(also fyi its not animated im not that good)
made a tank model with a fully designed (and in theory should work) autoloader. took about 12 hours total to design and probably add another 3 designing the actual mechanism
in theory this has a sub 3.7 second reload which is really fast especially for the caliber, which is 130-140mm (for example the japanese type 10 has a sub 3.5 second reload on a 120mm in optimal/emergency conditions)
sneak peek
commander gets a remote weapon system and a citv
this thing was honestly pretty standard looking because i put all the effort in the autoloader design instead of any looks
the layout was based heavily on the challenger falcon turret. in this tank, the ammo and autoloader take up the entire turret above the turret ring. the crew sits beneath the turret ring which means that they are completely sealed off from the ammunition in the worst case scenario
(not to scale)
autoloader inner workings
this just explains how the autoloader works because this took way too long and i just want to explain it for the sake of it
isolated autoloader:
the autoloader consists of a ready drum (left) and storage drum (right). note that it is ambidextrous and this structure exists on the other side just mirrored
the shell selected by the gunner is brought to the 3 o’clock position (9 o’clock on the right side of the turret)
a central arm moves under the shell, extends to hold it, and the clamps in the drums release. the central arm then rotates back into position to be ready for ramming
the shell is rammed into the next section of the autoloader by the overhead ram, through one way latches onto the next platform
one way safety latches on the sides of the platform allow the shell to be moved into place and prevent it from moving around. the chain ram beneath the platform extends upwards to ram the actual round into the breech
a stiff chain is used to ram the round into the breech. the protective casing stays in place
to account for recoil dampening, the cannon itself is built on heavy rails which allow it to move back and forth. when the cannon is ready to fire, the entire assembly moves forwards to allow for the dampening motion
once in this position, the cannon is free to traverse vertically and fire
after firing, the stub is ejected back into the cartridge, and the entire platform ejects the spent cartridge upwards out of the ejector door.
whenever a cartridge is loaded from the ready drum, it can quickly be replenished from the storage drum.
the drum itself, the safety wall, and the cartridge ram are all independent and can move on their own. this allows nearly any position of the drum to be loaded with a specified type of ammunition at all times
variants coming soon might post here as well
inspired by the challenger falcon, russian burlak turrets and other t-series tanks, leopard 2a8, hstv-l, and something named the next gen euro main battle tank for the autoloader??? i have no clue what it was named i just saw a patent image
any feedback appreciated
