IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING CANNON
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Morgan-Brown, of the Firm of Brandon
and Morgan-Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, South-
ampton Buildings, London, and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING CANNON."-A com-.
munication from abroad by Gustavus Palmer Harding, of 3; Rue
du Helder, Paris, Engineer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Morgan-Brown
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 4th December 1874.
I, WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-
Brown, Engineers and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings,
London, and 13, Rue Gaillon, Paris, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING CANNON," to be as
follows:-
My improvements consist in the construction of a cannon by com-

page_text: suchwise that the lateral and longitudinal strains to the combined force
to which every piece of ordnance is subjected in the act of firing are
separated, so that each strain is borne separately by each of the two
parts respectively.
The breech piece of the usual breech-loading ordnanco constitutes,
when placed in position, an integral part of the same in so far as the
strain exerted on the one tends to rupture or tear away the other. In
the cannon constructed on my system the longitudinal strain is only felt
upon the breech piece and not upon the breech end of the barrel, inas-
much as it is not attached thereto, but by means of a strap or a stirrup
is fixed to the trunnions or to the fore part of the barrel, or to the
carriage itself, leaving the barrel entirely independent and liable to the
lateral strain only.
The cannon which may be made in cast iron consists of a tube open
at both ends. The breech piece is a bar or strap of steel or other tough
metal passing, for example, from one of the trunnions round the rear of
the cannon, and from thence to the other trunnion, its width being of
course sufficient to close the boro of the piece when fired and of
sufficient thickness to resist the longitudinal strain of the explosion.
This may be hung on the trunnions so as to be easily raised for the
purpose of loading and cleaning the barrel, and lowered when required
to be discharged. Or the strap or stirrup forming the breech piece may
be attached to or form a lining to the cushions or axle boxes in which
the trunnions rest, the strain being thus thrown upon the carriage itself
and the breech piece and barrel having motions round the same centre.
Other methods of supporting the breech piece are obvious.
.
In order to compensate for the elongation of the barrel from repeated
concussion or for that of the barrel from extra expansion, that is, to
maintain the due relation of breech and barrel a metallic eccentric bush
may be adapted round each trunnion and inserted in cach cye or bearing
of the breech piece, and by the aid of a lever adapted thereto it may be
turned sufficiently to bring the breech in contact with the cannon. For
this arrangement may be substituted a packing piece within the end of the
breech piece, which may be "set up" towards the barrel or withdrawn
therefrom by means of two helical planes or circular wedges working in
contact or by some other mechanical equivalent.
In order to prevent any escape of the gas resulting from the explosion
at the junction of the breech and barrel I use an obturator, stopper, or

page_text: wad of wood, or some other appropriate material, which I insert in the
rear end of the barrel, one end facing the charge and the other the
breech piece. On the former end of the wad a metallic disc may be
attached in such manner that it may be distended by the explosion and
thus close the cannon hermetically, or instead of this disc the powder.
may be contained in a metal cartridge or one partly of metal having the
same object. The wooden wad greatly diminishes the force of the
explosion and consequently of the recoil by preventing contact between
the exploded gases and the breech, thus annulling the instantaneous action.
of that explosion and greatly modifying its force.
.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Morgan-Brown in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 31st May 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
MORGAN-BROWN, of the Firm of Brandon and Morgan-Brown, Engineers
and Patent Agents, of 38, Southampton Buildings, London; and 13, Rue
Gaillon, Paris, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her.
Letters Patent, bearing. date the Fourth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Morgan-Brown, Her
special license that I, the said William Morgan-Brown, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William-
Morgan-Brown, 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING CANNON," (a communication to
me from abroad by Gustavus Palmer Harding, of 3, Rue du Helder,'
Paris, Engineer) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
William Morgan-Brown, my executors or administrators, by an instru-.
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,'

