IMPROVE- MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Piddington, of 53, Gracechurch Street, in
the City of London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."-A communication from abroad
by Auguste Francotte, of Mont Saint Martin, Liége, in the Kingdom
of Belgium.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Piddington at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd May 1872.
I, JOHN PIDDINGTON, of 53, Gracechurch Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," being a communication
to me from abroad by Auguste Francotte, of Mont Saint Martin, Liége,
in the Kingdom of Belgium, to be as follows:-
This Invention is especially applicable to that class of breech-loading
fire-arms ordinarily known as "drop" action (whether single or double

page_text: "
barrelled or for the use of "central-fire or "pin" cartridges), in which
the barrels turn upon a pin or pivot fixed at right angles to the bore in
such a manner and to such an extent as to expose their rear or breech
ends for the facile introduction of the loaded cartridge cases, or for the
casy withdrawal of the cartridge cases after discharge.
These improvements relate more especially to the more perfect locking
or securing the rear or breech end of the barrels, and maintaining them
in secure contact with the recoil surface or body of the gun, and so as
effectually to resist the forward and upward tendency of the barrels
during the discharge of the cartridges, and the more ready freeing of
this locking arrangement, in order to permit the turning of the barrels
upon their axis for the extraction of the cartridge cases from the chambers.
In lieu of and as an improvement upon all other existing systems of
"lock-fast" or "snap" actions, which more or less imperfectly fulfil the
required conditions, or do so in a more expensive and complicated
manner, the " "snap action "lock-fast" mechanism of the present
Invention is applied in the following manner :—
"
The locking bolt, which is of the usual description, is actuated by a
spring, and which locking bolt projecting from the recoil surface of the
body of the gun enters a hole or opening formed for its reception in the
rear end of the barrels, or in the lump or stud under the barrels, which
forms part of the joint. The bolt is operated by means of a bent
lever or thumb piece, which is partially let into or lies over or upon the
tang or tail piece of the body, and between the hammers of the gun, this
lever or thumb piece being arranged so as to move upon a pivot when
intentionally actuated for drawing back or retiring the locking bolt from
the hole formed to receive it, as before mentioned. In connection with
this lever or thumb picce and bolt a spring is so arranged that it constantly
maintains the locking bolt and its lever in their desired relative positions.
In order to open the gun, or to expose the breech ends of the barrels
to receive the cartridges, it is only necessary to slightly raise the long
end of the bent lever or thumb piece. This action withdraws the locking
bolt from its receptacle, and the barrels turn upon their axis by the
force of gravity in the ordinary manner.
To close the gun and securely lock the barrels in position ready for
discharge, it is only necessary to turn the latter upon their axis in a
contrary direction to that before referred to, in doing which the stud or

page_text: end of the barrel on coming into contact with the locking bolt, which is
maintained beyond the recoil surface or body of the gun by the spring
causes the bolt to recede until the hole or receptacle provided for its
reception reaches such a position as to permit the bolt to enter, when
the latter, acting automatically by the elastic force of the spring,
securely locks down the barrels in contact with the body of the gun.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Piddington in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 1st November 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
PIDDINGTON, of 53, Gracechurch Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Piddington, Her special licence that
I, the said John Piddington, my exécutors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said John Piddington, 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 BREECH-LOADING
FIRE-ARMS," being a communication to me from abroad by Auguste
Francotte, of Mont Saint Martin, Liège, in the Kingdom of Belgium,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Piddington,
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 John Piddington, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the

