AN IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING ORDNANCn
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Frederick William Callander, of Ard-
kinglass, Cairndow, in the County of Argyle, North Britain, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING ORDNANCn ”
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Frederick
William Callander at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with his Petition, on the 13th July 1872.
I, GEORGE FREDERICK WILLIAM CALLANDER, of Ardkinglass, Cairn-
dow, in the County of Argyle, North Britain, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING
ORDNANCE," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to an improvement in breech-loading ordnance
whereby a perfectly gas-tight closure of the breech is effected with the
necessary facility for loading..
According to my Invention the gun is bored through at the breech
end, which is closed by a solid plug of slightly larger diameter than the
bore, screwing in the rear end of the gun in a line with its longitudinal

page_text: axis. The front end of the plug is truly beveled or made conical to
abut against a corresponding seat turned in the bore of the gun. The
plug carries the cascabel and is provided with a lever, by means of
which the plug is screwed up home to its seat so as to make a perfectly
tight closure.
In order to load, the plug is withdrawn and the charge inserted at
the rear end of the barrel, after which the plug is screwed up to its
seat, as above mentioned, when the gun is ready for firing. The beveled
or conical surface on the plug and its corresponding seat in the gun,
should be carefully wiped after each discharge to prevent the lodgment
of any dirt, which would prevent the surfaces.coming together to effect
a gas-tight closure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Frederick William Callander in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 13th January 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
FREDERICK WILLIAM CALLANDER, of Ardkinglass, Cairndow, in the
County of Argyle, North Britain, send greeting.
:
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said George Frederick William Callander, Her
special licence that I, the said George Frederick William Callander,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
George Frederick William Callander, 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 "AN IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING
ORDNANCE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Frederick William Callander, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
.

page_text: 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 George Frederick William Callander,
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, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawing, and to the letters marked thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention relates to an improvement in breech-loading ordnance"
whereby a perfectly gas-tight closure of the breech is obtained with the
necessary facilities for loading, combined with the greatest simplicity in
construction.
My Invention is illustrated in the accompanying Drawing which
shows a longitudinal section of a gun with the improvement applied.
The gun A is bored throughout from end to end, the breech being
closed by a solid steel plug B of slightly larger diameter than the
bore A'. The plug is screw-threaded to fit in a corresponding screwed
socket formed in the breech end of the gun. The nose B₁ of the breech
screw B is truly beveled or coned, as seen, to fit a corresponding seat
turned in the socket above mentioned, which is the principal feature
of my Invention, and effectually prevents any of the gas escaping at the
breech at the time of the explosion.
In order to load the gun the breech-closing plug B is withdrawn by
unscrewing the same with the aid of a hand lever C mounted in the
loop of cascabel D which is formed on plug B. The charge is then
inserted in the rear end of the bore, after which the breech plug is screwed
up home to its seat so as to make a perfectly tight closure, as before
mentioned; the gun is then ready for firing. Care should be taken
after each discharge to wipe the conical nose B¹ of the breech screw B,
as well as its corresponding seat in the socket at the breech end of the
gun, in order to prevent the lodgment of dirt, which would prevent the
conical or bevelled surfaces coming together to effect a gas-tight closure.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim as my In-

page_text: vention to be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is, the use of a screw plug provided with a conical or bevelled
end fitting into a corresponding seat in the breech of the gun; for
effecting a gas-tight closure thereof, substantially as herein-before
described and shown in the Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Frederick William Callander,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of January,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
GEORGE F. W. CALLANDER. (L.S.)