Ammunition magazine for automatic firearms

An ammunition magazine for storing rounds of ammunition retained in a split link belt and for supplying the rounds to a firearm, said ammunition magazine comprising a magazine housing including an open ended housing member having an end wall and side walls defining a chamber for housing the split link belt in a folded condition and a removable cover member closing the open end of the housing member, lock means for retaining the cover member in closing position over the open end of the housing member to protect the ammunition from the environment and for keeping the ammunition stacked in an orderly fashion, the magazine housing having latch formations for attachment of the ammunition magazine to the firearm, means defining a feed outlet from the housing including upwardly inclined substantial parallel spaced flange walls directed to guide the ammunition belt along an upwardly inclined path into the belt receiving portion of the firearm, belt restraining means in the feed outlet for preventing the ammunition belt from sliding back into the ammunition magazine if the ammunition belt is released from the firearm, the open ended housing member defining a semicylindrical lower chamber and two separate rectangular upper chambers opening into the semicylindrical lower chamber and having a connecting wall between said upper rectangular chambers defining a central upper wall for the semicylindrical lower chamber, the housing member having a lip extending portions of the outer and lower edges of the wall portion surrounding the rectangular upper chambers and the semicylindrical lower chamber, and the cover member including an upwardly directed channel around the outer edges of the cover means to mate with the lip portions on the housing member when the cover member is installed on the open ended housing, the magazine including a spacer insert means removably positioned inwardly against the connecting wall between the upper rectangular chambers and having a generally triangular cross-sectional configuration formed of resilient material for preventing jamming of the split link belt of ammunition as it is withdrawn from the ammunition magazine.

An ammunition magazine for storing rounds of ammunition retained in a split link belt and for supplying the rounds to a firearm, said ammunition magazine comprising a magazine housing including an open ended housing member having an end wall and side walls defining a chamber for housing the split link belt in a folded condition and a removable cover member closing the open end of the housing member, lock means for retaining the cover member in closing position over the open end of the housing member to protect the ammunition from the environment and for keeping the ammunition stacked in an orderly fashion, the magazine housing having latch formations for attachment of the ammunition magazine to the firearm, means defining a feed outlet from the housing including upwardly inclined substantial parallel spaced flange walls directed to guide the ammunition belt along an upwardly inclined path into the belt receiving portion of the firearm, belt restraining means in the feed outlet for preventing the ammunition belt from sliding back into the ammunition magazine if the ammunition belt is released from the firearm, the open ended housing member defining a semicylindrical lower chamber and two separate rectangular upper chambers opening into the semicylindrical lower chamber and having a connecting wall between said upper rectangular chambers defining a central upper wall for the semicylindrical lower chamber, the belt retaining means comprising a spring member positioned against a wall flange of the feed outlet having a sharply curved central nose portion extending into the path of the rounds moving through said feed outlet to be engaged by the rounds of ammunition for deflecting the spring member out of the path of the ammunition and having a leg portion extending at an angle to the curved central nose portion which extends into spaces between the rounds to prevent the ammunition belt from dropping back into the ammunition magazine.