US2367837A - Gun carrier - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 23, 1945. H. D. STEVENS GUN CARRIER Filed Aug. 20, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v"mm 3 V E T s D E C A R o H Jan. 23, 1945- H. D. STEVENS GUN CARRIER Filed Aug. 20, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 grwexrvtw HORACE. o. sravgns Patented Jan. 23, 1945 GUN CARRIER Horace D. Stevens, Akron, Ohio, assignor toThe Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application August 20, 1943, Serial No. 499,428

1 Claim.

This invention relates to. a self-propelled gun carriage, more specifically, a gun mounted for firing on a gun mount positioned on the body of a truck or tractor. For purposes of illustration the invention has been shown and described by reference to a 40 mm. anti-aircraft type gun mounted on a truck similar to those used for carrying troops. The truck may have as a driving means the usual wheels or, more preferably, will be provided with what is known as a half-track.

A sun of .this type is so mounted as to be elevated throughout a wide arc and also is capable of being rotated 360 in azimuth. Such a gun is fired rapidly and the empty cartridge cases are ejected so that they pass down a chute and radially from the gun mount at a relatively low elevation. In most mountings for these guns the empty cases are merely discharged onto the ground and. their disposal is not a concern for the gun crew. When the gun is mounted on a self-propelled gun carrier of this type, space is rather restricted and it is also desired to shield the gun crew and the gun itself to as great an extent as is practicable. To that end, a shielding of steel plate surrounds the gun and mount coming up to a height determined by the lowest depression of the gun itself -(about According to the present invention the body of the car.- rier and. the shieldin for the gun have been so constructedas to cooperate with the ejector chute of the gun to discharge all empty cartridg cases to a point outside the shielding and outside the body of the carrier.

This allows freedom of movement for the gun crew and prevents loading up of the body with empty cases, that being something which rapidly increases the weight to be transported in the event the gun is fired for any extended period of time, and also obviates any possibility of empty cases jamming the gun mount mechanism or otherwise interfering with its freedom of operation.

The gun carrier has also been constructed so that when being driven as when transporting the gun from one position to another, those sitting in the cab may be fully protected at the sides of the cab and also have benefit of a windshield, yet when the vehicle is stopped for firing, the windshield and other protectin elements at the side of the cab may be lowered so as not to interfere with depression and swinging of the gun itself.

These and other novel features of the gun carrier will be described by reference to the accompanying figures of drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a half-track gun carrier with the gun and other elements in position to be transported;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same mechanism illustrated in Fig, 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the gun carrier, the gun and mount being leftout thereby to simplify the view;

Fig. 4 is a section takenat the forward part of the body floor and at the back of the cab; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing slots and a chute for disposal of empty cartridge cases at the forward part of the carrier body.

Now referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a gun carrier has been illustrated in which the chassis includes a frame Ill, front wheels II and a halftrack generally indicated by numeral l2. This half-track has sprockets l3 and it one of which is a driving sprocket, a track member [5 and a, central supporting mechanism It. This member I6 has pivoting levers ll and it which carry bogies l9 and 29, respectively, by which, in combination with a guide roller 2 I, the track is maintained taut and is allowed to conform to the contour of the terrain over which the vehicle is driven. The vehicle is propelled by an internal combustion engine of the type employed in trucks and mounted at the forward end.

The vehicle is driven from a cab 22 having a seat 23, cab back 24 and doors 25, one of which is hinged at either side of the cab for entrance to or exit from the same. Each of the doors has hinged at its upper edge a plate 25, this plate, the sides of the cab and the cab back all being of steel of a type and of such thickness as to protect the driver and the other crew members from shrapnel, bomb fragments or fire from guns of smaller caliber. A windshield El is also hinged and is adapted to fold forwardly when desired.

When sides 25 and the windshield 27 are raised they may be locked in position. The windshield is notched at the center to provide a recess through which the gun barrel passes when it is in horizontal position as is the case when it is being transported.

The invention is not dependent upon employmerit of any particular gun or type of gun, but for illustrative purposes, a Bofors type gun and mount have been shown. Such a gun includes a breech mechanism 28, barrel 29, side frames 30 and an ejection chute which comprises a short, curved channelledelement 3| movable inside a longer and slightly larger channelled element 32. The chute 3| connects at the back end of the breech mechanism while the continuing part of the chute which is fixed to the upper or ovable part of the carriage on which side frames 30 are mounted extends down at an arc concentric with the center of trunnions 33 so that when the gun is elevated and depressed, the short curved part 3| of the chute will always guide ejected cases into the larger chute 32 so that the will slide along that chute and out at about the point 34. A detailed description of the gun will not be given here since it would serve no useful purpose and is available in U. S. Patent No. 2,103,670.

