GB2087052A

GB2087052A - Apparatus for automatically feeding and loading ammunition for a top-mounted gun

Info

Publication number: GB2087052A
Application number: GB8022839A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Thyssen Industrie AG
Current assignee: ThyssenKrupp Technologies AG
Priority date: 1979-08-24
Filing date: 1980-07-14
Publication date: 1982-05-19
Also published as: DE2934259A1; FR2498748A1; SE443648B; DE2934259C2; SE8103675L; GB2087052B; FR2498748B1

Abstract

Apparatus for automatically feeding and loading ammunition into a gun barrel (4) from a magazine situated in the interior of a vehicle, which includes a lifting device (8). The lifting device (8) consists of a telescopic column (9) and a swivelling device (10). A cartridge receiver (11) is situated on one end of the swivelling device and serves as a loading tube and comprises both retaining claws for the cartridge and a rammer (12). The arrangement of the lifting device (8) in the charging position and during the upward movement before swivelling is such that the distance (a) between the elevation axis and the traverse axis of the gun barrel (4) is small. A band magazine (17) is arranged in the crew cabin (71 asymmetrically about the prolonged bore axis of the gun barrel (4). Alternatively (Fig. 3, not shown), two magazine drums (18, 18') are provided, one on each side of the axis. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for automatically feeding and loading ammunition for a top-mounted gun The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically feeding and loading ammunition from a magazine situated in the interior of an armoured vehicle to the cartridge chamber of a top-mounted gun situated above it, using a lifting device secured to the part horizontally rotatable with the gun, and comprising a tubular cartridge receiver which moves the cartridge upwards with its base foremost from its suspended ready position in the magazine, and turns it from below into the loading position.

Such an apparatus is disclosed in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 1,578,093. In this type of construction, there is provided a rocking elevator loading device for a gun situated in the turret of an armoured vehicle, wherein the cartridge receiver is situated, when in the loading position, in spaced relationship behind the cartridge chamber of the gun, and the rammer is situated behind the cartridge receiver. in the case of a top-mounted gun having a feeding and loading device, such an arrangement gives rise to difficulties owing to the respective distances of their centres of gravity from the vertical axis of the part horizontally rotatable with the gun, because on the one hand, when the firing pulse is transmitted, turning moments are set up which cause vibrations in the system and have a detrimental effect on the target accuracy, while on the other hand, in operation during travel, unbalance moments may be set up, which have an unfavourable effect on the aiming drive. In addition, the requirement that the vehicles serving as weapon carriers should have little or no fixed super-structural parts in order to offer little target area, is not met in such cases.

It is furthermore known, in a weapon mounting secured as a top mounting on a disc rotatable about a vertical axis in the ceiling of an armoured vehicle, to arrange the elevation axis for the tiltable weapon housing so that it intersects the prolonged axis of rotation of the disc. The feeding of ammunition to the weapon then takes place from a magazine secured to the lower side of the rotatable disc, by way of an aperture in the disc as shown in German Patent Specification No.

1,703,571. The feeding and loading device is not described in this specification, since it is directed to achieving, in a hand firearm, a good and reliable sealing of the aperture for the passage of the ammunition in the rotatable disc.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the above referred to disadvantages and in particular to reduce the vibrations which are set up at the part horizontally rotatable with the gun both during firing and during travel, and which are transmitted to and taken up by the stabilizing drives.

According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for automatically feeding and loading ammunition from a magazine situated in the interior of an armoured vehicle to the cartridge chamber of a top-mounted gun situated above it, using a lifting device secured to the part horizontally rotatable with the gun, and comprising a tubular cartridge receiver which moves the cartridge upwards with its base foremost from its suspended ready position in the magazine and turns it from below into the loading position, wherein the lifting device which is secured to the lower side of the platform horizontally rotatable in the roof of the armoured vehicle, with the cartridge receiver, is situated, in the charging position and during the upward movement before the turning movement, in the vertical projection below the breach block of the gun, so that the distance between the elevation axis and the traverse axis of the gun, which is at the same time the axis of rotation of the platform, is somali.

By means of the above described arrangement in which the breach blbck of the gun and the lifting device with the tubular cartridge receiver overlap one another in the vertical projection, the elevation axis of the gun and the lifting device can be brought as close as possible to the vertical axis of rotation of the platform mounted in the roof of the armoured vehicle.

The present invention will now be described in greater detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 illustrates in side elevation a platform rotatably mounted in the roof of an armoured vehicle with a top-mounted gun and the apparatus according to the invention, the lifting device being shown in two different positions and the platform in section; Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1 wherein only the parts essential to the invention are shown and the rotatable platform is shown in fragmentary form; and Figure 3 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 2 showing a different magazine construction.

