Rheinmetall W & M Gmbh

Hartmut Wagner

Gert Schlenkert

Horst Reckeweg

Berthold Baumann

Heinz Günter Breuer

An apparatus for the section-wise autofrettage of gun barrels () by a hydraulic pressure generated inside the barrel. The apparatus (&#x2033;) comprises a mandrel-shaped insert (&#x2033;) inserted into the barrel () from the breech opening. A first sealing device () is disposed at one end of the insert (&#x2033;), and has a seal packet () disposed on a seal seat () of the insert (&#x2033;). The seal seat () is limited at the front by a threaded sleeve () screwed onto the insert (&#x2033;), and an annular intermediate part () adjoining the threaded sleeve () at the rear. The seal packet () includes at least one O-ring () held by a shoulder () of the mandrel-shaped insert (&#x2033;), and a high-pressure seal () formed by two partial rings () that are connected to one another by a conical contact surface ().

Apparatus for the section-wise autofrettage of gun barrels

A weapon barrel includes a hard chromium layer provided on an inner barrel surface. The hard chromium layer contains at least 500 fissures/cm in a cross-sectional plane.

Weapon barrel having a hard chromium inner layer

A method of coating a metal surface, particularly an inner surface of a gun barrel, with a chromium layer, includes the following steps: electrolytically precipitating on the metal surface a plurality of partial chromium layers in a superposed relationship by electric current pulses equaling the number of the partial chromium layers; and selecting the duration of each pulse such that a crystallite growth of individual partial chromium layers is stopped prior to a natural termination thereof for obtaining a globular polytropic structure of the entire chromium layer.

Method of coating an internal surface of a weapon barrel

A method of providing an inner surface of a weapon barrel with a hard chromium layer includes the steps of forming the hard chromium layer on the inner surface by galvanic separation; and thereafter heating the hard chromium layer beyond the re-crystallization temperature thereof for obtaining, upon conclusion of the heating step, a uniform re-crystallization of the hard chromium layer in its entirety.

Method of providing a weapon barrel with an internal hard chromium layer

A holder assembly for supporting a collimator of a field adjusting device on a weapon barrel includes a holder sled having a dovetail guide provided in the underface of the sled. The dovetail guide has lateral guide faces converging toward one another. A first groove is provided in the underface of the sled and extends transversely to the length of the dovetail guide. A dovetail receiver block is affixed to the weapon barrel in the muzzle region. The dovetail receiver block has lateral guide faces converging toward one another. A second groove, located on the weapon barrel, extends transversely to the barrel axis. The holder sled is removably mountable on the weapon barrel by sliding the dovetail guide onto the dovetail receiver block in a direction parallel to the barrel axis until an installed state of the holder sled is reached. In the installed state the lateral guide faces of the dovetail guide and the lateral guide faces of the dovetail receiver block are in a wedging relationship and the first and second grooves are in alignment with one another. Further, a wedge block is provided which is insertable into the first and second grooves in the installed state for axially immobilizing the holder sled on the weapon barrel.

Collimator holding device for a weapon barrel

A method of frictionally bonding a liner to a length portion of an outer tube of a weapon barrel includes the following steps: Cooling the liner to a temperature of less than -50.degree. C.; heating the length portion of the outer tube to a temperature such that the inner diameter of the outer tube becomes greater than the outer diameter of the liner; introducing the liner into the outer tube while maintaining the temperature of the outer tube constant; and discontinuing the heating of the outer tube and cooling the outer tube such that shrinkage of the outer tube onto the liner first occurs along a central length portion of the liner, followed, after a predetermined period, by a shrinkage of the outer tube onto the liner along terminal length portions of the liner which flank its central length portion.

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Unterlüss, Germany

Hartmut Wagner