Improvements in Firing and Extracting Mechanism for Breech Loading Guns.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in Firing and Extracting Mechanism for Breech
Loading Guns.
We, VICKERS SONS & CO. LIMITED, of River Don Works, Sheffield, in the
County of York, Steel Manufacturers, ARTHUR TREVOR DAwson, of 28, Victoria
Street, Westminster, London, Superintendent of Ordnance Works, and GEORGE
THOMAS BUCKHAM, of 28, Victoria. Street, Westminster aforesaid, Engineer, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows;-
-
Our invention relates to improvements in firing and extracting mechanism for
breech loading guns, which is of the following description. When a firing primer
is inserted in the breech plug while the breech is open, it sometimes happens that,
in swinging forward the carrier of the breech plug, the primer works back,
protruding backwards, so that when the vertical slide which is operated by the
closing mechanism, rises so as to cover the breech of the primer, it cuts or
damages the primer.
In order to provide against this, we mount on the breech of the gun a pair of
blades which lie in recesses of the breech in such a position that their inner edges
engage in front of the flange of the primer so as to operate as extractors when the
breech is opened, and we make either or both of these blades with a little lateral
spring so that when the primer, which is somewhat taper, is thrust in between
them, they hold it tightly, preventing it from working back while the breech is
closed. When firing is effected by a T friction tube, which presents at one end
of the cross limb a loop to be engaged by the hook of the firing lanyard, we mount
on the breech plug carrier a lever which, like a shutter, covers the end of the
T limb where the loop is, thus preventing the lanyard from being hooked to it
until the breech is quite closed; the lever is moved aside by the last part of the
closing movement, giving access to the loop which can then be engaged by the
lanyard.
When a gun is charged with a cartridge, we effect the extraction of the cart-
ridge after firing in the following manner. We bore through the side of the
gun a hole in which we fit a sliding pin having its inner end flattened and
tapered for some distance, the thinnest part of the end lying in front of the flange
of the cartridge. The outer end of the sliding pin is connected to or acted on
by the plug carrier in such a manner that, during the latter part of the move-
ment of the carrier in opening the breech, the sliding pin is thrust inwards, its
taper part acting against the flange of the cartridge so as to wedge it out from
the breech, thus starting the cartridge so that it can afterwards be readily with-

page_text: drawn. When the breech is closed the sliding pin is moved outwards by a
spring or by a connection to the plug carrier.
Dated this 20th day of October 1897.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Firing and Extracting Mechanism for Breech
Loading Guns.
We, VICKERS SONS & Co., LIMITED, of River Don Works, Sheffield, in the
County of York, Steel Manufacturers, ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON, of 28, Victoria
Street, Westminster, London, Superintendent of Ordnance Works, and GEORGE
THOMAS BUCKHAM, of 28, Victoria Street, Westminster aforesaid, Engineer, 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:--
Our invention relates to improvements in firing and extracting mechanism for
breech loading guns, as we shall describe referring to the accompanying drawings.
Figures 1 and 2 are central sections with part in elevation of the mechanism.
according to our invention for extracting a firing primer.
Figure 3 is a plan and Figure 4 is an elevation of the extractor and primer.
Figure 5 is a transverse section of the breech of a gun with cartridge extractor
in elevation. Figures 6 and 7 are plans partly in section shewing the breech
closed and opened respectively, and Figures 8 and 9 are corresponding views,
drawn to an enlarged scale, of part of the extractor and the hammer.
Figures 10 and 11 are side views shewing two positions of a vertical slide and
shutter for preventing attachment of a firing lanyard. Figure 12 is a front view.
and Figure 13 is a plan of the slide and shutter.
B is part of the breech of a gun and T is part of the breech plug carrier which
is provided with mechanism for closing and opening the breech and moving up
and down the vertical slide $ which controls the firing gear. As the said
mechanism and its operation are well known, we have omitted them from the
drawings, so as to leave more clear the parts comprised in our present invention,
some or others of which are combined with the breech mechanism according as
the firing of the gun is effected by a primer, or by percussion cap or electric
fuse in a cartridige, or by a friction tube pulled by a lanyard. The parts shown
in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive are employed when firing is effected by a primer p.
When such a primer is inserted in the breech plug while the breech is open, it
sometimes happens, that in swinging forward the carrier C in order to close the
breech the primer hangs back protruding to the rear so that when the vertical
slide S is raised by the breech closing mechanism, so as to cover the base of the
primer it cuts or damages the protruding part. In order to provide against
this, we pivot on the carrier T a lever consisting of two blades, one of which
is elastic so that they grip with some firmness the primer which is introduced
between them. On their pivot pin 2 is mounted a cam c which has attached to
it one end of a helical spring so that it can be moved partly round in either
direction but is caused by the spring to return to the middle position shewn.

