IMPROVE- MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."-A communication from abroad by
William Wheeler Hubbell, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
of America.
Sealed the 12th November. 1867, and dated, the 16th May 1867.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said John Henry Johnson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and Decla-
ration, on the 16th May 1867, pursuant to the 9th Section of the
Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto
me, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent for
the same, and have made solemn Declaration that the said Invention is com-
municated to me from abroad by William Wheeler Hubbell, of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, United States of America.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby declare
that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal, fully
describes and ascertains the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner

page_text: the same is to be performed 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:-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction, arrangement, and
combination of breech pieces and their appliances operating together in the
manner berein-after described when loading the arm, enclosing and fireing the
cartridge, and ejecting the cartridge shell.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe-the-same,-and-for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed; the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings is a longitudinal section of sufficient of a fire-arm
to illustrate these improvements; Figures 2 and 3 represent the same part
with the breech pieces and other appliances in connection therewith in
different postions; Figure 4 is a plan view; Figure 5 a sectional plan;
Figure 6 a section of part of the fire-arin with the breech piece removed;
Figure 7 a view of one side of the main breech piece; Figure 8 a transverse
section on the line 1, 2, (Figure 1); Figure 9 the same, taken along the
line 3, 4; Figure 10 the same, taken along the line 5, 6 (Figure 1); Figure 11
the same, taken along the line 7, 8, Figure 3; Figure 12 a.' detached sec-
tional view shewing the rear strikers and bevel faces.
"
A represents the breech end of the barrel of a rifle provided at the extremity
with a screw plug a. In the top of this barrel from the point a to the point y
(Figure 1) there is cut an elongated opening so as to form a recess for the
breech pieces and other appliances described hereafter. The breech piece
consists of two sections B and C, the former of which I shall term the hinged
breech, and the latter the sliding breech. The breech piece B fits in the recess
formed in the barrel and is hinged to the same by the pin b, the rounded rear c
fitting accurately, but so as to turn freely and bear firmly in a concave recess
formed in the front end of the screw plug a. The sliding breech C¹ has in
front a circular projection or boss d adapted to the rear end of the bore of the
barrel, where the latter is enlarged in diameter and covers the head 8 of the
cartridge H, and the rear face e of the breech is hollowed and adapted to, the
rounded front end f of the hinged breech B, as seen in Figure 1, the line of
junction of the two breeches forming the segment of a circle drawn from the
centre of the pin b. The front end of the breech B has an overhanging pro-
jection 9 provided with lips h, one on each side thereof, as shewn in Figure 9,
to be grasped between the finger and thumb when the said breech piece.B.has
to be elevated. A longitudinal recess h¹ is cut in the breech piece B, and a

page_text: coinciding recess i in the sliding breech C for the reception of the link D,
which is jointed to the sliding breech by a pin j, and the rear end of which
has an elongated slot for the reception of a pin in the breech B. On each
side of the sliding breech C' there is a shoulder m, Figures 9 and 11, bearing
against the under edge of a rib n¹ formed in the inside and on each side of
the recess in the barrel so as to keep the said sliding breech down to its place
and prevent it from moving in any other than a longitudinal direction. These
ribs n towards the rear of the recess in the barrel are formed by the extension
forward of two detachable cheek pieces E, E, (Figures 6 and .11), one secured
to one side and the other to the opposite side of the recess, and secured to the
same partly by the pin b, partly by confinement between the rounded end of
the breech B and the recess, and partly by small set screws. On withdrawing
the pin b and detaching the cheek pieces both breeches may be removed, the
breech C. being raised vertically from the recess in the barrel. In the inside
of such recess and on one side of the same there is cut a longitudinal groove 4
(Figures 5 and 6) for the reception and guidance of the retracting bar G, which
has two projections five and 6 in the former fitting into an elongated recess 7
(Figure 5) in one side of the breech C', and the latter projecting into the
bore of the barrel, so that it may be in front of the flange 8 of the metal
case cartridge H. In an opening p in the bottom of the recess of the barrel
is hung the arm F, which when the breech B is depressed, as shewn in
Figure 1, occupies the position shewn by, the dotted lines in that Figure, but
when the breech B is elevated and the breech C¹ consequently moved back, a
lip 2 on the latter breech comes in contact with a projection 3 on the arm and
elevates the latter to the position shewn in Figure 3. A spring 21, which
bears on the arm F, tends to maintain it in the position shewn in Figure 6,
the front end of the arm being wider than its projection 3 and the slot 3¹ in
the breech C¹ so as, not to catch in the latter. The breech B is a
trifle
narrower than the middle part of the recess in the barrel below the ribs n',
excepting at one point where there are ribs t (Figure 7) one on each side of the
said breech,,there being on each side of the, recess in the barrel between the
front.ends of the cheek pieces E and the rear ends of the ribs n of the barrel
spaces w (Figure 6) which receive the ribs t, and which ribs when the
breech is down. just touch the sides of, the recess; the sides of the breech B
also touch the sides of the rear portions of the ribs n¹ and prevent all lateral
movement of the breech. The, spaces w are for the purpose of admitting
the flange.of the cartridge freely to the rear of the head 6 of the retracting
bar which occupies a, position under the rear end of the rib n, as shewn in
Figure 3, to insure the flange of the shell falling in behind the retracting

