Improved Apparatus for Preventing the Recoil of Guns.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Mar., 1896
2000
CIL
Cab
4007
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Apparatus for Preventing the Recoil of Guns.
I, KARL ROHR of 18 Stettenstrasse Angsburg in the Empire of Germany
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of this invention is to prevent or compensate for the recoil of a gun
wholly or in part, and the invention consists principally in elongating the chase
of the gun and forming at a suitable place along the chase lateral openings
through which the gases developed by the explosion may escape laterally after
they have propelled the projectile far enough to reach these lateral openings.
By this means that part of the recoil due to the discharge of gases from the muzzle
is avoided since the gases are for the most part discharged laterally. Around
these openings there may be placed a hood closed in front and open behind in order
to throw the gases backwards and thus further neutralize or compensate for the
recoil.
The extension of the chase of the gun between the lateral orifices and the
muzzle may be detachable and since it has not to withstand such great pressure
it may be made comparatively light. It may be attached by part screw threads
or rings in the same manner as a breech block and may be composed of an inner
and an outer tube separated by an annular space but connected at the rear end and
at the muzzle.
Dated this 2nd day of March 1896.
HERBERT HADDAN & CO.,
Agents to Applicant.
I, KARL ROHR, of 18 Stettenstrasse, Augsburg, 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 :-
It has already been sought to diminish the recoil of guns by utilizing the gas
discharge, by arranging at some distance before the mouth of the gun a screen of
any form bent backwards. As with this arrangement a suitable opening must be
left for the passage of the projectile, the effect of a large part of the gas was lost;
as soon as the rear end of the projectile leaves the mouth, the gas escapes with
great velocity, which is only somewhat lessened by the surrounding air, and tends
by means of its permanence to continue in a straight line and only a part thereof
will escape sidewards or backwards in consequence of the simultaneous expansion.
Besides the whole arrangement can be considered as an injector-apparatus, as the
mass of gas escaping in a straight line has a suction effect on the surrounding air.
The gas encounters the screen with a blow, and not with a pressure, as in my
improved arrangement. The gas escaping through the central opening augments
considerably the recoil produced by the movement of the projectile, instead of
reducing it. Finally it must be considered, that the escape cross section is not

page_text: larger, than the barrel cross section and consequently the time for the escaping of
the gas is proportionally long.
In the annexed drawings Figs. 1. 3. 5 and 6 are whole or partial longitudinal
sections and Figs. 2 and 4 are cross sections of the improved guns.
The hereinafter described invention allows of reducing considerably the recoil or
of avoiding it completely. The arrangement consists of a mantle M surrounding
the barrel R and of any length and form, as for instance, shown in the dotted
form Min Fig. 1. To the front it is closed and connected solidly with the barrel
at m, whilst it remains open to the rear. In the barrel itself are openings o, the
cross-sectional form of which is determined to correspond with the gas quantity,
which can escape per unit of time, in order to avoid a too great strain on the
barrel. The length of the slots may be at least equal to the length of the
cylindrical part of the projectile and may even surpass the latter, because
the projectile makes a certain way, before the gas reaches the front cylindrical
end of the projectile. By employing slots in the tube-wall, there is given the
possibility of augmenting the escape-cross section area to any multiple of the
barrel cross section area and so the time for the escape of the gas can he
considerably reduced.
The length of the barrel before the slots is measured in such a manner, that
when the bottom of the projectile leaves the mouth E, the gases have for the
greater part escaped; it depends on the one hand upon the length of the barrel
behind the slots and on the other hand upon the velocity of the projectile. With
the increase of either, there is increased also the length before the escape slots.
The barrel prolongation or chase is an important factor, as it has to remain closed
against outlet of the gases, until the latter have escaped for the greater part in the
desired direction. In order to have no difficulty of transport. for proportionally
long guns, the chase T before the slots can be arranged to be detachable on
account of the proportionally small strain on it during the shooting.