page_text: same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is
to say:
This Invention is especially applicable to that class of breech-loading
fire-arms ordinarily known as "drop" action (whether single or double
barrelled, or for the use of "central-fire" or "pin" cartridges), in which
the barrels turn upon a pin or pivot fixed at right angles to the bore
in such a manner and to such an extent as to expose their rear or breech
ends for the facile introduction of the loaded cartridge cases, or for the ]
easy withdrawal of the cartridge cases after discharge.
These improvements relate especially to the more perfect locking or
securing the rear or breech end of the barrels, and maintaining them in
secure contact with the recoil surface or body of the gun, and so as
effectually to resist the forward and upward tendency of the barrels 1
during the discharge of the cartridges, and the more ready freeing of this
locking arrangement in order to permit the turning of the barrels upon
their axis for the extraction of the cartridge cases from the chambers.
"
In lieu of and as an improvement upon all other existing systems of
"lock-fast" "
or snap actions, which more or less imperfectly fulfil the 2
required conditions, or do so in a more expensive and complicated
manner, the "snap" action "lock-fast" mechanism of the present In-
vention is applied in the following manner :—
The locking bolt, which is of the usual description, is actuated by a
spring, and which locking bolt projecting from the recoil surface of the 2
body of the gun enters a hole or opening formed for its reception in the
rear end of the barrels, or in the lump or stud under the barrels, which
forms part of the joint. The bolt is operated by means of a bent lever
or thumb piece, which is partially let into or lies over or upon the tang
or tail piece of the body and between the hammers of the gun, this 3
lever or thumb piece being arranged so as to move upon a pivot when
intentionally actuated for drawing back or retiring the locking bolt
from the hole formed to receive it, as before-mentioned. In connection
with this lever or thumb piece and bolt a spring is so arranged that it
constantly maintains the locking bolt and its lever in their desired 3
relative positions.

page_text: In order to open the gun or to expose the breech ends of the barrels
to receive the cartridges it is only necessary to slightly raise the long
end of the bent lever or thumb piece. This action withdraws the
locking bolt from its receptacle, and the barrels turn upon their axis by
5 the force of gravity in the ordinary manner.
To close the gun and securely lock the barrels in position ready for
discharge it is only necessary to turn the latter upon their axis in a
contrary direction to that before referred to, in doing which the stud or
end of the barrel on coming into contact with the locking bolt, which is
O maintained beyond the recoil surface or body of the gun by the spring,
causes the bolt to recede until the hole or receptacle provided for its
reception reaches such a position as to permit the bolt to enter, when the
latter acting automatically by the elastic force of the spring securely
locks down the barrels in contact with the body of the gun.
I will now proceed to refer to the annexed Drawings in which similar
letters have reference to similar parts, and which Drawings illustrate
one mode of applying this Invention to a double-barrelled drop-action
central-fire gun.
Figure 1 is a side view and Figure 2 a top view of a gun with all the
3 parts in repose, the barrels.being closed and maintained in contact with
the body of the gun by the mechanism herein described.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of so much of the working parts of a gun
as tend to illustrate this Invention, the barrels being turned upon their
pivot so as to expose their breech ends for the reception of the cartridge,
the locking bolt and lever thumb piece being in a state of repose.
In these Figures A are the barrels turning upon the pin or pivot P;
B is the body of the gun; b, the recoil surface of the body; 6³, the tang or
tail piece; O is the stock; V is the locking bolt; v³, slot in the locking
bolt to receive the end of the lever; H is the hole or opening in the
lump or stud at the rear end of the barrels to receive the locking bolt;
L is the bent lever or thumb piece; l, the pivot of this lever; A, the end
of the lever or thumb piece working in the slot of the locking bolt;
S is the spring acting upon the bent lever L, and constantly main-
taining the lever in its position upon the tang or tail piece of the gun
and the locking bolt projecting from the recoil surface of the body of the
gun; is the screw by which the spring S is attached to the tang or
tail piece; R is the friction roller of the spring, with r the screw pin or

page_text: pivot by which it is attached to the spring, and upon which the friction
roller turns.
The dotted lines upon Figure 3 shew the relative positions of the
"lock-fast" mechanism when the long end of the bent lever or thumb
piece is raised to actuate the locking bolt and to free it from the
receptacle formed to receive it in the lump or stud on the under side of
the barrels.
Figure 4 is a top view of the locking bolt; Figure 5 is a side view of
the bent lever or thumb piece; and Figure 6 is a side view of the spring.
I may here mention that I do not limit or restrict myself to the
precise details herein described and shewn in the annexed Drawings,
inasmuch as the same may be varied without departing from the said
Invention, and that I sometimes prefer to place the spring in the body
of the gun under the barrels in lieu of applying it in the manner shewn,
the bent lever in such case being modified in its form, so as to be
actuated by the spring for maintaining the locking bolt projecting from
the body of the gun.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I would observe
in conclusion that what I consider novel and original, and therefore
claim as constituting the Invention secured by the said herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent is, the combination and arrangement of
parts and mechanism substantially as and for the purposes herein-before
set forth and described
In witness whereof, I, the said John Piddington, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.