Improvements in Machine Guns.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Sept., 1898 -Accepted, 10th Dec., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (AMENDED).
Improvements in Machine Guns.
I, ERNST TERNSTRÖM, of 8, Rue Auber, Paris, in the Republic of France, Civil
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:-
My invention relates to improvements in machine guns of the kind described in
the Specification of Bergmann's Patent No. 11435 of 1894 and wherein the several
operations of the gun are effected by the reciprocation of certain parts of the
mechanism such reciprocation being produced either automatically, in one direction
by the recoil due to the discharge of the gun and in the reverse direction by the
reaction of a spring compressed or extended during the recoil, or by hand through
the medium of a crank handle, the object of the. present improvements being to
simplify the construction and increase the efficiency of such guns.
Some of the chief features of my invention are the following, videlicet :-
(1) The combination with the lever, by which the slotted cam which actuates
the breech bolt is operated, of a resistance plate having lugs or surfaces with which
horns or projections upon the said levers engage instead of racks and quadrants
previously used.
(2) The combination with the cartridge extractor of a locking lever which
prevents the premature disengagement of the extractor from the cartridge and
also serves as a guide for the bullet end of the cartridge whilst being inserted.
(3) The combination with the extractor of an auxiliary extractor which starts the
cartridge.
(4) The combination with the recoil spring of a lever arrangement for controlling
the storage of the energy of recoil in the said spring.
(5) The combination with the cartridge distributing drum of an escapement
mechanism for allowing the step by step movement of the drum.
(6) The arrangement of an oscillating ejector for turning out the spent cartridge
cases.
(7) The novel construction of the cartridge belt.
(8) A safety valve for use in connection with water jackets of machine
guns.
(9) An arrangement for raising and lowering a sight rod.
To enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe the same by reference
to the accompanying drawings, in which :-
Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a gun constructed according to my
invention the parts being in the position which they occupy when the gun is just
fired:
Figure 2 is a sectional plan with the cover removed; and,
Figure 3 is also a sectional plan illustrating the arrangement of parts not shewn
in Figure 2:
Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 but shewing the position of the parts in
their extreme position of recoil:

page_text: Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are sections on the lines 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, 8-8,
9-9, and 10-10 respectively of Figure 1 but drawn to a larger scale than the
said figure:
Figures 11 to 34 are views hereinafter referred to illustrating the construction and
arrangement of several details of the gun.
a is the stationary case of the apparatus which is provided with guide ways and
bearings for the different parts, the said case being closed by two covers a¹, and a²,
the former of which covering the front part of the mechanism is pivotted upon the
pin a3 and carries a spring catch a which engages with the cross bar a5 of the case
whilst the latter which covers the back part of the mechanism carries a stock aº, the
trigger a and its rod a³, the indicator aº (Figure 3) and the indicator lever a¹º
hereinafter described.
The cover a is pivotted to the case by an eccentric spindle 6 provided with
a spring handle 61 one end 62 of which is of hook shape and engages in a
slot 63 in the case, thus ensuring the eccentric spindle remaining in the closing
position.
To open the cover a² it is only necessary to turn the spring handle 61 half
round whereby the said cover is caused to move backwards and to disengage
from the cross bar as of the case when it can be turned on its spindle b.
c is the breech piece which is screwed to the end of the barrel cas clearly
shown in Figure 11 (which is a sectional side view of the breech piece detached)
and carries all the closing, firing and extracting devices. It is composed of
two sides c², c² connected together in front by the cross bar c³, to which the
barrel is screwed, at the centre by the cross bar c, and at the back by the cross
pieces c³.
The breech piece c has guide lugs d at the rear end which slide in guide
grooves (Figure 1) in the case a whilst the front end of the said breech
piece is guided by the barrel which slides in bearings c, c6 in the front of the
casing.
e is the breech bolt which slides on guideways e¹, e¹ in the breech piece c and ƒ is
a double lever having trunnions carried in holes f¹ (Figure 11) in the breech piece
and a pin f2 connecting its two sides or members, the said double lever serving to
impart motion to the breech bolt as hereinafter described. The pin f2 is arranged
to work in the slot f³ of the slotted cam f' pivoted at f5 to move in a vertical
plane at or near the centre of the frame Figure 9. Each side or member of the
lever f carries a projection f (Figures 1 and 4) which is arranged to work in
conjunction with a pair of lugs f7, f upon a resistance plate f° fixed to the case a
in such a manner that as the breech piece moves backwards under the force of the
recoil the said projections f, f will come in contact with the lugs f8, fs and cause the
movement of the slotted cam f* from the position shewn in Figure i to that shewn
in Figure 4 whilst on the return movement of the breech piece under the action
of the spring, hereinafter described, the projections, by coming in contact
with the lugs ff will cause the closing of the breech as hereinafter described. It
will be noticed that when the parts are in the position shewn in Figure 1 the
projections lie some little distance away from the lugs f8, f8; this space allows
of the rearward movement of the breech piece for a short distance under the action
of the recoil without imparting any movement to the breech bolt e.
