Improvements in Mountings for Turret and Barbette Guns of Medium Calibre, and Apparatus connected therewith
Year: 1899

page_text: Reprinted as amended in accordance with the 'decision of the Chief Examiner
dated the 14th day of April 1908.
PROVISIONAL, SPECIFICATION.
"Improvements in Mountings for Turret and Barbette Guns of
Medium Calibre, and Apparatus connected therewith."
We, ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON of Vickers Sons & Maxim Limited of 28 Victoria
Street, Westminster, in the County of London, Superintendent of Ordnance Works
and JAMES HORNE of Vickers Sons & Maxim Limited, of Barrow-in-Furness, in
the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of our invention
to be as follows:-
In single gun barbettes, the gun, according to our invention, is mounted on a
cradle built up of plates and angle bars suitably connected together, furnished with
trunnions recoil cylinders and recuperator springs, the trunnion bearings being
formed on brackets mounted on the turntable. The gun is elevated and depressed
by hand or power gear, the latter being preferably hydraulic.
For this purpose the lower front end of the cradle is connected by a pair of link's
to a guided crosshead fixed on the piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder. For hand
working, the rear end of the cradle has attached to it the upper end of a toothed
segment, geared to a pinion on a transverse shaft worked by worm gearing, from
both the gun platform and from the sighting station. There may be two segments
and pinions. The worm wheel is clutched to the transverse shaft by friction plates
fixed together by adjustable springs. This allows the gun to slip a little should
any undue shock come on the gearing when the gun is fired. To provide for the
disconnection of this gear when the hydraulic power is used for clevating, å
hydraulic cylinder fitted to the end of the transverse shaft, is connected to the
elevating cylinder so that when the latter is in action, the friction plates are relieved
of their spring load and the shaft can then revolve freely.
When it is desired to work the elevating gear by hand the two ends of the
hydraulic cylinder may be put in communication so that water may flow freely from
one end to the other. Or, as an alternative, the link connecting the piston rod to
the cradle may be readily disconnected.
Sighting gear, preferably of the.drum, and bar type, but which may be of the
ordinary tangent bar type with a fixed front sight, is arranged to work automatic-
ally with the gun.
The turntable is built up of steel plates and angle bars and is supported on a live
roller ring or on a ball track, and can be rotated thereon by either power or hand
gear, the former preferably by means of a three cylinder hydraulic motor geared
to a fixed rack below the platform or attached to au extension of the lower roller
path.

page_text: The shaft carrying the pinion which gears with this rack is preferably arranged
vertically and has free on it two spur wheels, the one is geared to the motor, the
other is geared to machinery worked by hand. A clutch on the vertical shaft can
engage either of the wheels, but not both at the same time. A hand brake is
provided for securing the turntable, if so desired, when changing from hydraulic to
hand power or conversely.
The turntable, gun, mounting and gear are protected by an armoured shield of
suitable shape, extended sufficiently to the rear to provide space for the gun's crew
and serving at the same time to balance the rotating parts, it is provided with a
flexible apron to render the barbette watertight when desired. To provide for
the quick supply of ammunition to the gun, a travelling or rotating carrier is
employed to rotate outside the turntable, but inside the armoured wall of the
barbette.
It is arranged to carry a large number of projectiles, and it is fitted with rollers
to rotate on a fixed rail or it may be fixed on an outward extension of the lower
roller path. A rack attached to the carrier gears with a pinion connected to
mechanism on the turntable by which the carrier can be rotated to bring projectiles
successively to an opening in the gun platform, whence they are transferred by a
crane banging from the shield, to a loading tray pivotted to the slide frame of the
mounting and so arranged that whatever be the elevation of the gun, the tray can
be swung round on its pivot so that its front enters into the gun sufficiently to pro-
tect the screw threads of the breech from injury when the projectile is being
rammed in. The tray is provided with suitable gear determining its position
relatively to the bore of the gun. The powder charges are brought from the
magazines below the gun platform by means of a continuous hoist attached to and
revolving with the turntable. A pair of sprocket wheels at the bottom of the hoist
carry two endless chains extending upwards over a series of sprocket wheels at the
top, these chains carrying double buckets or receptacles each holding two half
explosive charges. By a diverging guide way at the top of the hoist, the charges
are brought to a suitable position on the gun platform, whence they can be easily
lifted by hand. An inclined guide way at the bottom of the hoist brings the
buckets to such a position that the charges can be easily placed in them by
hand.
Whenever a bucket is in the top position, there is another at the bottom and two
or more in intermediate positions. The buckets are guided in their ascent and
descent in the straight part of their course and when it diverges the descending
bucket is prevented from passing into the path of the ascending bucket by an
inclined shutter which is opened by the ascending bucket and when it has passed
the shutter is closed by a light spring.
The chain is worked either by hand or power gear which may have means of
slowing or stopping as the buckets pass the top and bottom positions, so as to give
more time for the withdrawal and entry of the charges. In some cases, instead of a
chain hoist, a duplex hoist is arranged in a rotating trunk having two cages attached
to an endless wire rope, one being at the top when the other is at the bottom. They
are arranged to move up and down suitable guides attached to the trunk and made
to pass up through the turntable, being diverged therein so that the cages will
present themselves in a convenient position at the side of the mounting for the
withdrawal of the charges. The hoist can likewise be arranged to be worked both
by hand and hydraulic power, but preferably only hand power is employed, the
cages being balanced so that there is only the waight of the charge itself to be
lifted.

