Improvements in Automatic Fire-arms.
Year: 1898

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Fire-arms.
I, FERDINAND RITTER VON MANNLICHER, Engineer, of 1, Getreidemarkt 10,
Vienna, Austria, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention to be as
follows:
My invention relates to automatic fire arms of that class, in which the barrel
is rigid and the breech bolt is thrown rearward (opened) by the recoil of the shot.
In fire arms of this hind the recoil is opposed either only by the inertia of the
breech bolt and the pressure of the spring for reclosing the breech bolt, or the
latter is provided with mechanical means for offering considerable resistance to
the opening of the bolt at the moment of firing, without however preventing
the rearward movement of the bolt The former disposition is only serviceable
for weak charges, such as in pistols, wlule the latter may be employed in quick
firing guns and in 11fles
The puncipal object of my invention is to employ the hammer for giving a
certain support to the breech bolt at the moment of firing, which support will be
sufficient to overcome even such charges that would be too powerful for the
inertia of the breech bolt alone combined with the resistance of the closing spring.
The other improvements relate to the breech bolt and lock with a view to making
the arm as compact and neat as possible
The magazine of this arm is by preference placed into the butt, and may be
charged by means of a charging strip when the breech bolt 18 open The barrei
is rigidly attached to the frame of the arm The arm 18 not, as ordinarily, pro-
vided with a breech receive behind the barrel for the reception of the breech
bolt, this latter, which remains uncovered on top, being guided in suitable ribs
in the frame For this purpose the breech bolt is provided with wings or webs
extending downward and provided with grooves into which fit the aforesaid guide
ribs in the frame These wings or webs of the breech bolt extend forward and
are there connected by a cross piece, so that a fiame is formed, the said cross
piece forming a stop for the rearward movement of the breech bolt by striking
against the forward part of the frame of the aim.
The
The closing spring is placed forward underneath the barrel and 18 80 situated
that it bears with one end against the cross piece connecting the guide webs of
the breech bolt and with the other end against the gid fame of the arm.
rear, solid part of the bolt, the breech bolt proper, contains the firing pin and
its spring and the extractor of ordinary construction The hammer is situated
at the car part of the frame. The lower part of the rear end of the breech
bolt forms an inclined surface, against which the hammer rests with a correspond-
ing inclined surface when it is thrown forward. If this incline upon the breech
bolt and hammer would approach the arc in which the hammer swings, the
breech bolt would be held locked by the hammer, but, as this incline is corre-
spondingly steeper, the hammer will only offer a certain resistance to the opening
of the breech bolt, which will finally be overcome by the force of the recoil, the

page_text: hammer being turned down (cocked) by the rearward movement of the brecch
bolt.
According to the charge employed in the cartridge the incline may be made
more or less steep, so that, even with a strong recoil, the breech bolt will be
thrown back (opened) with a safe speed.
The magazine having a central position in the butt of the arm, the parts of
the look are by preference disposed at both sides of the magazine. For this
purpose the lower part of the hammer is forked, and is provided upon one part
with the trigger rest and upon the other part with a bearing for the main spring,
and eventually also with a rest or rests for a safety device
The trigger mechanism is similar to that of other automatic fire arms, an
auxiliary sear being provided for arresting the hammer in its cocked position
The ends of the trigger arm and the sear have a peculiar hook shape for facilitat-
ing the separation of those two parts when the trigger is pulled.
Dated 31st December 1898
I, FERDINAND RITTER VON MANNLICHER, of No. 1, Getreidemarkt 10, Vienna,
Austria, Engineer, 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: —
My invention relates to fire arms of the kind in which there is a fixed barrel,
and the breech 18 opened by the recoil and closed by a spring
In automatic fire arms of this kind the force of the recoil is opposed either by
the inertia of the breech bolt and the pressure of the closing spring alone, or the
breech bolt is provided with an additional support which, at the moment of firing,
offers a considerable resistance, without, however, preventing the opening of the
breech. The former arrangement has been found practicable only for pistols
with weak charges, while the latter 18 fiequently used in quick firing guns and
rifles.
The object of my invention is a construction, particularly applicable to pistols
having a peculiar and novel breech mechanism and lock mechanism, and in which
the hammer 18 made to serve as a support for the breech bolt at the moment
of firing.
In the annexed drawings a pistol of tlus kind 18 shewn, Fig 1 18 a longitudinal
vertical section, with the breech closed in the moment of firing and a cross
section on the line ry, Fig 2 18 a similar view of the pistol, with the breech
bolt locked in open position for charging the magazine Fig 3 shews the
breech bolt alone in longitudinal section, plan view, and cross section, Fig 4 19
a right side view of the pistol, with the breech bolt, the side plate and the butt
parts removed, and the position for introducing the breech bolt indicated in
dotted lines Fig. 5 is a left side view of the pistol with the breech bolt, the side
plate and the butt parts removed Fig 6 shews in elevation and cross section
the side plate alone Fig. 7 shews in two views the stop piece for the breech
bolt Fig 8 18 & night side view of the complete pistol, with closed breech and
the hammer at rest Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig 8 shewing the pistol in the
very act of charging the magazine.
As shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 the hollow butt forms the magazine which is charged

