GB2176881A - Covering hood for aircraft munition carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

A covering hood (10) for the front side of an aircraft munition carrier (11) is designed as a rotary shield which selectively uncovers respective projectile launcher tubes (14) and in so doing keeps the other tubes (14) masked. A rotary slide valve (13) is also provided to selectively close and open a duct-like opening (12) in the covering hood (10). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A covering hood for aircraft munition containers This invention relates to a covering hood or cap for an aircraft munition container.

As a result of DE-AS 11 24 397 a container for transportation of rocket projectiles has become known in which a bunch of parallel launching tubes is sheathed by a tip made of fragile material which covers the tube mouths. In this respect, the tip is so designed that each projectile or rocket which is launched merely drills a hole in this tip and thus procures for itself a free flight path or trajectory. Thus, the aerodynamic conditions upon firing are to be kept reasonably constant, in order not to adversely influence the pilot in his concentration on target and flight steering.

It has, however, been shown that, precisely in the case of fast aircraft as referred to by the prior art, quite considerable pressure is generated on the container covers by the air flow and these covers therefore have to be made from a considerably stronger material, in order to fulful their protective function. However, this leads to the fact that despite cross-sectional reductions of the wall thicknesses to the extent of the projectile tube diameters, on the aircraft, the container and the covering hood and on the fired projectile, moments influencing the flight path have to be absorbed.In the case of the projectile these moments are increased in magnitude in that the projectile tip does not encounter a perpendicular surface, but a sloping surface, which means that upon impact of the projectile tip the covering hood wall first of all bulges and then tears open in the lower'hole region', in which respect there is d risk that the hood region corresponding to the projectile diameter is not completely severed, but is retained as a bentup lid on the covering hood. However, such a lid automatically comes into the flight path region of one of the neighbouring projectiles and exerts an adverse influence on the incident-flow conditions of the aircraft.The previous inventors also seem to have experienced this, since in DE-AS 11 85 953 they propose that each projectile tube should be closed by a ball-like plug which is ejected by the projectile upon firing. Loosely flying parts can, however, damage the aircraft. Since prevention of tube heating generated by air turbulence is considered as the problem in the aforesaid specification it has to be stated that the proposed cannot fulfil the task in the disclosed form, since such tube heating occurs in any freed munition tube which, after the ejection of the plug is exposed and lies completely in the incident flow.

The object of the present invention is, on the one hand, to maintain, virtually unvaried, the incident flow, acting on the aircraft, even during and after projectile launching, and, on the other hand, to prevent heating of the missiles and projectile tubes during the entire mission.

This object is achieved by provision of an aircraft munition container having an aerodynamicallyshaped covering hood which is rotatable and is provided with a pipe-duct-like opening which can be brought, in each case by way of a rotary slide valve, from a closed position into a munition release position.

The invention will be described further, by way of exampie, with reference to the accompanying drawing in which the single figure is a perspective exploded representation of an exemplified embodiment of the container of the invention.

As the figure illustrates, an exemplified embodiment 11 munition container of the invention is designed in aerodynamically favourable form as a carrier for four missiles (not shown, but merely designated as FK 1, FK 2, FK 3, FK 4). The container 11 is, in use, suspended from an aircraft (not shown) by means of suspension brackets 16. Associated with this munition container 11 is a covering hood or cap 10 which is movable by means of a specially shaped rotary slide valve 13. Such movement brings pipe-duct-like opening 12 arranged in the hood 1-d from a closed position, in which all the projectile ducts or munition tubes 14 of the container 11 are closed, into a munition release position. The rotary slide valve 13 is controlled by the aircraft's own fire control system, which is not shown and which does not form part of the present invention.This means that the rotary slide valve 13 can, depending on command, release any of the munition tubes 14 as are chosen. In other words, the projectile or tube release does not have to be effected in sequence from FK 1 by way of FK 2 as far as FK n.

The pipe-duct-like opening 12 corresponds to the largest outside diameter of the rotary slide valve 13, which is asymmetrically conically shaped as is clearly illustrated in the drawing. Moreover, the aforesaid diameter corresponds to that of the munition tubes 14. This rotary slide valve 13 is mounted in the central axis 15 of the munition container 11 and the covering hood 10.

The functional position disclosed in the drawing shows the covering hood 10 in the 0 -position.

The slide valve 13 is in the +45 position and is likewise closed, i.e. all the missiles are masked and thereby protected against environmental influences.

In the position B - if one wishes so to designate it - the covering hood 10 is still in the 0 -position, but the slide valve 13 assumes a position angle of 135". Thus the munition tube of the missile FK 1 is now opened and said missile can be fired.

In the position C, the covering hood 10 is rotated through +90 and the slide valve 13 through 225 , i.e. it assumes this position angle. At this stage the munition tube 14 of the missile FK 2 has a free path, whilst the other missiles are protected.

In the position D, the covering hood 10 and the rotary slide valve 13 are rotated respectively through a further 900 each and thus the missile FK 3 is given a free path, while other munition tubes 14 are masked.

In the position E. a further rotation of the covering hood 10 and the rotary slide valve 13 through 90" each is effected, whereby the missile FK 4 is given a free path. Rotation of the covering hood 10 through a further 90D leads again to the transportation flight position, in which all four munition tubes 14 are masked.

Claims (5)

1. An aircraft munition container having an aerodynamically-shaped covering hood which is rotatable and is provided with a pipe-duct-like opening which can be brought, in each case by way of a rotary slide valve, from a closed position into a munition release position.

2. A container as claimed in ciaim 1, wherein the inside diameter of the opening in the covering hood corresponds to the outside diameter of underlying munition tubes of the container.

3. A container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the rotary slide valve is asymmetrically conically shaped and is mounted in the central axis of the munition container and the covering hood such that in the transportation position it masks both the opening in the cover and the underlying munition tube.

4. A container as claimed in claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein the rotary slide valve is controlled by the aircraft's own fire-control system, in which respect the rotary slide valve brings the pipe-duct-like opening of the covering hood into register with the respectively selected munition tube.

5. An aircraft munition container substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.