Rheinmetall Gmbh

Rheinmetall Industrie Gmbh

Rheinmetall Industrie Aktiengesellschaft

Lothar Post

Bernhard Schneider

Horst Menges

Bernhard Bisping

Helmut Mader

Clemens Bremer

Rainer Buhl

Erich Bender

A breechblock system for a gun includes a breechblock; a firing pin slidably received in the breechblock and having two diametrically oppositely located catch recesses; and two locking levers pivotally supported by the breechblock on opposite sides thereof and each having first and second arms. The two locking levers have a locking position and an unlocking position. In the locking position the first arm of the respective locking levers projects into the respective catch recesses for preventing the firing pin from moving from its locked position into its firing position. Further, two bolts are provided which are movably supported on opposite sides of the breechblock and which cooperate with the breechblock and with respective locking levers. The bolts have a withdrawn position and an advanced position. In the withdrawn position the bolts are out of a depressing engagement with the respective locking levers, whereby the locking levers are maintained in the locking position by a force-exerting arrangement. In the advanced position the bolts depress the respective locking levers, whereby the locking levers are maintained in the unlocking position in which the second arms of the respective locking levers are spaced from the catch recesses.

Breechblock system for a gun

An automatic weapon includes a housing; a bolt movably received in the housing; a weapon barrel replaceably received in the housing and having a recess; and a locking member movably supported in the housing to assume locking and releasing positions. In the locking position the locking member projects into the recess for locking the weapon barrel to the housing and in the releasing position the locking member is withdrawn from the recess. There are further provided a spring for urging the locking member into the releasing position; a shaft rotatably supported in the housing and a cam secured to the shaft for rotating therewith as a unit and for contacting the locking member. The cam has a first angular position in which it holds the locking member in the locking position and a second angular position in which the spring holds the locking member in the releasing position. An external weapon-operating device moves the bolt into an unsecured position in which an accidental firing of a cartridge in the weapon barrel is possible and a secured position in which an accidental firing of a cartridge in the weapon barrel is not possible. The weapon-operating device moves the cam from the first into the second angular position when moving the bolt into the secured position.

Safety lock for securing a replaceable barrel to the housing of an

A weapon for firing practice ammunition includes a barrel having a frontal length portion terminating in a muzzle; an ammunition loading chamber at a barrel end opposite the muzzle; and a plurality of first gas outlet bores provided in the frontal length portion. The first gas outlet bores are arranged in a plurality of circumferentially spaced axial rows. There is further provided a muzzle brake sleeve coaxially surrounding the frontal length portion and having a frontal end situated close to the muzzle. The muzzle brake sleeve includes a plurality of second gas outlet bores arranged in a plurality of circumferentially spaced axial rows. The first gas outlet bores are staggered with respect to the second gas outlet bores as viewed along the barrel. The frontal end of the muzzle brake sleeve is closed off by a plug.

Device for firing practice ammunition

For installation in confined areas, an externally driven automatic weapon includes an alternatable dual cartridge supply system having two supply chutes are disposed parallel to an axis of symmetry traversing a cartridge supply rotor and a control roller for the breech block drive. The internal guide surfaces of both chutes are formed by a central guide disposed on the axis of symmetry, with the maximum width of this central guide corresponding to the chord length of a segment of the rotor which is provided with three, symmetrically disposed recesses, so that the introduction of cartridges into the rotor from the linear cartridge chute can take place, for example, directly from the top. The supply of cartridges to the rotor is always effected during any given period of time from only one chute. If cartridges are supplied from the other chute, the direction of rotation of rotor changes so that the cartridges are transported directly from the waiting position of a respective supply star wheel associated with each chute and fixed to the weapon housing, into a recess of the rotor and are transferred by stepwise movement of the rotor to a breech block for further transport into a cartridge chamber. During the continuous supply of cartridges by a further star wheel fixed to the cradle housing to the star wheel fixed to the weapon housing, guide means guide the cartridges in the axial direction within the chutes. To eject cartridge casings, a guide lever associated with the chute not then being used to supply cartridges is pivoted into the associated chute in the lateral rotor region to direct the empty cartridge casings into a casing chute.

Alternatable dual cartridge supply system for an externally driven

For a space saving and shock free breech block for an externally driven automatic weapon, a control roller 10 includes two camming discs which offset by 180.degree. with respect to one another in a symmetrical manner and arranged one behind the other, so as to continuously rotate in the same direction as the control roller. For the displacement of two locking bars disposed on opposite sides of the breech block 9 in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the breech block, respective slide members are arranged between the breech block guide path axis and the control roller 10. Each slide member grips around one of the camming discs by meane of a U-shaped pocket and transfers the transverse movement of the associated camming disc to an associated one of the locking bars for locking and unlocking breech block 9 in a form locking manner.

Rigidly lockable straight-action breech block for an externally driven

The arrangement for emergency actuating of the firing pin of a machine cannon having an exterior drive includes a percussion hammer that is loaded by a coil spring for the direct loading of the firing pin mounted in the breech block via an intermediate rod member. When in a loaded position and therefore ready for an emergency actuation, the percussion hammer is secured in its operating position by means of an arresting spring which engages with a pair of diametrically opposite nose members into an abutments forming part of the breech housing.

