IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE
Year: 1860

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Francis Constable Simons at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 20th June 1860.
I, FRANCIS CONSTABLE SIMONS, late Captain in the Bengal Artillery,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ORDNANCE," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to a new and improved method of keeping the bore of
rifled and other cannon clean, and of keeping the breech screw which I
employ free from dust and dirt, whereby increased facility and safety in loading
are obtained, and greater accuracy of fire. The main advantage of my
Invention is owing to the dirt and bits of the old smouldering cartridge bag
from the previous discharge being pushed right through the gun before
inserting a fresh cartridge.
A few inches behind the vent, pierced right through the gun, I form a
rectangular or other hole in communication with the bore, made solely for
the purpose of carrying away the dirt and foulness produced by the explosion
upon being pushed into it from the muzzle by a wad driven in by a ramrod.
This wad may be dry or not, or greased, and of any form. I prefér, however,
a thick, flat, greased wad. For the purpose of closing up the end of the bore,
having been cleaned out in the manner recommended, a heavy male breech
screw is made to work within a corresponding female screw, the latter some-
what longer than the former. The pin or fore part of the male screw is made
to pierce the gun and enter the rectangular cavity before spoken of, for the
purpose of closing the bore. The gun having been fired, the male screw is
made to recede by turning a handle, leaving the rectangular vertical cavity

page_text: bebind the vent clear. A wad is then pushed through, and the bore again
closed by advancing the screw. The way to load is this, first, the cartridge is
to be placed just inside the muzzle, and then the shot, the two being both
pushed home together, or they may be pushed home separately, and in either
case a wad may be placed between them, if found desirable.
Now, if there should be any escape of gas at the breech, a stopping wad
made of any suitable substance may be first put in, then the powder and pro-
jectile. The expansion of this wad against the pin of the breech screw will
effectually prevent any escape of gas. I do not make this pin to enter the
bore, but it shuts up the bore from outside, its diameter being greater than
that of the bore. It may, however, be made to enter the bore, if advisable;
for which purpose the rear end of the bore would have to be enlarged. The
pin may either form a part of the male breech screw, or may be screwed into
it, and it may be made of the same metal, or of a different metal, as may prove
most desirable.
Again, if it be preferred, the pin of the breech screw, instead of being made
to work right up to and behind the bore to close it, may be made shorter, and
press a rectangular bar of copper or other metal (corresponding to the rect-
angular hole) against the end of the bore for the purpose of more effectually
closing it. A metal cap or nut bored through the centre, and in which the
hinder arm of the breech screw revolves is either screwed on to the gun or
fixed to pins projecting from the gun, or otherwise applied. It shuts in the
rear of the male breech screw, and which, together with a contrivance in front
for a similar purpose, prevents any dirt from getting in to interfere with the
working of the screw.
The great feature in my Invention, therefore, is the pushing of a wad
through from muzzle to breech, or vice versa, before loading. The screw may
be dispensed with, and a bar of metal of a wedge-like form, or otherwise, and
corresponding to the rectangular vertical cavity, may be substituted for it, and
the cavity may be made horizontal, and of any shape. The gun may, if
desired, be made to load through the breech, a wad being pushed right
through to begin with. When the cleansing operation takes place through
the muzzle, the cleansing wád need not be pushed through the aperture,
but may be made to rest against the screw pin, and serve to make the
bore tight.