A New or Improved Charge for Guns and Fire-arms, and Method of Manufacturing the same.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Nov., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Aug., 1890-Accepted, 22nd Nov., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Charge for Guns and Fire-arms, and Method of
Manufacturing the same.
I, WILLIAM, LLOYD WISE, of 46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Consulting Engineer and. Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object to render pyroxyline suitable for ballistic purposes
by regulating the combustion of the same.
The great power of nitrated cellulose, its smokelessness, the absence of residue, the
easy, cheap and relatively safe mode of manufacture, the small effect exercised upon
it by water and damp air, all these properties, which as yet cannot be attributed to the
known mixtures of picrates and nitrates, favoured the presumption as soon as they
became known, that the period of black powder would be followed, in military art,
by a period of explosive cotton.
This supposition has not hitherto proved correct.
Attempts, continued through many years have proved undoubtedly the perfect
durability of explosive cotton free from acids. It has been found that in a dry con-
dition it resists any shock which is not so violent as that which is produced by the
charge when the gun is fired. In a wet condition it can be ignited only by a special
fuse. One object however has not yet been obtained, viz. to take away from the
nitrocellulose, when ignited, the character of a detonating substance, whereby the
charging chamber of the fire-arm is damaged or destroyed, before the pressure has
had sufficient time to overcome the inertia of the projectile.
The reason of this ill success rests on one hand on the fact, that up to the present
time, experiments have been made with the low nitrated specimens of explosive cotton,
almost exclusively hexanitrocellulose (formerly termed trinitrocellulose) which
substance owing to its extremely high explosive power, is very suitable for blasting,
but unfit for ballistic purposes. On the other hand the explosive cotton charges, like
those of black powder, are always composed into a homogeneous mass of one single
sort of explosive cotton. Attempts were made to render the combustion slower by
altering only the shape (spinning, pressing) or by uniformly mixing or attenuating it
with other substances.
Now according to this invention a charge of explosive cotton is composed not of one
single quality, but of layers having different contents of oxygen, and, in consequence,
different speeds of combustion, so that the motion of the projectile is produced at the
commencement by the ignition of a layer having a small explosive power and is then
accelerated, owing to the communication of the fire to layers gradually richer in
oxygen up to the maximum.
These progressive charges of explosive cotton may be manufactured in two different
ways: by chemical and by mechanical processes.
By the chemical process the progressive explosive cotton powder is obtained by
exposing explosive cotton of the highest nitrating scale formed into a suitable shape,
(by preference the whole charge as a strongly compressed body) during a certain time
to the action of a reducing agent, such as alkali or water vapour. The reducing agent
acts the most intensely on the exterior layers, which are reduced to the lowest collodion
scales, while towards the unaltered core, layers of a gradually increasing explosive
power follow each other. By suitably regulating the strength and the duration of
action of the reducing agents, the desired amount of pressure of the gases may easily
be obtained.
When steam is employed as the reducing agent, residues of disengaged acid must

page_text: be carefully removed. Residual nitrates do not prejudice the stability of the explosive
as has been proved by the Schultze powder made of nitrocellulose and nitrate of
potassium which is known to be a completely durable powder. Further, pure collodion
pyroxyline is preserved by photographers very often during several years without
being altered in any way.
The nature of such a powder cannot be discovered by chemical analysis, which finds
only collodion and explosive cotton insoluble in ether. Only after the grain has been
cut through and treated with iodine is the progressive structure seen, from the yellow
colouring of the core and from the blue colouring of the outer surface, which two
colourings gradually pass one into the other.
According to a second or mechanical process of manufacturing a progressive charge
of explosive cotton there are used compressed layers of intimate mixtures of
hexanitrocellulose with non-nitrated cellulose, these layers having progressively
increasing contents of oxygen. In this way the combustion speed of the several layers
can be determined still more at will; any removal of troublesome by-products is
naturally here dispensed with.
These accelerating cartridges are arranged in such a manner, that a small tube
starting from the axis of the bell of the copper cap, applies the fire first to the front
layor which is the poorest in oxygen. The projectile alone advances, at the com-
mencement, slowly, and not the whole charge column as in the black powder charge
when ignited from behind. This circumstance is very advantageous in reducing the
recoil of the fire-arm and for keeping the latter in a good condition.
As the ball from a puff or blow pipe is projected to the greatest distance by a
gradually increased air pressure, and as an air gun throws the bullet the farthest with
a given quantity of air having a given tension when the valve is arranged in such a
manner that the air escapes at the commencement slowly and then progressively more.
violently up to a strong final sudden blast, so a greater ballistic effect is obtained by a
charge composed of layers of explosivo cotton having a different explosive power, than
with the same quantity of highest nitrated explosive cotton, the absolute force of which
is, of course greater.
The excess of carbon contained in the charges forms during combustion a very
small number of loose sootlike flakes.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Charge for Guns and Fire-arms, and Methods
of Manufacturing the same.
