IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Andrew Noble, late Captain in the Royal Artillery, and
now of Jesmonddine House, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Manufacturing Engineer,
LETTERS PATENT to Andrew Noble, late Captain in the Royal Artillery, and
now of Jesmonddine House, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Manufacturing Engineer,
for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE.”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Andrew Noble at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th October 1880.
ANDREW NOBLE, late Captain in the Royal Artillery, and now of Jesmonddine
House, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Manufacturing Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ORDNANCE"
My Invention is applicable both to breech and to muzzle loading guns, and
relates to the venting and to the arrangements for the ignition of the charge.
I have two objects in view, first, to obtain an effectual closing of the vent
when the gun is fired, and thereby avoid rapid wear and the inconvenience of an
open vent, objections which become especially serious with heavy ordnance, and,
second, to effect the ignition of the charge under more favourable conditions than
where the flash of the primer has to traverse a long and comparatively small vent
passage before reaching the cartridge.
To attain these ends it is necessary that the primer should be brought near to
the cartridge.
To effect this I employ a short vent passage opening into a chamber which
receives a closing block. This vent block is removeable to admit of the primer
being placed, and is locked in its position within the vent chamber.
The primer which I employ is a loaded capsule similar to the cartridge of a
small arm but adapted to sustain a greater pressure; it is fired by means of a pin
or striker passing through the moveable vent block.
I adapt the face of the vent block to receive the back end of the primer, and
the primer is placed upon it when the block is out of the vent chamber. Then
when the vent block is returned to its place the remainder of the primer enters
into the vent, its base remaining supported by the face of the vent block.
The capsule of the primer closes the vent gas tight at the time of firing, and
from being near to the interior of the gun it is more favourably circumstanced to

page_text: resist the shock than it would be at the outer end of a long vent passage of the
ordinary sort, where owing to the run of the gaseous products and their sudden
stoppage at the end it is difficult to get any vent closing contrivance to withstand
the violence to which it is exposed. The short vent passage being thus closed
against the escape of gas admits of being much larger in diameter than would be
permissible with an open vent, and thus both the shortness of the passage and its
ample diameter favour the igniting power of the primer. This is particularly
important where the cartridge is fired from the rear in the axis of the gun, because
in that case it is desirable to ignite the cartridge by a jet of flame projected through
a central passage formed in the cartridge, either to the centre of the charge or
throughout its whole length.
After firing when the vent block is taken out it brings with it the case or
capsule of the exploded primer. A convenient arrangement for locking the vent
block in the vent chamber is the spaced screw, often employed to secure the
breech block of breech loading ordnance.
The striker may be thrown forward for firing by any convenient mechanical
arrangements, say, by a blow from a hammer set in motion by the pulling of a
lanyard, or when desired the ignition of the primer may be effected by electricity,
the firing wire then passing through the vent block and taking the place of the
striker.
In breech loading guns having axial vents it is not necessary that a removeable
vent block should be used, because by opening the breech the primer can be both
inserted and extracted from the inside, but the adoption of the removeable block
has the advantage of enabling the primer to be withdrawn in case of miss fire
without opening the breech.
The accompanying Drawing shows the arrangement as applied to a breech
loading gun, in which the breech block is a spaced screw. The Drawing also
shows a removeable vent block locked by a spaced screw.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Andrew Noble in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th April
1881.
ANDREW NOBLE, late Captain in the Royal Artillery, and now of Jesmonddene
House, Newcastle upon Tyne, Manufacturing Engineer. « IMPROVEMENTS IN
ORDNANCE."
My Invention is applicable both to breech and to muzzle loading guns, and
relates to the venting and to the arrangements for the ignition of the charge.
I have two objects in view, first, to obtain an effectual closing of the vent when
the gun is fired, and thereby avoid rapid wear and the inconvenience of an open
vent, objections which become especially serious with heavy ordnance, and, second,
to effect the ignition of the charge under more favourable conditions than where
the flash of the primer has to traverse a long and comparatively small vent passage
before reaching the cartridge.
To attain these ends it is necessary that the primer should be brought near to
the cartridge.
-
To effect this I employ a short vent passage opening into a chamber which
receives a closing block. This vent block is removeable to admit of the primer
being placed, and is locked in its position within the vent chamber.
The primer which I employ is a loaded capsule similar to the cartridge of a
small arm but adapted to sustain a greater pressure; it is fired by means of a pin
or striker passing through the moveable vent block.
I adapt the face of the vent block to receive the back end of the primer, and
the primer is placed upon it when the block is out of the vent chamber. Then
when the vent block is returned to its place the remainder of the primer enters
into the vent, its base remaining supported by the face of the vent block.
