Rotatable hatch cover for armored vehicles

Claim 1

In an improved hatch for an armored vehicle wherein said armored vehicle has a first armored surface with a personnel hatch opening therethrough, the improvement comprising: an armored collar on said vehicle extending above said first armored surface at the rear side of said hatch opening, a clamshell shaped hatch cover extending above said first armored surface at said hatch opening, said hatch cover being vertically, pivotably, mounted to said vehicle on pivot bearing means and pivotable thereon between an open position and a closed position, said pivot bearing means being located so as to provide substantially balanced opening and closing of said hatch cover about a horizontal axis centrally of said hatch cover and allowing said hatch cover to pivot less than 90* between said open and said closed position, said hatch cover being truncated at one side rearwardly of said pivot bearing means to only partially enclose said hatch opening in said closed position and to extend less than 180* about said pivot bearing means, said hatch cover having a concave interior surface at said truncated side thereof adapted to extend downwardly behind personnel positioned in said vehicle with their head extending through said hatch opening as said hatch cover is opened, said hatch cover mating with said armored collar at said truncated side thereof in closed position to fully enclose said hatch opening in combination with said collar, said hatch cover in open position being pivoted vertically down into said hatch opening adjacent to and inside of said collar at said rear side of said hatch opening so that said hatch opening is unobstructed by said hatch cover, and wherein said hatch cover in said open position is closely adjacent and generally parallel to said collar, and a resilient sealing strip compressed between said sealing lip and said sealing surface in closed position of said hatch cover, and wherein a ballistic projectile stop is provided adjacent Said sealing lip.