Turret, particularly for an armoured military vehicle, with a firearm support structure

Abstract

 The turret (12) comprises a support structure (16) and a firearm (14) carried by the support structure (16). The support structure (16) includes a base (20) fixed to the turret (12), a connection beam (22) articulated at its front end to the base (20) around a first horizontal axis of rotation (X1), and a firearm-carrying beam (18) articulated at its rear end to the rear end of the connection beam (22) around a second horizontal axis of rotation (X2) parallel to the first. The firearm (14) is received in the firearm-carrying beam (18) so as not to project out from the back thereof. At least one first linear actuator is interposed between the base (20) and the connection beam (22) to control the rotation thereof around the first axis of rotation (X1) and at least one second linear actuator is interposed between the connection beam (22) and the firearm-carrying beam (18) to control the rotation thereof around the second axis of rotation (X2).

Description

[0001] The present invention concerns a turret, particularly for an armoured military vehicle, like for example a tank or an armoured personnel carrier (APC), equipped with a support structure for a firearm, like for example a heavy machinegun.

[0002] The definition "armoured military vehicle" comprises both wheeled or tracked armoured vehicles capable of withstanding direct shots from light firearms by infantry, and wheeled or more often tracked armoured military vehicles capable of withstanding shots from medium-calibre cannons. Armoured military vehicles typically include a turret that is able to swivel around a vertical axis of rotation and on the upper face of which a firearm, such as for example a heavy machinegun (or autocannon), in other words a firearm firing in bursts projectiles having a calibre of between 20 mm and 40 mm, is mounted, through a suitable support structure, with which a machinegun, in other words a firearm firing in bursts projectiles without explosive charge having a calibre of less than 20 mm, optionally may be associated.

[0003] Figure 1 of the attached drawings illustrates an armoured military vehicle 10, in particular an APC (SAVIEM VAB 6x6 model), equipped with a turret 12 (GIAT Toucan 1 model) on which a heavy machinegun 14 (20 mm calibre GIAT M693 model) is mounted through a support structure 16. The turret 12 also includes a machinegun 15 (7.62 mm calibre) mounted parallel to the heavy machinegun 14. According to such a known solution, the heavy machinegun 14 is hinged to the support structure 16 so as to be able to rotate around a transversal horizontal axis of rotation X to tilt the firing axis of the heavy machinegun upwards or downwards with respect to the horizontal. The mounting of the firearm through simple hinging around an axis of rotation has the drawback of the large vertical bulk of the firearm in the rest position, i.e. in the position with the firing axis aligned with the horizontal, and therefore the great vulnerability of the firearm itself.

[0004] In order to avoid such a drawback, International Patent Application WO2005/118295 provides a support structure for a firearm on a turret of a military vehicle, comprising a horizontal rotary support shaft, on which the firearm is installed so as to rotate as a unit, and a stand mechanism arranged to move continuously the support shaft vertically between a lower travel-limit position and an upper travel-limit position. The stand mechanism includes four legs hinged in pairs around an axis coinciding with the axis of rotation of the support shaft so as to take up an inverted V-shaped configuration, as well as a worm screw driving device arranged to drive the movement of the two pairs of legs towards or apart from one another, in order to move the axis of rotation of the firearm upwards or downwards, respectively. Such a solution, whilst allowing the front shape of the firearm to be reduced in the lowered position, does however have the drawback of not allowing the firearm to be tilted upwards (positive inclination) or downwards (negative inclination) over the entire inclination range available, variable for example between -10° and +50° with respect to the horizontal, when it is in the lowered position. The complete angular excursion of the firearm in the available range can only be obtained once the support shaft has been sufficiently lifted with respect to the upper face of the turret.

