A lightweight military vehicle is provided with an unmanned turret for interchangeably supporting large weapon stations. Elastomer filled stanchions connected to a turret platform serve to isolate weapon impulse forces from the vehicle frame. Driver, commander and gunner seats are located externally to the turret and provided with said doors to enable quick exiting. Both powered and manual backup drives are external to the rotating turret disk and are accessible from the gunner's seat. The elevation drive employs a ball and socket joint connecting an upper yoke mounted to the weapon with a fixed lower portion controlling vertical movement of the yoke and thereby the elevation of the gun.

Turret system for lightweight military vehicle

A mortar design according to the present invention has been described. The mortar of the present invention weighs substantially less than the presently available mortars. Furthermore, the mortar of the present invention provides a dampening mechanism which substantially dampens the movement of the entire mortar assembly during firing of rounds.

Lightweight gun systems

An automatic pistol having a slide reciprocably mounted on a frame and having a plastic buffer member mounted between the pistol slide and barrel for absorbing slide impact between the slide and the frame.

Shock absorbing buffer and recoil reducer

The present invention relates to a weapon system of the type known per se, comprising a weapon tube (78) and a fixed reference (80), the weapon tube being guided slidably relative to the fixed reference, and at least one damping device interposed functionally between the weapon tube and the fixed reference, characterised in that the damping device (A) comprises at least one deformable structure designed to absorb at least a large part of the mechanical recoil energy of the weapon tube during the ejection of a projectile or missile, by converting this mechanical energy at least partially into heat energy.

Weapon with recoil buffer.

A recoilless rocket launcher including a rocket launch tube which is resintly coupled to a support member. Points of contact to the gunner who fires the rocket from a rocket launch tube are to the shoulder and the hand which grips a hand grip which is part of the firing mechanism integrally attached to the support member. The resilient coupling for support member is comprised of a resilient material selected from the group consisting of a butene-diolefin copolymer, rubber, plastic, leather, or fiberous paper. The resilient material disposed in spaced relation adjacent opposite ends of the support member resiliently couples the support member to the launch tube. The nonrigid coupling effects the transfer mechanisms to result in a time offset, extended reaction time, and a reduced total impressed impulse transferable to the gunner prior to rocket exiting the rocket launch tube. This described action is accomplished by the resilient coupling, and in an advanced embodiment, sliding means to allow the rocket launch tube to freely slide in the support member also permits a significant delay and a reduction in the forces that can be transferred directly to the gunner to thereby derive benefits including improved personal comfort to the gunner, enhancement of confidence level in system, and a significant improvement in the expected accuracy of the rocket launched to a target from a shoulder fired rocket launcher.

C. Molnar Eugene

Papers

Dynamic force attenuator for a mortar