U.S. patent application number 10/535800 was filed with the patent office on 2007-07-05 for integration of a large calibre gun on a ship.
Invention is credited to Uwe Folgmann, Alexander Graf, Heinz-Josef Kruse, Peter Liebel, Henning Von Seidlitz.
Application Number | 20070151493 10/535800 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32240350 |
Filed Date | 2007-07-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070151493 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Graf; Alexander ; et
al. |
July 5, 2007 |
Integration of a large calibre gun on a ship
Abstract
A method for integrating a large-calibre gun on a ship,
including connecting a turret having an armament of a lad gun with
a calibre >127 mm in a modular configuration to an adaptor plate
and a shock-absorbing mounting, and installing the turret on the
ship so that an existing steel structure of the ship withstands
increased recoil forces from the armament.
Inventors: |
Graf; Alexander; (Gifhorn,
DE) ; Von Seidlitz; Henning; (Neuss, DE) ;
Kruse; Heinz-Josef; (Hermannsburg, DE) ; Folgmann;
Uwe; (Neumunster, DE) ; Liebel; Peter;
(Kassel, DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OSTROLENK FABER GERB & SOFFEN
1180 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS
NEW YORK
NY
100368403
US
|
Family ID: |
32240350 |
Appl. No.: |
10/535800 |
Filed: |
September 30, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
September 30, 2003 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP03/10820 |
371 Date: |
April 5, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
114/5 ;
89/37.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B63B 3/70 20130101; B63G
1/00 20130101; B63B 17/0081 20130101; F41A 23/24 20130101; B63B
3/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
114/005 ;
089/037.01 |
International
Class: |
B63G 1/00 20060101
B63G001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 22, 2002 |
DE |
102 54 786.6 |
Claims
1-15. (canceled)
16. A method for integrating a large-calibre gun on a ship,
comprising connecting a turret having an armament of a land gun
with a calibre >127 mm in a modular configuration to an adaptor
plate and a shock-absorbing mounting, and installing the turret on
the ship so that an existing steel structure of the ship withstands
increased recoil forces from the armament.
17. The method as claimed in claim 16, including supporting the
shock-absorbing mounting by a mounting frame, and mounting the
mounting frame together with the adaptor plate and the turret in a
modular form on the ship, the mounting frame being used for
three-dimensional compensation for a hole which is provided on a
free deck of the ship, and being mounted on an adjacent hole rim
area of the deck.
18. The method as claimed in claim 17, including providing a
sealing skirt to protect the shock-absorbing mounting on the
mounting frame against waves of water.
19. The method as claimed in claim 17, including providing a turret
basket area located under the turret with NBC sealing by means of a
radial damper located between the mounting frame and an
intermediate frame which is connected to a turret ring mount of the
adaptor.
20. A ship gun, comprising: a turret which can rotate in an azimuth
direction; a weapon system which can be aimed in elevation, the
turret and the weapon system being of a land-based gun with a
caliber of more than 127 mm and of modular construction; and a
shock-absorbing mounting attachable to the ship, the turret being
mounted with the weapon system in the shock-absorbing mounting so
as to prevent unacceptable recoil forces from acting on the ship
structure.
21. The ship gun as claimed in claim 20, wherein the turret and the
weapon system are an armored howitzer with a calibre of 155 mm.
22. The ship gun as claimed in claim 20, and further comprising a
ring mount attached to the turret, the ring mount having a lower
ring mount part connected to an intermediate frame or to an adaptor
or an adaptor plate, or inserted in the intermediate frame, the
intermediate frame being connected to the shock-absorbing
mounting.
23. The ship gun as claimed in claim 20, wherein the
shock-absorbing mounting is configured to have a maximum damping
movement of approximately 150 mm.
24. The ship gun as claimed in claim 22, wherein the
shock-absorbing mounting is composed of mounting elements which are
arranged like segments on a circumference.
25. The ship gun as claimed in claim 24, wherein the mounting
elements are connected to the intermediate frame so as to absorb
compressive or tensile forces depending on firing direction and
elevation angle and are compressable or extendable elastically
accordingly, for shock damping.
26. The ship gun as claimed in claim 24, wherein the mounting
elements are configured so as to be loadable and elastically
deformable on a number of axes.
27. The ship gun as claimed in claim 26, wherein the mounting
elements are composed of a rubber mixture, a steel spring or some
other suitable elastically deformable spring or damping
element.
28. The ship gun as claimed in claim 24, and further comprising a
mounting frame firmly connectable on one side to a free deck of the
ship and on another side supports the shock-absorbing mounting.
