US2458956A - Gun mounting - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 11, 1949. L. MQTLEY 2,458,956

GUN MOUNT ING Filed July 16, 1945 6 Sl'aeets-Sheetl l Jan.- 11, 1949.

y L. MoTLr-:Y

GUN MOUNTING Filed July 1e, `194? y 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 237 we ivf",

L. MOTLEY GUN MOUNTING Jan. 11, 1949.

6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 16, 1945 Jan. 11, 1949. L. MoTLEY 2,458,956'

GUN MOUNTING Filed July 16, 194:5 e Sheets-sheet 4 Jan. 11, 1949. 1 M01-LEY v 2,458,956

GUN MQUNT ING Filed July 16, 1945 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jan. 11, 1949.

L.. MOTLEY GUN MOUNTING- 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed July 16, 1945 Patented Jan. 11, 1949 UNITED STATES 'Ti-ENT OFFlCE Application .July .16, 1943, .Serial No. 494,992 In Great Britain June 2.6, 19.42

3 Claims.

1 This invention relates .to gun mountings, particularly vbut lnot exclusively for rapid nre guns and -guns for antiaircraft purposes. The object of the invention is Vthe provision of van improved gun mounting which will enable the gunner to he ,fully protected by armour.

In accordance with the invention the mounting .is of the kind in which the gun is pivotally .mounted for elevationona supporting unit which in turn .is rotatably mounted for traverse on a relatively viixed base, the movement of the gun for elevation being effected, through lthe medium of a suitable transmission, by means of a handle mounted on said supporting unit, and the invention resides in the arrangement that the relatively ,nxed base takes 4the form of an armoured chamber and Vthe supporting unit is mounted on the roof :of said armoured chamber at or in an opening in :said roof whereby the :actuation of the handle for elevation and Athe rotation of the supporting unit for Vtraverse are both effected from within said chamber.

,In order that the invention may be the more clearly understood certain gun mountings in accordance therewith will now ,be described, reference being :made to the accompanying drawings 'wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation, shown partly in section, .of amounting in accordance with the 'invention for twin guns, the guns -being shown elevated atan angle of about 45.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the same to a somewhat larger scale, the guns being horizontal.

Figure 3 is a plan of the same scale as Figure 2, `with the yguns .again horizontal.

Figure 4 'is a side elevation shown largely in section of a `mounting v'in accordance with Ithe invention, the gun being elevated `at an angle of vover 45.

Figure 5 is an enlarged vsection `on line A--Bof :Figure-4.

Figure .6 -is a Jfront elevation of Figure 4, with the gun horizontal.

Figure '7 is a plan ci `'the same with the ygun horizontal, part of the top hamper being reaontal axis .'X-JX for elevation, on a .member 3 which extends, as shown, upwardly yand rearwardly from the upper end lof a vertical ytubular shaft ll which passes down through the said roof ,l Aof the .tank land has its lower end just inside the ltank as shown. rThis tubular shaft is rotatable about its axis for traverse of the guns. .The rotation of said tubular shaft for ,traverse .and also rthe rotation of the guns about the axis X--X for elevation :are both effected from inside the tank as will hereinafter appear, and lthus the gunner is protected by the tank ar- 4mour.

The transmission for rotation oi the guns in elevation icomprises an axially movable rod 5 vpassing through the tubular shaft .4 and having rack teeth .6 formed at its upper projecting portion, a ,pinion 'l mounted `on .the part 3 and in mesh with said rack teeth, a toothed quadrant `8 rigid on the shaft of said pinion 1, a pinion S also mounted on the part 3 and in mesh with said toothed quadrant, and a toothed quadrant IB also mounted on the part 3 coaxial with the axis X--X and rigid with the Atwo guns. Thus as the rod 5 rmoves upwardly the guns are depressed, and as said rod moves downwardly .said guns are elevated.

For moving the rod 5 up Yand down in the tubular shaft 4 the lower projecting end Iof said rod is formed with rack .teeth Il, and a pinion I2 rotatably mounted, about a horizontal axis Vparallel to thatof the pinion l, between two parallel lugs i3 which are rigid on the lower lend ,of :the 'tubular shaft 4, is in -mesh with said .rack teeth H. The shaft of this pinion yI2 has mounted -on its two ends which project beyond Vthe vlugs I3 Itwo hand levers-I4 which are ada-pt ed to be held in the Atwo hands of the gunner. -By means of these handles ld the pinion l2 is ,adapted to .be rotated, the rod 5 moved up and down, and the ,-guns 2 accordingly vmoved ,in elevation. if the pinions Yl2 and .l are made equal in size, and ii .the quadrants 8 and l' vare lalso made equal iin size, the angles of movement of fthe vhand levers i4 about 'the axis oi the pinion t2 will be equal Ato the angles oi movement ot ,the'gun in elevation.