page_text: should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, 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 immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Morgan-Brown, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
These improvements consist in the construction of a cannon by com-
bining the two essential parts thereof, the breech piece and the barrel, in
such wise that the lateral and longitudinal strains to the combined force
to which every piece of ordnance is subjected in the act of firing are
separated, so that each strain is borne separately by each of the two
parts respectively.
The breech piece of the usual breech-loading ordnance constitutes,
when placed in position, an integral part of the same in so far as the
strain exerted on the one tends to rupture or tear away the other. In
the cannon constructed on this system the longitudinal strain is only
felt upon the breech piece and not upon the breech end of the barrel,
inasmuch as it is not attached thereto, but by means of a strap or a
stirrup is fixed to the trunnions or to the fore part of the barrel, or to
the carriage itself, leaving the barrel entirely independent and liable to
the lateral strain only.
The cannon which may be made in cast iron consists of a tube
open at
both ends. The breech piece is a bar or strap of steel or other tough
metal passing, for example, from one of the trunnions round the rear of
the cannon and from thence to the other trunnions, its width being of
course sufficient to close the bore of the piece when fired and of sufficient
thickness to resist the longitudinal strain of the explosion. This may be
hung on the trunnions so as to be easily raised for the purpose of loading
and cleaning the barrel, and lowered when required to be discharged.
Or the strap or stirrup forming the breech piece may be attached to or
form a lining to the cushions or axle boxes in which the trunnions rest,
the strain being thus thrown upon the carriage itself and the breech
piece and barrel having motions round the same centre. Other methods
of supporting the breech piece are obvious.

page_text: In order to compensate for the elongation of the barrel from repeated
concussion or for that of the barrel from extra expansion, that is, to
maintain the due relation of breech and barrel, a metallic eccentric bush
may be adapted round each trunnion and inserted in each eye or bearing
of the breech piece, and by the aid of a lever adapted thereto it may be
turned sufficiently to bring the breech in contact with the cannon. For
this arrangement may be substituted a packing picce within the end of
the breech piece which may be " set up " towards the barrel or with-
drawn therefrom by means of two helical planes or circular wedges
working in contact or by some other mechanical equivalent.
In order to prevent any escape of the gas resulting from the explosion
at the junction of the breech and barrel I use an obturator, stopper, or
wad of wood, or some other appropriate material, which I insert in the
rear end of the barrel, one end facing the charge and the other the
breech piece. On the former end of the wad a metallic disc may be
attached in such manner that it may be distended by the explosion and
thus close the cannon hermetically, or instead of this disc the powder
may be contained in a metal cartridge or one partly of metal, having the
same object. The wooden wad greatly diminishes the force of the
explosion and consequently of the recoil by preventing contact between
the exploded gases and the breech, thus annulling the instantaneous
action of that explosion and greatly modifying its force.
Having thus explained these improvements in general terms I will
describe them more amply in a practical point of view conjointly with
the five Figures of the sheet hereto annexed, of which Figure 1 is a plan
of a field piece constructed according to this new system, Figure 2 a
longitudinal elevation of the same, Figure 3 a longitudinal elevation in
section of the cannon and of a part of the carriage; Figure 4 a plan of
the breech detached, and Figure 5 a longitudinal elevation idem idem.
In these Figures A, A, represent the wheels; B, the axle; and O, the
carriage of an ordinary field piece to which I have adapted this new
system of cannon a, consisting in a metallic tube open at its two ends
and a breech b in the form of a stirrup, the two arms of which are at
their extremities provided with eyes c, d, containing eccentric bushes
g, g, the one c represents the system of articulating the breech to the
trunnion of the cannon. This trunnion e is made of two different
diameters, the largest is inserted in the eye c of the breech, whilst the

