US2376726A

US2376726A - Automatic shoulder firearm adapted to be used in a carriage

Info

Publication number: US2376726A
Application number: US362261A
Authority: US
Inventors: Rossmanith Wolfgang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1938-11-08
Filing date: 1940-10-22
Publication date: 1945-05-22
Anticipated expiration: 1962-05-22

Description

May 22, 1945., w. ROSSMANITH 2,376,726

AUTOMATIC SHOULDER FIRE-ARM ADAPTED TO BE USED IN CARRIAGES Filed Oct. 22, 1940 III"IIIIIIIIIII'IIIIIIIIIIII llllwlllllltlll!!!)ll 11 1g @120 iii .LWl/T/To W Zf ang Poss manz'zl Afro/ 712 Patented May 22, 1945 AUTOMATIC SHOULDER FIREARM ADAPT- ED' TOBE USED IN- A- CARRIAGE Wolfgang Rossmanith, Solothurn', Switzerland; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Applicationoctober 22, 1940, Serial-No. 362,261

Iii-Germany November 8, 1938 1' Claim.

In automatic fire-arms with trigger deviceacting upon the striker of the closed breech, the inconvenience exists, that when the fire is inter rupted a cartridge is still in the barrel and unintentionally might be fired in the barrel which has become hot by the previous firing of the cartridges. For this reason it has already been proposed to provide a catching device adapted to catch and stop the breech block in therear extreme position. Thisbreech catch is held-during the firing in disengaged position and, when it is intended to stop thefiring, released so that it can engage and lock the breech blockreturning into its open position.

Trigger devices'acting upon the. striker have the advantage to ensure for singlefiring, that the fire-arm is steadily held in the aiming position. In the continuously firing arms, however, the breech rapidly moves forward as striking device from the rear cocked position. As soon as the breech block reaches the locking position the shot is fired and by the forward movement of the masses of the breech block in conjunction with the shock occurring when they are stopped the aimed single shot is disturbed.

Heretofore a transformation arrangement has been provided which admits of adjusting the trigger mechanism of the fire-armv to single or continuous firing and to make the same act" as striking device. in the first instance upon the striker and in the second instance upon the breech block. It has also already been proposed to arrange on the fire-arm two independent triggers of which one acts upon a catch for the cooked striker and the other upon a catch for the cooked breech block.

The invention relates to the difierent possible firing procedures of such fire-arms in relation to their object of use and employment, now as independent shoulder arm and then in a carriage. At the same time an adjustment of the arm from single-firing to continuous firing can be effected. In this manner it is possible for instance to employ the well known large-calibre tank gun, which from the shoulder and placed in a fork shaped support fires single shots, or as a machinegun in a carriage for aircraft defence.

By this invention the actual manner of firing is thus automatically imparted to those fire-arms, which are capable of carrying out different kinds of firing corresponding to their employment as shoulder arm or mounted in a carriage. Errors in the adjustment are excluded and the soldier himself need not trouble himself about carrying out the adjustment. The holding and trigger arrangements for the striker and breech block ofv the fire-arm may be made and constructed as desired. Of the known types of fire-arms those with two triggers independent the one from the other and also such which have only one trigger with transforming mechanism are suitable herefor.

A fire-arm according to the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a longitudinal section of a fire-arm in the operative position of the trigger arrangement destined for use as shoulder arm, the breech beingiclosed,

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the fire-arm used as mounted on a carriage, the breech being in the open position,

Figs. 3 and 4 are views, the one in longitudinal section and the other in cross-section, of a suitable special construction of a part-arrangement,

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view partly in elevation showing a modified form of breech catch actuating means.

. Inthe casing l of the fire-arm the breech block 2 is guided at firing in known manner sothat, when unbolted from the barrel 3, it can recoil inv opposition to a closing spring 22. During the recoil movement the striker 4, mounted in the breech-block 2 so that it can move in longitudinal direction and; controlled by a firing spring 4a,,is cocked by well-known means (not shown). A sear 5 biased by a spring 5a and oscillatably mounted in the breech block 2 engages in front of a nose 4b of the cooked striker 4, said trigger pawl 5 being adapted to be disengaged by a trigger device for firing a single shot.

