GB556933A - Improvements in means for loading bombs on aircraft - Google Patents

Abstract

556,933. Winches. SHORT BROS. (ROCHESTER & BEDFORD), Ltd., and BELL, J. E. Jan. 14, 1941, No. 514. [Class 78 (v)] [Also in Groups XXXIII and XXI] A traversing carriage for transferring bombs between the fuselage or hull of an aircraft and a release position beneath a wing, is fitted with one or more lifting winches so that after a set of bombs has been loaded and stored within the fuselage or hull a second set may be lifted and carried within the aircraft suspended from the winches. Two such carriages 10 are shown, one on each wing, the carriages having rails running upon rollers mounted within channels in the wings the openings to which are closed, when the carriages are inboard, by shutters 18 attached to each carriage at 23. The shutters are wound on drums 19 as the carriage moves outwards, the drums being turned by cables 20 attached to each carriage. The carriages are traversed by electrically driven winches 14 and endless cables 15. Each carriage has two winches 24 having cable drums 36 for lifting and lowering two bombcarrying beams 41. The winches are selectively driven from an electromotor through gearing in a casing 26, the appropriate gear being selected by linkage actuated by a hand lever. The spindles of the winches have screwed ends 42 for moving levers 44, Fig. 6 leaving stops 46, 47 for actuating limit switches 48, 49 to prevent overwinding in either direction. In addition, an adjustable stop 54 on the lever 44 moves a detent 55 into the path of a projection 56 on the drum 36 just after the switch 49 is actuated to prevent the whole of the cable from being paid out. The appropriate set of switches is selected by plugging the leads into sockets A or B, a guard 301 connected to the lever preventing the wrong sockets from being used. In addition to being electrically driven the winches may alternatively be driven by hand from the ground, for which purpose a chain passed over a pulley 32 turns a shaft 33. The shaft 33 is coupled through a torque-limiting clutch 52 and chain 34 to a shaft 35 connected to the winch gearing. In this case the detents 55 prevent overwinding in one direction and conical stops on the cables engaging conical fairleads on the frame limit overwinding in the other direction. A hand-wheel on the shaft 35 enables the winches to be actuated from inside the aircraft. Bolts 60 engaging slots in the conical stops and fairleads, not shown in Fig. 6, are provided for positively supporting the bomb load. Bv these means one set of bombs may be loaded into racks 59 in the fuselage and a second set kept suspended on the carriages and carried inboard or moved outboard as required.