CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES TO BE USED IN SUCH FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND
IN CARTRIDGES TO BE USED IN SUCH FIRE-ARMS." -A communication from
Gilbert Smith, of the State of New York, in the United States of
America.
Sealed the 5th July 1859, and dated the 9th February 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th February 1859.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS,
AND IN CARTRIDGES TO BE USED IN SUCH FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved construction of the breech and
chamber of fire-arms, and mode of opening the chamber to receive a cartridge,
by which, with the use of a cartridge case of soine impermeable and elastic
substance, such case is made to serve as a packing to make the breech joint
perfectly tight when the explosion of the charge takes place. The Invention

page_text: also relates to the means of locking the barrel and breech together to keep
the breech joint close, and to the means of unlocking them. The Invention
further consists in the manufacture of cartridge cases wholly or partly of some
impermeable and elastic substance, such as india-rubber or gutta percha, so
that the case may be expanded laterally against the joint between the barrel
and breech by the force of the explosion of the charge, and will contract itself
after the explosion by its own inherent property.
The breech piece is secured firmly to the stock, and the barrel is screwed
firmly into a stout collar, which is connected under the barrel with the breech
piece by a hinge joint; but, if preferred, the barrel, instead of being screwed
into a collar, may be constructed to hinge directly to the brecch piece. The
breech piece is bored out in cylindrical form to a depth of about three-eighths
of an inch, or more or less, to make a portion of a chamber of larger diameter
than the general bore of the barrel, such larger bore being intended to receive
the rear ends of the cartridge that is to be used in the gun. The rear portion
of the barrel is chambered out to the same diameter as the bore in the brecch
piece, and of sufficient depth to receive such portion of a cartridge as is not
received in the bore of the breech piece.
It will be understood from the above description that the chamber provided
for the cartridge is formed partly in the barrel and partly in the breech, and
has its borė just so much larger than the general bore of the barrel as is
requisite to enable it to contain the cases of cartridges, the insides of which
are of the same size as the last-mentioned bore, or of a size to contain the ball
that is to be used. The chambered portion of the barrel terminates in front in
a shoulder, which serves to prevent the cartridge being pushed too far
into the barrel in the act of loading, and also. to prevent the cartridge case
leaving the chamber when the discharge takes place. That portion of the
chamber which is within the breech piece is countersunk in front in a conical
form to receive a conical projection at the rear of the barrel, which fits into the
countersunk part like a valve into its seat. A spring catch is attached by its
front end to the top of the barrel by a screw for the purpose of locking the
breech piece and barrel together when the breech joint is closed. In this
spring is made a slot to receive two square projections, one of which is formed
on the barrel or its collar, and the other upon the breech piece.. A pin is
fitted to slide up through the breech piece for the purpose of enabling the
person using the gun to raise the spring catch above the projection on the
breech piece, and thereby to unlock the barrel and breech piece for reloading.
When the barrel and breech piece are unlocked, the breech and stock will

page_text: drop down from the hinge joint to a position at a right angle or thereabouts
with the barrel, and thus permit the cartridge to be inserted into that portion
of the chamber that is within the barrel.
The ball cartridges to be used with the above-described construction of the
breech and chamber may have their external cases, or at least the cylindrical
portions of them, made of vulcanized india-rubber or gutta percha, or of cloth
prepared with either of the above substances, in such manner that it shall be
to some extent elastic. This external case may be the only case or may
contain an inner case or lining of thin paper or other material. The cylin-
drical portion of the cartridge is made by rolling up a thin piece of india-rubber
cloth which has had one face previously coated with some suitable adhesive
substance, and the case thus partly formed is completed by the insertion into
one end of it of a breech piece of leather, stout paper, or pasteboard. This
cartridge contains a conical or spherical ball.
When the gun constructed as described and loaded with a cartridge of the
kind above described is fired, the explosion of the powder in the cartridge
causes the elastic case to be expanded laterally, and thus forced into close
contact with the interior surface of the chamber on either side of the joint, and
as the case lays across this joint not a particle of gas can escape thereat.
The case does not leave the chamber with the ball, but is retained therein by
the shoulder, and as, after its expansion produced by the explosion of the
charge, it contracts by its inherent elasticity, it can be easily withdrawn from
the chamber by the fingers when the chamber is opened for reloading.
The improvements in the construction of the breech and chamber and in
the cartridge are applicable to shot guns and shot cartridges as well as to
muskets, rifles, or other arms for firing single balls, and to cartridges for the
same.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th August 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
'WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of February, in the year of our