page_text: head 6, the rear end of the bar having borne against the rear end of the
slot 4, the breech piece C leaving it in that position when it had drawn the
head or flange of the shell just past the rear end of the barrel rib n¹, and then
the breech C¹ taking up the arm F causes it to cast the shell upwards out of
the recess of the barrel, so that it may fall out or be caught between the
fingers and picked out. The ribs n' are only wide enough apart to allow the
cylindrical body of the shell and the bullet to pass between them. The deto-
nating powder is, in the present instance, situated in the centre of the rear of
the cartridge, and-is-struck by means of a pin I passing through the breech
C¹, its rear end coinciding with the front end of a pin 12 passing through-the
breech-B, and coinciding with a third pin 12 passing through the metal of the
rear of the barrel, its outer end always being in such-a-position-as-to-be-struck
by the hammer of a lock situated in the same position as that of an ordinary
rifle. When the shell is primed in the rim the strikers I and I of course are
extended to the lower edge of the flange to the right of the lip 2 to impinge
on the fulminate. In a recess on one side of the breech B there is a spring
catch lever K having a projection 9 (Figure 7) to fit into a notch in one side
of the recess of the barrel so as to lock the breech B to the same when
depressed, the outer end of the catch lever being turned upwards, so as to be
within reach of and to be compressed by the forefinger when the front end
of the breech B is seized between the finger and thumb prior to being
elevated. There is a slot cut from the rear of the slot 7 in the breech C
downwards of sufficient size to admit the projection 5 on the bar G, so as to
insert it in place or drop the breech C¹ down into the recess in putting the
parts together (Figure 5). The breech block C may have two heads d to fit
into a double barrel, and the ribs n³, n³, may be situate at the base of the
frame, and the breech block B shutting in the rear secure it in like manner,
using the Lafouche ammunition for a double-barrel, gun constructed on the
same principle. The barrel A may be banded round the charge, and the sights
may be hinged on the breach B, or on the band forward of the breech. In some
instances the guiding portion n¹ of the cheek pieces E may form a permanent
part of the barrel, the cheeks E being detachable and of such a size as to permit
-the-breech piece C¹ to be inserted and removed; in this case a pin projecting
from one of the cheeks into the groove 4 preventing-the-retractor from being
drawn back to too great an extent. Supposing the several parts described
above to be in the positions shown in Figures 1 and 2, that a cartridge has
been recently discharged, and that it is necessary to reload the fire-arm and
discharge another cartridge; the operator seizes the end of the breech B
Between his finger and thumb, compresses the spring latch so as to unlock the