It will be seen thatthe hand levers lll serve to move the gun in traverse as well as in elevation, since if the levers are moved around the vertical axis of the shaft Ll, said shaft d, and therefore the part 3 and the guns, will rotate in lone piece with rsaid hand levers .about said axis.

In construction it will be seen that the mem ber ..3 .has a short tubular bottom por-tion which is clamped von to the upper 'end of the tubular shaft 4 by means of a clamping device I5. The portion of the tubular shaft 4 extending downwardly from the member 3 passes coaxially through a. xed supporting column I6 which is rigidly mounted on the roof I of the tank over the hole I1 through which said shaft passes and which is provided with journal 'bearings for said shaft as will be clear from the drawing. The down thrust is taken by the bottom portion of the member 3 resting on the top of said support ing column.

It will be seen that the member 3 extends iirst' upwardly and then rearwardly from its bottom tubular portion and is hollowed for the accommodation of the upper end of the rod 5 and also for the pinion 1. The quadrant 8, pinion 9 and quadrant I are all mounted on one side of said member 3 as will be. clear from the drawings. The quadrant I0, which rigidly supports the guns and all the parts that move with them, is pivotally mounted on the part 3 by means of a heavy pivot pin which passes through a boss I8 on said part 3.

For securing the guns to the quadrant I0 the latter is formed with a rearward plate extension I9 whereby it is rigidly secured, in a manner which will be sufficiently understood from the drawings, to a strong tubular longitudinal frame member 2B extending fore and aft parallel to the guns. The frame member 20 at its forward end supports a transverse tubular frame member 2|, and, near its rear end a similar transverse frame member 22. The frame member 2l carries two forward xtures 23 to mate with corresponding forward ttings of the respective guns, and the frame member 22 carries two rear fixtures 24 to mate with corresponding rear fittings of the respective guns.

The mounting is provided with a fore sight 25 and a rear sight 26 mounted respectively on the frame members 2I and 22. The gunner is enabled to observe these sights through a slot or slots formed in the roof of the tank. The guns are particularly intended to operate against aircraft and therefore the gunner, while remaining in the tank, will be able to place his eye in the line of the sights.

The ring of the guns is effected by means of triggers 21 mounted on the respective handles I 4 through the medium of respective Bowden wires 28 passing up through small slots in the rod as shown. The frame 20 at its rear extremity has a transverse frame member 29 rigidly mounted on it, and this frame member 29 carries a centre bracket 30 and two end brackets 3I whereby two coaxial transverse rocking shafts 32 are supported. Adjacent the centre bracket 3U each rocking shaft has a downwardly depending arm 33 rigidly mounted on it, and, beyond the end brackets 3I, each rocking shaft has an arm 34 rigidly mounted on it. The Bowden wires 28 are respectively connected to the arms 33, and when either Bowden wire is tensioned by the respective trigger 21 the respective rocking shaft 32 is rocked and the respective arms 34 operate to nre the respective gun. Each gun continues to nre as long as its respective trigger is actuated.

It will be seen that, in construction, the securement of the hand levers I4 to the projecting ends of the shaft of the pinion i2 is effected through the medium of two collars 35 which are secured on the ends of said shaft and have quadrant plates 36 attached to them in a plane at right angles to that of the pinion. The hand levers I4 have bifurcated ends, and each bifurcated end straddles a respective quadrant plate 36 and is pivoted to it by means of a pivot 31 concentric with the quadrant arc. Notches are provided on the quadrant edge as shown and the hand levers I4 are provided with spring loaded catches which engage in said notches to retain the hand levers in xed relationship to the quadrants. While in use the hand levers are secured in the conveniently spread position illustrated in Figure 2. When not in use they are raised to the horizontal position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 at which they are out of the way near .to the roof of the tank.

When the guns are not in use the mounting is adapted to be parked with the guns horizontal and pointing forwardly as shown in Figures 2 and 3. In this position an arm 38 which is pivoted at one end to the base of the xed column I6, and which has manually releasable spring jaws 39 at its other end as shown, can be raised from the out-of-the-way horizontal position indicated in dotted lines to the position shown in full lines in Figure 1 where its jaws engage and retain the centre of the frame member 2|.

