GB601376A - Improved machine-gun or similar automatic fire-arm - Google Patents

Abstract

601,376. Automatic guns. ROBINSON, R. S. Oct. S, 1943, No. 16548. [Classes 92 (i) and 92 (ii)] An automatic gun fired during run-out, and in which the reactions on the gun frame during the firing cycle are smoothed out, comprises a barrel B, Fig. 2, which recoils against the action of a recuperator spring 2 that applies an uninterrupted rearward thrust to the gun frame throughout the whole of the recoil and run-out, the gun having a transversely-sliding breech block C, a cartridge-feed mechanism I and a spring-pressed rammer H which are timed to function within the period of uninterrupted recoil and run-out. In the form shown, the gun, Fig. 2, is in the run-out firing position, the recuperator spring 2 is connected with the barrel by a bell-crank lever 5, 6 and link 9 to equalize the spring force and the transverselysliding breech-block C is connected with the barrel by a bell-crank lever D the elbow 17 of which engages a cam groove 18 in the gun casing. The barrel-extension B<SP>1</SP> supports a pair of levers 47, 50 pivoted respectively at 48, 51 and connected by a tension spring 53. The lever 47 serves by its nose 49 to extract a live cartridge 39<SP>1</SP> from the belt on recoil thereby stressing the rammer 54 that presses against the cartridge the base of which is guided by a fixed cam 58 until the nose is turned to rest on the upper-shaped part of lever 50 which turns and guides the cartridge towards ' the gun chamber, Fig. 4. When a roller 59 on the Lever 47 eng ges a fixed cam surface 60, the nose 49 is di engaged from the cartridge which is then rammed into the chamber along the guide on lever 50 by the rammer 54. The barrel is then either retained in rear position by a sear E or, in the case of continuous fire with sear withdrawn, runs out towards the firing position shown in Fig. 6 in which the firing pin 23 is actuated by a tripping-lever 25. This lever, pivoted at 27, has a projection 28 engaging a surface 31 on the gun casing and a second projection 29 entering a recess 32 in the casing. On recoil, the projection 29 engages a surface 33 to retract the firing pin and the breech-block is lowered by the lover D engaging the cam groove 18. The cartridge belt is fed by a pawl on a feed-slide 34 that is reciprocated by engagement with a cam groove 37 on the barrel. The belt links 40<SP>1</SP> are supported in a stripping chamber 41 during extraction of a cartridge by the lever 47. The empty case is guided during ejection by the shaped undersurface of the lever 50.