Miniature Ammunition.
Year: 1885

page_text: Miniature Ammunition.
I, RICHARD MORRIS of Bennett Park, Blackheath in the County of Kent,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, to be as follows:-
In my Provisional Specification No 9356 of 1885 is described apparatus for
adapting breech loading guns for practice with miniature ammunition, that
apparatus being arranged for firing by means of a firing tube which enters the
breech block of the gun necessitating the removal of the obturator and its stem.
My present invention relates to a modification of this arrangement whereby
I am enabled to fire the miniature charge when the breech of the gun is closed
with its obturator and stem in situ, by the same lock mechanism as is used for the
ordinary firing of the gun with its full charges. For this purpose, I fit in the
breech piece of the small bore barrel within the gun, a striker which is pushed
back by a spring so that its end projects a little behind the breech piece. Through
the obturator stem in the main breech block of the gun there passes a bore hole
which usually serves as the touch hole to convey the fire from a fuze at its rear
end to the charge in front; in this bore hole I fit a sliding rod, preferably of steel,
with a head of softer metal such as gun metal at its rear end, which projects a
little behind the face of the breech block while its front end is in contact with the
striker above mentioned. Now on pulling the trigger of the ordinary firing lock
the blow of the hammer of this lock is communicated by the sliding rod to the
striker which is thereby made to fire the miniature charge. In cases where there
is no breech piece attached to the small barrel, the barrel itself may be fixed in the
gun in such a position that its rear end is close up to the ordinary breech block.
The sliding rod above mentioned then fires the miniature charge directly, the
intermediate striker being dispensed with.

page_text: Apparatus for Adapting Breech Loading Guns for Practice with
Miniature Ammunition.
I, RICHARD MORRIS of Bennett Park, Blackheath in the County of Kent,
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 :-
In my Provisional Specification N° 9356 of 1885 is described apparatus for
adapting breech loading guns for practice with miniature ammunition, that
apparatus being arranged for firing by means of a firing tube which enters the
breech block of the gun necessitating the removal of the obturator and its stem.
My present invention relates to a modification of this arrangement whereby
I am enabled to fire the miniature charge when the breech of the gun is closed
with its obturator and stem in situ, by the same lock mechanism as is used for the
ordinary firing of the gun with its full charges. For this purpose, I fit in the
breech piece of the small bore barrel within the gun, a striker which is pushed
back by a spring so that its end projects a little behind the breech piece. Through
the obturator stem in the main breech block of the gun there passes a bore hole
which usually serves as the touch hole to convey the fire from a fuse at its rear
end to the charge in front; in this bore hole I fit a sliding rod, preferably of steel,
with a head of softer metal such as gun metal at its rear end, which projects a little
behind the face of the breech block while its front end is in contact with the
striker above mentioned. Now on pulling the trigger of the ordinary firing lock
the blow of the bammer of this lock is communicated by the sliding rod to the
striker which is thereby made to fire the miniature charge. In cases where there
is no breech piece attached to the small barrel, the barrel itself may be fixed in the
gun in such a position that its rear end is close up to the ordinary breech block.
The sliding rod above mentioned then fires the miniature charge directly, the
intermediate striker being dispensed with.
The accompanying drawing is a longitudinal section of the breech part of a gun
with the breech plug P in its place closing the breech, the obturator O being also
in its place. A is the end part of the small barrel which is centered and fixed in
the bore as described in the Specification N° 9356 of 1885, and has the breech
sleeve D held on it by the horns a³ projecting from A into the bayonet catch
notches d as also described in the said Specification. Through the centre of the
obturator OI' pass a striking rod K which is held back by a spring k so as to
present its head h projecting a little beyond the rear face of the breech plug. H is
the usual firing hammer which on striking / causes the striking rod K to advance,
its point entering and firing the percussion cap of the miniature cartridge with
which the small barrel A is charged.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
In adapting breech loading guns for practice with miniature ammunition, in
combination with the small barrel A and its breech sleeve D, the striking rod K
extending along the centre of the obturator, substantially as and for the purpose
herein set forth.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.