The breech bolt e has at its rear end a pin e² carrying a roller which is located in
the slot f³ of the cam f* whereby when the cam f is oscillated by the movement of the
lever a movement will be imparted to the breech bolt on its guideways e¹
independent of the movement which the latter receives through the backward
movement of the breech piece. Two lugs g, g on the two members of the locking
lever (Figure 4) occupy a position immediately behind and in contact with the
breech bolt, when the breech is closed, as shown in Figure 1, and so support the
breech bolt in line with the axis of the barrel.
The firing pin
percussion spring
which is arranged in the breech bolt in connection with the usual
has its shank h² slotted at its rear end (as shewn in Figures 1,

page_text: 2 and 4) in order that one of the arms of the slotted cam f* can engage therewith to
cock the firing pin during the recoil, the part of the said arm from which the firing
pin receives its movement being at a greater distance from the axis of the cam
than the part of the said cam through which the breech bolt receives its movement
5 whereby the said firing pin will receive a backward movement greater than that
imparted to the breech bolt to compress the percussion spring h¹.
i is the ordinary hook extractor which is fixed underneath the breech bolt e by a
dove-tailed projection (Figure 1); and is my new locking lever carried between
the sides of the breech piece c by means of a spindle 2 (Figures 1, 4 and 6) passing
through holes in the said breech piece, the said locking lever oscillating on the
said spindle. This locking lever is acted upon by a spring i' in such a manner that'
when the bolt e is in its closed position the surface 25 on the said lever lies beneath
the extractor, as shewn in Figure 1, so that it is impossible for it to escape from the
rounded edge of the empty cartridge during the first part of the extracting move-,
ment. The lever also has projecting from the surface a tongue i which is for
the purpose of holding up slightly the bullets of the cartridges being inserted to
prevent the said bullets from abutting against the end of the chamber in the barrel
or entering the recess provided in the end of the barrel for the hook of the extractor.
jis my auxiliary extractor, Figure 4 and Figures 12 and 13, (Figure 12 being a
sectional side elevation drawn to the same scale as Figures 5 to 10 and Figure 13 a
section on the line 13-13 Figure 12) which is fixed on the same spindle as that on
which the locking lever i¹ is mounted which spindle also has fixed it to a lever j¹
having at its free end a lug j2 operating in conjunction with a cam j³ fixed to the
casing a in such a manner that, at the same moment that the extractor i commences
to work, the said lug j2 cones into contact with an inclined surface en the cam j³ and
causes the movement of the lever which through the medium of the spindle i² and
the auxiliary extractor j assists the extractor i in disengaging the empty cartridge case
from the chamber, the extractor i finally pulling the case completely out of the
chamber. With this arrangement I obtain the advantage of utilizing the movement
of the entire recoiling mass through a powerful leverage for disengaging the
cartridge from the chamber.
k, ko Figure 2 are two sears fixed upon the breech bolt and adapted to engage with
the shank of the firing pin to hold the latter in its cocked position as shewn, for
instance, in Figure 4.
The sear is arranged to be disengaged from the firing pin automatically, when
the breech is completely closed, through the medium of a lever having two arms
1,2 (Figure 8) mounted upon a pin carried in holes (Figure 11) in the breech
piece c. The arm of this lever projects upwardly, as shewn in Figure 4, into such
a position that when the breech bolt has closed the breech the end of the sear k will.
lie above the inclined end of the said lever, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure .1,
whilst the other arm 2 of the said lever projects downwardly into such a position
that when the double lever f has moved forwards to close the breech one member
thereof will impinge upon the said arm and move the same sufficiently to cause
the arm to lift the sear k out of engagement with the shank of the firing pin.