Referring to the drawings, the armoured vehicle to which this invention is applied is not shown, only a part of the roof 1 being shown.

A horizontally rotatable platform 3 is mounted by means of a ball bearing 2 in the roof 1 of the armoured vehicle. A gun barrel 4 is mounted on the platform 3 with its two trunnions 5 and 5' in side nieces 6 and 6' so as to be capable of elevation, the gun being illustrated in the position of zero elevation. Secured to the lower side of the platform 3 are a crew cabin 7 and a lifting device 8 for the conveyance of ammunition from the magazine to the gun barrel 4. The vertical axis of the crew cabin is here coincident with the axis of rotation X-X of the platform 3, which is at the same time the traverse axis Y-Y of the gun barrel 4.The lifting device 8 consists of a telescopic column 9 arranged to be moved in and out with a swivelling device 10 on which there is situated a cartridge receiver 11 , which serves at the same time as a loading tube and comprises both retaining claws (not shown) for the cartridge and a rammer 12. The in and out movements of the lifting device 8 and the swivelling movements of the cartridge receiver 11, as well as the movements of the retaining claws and the rammer 12 are controllable by an electrical sequence circuit (not shown).

An aperture 1 3 is situated above the charging point of the lifting device 8, in the platform 3, through which the telescopic column 9, including the swivelling device 10 and the cartridge receiver 11, can be moved upwards and downwards, when a swivellable cover 14 which normally covers the aperture 13 is released by the electrical sequence circuit. In the upward movement of the lifting device 8 from the charging position into the loading position, the vertical movement is superimposed upon the swivelling movement 900 in the first phase, and is continued in the second phase. The movements indicated by arrows thus merge one into the other without any interruption.

In the vertical projection, the lifting device 8 is situated in the charging position and during the upward movement before the swivelling movement it is situated under the breach block 1 5 of the gun barrel 4. The cartridge receiver 11 is then closer to the axis of rotation X-X of the platform 3 and the telescopic column 9 is closer to the pivot bearing 2. The breach closure member 1 6 is situated on the breach block 1 5. The axis of elevation Z-Z formed by the two trunnions 5 and 5' is situated at a distance A from the traverse axis Y-Y of the gun barrel 4, which is at the same time the axis of rotation X-X of the platform 3 (Figure 1).The arrangement is more favourable if the distance A is progressively reduced to zero.

In the construction according to Figures 1 and 2, there is situated in the crew cabin 7 a band magazine 1 7 which is arranged symmetrically about the prolonged bore axis of the gun barrel 4.

In the alternative construction shown in Figure 3, there are provided in the crew cabin 7, a pair of magazine drums 1 8 and 1 8' arranged on the left and right symmetrically. Each magazine drum 1 8 is in the form of a circular drum which contains eight cartridges. For charging the lifting device 8, the magazine drums 1 8 have to perform rotational movements about their longitudinal axis (see the arrows shown in Figure 3).

That part of the crew cabin 7 in which the lifting device 8 and the band magazine 1 7, or the two magazine drums 18 and 18', are situated is separated from the remaining part by a gas-tight partition (not shown).

An advantage arising out of the above described constructions is that the complete lifting device 8 with its sub-assemblies 9, 10, 11 and 12 only leaves the space protected from weather influence and enemy action below the platform 3 for a brief interval and does not require any articulation or jack points or auxiliary sub assemblies above the platform for the purpose of loading.

Claims

1. Apparatus for automatically feeding and loading ammunition from a magazine situated in the interior of an armoured vehicle to the cartridge chamber of a top-mounted gun situated above it, using a lifting device secured to the part horizontally rotatable with the gun, and comprising a tubular cartridge receiver which moves the cartridge upwards with its base foremost from its suspended ready position in the magazine and turns it from below into the loading position, wherein the lifting device which is secured to the lower side of the platform horizontally rotatable in the roof of the armoured vehicle, with the cartridge receiver is situated, in the charging position and during the upward movement before the turning movement, in the vertical projection below the breach block of the gun, so that the distance between the elevation axis and the traverse axis of the gun, which is at the same time the axis of rotation of the platform is small.

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the cartridge receiver which is arranged to be moved upwards and downwards between the magazine and the loading position is closer to the axis of rotation of the platform, and the telescopic column of the lifting device is closer to the pivot bearing of the platform.

3. Apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein a band magazine is arranged symmetrically about the extended axis of the bore of the gun barrel.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein two drum magazines are arranged symmetrically about the extended axis of the bore of the gun barrel.

5. Apparatus for automatically feeding and loading ammunition for a top-mounted gun constructed and arranged to operate substantially - as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.