electric gun?

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brucev
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Location: texas

electric gun?

#1

Post by brucev » 06 Dec 2004, 04:22

In a us patent ( i have it buried in my office stacks)a german "railgun" is mentioned in the context of a modem plasma armature railgun. i have been unable to locate any info on this design anywhere. i have checked the public patents on the european patent server too. it has most army patents from 1930-1947.

did the ss have a physics group?

thanks
bv

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PPoS
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#2

Post by PPoS » 06 Dec 2004, 17:40

The electric gun you are talking about is surely this one:

"The potential and power of launching a projectile using electro-magnetic force have fascinated inventors and researchers ever since the solenoid was invented. However, none of the attempts was successful. During World War II Germany started two separate projects to study electric propulsion. The first was headed by an engineer and consultant to the Siemens company named Muck. Muck proposed a solenoid-type gun to be built in a hillside near the Lille coal fields in France, since 50,000 tons of anthracite per month would be needed to generate the electricity to power the gun. This gun was designed to attack London from a range of 248km with 204.5kg shells. In 1943 Reichsminister Albert Speer was notified of the proposal, which was rejected as impractical after examination by a number of scientists and technical experts. An electric gun for air-defense was also designed. Engineer Hansler of the Gesellschaft für Geratbau put forward this idea in 1944. It was based on the linear motor principle and promised a 6,000 rounds per minute rate of fire from a multiple-barreled installation, a velocity of over 1829m/sec and shells containing 500g of explosive. The Luftwaffe accepted the basic concept for use as an anti-aircraft gun. Intensive tests with an electro-magnetic discharge mechanism were made on a 20mm anti-aircraft gun. The tests began in Berlin and were later continued in the foothills of the Alps, where firing tests were carried out against the slopes of the Wetterstein mountain. A muzzle velocity 2,000m/sec was attained. Preliminary assessments showed that conventional generators would easily and cheaply generate the necessary 3,900 kilowatts per gun. Later it was found that a considerable amount of energy was needed, and a new type of condenser was developed. It was hoped that the new condenser would bring an improvement, but the tests were not finished before the war's end. Work on a prototype gun began in February 1945 but was not finished before the war's end. The gun fell into the hands of the Americans. After the war the Allies closely studied the project, but eventually it was calculated that each gun would have required the services of a major city's power station. The project has never been revived."

Here's some technical info:

Range: 248km
Weight (shell): 204.5kg
Hansler Gun: Caliber 20mm
Rate of fire: 6,000 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity: 1,829m/sec
Weight (warhead): 500g
Power required (projected): 3,900kW


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tom!
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#3

Post by tom! » 06 Dec 2004, 20:43

Hi.

There were also some research for a 4 cm aa-railgun.

There is a report about the german research on railguns in the german Magazine "Waffen Revue" (No. 120 to 123)

Yours

tom! :wink:

Brumbarr2
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U.S. Intel Report

#4

Post by Brumbarr2 » 06 Dec 2004, 23:49

This site has a U.S. Intelligence report, although the accuracy of intel reports is inconsistent:
http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/elec ... index.html



THE ELECTRIC GUN
German Experiment With Electrically Launched Projectiles

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A super-high-velocity gun, operating on electrical energy instead of an explosive propellant, has been a minor scientific dream for some time. The idea is not new; for it was tried by the French in World War I. But in World War II, a German scientist felt he was so close to a solution of the problems involved that the German Air Force had contracted for an experimental electric gun. This gun was to be capable of ejecting a 40-mm projectile at a muzzle velocity of 6,600 feet per second—far above the velocity of any shell yet fired from a conventional artillery piece.
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brucev
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Location: texas

electric gun (plasma type)

#5

Post by brucev » 08 Dec 2004, 17:33

the design at http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/elec ... index.html is for sure a true plasma type railgun. i'll reserach the capacitors mentioned. this is identical to http://www.heshone.com/GreenFarm/GreenFarm.pdf

i think this is cool stuff way ahead of its time.

bv

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