page_text: 16
'Improvements in Mountings for Turret and Barbette Guns of
Medium Calibre, and Apparatus connected therewith.".
We, ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON of Vickers Sons & Maxim Limited, of 28 Victoria
Street, Westminster, in the County of London, Superintendent of Ordnance Works,
and JAMES HORNE of Vickers Sons & Maxim Limited of Barrow-in-Furness in the
County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Our invention relates to the-mounting-and-shielding of single turret and barbette
guns of moderate calibre, particularly to the gear for elevating and training the
gun either by motor or hand power, and to the machinery for supplying the gun
with projectiles and--explosive--eharges; as we shall describe referring to the
accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section, Fig. 2 is a transverse section, and Fig. 3 is a
plan of a barbette or turret with a single gun, its mountings and working machinery
including a hoist for the explosive charges. Fig. 4 is a vertical section and Fig. 4ª
a sectional plan of a modified form of the hoist.
Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are respectively a part side elevation, an end view partly
sectional and a plan of the elevating gear.
Fig. 8 is a side view, Fig. 9 is an end view and Fig. 10 is a plan of the loading
tray and its gear.
Fig. 11 is a plan shewing a modification in the movement of the loading tray.
The gun is mounted in a cradle built up of plates and angle bars suitably con-
nected together, and furnished in the usual way with trunnions, recoil cylinders
and recuperator springs, the trunnion bearings being carried on brackets fixed on
the turntable, which revolves on a live roller ring 1.
The turntable, gun, mounting and working machinery are all protected by an
armoured shield 2 which is round in front but is extended rearwards so as to give
space for the gun's crew and to balance the gun and its appurtenances, and where
the lower edge of the shield nearly meets the armour plate circular wall 3, it is
provided with a flexible water-tight apron 4 which can be raised or lowered by
screws.
The gun is elevated by hydraulic pressure or by hand gear. For working by
hydraulic pressure the lower front end of the gun cradle a has an eye connected by a
pair of links b to the guided cross head c fixed on the piston rod of the hydraulic
cylinder d to either end of which, fluid under pressure is admitted by suitable
valves of ordinary kind worked by hand. For elevating by hand gear, the rear
end of the cradle a has jointed to it the upper ends of a pair of toothed segments e
which gear with pinions f on a shaft having on it a worm wheel h engaged by a
worm which is connected by shafts and bevil gear to a hand winch which may be
situated in any convenient part of the turret, preferably on the sighting station.
The worm wheel is clutched to the shaft by friction plates pressed together
by springs m. This allows the guns to slip a little in elevation should the gearing
be subjected to undue shock when the gun is fired. When the elevating is effected
by hydraulic pressure, the hand gear is unclutched from the shaft g in the following
manner.
On the end of the shaft is fitted with suitable packing a hydraulic cylinder n
which 'communicates by a pipe o with the valves of the hydraulic cylinder d so that
when this valve is moved to admit fluid under pressure, to the cylinder & the fluid
acts also in the cylinder n forcing it back wards and thereby withdrawing the pressure
of the springs m from the friction plates so that they no longer by frictional