page_text: The cam has its rear formed as a nose with inclined sides and on its front side
is a projection in the same plane with a shoulder on the lower part of the.
blade. On the boss of the blades is a stop projection 13. A spring stud /*.
has a rounded end entering a recess in the side of the boss of 7 so as to hold the
blades with certain firmness in the position shewn in Figure 1 but to allow them:
to move when certain force is applied. On the vertical slide is fixed an angular.
projection s in the path of which is the nose of the cam c. This apparatus operates
as follows: When the breech is open, the primer p is placed in its recess in
the bolt of the breech plug and when pushed home engages the blades 1, in
front of its head. In closing the breech the vertical slide S is raised, its pro-
jection s. in passing the nose of the cam c merely pushes it aside and when it has
passed, the spring causes the cam to return to the middle position. When the
breech is again opened the slide $ descends and its projection s moves the cam c
so that it's projection acting on the shoulder on the boss of the blades
causes them to move to the position shewn in Figure 2 extracting and it may be
ejecting the primer p. When the charge is in the form of a cartridge case its
extraction is effected as shewn in Figures 5 9 inclusive. In a lateral hole in
the breech of the gun, we fit an extractor rod e having its end sloped off so as to
engage in front of the flange f of the cartridge case F. The rod e is prevented
from turning by a projecting stud el engaged in a lateral groove, and the outer
end of the rod is made with a slot ea on its rear side and a projection e³ on its
under side. On the boss of the breech plug carrier C is fixed a hammer arm
and two projecting parts and h³, 2 being in the plane of the slot e² and h¹
in the plane of e³.
When the cartridge F is in place and the breech is closed, the rod e is in the
position shewn in Figures 5, 6 and 8; on throwing back the carrier C as shewa
in Figure 7 the hammer strikes the head of the rod e pushing it inwards so
that its sloping part, acting on the flange f, starts the extracting movement of
the cartridge case. On again closing the breech the projection / acting on the
projection causes the rod e to move back to the position shewn in Figures 5, 6
and S. The projecting part 2 engaging the groove prevents the rod from being
moved accidentally out of position when the breech is closed.
€2
When a friction tube is used for firing the charge, we prevent the attachment
of the lanyard, except when the breech is quite closed, as we shall describe
referring to Figures 10 to 13 inclusive. On the guide bracket G in which the
vertical slide S works, we pivot a lever, the upper arm of which & forms a shutter,
while its lower arm has a laterally projecting stud . When the breech is open,
the slide S is down and the stud bears against the rear surface of the slide
holding the shutter in the position shewn in Figure 11 preventing access to
the loop L of the friction tube so that the lanyard cannot be attached to it; but
when the breech is closed, the slide S being then raised, a sloping groove son
the side of the slide engaging the stud moves the shutter k to the position shewn
in Figures 10 and 13 so that free access can be had to the loop L for attaching
the lanyard. On again opening the breech the slide descends and its inclined
groove s acting on the stud again moves the shutter so as to prevent access
to the loop L.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is:-
1. In combination with the breech plug of a breech loading gun arranged for
firing by a primer, a lever having two blades adapted to engage the primer
between them, a cam connected to a spring and having a projection in the plane
of a shoulder on the lever, also an angular projection on the vertical slide of the
firing mechanism, substantially as and for the purpose set forth."
2. In combination with the plug carrier of a breech loading gun arranged for
cartridge cases, a hammer lever with two projections, and a sliding rod having

page_text: at its outer end a slot and projection engaged by the projections of the hammer
lever, and the carrier and having its inner end sloped so as to engage in front of
the cartridge flange, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3. In combination with the vertical slide on the plug carrier of a breech load-
ing gun a shutter lever pivotted on the guide of the slide and having a stud
engaged in an inclined slot of the slide substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.