IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE, FIRE-ARMS, AND PROJECTILES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Percival Moses Parsons, of Blackheath, in the
County of Kent, Civil Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ORDNANCE, FIRE-ARMS, AND PROJECTILES."
Sealed the 2nd December 1864, and dated the 9th June 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Percival Moses Parsons
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th June 1864.
I, PERCIVAL MOSES PARSONS, of Blackheath, in the County of Kent, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN ORDNANCE, FIRE-ARMS AND PROJECTILES," to be as follows:-
In the construction of ordnance, when the gun is made out of a solid piece
of metal, or composed of an internal tube of wrought iron or steel of con-
siderable thickness, surrounded by other tubes or hoops, or inserted into a
cast-iron casing, in order to put an initial compressive strain on the interior
and a tensile strain on the exterior of the gun or tube; so that the strain
caused by the discharge of the piece may be more equally borne by and dis-
tributed over the metal throughout. After the tube or gun is bored and turned
to the finished size, or nearly so, I heat it sufficiently, and cool it from the
inside by filling it with or passing through it a stream of cold water or other
liquid; and for the purpose of obtaining increased longitudinal strength in
built-up guns I form the tubes and hoops used in their construction bycoiling
and welding bars of wrought iron or suitable steel rolled with tongues and
grooves to fit into one another when the-bar is coiled around the inandrel.

page_text: In order to impart axial rotation to the projectile without weakening the
gun by cutting grooves in it, I employ ribs or flanges having the requisite
spiral raised above the surface of the bore, and occupying but a small portion of
its circumference, so that that portion of the bore not occupied by the ribs
or flanges may bear a sufficientlylarge proportion to the whole circumference
to admit of the necessary extension of the interior of the bore taking place
in it without straining the metal beyond its elastic limit; this proportion
should be not less than four-fifths (but I prefer to make it considerably more)
that is to say, the ribs should not occupy altogether more than one-fifth, and
the cylindrical portion not less than four-fifths of the whole circumference of
the bore; and to enable spherical as well as elongated projectiles to be dis-
charged from guns thus made I employ two raised ribs or flanges opposite
each other having their loading and driving sides of the same form. When
cylindrical or cylindro-conoidal projectiles alone are to be used I employ any
convenient number of raised ribs or flanges, the form in cross section of
the driving side of which is either a straight or curved line inclined to
the surface of the bore; if curved I prefer making it the arc of a circle struck
from a point on a straight line drawn through the centre of the bore at right
angles to a straight line drawn from that centre to any point on the rib or
flange; the loading side may either be similar to the driving side or of any
other suitable form. For the purpose of causing the projectile to bear against
the driving side of the rifling ribs or flanges, when rammed home, so that it
may start without a jarr, I thicken the loading side of the rifling ribs or
flanges at the breech end about the amount allowed for clearance or windage
in the grooves of the projectiles.
For the purpose of loading at the breech in large guns I employ a breech
plug in the form of a conical screw screwed into the breech of the gun, and
supported on a suitable swinging or hinged frame, in which it can turn freely,
and by the aid of which it can be moved in and out of its place. For small
guns and small arms I employ a breech plug having its rear end mounted on
a ball-and-socket joint or other suitable pivot, and its front end, which closes
the breech, madewith a spherical surface, and the breech is opened and closed
by turning the plug on its ball-and-socket joint, and thereby moving its front
end in and out of the line of the bore. A set screw is employed to adjust the
position of the plug, and a stop is used to secure the plug in position when
the piece is discharged; and in small arms this is formed on the tumbler axis
of the lock, and so arranged that the plug is locked either at full cock or
when the hammer is on the nipple, but is free at half-cock. In order to make
the joint at the breech of breech-loading ordnance and fire-arms gas-tight, I

