Cradle apparatus for mounting an automatic cannon to an elevationally rotatable plate positioned at an exterior region of a weapons system turret or cupola includes an elongate, rigid, box-like cradle and first, second and third universal ball connections, arranged in a generally triangular configuration, for mounting the cradle to the rotatable plate. Each of the connections includes cradle portions fixed to the cradle and plate portions fixed to the plate. The first, uppermost connection inclu...

Two stage shell feeding apparatus for a reciprocating bolt-type automatic cannon or gun, comprises a first stage shell rotor, having a plurality of shell cavities, rotatably mounted between a shell supply and a cannon shell pick up position, such that when a shell in one of the rotor cavities is in the shell pick up position, an empty rotor cavity is in shell receiving relationship with the shell supply. After firing of the cannon and while the bolt is recoiling rearwardly, barrel gas operated a...

A self-powered, belt-fed automatic gun for firing cylindrical, telescoped ammunition is described. Mounted in receiver portions of the gun, to which a barrel is connected, are a shell chamber, a chamber carrier assembly, a shell rammer assembly and shell feeding and casing ejecting assembly. The shell rammer and chamber carrier assemblies are mounted in the receiver for axial reciprocating movement, the chamber being interconnected with the carrier assembly so that recoil movement of the carrier...

Disclosed is an ammunition magazine which may be made of plastic, pre-loaded with ammunition rounds and stored in the loaded condition for extended periods of time without deterioration. A spring motor is mounted on and drives an ammunition follower to urge the ammunition rounds toward the magazine's feed opening, and includes a drive gear which engages a gear rack formed on an interior wall of the magazine housing. The spring motor is disposed in an operationally unstressed condition during sto...

A linkless ammunition magazine for guns includes an endless, shell-holding conveyor having two, spaced apart bicycle-type chains which are entrained over several pairs of guides that confine the conveyor to a convoluted path within a housing. During firing of an associated gun, an externally driven sprocket drives the conveyor in a direction advancing conveyor-held shells towards a shell transfer position located just downstream of the drive sprocket. A pair of guides located just upstream of th...

A breech/receiver assembly for automatic cannon incorporates a rotating chamber and a recoil and counterrecoil buffer integrated within the breech. The breech, including the buffer means, recoils with the barrel and because the mass of the buffer is added to the breech and barrel, recoil forces transferred to trunions mounting the breech/receiver assembly are significantly reduced. The configuration of the breech/receiver assembly, including the rotating chamber and integrated recoil/counterreco...

A foldable gun, useful in mob control and police undercover work because of small size and unassuming appearance when it is in folded configuration, includes a magazine housing and stock pivotally mounted to a receiver assembly in a manner in which the magazine housing may be pivoted to a parallel position adjacent a receiver assembly underside while containing a magazine. Pivotal mounting of the stock enables the stock to fold to an underside of the receiver assembly. A U-shaped configuration o...

An automatic gun comprises a barrel, a receiver connected to the barrel and a bolt and bolt carrier mounted in the receiver for recoil and counterrecoil movement between the barrel breech and a recoil position rearwardly of a shell pick up position and a casing ejection port. The bolt carrier has a cam track formed along it and the bolt has a pivotally mounted casing extractor and an ejection recess in an opposite region. The forward end of a cam follower is pivotally mounted to the receiver for...

Microwave projectile communication apparatus comprises a microwave probe fixed to a gun barrel at its muzzle end. A microwave oscillator, having a reference frequency selected for exciting the single fundamental electromagnetic mode in the barrel, is connected to the probe, for example, through a hybrid mixer configured for extracting, from moving projectile-reflected microwaves, a true Doppler signal for projectile velocity measurements. Connected between the oscillator and the probe is a signa...

Dual shell feeding apparatus for a dual shell supply automatic gun and the like includes a shell rotor mounted in rotational shell transferring relationship between the two supplies and a shell pick up position of the gun. The rotor is stepped in one rotational direction to feed from one shell supply and the opposite direction to feed from the other supply, shells being fed into the rotor from the supplies according to rotor rotational direction. Selecting apparatus enables prefiring selection o...