In order, however, that the gun should be discharged it is necessary that both sears
should be raised. The raising of the second or safety sear is effected by the
movement of the trigger a7, the rod as in connection with which at its front end
operates upon a lever 15, Figures 2 and 3 (also indicated in dotted lines in Figures 1
and 4 although cut away by the section) which is pivoted to the case of the gun at ke
and so arranged that when in its normal position with the breech closed it lies
immediately beneath the nose of the safety sear but so that it will not disengage
the latter from the firing piu. When, however, the trigger is pulled from the position
shewn in Figure 1 to that shewn in Figure 4 the end of the said lever will be
oscillated and lift the sear 10. This movement of the lever from the rod a³ is
effected through the medium of a spring extension having laterally projecting
ugs, (Figures 1 and 9) which co-operate with inclined surfaces, on the
cover a² (Figures 1 and 4) in such a manner that the rearward movement of the rod «³.

page_text: causes the depression of the spring extension and the consequent operation of the
lever. If when using the gun the trigger a is held back the discharge will take
place automatically, the firing pin being released by the sear / each time the breech
is closed. The automatic discharge can be stopped immediately the said trigger is
released.
is the recoil spring which is placed in the case a under the breech piece c, and,
secured at its forward end to a nut and at its rear end to a head 12 having
trunnions 13, 13. A rod screw-threaded to engage with the nut is passed through.
the said nut and at one end is located in a bearing in the head 2 whereby the turning
of the same rod, by means of a bandle (Figures 1 and 4) at its front end, serves to
regulate the tension of the spring. The said handle also serves to hold, the rod 14.
stationary relatively with the case a.
The head 2 is pivoted by means of its trunnions 13, 13 to the forked lever 16.
(Figure 8) loosely mounted at one end upon the spindle 3 and at the other end.
in contact with the projections 1, 17 on the case a.
The forked lever 16 carries
at each side a boss 18 (Figures 1, 4 and 8) which bosses after a certain amount of
recoil make contact with the under side of the breech piece to limit the movement
of the said forked lever upon its trunnions.
With this construction only a very
small amount of additional tension is imparted to the recoil spring during the
first part of the recoil of the breech piece and until the bosses 18, 18 impinge
against the underside of the said breech piece. This arrangement has been adopted
in order to adapt the resistance of the recoil spring to the work to be done at the
end of the recoil. The breech bolt at the termination of the recoiling movement
strikes an elastic stop 19 (Figure 4) carried on the shaft m which serves for
operating the mechanism by hand, when loading the gun, before firing the first shot,
the said elastic stop serving to store the energy remaining in the recoiling parts and
to assist their return to the firing position.
n is the feed wheel or drum which is arranged to revolve on the spindle n¹,
Figures 1 and 14, (Figure 14 being a longitudinal section of the feed drum drawn to a
larger scale than Figure 1) the said spindle having upon it the flange n² and being
formed at the front end with the twist bar and at the rear end with the spring
key . Upon the hinge pin a³ of the cover a¹ is hinged a block n", Figures 1, 5 and 6,
which block has at its front end a downwardly projecting plate n provided with an
aperture in which the flange n² is journalled for supporting one end of the spindle ¹.
the other end of the spindle being carried in a piece n' (Figures 1, 4 and 8) inside
the cover a. This mode of supporting the feed drum is provided in order that
should the gun become jainmed the feed mechanism may be turned upon the pivot a³
out of the gun to afford easy access to the chamber and breech.
To the flange n² is connected a ratchet ring o the said ratchet ring having two
lugs or jaws of which engage in corresponding slots in the flange n² so as to cause it
to turn with the latter, and in engagement with the teeth of the ring o is another
toothed ring o2 having formed on its rear side a sleeve or thimble o³ which surrounds
the portion of the spindle n¹ inside the drum n. To this ring o² is connected one
end of a spiral spring of connected at its other end to a ring 05 shown detached in
figure 15. This ring o has parts of different diameter one part being adapted to fit
inside the spring of and around the sleeve o³, as shewn in Figures 14 and 16, (Figure 16
being a section on the line 16-16 Figure 14) whilst the other part is adapted to fit the
interior of the feed drum. The rear end of the ring 05 is formed with two tongues
o, o which enter corresponding holes in the end of the drum and the said ring is
also formed with two longitudinal slots 07, 07 in which tongues 08, 08 on the rear end
of the sleeve 03 slide.
With this construction if the drum n is held against rotation whilst the spindle n
is rotated in the required direction the spring of will be placed in torsion so that
when the drum n is released the said drum will also rotate under the action of the
spring in returning to its normal condition. If now the drum is held against rotation
and the spindle is rotated in the reverse direction to that in which it was
previously moved so that the teeth of the ring o slip over the teeth of the ring othe

page_text: said ring o² will be moved backwards slightly compressing the spring of the tongues
08, 08 sliding in the grooves 07, 07.
