Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 17th June, 1897-Accepted, 25th Sept., 1897
I, HEINRICH STÜTING of Zella Street, Blasii Thuringia, in the Empire of Germany,
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:-.
This invention relates to a method and apparatus by means of which the recoil of
guns after firing is prevented by the force of recoil being employed to perform
mechanical work which either by itself or in combination with the inertia of the
mass of the gun is exactly equal to said force of recoil. This mechanical work may
be of any kind and may consist in the separation or division of a piece or part from
a fixed body. Its amount can be found by calculation or be determined by experi-
ment so that the force of the recoil can be entirely neutralised or at least so. far
neutralised that if there be any excess of force this excess will not be sufficient to
move the gun carriage and the gun will not be moved back. Also the amount of
the mechanical work to be performed may be regulated in the case of each gun
correspondingly to the stronger or weaker charge of the saine. In a gun of about
8800 lbs. weight of barrel, a projectile of the weight of 11 lbs., will have with a charge
of 11 lbs., a velocity at the muzzle of 1640 ft. per second.
Consider now that the following symbols in the formulæ represent,-
V. The muzzle velocity.
-
W. =
V.
Ww.
The weight of the gun.
The velocity of recoil of gun.
The weight of projectile.
The weight of powder charge.
w¹
C.
A constant 1.5 deduced by experiment.
Then V Wv (w + Cw³) = Momentum of recoil of gun barrel as follows,-
VW = 1640 (11+1.5 × 1·1). 4500.
Therefore V= 1.95 feet per second..
Again as the accumulated work stored up in the recoiling gun
W V2
== x, and
x =
64.4
in foot pounds,
8800 × 3-8
=
519-2 foot pounds.
64.4
The inertia of the gun carriage and the friction on the ground provide the
necessary resistance to allow of the accumulated work stored up by the recoil being.
consumed in the various ways hereinafter described.
hu maahanical work
Therefore the mun
The inertia of the gun carriage and the friction on the ground provide the
necessary resistance to allow of the accumulated work stored up by the recoil being
consumed in the various ways hereinafter described.
Therefore the gun
+
The force of the recoil is consumed by mechanical work
remains at rest and need not be moved back into its previous position for firing its
next shot. The amount of the inertia of the mass of the gun has no appreciable
influence for the purpose of permanently retaining the adjusted position of the gun

page_text: because it has no longer alone to take up the force of recoil. The body of the gun
may therefore be made as light as is allowable with regard to stability. In this way
important advantages are afforded as regards the transport of the guns and the
arming of ships and their loading by means of guns.
The drawings illustrate the application of the device to some types of guns. Fig. 1 is
a field gun in which a rod is intended to be torn apart by the recoil. Fig. 2 shows
the device in which a rod or the like is to be cut in two. Fig. 3 shows on a larger scale a
device in which a plate is to be punched through. Fig. 4 shows a fixed ship's gun.
Figs. 5 illustrate the arrangement of the device and the supporting of the gun barrel
on slide rails.
With reference to Fig. 1 the gun barrel a is carried in a jacket b which is supported
by means of the trunnions c in the carriage d. The jacket b is provided with a tail
piece e with which engages the known mechanism for training the gun. On the
jacket and either on one or both sides there are arranged projections g in which is
inserted the tool knife cutter punch or the like which is caused by the recoil to
perform the work. The jacket is formed at its forward part in such a manner that
a springh can be inserted and be sufficiently supported therein. This spring & serves
to return the gun barrel a into its initial position after the completion of the recoil.
The gun barrel rests in the jacket and is capable of being moved longitudinally but
not rotatively therein. On it are formed projections which correspond in position
with the projections g of the jacket and which are so formed that a tool such as a
shearing cutter female die or the like can be inserted therein so as to act as an
abutment to the tool in the projections g. The projections i,g may also be so
formed that the ends of a rod to be torn apart can be clamped therein. When the
recoil takes place the gun barrel is moved back in the jacket with corresponding
force. The tools of the projections g and i move towards each other as shown in
Figs. 2 and 3 and shear or. perforate the piece k. After this work has been done that
is to say on the cessation of the action of the recoil the spring / returns the gun
barrel again into its former position. When it is desired to neutralise the recoil by
the tearing apart of rods, a rod of suitable cross section is inserted in the projections i
and g.
The projections i and g move apart on the recoil movement of the gun.
barrel and thus tear the rod apart. By making the rods of sufficient strength an
inseparable union may be provided between the barrel and the jacket so that the
gun can be used in the usual manner as hitherto.
Fig. 4 shows a piece of ordnance such as for example a gun for arming ships
provided with the device. The sliding carriage m is carried pendulating and in such
a manner as to be capable of being fixed by means of trunnions nn, Fig. 5 upon the
standard l. The sliding carriage has two slides o and carries on these projections p
which are suitably formed for the reception of the tools and of the work pieces.
The gun barrel a embraces with its feet q Fig. 5 the slides o in such a manner that
it can be moved only in a longitudinal direction. On the barrel a there are arranged
projections as shown in Fig. 4 which correspond with the projections p and which.
serve to receive the co-operating tools. Further the gun barrel a is connected with
the sliding carriage m by means of one or more springs 8 which on the termination
of the recoil serve to return the gun barrel into its first position. The mode of
operation of the gun in Fig. 4 is the same as that of the gun shown in Fig. 1.
The guns described herein serve as examples to show how the invention is to be
applied to different types of guns; and it is obviously possible to apply the
arrangement shown in Fig. 1 also to the type shown in Fig. 4 and vice versa.
Experiments have shown that it is advantageous not to make the piece of metal the
change in form of which is intended to neutralise the recoil not so strong or thick as
would be sufficient to neutralise by itself the whole force of recoil, but to employ
several pieces of metal of smaller size but of equal dimensions in the aggregate. The
recoil is thereby neutralised not at once but gradually in steps or stages.
The mechanical work by which the recoil is neutralised may also be effected
by means of the tail or tail-piece of the carriage, but this arrangement is of little
value because the disadvantages of a divided gun carriage are too great,

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is;-
1. A gun carriage in which the recoil is arrested or retarded by the fact that
the rearwardly moving gun barrel or that part of the gun carriage which moves
back with the gun barrel produces permanent changes of form in a rigidly clamped
piece of metal.
2. Improvements relating to guns substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore
described and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 17th June 1897.
MARKS & CLERK,
18, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., and
13, Temple Street, Birmingham, Agents.