Hi all
I am looking for reference photos of the wiring for the commander’s weapon station .50 caliber.
This would so it can be fired remotely.
I have come up empty in my reference books or the internet.
I’m building a thunder run tank and this is the last detail to complete.
Thanks in advance!
OK, first off, the Tank Commander (TC) weapon is intended to only be fired “remotely” from inside the tank. In this photo, the TC would look through the sight, with his left hand holding the black handle (red circle), turn it clockwise or counterclockwise to elevate or depress the mg, push the red button to fire.
On the outside of the cupola, at the very back of the mg mount, is a lever (blue circle). This presses the butterfly trigger of the mg. When the TC pushes the red fire button, an electric solenoid (green circle) moves the lever. The electrical wiring (in red) for the solenoid comes out of the top of the mounting bracket, loops around once or twice, and plugs into the connector on the bottom of the solenoid (green).
And a different view.
I don’t know what kit you are using; you may need to add the lever and solenoid. You will have to add the wire.
Ken
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That is great. Thank you!
Ken,
isn’t there a remote trigger grip that can be mounted to the guard over the .50 cal . sight for firing with the CWS opened up ?
There is a remote control grip, but it is only used to traverse the cupola. It does not control elevation, and it does not fire the gun. It was usually stowed in its position in the turret, out of the way (green circle). It could be mounted inside the cupola (blue circle).
Or outside (black circle).
More photos of the mount:
The power traverse system basically sucked, and most TCs didn’t use it. One of the main reasons they went with the fully manual setup of the M1A2.
Ken
The key is to be gentle and use your thumb! I really think it is designed to fire a moving helicopters. I used the skate ring myself at the range, but I think in battle you can’t have the cupola unlocked and would have to use the electric traverse.
Cool, thanks guys.