page_text: with cartridges preferably by means of a clip as shewn in Fig. 9. The butt K
is integral with its front pait to which the barrel L is rigidly fixed, or with
which the barrel may be integral.
The breech bolt V is not, as in some other aims, enclosed in or guided by a
breech casing but is made with two forward extensions to connected in front by
a cross piece 8.
Within the sides of the bolt are grooves n fitting ribs at each
Bide of the pistol body.
There is so much width between the extensions w that in inserting the breech
bolt they can he passed over the barrel L and the front of the pistol in an
inclined attitude as indicated by the dotted lines V in Fig. 4. The grooves n
open out to form recesses a so that the inclined bolt can be turned down as
indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4 over the guide 11bs and can then be pushed
forwards to its closed position, the ribs 7 engaging in the grooves n so as to act
as guides for the breech bolt. The closing spring F butts against the cross
piece urging the breech bolt forwards to close the breech. A piece G Fig. 7
is inserted in the casing of the spring to form a stop for the cross pieces when
the bolt moves back and so to prevent the grooves n from leaving the guide
ribs 7.
The two side plates D Fig. 6 are connected at the top from which there is
an upward projection having a recess z which engages a lug z¹ (Figs 1 and 2)
projecting down from the front part of the pistol body The side plates D are
pushed into position from the front, grooves in their inner sides engaging guide
ribs on the pistol frame, and are held in position by the lug z¹ and a screw passed
through the holes v and an eye of the pistol frame The side plates D thus
secured assist in guiding the breech bolt the extensions w of which slide upon
the side plates. Thus the breech bolt itself requires to be no longer than sufficient
to cover the magazine when in its forward position
In the breech bolt are fitted the firing pin and its spring and extractor p¹;
at the rear end of the breech bolt on its underside is a projection having an
incline against which a corresponding incline on the front of the hammer H
bears when the hammer 18 forward. The meeting surfaces are so inclined to the
path of the hammer around its pivot that the hammer only offers a certain
resistance to the backward motion of the bolt, and this may be varied to suit
various charges by altering the angle of these surfaces
As the butt is occupied as a magazine the parts of the lock are arranged at
the sides The hammer 18 forked to embrace an eye A of the frame where it is
pivotted on its pin B. One side of the hammer fork has a shoulder h for the
spring sear u, the other side has a shoulder h¹ for the main spring F¹ which propels
the hammer when the trigger Z on being pulled back moves the sear u and so
disengages the shoulder h
The trigger and the sear u have hooked parts engaging each other which ship
off on pulling the tugger
For charging the magazine, the breech bolt is retracted and the upper corner
of the hammer is engaged in a notch k on the underside of the breech bolt which
18 thus held back. When the magazine is charged the hammer is pulled back
releasing the breech bolt so that it can close the magazine U 18 the cartridge
holder of the usual kind
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim
in respect of automatic fire arms having breech mechanism opened by the recoil,
18
1 The breech bolt V which instead of being guided in a breech casing behind
the bariel, has its forward extension w guided by the ribs and side plates D
substantially as described.
2 In the casing of the advancing sping F the stop piece G to prevent the
breech bolt from recoiling too far, substantially as described

page_text: 3. The construction of the breech bolt V with side extensions te connected
by a cross pieces and presenting between them a slot which permits the breech
bolt to be passed in an inclined attitude over the barrel and then lowered into
position, substantially as described
4 The construction of the hammer with a fork embracing the eye A where
it 18 pivotted, each side of the fork having a shoulder, the one engaged by the
spring sear and the other h¹ engaged by the main spring, substantially as
described.
5. The construction of the sear and the trigger Z with hooked paits engaging
each other, substantially as and for the purpose set forth
6 The construction of the lower part of the rear end of the breech bolt with an
incline and of the hammer with a corresponding incline for retarding the
recoil of the breech bolt, substantially as desciibed
7. The notch on the underside of the breech bolt adapted to be engaged
by the top edge of the hammer for holding back the breech bolt during the
charging of the magazine, substantially as described
8 The construction of the side plates D with top connection and with recessed
projection in front, substantially as and for the purpose set forth
Dated this 21st day of September 1899.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.