IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE AND FIRE-ARMS, AND IN THE PROJECTILES TO " BE USED THEREWITH."
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to R. B. Huygens, of Holland, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE AND FIRE-ARMS, AND IN THE PROJECTILES TO
"
BE USED THEREWITH."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said R. B. Huygens at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th
December 1854.
I, R. B. HUYGENS, of Holland, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE AND 'FIRE-ARMS, AND IN THE
PROJECTILES TO BE USED THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
The only advantage that can be conceded to the spiral grooves of rifled
ordnance or fire-arms is, the greater resistance their inequalities offer to the
escape of the gases produced by the ignition of the propelling medium, and
the violent propulsion of the projectile in the interior of the barrel along
such parallel lines as are formed by the axis of the projectile; and the
prolongation of the edges of the grooves, which have the effect of lessening
the windage, and thereby giving longer range and better aim. But, by my
new system, greater range and accuracy of aim can be attained without spiral
grooves.
The principle of my Invention, which is alike applicable to heavy

page_text: ordnance and to fire-arms of every description, is illustrated by the Drawing
annexed, and herein-after explained, and the following are the chief features
and advantages:-The interior of the gun or other fire-arm may be conical,
oval, or of any other shape. The length may vary according to calibre,
charge, and purposes of use, which may be for concentric or eccentric pro-
jectiles; the chamber may be less in diameter than the calibre. The cartridge
fits close to the chamber, so as not to come in contact with the edges of the
longitudinal wedge-like projections, or it may be fastened to the projectile;
the projectiles must have longitudinal indentations. The posterior part to
which the cartridge is attached is concave. The projectile may be of a
spherical, or cylindrical, or conical, or conico-cylindrical, or conoidal form, and
furnished with a cap of steel or other metal, the centre of gravity of the
projectile to be as near the apex as practicable. Fig. 1 is a longitudinal
section of a ship or artillery gun; Fig. 2, a cross section of the same.
b, the sharp wedge-like projections. The form of the chamber may be varied,
as shown by Figs. 3, 4. Fig. 5 shows one form of the projectile. c is a
groove, made on each side of the projectile, corresponding with those in the
gun; the cartridge is attached to the projectile by forcing one end of it into
the opening d. Fig. 6 is a cross section of a revolving gun. e, e, are elliptical
barrels ff, the wedge-shaped projections. Figs. 7, 8, are transverse and
longitudinal sections of the projectile to be used with this form of barrel.
Fig. 9 represents a shell to be filled with combustible matter; the grooves
in iron shot or shells are to be filled with lead or other ductile metal. The
apices of leaden shot I cover with a steel cap, of an arrow-head or other
suitable form. Guns of the ordinary construction may be fitted with the pro-
jections b, b, Figs. 1, 2. In some cases these projections will not be required
in guns made upon my improved principle, which is entirely opposed to the
present practice of spiral barrels or twisted grooves. The wedge-shape pro-
jections are shown in the Figures as parallel to the bore of the gun; they
might, however, take a spiral course, if desired. I reserve the right to vary
the details of the foregoing as required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said R. B. Huygens in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th June 1855.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said R. B. Huygens, Her special licence that I, the said R. B.
Huygens, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said R. B. Huygens, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might.make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ORDNANCE AND FIRE-ARMS, AND IN THE PROJECTILES TO BE USED
THEREWITH," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said R. B.
Huygens, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said R. B. Huygens, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
per-
The object of my improvements is to render fire-arms and ordnance more
effective by increasing their range, imparting to the projectile greater initial
velocity, and improving the accuracy of its flight. I accomplish this object,
firstly, by constructing fire-arms and ordnance with wedge-shaped pieces of
metal projecting from the inner surface of the barrel; these wedge-shaped
projections extend from the mouth of the barrel to the chamber in lines
parallel to the axis of the barrel; or wedge-shaped indentations may be made
in the barrel by means of a rifle-bank like ordinary grooves, in lieu of projec-
tions, but I prefer the latter, the effect being to keep the projectile in a right
line (or one parallel with the barrel) during its passage through the bore. At
the instant the projectile leaves the barrel it is acted upon by another force,
viz, the resistance of the atmosphere, which imparts to it a rapid rotary
motion; the accuracy of its flight, however, will not be impaired, provided the
shape of the projectile is such as to offer but little resistance in its passage
through the air. I have herein-after described the manner of obtaining a form
of moulds for projectiles of all calibres having the form of a solid of least
resistance. The improvement in fire-arms which I am about to describe, and

