Arrangement for supporting mortar shell into barrel

Details Arrangement for supporting mortar shell into barrel Arrangement for supporting mortar shell into barrel

1999-08-23

2001-07-10

Tudor, Harold J. (Department: 3641)

Ammunition and explosives

Cartridges

Projectile structure

C102S293000, C102S372000, C102S469000, C102S483000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06257148

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an arrangement for supporting a mortar shell in the barrel of a breech-loading mortar weapon, said arrangement comprising a support piece, with a rim flange, to be attached to the tail of the mortar shell.
BACKGROUND
A problem with mortars used on different armored self-propelled chassis concerns the ability of the device to defend itself. If a heavy mortar is mounted on a chassis, it is not usually easy to mount on it sufficiently heavy artillery weapons for defense purposes. Lighter automatic weapons, on the other hand, are not always sufficient against antitank equipment or other artillery at a longer distance. In some cases it would be necessary to have the possibility to fire a smooth-bore mortar also horizontally with direct fire, which is not normally possible. Any movement of the shell in the barrel can also cause the shell not to go off when needed. One solution to this problem is proposed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,080, in which a separate guiding and attachment element is used in the tail of a mortar shell. Said solution includes a separate guiding element furnished with grooves dimensioned according to the tail of the shell, the tail being pushed into the grooves in such a way it is attached to the guiding element with a friction joint. A problem with this solution is that the fastening of the support piece is not reliable during handling, the operational reliability of the shell being thus insufficient. The application of said solution also requires very precise measures of the tail of the shell and its support piece, in order for the shell to function at least somewhat reliably.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement which enables a mortar shell to be held securely and reliably in a correct position in a barrel of a breech-loading mortar weapon and ensures its reliable and secure operation under all circumstances.
An arrangement of the invention is characterized in that said arrangement comprises, between a support piece and the tail of a mortar shell, a connecting element providing a mechanical joint, which enables the support piece to be attached to the tail of the mortar shell, and that the support piece includes a firing member, with which the actual primer can be fired to discharge the mortar shell.
An essential idea of the invention is that the support piece is arranged to the shell with a mechanical joint, such as a thread or the like, provided by a separate connecting element, which is of such material and structure that when the mortar shell is fired, the connecting element between the mortar shell and the support piece fractures. Another essential idea of the invention is that the support piece comprises a firing member, which transfers the firing of the weapon to the primer of the mortar shell.
An advantage of the invention is that after the support piece is connected to the mortar shell, the joint between them is firm and holds the mortar shell reliably and securely in place in a correct position in the barrel of the weapon, irrespective of the position of the barrel. Another advantage of the invention is that it allows using existing mortar shells without changes made to the mortar shell itself or to the charging system. A further advantage of the invention is that the support piece is light and inexpensive. One more advantage of the invention is its convenience of use in sliding breech lock wedge type based solutions, in which the sealing and the firing of the mortar shell would be problematic.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2657630 (1953-11-01), Blacker
patent: 2777391 (1957-01-01), McNally
patent: 2872864 (1959-02-01), Barnes et al.
patent: 3326128 (1967-06-01), Choate
patent: 3922962 (1975-12-01), Mertens
patent: 4815387 (1989-03-01), Lubbers
patent: 4887534 (1989-12-01), Dickovich et al.
patent: 5503080 (1996-04-01), Goward
patent: 74385 (1944-12-01), None
patent: 83002 (1935-03-01), None
patent: WO 88/08510 (1988-11-01), None
patent: 9635094 (1996-11-01), None

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