Tanks

A tank with an overlying gun which is mounted in a cradle disposed on the crew turret also includes a loading pendulum which is disposed on a journal ring and pivotal in relation to the crew turret. The loading pendulum and the gun are asymmetrically journalled, such that the positions of the gun and the loading pendulum are dependent upon the elevation/depression of the gun. The gun is longitudinally/vertically displaced in the plane of elevation on elevation/depression. This is achieved in that the cradle is retractably disposed in the plane of elevation with the aid of a member determining the degree of retraction of the gun and may be elevated/depressed about an abutment pivotally mounted between the revolving portion, or turret, and the gun. The abutment is movable in the plane of elevation. The abutment and the cradle are adapted in the different elevations/depressions, to adjust the position of the breech of the gun to the pivotal movement of the loading pendulum about its pivotal center.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Technical Field 
The present invention relates to a device in a tank having an overlying gun 
mounted in a cradle disposed on a revolving portion, for example the crew 
turret, in the tank, and with a loading pendulum disposed in a journal 
ring which is rotatable in relation to the revolving portion. Seen in the 
elevation plane, the journal arm of the loading pendulum pivots about a 
pivotal center which is offset from the pivotal center of the gun in the 
cradle. 
2. Background Art 
Tanks with an overlying gun and loading pendulum disposed outside the tank 
between the magazine and the breech block of the gun are previously known. 
The loading pendulum may then be arranged, when the gun is traversed, to 
be laterally rotatable to collect rounds from the magazine and inwardly 
and upwardly swinging a collected round to the breech of the traversed 
gun. 
The loading pendulum is carried in a journal ring which is rotatable in 
relation to the revolving portion, for example carrying the gun crew 
turret. For functional reasons, it has been deemed appropriate to allocate 
to the loading pendulum a pivotal movement about a pivotal center which is 
offset from the pivotal center of the journalling of the gun in its 
associated cradle. 
Because of the above-mentioned asymmetrical journalling of the gun and the 
loading pendulum, a mutual positional displacement will take place between 
the positions of the loading pendulum and the breech in different 
elevations of the gun. Attempts have been made in this art to adapt this 
asymmetry by modifying the pendulum movement in response to the angle of 
elevation of the gun. Such arrangements are technically complex and 
operationally unsatisfactory. Also attempts have also been made in this 
art to solve this problem by returning the gun to an initial position of 
elevation during the loading cycle. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The primary object of the present invention is to provide a device that 
obviates the disadvantages disclosed in the foregoing. The novel device 
according to the present invention includes a gun mounting which, in 
conjunction with the elevation movement, automatically adapts the position 
of the breech to the movements of the loading pendulum. 
According to the novel features of the present invention, the cradle is 
retractable in the plane of elevation, with a member determining the 
degree of retraction; and the gun may be elevated/depressed about a device 
journalled around the revolving portion and the gun, this device being 
movable in the plane of elevation; and the member determining the degree 
of retraction, the cradle and the abutment are arranged so as, to adapt in 
the different positions of elevation/depression of the gun, the position 
of the breech of the gun to the pivotal movement of the loading pendulum 
about its pivotal center. 
In further developments of the inventive concept, the abutment is pivotally 
journalled, in the plane of elevation, in the revolving portion (the crew 
turret) and the gun. The abutment may further be journalled in the gun 
proper in an imaginary extension of the bore axis. The journalling of the 
abutment in the revolving portion is disposed between the journalling of 
the cradle in the revolving portion and the journalling of the device 
determining the degree of retraction of the cradle in the revolving 
portion. 
In one embodiment of the device according to the present invention, a 
distance between the journalling of the cradle and the anchorage of the 
member determining the degree of retraction in the revolving portion may 
exceed a distance between the journalling of the gun in the cradle and the 
journalling of the abutment in the gun. The device determining the degree 
of retraction of the cradle may consist of one or two first hydraulic 
cylinders or first screws. The abutment may consist of one or two second 
hydraulic cylinders or second screws. The first hydraulic cylinders 
co-operate with the cradle, preferably at the upper free ends thereof. The 
journal arm of the loading pendulum may be carried in a journal on the 
journal ring which, when the loading pendulum is inwardly pivoted in the 
plane of elevation, is located behind the journalling of the cradle in the 
revolving portion for example, the crew turret. 
The novel device according to the present invention ensures an efficient 
and rapid loading cycle which is dependent on the elevation of the gun. 
