Patent GB-191502731-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to Gun Carriages.
IPC: F41A23/32
Filed: 1915-02-19
Abstract: 2731. Compagnie des Forges et Acieries de la Marine et d'Homecourt. Oct. 17, 1913, [Convention date]. Field carriages; recoil apparatus; tripod and like mounts; mounting and dismounting.- Relates to field carriages supported at three points, the forward support being under the gun and the rear supports being formed by divided trail members. According to the invention, the forward support is in the form of a strut movable in a transverse plane so that it can be set vertically on sloping ground. In the form shown in Fig. 1<a>, the strut 1 is pivoted at 3 to the axle sleeve 2 and is secured by means of a spring plunger 4, which engages a toothed sector 5 on the sleeve. This enables the strut to be set vertically on sloping ground. For travelling purposes, the strut may be connected up to the axle as shown at 10. The strut may be articulated or ball-socketed in the foot or base 7, and may be adjusted laterally by worm gearing. In an alternative form, the hingepin 3 of the strut may be carried by a plate or bracket hinged to the carriage or axle support about an axis lying parallel to the wheel axle. In this case, for transport, the strut may be lifted up and supported in the line of the gun, being pinned either in advance of the axle, to the gun cradle, or in rear thereof to one of the trail members. For heavy ordnance, telescopic struts as shown in Figs. 9 and 10 may be used. In the form shown in Fig. 9, a number of concentric springs 36 preferably of different pitch are arranged within the telescopic members 30, 31. The upper member 31 is hinged on the pin 3 as in the previous forms and is held in adjusted position by means of a spring bolt 32 adapted to engage holes in a quadrant guide 33. The device is secured in raised or lowered positions by means of a second spring bolt 37 carried by the member 31 and adapted to engage alternative openings 38 in the lower member. In the form shown in Fig. 10, the device is rendered air-tight, and compressed air is utilized as the means for expanding the telescopic members. In another form, the telescopic members are relatively adjusted by screw-and-nut gearing, and in a further form, the screw-and-nut method of actuation is arranged in combination with the compressed air device shown in Fig. 10. The Specification as open to inspection under Section 91 (3) (a) also describes (1) detachable trail members, shown in Fig. 16 (Cancelled), so forked that they may be connected up to the carriage 69 in a different position suitable for coupling up to a draught animal or to a limber, and (2) safety devices for locking the carriage to the axle member in dismemberable guns. Fig. 12 (Cancelled) shows one form of this safety device. In this form the strut bracket 2<a> is mounted on the axle 2 being adapted to be raised in advance of the wheels for transport. It is rigidly secured in the firing position by means of a hook 59 on a lug 58 adapted to engage a semicircular part 60 on a pin carried by the carriage and adapted to be rotated by means of a hand-lever 61. The safety device which prevents disconnexion except when the elevating-arc 17 has been disengaged from the gun cradle, comprises a cam-shaped member 63 adapted to be locked by the curved surface of the toothed arc and only rotatable when opposite a recess 64 in the arc-shaped member. In this form, the strut is adjusted laterally by means of a worm and rack 56, 5. In Fig. 4 (Cancelled), another form of safety device for a dismountable gun is shown. In this arrangement, the carriage is secured to the axle member 2 by means of curved bars 23 carried by arms 13 on a supporting-axle 14 and operated by means of a hand bar or lever 15. To lock this device when in firing position a cam or lug 16 is secured to the axle 14 so as to move with the arms 13. This cam co-operates with the elevating-sector 17, so that it is only capable of being rotated to the position shown when the elevating-arc 17 has been completely disengaged from the gun cradle. Furthermore, when dismounting, the upper carriage 19 must be brought to a central position in order to bring a suitable aperture 21 therein into alinement with the lug 16. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.