page_text: smaller one rests on the carriage C; the one & represents the system of
breech articulated to the carriage C by the means of a strong stud f
having also two diameters, the largest of which is passed in the hole of
d'and partly in a small recess formed in a dwarf trunnion of the cannon;
whilst the smaller one rests on the carriage; 9, 9, are the eccentric
bushes mounted in the holes c, d; a maximum eccentricity of say three
millimetres is sufficient for adjustment of the breech to the cannon in a
field piece of the calibre indicated. To set the breech piece by means of
theso bushes I make use of a toothed wrench adapted in the notches h
cut out in the flanges of the eccentrics g, and after such adjustment I fix
them by means of the screw i, and in order to maintain the parallelism
of the two eccentrics I trace, if required, on the two external faces of
the arms c and d circular scales, with which are made to correspond
similar scales engraved on the flanges of the eccentrics.
At Figure 3 I have indicated in red lines the breech piece lifted for
charging; the black lines represent the position it occupies during the
explosion. The motion to be imparted to this breech piece is, as may
be seen, very slight, and might be, if required, effected easily by hand for
field pieces; however, to facilitate this action, especially for pieces of
heavier calibre, I indicate three different methods of imparting this
motion, the first of which, Figures 4 and 5, consist simply in the use of
a moveable lever inserted in the eyes 1, 2, adapted underneath one of
the arms of the breech piece; the second, Figure 3, consists in a lever
k adapted in the socket of a bell-crank m articulated at n to the carriage
and the other arm of which o is provided with a roller p which lifts the
breech; the red lines represent the position that these pieces occupy
when the breech is lifted, and the black lines the position when it is
lowered, and the third, Figure 2, consists in the use of a lever k
articulated at n to the carriage and connected by a link o to the under
part of the breech. This system presents the advantage of direct action i
on the breech for the purpose of lowering as well as of lifting it.
The obturator consists in a disc of wood" or any other appropriate
material inserted in the rear end of the cannon, preferably at a slight.
.distance from the breech piece 6 so as to form a small air chamber q,
and provided on its front face with a metallic disc 8, with a small flange
turned up at right angles to fit the bore of the gun, as shown, in such a
manner that it is distended or expanded by the explosion, and thus closes
the cannon hermetically at the breech. This kind of obturator also,
"

page_text: serves to diminish considerably the force of the percussion of the powder
on the breech, it also prevents the contact and the instantaneous action
of the explosion on the breech bar and diminishes the recoil. The disc of
wood without the metallic disc s employed conjointly with a metallic
cartridge or partially metallic cartridge will also produce similar
results.
Having thus described the nature of these improvements, as also the
best means that I am acquainted with for putting the same into practice,
I do not restrict myself to the exact details above described and
illustrated on the Sheet of Drawing hereto annexed, whilst I claim
specially the construction as it has been above mentioned of a cannon,
in which the longitudinal strain caused by the explosion at the breech is
separated from the lateral strain which takes place on the cannon
properly speaking with which it cannot cumulate or mingle, the breech
piece and the cannon constitute therefore two separate and distinct
pieces placed in juxtaposition, whilst the one does not in any way
constitute an integral part of the other, nor does it necessarily receive
any portion of the explosion that takes place on the other. It is evident
that this system may be applied to every description of artillery, rifled
or not.
This system, which consists in freeing the cannon itself of any
longitudinal strain, permits of the resisting power being very consider-
ably augmented, and in so much as the necessary resistance of the
breech bar may be thus known in an absolute manner, the required
form and the dimensions can be given to it to this effect. Thus with
any kind of cannon a greater useful effect can be obtained, the charge of
powder can be increased, and the piece itself will stand more wear on
account of its greater resistance and the diminution of its recoil resulting
from the construction. This new cannon will be also more portable in
so far that the breech bar may be easily detached from a field piece for
instance, whilst the simplicity of its construction will tend to reduce
considerably the price of its manufacture.
Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I would
have it understood that what I claim and desire to secure in the said in
part recited Letters Patent is,-
Firstly. The system above described and illustrated of dividing the
construction of breech-loading cannon into two main parts.