[0005] US patent 4,706,543 discloses a turret of an armoured military vehicle, in particular a tank, equipped with a support structure for a firearm comprising a lower support element intended to be fixed onto the upper face of the turret and a pair of swivel arms arranged symmetrically with respect to a vertical centre plane of the vehicle. Each of the swivel arms is articulated at its front end to the support structure and at its rear end to the firearm in an intermediate point thereof. First hydraulic linear actuators control the rotational movement of the two swivel arms around a first transverse horizontal axis of rotation between a lowered rest position and a raised firing position, whereas second hydraulic linear actuators control the rotational movement of the firearm with respect to the two swivel arms around a second transverse horizontal axis of rotation (aiming movement). This known solution, which reproduces the combination of characteristics specified in the preamble of the attached independent claim 1, also suffers from the drawback of not allowing the aiming movement of the firearm when the two swivel arms are arranged in the lowered position. In order to be able to carry out aiming it is therefore necessary to move the second axis of rotation away from the turret by forward and upward rotation of the two swivel arms.

[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a turret for an armoured military vehicle equipped with a support structure for a firearm, in particular for a heavy machinegun or autocannon, which does not suffer from the drawbacks of the prior art discussed above.

[0007] This and other purposes are fully accomplished according to the invention thanks to a turret having the characteristics specified in the characterising part of the attached independent claim 1.

[0008] Advantageous embodiments of the invention form the subject-matter of the dependent claims.

[0009] As will be better understood in light of the following description, thanks to the fact that the firearm-carrying beam is articulated with its rear end to the rear end of the connection beam and that the firearm is received in the firearm-carrying beam substantially so as not to project out from the back of it, it is possible to obtain the required angular excursion, both in positive elevation and in negative elevation, reducing the front shape of the firearm to the minimum. More specifically, the positive elevation of the firearm is obtained by rotating just the firearm-carrying beam upwards around the rear axis of rotation, whereas the negative elevation is obtained by rotating just the connection beam upwards around the front axis of rotation. The reduction of the total height of the military vehicle deriving from the reduction in front shape of the firearm makes not only the firearm but the entire vehicle more difficult to target and therefore less vulnerable.

[0010] Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clearer from the following detailed description, given purely by way of non-limiting example with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation view that shows an armoured military vehicle equipped with a turret with a support structure for a firearm according to the prior art;

Figure 2 is a side elevation view that shows an armoured military vehicle identical to the one of Figure 1, but equipped with a turret with a support structure for a firearm according to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a side elevation view of the support structure for a firearm according to the present invention, in the neutral elevation position;

Figures 4 and 5 are a side elevation view and a plan view from above, respectively, of the support structure of Figure 3, without firearm; and

Figure 6 is a comparative table that shows both the support structure for a firearm according to the prior art (Figure 1) and the support structure for a firearm according to the present invention, respectively, in the position of maximum positive elevation (elevating arc equal to 50°), in the position of neutral elevation (elevating arc equal to 0°) and in the position of maximum negative elevation (elevating arc equal to -10°).

[0011] With reference initially to figure 2, an armoured military vehicle (in the illustrated example the VTT SAVIEM VAB 6x6) is generally indicated 10 and includes a turret 12 according to the present invention, onto which a firearm 14 (in the illustrated example the heavy machinegun 20 mm calibre GIAT M693) is mounted through a support structure 16. Parallel to the heavy machinegun 14 it is also possible to install a machinegun 15 (in the illustrated example a 7,62 mm calibre machinegun).

[0012] With reference also to Figures 3 to 5, the support structure 16 basically includes a firearm-carrying beam 18 that carries the firearm 14, a base 20 that is fixed onto the upper face of the turret 12, and a connection beam 22 that is articulated at its ends both to the firearm-carrying beam 18 and to the base 20.

[0013] The firearm-carrying beam 18 has a channel-like configuration with a substantially U-shaped cross section. The firearm 14 is partially received in the firearm-carrying beam 18 substantially so as not to project from the back of the beam itself, as can clearly be observed in Figure 3. One of the two side walls of the firearm-carrying beam 18 has an opening 24 to allow ammunition to be loaded into the firearm 14. The connection beam 22 is articulated at its front end to the front end of the base 20 by means of a first articulation pin 26 so as to be able to rotate around a first transverse horizontal axis of rotation X1. The firearm-carrying beam 18 is also articulated at its rear end to the rear end of the connection beam 22 by means of a second articulation pin 28 so as to be able to rotate around a second transverse horizontal axis of rotation X2.

