US2420661A - Grenade adapter - Google Patents

Description

May 20, 1947. 'w FOX I 2,420,661

GRENADE ADAPTER Filed July 3, 1945 William Mervin. Fax

Patented May 20, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,420,661 GRENADE ADAPTER William Mervin Fox, Havre de Grace, Md.

Application July 3, 1945, Serial No. 603,103

3 Claims. (01. 102--65.2)

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to an improved means for adapting hand grenades to launching from small arms such as the rifle and carbine.

Grenade adapters now in use for mounting hand grenades on small arms have been found objectionable under combat conditions because stresses occasioned by setback of the grenade shear or unduly distort the grenade supporting fingers of the adapter causing erratic flight and decreasing the range of the grenade.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of a grenade adapter having a grenade supporting means and an improved clamping means thereon for firmly and securely positioning a grenade relative to the adapter tube and tail assembly to assure of accurate night and to increase the range of the grenade.

Another object is to provide an adapter having grenade seating and gripping means thereon which absorb the shock of setback and uniformly support the grenade during flight.

These and other objects and advantages will be apparent as the specification is considered with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of the adapter with the grenade positioned thereon;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of same with the grenade disassembled therefrom;

Figure 3 is an enlarged section taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, numeral I designates a grenade adapter consisting of a tubular body '2 and an annular tail assembly 3 secured to the lower end thereof. The tail assembly is adapted to be mounted in a conventional manner on a launcher, not shown, mounted on. the muzzle of a rifle, also not shown.

Mounted on the outer end of the tubular body 2 is a conical shaped metal cup 4 forming a tapered seat for the lower end of a conventional fragmentation hand grenade 5. The grenade consists of a cast iron shell body, oval in longitudinal section and circular in cross section, having a series of circumscribing grooves l5 and longitudinal grooves formed therein. A series of vertical cuts 6 are made in the conical wall of the cup 4 to provide a series of equally spaced, relatively flat, depending tongues 1, preferably three in number. The tongues are bent or flattened at their lower ends, as at 8, to snugly fit against the tubular body 2 and uniformly support the cup on the end of the body.

A series of preferably three equally spaced long tudinally extending, relatively fiat, leaf spring fingers 9 have their base ends Ill laid flat so as to overlie and engage with the bent lower ends 8 of the tongues I. The lower ends of the fingers and tongues are suitably secured to the tubular adapter body by screws or the like H.

The outer end of the cup is formed with an outwardly extending annular lip l2 having three spaced lips or enlargements I 3 extending laterally from the periphery thereof. Slots M are provided in the lips t3 through which the fingers 9 extend. Thus, it will be seen that the cup 3 and the fingers 9 are secured together and both are connected to the tubular body of the adapter. Upwardly and inwardly bent portions l5 formed on each of the fingers are adapted to fit within one of a series of circumscribing grooves it provided in the body of the grenade 5, when the grenade is thrust within the fingers, in an obvious manner as illustrated in Figure 1, and serve to clamp the grenade securely in position relative to the cup 3 and adapter body.

A downwardly depending, slightly curved, fiat clip ill is suitably connected by a rivet or the like it to the extremity of a relatively flat projection i! formed on one of the fingers 9. Mounted on the clip I9 is a, hollow sleeve 20, substantially rectangular and oblong in cross section, which normally snugly fits between the outer and inner faces of the projection I! and clip Hi, respectively. Whenthe grenade 5 is fitted between the fingers 9 and seated within the cup 3, the conventional downwardly depending, relatively flat, curved safety lever 22 of the grenade extends through the sleeve 20. Thus, the sleeve 20 serves to hold the lever 22 in the unarmed position so that the striker, not shown, carried by the upper end thereof will be prevented from striking the percussion primer and igniting the fuze train in the grenade before the adapter and grenade are launched from the weapon in the conventional manner. While the inner wall of the sleeve 2!) extends between and frictionally engages the inner and outer faces of the clip l9 and projection IT, as well as the outer face of the lever 22, the sleeve is prevented from being accidentally dislodged from these members and the safety lever by an inwardly bent retaining pin 2| integrally formed on the lower end of the clip 19.