Referring lnow to Figures 4 to 8 the gun 40, which is an anti-aircraft gun, is pivotally mounted about an axis Y--Y for movement in elevation, on the top of a pedestal part 4I which, at its bottom end, is rotatably mounted about a vertical axis for movement in traverse on the roof 42 of a fixed armoured chamber which forms a protective housing for the gunner.

The gunner, lwithin this armoured chamber, sits on a bucket type of seat 43 which is suspended rigidly from said pedestal part 4I and thus, for effecting movement of the gun in traverse, the gunner simply swivels himself and his seat and thereby swivels the pedestal part 4| and the gun 40 which is mounted thereon. For eiecting movement of the gun in elevation, a transmission mechanism is provided extending between the gun on the one hand and two handles 44 for the gunner on the other, by movement of which handles relative to the seat structure and pedestal part 4I the gun is elevated and depressed. Means are provided whereby, by depression of a trigger on one of said handles 44, the gun is red. The gun is of the automatic type which continues firing so long as the trigger is depressed.

To enable the gunner to sight the gun on the target his head extends up, as shown in Figure 4, through the roof 42 of the armoured chamber into the hollow lower portion of the pedestal part 4I. This lower portion of the pedestal part is armoured for the protection of the gunners head and the armour includes a thick pane 45 of toughened glass immediately in front of the gunners face. Located suitably in the gunners line of vision are back and fore sights 46 and 41 mounted on a frame 48 which, at its rear end, is pivoted at 49 on each side of the pedestal part 4I so as to rotate about an axis parallel to the elevation axis Y-Y of the gun, and which is linked, by means of links 5U, to the gun cradle 5I so as to move with the sights always in a line parallel to the gun.

In construction the pedestal part 4I consists primarily of two upstanding side plates 4Ia in the form each of a right angled triangle with its shortest edge horizontal and underneath and its sloping edge forwards as best shown in Figure 4. These side plates each extend vertically upwards to the line 9:, then slope towards one another to the line y andythen' again extend vertically `up wards to theirxapexesggand: the upper portions assunse 'of said side plates Ma -carry bearings vfor the trunnions .of the .gun .cradle 5l whereby the .latter rotates about the axis Y-Y. .Armour plate lfb extends between the back edges of said 'two .side plates die up to the level .shown .in Figure 4, .and armour plate lc extends between .the Jfront'edges of said .two side plates lila upto the level -iof ithe lines y. The glass pane 45 is. as shown, let linto the'armourplate Mc.

At their .lower ends the four plates Ma, A-l'b, 41e forming the `.pedestal part 41 are rigidly secured to .a .horizontal bearing .ring '52 lying within their connues, :by means of Vangle pieces 5?, Iandth'is bearing ring bears rotatably, through the medium .of a ball race 5d, on a base ring '55 'which Iis .mounted around an opening .in ythe roof 42 of the :armoured chamber. Thus .said pedestal part VVAcan swivel very freely for traverse on Athe .roof 422 and ithe gunner can project his head `into the armoured space in the lower portion of said pedestal part.

For rigidly suspending the seat i3 from the .pedestal lpartiti the two side angle pieces 53 are 'each made integral with a downwardly depend-ing vertical socket 5G (Figure 5), and, into these sockets '56, are inserted the upwardly projecting ends of a tubular frame structure 51 which supports the `'seat fas will be clear from the drawing. vSaid upwardly projecting 'ends of the frame structure i `are secured in said sockets 56 by means of .a

'transverse pin '53. The seat also has .aback portion '59 vwhich extends upwardly and rests .freely against the inside of the bearing ring 42.

The aforesaid 4transmission mechanism for -eiiiecting movement of the gun in elevation consists lof two parallel transmission trains vfro'mthe two aforesaid handles '4 to the two respective trunnions of -t-he gun cradle 5i. Each of these transmission trains comprises an upper pinion -60 rigidly mounted on the respective trunnion .on

which is integral with the angle piece 53, .socket `56 and lugs 52, .and an upper bearing 5.5 which is mountedon the side plate Mu. It will .be seen that reach rack EE throughout the major part of its length lies within lthe armoured chamber and the pedestal part lll. Towards its upper extremity it passes through a hole S6 in the sloping ypart of the vplate lila. The bearing 565 is on the -outside of said plate da. It will be seen that, as the handles '44 are pulled downwardly, the racks 'B3 will move upwardly and the gun will 'be depressed. Conversely when the handles are pushed 'upwardly Vthe Agun will vbe elevated. By making the pinions i613 'and ffi of the same size the angular movements of the gun will always be the same as the angular movements oi the handles.

