Rheinmetall Gmbh

Manfred Pehker

Josef Metz

Erich Zielinski

Adolf P Bierwirth

Wolfgang Heintz

Edelgard Pahlke

A chain rammer for ammunition includes a ram head, a rammer drive including two drive wheels connectable to a rotary drive for rotating the drive wheels and two separate chain strands each being connected with the ram head and each passing through the rammer drive for being driven in one of a chain advance and chain reversal direction by a respective one of the two drive wheels. The chain strands are arranged to come into abutting relationship at the rammer drive when driven in the chain advance direction and for separating from the abutting relationship at the rammer drive when driven in the chain reversal direction. Each chain strand includes chain links having hooks arranged to grasp an oppositely disposed chain link when the strands come together at the rammer drive in the chain advance direction to establish a firm mechanical connection between the two chain strands and so that such connection is released again when the chain strands move in the chain reversal direction.

Chain rammer

An ammunition container (1) for large caliber ammunition (2) includes two shells (5, 6) that are arranged parallel to the ammunition, with one shell (5) being fixed and the other shell (6) being movable. A rotatable control lever (7, 7') is mounted at least one end (10, 11) of the ammunition container (1), the control lever having a pivot axis that coincides with the longitudinal axis (12) of the ammunition container (1). The movable shell (6) and the control lever (7, 7') are connected with one another by way of a releasable holding mechanism (9) so that, upon pivoting of the control lever (7, 7') from an open position to a closed position, the movable shell (6) also rotates about the longitudinal axis (12) of the ammunition container. In addition, the control lever (7, 7') has a cam (70) on which the movable shell (6) is mounted so as to be freely rotatable. The cam (70 ) causes the movable shell to be pressed radially against the ammunition (2) when the control lever (7, 7') is pivoted beyond the closed position. A magazine belt can be made from a plurality of such ammunition containers. The ammunition can be removed from the belt at any desired position, and moreover the ammunition can readily be clamped in the individual containers of the belt.

Ammunition container

The invention relates to an ammunition rack for vertically storing cartridge ammunition in the ready room of the loader on the turret platform of a tank and removing the ammunition therefrom; the rack having a stay tube for centering the cartridge base and a clamping device for fastening the projectile. The clamping device can be pivoted upwardly around a turret fixed pivot by way of a holding lever upon removal of the projectile after the clamping device has been released and the ammunition unit has been removed therefrom.

Ammunition rack for vertically standing cartridge ammunition

The invention relates to an automatic loader for an armored vehicle having a rotatable turret adapted to feed vertically stored projectiles from a storage magazine into the loading chamber of a large caliber weapon from which it can be inserted into the gun barrel by means of a rammer. The arrangement of the invention provides a rapid transporting of the vertically stored ammunition from a space saving storage position to a loaded ready to fire position. The automatic loader of the invention includes an automatically driven endless ammunition magazine at least partially mounted within a predetermined outer elevation of the turret and within a predetermined inner elevation region of the vehicle trough. This magazine is separated from the personnel chamber of the armored vehicle by means of armored walls and includes a loading tray which is connected to a feeder for pivotally transporting a vertically stored projectile into a loading position from which it can be slid into the gun barrel of the weapon by means of the rammer. The loading tray functions as a partial ammunition container of the ammunition magazine as well as a feeder for the projectile. The magazine is independently rotatable with respect to the rotatable turret by means of a roller bearing.

Automatic loader for an armored vehicle having a rotatable turret

A cannon barrel assembly has a barrel member centered on and extending along a barrel axis, a barrel tube member generally coaxially surrounding the barrel and having a pair of axially opposite tube muzzle and breech ends, and respective muzzle and breech bearings at the tube ends axially displaceably supporting the barrel member therein. At least one of the bearings comprises two lower and one upper segmental slide elements generally angularly equispaced about the axis and radially set in one of the members against axial displacement therein. The two lower elements are also set in the one member against radial displacement therein while the upper element is limitedly radially displaceable in the one member. Springs braced between the one member and the upper slide element urge same radially against the other member in surface contact therewith and thereby urge the two lower slide elements in surface contact against the other member also.

Cannon with longitudinally shiftable barrel

The invention relates to an automatic loader for an armored vehicle having a rotatable turret adapted to feed vertically stored projectiles from a storage magazine into the loading chamber of a large caliber weapon from which it can be inserted into the gun barrel by means of a rammer. The arrangement of the invention provides a rapid transporting of the vertically stored ammunition from a space saving storage position to a loaded ready to fire position. The automatic loader of the invention includes an automatically driven endless ammunition magazine at least partially mounted within the outer elevation a of the turret and within the inner elevation region b of the vehicle trough. This magazine is separated from the personnel chamber of the armored vehicle by means of armored walls and includes a loading tray which is connected to a feeder for pivotally transporting a vertically stored projectile into a loading position from which it can be slid into the gun barrel of the weapon by means of the rammer. The loading tray functions as a partial ammunition container of the ammunition magazine as well as a feeder for the projectile. The magazine is independently rotatable with respect to the rotatable turret by means of a roller bearing.

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.

Growing community of inventors

Duesseldorf, Germany

Manfred Pehker