Ammunition storage and weapon loading system

Claim 1

In a military vehicle comprising a hull having a longitudinal centerline, a circulr basket located in the hull for powered rotary motion in the azimuth direction, and an external weapon mounted atop the basket in the space above the hull: the improvement comprising means for storing individual rounds of ammunition within the hull outside the basket; said ammunition storing means comprising structure operable to position the stored rounds in parallel rows, with each stored round assuming an upright attitude; a carrier for an individual round movable outside and along the basket perimeter in arc centered on the basket rotational axis; first mechanical means for transferring individual rounds of ammunition from the ammunition storing means to the carrier when the carrier is stationed on the hull longitudinal centerline; said first mechanical transfer means being constructed so that the round is maintained in an upright attitude while it is being moved from the storing means into the carrier; a mechanical round rammer movably located within the basket for upward motion to insert an individual round into the weapon; and second mechanical means for transferring an individual round from the carrier to the rammer; said second mechanical transfer means being constructed to maintain the round in an upright attitude while it is being moved from the carrier into the rammer; said basket and carrier being independently rotatable; said second mechanical transfer means being movable on a radial line through the basket rotational axis, whereby the second transfer means is able to transfer an individual round of ammunition from the carrier into the rammer when the basket is in a variety of different rotated positions.