29. The ship gun as claimed in claim 28, and further comprising a
radial damper arranged to form an airtight NBC seal between the
intermediate frame and the mounting frame.
30. The ship gun as claimed in claim 29, wherein the radial damper
is a hollow rubber flexible tube.
31. The ship gun as claimed in claim 28, and further comprising a
sealing skirt arranged so as to protect the mounting elements and
the mounting frame from waves of water.
32. The ship gun as claimed in claim 20, wherein the turret is
equipped with an inertial platform which contains a GPS-assisted,
high-precision inertial navigation system, which directly
determines attitude of a weapon barrel of the weapon system in
three dimensions and geographical position on the earth without
ship-related influences.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The invention relates to a method for integration of a
large-caliber gun on a ship, as claimed in the features of the
precharacterizing clauses of claims 1 and 2, and to a ship gun as
claimed in the features of the precharacterizing clause of claim
6.
PRIOR ART
[0002] According to the prior art, it is known for ships currently
to fire up to ranges of 15 to 18 km with munition calibers of 57,
76, 100 up to a maximum of 127 mm. A number of nations have started
to develop guided missiles with the capability to attack land
targets. The effectiveness of the guns used is considered to differ
depending on the caliber, the rate of fire and the type of
ammunition used. However, in general it can be stated that the
effect on the target increases with the caliber. Large-caliber guns
of the types used by Army artillery are currently not used for this
purpose because the ship structure will not withstand the recoil
forces of large-caliber ammunition in the long term. Of the guns
which are used on land, it is known that large-caliber ammunition
can be fired accurately at targets at ranges up to 40 km. The
recoil effects that occur in this case are minimized by appropriate
technical solutions, such as recoil dampers.
[0003] The ship ammunition that is used at the moment is specially
manufactured and is not compatible with land ammunition. Other
ammunition, for example armor-piercing ammunition etc, cannot be
used. In some circumstances, there are resupply difficulties during
operations abroad. A further disadvantage of the currently used
ship ammunition is the short range, as a result of which land
targets cannot be attacked without considerable risk to the ship. A
further disadvantage of the comparatively small caliber of ship
guns is that the guns are susceptible to weather influences, for
example wind, so that small ammunition is subject to comparatively
wide scatter.
[0004] A further disadvantage of the known ship projectiles
mentioned above is that they cannot carry intelligent submunitions,
for example cluster munitions or smoke. In order to be effective, a
high hit accuracy is required, that is to say a greater number of
shots will be necessary in some circumstances.
[0005] The gun turrets that are currently fitted to ships are not
gas-tight. Furthermore, they are hard-mounted on the ship, that is
to say they are rigidly connected to the ship, which means that the
recoil forces resulting from possible use of large-caliber
ammunition would be introduced directly into the ship structure and
would lead to its destruction. Reinforcement of the steel in the
ship structure would lead to a heavy weight and the obvious
disadvantages associated with this, as well as leading to
considerable additional costs.
[0006] A gun such as this is known from EP 0 051 119 A1. An
automatic loading system for large-caliber ammunition is described.
In this case, a Howitzer (155 mm) is mounted on a carriage. The
carriage is in turn firmly installed on a ship deck. This results
in the problem that the recoil forces from the gun/carriage are
introduced directly into the ship structure.
[0007] When conventional ship guns are used, the rolling of the
ship about its longitudinal axis leads to considerable problems in
the determination of the coordinates, so that the aiming accuracy
also suffers, with undesirable scatter occurring.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The object of the invention is to satisfy the existing
military requirements for provision of the capability for naval
fire support (NFS) for the use of military ships in the coastal
area, with fire support for amphibious operations being of
particular importance in this context, for which purpose the
projectile range should be considerably increased so that it is
also possible to attack inland targets with a high hit accuracy.
The aim is to achieve this object for newly built ships and during
ship conversions without any major modifications to the steel
structure and with as little financial cost and time penalty as
possible.
[0009] This object is achieved by the features specified in patent
claims 1 and 5.