Upon the front of the breech piece c are two lugs p, p (Figures 1, 2, 4 and 11)
between which the twisted portion of the spindle engages in such a manner that
as the breech piece moves backwards under the force of recoil the said lugs p, p act
as a nut to twist the spindle and place the spring of in torsion and that on the
reverse movement under the action of the recoil spring the reverse movement of the
bar n will take place.
<<
Upon the block n³ slides a piece 7 which I term an escapement" (shewn detached
and drawn to an enlarged scale in Figures 17, 18 and 19 which are respectively an
end view, a side view and a plan. view of the said escapement). This escapement has
on its underside two ribs q', q² arranged so that they can be acted upon by the lugs
p, p on the front of the breech piece, and the said escapement is also provided with
two stops ³, the former of which has a lip which always projects between the
ribs of the feed wheel as shewn in Figures 3 and 7. This escapement operates in the
following manner:-During the recoil movement the spring of is placed in torsion as
herein before described but at the same time that this is taking place the lugs or nut p
have impinged against the rib q2 of the escapement and moved the same rearwards,
so that the lip 75 of the stop 73, which engages behind one of the wings of the drum
and prevented the latter from moving whilst the spring o' was placed in torsion, is
brought opposite to a notch q6 in the said wing so that the drum is released and left
free to rotate under the action of the spring o' in returning to its normal condition;
the drum then moves a distance equal to the pitch of the wings, this movement being
determined by the spring stop q' which was projected into the path of the wings at
the same time that the stop 3 was moved to release the drum." When the stop q*,
which is, as before stated, a spring stop, is struck by the wing it is slightly deflected
so that, when the escapement is moved forwards during the closing of the gun and
disengages the spring stop p from the wing in contact with it, the said spring stop
will spring back to its normal position and, in so doing, bring its end, which is.
inclined as shewn in Figures 3, 18 and 19, slightly behind the correspondingly inclined
end of the said wing so that during the next rearward movement of the escapement
the stop will enter behind the wing ready to engage with the next succeeding
wing during the next feed movement of the dram.
A spring detent 7, shewn in Figures 3 and 7 and detached and drawn to an
enlarged scale in Figures 20, 21 and 22 (which are respectively an end view, a side
view and a plan of the said detent), serves to prevent the rearward movement of the
said feed drum. The said detent which is carried in a boss 78 on the casing a has
its operative end formed with an inclined surface q against which the tops of the
wings act to press back the said detent as the drum rotates.
To prevent the bullets of the cartridges extracted from the belt or band from
coming into contact with this detent a guide-rib q10 (Figure 7) is arranged inside the
cover a¹ and notches 1, 71 (Figures 3, 7 and 14) are formed in the wings of the feed
drum to pass over this rib which, as the drum rotates, presses the cartridges inwards
towards the axis of the drum.
is the pusher which is pivotally mounted upon the breech piece c and which
serves at each forward reciprocation of the said breech piece, when closing the breech,
to disengage a cartridge from the feed belt and leave it lying between the two
uppermost wings of the feed drum. This pusher 7 is pivoted to the breech piece at
so that in case the feed wheel has to be opened out to free it the said pusher can
be readily turned out of the way of the parts.
The expulsion of the empty cartridges which are successively moved from the
axial line of the barrel into line with the discharge aperture s (Figures 3, 6 and 7) in.
the casing as the drum makes its step by step movement is effected through the
medium of the ejector lever s¹ (Figures 1, 4 and 7) which ejector lever is provided
with a pivot pin 2 carried in the hole 3 in the breech piece c. This ejector lever at
its lower end is arranged between two lugs st, s* and at its upper end. projects into
Jine with the ejection aperture s. With this arrangement as the breech piece moves

page_text: backwards the lever s¹ is oscillated upon its pivot 82 to the position shewn in Figure 4
and, as the breech again closes, the said lever with its upper end throws out the
cartridge from between the wings of the drum n in line with the ejection aperture 8.