page_text: pressure clutch the worm wheel h to the shaft g, but allow the shaft and its
pinions to revolve freely while the worm wheel h remains at rest.
For sighting, the fore sight 5 is fixed on the standard 6 on which the hand
winches for elevating are mounted, the upper winch being worked on the sighting
platform, and the other on the lower platform. The back sight 7.is moved by gear,
of the ordinary known kind connected to the cradle, according as the gun is
elevated or depressed, and is also moved independently in the usual way.
On
For training, the turntable carrying the gun mounting, has attached to it an
internally toothed ring p with which gears a pinion q on an upright shaft
this shaft are fitted a bevil wheels and a spur wheel t with a clutch by which either
can be engaged with the shaft r, the other being disengaged. The bevil wheel s is
worked from a hydraulic (for which an electric motor might be substituted)
motor u; the spur wheel t is worked by an intermediate wheel v worked by bevil
gear from the hand winch at j.
When the training is effected by hand it is convenient to arrange another pinion 8
gearing with the ring p and connected by a clutch and suitable gear to a second
hand winch 9.
On the vertical shaft is fixed a brake wheel 21 which can be clutched to the
shaft by a lever 22 worked by a screw from a hand wheel 23. By engaging the.
clutch the turntable is held steady whilst changing from hydraulic to hand power
for training or conversely.
For supplying projectiles, a number of these are laid on a carrier w which has
wheels revolving on a circular rail x. The carrier has internal teeth gearing with
a pinion y on an upright shaft worked by winch handles and worm gear z. Successive
projectiles can thus be brought round to an opening through the gun platform to be
raised by a suitable crane 10 and transferred to a suitable loading tray 11.
As shewn in Figs. 8, 9 and 10 the loading tray 11 is pivotted on an arm 24
projecting from a vertical rocking shaft 28 mounted on a rearward extension of the
gun slide 25. By means of a hand wheel 26 working a worm 27 engaging a worm
wheel on the shaft 28, the arm 24 can be swept round from the position shewn in
full lines in Fig. 10 to the position shewn in dotted lines, the tray itself being at
the same time turned on its pivot by means of bevil gear 29 and bevil wheel 30
engaging a stationary wheel 31 so that the tray with the projectile on it is advanced
into the breech of the gun, the tray protecting the internal threads of the breech
while the projectile is being rammed in.
The movement of the loading tray may be effected as shewn in Fig. 11 in which
case it is carried on two equal radius rods 32 and 33 which have pinions on their
axes geared together through an intermediate pinion 34, so that in swinging the
tray round from the receiving to the loading position, they act with it as a parallel
motion keeping the axis of the projectile always parallel to the bore of the gun.
The rod 32 being in a higher plane than 33 swings over it and its pivot.
The same crane 10 can also serve to transfer projectiles from a lift 12, by which
they are raised from the shell room below, and place them on the carrier w.
For raising the charges of explosive, there is a armoured trunk or shaft 13 which
is central to the turntable and extends down to the magazine. In this trunk two
tubular holders 14 are caused by a winch 15 working ropes passing over guide.
pulleys to travel up and down, the one descending as the other ascends, so that
there is only the weight of the charge to be raised. The holders 14 are guided in
a tube, the upper part of which above 16 is attached to the turntable so as to
revolve with it, the part below 16 being stationary. The upper part is inclined in
such a way that the holder 14, which is mounted on a universal joint, as it approaches
the top of its stroke, is canted over into an oblique position presenting its mouth
conveniently, so that the charge can be taken from it.
According to the modification shewn in Fig. 4, each of the tubular holders 14, of
which in this case there may be more than two, is suspended by a swivel joint from
an endless chain 17, which passes round a sprocket wheel below, driven either by a
hand, winch 18 or by suitable gear from a hydraulic engine 19. This chain 17 passes

page_text: over guide pulleys at the top leading it obliquely to the side. In this case there is
within the armoured trunk 13 an inner tubular trunk 20 which is attached to and
turns with the turntable and the sprocket wheel, its driving gear and the guide
pulleys are all mounted on the trunk 20. At the bottom of this trunk the tubular
holder 14 lies in an inclined position to receive the charge of explosive, and when
it reaches the top is again inclined into a position convenient for removing the charge
from it. Instead of a single chain sprocket wheel and set of 'guide pulleys, as
described, there are preferably two sets of these arranged side by side (Fig. 4*) and
in this case each tubular holder may carry half the explosive charge.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. The mounting-and-shielding-of-a--barbette--or--turret--gun---substantially--as
herein-deseribed-with reference-to-the-drawings
1. The gearing for elevating the gun arranged to be operated either by
hydraulic pressure or by hand power, substantially as described.
3-The-gearing-for-training-the-gun-by-turning--the--turntable-either--by-a
hydraulic--or-other-motor;-or-by-hand-power-substantially-as-described:
4. The-earrier-for--projectiles--arranged-to-revolve--outside-the--turntable--but
within-the-shield-and-means-for-charging-and-moving-the-carrier-substantially--as
described:
5. The-apparatus-for-raising-charges-of-explosive,-substantially-as-described with
reference-to-Figs. 1-and-2-of-the-drawings.
6.-The--modified--apparatus-for-raising--charges-of-explosive, -substantially--a8
deseribed-with-reference-to-Figs:-4-and-4".
7.-The-loading tray-and-gear, arranged-and-operating-substantially-as--described
with-reference-to-Figs:-8,-0-and-10.
2. 8. The modified arrangement of loading tray and gear substantially as
described with reference to Fig. 11.
3. 9. In combination with a barbette or turret gun of moderate calibre, the
mounting turntable and shield, the elevating and training gear, and the machinery
for supplying projectiles and explosive charges, substantially as described with
reference to the drawings.
Dated this 5th day of March 1900