Abstract: An elevation mechanism, for changing the elevation angle of an attachable container subassembly, has an outer housing having an integral portion for mounting the container subassembly, and an inner housing having an exterior surface about which the outer housing is rotatably supported. A motor within the inner housing supplies torque to a gear train, which includes a planetary gear system for rotating the outer housing and the container subassembly attachable thereto, with respect to the inner housing. The inner housing can be fastened to a surface, generally in the vertical plane, with respect to which surface the rotating outer housing moves the container subassembly in adjustable elevation disposition.

Abstract: An autoloader, capable of loading regardless of gun elevation, includes arcuate guide tracks mounted to the chute of a weapon pod protecting the breech of an exterior, turret-mounted gun. The guide tracks, of a radius of curvature centered on the gun elevation axis, mounts a trolley for guided movement between a lower magazine position and an upper gun loading position. A compact rammer, pivotally mounted to the trolley, extracts a shell from a magazine affixed to the turret floor while in the trolley magazine position and controls the shell during transfer to the trolley gun loading position. During shell transfer, the rammer is pivoted relative to the trolley to swing the shell out of the chute and into the pod to a ramming position aligning the shell with the gun boreline. The rammer then executes a two-stage ramming stroke to ram the shell into the gun breech. The trolley and rammer are powered by separate electric motors.