Improvements in Apparatus for Charging Heavy Breech Loading Guns
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 29th Jan., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 29th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 4th Nov., 1897
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Charging Heavy Breech Loading
Guns."
We, VICKERS SONS & COMPANY LIMITED, of River Don Works, Sheffield, in the
County of York, Steel Manufacturers, and FRANK WILLIAM HAWKINS, of River Don
Works, Sheffield, aforesaid, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to apparatus for charging heavy breech loading guns, by
which the supply of ammunition is facilitated and is under control from the gun
platform.
For this purpose, we employ a lift with two ammunition cages or carriers working
in connection with one another in such a manner that, whilst the one cage is being.
charged and is held at the bottom, the other cage is near the top of the lift in a
"ready" position from which it may be quickly raised to the breech of the gun when
required.
These cages are worked by means of ropes or chains actuated by suitable hoistin g
apparatus.
The rope or chain by which the cage is suspended passes over two stationary
pulleys and between them a horizontally moveable pulley mounted on and worked
from the gun platform.
The one cage, having been drawn up to the "ready "position by the lower hoisting
apparatus, the rope or chain during such hoisting passing freely over the moveable
pulley on the gun platform, at its one position when it is desired to bring the charge
on the cage in line with the breech of the gun, this moveable pulley is moved some
distance aside so as to draw the rope laterally into a loop thereby further hoisting
the cage or carrier to the required position.
Dated this 29th day of January 1897.
:
66
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Charging Heavy Breech Loading
Guns."
We, VICKERS SONS & COMPANY, LIMITED, of River Don Works, Sheffield, in the
County of York, Steel Manufacturers, and FRANK WILLIAM HAWKINS, of River Don
Works, Sheffield, aforesaid, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Our invention relates to apparatus for charging heavy breech loading guns by

page_text: which the supply of ammunition is facilitated, and is under control from the gun
platform as we shall describe with reference to the accompanyings drawings.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 is a front view of apparatus, according to
our invention.
a is the upper part of an ammunition trunk or lift which branches out into
two trunks at its lower end and in which are two cages or carriers of which one b
is shewn elevated, the other being supposed to be at the bottom of the trunk.
The cages are raised by means of ropes or chains c c which are wound in
opposite directions on two barrels d d¹ on the shaft e of the winch f and are so
arranged that when the one cage is in the position 6 the other is at the base of
one branch of the lift in position to be charged from the magazines and shell
rooms.
cage
is
The cage or carrier b is in ready position below the gun platform g and has only to
be raised a short distance to the position 6¹ to bring the charge in line with the bore
of the gun h when the gun has to be charged. This farther elevation of the
effected in the following manner: The lifting rope or chain c from the winch f passes
over pulleys k, k¹, k², k³, before being attached to the cage b. and one of these
pulleys, can be moved laterally to the position by means of the winch m, which
is on the gun platform g. The lifting rope c is then drawn into a loop c², c³, and the
cage is raised to the loading position 6¹.
When the gun is charged the moveable pulley k¹ is returned from the position k,
the cage descending to the position b.
By operating the winch f the empty cage can then be sent down to the base of one
branch of the lift to receive a fresh charge, while by the same operation a charged
cage is raised from the other branch of the lift to the ready position b.
Although winches f and m are shewn as the apparatus for controlling the move-
ments of the cages, obviously this might be effected by hydraulic lift apparatus or
other suitable means. In cases where there is only one charging cage, the arrange-
ment of the moveable pulley may obviously be applied as described for raising the cage
from ready to charging position.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is :-
In apparatus for charging heavy breech loading guns in combination with an
ammunition cage and hoist arranged to raise the cage to ready position a laterally
moveable pulley moved by apparatus on the gun platform and acting on the rope or
chain of the hoist so as to raise the cage to charging position, substantially as
described with reference to the drawings.
day of October 1907