page_text: Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES
TO BE USED IN SUCH FIRE-ARMS," being a communication from abroad, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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 immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto anuexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to an improved construction of the breech and
chamber of fire-arms, and also to the mode of opening the chamber to receive
a cartridge, by which, with the use of a cartridge case made of some imper-
meable and elastic substance, such case is made to serve as a packing to make
the breech joint perfectly tight when the explosion of the charge takes place.
The Invention also relates to the means of locking the barrel and breech
together to keep the breech joint close, and to the means of unlocking these
parts. The Invention-further consists in the manufacture of cartridge cases
wholly or partly of some impermeable and elastic substance, such as india-
rubber or gutta percha, so that the case may be expanded laterally against the
joint between the barrel and breech by the force of the explosion of the
charge, and will contract itself after the explosion by its own inherent
property.
•
The Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing, in which
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of the breech and parts of the
barrel and stock of a rifle, with the improvements adapted thereto; Fig. 2 is a

page_text: top view of the same; Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are longitudinal vertical sections of ball
cartridges; and Fig. 6 is a similar section of a shot cartridge, all illustrating
the improvement in cartridges. Similar letters of reference indicate corre-
sponding parts wherever they are used in the several Figures.
A (Figs. 1 and 2) is the breech-piece, which is secured firmly to the stock S;
and B is the barrel, screwed firmly into a stout collar B¹, which is connected
under the barrel with the breech piece A by a hinge joint C. The barrel,
instead of being screwed into a collar B', may be constructed to hinge directly
to the breech piece. The breech piece is bored out in a cylindrical form, as
shown at b, b, in Fig. 1, to the depth of about three-eighths of an inch, more
or less, to make a portion of a chamber of larger diameter than the general
bore of the barrel, such larger bore being intended to receive the rear ends
of the cartridge that is to be used in the gun. The rear portion of the barrel
is chambered out, as shown at c, c, in Fig. 1, to the same diameter as the bore
in the breech piece, and of sufficient depth to receive such portion of a cartridge
as is not received in the bore of the breech piece. It will be understood from
the above description that the chamber b, b, c, c, provided for the cartridge is
formed partly in the barrel and partly in the breech. This chamber has its
bore just so much larger than the general bore of the barrel as is requisite to
enable it to contain the cases of the cartridges, the insides of which are of
the same size as the last-mentioned bore, or of a size to contain the ball that
is to be used. The chambered portion c, c, of the barrel terminates in front
in a shoulder, as shown at e, e, in Fig. 1, which shoulder serves to prevent the
cartridge being pushed too far into the barrel in the act of loading, and also
to prevent the cartridge case leaving the chamber when the discharge takes
place. That portion b, b, of the chamber which is within the breech piece is
countersunk in front in a conical form, as shown at f, f, in Fig. 1, to receivo
a conical projection i, i, at the rear of the barrel, which fits into the counter-
sunk part ff, like a valve into its seat.
In Figs. 1 and 2 a spring catch E is attached by its front end to the top of
the barrel by a screw g for the purpose of locking the breech piece and barrel
together when the breech joint is closed. In this spring catch E is made a
slot j,j, to receive two square projections h, h', one of which his formed on
the barrel or its collar B' and the other upon the breech piece A.
A pin F
is fitted to slide up through the breech piece for the purpose of enabling the
person using the gun to raise the spring catch E above the projection h¹ on
the breech piece, as shown in red outline in Fig. 1, and thereby to unlock the
barrel and breech piece for reloading. This operation is effected before