page_text: employ a gas check or valve made in the form of a ring with an annular
recess or recesses on its exterior, or. in the metal of the gun surrounding it,
so that its exterior surface in contact with its seat will be of less area than
its interior surface exposed to the action of the powder gases; and when
the gas check is intended to operate by being forced back against the
breech piece by the pressure of the powder gases, the area of its surface in
contact with the breech piece is made less than the area of its opposite end.
In some cases I employ two split rings, one within the other, with the splits
arranged to break joint.
In the construction of projectiles, to enable them to be used with guns
rifled with raised ribs or flanges, I form the projectile when spherical with
an annular groove or grooved belt around it in the plane of its diameter;
and when cylindrical or cylindro-conoidal with spiral grooves cut in it of
_corresponding form in section to the rifling ribs, but as much wider as
In order to lessen the
necessary to allow for windage or clearance.
resistance to the passage of projectiles through the air, secure accurate
flight, and provide a means of expanding such as are made of soft metal
without making a hollow in their base, I make them of a cylindrical or
elongated form suited to the rifling of the gun or rifle from which they are
to be discharged, and with both the front and rear end of a conical,
conoidal, or other suitable pointed or rounded form, and at or near the
rear end I make an annular groove or canelure; and for elongated pro-
jectiles to be discharged from smooth-bore guns I make them of this form
with spiral grooves around them having a rapid twist.
In the construction of elevating or back-sights for ordnance and fire-
arms, the pillar or flap upon which the slide moves lias a portion of a female
screw thread or rack cut on it, in which works a worm or endless screw
attached to the slide by a spring which keeps it in gear when used to
adjust the slide with precision, but will allow it to be thrown out of gear
and permit the slide to be moved by hand so as to adjust it roughly to any
required position. Lateral motion is also provided in the slide to adjust
the aperture, notch, or other means by which the sight is taken so as to
allow for drift wind or other disturbing cause.
In the construction of fore-sights I employ a short tube or ring, and
within and concentric with it a smaller ring forming the sight proper, and
attached to both sides of the outer ring or guard by fine horizontal or
vertical wires or bars.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Perceval Moses Parsons in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 8th December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PERCEVAL
MOSES PARSONS, of Blackheath, in the County of Kent, Civil Engineer,
Bend greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Perceval Moses Parsons, Her special licence that I, the
said Perceval Moses Parsons, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Perceval Moses Parsons, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE, FIRE-ARMS, AND PROJECTILES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Perceval Moses Parsons, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their hands and seals, 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 Perceval Moses Parsons, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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 accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
In the construction of ordnance, when the gun is made out of a solid piece
of metal, or composed of an internal tube of wrought iron or steel of con-
siderable thickness, surrounded by other tubes or hoops, or inserted into a
cast-iron casing, in order to put an initial compressive strain on the interior
and a tensile strain on the exterior of the gun or tube, so that the strain
caused by the discharge of the piece may be more equally borne by and dis-
tributed over the metal throughout. After the tube or gun is bored and turned
to the finished size, or nearly so, I heat it sufficiently and cool it from the

page_text: inside by filling it with or passing through it a stream of cold water or other
liquid.
In order to carry out this part of my invention, a sufficient supply of water
or other liquid, with suitable conduit pipes, must be provided, and a suitable
furnace in which to heat the gun or tube; when the gun or tubo is brought
to a bright red heat it is to be taken out of the furnace, temporarily fixed in
a frame, the nozzle of the conduit pipe affixed to one end, and a stream of
water or other liquid passed through it until it is cool. If the gun or tube
is closed at the breech end it will then be desirable to employ a conduit pipe
of about half the area of the bore, and of sufficient length, so that it may be
inserted into the interior of the gun from the muzzle end, and discharge the
water into the gun at the breech end, which will then pass back around the
conduct pipe and out again at the muzzle. By this process the gun or tube
having the metal of its interior first cooled, that on its exterior will in con-
sequence contract upon it, and cause the metal on its exterior to be in a state
of initial tension, and that on its interior to be in a state of compression,
which, as is well known to those persons conversant with the construction of
artillery, is the proper state for the metal to be in, in order that the strain of
the discharge may be as nearly as possible equally distributed over the metal
throughout.
For the purpose of obtaining increased longitudinal strength in built-up
guns, I form the tubes and hoops used in their construction by coiling and
welding bars of wrought iron or suitable steel rolled with tonguesand grooves
to fit into one another when the bar is coiled around the mandrel.
Figs. 1 and 2 are longitudinal sections of parts of tubes or hoops made of
bars of the form in cross section shewn in Figs. 3 and 4 respectively, according
to my Invention.
The bar 6 is rolled with tongues t, t, and grooves g, g, and the tube is con-
structed by coiling the bar b round a mandrel and welding the coils, when
the tongues of each coil will fit into the grooves of the adjoining ones, and
vice versa. Thus the tongues t, t, of the coil c (Figs. 1 and 2) fit into the
grooves of the coil c¹ and c¹¹, whilst the tongues t, t, ot the coils c¹ and c¹¹ fit
into the grooves of the coil c,and so on, by which greater longitudinal strength
will be imparted to the tube, and the seams of the coils will be less likely to
open than when the adhesion by welding of the flat surfaces aloue is depended
on. The bar is rolled of the taper section, as shewn, so that when upset by
being coiled round the mandrel, the coils will lie fairly against each other. In
order to impart axial rotation to the projectiles without weakening the gun by
cutting grooves in it, I employ ribs or flanges having the requisite spiral

