IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGES FOR ORDNANCE
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 12th June, 1886.
Complete Left, 12th Mar., 1887.
Complete Accepted, 27th May, 1887.
I GEORGE QUICK of Chipping Campden in the County of Gloucester a Staff
Engineer in the Royal Navy do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN CARTRIDGES FOR ORDNANCE to be as follows :-
It is well known that cartridges for ordnance have been made with a central orifice
or cavity running partly or entirely through them; this orifice or cavity being of
small size and cylindrical. My improvement consists in constructing cartridges with
a central cavity of a conical or trumpet shape so that one end of the cavity, by
preference, that next the projectile, shall be of much greater diameter than the other
end of the cavity. The object of this conical cavity is to enable the charge to be more
speedily and uniformly ignited, and to bring the gas pressure to bear directly and
speedily on the base of the projectile.

page_text: Improvements in Cartridges for Ordnance.
I GEORGE QUICK, of Chipping Campden, in the county of Gloucester, a Fleet
Engineer in the Royal Navy, 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:-
It is well known that cartridges for ordnance have been made with a central orifice or
cavity running partly or entirely through them this orifice or cavity being of small size
and cylindrical. My improvement consists in constructing cartridges with a central
cavity of a conical or trumpet shape so that one end of the cavity, by preference,
that next the projectile shall be of much greater diameter than the other end of the
cavity. The object of this conical cavity is to enable the charge to be more speedily
and uniformly ignited and to bring the gas pressure to bear directly and speedily
on the base of the projectile.
To carry this invention into effect I form discs of gunpowder or other gas producing
material with a central orifice and with numerous smaller perforations surrounding the
central orifice somewhat as described in the Specification of my Letters Patent No. 15546
dated 26th November 1884, but with certain modifications of form as hereinafter
described viz. I make the discs of compressed gunpowder with central cylindrical
orifices of various sizes, say from half an inch in diameter up to two inches, three or
more inches diameter, according to the maximum external diameter of the said discs
and also according to the length of cartridge required to be made.
And I arrange
the discs in the cartridge so that those discs which have the smallest central cylin-
drical orifice shall be at the bottom or rear end of the said cartridge and I proceed
with the loading of the cartridge by adding discs having central cylindrical orifices
increasing in size until the cartridge is conipletely loaded. For example in loading a
cartridge of six inches in diameter and twenty inches in length with discs say one
inch thick, the two rear discs may have central orifices of half an inch in diameter,
the next two discs will have central orifices of three quarters of an inch in diameter,
the next four discs will have central orifices of one inch in diameter, the next four
discs will have central orifices of 1-4 inches in diameter, the next four discs will have
central orifices of 1.75 inches in diameter and the last four discs (those next the
projectile) will have central orifices of two inches in diameter.
I prefer to arrange the discs in this manner instead of making the holes in the discs
truly conical as the latter method would be expensive and tedious as the holes would
require reaming out to form them accurately.

page_text: The drawing shows a vertical longitudinal section through the powder discs as
arranged to form a cartridge according to my present invention. In the drawing A A
indicate the discs at the rear end of the cartridge, which discs have only a small
central orifice; B B indicate the discs at the front end of the cartridge and d, indi-
cates a wad of felt or other substance which is difficult to ignito; b, is a stopper or
"choke" of wood or other suitable material around which the cartridge bag may be
secured and by the length of which the length of the whole cartridge may be accu-
rately adjusted. Although no small perforations are shewn in these discs a large
number of such perforations may exist as described in the Specification of my said
Letters Patent No. 15546, dated 26th November 1884.
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 :-
A cartridge for ordnance having a central or axial cavity increasing in diameter
and area from the rear end thereof to the forward end substantially as described.
Dated the 12th day of Maren 1001.
G. F. REDFERN,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agent for the Applicant.