US974552A - Gun-mount. - Google Patents

Description

. D.- J. GARTWRIGHT.

GUN MOUNT. v AI PLIUATIOII FILED AUG. 19, 1903. RENEWED NOV. 6, 1907.

974,552. Patented Nov. 1,1910.

WIT/v55 %NT0/emay Tim STATES T DAITID J. CARTWRIGHT, OF HULL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WALTER S. WAIT, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

GUN-MOUNT.

Application filed August 19, 1903, Serial No. 170,084.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID J. CARTWRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hull, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gun-Mounts, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

In gun mounts as now constructed, considerable difiiculty is experienced in moving the gun through its complete arc of movement, for while it is movable with but little trouble through an angle of a few degrees in either direction from its normal horizontal median position, the power required to move it as it approaches its extreme vertical position, must be increased rapidly. The cause of this difliculty lies in the fact that in modern ordnance the adjuncts and accessories of the gun and its mount, so increase the weight of the trunnioned or pivoted mass that the true center is distorted or offset from the center of mass of the gun barrel proper, and a trunnion centered relative to the mass of the barrel, both longitudinally and transversely thereof, is by no means the true center of the entire mass, so that however nicely located relative to the mass of the barrel longitudinally the trunnions may be, an unequal distribution of the entire mass transversely of the trunnion exists. This condition, it is apparent, precludes the balancing of the gun in but one position, namely, horizontally, and in elevating the gun, the unequal, unbalanced mass must be lifted; the power necessary to overcome its tendency to return the gun to a horizontal position, after the barrel has been moved through the first few degrees from the horizontal, is considerably in excess of what would be required were the mass properly balanced; and, finally, the gun cannot be brought to a stable position vertically; the unequal distribution of the mass maintaining a condition of unstable equilibrium and tending always to return the gun to its horizontal position. Attempts have been made to nullify, as much as possible, this difficulty, by providing anti-friction bearings for the trunnions so as to reduce the friction of turning the barrel and its associated parts upon the mount, but it is apparent that this is merely a corrective measure and does not Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1, 1910.

Renewed November 6, 1907. Serial No. 401,010.

alter the condition which gives rise to the trouble.

It is the purpose of the present invention to obviate the difiiculty noted, and so trunnion the gun that the mass will be equally distributed both horizontally and vertically of the trunnion center, whereby the power required to move the gun through its arc of travel is only that necessary to overcome the friction of the bearings, and the gun, when brought to a vertical position, will be in a state of stable equilibrium with its mass equally distributed relative to its trunnions. I accomplish my purpose by offcentering the trunnions relative to the barrel, and centering them truly with respect to the movable mass, including gun and its associated parts, so as to secure at all times, a balanced gun.

In the form of the invention which I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings, I have shown in a conventional way, an ordinary type of gun, and in said drawingsFigure l is a view in side elevation of so much of a gun and mount, as will serve to make clear my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through the trunnions of the gun and mount shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the barrel sleeve and the oscillating slide, the other parts being omitted.

Referring to the drawing by numerals, like numbers indicating like parts in the several views, 1 designates the barrel of the gun, while 2 indicates the usual sleeve which surrounds the barrel, said sleeve carrying the customary recoil mechanism, 3 with its essential parts. Said sleeve 2 has sliding connection with a slide L by means of a clovetail connection, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, said slide 4 having a connecting yoke 5 with which connects the end of the piston rod 6 of the recoil mechanism 3, in the usual manner.

The features of construction thus far described present nothing novel, being all in accordance with the constructions now in use.

It will be noticed that with the parts above set forth, assembled as shown in the drawings, the weight of the barrel 1, the sleeve 2, the recoil mechanism 3 and its accessories, and the slide at, is all borne by the trunnions 7, with which the slide is provided. It is apparent that the added parts, arranged as shown, bring the true center of the mass to one side, or as it appears in the present embodiment of the invention, below the longitudinal axis of the barrel. To secure a proper balancing of such a mass, it is clear that the trunnions which support the gun, must be off-centered with respect to the barrel to compensate for this unequal distribution of mass and restore equilibrium. Accordingly, as clearly shown, I offset, or, as it appears in the embodiment of the invention herein shown, locate the trunnions 7 at a point between the longitudinal axis of the barrel and the recoil mechanism or co-incident with the true center of the entire mass. The effect of this is to secure a perfect balancing of the gun and its associated parts, due to equal distribution of the mass relative to the pivotal or trunnion point, and materially lessen the power necessary to swing the gun through its arc of movement; for a gun trunnioned -as I have shown and described will maintain always its equilibrium,balancing perfectly when elevated to a vertical position, and since itis trunnioned on a center co-incident with the center'of its mass, will have less muzzle movement or whip when fired, than in the ordinary mount in which the trunnions are co-incident with the longitudinal axis of the gun, regardless of the center of the mass.

While I have shown and described a particular construction of gun with my invention applied thereto, I wish it to be distinctly understood that the drawing is merely illustrative of one embodiment of my invention; and that the invent-ion is applicableto any trunnionless gun, no matter what may be the disposition and assemblage of the parts associated therewith; and I do not, therefore, limit my invention to anything shown and described, except in so far as I am restricted by terms of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention-- 1. In a gun mount and in combination, a trunnionless barrel, a sleeve carried by said barrel, recoil mechanism located beneath said barrel and suitably connected with said barrel sleeve, a supporting slide with which said sleeve has sliding engagement, and trunnions on said slide below the longitudinal axis of the gun and coincident with the center of the entire mass, whereby the mass is held in stable equilibrium and the gun is balanced at any angle of elevation.

2. In a gun mount and in combination, a barrel 1, a sleeve 2 carried by said barrel and having dove-tailed connecting elements, recoil mechanism 3 depending from said sleeve, a supporting slide 4 having dovetailed grooves with which said sleeve connecting elements are engaged, and trunnions 7 projecting from said slide 4 on opposite sides thereof at a point below the 1011- gitudinal axis of the barrel 1 and coincident with the center of the mass, whereby the mass is preservedin stable equilibrium and the gun is balanced at any angle of elevation.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID J. CARTWRIGIIT.

Witnesses:

A. CUSHMAN, EWELL A. DICK.

Images