As herein before indicated the shaft m is provided for loading the first cartridge,
but it also serves for operating the gun by hand in case the use of the automatic
action is for any reason impracticable. This shaft m has upon it a crank handle m¹
for operating it and two arms m², m² which co-operate with the faces of the U-shaped
recesses m³ formed in the rear end of the breech piece c in such a nanner that as the
said crank handle is rotated the said breech piece will be reciprocated in precisely
the same manner as if the force of recoil and the recoil spring were utilized for the
purpose. me is a spring catch for engaging and holding the crank handle during
automatic firing. This catch which is shewn in Figures 1 and 4 consists of a spring.
lever fixed to the casing a and having in it a slot in which a knob on the crank
handle engages in such a manner that the handle can be released simply by pressure.
In order that the sear 10 shall be disengaged from the firing pin during each
revolution of the crank handle I provide the levert (Figures 1, 3 and 10) one end of
which operates against a lug or projection t¹ on the trigger rod as whilst the other
end projects outside the case a and is adapted to be operated by the contact therewith
of a cam projection 2 (Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4) upon the crank handle m¹, which
projection each time that the handle is rotated actuates the said levert to move back
the trigger rod as in the same manner as if it were pulled by means of the trigger a.
This lever has connected to its spindle the indicator lever a10, herein before referred
to, which indicator lever works in conjunction with three indicator marks "Hand,"
"Automatic," "Safety" (Figure 3) upon the cover a². When the said indicator lever alo
is in the position shewn in Figure 3 the lever t is in position for operation by the
hand lever. When the lever 10 is moved so that it is opposite the "automatic
mark the lever t is moved away from the rod as so that it does not interfere with the
operation of the same during automatic firing, whilst when the lever 10 is placed
against the mark "safety " the inner end of the lever t is brought into the path of the
guide piece t³ on the rod a³ and so prevents the same from being moved by the
trigger thus rendering the trigger inoperative.
دو
The metal feed band which I prefer to use in connection with my gun, part of
which is shewn in plan in Figure 23 drawn to a large scale and in longitudinal section
in Figure 24 (the section being on the line 24-24 Figure 23), is composed of a series
of yielding cartridge carriers u one of which is shewn in Figures 25, 26, and 27 in side
elevation, end elevation and longitudinal section respectively. Each of these
carriers is adapted at its rear end u¹ to embrace the rear end of a cartridge for about
three-fourths of its circumference and is provided with a heel u² which prevents the
cartridge from moving rearwardly in the carrier. The front end u³ of the carrier
forms a clip to partly encircle the cylindrical part of the cartridge in front of the neck
of the same (as shewn in Figure 27) in such a manner that when the cartridge is
pushed forward the shoulder thereon will mount upon the rounded rear side of the
portion and open the clip so that the cartridge will be disengaged from the carrier.
It will be understood that this movement of the cartridge in the carrier is effected by,
the action upon it of the pusher r. The middle portion of the carrier is so
constructed as to take the form of the cartridge, and to make it rigid a series of small
spun ribs ut is formed upon it. The several carriers are jointed together by metal
links u engaging in loops at the edges of the central portion.
The feed drum n is formed with peripheral notches u, u in the wings which
receive the links 5 and ensure the forward feed of the belt as the feed wheel
rotates. It is to be understood that in practice the links must be fixed substantially
in line with the centres of the cartridge carriers so as to render the band flexible.
The cooling of the barrel is effected in the usual manner by means of water
contained in a tube surrounding the said barrel and fixed to the head of the case a
of the gun, stuffing boxes or packing rings being arranged in the bearings c, c6 to
prevent the water from escaping.

page_text: In practice I find it advantageous to use in connection with this cooling arrange-
ment safety valves of special construction for allowing the escape of steam; one of
these safety valves is shewn drawn to an enlarged scale in Figures 28, 29 and 30
which are respectively a side elevation, a plan and a section on the line 30-30
Figure 28. This valve is constructed in the following manner, that is to say, it is
provided with a body w¹ adapted to be screwed to the water tube v and has a central
aperture w² and a radial opening w³; the top of the body is closed by an elastic
disc w buckled into a rebite on the body and carrying a valve proper which, when
the plate o is buckled downwards, as shewn in Figure 30, closes the passage w² but
which when the said elastic plate is buckled upwards, as shewn in Figure 31, (which
is a section similar to Figure 30) is removed from the passage w² and allows the
escape of steam. In practice the pressure generated in the jacket will lift the plate
as described but in order to enable the plate to be lifted by hand, if desired, it is
provided with a knob w..