In the present case the trigger device consists of a trigger tongue 8 oscillatable about a pin 6 in the trigger guard in opposition to a return spring I. A catch pawl 9 consisting of an elbow lever is pivotally mounted on said trigger tongue and one arm of this elbow lever is pressed by a spring 9a against a trigger rod I0 controlled by a spring I Do. One arm of the catch pawl 9 cooperates with a shoulder I01) of the trigger rod l0 and pushes this trigger rod upwards into the firing position when the trigger tongue 8 is pulled back. The sear 5 is thus brought out of the position in which it catches the cooked striker 4. When this position has been reached, the second arm of the elbow lever 9 abuts against a face la of the trigger guard. When the trigger movement continues, the arm of the elbow lever acting upon the trigger rod '0 slips off the shoulder I 01) of the trigger rod and this rod can return into the initial position under the pressure of its spring lfla. To again fire a shot the tongue 8 of the trigger must be released to return into the position of rest and then be pulled back. The trigger device operates therefore as single fire trigger and for the operation of the fire-arm as open-firing system.

Besides the single-firing trigger arrangement a breech catch is provided in the rear portion of the casing I of the fire-arm, said breech catch consisting of a catch pawl II for the breech block 2 oscillatable about a bolt [2 in the casing l and biased by a spring I3. When the fire-arm is to be used as shoulder arm for firing single shots, the catch pawl H for the breech block is disengaged and, as shown for instance in Figs. 1 and 2, secured in the inoperative position by an insertable pin 14 or by any other locking device adapted to be inserted by hand or automatically by a spring. A suitable construction of the last men-,

tioned type is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The breech catch H is shiftably mounted in a casing H3 in transverse guides lb on the bottom of the firearm. The shiftable casing i8 is biased by springs IS in a position in which the breech catch H is laterally displaced relative to the aperture lc in the bottom of the fire-arm.

If then the fire-arm is placed into a carriage 35 as diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 2 a pro jection [5 on the carriage or a similar element acts for engaging the trigger rod l and maintaining the same in the position in which the sear for the striker will be disengaged so that, when the breech block 2 moves into its extreme front position, a shot is fired. The interrupting effect of the single-firing trigger device therefore cannot occur. The controlling of the firing is then eifected by the breech block catch H, the catch face I la of which is oscillated by the spring l3 into the path of a catch notch 2a of the breech block 2 and by pulling out the pin M or, in the construction according to Figs. 3 and 4, automatically and positively by a stop 20 of the carriage, this stop 20 shifting the casing IS in lateral direction when the fire-arm is placed on the carriage, so that the breech catch l I catches the breech block 2 in the open position as striking device of the arm. The control of the breech catch H for shooting can be effected by a trigger lever 16 .mounted in the carriage, this lever being oscillatably mounted on a bolt ll of the carriage and. having an end 5a which disengages the breech catch ll, against the action of a spring l3, from the breech catch position when the end of its handle is depressed. As long as the trigger lever iii of the carriage is in engagement the arm fires continuously as repetition system, but when the trigger lever is released the breech is held in the rear extreme position by the breech catch I i.

In order that in special cases single shots can also be fired with the fire-arm mounted in a carriage, the projection I5 of the carriage can be made adjustable, so that it can be pushed out of the normal position in which it acts upon the trigger rod II] as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The fire-arm can then be used by means of the trigger 8 for firing single shots.

Thus the fire-arm maybe used selectively as semi-automatic firearm upon firing from the shoulder or as fully automatic firearm mounted in a carriage. Herefrom results for the different technical employment a much desired simplification of the fire-arm system. A largecalibre shoulder arm for tank defence operating as a single-firing arm can serve, preferably by addition of a breech catch, as machine gun mounted in a carriage. As a modification of the above described embodiment, in which this breech catch is provided on the fire-arm itself, it is sometimes more practical to mount the breech catch on the carriage. The catch then engages, for the cooperation with the breech, into an opening in the fire-arm mounted on the carriage, this opening being normally closed. Thus in Fig; 5 thelever I6 and breech catch H are mounted On the gun carriage, the catch ll operating through an opening 3i, in the casing I, whichmay be closed by a slide 32.

I claim:

In a device of the character described a gun carriage, a gun mounted thereon, said gun having a breech block casing, a breech block movable in said casing, a sear on said breech block, a trigger rod slidably mounted in said casing and movable to engage and operate said sear, a trigger adapted to move said rod, said rod extending outside said casing, and means on said carriage for holding said rod in position to operate said sear, said last named means being movable into a position out of engagement with said rod.

WOLFGANG ROSSMANITl- I.