IMPROVEMENTS IN GUNS OR CANNON, AND IN PROJECTILES TO BE USED THEREWITH, ALSO APPLICABLE TO FIRE-ARMS GENERALLY AND THEIR PROJECTILES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Jeremiah Murphy, of Cork, in the County
of the City of Cork, Ireland, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
GUNS OR CANNON, AND IN PROJECTILES TO BE USED THEREWITH, ALSO APPLICABLE
TO FIRE-ARMS GENERALLY AND THEIR PROJECTILES."
Sealed the 2nd July 1867, and dated the 9th January 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Jeremiah Murphy
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 9th January 1867.
I, WILLIAM JEREMIAH MURPHY, of Cork, in the County of the City of Cork,
Ireland, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN GUNS OR CANNON, AND IN PROJECTILES TO BE USED THEREWITH, ALSO APPLICABLE.
TO FIRE-ARMS GENERALLY AND THEIR PROJECTILES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the method of causing the projectile to rotate on
its horizontal axis on leaving the gun, and is intended to be used as a sub-
stitute for the ordinary rifling. Instead of the method usually adopted for
imparting to the projectile a rotary motion when leaving the gun, by means
of rifling or grooving the inside of the gun and using studded or ribbed shot,
it is proposed that the bore of the gun be fitted with spirally projecting ribs
or slides, two, three, or more in number as may be necessary; these slides or
ribs to be planed perfectly true and taking the same twist or pitch as is
generally given to the rifling of guns. The projectile is to be slotted or

page_text: grooved at the sides to the same pitch, so as to fit perfectly the slides or ribs,
thus presenting two smooth surfaces which can be always kept lubricated;
by these means the projectile will obtain a rotary motion, which will be
imparted to it by the twist or pitch of the ribs or slides acting upon its rifling;
in other words, the slides or ribs are to take the place of the present rifling,
and the grooves or rifling on the projectile that of the studs or ribs at present
in use. The slides may be introduced in a variety of ways into existing guns,
and also the projectiles at present in use may be grooved or rifled after this
method. This system may be applied to either breech or muzzle-loading
guns.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Jeremiah Murphy in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 9th July 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
JEREMIAH MURPHY, of Cork, in the County of the City of Cork, Ireland, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her Heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Jeremiah Murphy, Her special licence that I, the said
William Jeremiah Murphy, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William Jeremiah Murphy, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 GUNS OR CANNON, AND IN PROJECTILES TO BE
USED THEREWITH, ALSO APPLICABLE TO FIRE-ARMS GENERALLY AND THEIR PROJECTILES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Jeremiah Murphy,
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.
"

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Jeremiah Murphy, 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 in writing, and on reference to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to the method of causing the projectile to rotate on
its horizontal axis on leaving the gun, and is intended to be used as a sub-
stitute for the ordinary rifling. Instead of the method usually adapted for
imparting to the projectile a rotary motion when leaving the gun by means
of rifling or grooving the inside of the gun and using studded or ribbed shot,
it is proposed that the bore of the gun be fitted with spirally projecting ribs
or slides, two, three, or more in number as may be necessary; these slides
or ribs to be planed perfectly true and taking the same twist or pitch as is
generally given to the rifling of guns. The projectile is to be slotted or
grooved at the sides to the same pitch so as to fit perfectly the slides or ribs,
thus presenting two smooth surfaces which can be always kept lubricated;
by these means the projectile will obtain a rotary motion which will be
imparted to it by the twist or pitch of the ribs or slides acting upon its rifling;
in other words, the slides or ribs are to take the place of the present rifling,
and the grooves or rifling on the projectile that of the studs or ribs at present
in use.
These slides may be introduced in a variety of ways into existing
guns, and also the projectiles at present in use may be grooved or rifled after
this method. This system may be applied to either breech or muzzle-loading
guns.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention for " Improvements
in Guns or Cannon, and in Projectiles to be used therewith, also applicable
to Fire-arms generally and their Projectiles," I will now proceed to describe
more in detail the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or
carried into practical effect; and in order that the same may be distinctly
anderstood I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illustrative thereof,
and have marked the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding
with those in the following explanation thereof.
In the annexed Drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Figure 2 a rear
view of my improved projectile, and Figure 3 is a transverse section of a gun
or cannon rifled according to my improved principle, showing also a front view
of the projectile.
It will be seen upon referring to Figure 3 that the gun a, a, instead of
being grooved or rifled in the usual manner is provided with three projecting
ribs or slides b, b, b, these said slides having the same amount of spiral twist

page_text: given to them as the ordinary grooves have; these ribs or slides may be
formed with the gun (by cutting away the intervening spaces or otherwise) or
introduced into existing guns in a variety of ways, one of the simplest of which
is to bore out the gun slightly oval (as shown by the dotted line c, c, in'
Figure 3) and then introduce therein a cylinder of steel having the ribs or
slides formed on its interior. The gun must be heated previously to the
introduction of the cylinder, and in cooling it will shrink on to and hold firmly
the steel cylinder. The projectile d, d, is of a cylindrical form with a conoidal:
front having three spiral grooves e, e, e, formed along the cylindrical part to
correspond with the three ribs or slides b, b, b, in the gun, so that when the
projectile is placed in the gun, as seen in Figure 3, it is supported by the
three ribs or slides in such a manner that the projectile does not actually bear
upon the surface of the bore, and thus friction is greatly reduced and a small
space is left between the gun and the projectile for "windage." The grooves
may be lined with brass or other similar metal, as shown in the Drawing,
which will still further reduce the friction.
Figures 4 and 5 are side and front views of a form of projectile adapted for
discharge under water. In this modification the front of the projectile is con-
siderably flattened, and the grooves e, e, e, are carried forward over the
conoidal part of the front of the projectile as well as on the cylindrical part.
Having now described the nature and object of my said Invention for
Improvements in Guns or Cannon, and in Projectiles to be used therewith,
also applicable to Fire-arms generally and their Projectiles," together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried
into practical effect, I would remark in conclusion that I claim as my
Invention,
"
Firstly, the improvements in guns or cannon, and in projectiles to be used
therewith, substantially as berein-before described and shown in the annexed
Drawing.
And, secondly, I claim the application of the same principle of construction
to fire-arms in general and their projectiles.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Jeremiah Murphy, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
WILLIAM J. MURPHY. (L.S.)