IMPROVE- MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING ORDNANCE AND THE BALLS OR PROJECTILES THROWN BY CANNON
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Carl Christian Engström, Lieutenant Royal Swedish
Navy, of 18, Buckingham Street, Strand, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING ORDNANCE AND THE BALLS OR PROJECTILES THROWN
BY CANNON."
Sealed the 7th December 1855, and dated the 28th June.1855.
9.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Carl Christian Engström
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
.28th June 1855
I, CARL CHRISTIAN ENGSTRÖM, Lieutenant Royal Swedish Navy, of 18,
Buckingham Street, Strand, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING ORDNANCE AND THE BALLS OR PROJECTILES
THROWN BY CANNON" to be as follows:
The improvements in breach-loading ordnance have for their object to offer
greater facility and convenience for loading pieces of such descriptions of ord-
nance, together with means or apparatus to resist their recoil, and for running
them out after their recoil. The improvement in the balls or projectiles thrown
by cannon consists of forming or fixing suitable projections thereon, to admit
of their being used in guns with rifle grooves, which vary in their "
pitch."
For these purposes, the breach of a piece of ordnance is made with an opening
through it to receive a breach plug; this opening is of larger dimensions than
in the other, so that a breach plug with lugs or projections on its two sides.
inay pass, when in one position, through the opening in the breach, and not
when in the other position, The-opening-in-the-breach is closed with a door

page_text: or cover on a hinge, and the stem of the breach plug passes through such door
or cover. The stem has a cross head or handle at its outer end, and there are
inclined springs on the outside of the door or cover. When the breach plug
has been forced into position to admit of firing the charge, the lugs or projec-
tions on the plug rest against shoulders formed in the interior of the opening
through the breach, which securely holds and prevents the plug being forced
out by the discharge. The inner end of the breach plug is made with an
elastic ring of steel to insure its fitting closely, and in order to prevent the
piece of ordnance being fired except when the breach plug is correctly placed,
the touch-hole passes through the steel ring, so that no discharge can take
place till the touch-hole in the ring and in the breach of the piece of ordnance
are brought to coincide. In order to resist the recoil, a strap or band of
vulcanized india-rubber is applied, which in its re-acting runs out the gun;
and further to offer friction to the recoil of the gun, it is made with a projection
or a groove with inclined sides, which comes on the periphery of a wheel, with
a groove or projection to correspond with the gun. This wheel has a ratchet
and click by which it is provented turning when the recoil takes place, but
allows it to turn when the gun is run out..
The carriage of the gun is made of two parts, one attached to the side
of the ship or other place, and the other to the trunnions of the gun. The
part attached to the side of the ship or other place has a wheel or wheels by
which the carriage may be moved sideways, whilst the other part of the
carriage has two wheels on an axis transverse of the carriage. The two parts
of the gun carriage are made with inclines, so that by the running out of the
gun, it and the part of the carriage attached thereto may be slightly raised;
and where it is desired that the embrasures should be closed by the gun
in such manner as to prevent riflemen-shooting-the gunners through-the
embrasures, and yet admit of pointing the gun in varied directions, the
embrasures are made conical outwards, and the gun is made with a projection
corresponding with the smallest diameter of the embrasure, in which case the
gun is connected with its carriage by connecting rods, and this carriage and
rods are so arranged that the gun in recoiling is caused to rise at the breach
and fall at the muzzle.
The balls or projectiles according to my Invention, to be used with cannon
with rifle grooves therein, which constantly vary in "pitch" as they proceed
from the breach to the muzzle, have each short projections formed thereon
or affixed thereto, so that the projections will move freely in the grooves,
notwithstanding the varying pitch of the grooves.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Carl Christian Engströmn in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th December 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CARL
CHRISTIAN ENGSTRÖM, Lieutenant Royal Swedish Navy, of 18, Buckingham
Street, Strand, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters,
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Carl Christian Engström, Her special licence that I, the said Carl
Christian Engström, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Carl Christian Engstrom, my exccutors, administrators, 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 BREECH-LOADING ORDNANCE AND THE BALLS OR PROJECTILES
THEOWN BY CANNON," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Carl
Christian Engstrom, by an instrument in writing under my band and seal,
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 Carl Christian Engstrom, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof (that is to say):--
The improvements in breech-loading ordnance have for their object to
offer greater facility and convenience for loading pieces of such descriptions
of ordnance, together with means or apparatus to resist their recoil, and
for running them out after their recoil. The improvement in the balls
or projectiles thrown by cannon consists of forming or fixing suitable pro-
jections thereon to admit of their being used in guns with rifle grooves,
which vary in their pitch. For these purposes, the breach of a piece
of ordnance is made with an opening through it to receive a breach plug;
this opening is of larger dimensions in one direction than in the other, so that
=