page_text: raised above the surface of the bore, and occupying but a small portion of its
circumference, so that that portion of the bore not occupied by the ribs or
flanges may bear a sufficiently large proportion to the whole circumference to
admit of the necessary extension of the metal immediately surrounding the
bore taking place in it without straining the metal beyond its elastic limit.
This proportion should be not less than four-fifths, (but I prefer to make it
considerably more,) that is to say, the ribs should not occupy altogether more
than one-fifth, and the cylindrical portion not less than four-fifths of the
whole circumference of the bore. To enable spherical as well as elongated
projectiles to be discharged from guns thus made, I employ two ribs or
flanges,, (Fig. 5, which is a cross section of the bore of a gun,) raised
above the surface of the bore 6 opposite each other, having their loading and
driving sides of the same form. When cylindrical or cylindro-conoidal pro-
jectiles alone are to be used, I employ any convenient number of raised ribs
or flanges, the form iu cross section of the driving side of which is either a
straight or curved line inclined to the surface of the bore Fig. 6 is a cross
section of the bore of a gun thus formed having three ribs. The driving
sided of the raised ribs or flanges r, r, is formed by the arc of a circle struck
from a point p, on a straight line p, c, drawn through the centre of the bore c
at right angles to a straight line c, r, drawn from that centre to any point r
on the rib or Hange; or it may be a straight instead of a curved line, in
which case it will form a right angle with the line p, d, drawn from the point
p to its centre d. The loading side 7 may either be similar to the driving
side, or of the form shown, or of any other suitable form. For the purpose of
causing the projectile to bear against the driving side of the rifling ribs or
flanges when rammed home, so that when discharging it may start without a
jarr, I thicken the loading side of the rifling ribs or flanges at the breech end
about the amount allowed for windage or clearance in the grooves of the pro-
jectile. This improvement is shewn in Fig. 7 (which is a longitudinal section
of a portion of the breech of a gun.) is a rib or flange,d is its driving side, and
7 its loading side, which is thickened up for the distance from the point a to
the point b, by which means when the projectile is rammed home, the loading
side of the grooves coming against the inclined surface of the thickened
portion of the rib or flange, it is thereby slightly turned upon its axis until
the driving side of the groove in the projectile is in close contact with the
driving side of the rib or flange of the gun, so that when the projectile is
discharged it will start smoothly.
For the purpose of loading at the breech in large guns, that is to say, in
cannon, I employ a breech plug in the form of a conical screw, screwed into

page_text: the breech of the gun, and supported on a suitable swinging or hinged frame,
in which it can turn freely, and by the aid of which it can be moved in andout
of its place.
Fig. 8 is a sectional plan; Fig. 9, a longitudinal section; Fig. 10, a cross
section at A, A, (Figs. 8 and 9); and Fig. 11, an end view of the breech
portion of a gun constructed according to this part of my Invention. s is the
conical breech screw which closes the bore b, screwed into the breech of the
gun g, having a corresponding screw thread cut on its interior. The rear end
of the breech screws is made of a cylindrical form at t, and upon it is inserted
a ring r, in which it can turn freely, and is turned down so as to form a seat or
axis at v to receive the lever Z, carrying hammers m, m, and handles i, i, usod
to unscrew it, and screw it up at each discharge. Surrounding the ring r is a
hoop or strap h, hinged to the body of the gun by the hinge joint j, and
provided with pivots p, p, to support the ring r, and with it the breech screw,
and to act as a guide and allow lateral play to the same when the breech
screw is being moved in and out of its place. In order to charge the piece,
the lever is made to perform a partial revolution on its seat or axis v, by
turning the handles i,i,to the left hand from the position shewn by the full lines
to that indicated by the dotted q, q, (Fig. 11), when the hammers m, m, come
in contact with and strike with a momentum lugs k, k, formed on the breech
screw which partially disengages it, and the motion is continued, the breech
screw moving in a lateral direction by reason of the pivots p, p, until it is
clear of the screw threads formed in the interior of the gun, when it, supported
by the hoop or strap, turning on the hinge joint j is moved out of the line
of the bore to the position shewn by the dotted lines w, w, (Fig. 8), and the
charge being inserted and the breech screw supported by the hoop or strap
turned back into the line of the bore, a reverse motion of the lever / brings
it into the position shown by the full lines when the piece is ready to be
discharged. By making the breech plug in the form of a conical screw, it may
be entered nearly into its seat without screwing it, and then finally secured by
giving it one or two turus according to the pitch of the screw and angle of
the cone, and thus the breech can be opened and closed much quicker than
if a cylindrical screw, which would have to be unscrewed or screwed its whole
length, were employed. For small guns and small arms, in order to load at
the breech, I employ a breech plug, having its rear end mounted on a ball-
and-socket joint or other suitable pivot, and its front end which closes the
breech made with a spherical surface, and the breech is opened and closed
by turning the plug on its ball-and-socket joint, and thereby moving its front
end in and out of the line of the bore.