In order to facilitate the transport of mountain guns, the latter are often
constructed to be taken to pieces. This however does not take place for field and
siege guns. As in this invention the part of the barrel lying before the mantle
must be long for the full use of the gases and as this would give rise to incon-
venience in transport, if it were not dismountable, this arrangement is important
in this invention. The construction can be effected in various ways. In the
drawing in Fig. 3 it is attained by arranging an interrupted screw thread, the
male threads being on the gun barrel itself and the corresponding female threads
in the chase. Instead of screw threads may also be used simple hoops. The
fixing and the taking off of the chase T is the same as in screw closing breeches,
and need not be further described.
It is further in many cases of importance, that this chase lying before the slots
should be light both on account of manipulation and of transport. The strain is
small in consequence of the quickly diminishing gas-pressure and the strength of
the chase is required more on account of the danger of exterior damage. In order
to make the chase light and to secure it against exterior daninge, it can, as shown
in Fig. 5, consist of two tubes a and s separated from one another by any clear
interval. The inner tubes serves as the chase while the exterior tube serves for
protecting the interior oue. If for instance the exterior tube is damaged by
infantry projectiles this will not throw the gun out of use.
The effect during the shot is the following.
The gas pressure produced by the combustion of the powder acts simultaneously
on the end of the projectile and the end of the gun chamber seated upon the
carriage and gives to both velocities, which stand nearly in inverted proportions
to the weights of the carriage and gun on the one hand and of the projectile on
the other.
After the bottom of the projectile has reached the openings o, the gases begin
to escape and by the time the bottom of the projectile leaves the muzzle of the
gun, the gases have nearly completely escaped. By means of this escaping and

page_text: backward throw of the gases by the mantle there is produced a forward reaction
pressure, which slackens the velocity of the moving gun and will even bring the
gun to complete rest.
For a gun 28 calibers long (with screw closure) supposing the starting velocity
to be about 550 meters a second, that the recoil of the gun, which comes from the
velocity given by the projectile, is again augmented by about 50 per cent. by the
escaping of the powder gases. If now these gases are conducted in the opposite
direction, as is possible in the invention herein described, this 50 per cent. is to be
deducted from the first recoil, in order to calculate the total recoil.
The recoil produced by applying this invention stands in a proportion to that
effected in ordinary guns as (1-0,5) to (1+0,5) that is, as 1 to 3.
By augmenting the powder chamber and also the charge of powder and by
simultaneously diminishing the course of the projectile up to the slots in determined
proportion, one is able, to suppress completely the recoil. The gun must be seated
in such a manner in the gun carriage, that the barrel in the direction of the axis of
the bore can make a movement to be determined by calculation.
Besides the construction allowing a complete standstill of the gun carriage, it
has also the advantage that strain of the carriage during the shot is completely
avoided, thus the weight of the carriage is reduced, as it has only to serve for
transport.
In siege-carriages the platform becomes unnecessary. The barrels which are
often built heavier, than the strain would require, in order to spare the carriage,
can be reduced according to the resistance.
If it is the intention to avoid only the amount of recoil produced by the escaping
of the powder-gases, one has only to dispense with the mantle M. Then the slots in
the tube wall must be made is such a manner, that the gases escape rectangularly
to the axis of the bore. In this case the gun can also be fixed in the carriage and
if the strain of the carriage is nearly as great, as without using these slots, the
carriage with the new construction however does not run so far back and also does.
not bounce.
A further form of this construction is shown in Fig. 6. in longitudinal section,
and in Fig. 7 in cross-section on line C. D. of Fig. 6. the escaping gases are-
collected in a mantle M2 provided with a corresponding number of holes and fixed
upon the barrel or the chase T, from which mantle they leave through tubes L
fixed conveniently in said holes therein.
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 :-
1. A mantle of any form and length open behind and closed on the front and
solidly connected with the gun barrel, having sluts therein in order to let the
powder gases act by reaction and whereby the barrel or chase before the slots is
prolonged for the purpose of being closed by means of the projectile, until the
gases have escaped for the larger part through said slots.
2. A detachable chase before the mantle or before the slots in combination with
the mantle and slotted barrel or with the slotted barrel alone.
3. The construction of the chase, shown in Fig. 5, consisting of two tubes.
separated from one another by a free space, for the purpose of easy operation
and protection against exterior damage.
4. The construction consisting of the closed mantle M³ provided with escape-
tubes L.
Dated this 2nd day of December 1896.
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
Agents to Applicant.