Arrangement for emergency actuation of the firing pin of a machine

A rapid-stop device for the control roller of an automatic weapon wherein for a space-saving arrangement, a brake unit forming part of the rapid-stop device is disposed in a longitudinally axial bore of the control roller. Within its jacket, the brake unit includes brake shims and pretensioned spring elements 79. The brake unit jacket is mounted on a central mandrel, which is fixed to the cradle housing, so as not to be displaceable in the axial direction, and is connected with the control roller so that it can rotate with same and so that the control roller can move axially relative to the jacket. For a braking process required in the case of malfunction or during normal shut-down of the automatic weapon, a trigger catch lever or a rapid-stop catch lever disposed in the housing engages in the sole catch edge of a brake disc which is coaxial with the support mandrel. At the same time, a control disc, which is drivingly connected for rotation with the control roller and which is normally connected with the brake disc in a forming locking manner by an axial displacement arrangement, displaces the brake disc, under the inertia of further rotating parts connected to the control disk, in the direction of the brake shims, and thus performs a safe and attenuated brake stroke.

Rapid stop device for an externally driven automatic weapon

A device performs forwardly oriented case ejection from an externally driven automatic cannon, the cannon having a chamber, a breechblock which is longitudinally movable along a path by the action of a rotating control cylinder and which simultaneously advances an ejecting device for ejecting a cartridge case, and an intermittently rotating rotor having a plurality of rotor pockets disposed circumferentially thereabout for moving a cartridge into the path of the breechblock and for removing a cartridge case from the path of the breechblock, wherein the ejecting device is a case pusher for ejecting empty cartridge cases, the case pusher being coaxially mounted within the rotor for longitudinal movement relative thereto, the case pusher including a plurality of carrier elements projecting radially into respective ones of the rotor pockets; and a connecting arrangement is used for joining the case pusher with the breechblock such that the case pusher is axially displaceable together with the breechblock and the case pusher intermittently rotates with the rotor.

Device for forward oriented case ejection in an externally driven

An improved ammunition feed and guide mechanism for an automatic gun barrel weapon such as an automatic machine cannon. This mechanism includes a breech mechanism mounted in a housing. The breech mechanism includes a breech body driven by a pair of rollers rotatably mounted in the housing parallel to the middle longitudinal axis of the housing. Each roller has a driving ramp disposed on its periphery and the breech body is provided with a pair of roller bearings respectively engaging the driving ramps of the rollers so that the breech body is linearly reciprocated between loading and firing positions via the rotation of the rollers and the engagement of the roller bearings in the driving ramps thereof. The pair of rollers are driven by means independent of the propulsion energy of the fired projectiles. When the breech body is in the firing position, the roller bearings and driving ramps are maintained substantially free from the influence of the axially acting recoil forces brought to bear on the breech body during firing.

Straight breech for an automatic gun barrel weapon, in particular a

This invention relates to an arrangement for rapidly stopping an automatic weapon having an external drive where the breech block is driven by parallel shafts. This arrangement provides for the rapid stopping of the shafts and thus the weapon by providing the shafts with coaxially mounted pockets at their ends in which a pair of claws may be engaged to stop the rotation of the shafts.

Arrangement for rapidly stopping an automatic weapon having an external

A device for quickly stopping a remote controlled automatic cannon having a breech block which can be moved by means of an endless control groove in an essentially rotationally symmetrical control roller, with each region of the control groove being associated with a respective function step within the firing cycle of the cannon. The device includes an element which rotates in dependence on the control roller and is provided with a stop abutment which is associated with a region of the control groove; and a control piston, which corresponds with the stop abutment, and which, during operation, can be moved axially, by propellant gases developed during firing of the cannon, so that one free end of the piston moves out of the circular path of movement of the stop abutment against a return force, and thus from a blocking position with respect to the stop abutment, into a release position with respect to the stop abutment.

Device for quickly stopping a remote controlled automatic cannon

A cartridge casing detection system for detecting the presence or absence of a cartridge casing in the cartridge chamber of a machine cannon. A lever is pivotally mounted in a recess of the housing of the weapon. A sensor is connected to a switch. One free end of the lever is adapted to coact with the sensor tip and the other free end of the lever is adapted to coact with the edge of the cartridge casing when the latter is disposed in the cartridge chamber of a weapon. A breech block is reciprocally mounted in the weapon and includes a pocket past which the other free end may extend for contacting the cartridge casing when the breech block is in its forwardmost operative position.

Arrangement for determining the presence of a cartridge in a cartridge

A belt-advance system for a belt-fed gas-loading automatic weapon, e.g. a machine gun, revises the usual energy flow path by obtaining at its input side a gas-pressure pulse upon the firing of the weapon and providing an energy-storage unit functionally combined with a cylinder/gas-piston unit for transforming the pneumatic energy into mechanical energy for stepping the belt-advance ratchet pawl.

Belt-advance mechanism for an automatic gas-loading belt-feed weapon,

An improved double-feed arrangement for introducing munition shells into the breech of an automatic weapon such as a machine gun. The double-feed arrangement includes a housing having two munition belt inlet openings and two munition belt outlet openings respectively equidistantly disposed from the longitudinal axis of the automatic weapon. A pair of hollow transport shafts rotatable in said housing and adapted to be selectively driven by a driving mechanism which can be energized by the recoil of the automatic weapon. A sprocket wheel having a plurality of equidistantly spaced shell receiving seats is mounted on each hollow transport shaft. The sprocket wheels are adapted to normally rotate in mutually opposite directions in a stepwise manner except when a selective switching from one feed to the other feed if effected, whereby a rotational step is imparted on both feeds by the driving mechanism via switching mechanisms to effect a rotation in the same direction. The shell of a first type is then moved from a firing chamber introducing position to a waiting position while the shells of a second type are now stepwise fed into the firing chamber introducing position by the other feed.

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Dusseldorf, Germany

Lothar Post