Loading Guns by Pneumatic Tube 



FROM tiiL- da)s of 

 the Spanish Ar- 

 mada down to 

 the present time guns, 

 l)iji: and little, on board 

 men-of-w.ir have been 

 loaded by hand. Am- 

 munition hoists have 

 supplanted the tedious 

 hfting processes of the 

 past, but modern en- 

 gineering progress 

 seems to have lett in 

 the Uirch any instru- 

 ment which would 

 automatically load the 

 gun and thus do away 

 with the human factor. 

 However, a Massachu- 

 setts man has taken 

 out patents on a pneu- 

 matic ammunition 

 elevating and loading 

 device which may solve 

 the problem. 



His device is partic- 

 ularly adapted for use 

 on shipboard, and the 

 object is to provide 

 means under the con- 

 trol of the operator in 

 the turret for elevating 

 a charge from the mag- 

 azine to thi- turret and 

 to direct and drive the 

 charge into the breech 

 of the gun for tiring, 

 after the breech has 

 been closed. The mechanism as installed 

 would extend from a point adjacent to 

 the magazine below the deck to a device 

 located above the gun deck. 



The complete elevating and loading 

 system consists primarily of a trans- 

 mission tube adjacent to the magazine 

 which leads directly to the breech of 

 the gun. The tube's lower section or 

 despatching inlet is so adapted that two 

 holders comprising the inlet may be 

 brought into alinenu-nt with the tube 

 by mo\ing a lexer fixed to the inlet. 

 The air is sui)plied through a i)ipe which 

 connects at one end with a reservoir 

 where the supply of air is stored, and 



The Bend of the Tube Is Impor- 

 tant as a Retarding Device to 

 Deliver the Ammunition Gently 

 and Without Shock into the Breech 



which will always be at 

 constant pressure prior 

 to sending a charge. 

 As each holder is swung 

 into position, or aline- 

 ment with the trans- 

 mission tube, an air- 

 tight joint is made. 

 When one holder is 

 connected with the 

 transmission tube and 

 the charge is ready to 

 be elevated to the gun, 

 the other holder is in 

 a position to receiv'e a 

 fresh supply of ammu- 

 nition. 



Above the gun deck 

 the main or transmis- 

 sion tube is pivoted at 

 its lower end so that it 

 may be swung to con- 

 nect with either of the 

 guns near it. The tube 

 is curved to form a 

 bend by which the 

 ammunition is carried 

 round to the breech of 

 the gun and delivered 

 horizontally' into the 

 gun. 



When the tube is in 

 |)osition to deliver into 

 the gun it is held firmly 

 in position by means of 

 a lever. A counter- 

 balance connected with 

 the tube sections facili- 

 tates their movement and holds them in 

 any desired jiosition. Within easy reach 

 of the gunner is a \alve which is operated 

 to allow the charge of amnumition to be 

 driven into the gun, but an automatic 

 device makes this impossible unless the 

 transmission tube is in alinement with 

 the breech of the gun. A system of 

 valve connections makes this possible. 



By means of them the man in charge 

 of the magazine will be unable to send 

 any amnumition until the gunner is 

 ready to reccixe it. When the gimner is 

 ready he will turn the val\e al)ove his 

 head which will allow the man in the 

 magazine to send up the ammunition. 



3SS 



