IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH- LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Harding, of Rutland Terrace, Forest Hill,
in the County of Kent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-
LOADING FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 7th December 1860, and dated the 15th June 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Harding at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 15th
June 1860.
I, WILLIAM HARDING, of Rutland Terrace, Forest Hill, in the County of
Kent, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to unite in the same gun the properties of
the breech-loader and the muzzle-loader in a more commodious manner than
has hitherto been attained, and I accomplish this in two ways, first, by
means of moveable breeches which turn down for the admission of the car-
tridge when the lever by which the barrels are fastened is moved to the
position proper for that purpose, as in the Lefauchaux gun, the said moveable
breeches having a recess in them to receive the segment of a circle into which
the breech ends of the barrels are formed, and a platina or other metal
cylinder entering the inside of the barrels, by which combination a gas-tight
joint is obtained; and, secondly, by having the barrels moved forward by the
lever before turning down sufficiently to clear two platina or other metal

page_text: cylinders fitting the insides of the breech end of the barrels, which cylinders
are let into or otherwise fixed in the face of the false breech on which the
nipple is fixed for firing the gun, or, as it is more generally expressed, the
percussioning is placed. The cartridges I propose to use for these guns are
conical papier maché or other material capable of retaining the conical form
when charged with small or loose shot. I propose also to fasten the barrels
by a bolt running parallel with the barrels on their underneath side, and
which being moved backwards and forwards by the lever, enters a projection
on the barrel made to receive its end, or goes through this projection, and
enters the false breech.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Harding in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th December 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HARDING, of Rutland Terrace, Forest Hill, in the County of Kent, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Harding, Her special licence that I, the said William
Harding, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Harding, my executors, 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 FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition (amongst
others), that I, the said William Harding, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, 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 William Harding, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-

page_text: formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
The object of this Invention is to unite in the same gun the properties of
the breech-loader and the muzzle-loader more conveniently than the said
properties are united in guns heretofore constructed. This I accomplish in
the following manner:-The breeches (that is, the portions which close the
ends of the barrels, and which are percussioned or bored through from the
top to the interior, and receive nipples as in ordinary muzzle-loading fowling
pieces) I make moveable, and mount them on centres, so that they may
turn down to admit cartridges to the barrels, when the barrels (which are
themselves moveable on the stock, and capable of turning thereon, as in the
Lefanchaux guns,) are so placed as to leave the breeches free so to move.
In
each of the moveable breeches I form an annular recess to receive a corre-
sponding projection at the end of its barrel; the sides of this projection are
best made to the form of segments of circles struck from the centre, about
which the breech turns. In the face of each of the breeches a projecting ring
is fitted; it is made by preference of platinum. Other comparatively soft
metal, which is capable of standing a high heat, may however be employed.
This ring, when the barrel is closed, enters the end of the barrel, and makes a
gas-tight joint. In order to lock the barrels in their places when the breeches
are closed, I employ a bolt placed underneath the barrels, and capable of being
moved backwards and forwards in a direction parallel thereto; this bolt to
lock the barrels, enters a hole in a projection formed on the under side of the
barrels, and by preference it passes through the said projection, and enters
the false breech.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto
aunexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a side view of portion of a double-barrelled fowling piece
or rifle constructed in the manner above described. a, a', is the stock
of the gun; it is made in two pieces. a is the butt and parts formed
therewith, and a' a separate portion attached to the barrels (the barrel which
appears in the Drawing is marked 6); c is the false breech-piece fixed to the
part a' of the stock; it carries the centre pin d, about which the barrels turn;
e is the lever for working the locking bolt; f is one of the breeches; g one of
the hammers; h, h, the triggers; i, the trigger guard. The false breech-
niece is also shown at Figures 2 and 3 in longitudinal section and under side

page_text: view respectively. This piece is fixed to the stock by a breech nail passing
through the nail hole c', and by attaching the trigger guard to it by a pin
screwing into the hole ; c is a passage bored for the cylindrical bolt j; and
c is a slot in which the stem of this bolt can slide; care lugs into which
the centre pin d screws. The part c is also recessed from the top to receive
the piece on the barrels, which embraces the centre pin d, also to admit the
projection on the barrel to receive the locking bolt, and to allow the link k to
pass through it. The lever e for working the locking bolt is secured to the
piece c by a pin e¹; it has a slot & in it, through which the stem of the
locking bolt passes, and receives a nut j beyond. Thus, when the lever is
moved through a quarter circle, the sliding bolt is caused to traverse from end
to end of its course.
Figure 4 shows a side view of the breech end of the barrels b, with the
moveable breeches f and the link k; Figure 5 is an end view of the same;
and Figure 6 a longitudinal section of one of the breeches f; these parts are
also indicated in Figure 2, the red lines in this Figure showing the position
the parts assume when the breech ends of the barrels are opened to receive a
cartridge; is the piece which embraces the centre pin d, and * is an incline
formed at the back of this projection for the hinder part of the sliding bolt j
to act on when the same is drawn back to cause the barrels to tilt up; 62 is
the projection for the sliding bolt; to this the breeches f are connected by
the pin passing through the ends of the arms f²; these arms are screwed
to the breeches as is shown, and the breeches are capable of turning on the
pin f', as is shown by the red lines in Figure 2. The link k is connected by
a pin f to the breeches, and is slotted at its other end ¹ to receive the pin k³,
screwed into the piece c; this link draws down the breeches when the barrels
are tilted up. 6 is an annular projection at the end of one of the barrels
(the other barrel being similar); it is best, as before mentioned, that the
sides of this projection should be segments of circles, so that it may fit more
closely into the annular recess formed for it in its breech, and may still be
freely withdrawn from it. A front view of one of the breeches is shown at
Figure 7 f is the annular recess and a projecting ring of platinum to enter
the end of the barrel, and make a gas-tight joint, as shown at f³.
In the cartridges I employ, the powder is enveloped in thin paper, or
muslin, or other suitable material, which is broken by the fire of the cap; the
shot also is enveloped in paper, muslin, or other material, and both are fixed
to a wad, one on each side, and the wad is made to fit the barrel somewhat
tightly, so that the cartridge may be held securely where it is placed in the
end of the barrel.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I would remark, that I am aware that guns have before
been made in which the breech ends of the barrels are closed by flaps turning
on hinges, and fitting within the barrels, so as to allow the ends of the same
to come in contact, and make a close gas-tight joint against the false breech.
According to my Invention, however, the barrels do not come up to the false
breech, and the space between the barrels and the false breech is occupied
by the moveable breeches on which I am thus able to place nipples in their
usual position which is practically necessary to allow of the gun being loaded
at the muzzle, which is often desirable when cartridges are not at hand.
The arrangement described for locking the barrels in position is also applicable
to breech-loading fire-arms of other descriptions.
What I claim, is the constructing breech-loading fire-arms, as herein-
before described.
I also claim the method of locking the barrels by a bolt working as above
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Harding, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
WILLIAM HARDING. (L.S.)