IThe iiring of 'the gun is effected by means of a `trigger 'Si pivoted on one .ofthe handles i4 and .connected through a Bowden wire 68 (shown broken away in Figure 4) 'with the ihu'ng mechanism of the gun. The reference 68a designates a counterweight for balancing the gun.

The armoured chamber is, as shown, roughly in the form oi a truncated pyramid, having a rela tively small flat roof 42 and expanding towards the :ground .so .as to form room rfor the legs vand feet rolf the gunner. .In .the :ar-rangementr shown the ilat roof 42 is square 'and 'is supported at its flour `corners :by four massive tubular legs B9 which incline outwardly towards vthe :ground and terminate in feet 'l0 which are vertically .adjustable to admit of mounting on uneven ground `with the llatroof 42 level. The chamber is :completed as shown by 'four truncated triangular sheets oi armour 'lil mounted on these four legs by means of screws 12. This .side armour will .afford unite adequate protectionwithout extending 'right down tothe ground.

Figure 9 .shows the .manner in which .the legs 69 are secured to the corners of the flat roof d2. Thus ratieac-h corner the .ilat roof has a split tubular socket i3, secured on its under `side and .in these .sockets the horizontally bent upper vends of the legs 69 t. Each socket 13 is adapted to be tightened on the vend of the respective leg 69 by means of a screw I4 'and in addition a transverse pin l5 is provided adapted :to transf-ix the socket and leg as shown.

When the Igun mounting is to be transported, the side larmour 'H is removed from the legs Iby unscrewing the vscrews 12; the legs 69 are removed from the dat roof vr4.2 by unscrewing the screws 'lil :and removing the pins l5, and the seat structure is removed by taking out the pins 53. The flat roof 42 is then mountedby means of .an opposite pair Iof Ithe sockets 13 on two tubular legs "i6 bearing road wheels "l1 at their :lower ends. A third one vof the tubular ysockets "i3 has a straight horizontal tubular coupling rod i8 clamped in yit whose other :end :is adapted to be` coupled vat l5 to a vtowing vehicle. To ensure that the legs 7S shall remain ,rigidly in place, they and :the :cou-

pling rod T8 'are provided with tments Si) .for

links 8l whereby .said legs 1.6 are linked to said coupling .rod 18. The pedestal .part 4l and gun lill are then swung round the traverse axis until the gun `faces diametrically oppositely to the link member 18, :and the gun is turned about its velevation axis until Ait is horizontal at :the position .illustrated in Figure 8. At vthis position the .gun .is lixed `by means of a tubular parking member clamped at one end in the remaining socket 7.3 yand secured :at its other end to the -gun as shown fin Figure 8. It will be seen that except that the foot "I9 `has been replaced by a fastening ydevice 83 :this parking member may be the same as one of the legs 69.

In -this way the gun mounting ycan .be safely 'transported Iwith ease over relatively rough ground, the removed side armour "H, legs te and the seat structure being lstowed in the towing vehicle.

It w-ill be obvious that the gun lmounting illustrated Iin Figures 4 toil vcould be mounted on a tank or armoured 'ear instead of on the lfixed armoured chamber. Thus -the flat roof 'k12 would become the roof -of the tank and 'the gunners seat 43 would vbe vsuspended down into the tank f geary train between ythe handles 44 (which could bedesigned to make several rotations)r andthe rack 63 so as to increase this mechanical ativan# tage still further.

` Again theseat 43 couldbe dispensedwith'so l .f

' including a main armored chamber provided with f a roof having an opening therein kof a size v,at

that the gunner stands` Within the armoured f chamber.; lIn this kcase he could rock the pedestal part 4l either bymoving the handles 44 bodily roundwith said pedestal. part or through the mediurnoi gearing as just described.

considerable' mechanical advantage in; movingy It may also be found preferable ,to locate the;

elevating axis Y-Y vertically over the traverse vaxis A-B Obviouslyinstead of one guntwc or moreguns movingas a unit couldbe employed. What lI jclaim randdesire to secure by Letters Patentisz 1.. Ink a gun-mounting of the class described, Iincludingv amain armored chamber provided with a roof having an opening therein of a size atleast y suiiicently large tok accommodate the ,passage of v the head of agunner therethrough, an auxiliary head-protecting armored chamber mounted 2 on the roof oi the main armored chamber over the z`vopening aforesaidk and freely rotatable bodily relative thereto, said auxiliary chamber havingr l control; members disposed within the main chamber in spaced relation to eachother and respecte f f tively geared to the rack members of the parallel 'transmission' trains, said hand-kcontrol members" being mounted on the auxiliary ychamber for f bodily movement, therewith. s

