An Improvement in Cradles and Recoil Buffers for Field-gun Carriages.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Apr., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 17th Dec., 1890-Accepted, 17th Jan., 1891
IDIONAL DIECIFICATION.
[Communicated from abroad by THOMAS ENGLISH, Civil Engineer, at present of
Central Hotel, Magdeburg, in the German Empire.]
An Improvement in Cradles and Recoil Buffers for Field-gun
Carriages.
I, OLIVER IMRAY, of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of London, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
In mounting a field gun upon a cradle on which it can slide in the direction of its
axis in its recoil, there is great difficulty in finding room for accommodating under
the gun a hydraulic buffer cylinder of sufficient size and having its piston attached to
the breech of the gun sufficiently near its body. This invention relates to means of
surmounting this difficulty, which is done by mounting the buffer cylinder on
trunnions on the cradle so that it is capable of oscillation in a vertical plane. When
the gun is advanced to firing position the piston rod of the buffer cylinder, which
is jointed to an eye on the underside of the breech of the gun, is not parallel to the
axis of the gun but is inclined upwards towards the breech.
As the gun recoils in the direction of its axis, the inclination of the piston rod
to the axis becomes less and less, but the cylinder, being free to oscillate, accom-
modates itself to the change of angle.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Cradles and Recoil Buffers for Field-gun
Carriages.
I, OLIVER IMRAY of No. 28 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of London, Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents, 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:-
In mounting a field gun upon a cradle on which it can slide in the direction of
its axis in its recoil, there is great difficulty in finding room for accommodating under
the gun a hydraulic buffer cylinder of sufficient size and having its piston attached to
the breech of the gun sufficiently near its body. This invention relates to means of
surmounting this difficulty, which is done by mounting the buffer cylinder on
trunnions on the cradle so that it is capable of oscillation in a vertical plane. When
the gun is advanced to firing position the piston rod of the buffer cylinder which
is jointed to an eye on the underside of the breech of the gun, is not parallel to the
axis of the gun but is inclined upwards towards the breech.
As the gun recoils in the direction of its axis the inclination of the piston rod to
the axis becomes less and less, but the cylinder being free to oscillate, accommodates
itself to the change of angle.
The accompanying drawing is a side view shewing part of a field gun and
its carriage with a hydraulic buffer cylinder applied to it according to this
invention.
The bearings A for the trunnions of the gun can slide in guides B on the upper
part of the cradle (which can turn round the axle D as determined by the elevating
Screw E. The hydraulic buffer cylinder F is mounted by trunnions on the cradle Ŭ

page_text: and has the rod of its piston extending both forwards and backwards through stuffing
boxes. The front part of the piston rod passes through a pair of helicoidal volute
springs G and terminates in a collar g beyond them. The rear part of the piston rod
is jointed at H to an eye at the breech of the gun, to which also is jointed a shoe K
that slides on the rear part L of the cradle. When the gun recoils, it drags backwards
the piston within the cylinder F which is resisted by the liquid in the cylinder being
forced through a limited area past the piston, it also compresses the spring G which,
when the force of the recoil is expended, causes the gun to advance again to firing
position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is: '-
In combination with a field gun and its carriage, a cradle on which the gun can
slide longitudinally, this cradle being pivotted in front on the axle of the carriage,
supported at the rear on the elevating screw, and having mounted by trunnions on it
a hydraulic recoil cylinder, the piston of which has a rod extending forwards to act
on a spring and a rod extending backwards and jointed to the breech of the gun.
Dated this 17th day of December 1890.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.