US2137612A

US2137612A - Machine gun and automatic small arms

Info

Publication number: US2137612A
Application number: US140614A
Authority: US
Inventors: Higson Percy Reuben
Original assignee: Vickers Armstrongs Ltd
Current assignee: Vinters Armstrongs Ltd
Priority date: 1936-05-13
Filing date: 1937-05-04
Publication date: 1938-11-22
Anticipated expiration: 1955-11-22
Also published as: FR821353A; CH201657A; BE421351A; GB476685A; GB477082A

Description

NOV. 1938. p R HIGSQN 2,137,612

MACHINE GUN AND AUTOMATIC SMALL ARM Filed May 4, 1937' 3Sheets-Sheet'l INVENTOR PERCY REL/BEN HIGSON Filed May 4, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 5 5 m a H W N m U A 5 4 Nov. 22, 1938. P. R. HIGSON 2,137,612

MACHINE GUN AND AUTOMATIC SMALL ARM Filed May 4, 19:57 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 rw v INVENT QR PERCY REUBEN H IGSON ATTORNEV5 1 Patented Nov. 22, 1938 j: Y

omen srA'rEs PATEN other to Vickers-Annstrong Limited, Westminster, England, a British company Application May 4, 1937, Serial No. 140,614 In Great Britain May 13, 1936 This invention relates to machine guns and enable the breech body and the barrel in operaautomatic small arms and especially to machine tion to be locked together firmly but in a-quickly guns of the gas operated type and intended more releasable manner, the rearwardly projecting particularly for use in tanks. extremity ofzthe barrel entering a recess in the The-chief object of the invention is to evolve breech body; I I 5 a construction of'machine gun or automatic small In Figures 1, 2-and .3, the left hand barrel is arm in whichbarrel change is facilitated whereby shown in operation and with this arrangement a cool barrel may be quickly brought into operawhen it is desired to change .over from one barrel tion in substitution for one which has become to the other, theloc'king bolt "or nut is first rehot or otherwise temporarily or permanently leased, thus enablingthe breech body to be com- All rendered unfit for use, and in which the opera pletely removed from the rearwardly projecting tion of changing from one barrel to another can extremity 'of the one barrel and placed in posibe effected within a confined space as for example tion upon the extremity of the adjacent barrel,

within a tank. 7 I the locking bolt or nut being then tightened to zmachine gun or automatic small arm consecure the parts firmly together. 15. structed in accordance with the invention in- In the modified arrangement illustrated by cludes aplurality of barrels in combination with a Figures 4 to 7, the barrels 9, two of which are single common breech mechanism, the breech preferably provided, are movable relatively to the body or barrels or both being relatively movable breech body l0, and also relatively to a common to enable any one of the barrels to be brought gas cylinder H, the barrels being partially rotat- 20 into operation at one time. able as a whole within the mounting l2 so that In order that the invention may be clearly either may be brought into register with the understood and readily carried into efiect, the breech mechanism as required. same will now be more fully described with refer- With this arrangement the breech body I0, ence to the accompanying drawings, in which:- gas cylinder II and its associated piston are 25 Figure 1 represents in side elevation the barsecured to the gimbal or other mounting l2, the rels, mounting and a portion of the breech mechbarrels 9 being carried by a partially rotatable anism of a machine gun constructed in accordblock l3 spigoted on a projection forming part ance with the invention. of the gun casing and cylinder and at the front Figure 2 is a view of the gun looking from the end to an armoured disc M which spigots on the 30 rear. front end of the gimbal.