The carrier body has a floor 35, better shown in Figs. 4 and 5. This floor is below all parts of the upper or rotatable-portion of the gun mount, but is elevated from the frame high enough so as to clear the top of the half-track driving members and completely to overlie the same. The cab back 24 shields the gun crew as much as is possible from the front, while at the sides, shields 36 and 31 extend along with their top edge just high enough to be cleared by the gun parts adjacent thereto when the gun is depressed 5 and is rotated toward either side of the carrier. Likewise, a similar shield 38 extends across the rear portion of the carrier body.

While they would not be in position if the gun were being fired, bows 39, 46 and 4| may be attached to the side shielding members and are for the purpose of supporting a top of canvas or other protecting material.

When the gun is to be fired jacks 42 are lowered and adjusted to take the weight of the vehicle at that end. At the same time outriggers 43 are swung to the sides and are pegged into the ground to brace the vehicle against side thrust. The design and function of these jacks and outriggers are well known to those skilled in the art.

Inside the body there is space at the corners for clips of ammunition as illustrated at 44. It will be noted that the center line of the gun mount is slightly forward of the center of the body so that with a symmetrical arrangement for ammunition at the corners, quite a bit of space is available at the back of the body for extra cases of ammunition.

While they form no part of the present invention, machine guns 45 and 46 are fixed, one at either side of the 40 mm. gun.

The lower margins of the shielding members 36, 3'! and 38 are spaced from the floor 35 of the carrier a sufficient distance so that empty cases ejected toward any point along the sides or back of the body may easily pas through the elongated slot or opening thus left between these elements. It has been found that a space about 3 high serves very satisfactorily for 40 mm. cases. The end 3 of the ejection chute is slightly above the elongated openings, but these cases drop toward the floor soon after leaving the end of the chute and this difference of elevation is just about sufficient for ejected cases to pass through the opening either at the sides or the back. In the event they. strike the floor, of course, they slide along the floor and out the openings. If desired, the shielding may be spaced outwardly from the floor. The arrangement is such that the shell cases are projected laterally oi the vehicle and fall to the ground clear of the halftrack propelling mechanism.

In the event the gun is being fired when pointed forwardly of the carrier, or in that general direction, the empty cases will be ejected from chute 32 toward the cab back 24. To take care of those cases, a rectangular depression has been formed in the iioor 35 and the floor bent downwardly as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 to form an inclined plane or guiding surface 41. As shown in Fig. 5, cases ejected toward this rectangular depression or inclined chute will either pass through the opening as indicated by the arrows, or if they have sufiicient ener y to strike the cab back, will merely bound back and fall through the chute when they engage the inclined plane 41. In either case they fall to the ground between the half-track propelling mechanism of the carrier. If the empty cases strike the cab back between the sides of the rectangular chute and the slots beneath shields 36 or 31, they will strike that back which is a smooth metallic surface, at such an angle as to be deflected or to glance from the surface of the metal outwardly through the side openings. That is illustrated by the other arrows in Fig. 5. It can thus be seen that no matter in what direction the gun is fired, empty cases will be ejected radially to be disposed of as they pass through the elongated slots at the sides or back of the body, down the rectangular chute at the front, or if they strike between the rectangular opening and the sides of the body,

will be deflected to pass out through the elongated side slots.

The invention has been described by reference to a more or less specific disclosure of a preferred embodiment of the same, but that is not to be construed as limiting the invention other than as it is defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

In a self propelled gun carrier, the combination of a chassis including driven ground-engaging propelling means, a body having a floor and a cab at one end thereof, said floor completely overlying said propelling means, a gun and gun mount operatively mounted upon the body and arranged to swing through an arc of 360, said gun being adapted to eject empty cartridge cases outwardly and substantially horizontally from slightly above the floor ofsaid body, shielding mean for the gun and mount, which means includes the back of the cab and armour plate at the sides and back of the body, said armour plate being positioned somewhat above the floor of the body to enable cartridge cases ejected from the gun to pass outwardly between said floor and armour plate and fall to the ground clear of said propelling means, and a chute extending through the floor of the body centrally thereof and immediately behind the cab, for discharging empty cartridge cases from the carrier so that they fall to the ground between the propelling means.

HORACE D. STEVENS.

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