IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING CANNON, AND IN PROJECTILES FOR THE SAME AND FOR OTHER GUNS OF LARGE CALIBRE
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Gardner, of the Firm of Robertson,
Brooman, and Company, of 166, Fleet Strect, in the City of
London, Patent Agents, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING CANNON, AND IN PROJECTILES FOR THE SAME AND FOR OTHER
GUNS OF LARGE CALIBRE."-A communication from abroad by Lewis
Wells Broadwell, of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Gardner at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th October 1874.
I, HENRY GARDNER, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and
Company, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BREECH-LOADING CANNON, AND IN PROJECTILES FOR THE SAME AND FOR OTHER
GUNS OF LARGE CALIBRE," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates firstly to improvements in breech-loading
cannon, and specially to the employment of a loose ring channelled or

page_text: grooved upon its exterior surface to permit of shoulders between the
grooves and the edges bearing in a gas-tight manner against the wall of
a chamber in the bore when pressed home by the conical breech block,
the action of which is then similar to that of a steam engine valve.
The outside surface of the ring in cross section is formed to part of a
circle whose axis is taken from an imaginary point central to the back
face, so that it is tapered from the rear to the front, where it terminates
in a thin edge, the calibre of the ring decreasing in diameter from the
front to the rear, whereby a thick back portion is left for the face of the
recoil plate to bear against when the breech block is forced home by the
usual mechanism. It is preferred to form two annular channels or
grooves in the exterior surface of the ring, and to make them of great
depth in proportion to the thickness of metal, so that the friction surface
is thereby decreased, which facilitates its rearward action upon the
bearing plate, the curvature of the inner periphery being such that the
force of the explosion which occurs within the chamber takes effect
upon the thinner portion of the ring and wedges it, so to speak, against
the face of the chamber of the breech portion of the gun.
The ring may
have only one annular channel or groove in its circumference, and the
shape and the depth of the groove may vary, that is to say, it may be
comparatively shallow near the thin edge of the ring and increase in
depth towards the rear, where the metal is thicker, or the groove may be
of the same depth according to circumstances.
If two annular grooves are formed one of them may be of greater
depth and width than the other, or both may be of the same depth and
width.
The improvements in projectiles for cannon in which the ring is
employed, and in others, relates to a compound shell or bursting shot,
and consists in making the body of two pieces, one piece being within
the other and containing a distinct bursting charge from that in the
outer one, so that after the outer charge has exploded and broken up
its case the inner shall be caused to explode under the action of a
fuze arranged in its head at a given time, the fuze taking its fire from
the explosion of the bursting charge of the outer casing effected by
percussion or otherwise. A metal nozzle or nipple of two diameters is
fitted in the head of the inner case, which nozzle contains the fuze. The
outer case is grooved or channelled on its inner surface with annular and

page_text: also with longitudinal grooves, as also the inner surface of the inner
case, to divide the cases, so to speak, that they shall break up to frag-
ments and be caused to spread in all directions.
The inner case takes a central position within the outer case by lugs
or projections at intervals, preferably upon the inner case, and after the
charges are inserted one case is secured to the other by a screw, or
otherwise, near the base.
The inner case may have grooves, longitudinal or annular, or both,
upon its exterior surface.
The main feature however in this shot consists in forming it of two
cases, one arranged within the other, and each containing a bursting
charge, so that two distinct explosions and scattering of fragments can
take place at different periods of time, as above described.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Gardner in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th April 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
GARDNER, of the Firm of Robertson, Brooman, and Company, of 166,
Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agents, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
cighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Henry Gardner, Her special licence
that I, the said Henry Gardner, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Gardner, 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 CANNON, AND IN PROJECTILES FOR THE SAME AND FOR OTHER GUNS OF
LARGE CALIBRE," a communication from abroad by Lewis Wells Broadwell,