I also find it advantageous to provide my gun with a back-sight of special
construction, this back-sight is shewn drawn to a large scale in Figures 32,
33 and 34 (Figure 32 being a sectional elevation and Figures 33 and 34
sections on the lines 33-33 and 34-34 respectively of Figure 32). This back-sight
comprises a toothed rod x adapted to slide in grooves ¹ in the case of the gun
and a spring a² arranged in a recess behind the rod r and held against longtitudinal
movement by a lug a3. Upon the upper end of this spring a² is a head at carrying a
nut y which engages with the teeth of the rod x in such a manner that when the
said ring y is rotated the said rod x will be raised and lowered.
If it is desired to raise the rod x a considerable distance this may be rapidly
performed without rotating the nut y by pushing the said nut and head in the
direction of the arrow z, Figure 32, so as to disengage the nut from the teeth of the
rod x, sufficient space at r being arranged for the purpose.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I am aware
that it has been proposed to employ in automatic machine guns an auxiliary extractor
for starting the empty cartridge cases from the barrel; a safety valve for the cooling
jacket; and a sight rol having means for enabling it to be rapidly moved for large
adjustments independently of the operating wheel; and I wish it to be understood
that I make no claim to such elements generally. I am also aware of Maxim's
expired Patent No. 1307 of 1885 and I make no claim to anything therein described
and claimed but what I do claim is :-
1. In an automatic machine gun the combination with a breech piece attached to
the barrel and adapted to reciprocate therewith a breech bolt sliding in the said
breech piece and a lever pivoted in the said breech piece and communicating motion
to the breech bolt through the medium of a pivoted slotted cam, of a resistance
plate fixed to the casing of the gun and adapted to co-operate with lugs or projections
upon the said lever, substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
2. In an automatic machine gun having a breech piece attached to the barrel and
sliding therewith and a breech bolt sliding in the said breech piece and having a
cartridge extractor upon it, a locking lever which during the rearward movement of
the parts under the force of recoil prevents the premature disengagement of the
extractor from the flange of the cartridge being extracted and which during the
insertion of a cartridge into the chamber of the barrel prevents the cartridge from
coming into contact with the end of the barrel, substantially as described.
3. In an automatic machine gun having the breech piece secured to and moving
with the barrel and a breech bolt sliding in the said breech piece and having an
extractor upon it, an auxiliary extractor pivoted upon the said breech piece and
having a lever co-operating with a cam fixed to the casing in such a manner that
during a certain part of the backward movement of the breech piece the said
auxiliary extractor will assist the extractor upon the breech bolt, substantially as
described,

page_text: 4. In an automatic machine gun the combination with a breech piece secured to
the end of the barrel and moving therewith and a feed wheel or drum rotated by the
said breech piece through the medium of a twist bar and a nut, the latter being
carried by the breech piece, of an escapement having two stops, which escapement
is reciprocated by the nut which acts upon the twist bar in such a manner that when
one stop is disengaged from one wing of the drum the other stop operates to engage
with the next succeeding wing of the drum, and a detent for preventing the rearward
movement of the said drum, substantially as described.
5. In an automatic machine gun wherein a breech piece is secured to and
reciprocates with the barrel and wherein the feed drum receives a step by step
movement through the medium of a nut or projections upon the said breech piece,
mounting the said drum so that, when the cover of the gun is opened, it may be
turned back to lay open the breech and allow free access to the inner parts of the
gun, substantially as described.
:
6. In an automatic machine gun having a breech piece secured to the barrel and
reciprocating therewith and a spring which during the recoil is placed in tension, con-
necting the said spring to the breech piece through the medium of a lever pivoted to the
breech piece and co-operating with lugs upon the casing of the gun in such a manner
that during the first part of the rearward movement of the breech piece very little
tension is required to the spring, substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
7. In an automatic machine gun wherein a breech piece is secured to and
reciprocates with the barrel, a cartridge ejector lever pivoted to the said breech piece
and co-operating with lugs upon the casing so that during the reciprocating of the
breech piece an oscillating movement will be imparted to the said ejector lever,
substantially as, and for the purpose, described.
8. In an automatic machine gun of the kind described the use for carrying the
cartridges of a metal band or belt constructed and arranged substantially as herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
9. In an automatic machine gun of the kind described wherein a cooling jacket
is arranged around the barrel, the combination with the said jacket of a safety valve
or valves constructed substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
10. The combination with a machine gun of the kind described of a sight rod
provided with means for raising and lowering the said rod; and constructed
substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
11. The improved machine gun consisting of the parts constructed and combined,
substantially in the manner hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompany-
ing drawings and operating as, and for the purposes, set forth.
Dated this 8th day of September 1898.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant."