Rheinmetall Gmbh

Adolf P Bierwirth

Erich Zielinski

Josef Metz

Gert Winkler

Manfred Pehker

A loading device for a tubular weapon includes two adjacent belt magazines; a separate loading tray cooperating with each magazine and being arranged for pivotal motion about 90.degree. from a cartridge-receiving position into a loading position in alignment with the tubular weapon; a common partition wall forming part of the two magazines and being arranged between the discharge sides of the magazines and the tubular weapon; at least one partition door provided in the partition wall; separate drive chains supported along the discharge side of each magazine and being connected to a respective loading tray for displacing the loading tray; a separate linear guide being in guiding engagement with each loading tray; and a separate curved guide extending generally along the discharge side of the respective magazine and being bent theretoward. The linear guide and the curved guide together guiding the respective loading tray from one of its positions to the other of its positions when displaced by the drive chain.

Loading device for a tubular weapon

An arrangement for bridging over the path traversed by cartridge being loaded via a loading tray and loading channel in a breech plate into the loading chamber of the weapon. The arrangement includes a trough-shaped flap which is pivotally mounted on the breech plate in such a way that it provides a guidance for the cartridge so that it cannot be damaged by a difference in height between the lower edge of the loading chamber and the breech block. The flap is pivoted about a horizontal axis when the breech block is in the open position and its free end remains at the level of the lower edge of the loading chamber until the cartridge casing has been securely guided into the loading chamber.

Protective cover by loading flap in a breech aperture

An automatic loading arrangement of a gun barrel weapon. An ammunition holder is provided having a portion which is adapted to be pivotally connected to another ammunition holder and so on to form a band magazine, for the purpose of holding thin-walled cartridged ammunition units, preferably tank and armored vehicle ammunition having a combustible casing, which ammunition can be transported and guided to a loading tray or chamber without being damaged by outside influences, for example travel shocks, vibrations, etc. The ammunition holder has a semi-circular arcuately shaped tray adapted to conform with the shape of the cartridged ammunition, which tray has a small inner diameter region to matingly receive the projectile head and a relatively larger inner diameter region adapted to matingly receive the cartridge bottom. Pivotally mounted holding clamps are mounted in the small and large inner diameter regions so as to encompass the ammunition at a longitudinal side thereof, which holding clamps includes corresponding opening and closing mechanisms which are adapted to be connected to each other via formlocking means. The formlocking means coact with the opening and closing mechanism and an ammunition expeller for purposes to provide, on the one hand, a uniform joint opening of the holding clamps and an ammunition sparing unloading process, as well as, on the other hand, a mutual independent reverse stroke of the holding clamps so that the thin-walled cartridged ammunition can be held in a soft-locking safety position in the ammunition holder in a radial play-free manner when exterior disturbing influences occur.

Ammunition and magazine for an automatic loading arrangement

A compact loading tray mechanism for loading an ammunition into a gun barrel weapon, preferably a tank cannon. The loading tray mechanism operates so as to prevent an impacting of the cartridge on the rear edge of the loading chamber of the weapon. A first lower loading tray is pivotally mounted on a first pivot arm at one of its ends which first pivot arm is in turn pivotally mounted on a non-recoiling part of the weapon at the other of its ends. A second upper loading tray is fixedly mounted on a second pivot arm at one of its ends which second pivot arm is in turn pivotally mounted at its other end on a non-recoiling part of the weapon. A crank drive is operatively connected to the first and second pivot arms for jointly pivoting them transversely relative to the longitudinal axis of the gun barrel into a loading position in which the respective first and second loading trays form a quasi-extension of the gun barrel which extension forms a cylindrical passage whose internal diameter corresponds to the outer diameter of cartridge bottom. The crank drive also pivots jointly the first and second pivot arms into a folded down position which transversely laterally removed from their loading position.

Growing community of inventors

Kaarst, Germany

Adolf P Bierwirth