IMPROVEMENTS IN BATTERY OR MACHINE GUNS
Year: 1884

page_text: .
I OLIVER EDWARDS of Illinois, United States of America, now of 49 Curtain
Road, Finsbury in the County of Middlesex, Brevet Major General, United States
Army, do hereby declare the nature of said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BATTERY OR MACHINE GUNS" to be as follows:-
My invention relates to battery or machine guns having two or more barrels.
The usual method of fixing or securing the barrels of a gun of this class is to
employ frames which extend on each side from the gun box or case as far or nearly
as far as the muzzles of the said barrels, thereby adding greatly to the weight and
cost of the gun.
But by my invention I dispense with these frames and fix a crosshead to the
barrels at any point forward of the barrel-chambers but preferably at or near
the muzzle ends of the barrels. This cross-head is rigidly attached either to all the
barrels or to any suitable number thereof. The said barrels being firmly fixed at
the breech-end to the forward end of a gun box or case containing the brecch
mechanism and firmly fixed in the said cross-head at or near their muzzle ends,
form a part of a strong and rigid frame and do not require the support of the frames
heretofore employed.
The said cross-head may be made to fit one or more tiers of barrels, or the barrels
may be arranged in a circle or in any desired position and the cross-head made to
fit the same.
I do not limit myself to any particular form of construction of this cross-head
nor to any method of attaching the same, as it is a simple matter for any mechanic
to vary such form or attachment.
My invention may be conveniently and advantageously applied to a gun having
a horizontal row of barrels as follows, that is to say:- -The cross-head is made with
apertures to fit the muzzle-ends of the barrels which are preferably reduced in
diameter to form shoulders for the said cross-head to bear against. Between the
two exterior barrels on each side, the cross-head is split to enable the said barrels
to be inserted in the apertures designed for their reception, that is to say, a slot is
formed which connects these apertures. A screw or bolt is inserted in the cross-
head for the purpose of drawing the top and bottom parts of the cross-head together
D037

page_text: so as to firmly secure the said cross-head to the barrels. If desired these slots may
be made between all the adjacent barrels so as to connect all the apertures in the
cross-head and a corresponding number of screws or bolts is employed. Or I may
make the cross-head in two parts which are firmly clamped upon the barrels by
means of bolts or otherwise.
The front sights of the gun may form part of the cross-head or may be attached
thereto and made adjustable.
The cross-head may be fixed to the barrels by keys pins or set screws, instead of
by the screws or bolts, and slots as above described, or the holes for the barrels,
and the barrels may be made with one or more sides, for instance octagonal.
Dated this 11th day of March 1884.

page_text: I, OLIVER EDWARDS, of Illinois, United States of America, now of 49 Curtain
Roud, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex, Brevet Major General, United States
Army, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BATTERY OR MACHINE GUNS" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
My invention relates to battery or machine guns having two or more barrels.
According to the usual method of constructing guns of this class, the barrels are
mounted and secured in frames, which extend at the sides of the barrels from the
breech or rear ends thereof to, or nearly to, the muzzles. These frames add con-
siderably to the weight of the gun and increase the cost of its manufacture.
But, according to my invention, I dispense with the ordinary framing and pro-
vide for securing and keeping the barrels in place, by the simple expedient of
connecting or tying them together, so that they support each other, by means of a
cross-head, preferably at, or near, the muzzle-ends of the said barrels.
In carrying my said invention into practice, the breech-ends of the barrels are
firmly fixed, in the ordinary manner, in the forward end of a gun box or case con-
taining the breech-mechanism. The said cross-head (which may have the form of
a straight bar or plate, or of a ring or polygon, according to the arrangement of
the barrels) is so constructed that it can be placed upon the barrels, and (after the
latter have been adjusted so that their axes are parallel with each other, or the
centres of their muzzles are in the same horizontal plane) can be rigidly clamped,
or otherwise secured, to one or more of the barrels, and, with them, will form a
strong and rigid frame.
This cross-head, bar, or plate permits and maintains the proper adjustment of
the barrels, not only as regards the arrangement of their axes or centres as above
explained, but in respect of the distance between their centres. The barrels will,
thererefore, not require the support of the side frames heretofore employed.
The said cross-head is, in some cases, made to fit one or more tiers of barrels.
In other cases, the barrels are arranged in a circle or in other convenient relative
positions, the cross-head or its equivalent being made to fit the same. I do not
limit myself to any precise construction of this cross-head or method of attaching
the same to the barrels, otherwise than in such particulars as are necessary to
ensure the efficient support of the barrels.
In the accompanying drawing, I have shewn how my said invention may be
conveniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a plan of part of a gun having a horizontal row of four barrels.
Figure 2 is a front elevation of the cross-head of the said gun, and
Figure 3 is a front elevation, drawn to a reduced scale, of a gun having six
barrels arranged in a circle.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawing.
a is the gun-box or case, in which the breech-ends of the barrels b are secured in
any suitable manner. c is the cross-head, made with holes or apertures c¹ to fit the
muzzle-ends of the barrels b, which are preferably reduced in diameter to form
shoulders b' for the said cross-head to bear against. In the gun shewn in Figures 1
and 2, two slots c³ are formed in the cross-head c, each of which slots connects two
of the holes c¹. Screw-bolts d are inserted in the cross-head c and provided with
nuts d¹ for the purpose of drawing the top and bottom parts of the said cross-head
towards each other, so as to firmly secure the same to the barrels.

page_text: In constructing the gun illustrated in these figures, after the barrels 6 have been
secured in the gun-box u, I place the cross-head c in position upon their muzzle-
ends, and then adjust one or both of the outer barrels, so as to bring the centres of
the muzzles of all the barrels in the same horizontal line; I then rigidly clamp the
cross-head to the barrels by means of the bolts & and nuts d'.
The front sights of the gun may form part of the cross-head c, as shewn at e, or
they may be attached thereto.and made adjustable.
In the gun shewn in Figure 3, I employ a hexagonal cross-head or plate c, three
slots care formed therein, each of which slots connects two of the holes c¹.
Screws d² are provided for firmly securing the said cross-head or plate to the
barrels, after the latter have been adjusted to cause their axes to lay parallel with
each other.
In a gun with a large number of barrels, I sometimes make the cross-head with
slots to connect all the holes or apertures therein, and employ a corresponding
number of the screws or bolts. If desired, I make the cross-head in two parts,
which are firmly clamped upon the barrels by means of bolts or otherwise. Or
I make the said cross-head in one piece without slots and secure it to the barrels
by keys, pins or set-screws. Or I make the barrels, and the apertures for their
reception, with one or more flat portions or sides to prevent any rotary movement
of the barrels therein.
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.
i
First. A battery or machine gun having two or more barrels so connected or tied
together that the said barrels are efficiently supported without the ordinary framing
heretofore used in such guns.
Second. The combination, with the gun box or case and the barrels, of the
cross-head slotted or divided between the holes and provided with screws or screw-
bolts, whereby it is fixed or clainped upon the barrels, substantially as described
with reference to Figures 1 and 2, or to Figure 3, of the drawing for the purpose
specified.
DL of Danamba 7001