page_text: said breech, and elevates the latter. During the first movement of the
breech B its pin traverses the slot in the link D and consequently the sliding
breech C remains undisturbed at the rear of the bore of the barrel, until
the pin reaches the end of the slot, and the breech B has been elevated
beyond the position shewn in the Figure 2, when the breech C¹ is unlocked or
relieved from the resistance of the breech B, and is at liberty to be moved
rearwards.. On the further elevation of the breech B the breech C¹ will
through the medium of the link D be drawn back along the recess in which
it is guided in the manner described; after it has been drawn back a short
distance the front end of its recess: 7 will come in contact with the projec-
tion 5, Figure 5, on the retracting bar G, which will consequently be drawn
back along its groove with the breech C', drawing with it the empty cartridge
case. As the breech B approaches the position shown in Figure 3 the bar
will have drawn the flange of the shell clear of the rear end of the barrel
ribs. n', and then the lip 2 on the breech C will come in. contact with the
projection 3 of the arm F, will suddenly elevate. 'the arm F, and cause the
cartridge case H to be projected by the said arm out of the recess (Figure 3),
the arm being then depressed by the action of the spring q. This depression
of the arm F imparts a slight forward 'movement to the breech C and to the
breech B. The operator now places another cartridge in the recess, and the
breech B is depressed by hand and pushes forward the breech C with the
cartridge until the latter is forced into the rear of the bore; the breech C¹
has now arrived at the limit of its forward movement, and the breech B has
reached the inclined position shown in Figure 2.
depression of the breech B its rounded end f moves
hollow rear face e of the breech C¹ until the latter is
place by the depression of the breech B to the position shown in Figure 1,
ready to receive the recoil strain of the discharge. The cartridge is then
discharged by the release of the hammer, which striking the pin 12 causes the
pin I to ignite the detonate at the rear of the cartridge. Each of the
pins I, I, 1, is retained in its proper position and permitted to have a limited
movement by a transverse screw, pin s (Figure 5), but no springs are
necessary for restoring the several pins to their proper position after being
struck by the hammer for the following reason:-The pin I which passes
through the solid metal of the fire-arm will when struck by the hammer
penetrate a short distance in the opening of the breech B which contains the
pin I., as seen in Figure 12; there is, however, a slight bevel m¹ and counter
bevel m² at the entrance of the orifice in. the breech B, so that when the
latter is raised or lowered the bevels acting on the pin 12 will restore the
During the further
in contact with the
securely locked to its

page_text: latter to the position it occupies prior to being struck with the hammer. The
same arrangement is observed. at the junction of the two breeches where the
pins I and I¹ coincide with each other, the counter bevels here being in the
breech C¹ above the pin I; and as for the pin I it is of necessity pushed back
in forcing the breech C₁ against the cartridge when reloading. Until the
several pins I, 11, 12, properly coincide with each other they cannot serve as a
medium for communicating the blow of the hammer to the cartridge, and as
the pins cannot coincide with each other until the breech B is depressed and
locked, and the breech C-secure-in-its-place, which follows that a premature
discharge of the cartridge cannot take place. The pin 12 may be secured in
its-place-by-a-pin or projection at the inner end of the pin b, so that on with
drawing the latter pin the striker may be detached. The pin which-secures
the front end of the link D may be screwed into the breech C¹ above the
striker I, and be made longer for greater strength. The moveable breeches
may be secured in a frame or tail piece attached to. the rear end of the barrel.
The sides of the breech C¹ may be cut away or grooved so as to form recesses
to receive any dust or gummy matter which may be in the recess, the
possibility of the breach piece being clogged being thus prevented.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the combination of hinged breech B, the sliding breech C¹, and
slotted link D, the whole being constructed, adapted to a recess, and to the
rear a of the barrel of a fire-arm, and operating substantially as and for the
purpose herein set forth.
Secondly, the detachable cheek pieces E, E, arranged for the introduction
of the breech C¹ into and its withdrawal from the recess and the rear of the
barrel, substantially as described.
Thirdly, the combination of the sliding breech C¹ and the guided
retracting bar G, constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as
described.
Fourthly, the arm F operated by the sliding breech-C-for-the-ejectment-of
the shell, substantially in the manner described.
Fifthly, the combination of the rear striker I³, breach B, and its striker I',
operating together as described, with the front striker I when the ends of the
strikers and breech pieces are bevilled, substantially as specified.
Sixthly, the spring lock K arranged within a recess in the side of the

page_text: breech block B, constructed and operating in relation to the several parts as
described.
Seventhly, the ribs n' in combination with the rear space w and the
retractor G, to insure the insertion of the flange of the shell in the rear of the
retracter head 6, as described.
Eighthly, the combination of the breech B with fixed centre b, recoil face c,
and fixed breech piece a, the strikers I or their equivalents, slotted link D,
breech C³, extractor G, and arm F, arranged and operating together in the
recess of the barrel or frame to load, fire, withdraw, and eject the shell,
substantially in the manner described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification, set my hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of May, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.s.)