The capsule of the primer closes the vent gas tight at the time of firing, and
from being near to the interior of the gun it is more favourably circumstanced to
resist the shock than it would be at the outer end of a long vent passage of the
ordinary sort, where owing to the run of the gaseous products and their sudden
stoppage at the end, it is difficult to get any vent closing contrivance to withstand
the violence. to which it is exposed. The short vent passage being thus closed
against the escape of gas admits of being much larger in diameter than would be
permissible with an open vent, and thus both the shortness of the passage and its
ample diameter favor the igniting power of the primer. This is particularly
important where the cartridge is fired from the rear in the axis of the gun, because
in that case it is desirable to ignite the cartridge by a jet of flame projected
through a central passage formed in the cartridge, either to the centre of the
charge or throughout its whole length.
After firing when the vent block is taken out it brings with it the case or
capsule of the exploded primer. A convenient arrangement for locking the vent
block in the vent chamber is the spaced screw, often employed to secure the breech
block of breech loading ordnance.
The striker may be thrown forward for firing by any convenient mechanical
arrangements, say, by a blow from a hammer set in motion by the pulling of a
lanyard, or when desired, the ignition of the primer may be effected by electricity,
the firing wire then passing through the vent block and taking the place of the
striker.
In breech loading guns having axial vents it is not necessary that a removeable
vent block should be used, because by opening the breech the primer can be both
inserted and extracted from the inside, but the adoption of the removeable block

page_text: has the advantage of enabling the primer to be withdrawn in case of miss fire
without opening the breech.
The accompanying Drawings show the arrangement as applied to a breech
loading gun in which the breech block is a spaced screw. The Drawings also show
a removeable vent block locked by a spaced screw.
In order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the breech closing block for a six inch
breech loading gun; Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the same.
.
This breech closing block locks in its place in the gun with a spaced screw,
portions of which appear at a; the screw on the block engages with the corre-
sponding screw on the walls of the passage which the block fills, but a partial turn
of the block brings the screws opposite the spaces and frees the block so that it
may be withdrawn.
The brecch block is armed in front with a cup form gas check to insure a gas
tight joint closing of the chamber of the gun.
All these arrangements however being well understood and forming no part of
my Invention, it is unnecessary to describe them in detail.
The gas check is secured to the breech closing block by means of the steel bolt c
and the nut c¹. The vent passage is formed through the bolt c; it is of com-
paratively large diameter, and it is enlarged at the rear end to receive the gas tight
priming capsule d. This capsule is like that of a small arm metallic cartridge
except that it is much more strongly made; e is the vent chamber or chamber in
which the vent passage terminates; it receives the vent block f which fills the
vent chamber, and provides an efficient support for the priming capsule to retain
it in its place in the vent passage when the discharge takes place. The vent
block is adapted to lock in the vent chamber of the breech closing block in the
same way that the breech block itself locks with the walls of the gun. A portion
of the spaced screw of the vent block is seen at f¹, and at f* is one of the spaces;
f³, fs, are the handles of the vent block by which it is turned partly round to lock
and unlock it. The vent block is bored from end to end with a passage for
containing the striker or firing instrument g; it is retained in its place by flanged
ring fscrewed into the vent block; g' is a coiled spring pressing against a collar
on the striker g to keep it back in contact with the ring f* except at the moment
when it explodes the priming, and then the nose of the striker is made to protrude
from the face of the vent block; it fires the priming in the same way that the
cartridges of small arms are usually fired by means of a striker. The face of the
vent block is provided with projecting lugs f5, between which the priming capsule
is placed; when the vent block is out of the vent chamber these lugs hold the
capsule whilst the vent block is returned to its place, so that its fore part may
enter the vent passage.
When the vent block is removed after firing, it brings the
empty capsule out with it and leaves the vent passage free; h is a hammer mounted
to turn about a pin h¹, and in firing it is thrown up by pulling a lanyard attached
at the eye h²; i is a safety slide, it intercepts the blow of the hammer unless it
has first been lifted; this is done automatically by an incline as the breech closing
block comes home to its place. An electrical primer is shown at Figure 1ª.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of another breech closing block so arranged
as to dispense with the moveable vent block; Figure 4 is a back elevation.
The bolt c is longer than in Figure 1 and contains the striker or firing
instrument g within it. The nut c¹ is screwed up against a strong coiled spring,
which draws the gas check closely to the face of the breech closing block. The
vent passage in this case is very short and large in diameter, and the priming
capsule d is made to fit into and fill it. It has two wings which engage with
corresponding lugs on the vent bolt c.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I claim,-
First. My improved firing apparatus for ordnance, substantially as described and
illustrated by the annexed Drawings.
Second. In ordnance either breech or muzzle loading, the combination consisting
of a vent chamber, a short vent passage adapted to receive a gas tight priming
capsule, a vent block, and a striker or firing instrument, substantially as described.
Third. In breech loading ordnance, the combination of the said parts with and
in the breech closing block in such manner as to obtain axial ignition, substantially
as described.
Fourth. In breech loading ordnance providing in connection with the breech
closing block a short vent passage or cavity with a striker or firing instrument in
rear thereof, such vent passage or cavity being adapted to receive at its fore end,
and when the breech closing block is out of the gun, a gas tigh priming capsule,
substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Andrew Noble, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty one.