Figure 3 is a plan view. The barrels have independent gas blocks l5, Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical section illusheld together by means of an extension ll of the trating a modified construction. gas cylinder, and arranged so as to compensate Figure 5 is a transverse section on the line for the longitudinal expansion or contraction of 35 A--B in Figure 4. the individual barrels. Each barrel 9 has a port Figure 6 is a rear elevation of the mounting l6 communicating with the gas block port I8, shown in Figure 4, the breech mechanism having and which only aligns with the cylinder port I1,

been removed, and when that particular barrel is in position for fir- Figure 7 is a side elevation, the breech mechaing. The barrel out of use has its gas port 40 nism being again omitted. blanked off. The partially rotatable block l3 In the construction illustrated by Figures 1 carrying the barrels is adapted to be locked in to 3, the machine gun or automatic small arm ineither of its terminal positions by means of a eludes two barrels l disposed side by side and spring urged catch I9 (see Figures 6 and 7) carried by a gimbal, ball, or similar part of a adapted to enter either of two holes or recesses 45 mounting 2, a gas cylinder 3 and gas block 4 20 (only one of which is shown, the other hole being associated with each barrel and arranged being engaged by the catch) formed in the beneath in the usual manner. The breech body mounting I2 adjacent each terminal position, the 5 is so arranged that it can be moved out of catch I!) being carried by an arm or lever 21 register with the one barrel and into register with secured to the block l2 and by which the latter 50 the other barrel when it is necessary to change may be rotated, the barrels being rotatable over, the rearwardly projecting part 6 of each throughout an angle of 90 or as required. Each barrel having locking teeth or projections I for barrel 9 projects rearwardly of the block I2, the co-operating with corresponding parts of a lockrearwardly projecting extremities 22 of the baring nut or bolt 8 carried by the breech body to rels having teeth or projections 23 adapted to 55 engage corresponding teeth or projections in the breech body I!) when their associated barrel is in its operative position.

In operation, it is merely necessary when changing from one barrel to the other to disengage the spring urged catch on the mounting and rotate the barrels throughout the necessary angle, the spring urged catch being thus engaged with the remaining hole or recess in the mount: ing, the projections or teeth on the rearwardly projecting parts of the barrel to be brought into operation automatically co-operating with the corresponding teeth or projections in the breech body. The rotational movement of the gas block relative to the fixed gas cylinder when bringing a fresh barrel into operation automatically closes the port to the old barrel and at the same time opens the port to the newpne.

As hereinbefore stated, the invention is particularly suitable for use in connection with guns which are intended for use in tanks or other confined spaces where the barrel itself is'not easily accessible and consequently could not easily be removed from the mounting and exchanged.

What I claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:--

1. A machine gun or automatic small arm of the gas operated type comprising a mounting, a plurality of barrels, a breech body and gas cylinder common to all of said barrels, said barrels being revolubly mounted within said mounting about the axis of said gas cylinder so as to bring any one of said barrels individually into register with said breech body and into communication with said gas cylinder, a gas block associated with each barrel and having a gas port communicating with its associated barrel and adapted to register with a further port in said gas cylinder when its associated barrel is in the firing position in which it' registers with the breech body.

2. A machine gun or automatic small arm of the gas operated type comprising a mounting, a plurality of barrels, a breech body and gas cylinder common to all of said barrels, said barrels being revolubly mounted within said mounting about the axis of said gas cylinder so as to bring any one of said barrels individually into register with said breech body and into communication with said gas cylinder, a separate gas block associated with each barrel and having a port for connecting its associated barrel when in the firing position with said gas cylinder, the gas blocks of all the barrels being loosely connected together to allow of longitudinal expansion of the individual barrels.

3. A machine gun or automatic small arm of the gas operated type comprising a mounting, a plurality of barrels, a breech body and gas cylinder common to all of said barrels, said barrels being revolubly mounted within said mounting about the axis of said gas cylinder so as to bring any one of said barrels individually into register.

with said breech body and into communication with said gas cylinder, means for rotating said barrels to bring any one of said barrels into register with said breech body, and teeth on each ofpsaid barrels co-operating with correspondingly' shaped teeth on said breech body for maintaining each respective barrel in operative relationship with said breech body when desired.

PERCY REUBEN HIGSON.