The Small Arms Factory is a type of industrial building in Napoleon: Total War.
Description[]
Improving weapon production makes it much cheaper to recruit infantry units.
By consolidating weapon production into one government-controlled factory the cost of weapons is significantly lessened and the quality of pieces also improves. Unfortunately, the harsh working conditions of these factories leave the lower classes miserable and disgruntled about their lot in life.
Historically, the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, London was built under the instruction of the British Board of Ordinance towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The factory was eventually completed in 1816, too late to be of any immediate use, and began production of rifles and muskets. Swords were not produced until 1823. The site chosen for the factory was next to the River Lee, as this gave power for the machines and a means of transport. The Enfield factory would go on to make some of the most famous weapons used by the British army, including the .303 Lee-Enfield Rifle, or SMLE, another standard weapon that was in service for many decades.
General Information[]
While the savings granted by small arms factories can be substantial, particularly in regions that are used as training hubs, the money saved from building small arms factories pales in comparison to the money made from steam-powered factories, buildings that occupy the same slots. Arguably more beneficial than the reduction in recruitment costs is the increased recruitment capacity, allowing regions to recruit more units per turn than usual. This is particularly useful for region-specific units, who are normally significantly constrained in terms of production by their geographic limitations. A good example of this would be Hungary, which is the only region that can train a large portion of Austria's troops. As Hungary is a single-slot capital region, two extra units for recruitment capacity represents a significant upgrade over its standard capacity of 1-3 units.
Small arms factories can only be converted to Steam-Powered Factories if Steam Engine has been researched.
Small arms factories reduce the training costs of all infantry, even those that don't use guns (such as Cemaat Janissaries).
The Peninsular Campaign[]
In The Peninsular Campaign, small arms factories require 2,700 gold and 9 turns to build.