page_text: which consists in preventing the projectile taking a rotary course before leaving
the barrel, is, I am aware, entirely opposed to present theory and practice;
but I contend that no advantage is gained by giving a rotary motion to the
projectile by means of spiral barrels or grooves, since this rotary motion is not
certain to agree with that imparted to it by the air, and is only an impediment
to its flight. The only advantage that can be conceded to spiral grooves is,
the compression of the projectile obtained by the resistance offered to its
passage, and although the projectile may follow the grooves with a small
charge of powder, the spiral course it takes does not cause it to rotate in
unison with the motion imparted by the air.
Secondly, my Invention refers to improvements in the form of the chamber
of fire-arms, the object of which is to increase the velocity of the projectile. I
accomplish this by making the chamber rather smaller than the diameter
of the projectile, and of a conical shape, or tapering towards the back of
the chamber; by this means the whole force of the powder is expended in the
direction of the projectile, and the strength of the chamber increased by
the greater thickness of metal left around it.
Thirdly, my improvements relate to the shape or form of the projectile, and
the manner of obtaining, by geometrical diagrams, the form of the projectile
for guns of all calibres, and from which diagrams the patterns for making the
moulds used in casting the projectiles may be made. Hitherto cylindro-
conoidal shot have been made of various forms, and without reference to any
fixed principle or rule upon which the particular form of the conoidal part of
the projectile and the proportion of its length to its diameter should be based.
Upon the principles herein-after laid down, projectiles of all sizes or calibres
may be made, all accurately proportioned to each other, and never deviating
in contour, the external form being that of a solid of least resistance.
Fourthly, my Invention relates to improvements in repeating or revolving
fire-arms in which the barrels are made to receive a shot of an elliptical form
in its cross section, in other words, resembling a flattened arrow head.
But in order that my Invention may be fully understood, I will proceed to
describe it in detail, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of a gun barrel; Fig. 2, a transverse section
of the same.
a is the chamber, made of a conical form; b, b, are the tri-
angular or wedge-shaped projections. There may be two, four, or any other
number of these projections; I believe, however, that barrels with four of
these projections will be found to answer best in practice. In a barrel thirty
inches in length the metal should rise about one-thirty-second part of an

page_text: inch above the surface of the bore. These projections run in straight lines
down to the chamber of the gun, and may be made by a suitable cutter or
rifle-bank after boring the barrel, of a diameter equal to the distance between
the apices of the projections; or wedge-shaped indentations may be cut in
the barrel, as shown by c in the transverse section, Fig. 3; but I prefer the
projections as shown by Figs. 1, 2. Figs. 5 and 6 represent the foregoing
improvements applied to ordnance. The chamber a is made of a conical
shape; the diameter of the widest part does not exceed the distance between
the apices of the projections. A modification of this form of chamber is
shown by Fig. 4. In this Figure the chamber approaches an elliptical form.
Fig. 5 represents the old form of chamber, but in this case also the
width of the chamber is not greater than the space between the projections.
If the barrel be made with indentations, as shown by Fig. 3, the diameter of
the chamber should be equal to the diameter of the barrel at the surface
of the indentations. The object of making the chamber of the forms shown
by Figs. 1 and 4 is, that the force of the gunpowder should be expended
in the direction of the projectile, and not lost in any degree upon the angles
of the grooves or the space behind them, as in chambers of the ordinary
make. Fig. 8 represents a cylindro-conoidal shot or projectile of the form
I prefer to use; Fig. 9 represents a section of the same, with a cartridge
attached. The length of the projectile from d to e is equal to three diameters
of the bore, and from f to g (equal to half the whole length) the shape is
cylindrical. The bottom of the projectile is hollowed out, and a recess made
to receive the end of the cartridge. The head i is made of steel or zinc, by
preference, but other metals may be used for the purpose; the head is made
very smooth, and of a form obtained by the rules hereafter given. The lower
end of the head is made of a conical shape, as shown by Fig. 10, which
represents the steel or other metal head separate from the cylindrical part. A
number of these heads are to be placed in suitable moulds, and the leaden
portion of the projectile cast on. The lower part of the projectile is hollowed,
as shown; this admits of the expansion of the metal when the gun is fired,.
and also serves to receive the end of the cartridge. Fig. 11 represents a method
of obtaining the external figure of the projectile. A is a circle, equal in
diameter to the bore of the gun. Produce the lines B, C, D, E, equal to three
diameters of the bore, with one and a half diameters as a radius; draw the
circle F, G, H, I, and with its diameter as a radius from the point B draw
the are J, J, and from the points M, N, bisect the arc J, J, at J', J', and from
these points with the same radius draw the arcs K, M, and L, N: these arcs
give the form of the conoidal portion of the projectile. Draw the perpendicular

