Weapon mount useful for combat vehicle

Abstract

As applied to mounting a mortar in a combat vehicle, the mounting structure includes a weapon carriage supported on a support frame having one end hingedly mounted to the vehicle floor and another end releasably latched to cross-pins on the vehicle floor. The support frame includes a central pivot shaft and a peripheral roller track while the carriage includes a hollow hub receiving the pivot shaft and retractible spring biased ball rollers in rolling engagement on the track during rotation of the carriage for weapon repositioning. A spur gear is carried on the carriage and rotated by a hand crank and meshes with a stationary gear on the supprt frawme to rotate the carriage about the pivot shaft. A clamping collar is provided on the pivot shaft to engage and force the carriage against the support frame with the ball rollers retracted to releasably lock the position of the weapon. A shock absorbing mechanism is carried on the carriage and includes a slide adapted to releasably hold the trunnion pins of the recoil end of the mortar and having multiple shafts affixed at one end thereto and slidably received at the other end in bushings in the carriage. The shafts space the slide from the carriage and a shock absorber is positioned in the space between the slide and carriage to absorb a portion of the mortar recoil energy as the slide moves toward the carriage as guided by the multiple shafts. The trunnion pins of the elevating mechanism of the mortar are releasably held by a fixed support on the carriage. The mortar mount is advantageous for its capability to absorb a greater portion of the mortar recoil energy, lessening the portion required to be absorbed by the vehicle suspension system.