page_text: a breech plug with lugs or projections on its two sides may pass when in one
position through the opening in the breech, and not when in the other
position. The opening in the breech is closed with a door or cover on a hinge,
and the stem of the breach plug passes through such door or cover. The stem
has a cross head or handle at its outer end, and there are inclined springs on
the outside of the door or cover. When the breech plug has been forced into
position to admit of firing the charge, the lugs or projections on the plug rest
against shoulders formed in the interior of the opening through the breech,
which securely holds and prevents the plug being forced out by the discharge.
The inner end of the breech plug is made with an elastic ring of steel, to
insure its fitting closely, and in order to prevent the piece of ordnance being fired
except when the breach plug is correctly placed; the touch-hole passes through
the steel ring, so that no discharge can take place till the touch-hole in the
ring and in the breach of the piece of ordnance are brought to coincide. In
order to resist the recoil, a strap or band of vulcanized india-rubber is applied,
which in re-acting runs out the gun; and further to offer friction to the recoil
of the gun, it is made with a projection or a groove with inclined sides, which
comes on the periphery of a wheel, with a groove. or projection to correspond
with the gun. This wheel has a ratchet and click, by which it is prevented
turning when the recoil takes place, but which allows it to turn when the gun
is run out.
The carriage of the gun is made of two parts, one attached to the side of
the ship or other place, and the other to the trunnions of the gun. The part
attached to the side of the ship or other place has a wheel or wheels by
which the carriage may be moved sideways, whilst the other part of the
carriage has two wheels on an axis transverse of the carriage. The two parts
of the gun carriage are made with inclines, so that by the running out of the
gun, it and the part of the carriage attached thereto may be slightly raised;
and where it is desired that the embrasures should be closed by the gun
in such
manner as to prevent riflemen shooting the gunners through the embrasures,
and yet admit of pointing the gun in varied directions, the embrasures are
made conical outwards, and the gun is made with a projection corresponding
with the smallest diameter of the embrasure; in which case the gun is con-
nected with its carriage by connecting rods, and the carriage and rods are so
arranged that the gun in recoiling is caused to rise at the breech and fall at
the muzzle.
The balls or projectiles according to my Invention, to be used with cannon
with rifle grooves therein, which constantly vary in "pitch" as they proceed
from the breach to the muzzle, have each short projections formed thereon

page_text: or affixed thereto, so that the projections will move freely in the grooves
notwithstanding the varying pitch of the grooves.
Having thus stated the nature of my said Invention, I will proceed more
fully to describe the manner of performing the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
The breech of the cannon, according to my Invention, is made with an
opening through it to receive a breech plug a. This opening is at the beginning
wider vertically than horizontally, but a little inward it is circular, so that a
breech plug with "lugs" or projections a', a', on its sides may pass when in
one position through the first part of the opening in the breach, but not when
in any other position. At the extreme end of the breech there is a door or
cover bon hinges c to open on one side, in order to hold the breech plug
during the process of loading. Through this door passes a stem attached to
the breach plug, the outer end of the stem having a cross head or handle.
Two inclined circular springs d, d, on the outer side of the door force the
lugs back against the shoulders formed in the interior of the opening, the lugs
thereby preventing the plug being forced out by the discharge. The inner
end of the breech plug is made with a ring of steel e, to insure its fitting
closely, and to prevent the escape of gas. This ring is made elastic by notches
cut on the inner and outer side, as shewn in the Drawings, Sheet 3. In order
to prevent the piece of ordnance being fired, except when the breach plug is
correctly placed, the touch-hole f passes through the steel ring, so that no
discharge can take place till the hole f in the ring and the hole g in the piece
of ordnance coincide with one another. This elastic ring is fixed to the breech'
plug by small bolts, so that by throwing back, a kind of latch, shewn in red
lines in Figure 3, and by turning the ring a little it can be detached from the
breech and charged when necessary, all which will be readily understood by
reference to the Drawings, Sheets 1 and 2.
The gun carriage for casemattes. The construction and arrangements in
this carriage is fully shewn in the Drawings, Sheet 1, and it consists of two
different parts, viz., the "bed" h, and the "carriage" i, the latter standing
on the former, and sliding on the same in the recoil. The gun is connected
with the carriage by connecting rods j,j, from the trunnions of the gun to a
cross piece in the carriage, which thus only carries the weights of the breach
of the gun. In the fore part of the "bed" there is a fork-shaped supporter 1,
carrying the greatest weight of the gun. In this supporter there is also fixed
a small wheel or truck m, made with inclined sides corresponding to a groove
in the gun. This truck is locked-during-the-recoil by a hook or catch'n, hence