page_text: Fig. 12 is a plan; Fig. 13, a longitudinal section; Figs. 14 and 15, cross
sections at B, B, and A, A, respectively (Fig. 13), of so much of a rifle as is
sufficient to illustrate this part of my Invention; p is the breech plug
occupying a chamber d, made in the breech of the barrel g, open at top
and bottom; r, its rear end, mounted on a ball-and-socket joint; and f, its
front end, made with a spherical surface which closes the bore b; la vertical
bolt which moving in an aperture made through the trigger guard i and the
trigger plate h, and the stock is used to press up the plug in order to close the
breech, and being provided with a spring taking into notches in the trigger
guard, keeps the plug steady in its place. To open the breech the plug is
pressed down, and thus turned on its ball-and-socket joint to the position
indicated by the dotted lines w, w, (Fig. 13), a recess k being made in the
stock for its reception, when its front end will be out of the line of the bore,and
the bolt l'in the position ; the charge can then be introduced, and the breech
is closed by pressing up the bolt 7, which raises the plug to the position shewn
by the full lines, when its front end will be in the line of the bore and the
piece ready to be discharged. A set screw s, screwed into the metal at the
end of the chamber, is employed at the back of the plug to adjust its position,
and a stop is used to secure the plug in position when the piece is discharged,
and in small arms this is formed on the tumbler axis of the lock, as shewn
at t, and so arranged that the plug is locked when the hammer is either
at full cock in the position No. 3, or when on the nipple in the position No. 1,
when the stop t will be in the respective positions indicated by the dotted
lines v, v, and x, x, and the projections q, 2, on the plug will intercept it, but
is free at half cock when the hammer is in the position No. 2, and the stop
t in that shewn by the full lines (Fig. 13), a groove m made in the plug
allowing it to pass over the stop when in that position. The projections
., 9, also act as a stop to prevent the plug rising up out of its place, as they
project underneath the metal of the chamber, as shewn by dotted lines at Z,
(Fig. 15.) 1 have not thought it necessary to shew a plan of a small cannon
with this system of breech-loading employed,as the main features are the same
as in the small arm herein-before described, it onlyrequiringsuchmodifications
in some of the details as will be readily understood by those conversant
with breech-loading ordnance.
In order to make the joint at the breech of breech-loading ordnance and
fire-arms gas-tight, I employ a gas check or valve made in the form of a ring
with an annular recess or recesses on its exterior or in the metal of the gun
surrounding it, so that its exterior surface in contact with its seat will be of
less area than its interior surface exposed to the action of the powder gases.

