Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon-buhrle Ag

Werner Bosshard

Ernst Hurlemann

Werner Stauffacher

Willi Schroder

Before the empty cartridge case is ejected it is extracted from the cartridge chamber of the weapon barrel by an extractor and subsequently tilted by an ejector. During this operation large forces are exerted on the pivotably mounted extractor. It has been found that when high cadence firing takes place the spring forces are too small to hold the extractor reliably. Therefore, the extractor is secured by a support lever or by a locking pawl against inadvertent pivoting during the removal of the cartridge case. Preferably a support lever or support slide is arranged in the breechblock to prevent premature tilting of the cartridge case.

Apparatus for ejection of empty cartridge cases from an automatic firing

A countercoil and recoil damper for an automatic firearm which ensures floating support of the weapon during automatic bursts of fire is disclosed. To achieve this, the damper provides annular spring packs (32-35) and a precompressed spring (24), colinear with the other annular spring packs. The precompressed spring is a coil spring which is compressed during countercoil and is released during recoil in order to increase the hysteresis of the annular spring packs (32-35).

Countercoil and recoil dampers for automatic firearms

It is necessary to provide a cadence regulator in a gas-pressure operated firing weapon, since a hot firing weapon would otherwise exhibit a cadence unacceptably greater than that of a cold firing weapon. The cadence regulator comprises two concentric tubes interconnected at one end and serving for actuating a temperature-dependent throttling member which regulates the gas-pressure by altering a throttling cross-section of a gas passage. Either only the inner tube is heated, causing it to expand more than the outer tube and to reduce the throttling cross-section, or both tubes are heated and the outer tube has a greater coefficient of expansion such that it expands more than the inner tube and increases the throttling cross-section. In the first case, the supply of gas to a gas piston is throttled and thereby diminished in pressure and in the second case, a discharge opening to the atmosphere is increased, also effectively diminishing the pressure of the supply of gas to the gas piston.

Cadence regulator for a gas-pressure operated firing weapon

A breechblock buffer serves for catching the recoiling breechblock following the firing of a cartridge. This breechblock buffer comprises a buffer piston and a compressible liquid. With the heretofore known breechblock buffers there is provided a container housing a compressed gas. The invention contemplates eliminating the need for such container. Instead of a gas container there is provided a packet or set of plate springs serving as an elastic structure. Furthermore, the breechblock buffer possesses a recoil buffer device. For guiding and sealing the buffer piston, a guide ring is arranged between two sealing rings.

Breechblock buffer for an automatic firing weapon

In an automatic firing weapon containing a forwardly and rearwardly travelling breechblock each cartridge is engaged by a breechblock edge of the forwardly travelling breechblock and pushed into the weapon or gun barrel. As soon as the breechblock is in its rearmost position a cartridge is moved through a cartridge feedway or infeed channel into a position from which the same can be pushed into the weapon barrel by means of the breechblock. Since the breechblock assumes its rearmost position only for a brief time period when the firing weapon has a high firing rate or cadence, large forces are required for accelerating the cartridge which is to be infed. Hence, the springs which have been heretofore used are replaced by an insertion lever and a back-up latch or pawl, the insertion or placement movement of the insertion lever being controlled by a control cam of the rearwardly travelling breechblock.

Cartridge infeed apparatus for automatic firing weapons

A breechblock for an automatic firing weapon comprising a breechblock housing containing a breechblock head displaceable in the breechblock housing. There is also provided at least one movable blocking body by means of which the breechblock head can be locked in a firing position with the breechblock housing. A spring-loaded control element is arranged to be displaceable in the breechblock housing, this control element containing a control surface by means of which there can be positionally adjusted the blocking or locking body. In the breechblock head there is arranged a locking bolt which can be shifted into a recess of the control element. By means of the locking bolt the breechblock head, which is unlocked from the breechblock housing, can be coupled with the control element, and play is present between the control surface and the blocking body and by means of which, prior to reaching the firing position of the breechblock head, there is uncoupled the control element.

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Zurich, Switzerland

Werner Bosshard