3. Iny a gun mountingof the class described,

least suihciently large to accommodate'the pas-- sage of the head of a gunnertherethrougnl an auxiliary headprotecting armored chamber f mounted on the roof of the main armored chamber over the vopening aforesaid and freely rotaty ber having provision for pivotally mounting a gun thereon formovement inelevationrelatlve able bodily relativethereto, said auxiliary chamthereto about aL horizontal axis, withthe vgun y kdisposed wholly :outside of both armored chambers, and said gunlrleing also: freely movable in traverse :about `a vertical axis responsive to rota tion .of the auxiliary chamber, the combination of transmission means extending Llironrthe gun toa point outsideof the auxiliary chamber and provision for pivotally mounting a gun thereon* l y yiormovement in elevation relative thereto about a horizontal axis, with the gun kdisposed Wholly outside of `both armored chambers, and said gun v, beingalso kfreely movable in traverse about a:

vertical axis responsive tol rotation of the; aux- :iliary chamber, the combination of transmission v means kextending trom the gun to a point outside of theauxiliarychamber andaccessible to the gunner` from withinthe mainvarmored chamber on opposite sides of the latter, and a pair of hand# vcontrol members disposed within the main chamber in spaced relation to each other and respetav vtively geared tothe rack members of the parallel for adjusting the gun in elevaton,sad trans mission means comprising a longitudinally shiftable rack member geared at the outside of the auxiliary chamber to the gun, at one end, and a hand-control member disposed within the main armored chamber and geared to the rack member at its other end, said hand-control member being mounted on the auxiliary chamber for bodily movement therewith.

2. In a gun mounting of the class described, including a main armored chamber provided with a roof having an opening therein of a size at least suiciently large to accommodate the passage of the head of a gunner therethrough, an auxiliary head-protecting armored chamber mounted on the roof of the main armored chamber over the opening aforesaid and freely rotatalble bodily relative thereto, said auxiliary chamber having provision for pvotally mounting a gun thereon for movement in elevation relative thereto about a horizontal axis, with the gun disposed wholly outside of both armored chambers, and said gun being also freely movable in traverse about a vertical axis responsive to rotation of the auxiliary chamber, the combination of transmission means extending from the gun to a point outside of the auxiliary chamber and accessible to the gunner from within thev main armored chamber for adjusting the gun in elevation, said transmission means comprising two parallel transmission trains, each including a longitudinally shiftable rack member geared to the gun at the outside of the auxiliary chamber on opposite sides of the latter, and a pair of handaccessible to the gunner fromwithin themain armored chamber for adjusting thegun. in velevaton, said transmission means comprisingtwo parallel transmission trains, each including ai longitudinally shi'ftable l rack mernbfn' geared to the gun at the. outside of the auxiliary chamber transmission trains, said hand-control members comprising handlevers pivotally mounted on the i auxiliary chamber and bodily movablewth'the auxiliary chamber for vadjusting the gun in traverse, and said transmission trains'being cperable by pivotal movement of the hand levers for adjusting the gun in elevation.

LEWIS MOTLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th file of this patent: l

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,333,446 Ross Mar. 9, 1920 1,371,891 Haller Mar. 15, 1921 1,376,793 Becker May 3, 1921 1,481,469 Krammer Jan. 22, 1924 1,700,902 Le Prieur Feb. 5, 1929 1,865,882 Palmer July 5, 1932 2,016,292 Rarey Oct. 8, 1935 2,029,692 Zindel Feb. 4, 1936 2,066,326 Brett et al Jan. 5, 1937 2,237,833 Lanciani Apr. 8, 1941 2,370,148 Colby Feb. 27, 1945 2,370,585 Scott Feb. 27, 1945 2,380,289 Burnelli July 10, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 798,595 France Mar. 10, 1936 155,807 Switzerland Sept. 16, 1932 213,631 Switzerland June 3, 1941 438,717 Great Britain Dec. 14, 1934 448,250 Great Britain June 4, 1936 354,652 Italy Dec. 1, 1937 346,460 Italy Feb. 16, 1937

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