page_text: in the recoil the gun will slide on the truck, but when the gun is run out the
truck will turn freely on its axis. By two inclined planes o, forming the hinder
part of the bed, the breach of the gun is raised while recoiling, and the muzzle
lowered. By thus arranging or combining the parts, the embrasure may .be
diminished to almost the diameter of the gun, which will prevent to a great
extent the entrance of rifle bullets, and the small space between the gun and
the embrasure may be further closed by an iron wreath (covered outside with
lead) surrounding the gun. The bed has at the after part two trucks p, for
sideway movement, and the fore part is supported by another truck 9, which
also serves as a steering wheel while transporting the gun and carriage from
one embrasure to another, in which case the first mentioned trucks p, p, are to
be fixed sideways on an axle tree placed through the bed h, for such purpose.
The recoil is stopped by an iron chain made of circular rings, and fixed at one
end to the cross piece of the carriage, and at the other to a piston rod working
in an air cylinder fixed in the bed ; thus the recoil is gently arrested, and
the pressure of the air on the piston, together with the weight of the gun,
causes it again to run out after discharge; the use of air in this manner is,
however, similar to what has before been proposed, or a strong spring of
vulcanized india-rubber may be used in place of the air spring. The bed is
fixed to the masonry of the fortification by two iron straps r, r, and the pin r¹,
which forms a centre about which the bed h partially rotates. The Drawing
shows in black lines the form of embrasure necessary for a gun mounted
according to my Invention, when an elevation of 10° and a declination of 8°
are required, and the form of embrasure necessary for a gun mounted in the
ordinary manner is also shown in the Drawing by red lines.
The gun carriage for naval service is shown by the different Figures in
Sheet No. 2. The carriage of this gun is also made in two parts; the onc, the
breast pieces, is fixed to the side of the vessel; the other, which I call the
breach supporter, is fixed to the trunnions of the gun, and stands on the breast
piece when the gun is run out. The gun is pointed sideways by means of
trucks t, placed under the hinder part of the breast piece s, and the gun recoils
on two other trucks on the side. To ease the running out of the gun, the
surface of the hinder part of the breast piece of the carriage is made a little
inclining. There is a fork-shaped supporter formed on the breast piece of
the carriage on which the gun rests, as in the casematte gun. A strong straps
of vulcanized india-rubber w is fixed between the breast piece and the breach
supporter; this strap eases the recoil, and runs out the gun by its elasticity.
The recoil is stopped by a common cable breaching, as shewn in Drawing,
which represents a 68 lb. English gun in a carriage of cast iron for floating

page_text: batteries. I prefer the carriages for other vessels to be of wood, on the same
principle, only varying the dimensions.
The manner in which I construct projectiles to be used with guns rifled
with rectangular grooves, diminishing in pitch from the breach to the muzzle,
is shown in Sheet 1, where a projectile is shown in the interior of the gun.
The ball or projectile is cast on a wrought-iron bolt or rod, whose ends form
projections or wings, and correspond with the two rectangular grooves in the
gun. The form of the ball or projectile is cylindrical at the middle part, and
parabolic at the two ends. By this arrangement greater strength is obtained to
the wings and projectile, so that a heavier charge of powder can be employed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Carl Christian Engströn, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
ARWID AFZELIUS,
CARL CHRISTIAN ENGSTRÖM, (L.S.)
Lieutenant R. Swedish Navy.
Lieutenant R. Swedish Navy, Stockholm.