The interior dimension of the tube 2 is the same as that of the tail tubes of rifle grenades and the like. The launcher for such grenades consists, as is well known, of a tubular piston-like attachment for the end of the rifle, adapted to fit slidingly in the tube 2, so that when a cartridge of suitable propellant is then fired in the weapon the gases pass from the muzzle into the tube and are confined thereto by the conventional launcher, as shown in Patents Numbers 2,339,- 285 and 2,335,299 to W. T. Moore. Thus, the adapter and. grenade held therein are propelled over a distance much greater than the ranges possible by manual tossing.

In the use of the invention, the adapter being assembled as described is set erect upon some horizontal surface while the grenade 5, without special adjustment or modification, is positioned coaxially over the fingers 9 of the adapter and the extremity of the safety lever 22 entered into the upper end of the sleeve 20. The grenade is moved downwardly until it rests against the bent portions I5 of the fingers 9 symmetrically, after I which suificient pressure is applied to cause the grenade surfaces to cam the fingers outwardly and enter therebetween until the bent portions l5 engage in the middle transverse groove [6, at which time the lower portion of the grenade will be seated Within the conical cup 4. The fingers will then hold the grenade firmly in coaxial alinement with the adapter tube 2.

The adapter and engaged grenade now as a unit constitute a projectile ready for launching. This is effected by placing a propellant cartridge in the chamberof the rifle or carbine and the adapter with the grenade thereon is mounted on the weapon by sliding the tail assembly 3 thereof longitudinally inward on the launcher. At this time, the usual safety pin 23, carrying a ring 24, is removed from the grenade and the latter is armed, The firearm is then cocked with its butt set upon the ground, armed and the trigger actuated to fire the propellant cartridge. The impulse thus imparted to the adapter and grenade moves them forward so rapidly that the inertia of the sleeve overcomes the friction between the sleeve and the projection 11, clip 19 and safety lever 22, and causes it to move rearwardly thereon with such force that when it strikes the retaining pin 2 I, the latter is broken and the sleeve clears the clip and lever. Thus, the safety lever is caused to be thrown oif by the striker in the manner well understood in grenades. As the striker fires the percussion primer and ignites the fuse train, before the grenade has moved more than a few feet toward its target, the bursting charge will be assured of being ignited effectively.

The rearward movement of the grenade caused by inertia or setback is absorbed by the conical cup 4 so that grenade clamping fingers 9 are relieved of the shock occasioned by this movement of the grenade. That is, the fingers are braced or reinforced by the cup 4 and the same will be prevented from being sheared from the adapter. In this connection, grenade bodies are usually rough castings so that it is not possible to obtain a flush fit between the bottom of the grenade and the adapter. The cup 4 compensates for an uneven fit between the grenade and the adapter which results in stresses being unevenly distributed to the grenade clamping fingers so that one of the fingers will be sheared or unduly distorted, As previously described, the conical wall of the cup will absorb such stresses and will prevent the same from being transmitted to any one finger in such a way that the latter will be sheared from the adapter. Thus, the clamping fingers will be assured of securely holding the grenade in position on the adapter during its entire course of flight.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my grenade supporting and clamping means, it is to be understood that various improvements and revisions may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An adapter for mounting on a weapon a grenade of the type having a safety lever, comprising a tubular body, a vane assembly on said I body, circumferentially spaced spring clamping fingers fixed to said body and extending forwardly thereof, one of said fingers having means for engaging said safety lever, and a ring member carried by said body and surrounding said spring fingers at a point substantially forward of said body, whereby the tendency of said fingers to distort on setback is minimized.

2. An adapter as in claim 1 wherein said ring is the rim of a frusto-conical cup.

3. An adapter as in claim 1 in which said fingers are threaded through said ring member.

WILLIAM IWERVIN FOX.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 932,214 Wieser Aug. 24, 1909 2,368,064 Fanger Jan. 23, 1945 2,383,053 Fanger et a1 Aug. 21, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 109,273 Great Britain Sept. '7, 1917

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