[0014] Of course, the support structure 16 has associated actuation means (per sé known and not illustrated), for example of the hydraulic type, arranged to control both the rotation of the firearm-carrying beam 18 with respect to the connection beam 22 around the second axis of rotation X2 and the rotation of the connection beam 22 with respect to the base 20 around the first axis of rotation X1 independently from each other. Such actuation means can for example include first hydraulic linear actuators (one or two in number) interposed between the base 20 and the connection beam 22 to control the rotation of the latter around the first axis of rotation X1 and second hydraulic linear actuators (one or two in number) interposed between the connection beam 22 and the firearm-carrying beam 18 to control the rotation of the latter around the second axis of rotation X2.

[0015] As shown in the second column of the table of Figure 6, the upward rotational movement of the firearm 14 (positive elevation) is obtained by upward rotation (in the clockwise direction with respect to the observer of Figure 6) of just the firearm-carrying beam 18 around the second axis of rotation X2, whereas the downward rotational movement of the firearm 14 (negative elevation) is obtained by rotating just the connection beam 22 downwards (in the anti-clockwise direction with respect to the observer of Figure 6) around the first axis of rotation X1.

[0016] The table of Figure 6 also allows the support structure of the invention to be directly compared with a support structure according to the prior art, in particular according to Figure 1. In the first column the support structure of the prior art is depicted, including the firearm, in the position of maximum positive elevation (elevating arc equal to 50°), in the position of neutral elevation (elevating arc equal to 0°) and in the position of maximum negative elevation (elevating arc equal to -10°), respectively, whereas in the second column the support structure of the invention is depicted in the same three positions indicated above. As can clearly be observed from the comparison between the two side elevation views of the support structure of the prior art and of the support structure according to the invention in the position of neutral elevation, the invention makes it possible to obtain a significant reduction in the front shape of the support structure and firearm unit compared to the prior art, which in the proposed example is of the order of 300 mm.

[0017] Moreover, compared to the other two known solutions presented in the introductory part of the description (W02005/118295 and US 4,706,543), the invention makes it possible to obtain a wider angular excursion (in particular in positive elevation) without the need to shift the axis of rotation of the firearm upwards and therefore reducing the vulnerability both of the firearm itself and of the entire military vehicle to the maximum.

[0018] Naturally, the principle of the invention remaining unchanged, the embodiments and the details of construction can be widely varied compared to those described and illustrated purely by way of non-limiting example, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the attached claims.

Claims

1. Turret (12), particularly for an armoured military vehicle (10), comprising a support structure (16) and a firearm (14) carried by the support structure (16),
the support structure (16) including a base (20) fixed to the turret (12) and a connection beam (22) articulated at its front end to the base (20) so as to be able to rotate around a first horizontal axis of rotation (X1),
the turret (12) being characterised in that the support structure (16) also includes a firearm-carrying beam (18) articulated at its rear end to the rear end of the connection beam (22) so as to be able to rotate around a second horizontal axis of rotation (X2) parallel to the first, and in that the firearm (14) is received in the firearm-carrying beam (18) substantially so as to not project out from the back thereof.

2. Turret according to claim 1, wherein the firearm-carrying beam (18) has a channel-like configuration with a substantially U-shaped cross section, with a base and a pair of side walls.

3. Turret according to claim 2, wherein one of the two side walls of the firearm-carrying beam (18) has an opening (24) to allow ammunition to be loaded into the firearm (14).

4. Turret according to any one of the preceding claims, also comprising actuation means provided to control both the rotation of the connection beam (22) with respect to the base (20) around the first axis of rotation (X2) and the rotation of the firearm-carrying beam (18) with respect to the connection beam (22) around the second axis of rotation (X2) independently of each other.

5. Turret according to claim 4, wherein said actuation means include at least one first hydraulic linear actuator interposed between the base (20) and the connection beam (22) to control the rotation thereof around the first axis of rotation (X1) and at least one second hydraulic linear actuator interposed between the connection beam (22) and the firearm-carrying beam (18) to control the rotation thereof around the second axis of rotation (X2).

6. Military vehicle, in particular an armoured vehicle, comprising a turret (12) according to any one of the preceding claims.

Drawing