page_text: lines O, P, Q, R, which complete the external figure: the arcs S, T, U, are
obtained by taking one-sixth of the line B, C, as a radius, and striking the
curves from the point V, W, X; but the radius of these arcs may be varied, if
required, according to the weight of the cartridge.. Fig. 12 represents another
method of obtaining the geometrical form of the projectile. With a radius
equal to one and a half diameters of the calibre, draw the circle A, B, C, D,
and from the same centre, with a radius of three diameters, strike the circle
E, F, G, H; produce the perpendicular lines I, K, and L, M, and the tangential
line N, O, upon which set off the diameter of the projectile R, S, with a radius
equal to that of the circle E, F, G, H; draw the arcs P, Q, from the points
R, S, to the centres of the circles, the perpendiculars T, U, V, W, being drawn,
will complete the external figure. An annular recess X, equal in depth to one-
sixth of the length of the projectile, is formed at the lower part; but I do not
confine myself to any precise proportion for the depth of this recess, as it must
vary according to the size of the projectile. Where the cylindrical part of the
projectile is of iron, as would be the case in projectiles for ordnance, parallel
indentations or recesses must be made in the iron corresponding with the
wedge-shaped projections on the barrel, but of larger size; these recesses or
indentations are to be filled with lead, or other ductile metal.
Shot or pro-
jectiles intended for guns having wedge-shaped indentations in the barrel
must have projections corresponding therewith cast on the cylindrical part
of the projectile. Fig. 12 represents a transverse section of a revolving or
repeating gun; it consists of four or other number of barrels, disposed as
shown in the Figure. k, l, m, n, are the barrels, of an elliptical shape; 0, 0,
are the wedge-shaped projections before referred to. Each of the barrels has
a chamber of one of the forms shown by Figs. 1, 4, or 5. The gun is fitted
with a lock, hammer, and nipple of the ordinary construction. The series of
barrels are made to rotate, so that each chamber may be brought under the
orifice of the nipple. If the gun has four barrels, a fourth of a revolution
will bring one of the chambers beneath the nipple, and so on throughout the
series. This arrangement is intended more for ordnance than small arms..
The form of projectile to be used with the foregoing is shewn in section by
Fig. 13, and in plan by Fig. 14.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself
to the precise details of the mechanical arrangements herein described and
shown, as the saine may be greatly varied without departing from the peculiar
character of the Invention; but what I claim, and desire to secure by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―

page_text: Firstly, constructing gun barrels with wedge-shaped projections or indenta-
tions, having either a straight or spiral direction, as herein-before described
and shown.
Secondly, making the chambers of ordnance and small arms of the forms
described and shown.
Thirdly, making projectiles in the manner described, and obtaining an
accurate outline for the same by means of geometrical diagrams, as described
and shown.
Fourthly, the revolving or repeating gun, and the projectile for the same, as
described and shown.
In witness whereof, I, the said R. B. Huygens, have hercunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
K. B. HUYGENS. (L.S.)