Factory in 1898, which was already outdated compared to the popular automatic pistols of other powers.

Arthur’s expectation for Browning was to develop a new type of automatic pistol based on the AS-1898 as soon as possible, equipping the Australasian army and police with it.

“Your Majesty, the current pistol design of the Royal Military Factory is outdated. It is now the era of automatic pistols. Give me three months, and I will improve on the current pistols of the Royal Military Factory and design a brand-new automatic pistol.” Browning thought seriously for a while before speaking with a slight frown.

In fact, Browning indeed had such confidence.

Although not yet famous in other areas of weaponry, Browning was considered one of the top design experts in the world for pistol design.

Browning’s M-series automatic pistols, be it the M1910 or M1911, were among the most advanced automatic pistols in the world.

Especially the M1911, which had already become the standard pistol of the United States Army and had been massively equipped for troops.

It is worth mentioning that, unlike the Browning M1910 automatic pistol, the full name of the M1911 is the Colt M1911 Automatic Pistol.

Although the designer of the M1911 pistol was Browning himself, the company that produced the pistol was Colt, Browning’s rival company.

Colt bought the patent rights to this pistol and named it the Colt M1911 pistol, securing the interest of the United States Army and successfully becoming their standard pistol.

In history, this pistol was equipped with American troops for as long as 70 years. It was not until 1985, after the United States’ new firearm selection, that the M1911 withdrew from the American weaponry stage.

This also demonstrates the powerful performance of Browning’s designed pistol, which was sufficient for the United States, the strongest country in the world after World War II, to use for 70 years.

By attracting Browning to Australasia, it would not only enhance Australasia’s design capabilities in the field of light weapons but also weaken the United States’ expertise in light weapon design.

As the gap between the two countries narrows through this mutually reinforcing strategy, it also explains why Arthur placed great importance on attracting talent from the United States and Europe.

The more talent Australasia attracts at this time, the less talent the United States will absorb after the war.

Moreover, by then, the United States’ competitor for talent would also be Australasia, which would undoubtedly hinder the United States’ development compared to history.

Arthur nodded without any doubts about the three months proposed by Browning.

After all, 13 years had passed since the development of the AS-1898, an already outdated pistol.

For a light weapons expert like Browning, it is not impossible to improve on a new pistol in three months.

“As for the Royal Military Factory’s Cassadine Submachine Gun,” Browning spoke with a touch of admiration and surprise in his eyes when mentioning the Cassadine Submachine Gun, sincerely saying, “This advanced weapon design, unlike a rifle, is very forward-looking, and I am looking forward to meeting the researcher of the Cassadine Submachine Gun and working together.”

Perhaps it is due to the mutual admiration among talented individuals that Browning is very curious about and admires the yet-unacquainted submachine gun designer’s talent in weaponry.

Arthur smiled and said, “That’s for sure. After the National Day holiday, you should be able to meet Cassadine. Speaking of which, as experts in light weapons research, you and Cassadine should have some interesting topics to share.”

Although Australasia already possesses the advanced Cassadine Submachine Gun, Arthur did not mind having an even more advanced one.

If Browning had some unique insights into submachine guns, it would also benefit their development.

“Of course, improving on pistols is an essential aspect. However, as the chief expert in light weapons at the Royal Military Factory, you are fully entitled to your independent research laboratory and office. Besides the current weaponry series possessed by the Royal Military Factory, I am looking forward to seeing your designs, Mr. Browning. I believe that you are an invaluable talent not only in pistols but also in other weapons.” Arthur said with a smile.