[0010] The invention is based on the knowledge that the use of land
guns on ships, which has not been possible until now, satisfies the
new naval requirement by the use of existing technology, which even
exceeds expectations, rather than by expensive new development. The
use of the land guns with a caliber of >127 mm on a ship
advantageously makes it possible to use the proven technology of
large-caliber land guns for newly built ships. In a further
advantageous manner, the turret of a land gun can be connected to
an adaptor plate and a shock-absorbing mounting and can be
installed on the ship in such a way that the existing steel
structure of the ship withstands the increased recoil forces. It is
particularly simple for this installation to be in a modular form,
so that no significant modifications need be made to the ship, and
the installation can be carried out in a short time. Land guns with
a caliber of >127 mm can be used without modification, with the
recoil forces to be transmitted to the gun deck being absorbed in a
particularly advantageous manner by a shock-absorbing mounting so
that the advantageous adaptation (which can be produced in a
technologically simple manner) and refinement of the adaptor plate
and additional shock damping for the gun deck allows the ship
technology standard to be linked to the land technology standard,
with this new naval requirement being covered by existing land
guns, preferably from the armored 155 mm howitzer, rather than by
expensive new development.
[0011] The modular (for example) use of the turret and of the
weapon system from the armored 155 mm howitzer as a ship gun makes
it possible in a particularly advantageous manner to achieve a long
range and high effectiveness on the target with little scatter. The
gun according to the invention can also advantageously carry
intelligent submunitions, for example cluster munitions or smoke
munitions. In the coastal area, the use of a turret with a weapon
system from the armored 155 mm howitzer as a ship gun allows fire
support for land operations from a safe position with an
advantageous range of >40 km. In a further advantageous manner,
the modular installation of the armored howitzer on the ship can be
sealed such that it is NBC-proof by the use of a radial damper,
thus preventing any danger to the operator.
[0012] When the armored 155 mm howitzer is used as a ship gun, the
recoil forces must be reduced. A shock-absorbing, elastic mounting
results in the introduction of the force being extended over time,
thus resulting in technically acceptable residual accelerations for
the ship deck. Despite the use of this elastic mounting, an
attitude reference arranged above the elastic mounting on the gun
guarantees correct target aiming. This attitude alignment is made
possible by arranging an inertial platform with GPS and satellite
navigation on the turret, which is used to determine the
three-dimensional position of the weapon barrel and the
geographical position on the earth, thus avoiding the disadvantages
of the ship-related influences on previous ship guns. For the
reason mentioned above, the invention now allows shots to be fired
from a moving ship at a moving target.
[0013] The long range allows the ship to be further away from the
land, thus making it considerably more difficult to find the
position of the ship. In contrast, land targets can easily be
located from the ship by means of helicopters and drones. The
invention also advantageously allows the use of projectiles with
submunitions, as a result of which, when bomblets are used, it is
in any case possible to attack targets without requiring 100% exact
target coordinates, which represents a particular advantage for
attacks from ships at sea. In a further advantageous manner, the
invention allows the combat range for seaborne targets at sea to be
doubled. The proven, intelligent sensor system of the armored
howitzer allows the turret to always be newly aimed even though the
ship is continuing to move. The high aiming accuracy results in a
considerable reduction in the number of shots to be fired. The use
of the turret and the weapon system from the armored 155 mm
howitzer results in ammunition compatibility between the various
land and seaborne armed forces units. In future, the invention will
also allow naval ships to attack targets well in land, with the use
of intelligent (sub-) munitions also being possible.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0014] The invention will be described in detail with reference to
one exemplary embodiment, in the following figures.
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a side view of the modular installation of a
turret with a weapon system from an armored howitzer on a ship.
[0016] FIG. 2 shows the modular configuration of the turret of the
armored howitzer, illustrated enlarged.
[0017] FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a previous ship gun with the
mounting device on the deck, which is also used for mounting the
turret of the armored 155 mm howitzer.
APPROACHES TO IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a land gun 1 on the upper
deck 7 of a naval forces ship 2. The illustrated example shows a
turret 3, which can rotate, with armament 15 (which can be
elevated) from a land gun, based on the example of the armored 155
mm howitzer that is successfully used by the land-based armed
forces.
[0019] The turret 3 is equipped with an inertial platform (which
cannot be seen) with GPS satellite navigation on the turret 3. This
measures the attitude of the barrel 3 in three dimensions, and the
geographical position on the earth. The accurate position of the
gun turret 3 is determined by satellite navigation, in consequence
allowing the necessary aiming of the barrel 15 to be calculated. A
fire control computer (which is not illustrated) receives the
desired target coordinates and determines the necessary ballistic
curve independently of ship-dependent influences. In order to fire
a shot, the turret 3 is rotated about its axis in accordance with
the target calculation, and the barrel 3 is elevated about the
trunnion axis 16.
