US2476479A - Tank-wall grenade mounting - Google Patents

Description

y 1949- D. L. BRACK 2,476,479

TANK-WALL GRENADE MOUNTING Filed April 16, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l Definis L BrucK 51m; new A July 19, 1949. D. 1.. BRACK 2,475,479

TANK-WALL GRENADE MOUNTING Filed April 16, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f-Ilnnia L. Eur-ask Patented July 19, 1949 ES'i lIAT -S :ZI Z9 E fANK-WAQ 'Q APEMQE NT ENQ 'l fil k s LL-131301, For rth assie n rio but,

d sta meripaa scrrssaua et sf fisq aim -This invention-relates toiznprovements in combe depressed sufficiently to'ebear upon targets of this nature. Eurthermoraethenecessity-=for-deltermining a-.the precise ..loea.tion mof unmounted eenemy. nersonnelahout .the :tank. oftenpleads to i ll=advised. uncovering ef.-.a .guarded portion such tank thereb-yexpesingithe.crewtdenemy fire.

nature,.-.turrets have beensinstalled in tanks to turret about 9 seconds to turn 180 from a dead stop, time enough for a successful attack to be completed even supposing that the turret machine gun could be brought to bear on the attacker at all. Moreover, a tank is helpless against simultaneous attack from opposite directions at short range. Obviously some method of discouraging or beating down such attacks is of great necessity.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to devise a method to prevent or subdue close-in attacks against an armored vehicle without requiring exposure of the crew to enemy fire.

It is a particular object of this invention to provide means for rotating an armed grenade from the interior of a tank to the exterior thereof where such grenade is detonated in a con- Ventional manner.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the ball of the invention with a grenade mounted therein;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the ball mounted in the armor plate of a combat vehicle;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the ball mounted in the armor plate of a combat vehicle showing the two positions in which the ball may be secured;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 44 in Fig. 2;

In an attempt to prevent attacks of such close 55 bracket l3.

fil -552. i 2 Fig. :5 is tan exploded view showing .how the handle is secured-to the;ball; and

'*Fig.'l:6 isa bross-sectionaliview taken .along lines @6 6 of Fig. 3. y

1, The invention esseritiallycomprises a spherical .ball 2 tor carrying anti-personnel grenades -.3 and adapted for mountingflin the armor-plated of a .cdmbat vehicle. :Q'ppositeIy disposed, holflowed-out rece ses 5 are provided in .ba1l-2 of ll) s'ufiicientdepthi to allow-mounting ofg're'nades thereinlwithoutsucn grenades projecting beyond the-outer peripherynf ball-2. Such-requirement, of course, should leave awall btween recesses-5 equal to or greater than the thickness of ithe .15 .armor plated o'fvthecombatvehicle as shown iniFig. 3, in order to ihsureadequate protection against i the .rletonatioh of grenade 3. Recesss :51 are ..provided LWi-th'Tl'fioOr surfaces 6 having a .threaded -.stud-:-1:..thereon suitable for mounting a 20 grenade 3. Othersmeans fmay of course be uti- --lized for mounting-the grenadeand still be with- .in thescopeofthisinvention.

As shown in Fig. 5, ball 2 is provided with a handle 8 having an extension 9 by which such 5 handle is threadably secured within ball 2. Handle 8 provides leverage for revolving ball 2 in the desired direction. Ball 2 is also provided with oppositely disposed mounting pins H] in axial alignment with one another adapted for rotat- 0 able mounting within armor plate 4. When ball 2 has been inserted Within a suitable cavity in armor plate 4 with pins Ill fitting within semicircular recesses therein, a T-shaped insert II also provided with a semi-circular recess similar 35 to that in armor plate 4, is bolted as at l2 to armor plate ii over pins it thereby assuring free but non-tilting rotation of ball 2.

Spring brackets I3 are provided for securing handle 8 in either of two positions as shown in 0 Fig. 3 and are secured to armor plate 4 as by the threaded studs 1 previously mentioned, preferably immediately prior to going into such action as may possibly warrant their use. When it is believed that enemy personnel are within close range of the armored vehicle or in actual contact 0 therewith, the grenade 3 in the interior of the vehicle is armed by pulling the pin in the conventional manner. Then handle 8 is released from spring bracket [3 and ball 2 is revolved until handle 8 snaps into the other and opposite spring Thus grenade 3 is rotated to the a th it s exterior of the vehicle where after the conventional few seconds delay, such grenade detonates. The force of the explosion is obviously directed outwardly away from the armored vehicle and armor plate 4 thereof prevents any possible injury to the occupants. As grenade 3 is rotated as described, the other recess 5 is at the same time rotated into the interior of the vehicle whereupon another grenade may be mounted in such recess in a manner previously explained.

It should be also noted that the close fit of ball 2 with the surrounding sections of the armorplated walls serves to prevent any enemy from interfering with the rotation of ball 2 by a bayonet blade for example. Moreover, ball 2 is preferably constructed of material having the same armored characteristics as the armor plate 4 of the combat vehicle so there will be no weakening in the protecting qualities of the armor-plated walls of the vehicle.

Thus there is here provided a simple but positive method of detonating grenades on the exterior of an armored vehicle to ward oft close-in attacks by unmounted enemy personnel. The number of places from which such grenades may be fired is only limited by the size and type of the armored vehicle. 7

An embodiment of the invention having thus been described, it is understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the exact details of such embodiment but may include such modifications and changes as come within the scope .of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a combat vehicle having armored walls, a metal ball rotatably mounted in an armored wall of said vehicle, said ball having oppositely disposed hollowed-out recesses for receiving a grenade, said recesses having each a stud mounted therein for mounting an explosive grenade, a handle secured to said ball substantially midway between said recesses and disposed within said vehicle for oscillating said ball to alternately expose said recesses to the exterior of the vehicle, and means for securing said ball so that one of said recesses is disposed outside of said vehicle whereby an armed grenade can be mounted on said stud in the interior and discharged on the exterior of the vehicle.

2. In combination with a combat vehicle completely protected'by armored walls, an armored door member mounted in an aperture in one of said walls to normally close said aperture, hinge means providing ,for substantially 180 rotation of said door member, mounting means accessible from within the vehicle for securing a grenade on one side of said door member and rotatable therewith, and manually operable means for ro- REFERENCES CITED The following referenlces are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,270,293 Hoexter et al. June 25, 1918 1,958,321 Stadtler May 8, 1934 2,051,753 Steckly Aug. 18, 1936 2,371,324 Trotter Mar. 13, 1945 2,384,430 Beardslee Sept. 11, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 152,197 Great Britain Oct. 14, 1920

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