The Boeing Company

Bruno A Joner

John W Williams

A surface minelaying system that can be built up of ganged modules and rapidly mounted on any ship whose displacement permits it to carry mines in some quantity. This minelaying system is a modularized overhead conveyor system that can securely store heavy mines and safely release them overboard at short, predetermined intervals, even in high sea states. The system comprises a frame member, with first and second ends, that defines the longitudinal axis of the minelaying system. The frame member is preferably made up of a rail track braced by periodically spaced vertical and transverse connecting members. Mounting supports are provided for mounting the frame member to the ship. A drive roller and an idler roller are disposed in the first and second ends of the frame member; and an endless drive member is looped about the rollers. A drive means is operatively coupled to the drive roller. A plurality of carrier assemblies with grasping members for selectively grasping a mine are engaged at spaced locations to the endless drive member. The carrier assemblies have wheels that roll and are retained within the rail track. Mines are loaded and stored on the system and, when moved outboard the hull, released into the water. Alternative mechanisms are provided for releasing each mine at a predetermined point as the mine is translated beneath the frame member. In one embodiment, the mines are automatically disengaged from the carriers. The empty carrier assemblies are then moved by the endless drive member through a vertical turnaround in a looped rail system for an inverted overhead return to a loading site near the opposite end of the frame member. In another embodiment each mine is attached to an expendable carrier that is deployed along with the released mine.

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Bellevue, WA, United States of America

Bruno A Joner