page_text: of Vienna, in the Empire of Austria, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Henry Gardner, 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 Henry Gardner, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :—
This Invention relates firstly to improvements in breech-loading
cannon, and specially to the employment of a loose ring channelled or
grooved upon its exterior surface to permit of shoulders between the
grooves and the edges bearing in a gas-tight manner against the wall
of a chamber in the bore when pressed home by the conical brecch block,
the action of which is then similar to that of a steam engine valve.
The outside surface of the ring in cross section is formed to part of a
circle whose axis is taken from an imaginary point central to the back
face, so that it is tapered from the rear to the front, where it terminates
in a thin edge, the calibre of the ring decreasing in diameter from the front
to the rear, whereby a thick back portion is left for the face of the recoil
plate to bear against when the breech block is forced home by the usual
mechanism. It is preferred to form two annular channels or grooves in
the exterior surface of the ring, and to make them of great depth in pro-
portion to the thickness of metal, so that the friction surface is thereby
decreased, which facilitates its rearward action upon the bearing plate. The
curvature of the inner periphery is such that the force of the explosion
which occurs within the chamber takes effect upon the thinner portion
of the ring and wedges it, so to speak, against the face of the chamber
of the breech portion of the gun. The ring may have only one annular
channel or groove in its circumference, and the shape and the depth of
the groove may vary, that is to say, it may be comparatively shallow
near the thin edge of the ring and increase in depth towards the rear,
where the metal is thicker, or the groove may be of the same depth,
according to circumstances.

page_text: If two annular grooves are formed one of them may be of greater
depth and width than the other, or both may be of the same depth and
width.
The first part of the Invention, as before set forth, is represented on
Sheet 1 of the annexed Drawings, Figures 1 and 2 of which are
respectively a sectional elevation longitudinally, and a horizontal
section.
A is the breech portion of the gun barrel; B, C, is the chamber into
which the powder charge is inserted when the breech block D is
unlocked and drawn out sideways, which can be done by turning the
lever handle E in the proper direction for releasing the screw nut F
from the threads of the breech portion A. The breech block or closer
is of half round and of tapered shape in its length, as in Figure 2, and
is limited in its action by a stop pin riding in a groove, so as to bring
the open portion H opposite the bore of the gun, the charge of shot
or shell and the powder being pushed through from the rear in a
manner well known.
The inner face of the breech block or closer D is recessed, and has a
packing I (metallic) with a copper or other lining J, against which the
back thrust of the firing charge is received, a projecting annular lip K
on the packing I being caused to bear against the base of a ring L
under the pressure due to the tightening up action of the screw when
the breech block D is closed to prevent escape of gas when the charge
is fired. This ring is an essential feature in this Invention, and is
intended chiefly for the kind of breech-loading gun shown in the
Drawings; but which, by modification, can be adapted to other forms
of breech-loading guns (cannon).
The ring L is of tapered or conical form in cross section, and the outer
or exterior face is struck as a segment of a circle from an axis or point
at or near to , which is central to the base of the ring. In this outer
face annular grooves (preferably two, as shown more clearly in Figure 3
on Sheet 2 of the Drawings) are formed in the lathe, or by casting; one
of the annular grooves, that nearer the front edge of the ring being of
less depth than the groove near the rear edge, where the metal of the
ring is thicker or of greater substance. These outer face annular grooves
in the ring L may however be of the same depth, and one or both of

page_text: 6
them, if only two be used, may be skewed, i. e. of greater depth at one
part than at another, or inclined on the bottom to make the ring more
lively" to the close or surface bearing of the outer face against a
correspondingly segmental face in or on the chamber of the breech
portion of the gun prepared for its reception, the face against which the
ring bears being struck from the same point ①, as shown. The inner
face or periphery of the ring is also of rounded or it may be of curved
shape to form a knife edge to the front of the ring and to leave a given
thickness at the rear of the ring for the closing block D to bear against,
as before explained, the pressure of which causes the outer face or
periphery of the ring to be in contact wedged up against the breech to
prevent escape of gas at that part when the charge is fired; the ring
itself, by the presence of the grooves in the outer face, is also capable of
expansion to a slight degree under the action of the gases to put the
front portion of the ring, i. c. from the edge to the first annular groove,
into positive contact with its face of the breech chamber should there
be by any chance an imperfect fitting of one surface to the other.
The thickness of the ring base from the inner to the outer peripheries
can be varied to suit guns (cannon) of different calibre, and the width
of the rings also from front to rear; the number and the shape of the
annular grooves in or on the outer periphery can also be varied.
The feature in this first part of this Invention, and to which claim is
made, is the improvements in breech-loading cannon, as herein-before
set forth, and as shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3, of the accompanying
Drawings.
Secondly. And specially the construction or formation and employ-
ment of gas rings in breech-loading cannon, such rings being of tapered
or rounded form in cross section, and with one or more annular grooves
or channels in or on the outer periphery, as described and shown, and
for the purposes set forth.
Thirdly. The employment of loose rings having one or more annular
grooves or channels in or on the outer periphery to the breech portions
of breech-loading cannon, as set forth.
The improvements in projectiles for cannon in which the ring before
referred to is employed, and in others relates to a compound shell or
bursting shot, and consists in making the body of two pieces, one piece