[0020] The recoil forces from the weapon barrel 15 occur only after
the shot has been fired. The aiming required for the next shot must
be calculated again. On the ship, it is necessary to prevent the
recoil forces from causing damage to the ship structure. This is
advantageously achieved by means of an adaptor 4 (as illustrated in
FIG. 2) and an adaptor plate with a shock-absorbing mounting 5,
which are connected to one another and are installed on the ship in
such a way that the existing steel structure of the ship 2 will
withstand the increased recoil forces.
[0021] The shock-absorbing mounting 5 is supported by a mounting
frame 6. The mounting frame 6 can be mounted together with the
adaptor plate in the turret in a modular form, as a unit. In this
case, the mounting frame 6 is designed such that it equalizes out
the space of a hole which is provided on the free deck 7 of the
ship, and can be mounted on the existing hole rim area 9 of the
deck 7.
[0022] This is achieved by means of a multiple screw attachment 19,
of appropriate size, in the rim area 9 as the connection to the
ship structure, which can be connected directly to the upper deck
without any intermediate foundation (for example encapsulation
compound).
[0023] The lower half of the turret ring mount 12 is connected to
an intermediate frame 4, 13 and/or to the adaptor 4 or the adaptor
plate, or is inserted in it, with the intermediate frame 13 being
connected to the shock-absorbing mounting 5. The adaptor plate 4
and the intermediate frame 13 are shaped appropriately (in a manner
which is not illustrated) and can be scaled appropriately for the
respective distance between bulkheads, with integrated reinforcing
structures for static and dynamic introduction of the forces
resulting from the weight of the gun into the structure of the ship
on which it is mounted.
[0024] The shock-absorbing mounting elements 5 comprise
energy-absorbing damper and shock elements and, with a damping
movement of approximately 150 mm, reduce the forces to be
transmitted to the deck to an acceptable level. The shock-absorbing
mounting 5 comprises mounting elements 5' which are arranged like
segments on the circumference. The mounting elements 5' are
connected to the intermediate frame 4, 13 in such a way that they
absorb compressive and tensile forces depending on the firing
direction and elevation angle, and are accordingly compressed or
extended elastically in order to absorb shock. The mounting
elements 5' can be loaded and are elastically deformable on a
number of axes corresponding to the firing direction, and are
composed, for example, of a rubber mixture, a steel spring or some
other suitable elastically deformable spring or damping
element.
[0025] The mounting frame 6 is designed in such a way that it is
fitted as a unit on the deck, and can be firmly connected, in a
modular form to the shock-absorbing mounting 5 and the turret 3.
The mounting frame 6 also allows installation in a different
sequence. For example, the frame 6 can also be mounted on the deck
first, with the remaining parts subsequently being inserted into
the mounting frame.
[0026] A radial damper 14, which is preferably in the form of a
hollow rubber flexible tube, is arranged between the intermediate
frame 13 and the mounting frame 6, for air-tight NBC sealing.
[0027] On the free deck, a sealing skirt 10 protects the mounting
elements 5 and, to some extent, the mounting frame 6 against waves
of water. The module 18 of the armored howitzer can be connected to
the ship in a shock-proof manner in various ways, which are not
illustrated.
[0028] A deformable seal between the lower face and the upper deck
ensure gas-tightness as well as grounding/electrical bonding. The
installation of the armored howitzer on a naval forces ship also
leads to the following advantageous improvements: [0029] the
ammunition supply can be fully automated; [0030] STEALTH technology
is used for the turret; [0031] horizontal feeding is possible;
[0032] the turret can advantageously be connected to the
compressed-air system in the ship, so that there is no need for a
separate compressor for an automatic loader; [0033] the use of
active barrel coolant; [0034] the use of an extended recoil device
in order to simplify the damping elements; [0035] link between the
fire control and the operational system on the ship, and transfer
of target data from ship-protected fire control devices.
LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS
[0035] [0036] 1 Gun [0037] 2 Ship [0038] 3 Turret [0039] 4 Adaptor
plate [0040] 5 Shock-absorbing mounting [0041] 5' Damping
element/mounting element [0042] 6 Mounting frame [0043] 7 Deck
[0044] 8 Hole [0045] 9 Rim area [0046] 10 Sealing skirt [0047] 11
Turret basket area [0048] 12 Turret ring mount [0049] 13
Intermediate frame [0050] 14 Radial damper [0051] 15
Armament/weapon system/barrel [0052] 16 Trunnion axis [0053] 17
Ring mount part [0054] 18 Module [0055] 19 Multiple screw
attachment
* * * * *