A communication from abroad from S. VON ROMOCKI, of Berlin, Prussia.
I, WILLIAM LLOYD WISE, of 46 Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of London,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:
This invention has for object to render pyroxyline capable of being used for ballistic
purposes, by regulating its combustion.
The great power of nitrated cellulose, its comparative noiselessness when detonated,
its smokelessness, the absence of residue, the ease, cheapness and comparative safety
with which it can be manufactured (no grinding operation being necessary) and its
non-liability to become affected by water and moist air (in which respect nitrated
cellulose has not yet been excelled by any of the later known picrate and nitrate
mixtures) gave rise immediately after its discovery, to the belief that in the art of
war an era of gun cotton would follow that of black gun powder.
This expectation has however not yet been fulfilled.
Experiments carried on for years have proved beyond doubt the keeping qualities of
gun cotton free from acid; it has been found that, when in a dry state, it will resist

page_text: any shock which is not quite so violent as that which takes place when the gun is
fired; when in a wet state it cannot be ignited except by means of a special fuze.
Success however was not achieved in attempts to divest the combustion of nitro-
cellulose when once commenced of the character of a detonation such as was injurious
to or destructive of the charge chamber of the gun before sufficient time had elapsed
to enable the inertia of the projectile to be overcome and to allow it to adapt itself to
the bore of the gun.
This want of success is possibly to be accounted for on one hand by the fact that
until in connection with the use of collodion, for photographic purposes investigations
were made in the classes of gun cotton of a lower degree of nitration; only bexa-nitro
cellulose (at that time called tri-nitrocellulose) was known which is very suitable for
blasting purposes on account of its high explosive force, but is unsuitable for ballistic
purposes; and on the other hand by the fact that regardless of the gradual action to
be aimed at the charges of gun cotton were like those of black powder, always
composed of one sort of gun cotton, and it was attempted to render the combustion
slower, nierely by alterations of form (spinning, pressing) or by uniform dilution with
other substances.
Now the present invention consists in forming the charges not of one sort of gun
cotton, but of grains or pellets each of which is composed of layers of different degrees
of richness in oxygen and consequently having different rates of combustion, in such a
manner that the movement of the projectile will be commenced by the ignition of
layers of low explosive force, and will attain its maximum acceleration by the gradual
progress of ignition in layers of increasing richness in oxygen. In small-arins it is
preferred to employ as a charge a single grain or pellet such as described and of
approximately the size of the charge chamber. This gradually acting gun cotton
powder is prepared by subjecting compressed gun cotton of the highest degree of
nitration for a certain time to the action of a reducing agent such as alkali.
The reducing agent naturally acts most powerfully upon the outermost layers of the
grain or pellet which are reduced to the lowest collodion stages, whilst layers of
increasing explosive force follow upon one another towards the core which remains
unaltered. The process of manufacture is thus extremely simple and does not require
any special technical apparatus beyond a few vats with supply and exit pipes.
The compressed gun cotton, as supplied by the factories of sufficient purity and of
any desired size of grain, is placed in the vats and whilst still moist (dry gun cotton
would absorb the reducing agent too quickly,) has lye poured over it, it is then rinsed
with pure water and dried. Any residual nitrate renders the powder slightly more
explosive, and increases the ash to a slight extent.
If potash, for instance, be employed as the reducing agent, a solution of about
15 per cent. is very suitable for the object in view.
The solution is allowed to act upon the gun cotton until there is no longer any
alkaline reaction. The quantity of lye is to be regulated in such a manner that the
alkali contained in the same is sufficient to abstract from the tri-nitrocellulose about
25 per cent. of its contained nitric acid; it is obvious that the same must be regulated
according to the class of fire-arm for which the powder is intended.
The nature of a powder of this kind cannot be ascertained by chemical analysis which
discloses only collodion, and gun cotton that is insoluble in ether.
But on cutting through the grain and treating the same with iodine, the progressive
structure is shown by the yellow colour of the core, and the blue colour of the external
surface, whilst the two colours merge gradually one into the other.
As the dart from a blow gun can be driven farthest with the least labour of the lungs
of the blower by a gradually intensified puff, and as an air gun gives the best shot
with a given quantity of air of given tension, when the curve of the valve piece is
arranged to allow the air to escape slowly at the beginning, gradually increasing to a
strong final rush of air, so there is obtained with the powder composed of different
sorts of gun cotton having different explosive force a more powerful ballistic effect
than with the saine quantity of gun cotton of the highest degree of nitration the
absolute force of which is of course greater.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
- 1. The manufacture of a smokeless gradually acting gun cotton powder, the
individual grains or pellets of which are composed of layers having an explosive force
increasing gradually towards the core, by partial reduction of compressed cellulose of
the highest degree of nitration, by means of alkaline lye.
2. The herein described gradually acting gun cotton powder, as a charge for guns
and fire-arms.