page_text: being within the other, and containing a distinct bursting charge from
that in the outer one, so that after the outer charge has exploded and
broken up its case the inner shall be caused to explode under the action
of a fuse arranged in its head at a given time, the fuse taking its fire
from the explosion of the bursting charge of the outer casing effected by
percussion or otherwise. A metal nozzle or nipple of two diameters is.
fitted in the head of the inner case, which nozzle contains the fuse.
The outer case is grooved or channelled on its inner surface with annular .
and also with longitudinal grooves, as also the inner surface of the inner
case, to divide the cases, so to speak, that they shall break up to frag-
ment and be caused to spread in all directions.
The inner case takes a central position within the outer case by lugs
or projections at intervals, preferably upon the inner case, and after the
charges are inserted one case is secured to the other by a screw, or other-
wise near the base.
The inner case may have grooves, longitudinal or annular, or both,
upon its exterior surface.
The main feature however in this shot consists in forming it of two
cases, one arranged within the other, and cach containing a bursting
charge, so that two distinct explosions and scattering, of fragments can
take place at different periods of time, as above described.
The construction or formation of the double casc or shells of a shell
proper or bursting shot is represented in longitudinal section, Figure 4,
and in transverse section in Figure 5 of the Drawings. M is the outer
case or shell, with longitudinal grooves N, and with horizontal or annular
grooves or recesses P, on or in the inside, the grooves or recesses being
at equal (they may be at unequal) distances apart, so that the case may,
on the explosion of the bursting charge taking place split or break up
into fragments, the splitting or breaking up occuring at the thinnest
parts in the manner well known to artillerists. The inner base Q of the
outer case is preferably screw threaded, as shown, to enable it to be
screwed on to a threaded portion R of an inner case S, which is hollow,
and forms a separate shell or bursting shot to take effect, as before
explained, shortly after the bursting of the outer case or shell M, the
interior of this inner shell being filled with a bursting charge, which is
fired by a fuse of its own fitted in a nozzle or nipple T in the front or
head of the inner case S, the fuse taking its fire from the explosion of.

page_text: the bursting charge of the outer shell M, such charge being between the
two shells or casings M and S. In Figure 5 the outside of the inner
shell or case S is shown as ribbed, fluted, or grooved, and the outside of
the case or shell M may be correspondingly or otherwise grooved or
channelled, such channels determining more or less the number of frag-
ments the shells or casings shall burst or break into. The chamber of
the inner case or shell S can be filled through its base aperture, and
then be closed by a screw plug U, or it may be of, say, two pieces, which
can be first filled and then screwed or otherwise fastened together.
The head V of the outer case or shell can have a fuse (time or other),
or a percussion cap or detonator, fitted as desired, and this may be so
arranged with the fuse of the inner case S that the explosions of the two
bursting charges shall be simultaneous, or otherwise.
Figure 6 represents a double case bursting shot or shell, in which the
socket or nipple at the head of the inner case S is dispensed with, the fire
to the bursting charge of the inner casing being effected by the fire of
the bursting charge of the outer casing M passing through holes a, a,
near the base of the inner case S. A recess b is formed in the head of
the inner case for containing a portion of the outer charge, which
ensures its ignition from the flame of the outer fuse or the percussion,
as the case may be.
The force of the concussion of a shell is known to compress the powder
of a bursting charge considerably, consequently it often happens that
the flame of the fuse does not reach it, the plan here explained, and
shown in Figure 5, reduces this event to a minimum, as a portion of the
bursting charge is retained in the recess to take the flame or fire of
the fuse or of the percussion.
The distance at which the inner shell S shall be from the outer shell M
is determined by lugs d, d, preferably upon the exterior of the inner
one S, the chamber between the two shells being charged through the
head or before the outer one is placed over the inner, as desired.
Claim is made in the second part of this Invention to the construction
of a double cased or double bursting shell or shot in the manner set
forth with reference to Figures 4 and 5 of the annexed Drawings.
Also to the construction of a double cased or double bursting shell or
shot, as described with reference to Figure 6 of the annexed Drawings,

page_text: and in which the fire of one (outer) charge is communicated to the other
inner charge by apertures, as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Gardner, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifth day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-five.