Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon-buhrle Ag

Oerlikon Contraves Ag

Bruno Ruppen

Kurt Muller

Peter Mannhart

Hanspeter Novet

Conrad Hottinger

Erwin Bohler

Ernst Hurlemann

Kurt Schaffner

Emil Singenberger

Pierre Bohler

Robert Gerber

When using a multi-barrel firing weapon, such as a Gatling-type gun or canon, it is desired during a firing burst, to first fire the initial or lead cartridge or ammunition round when the rotating array of weapon barrels, during running up to speed, has attained its full rotational speed, that is, when the firing weapon is capable of firing at the full or maximum firing rate. In this way there is realized the desired high precision and low round scattering of the weapon system. The cartridge infeed apparatus requires a certain amount of time until it has reached its full cartridge infeed velocity. The initial or lead cartridge therefore should only then be delivered to the multi-barrel firing weapon after completion of the running up to speed of the array of weapon barrels and after the cartridge infeed apparatus has reached its full or maximum cartridge infeed velocity. To that end, there are provided two cartridge transfer wheels which are interconnected by a clutch, these cartridge transfer wheels being arranged between two endless chains. There are also provided a separate cartridge return channel and a sensor for determining the starting position of the initial or lead cartridge.

Apparatus for infeeding cartridges

During delivery of ammunition to a firing weapon from an ammunition magazine, in which the ammunition is arranged in an endless storage and conveyor chain, high acceleration forces occur, since the entire ammunition supply in the ammunition magazine must be accelerated to the required infeed velocity in the shortest possible time. In order to maintain as small as possible these acceleration forces in the ammunition magazine, the endless storage and conveyor chain is telescopically structured according to the invention, so that not all cartridges in the ammunition magazine have to be simultaneously accelerated.

Endless storage and conveyor chain in an ammunition magazine

The ammunition infeed apparatus for an automatic firing weapon is constructed as simple and operationally reliable as possible. This ammunition infeed apparatus comprises an ammunition container filled with a plurality of ammunition loading or cartridge clips. The ammunition container rotates with the firing weapon about the azimuth axis. There is also provided a device for the ejection of the full ammunition loading clips from the ammunition container, a device for the extraction or stripping of the cartridges or ammunition from the ammunition loading clips. This extraction or stripping device comprises an endless conveyor band. Also provided is a flexible endless chain for the transport of the ammunition or cartridges stripped from the ammunition loading clips to the firing weapon.

Apparatus for the infeed of ammunition from an ammunition container to

An apparatus for the lubrication of the locking bolts of a breechblock of an automatic firing weapon enables, with very little maintenance, reliable lubrication of the locking bolts. The lubrication apparatus contains a hydraulically loaded supply container, a hydraulically actuatable dosing device, and a hydraulically releaseable or unlockable check or non-return valve, in order to spray or otherwise apply a lubricant by means of spray or injection nozzles upon the locking bolts within a breechblock housing.

Apparatus for lubricating the locking bolts of a breechblock of an

A weapon simulator for checking the removal of ammunition from a magazine at the rhythm or cadence with which the firing weapon is fired comprises two cams for feeding the cartridges and mounted upon a shaft driven by a drive motor. The shape of the cams is such that during the removal of the cartridges there occur the same accelerations and decelerations as during the removal of cartridges by means of a firing weapon during series firing.

Weapon simulator

A cartridge feed system for an automatic gun comprising a drum magazine possessing a number of chambers, the drum magazine being rotatably mounted about a drum shaft connected with the gun mount and incrementally or step-wise drivable. A first feed device is provided which moves the cartridges out of a respective chamber of the drum magazine and such first feed device is arranged stationarily externally of the drum magazine. A storage is disposed between the drum magazine and the gun and possesses two channels. The storage with the channels is arranged to be displaceable and each channel selectively can be shifted or displaced into a work position and into a rest position for the selective firing of different types of ammunition. A second feed device is provided which moves the cartridges out of the storage and delivers such to the gun, while the drum magazine is further rotated through one indexing step.

Cartridge feed system for an automatic gun

A weapon system containing a gun mount upon which there is mounted to be pivotable about an elevation alignment axis an automatic firing weapon or gun containing an ammunition container or magazine. A reloading container having an ammunition outlet opening is arranged at the gun mount. There is provided a conveyor device, by means of which sets of cartridges located in the reloading container can be brought to the outlet opening from which location these cartridges can be refilled into the ammunition container. The reloading container is displaceably arranged at the gun mount and its outlet opening can be brought into alignment with an inlet opening of the ammunition container which has been pivoted into an ammunition loading position. The conveyor device comprises transport elements which can be moved together with the sets of cartridges out of the reloading container into the ammunition container.

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Zurich, Switzerland

Bruno Ruppen