Moreover, an arrangement for gun journalling will be obtained which allows 
for a gun to be raised and lowered in relation to the upper side of the 
hull of the tank. The abutment device may be vertically adjustable.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to the Drawing, a tank is indicated by reference numeral 1. The 
tank is fitted with an overlying gun 2 which is carried in a cradle 3 on 
upper parts of a crew turret 4 which is revolvable in the hull of the 
tank. The cradle 3 is retractable in the plane of elevation of the gun 
which, in the FIGURE, coincides with the plane of the Drawing. Retraction 
is effected about a journal which is symbolically indicated by reference 
numeral 5. The journalling of the gun in the free ends of the cradle is 
designated by reference numeral 6. 
Retraction is effected with the aid of hydraulic cylinders 7, 7' 
determining the degree of retraction and substantially parallel to each 
other of which a piston rod or ram is indicated 7a. The cylinders are two 
in number and each respective piston rod 7a is secured at each respective 
free end of the cradle each in their journal 8 disposed in a journalling 
portion 3a on the cradle. Each respective cylinder 7 is provided with a 
pivotal journal 9 in the crew turret, where a journalling portion 10 is 
provided for each respective cylinder. These cylinders may, in principle, 
also consist of other corresponding devices, for example screws. 
An abutment, about which the gun is elevated/depressed, is illustrated by 
reference numeral 11. The abutment is movably carried in journals 12 and 
13 in the gun and the crew turret 4, respectively, seen in the plane of 
elevation. The journal 13 is located substantially in the extension 2a of 
the bore axis. 
The hydraulic cylinder 7 determines the degree of the retraction of the 
cradle and, thereby, also the degree of elevation/depression of the gun, 
together with the abutment 11. This arrangement entails that 
elevation/depression of the gun may also imply a combined longitudinal and 
vertical displacement of the gun in the plane of elevation. When the 
journal 6 is displaced to the position 6' on elevation, the journal 13 
will also be displaced to the position 13', and so on. 
A distance A between the journals 9 and 12 exceeds a distance A' between 
the journals 6 and 13. The journal 12 is placed between the journals 5 and 
9. 
The crew turret is mounted on a journal 14 in a per se known manner. A 
journal ring 15 is also disposed on the tank for a loading pendulum 16. 
The journal ring is pivotal in relation to the crew turret 4, and its 
journal is illustrated by reference numeral 17. The tank is provided with 
a magazine 18 and has an aperture 19 on its upper side 1a. Through the 
aperture, the loading pendulum 16 collects rounds from the magazine in a 
per se known manner. The loading pendulum operates in the space between 
the upper side 1a of the tank and the lower side of the breech 2b of the 
gun. The loading pendulum includes a basket 16a and a fork-shaped journal 
arm 16b whose journalling in the journal ring is illustrated by reference 
numeral 20. The journalling of the basket in the journal arm is indicated 
by reference numeral 21. 
The asymmetry in the journals 6 and 20 would entail that the pivotal 
movement of the loading pendulum about the journal 20 would be dependent 
upon the elevation/depression of the gun if the present invention had not 
been utilized in the tank. Such a drawback would have entailed that the 
position of the basket did not agree with the infeed position 2c of the 
breech at all elevations of the gun. However, as a result of the 
longitudinal displacement of the gun in response to the degree of 
elevation, the infeed opening 2c of the breech is adapted to the loading 
pendulum irrespective of the elevation of the gun. 
As a result of the journalling of the basket in its journal arm, the basket 
may pivot in relation to the arm for adaptation to the infeed opening 2c 
in the breech. The gun may be elevated and depressed at the angles .alpha. 
and .beta., respectively. Solid lines on the Drawing show zero elevation. 
Broken lines indicate elevated/depressed positions of the gun. One 
elevation position for the breech has been designated 2' and one 
depression position has been designated 2". Intimations of the positions 
of other parts in the above-mentioned elevation and depression positions 
are given by broken lines. 
By rendering the journal 12 for the abutment vertically adjustable in the 
crew turret, a vertically adjustable function may be obtained for the 
superjacent gun in relation to the upper side 1a of the tank. The abutment 
may also consist of a cylinder 11', so as to attain the same function. 
According to one embodiment, the abutment may consist of a screw. 
Hydraulic cylinders/screws may be controlled in known manners and do not 
in themselves affect the invention. As a result of its anchorage 
arrangement, the loading pendulum may be pivoted in relation to the crew 
turret so as, when the gun is traversed, to be capable of being moved to 
the aperture 19, there to collect a round. After collecting the round, the 
loading pendulum may be returned to a position which corresponds to the 
laterally traversed position of the gun, where it can pivot up towards the 
infeed opening 2c. 
The present invention should not be considered as restricted to the 
embodiment described above and shown on the Drawing by way of example, 
many modifications being conceivable without departing from the spirit and 
scope of the appended claims.