page_text: Fig. 16 is a longitudinal section of a gas check or valve more particularly
adaptedand shewnapplied to the system of breech-loading ordnance, illustrated
Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11; c is the valve with annual recesses a, a, on its exterior,
and it is fitted into the breech of the gun g, or it may be screwed therein as
shewn in Fig. 17. When the gas check is intended to operate by being
forced back against the breech plug or piece by the pressure of the powder
gases, as for example, in the rifle,(Figs. 12, 13, 14, and 15), the area of its
surface in contact with the breech plug or piece p is made less than the area
of its opposite end e, as shewn in Figs. 18 and 19, (which are a longitudinal
section and end view of the valve). In some cases I employ two split rings
v, w, one within the other, (of which Fig. 20 is a longitudinal section aud
Fig. 21 an end view), with the splits s arranged to break joint as shown.
In the construction of projectiles to enable them to be used with guns rifled
with raised ribs or flanges, I form the projectile when spherical with an
annular groove or grooved belt g (Fig. 22) around it in the plane of its
diameter. This description of projectile is intended to be fired from a rifled
gun having two spiral ribs or flanges opposite each other, as in Fig. 5, by
which rotatory motion on its axis will be imparted to it. When the projectile
is cylindrical or cylindro-conoidal in form, it has spiral grooves cut in it of
corresponding form in section to the rifling ribs or flanges, but as much wider
as necessary to allow for windage or clearance, and axial rotation is imparted
to the projectile by the ribs fitting into and pressing against the side of the
grooves in the projectile without the intervention of soft metal or other
packing; Fig. 23 is a cross section of a projectile of this description, having
three grooves g,g, g, to be used with a gun rifled with three ribs as in Fig. 6.
Elongated projectiles may also be fired from the same gun as the spherical
shot, by making them with two spiral grooves to fit the ribs.
In order to lessen the resistance to the passage of projectiles through the
air, secure accurate flight and provide a means of expanding such as are made
of soft metal without making a hollow in their base, I make them of a
cylindrical or elongated form (Figs. 24 and 25,) suited to the rifling of the
gun or rifle from which they are to be discharged, and with both the front
end and rear end of a conical, conoidal, or other suitable pointed or
rounded form, and at or near the rear end I make an annular groove or
canelure c. An additional groove or grooves may in some cases be used.
For elongated projectiles to be discharged from smooth bore guns, I make
them of this form with spiral groovesg around them, having a rapid twist, as
shewn at Figs. 26 and 27, (which are an elevation and a cross section of a

page_text: projectile thus made,) and in some cases I make the base of this kind of
projectile flat, with the canelure or canelures before described.
Fig. 28 is a horizontal section at A, A, (Figs. 29 and 30); Fig. 29 a side
elevation, and Fig. 30 an end view of an elevating or backsight for ordnance
and fire-arms made according to my Invention. The pillar or flap f upon
which the slides moves has a portion of a female screw thread or rack r cut
on it, in which works a worm or endless screw w attached to the slide by a
spring p, which keeps it in gear when used to adjust the slide with precision,
but will allow it to be thrown out of gear, and permit the slide to be moved
by hand so as to adjust it roughly to any required position. Lateral motion
is also provided by means of the traverser t, made of a dovetailed form in cross
section, and which carrying the aperture a, works in adovetailed groove made
in the slide to adjust the aperture (or notch or other means by which the
sight is taken), so as to allow for drift, wind, or other disturbing cause. For
small arms the pillar or flap f is jointed at its lower end by the hinge pin j
made in one with it, fitting into a socket formed in the plate b, intended to be
attached to the stock, so that the pillar or flap can be turned down when the
sight is not in use, and raised to a vertical position when required to be used,
the spring c supporting it firmly in that position. In the case of sights for
ordnance the pillar or flap may be attached to the gun in any suitable manner.
In the construction of foresights I employ a short tube or ring, and within
and concentric with it a smaller ring forming the sight proper, and attached
to both sides of the outer ring or guard by fine horizontal or vertical wires or
bars. Fig. 31 is a longitudinal section, and Fig. 32 an end view of one
foresight, and Fig. 33 a longitudinal section, and Fig. 34 an end view of
another foresight shewing this arrangement; r is the outer ring or guard,and
s the inner ring forming the sight proper, which is attached to the outer ring
or guard by fine horizontal bars h (Fig. 32), or vertical bars v (Figs. 33
and 34.)
.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
confine myself to the precise details shewn and described, but I declare that
I claim as my Invention,-
Firstly, the method of imparting an initial tensile strain to the exterior,
and an initial compressive strain to the interior of guns made out of a solid
piece of metal, or of wrought iron or steel internal tubes for guns, and the
method of forming tubes or hoops used in the construction of guns herein-
before described.

page_text: Secondly, the methods of rifling guns so as to reduce their strength as
little as possible, and to enable spherical as well as enlongated projectiles to be
used, and have axial rotation imparted to them herein-before described.
Thirdly, the use of a conical breech screw in breech-loading guns, and also
the general arrangement and combination of parts for supporting, inserting,
and removing, the same, and the construction and general arrangement of the
plug, and the parts for working and securing the same for small guns and
small arms, and the methods of making the joint at the breech gas-tight
herein-before described.
Fourthly, the methods of constructing spherical and elongated projectiles
herein-before described.
Fifthly, the method of constructing back and fore sights herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Percival Moses Parsons, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of December, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
TH. HANDFord.
T. M. PARSONS. (L.B.)