page_text: relinquishing the hold of the stock with the right hand after having fired the
gun. The lower end of this pin F is situated within the trigger guard, so that
it can be pressed up against the spring catch by the forefinger or thumb of
the right hand. When the barrel and breech piece are unlocked, the breech
and stock will drop down from the hinge joint C to a position at a right angle
or thereabouts with the barrel, as illustrated in red outline in Fig. 1, and thus
permit the cartridge to be inserted into that portion c, c, of the chamber that
is within the barrel. The cartridge is to be pushed forward in the chamber
by the hand till the end of its case comes in contact with the shoulder c, e, and
then the stock and breech may be raised to close the chamber. As the breech
piece approaches the barrel in the closing operation, the projection h' comes in
contact with the rear end or bottom of the locking spring and raises it till the
breech piece comes close up to the barrel, and the joint e, e, f, f, is closed,
when the projection h', having arrived under the slot j. j. permits the spring
catch E to descend over it by its own clasticity, and thus lock the barrel and
breech piece securely together again.
The ball cartridges to be used with the above-described construction of the
breech and chamber may have their external cases D, (Figs 1, 3, 4, and 5,) or
at least the cylindrical portions of them, made of vulcanized india-rubber or
gutta percha, or of cloth prepared with either of the above substances in such
manner that it shall be to some extent elastic. This external case D may be
the only case or it may contain an inner case or lining of thin paper or other
material. Figs. 3 and 5 represent the external case D as made entirely of
vulcanized india-rubber, by moulding it in a suitable mould; Fig. 3 represents
the case with a lining r, r, of paper, and Fig. 5 without a lining. These
cartridges contain conical balls I, I. The cartridge shown in Fig. 4 has the
cylindrical portion D made by rolling up a thin piece of india-rubber cloth
which has had one face previously coated with some suitable adhesive substance,
and the case thus partly formed is completed by the insertion into one end of
it of a breech piece k of leather, stout paper, or pasteboard; this cartridge con-
tains a spherical ball J. The external elastic case D must in all cases be of a
length to be received between the breech or extreme rear of the chamber and
the shoulder e, e; its internal diameter should be large enough to receive the
largest portion of the ball, and hence about the same as the general bore of
the barrel. The ball, may be. wholly received within the case, as shown in
Fig. 4, or only partly received within it, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5.
When the gun, constructed as shown, and loaded with a cartridge of the
kind above described, is fired, the explosion of the powder in the cartridge

page_text: causes the elastic case D to be expanded laterally, and thus forced into close
contact with the interior surface of the chamber b, b, c, c, on either side of the
joint e, e, f, f, and as the case lies across this joint not a particle of gas can
escape thereat. The case D does not leave the chamber with the ball, but is
retained therein by the shoulder e, e, and as, after its expansion produced by
the explosion of the charge, it contracts by its inherent elasticity, it can be
easily withdrawn from the chamber by the fingers when the chamber is opened
for reloading.
The improvements in the construction of the breech and chamber and in
the cartridge are applicable to shot guns and shot cartridges as well as to
muskets, rifles, or other arms for firing single balls, and to cartridges for the
same. In a gun that is constructed expressly for shot, the chamber and
breech and elastic cartridge case inay be the same as for the rifle hercin-
before described, and in place of the ball a paper case 1, containing a charge of
shot, is inserted into the open end of the elastic case, and a portion of the said
case may be left protruding from the said clastic case, and allowed to pass
into the barrel in front of the shoulder c, e. This form of cartridge may also
be used in the rifle, either with shot or a number of small bullets, the latter
being contained in a paper case resembling the shot case 1, but made of
thicker paper than is necessary for a shot cartridge. In applying this
Invention to fire-arms, they may have locks of the usual or any suitable
construction.
เ
Having now described this Invention of improvements in breech-loading
fire-arms and in cartridges to be used in such fire-arms, and having explained
the mamer of carrying the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured
to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,―
First, making the chamber to receive the charge or cartridge, partly in the
barrel and partly in the breech or breech piece, and so much larger than the
general bore of the barrel as to have a shoulder in front to retain the cartridge
case therein till after the discharge, whereby the joint between the breech
and the barrel is brought near the middle of the chamber and is enabled
to be packed by the lateral expansion of an elastic cartridge case as herein
described.
Second, I claim making a cartridge case, or at least the external and
cylindrical portion thereof, of some impermeable and elastic substance, such as
india-rubber or gutta percha, so that it may be expanded laterally by the
force of the explosion of the charge, and will contract itself after the explosion
by its own inherent property.

page_text: Third, I claim the locking spring E; applied substantially in the manner and
for the purpose herein described.
Fourth, I claim the sliding spring F, applied and operating in combination
with the locking spring E, substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Sixth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
J. W. MOFfatt,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)