Patent GB-104530-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to Automatic Rifles and other Guns.
Inventor: HARRIS RICHARD HENRY
IPC: F41A5/18
Filed: 1916-03-03
Abstract: 104,530. Harris, R. H. March 3, 1916. Machine guns; cartridge belts; sound of discharge, modifying.-Relates to automatic guns of the kind which are operated by a motor driven by the discharge gases. According to the invention, the gun is operated by a turbine arranged at the muzzle and adapted to be rotated in one direction by the gases discharged from the muzzle. The turbine also acts to reduce the recoil and the sound of discharge and actuates mechanism for cooling the barrel. Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 6 show the invention applied to an automatic rifle. At the muzzle is a turbine comprising a casing 3 and spiral vanes 14. fixed to a tube 10, Fig. 2, surrounding the barrel. The tube is mounted on ball bearings and forms a rotary shaft for actuating the breech action. There is a space between the tube 10 and the barrel and the tube is provided with helical vanes 150 which draw air along for cooling purposes. The cartridges are exploded in a chamber formed by a grooved rotary drum 46, Figs. 2 and 6, and a vertically sliding block 80. The cartridges are fed to the drum by a belt 60, Fig. 6. Each cartridge is, in the belt and chamber, enclosed in a steel tube 56, Fig. 2, which forms a lining-tube for the chamber. The drum 46 is rotated, and the block 80 raised and lowered, by gearing driven by the tubular shaft 10. The firing-mechanism is automatic and comprises a firing-pin 90, Fig. 2, actuated by a lever 91, which is pressed forwards by a firing-spring 95 and successively pressed back and released by cam-lugs 96, Figs. 2 and 6, at the back of the feed-drum. The drum is hollow and contains oil for lubricating purposes. An external handle 140 is provided for actuating the gun by hand, and a brake is provided for stopping the action. In Figs. 11, 16, and 17, the invention is shown applied to a machine gun having six barrels 200, Figs. 11 and 16, fixed together to form a rotary drum, the arrangement being such that, after a number of shots have been fired through one barrel, the drum is rotated one step to bring the next barrel into position opposite the cartridge chamber. The cartridge chamber is formed by a rotary drum 232 and a verticallysliding block 246 as described in connexion with the rifle. The turbine 216 is mounted in a transverse plate 214 at the front of the casing and, by suitable gearing, drives a main shaft 221 connected to the breech mechanism. On the shaft 221 are spiral vanes 223 winch draw air through the gun for cooling purpose. The firing-pin 261 is pressed forwards by a spring, and is successively retracted and released by cams 265 at the back of the feed-drum. A handle is provided for hand actuation. In another modification, Fig. 21, the gun has a longitudinally-sliding breech-block 382 which is reciprocated by a cam-slot 384 on a drum 371, which, by suitable gearing, is given a complete revolution while the cartridge feed-drum rotates one step. The firing-pin 396, in this modification, is held by a transversely-sliding forked sear 398 which, when the breech is closed, is moved by a spring into a notch 399 in the breech casing and so releases the firing-pin. Fig. 21 shows a machine gun, but this kind of breech action may also be applied to rifles.