Improvements in Breech Mechanism for Quick-firing Guns.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 31st May, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 25th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 8th Apr., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Breech Mechanism for Quick-firing Guns.
We, FRANCIS EDWARD DYKE ACLAND late Captain Royal Artillery, and
CARL HOLMSTRÖM, Engineer, both of 32 Victoria Street, in the City of
Westminster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Our improvements relate to novel forms and arrangements of breech mechanism
whereby we greatly facilitate the opening and closing of the breech of quick firing
guns.
According to one part of our said improvements we provide for the opening and
closing of the breech by means of a lever so arranged that by a single movement
in one direction it closes and locks the breech block and by a single movement in
the opposite direction it unlocks and opens the said breech block, extracts the
spent cartridge and cocks the firing pin.
For this purpose we construct the gun with a breech aperture or chamber which
extends through one side of the gun and we form and arrange the breech block to
move laterally in and out of this aperture on a hinge or pivot to open and close
the breech. The open side of the breech chamber is preferably, though not
necessarily, to the right hand looking from the breech end of the gun and in the
following description we have assumed it to be so arranged. The said aperture or
chamber and the block are of such a shape that when the breech is closed the
aperture is completely filled by the block the inner edge of which is then forced
into contact with the interior of the said aperture. The said breech aperture is
circular on the left hand side and this circular portion merges into curved upper
and lower surfaces concentric with the said pivot. and extending through the
opening in the right hand side of the gun. The pivot is below and to one side of
the centre of the gun so that the bottom of the inner portion of the said breech
aperture is below that of the opening through which the block moves into and out
of the breech aperture or chamber. Therefore when the breech is closed the
weight of the block would tend to retain it in the said aperture. To support the
block when closed against the pressure tending to force it away from the breech we
form the entire surface of the breech chamber or aperture with ribs and grooves
and we form similar ribs and grooves on the inner side and upper and lower surfaces
of the block to engage with those of the breech chamber. To prevent incon-
venience from the accumulation of dust or other foreign matter we make the
grooves in the chamber slightly deeper than the ribs on the block.
The breech block is operated by a lever which is pivotted to the centre of the
inner part of the block and which moves about this pivot transversely through an
arc of about ninety degrees to open or close the breech. In opening the breech
the said lever moves first independently of the block about the central pivot and
then with the block about the lower pivot, and in closing the breech it has the
same movements in the reverse order. The said lever has a short arm provided at
its extremity with a projection which is so arranged that when the breech is closed
it can be caused to engage with a projection on the gun in such a position that it
will prevent the movement of the lever and block about the pivot of the latter,
that is to say the said two projections form a device for securely locking the breech
to the gun previous to firing the same.
The said lever has also formed on its boss a segmental flange which extends over
one end of a cocking lever the other end of which engages with the firing pin.
The under or inner surface of the said flange is inclined or sloped in such a

page_text: direction that during the movement of the lever about its central pivot in the
opening of the breech 'the inclined surface of the said flange, acting as a cam,
moves the cocking lever to cock or draw back the firing pin. Till the moment
when the cocking of the firing pin is accomplished the lever has moved about the
central pivot independently of, and without moving the block. But at this moment
the lower or forward edge of the aforesaid flange encounters a shoulder or stop on
the block and thenceforward the lever and block move together, in the opening
of the breech, about the pivot of the block.
In combination with the aforesaid flange on the lever we arrange at the open side
of the breech aperture a spring pawl pivotted at its lower end to the block and
formed with a hook in the proper position to engage with the upper corner of the
said flange when the block begins to turn outward on its pivot. The spring keeps
the pawl in engagement with the flange and thereby prevents the movement of the
lever independently of the block throughout the remainder of the opening move-
ment of the latter and until it has nearly returned to its closed position. But just
as the block is finishing its closing movement a shoulder on the upper edge of the
open side of the breech aperture pushes the pawl out of engagement with the flange
so that the lever can be turned on the central pivot to lock the said block as above
described.
We provide the mechanism with an extractor consisting of an arm pivotted to
the gun in any convenient position, one end of the said extractor extends into the
proper position to engage with the rim of a cartridge in the charge chamber and is
suitably formed for that purpose. Its other end is arranged in combination with a
cam surface or incline on the pivoted portion of the block so that when the latter
has moved out clear of the spent cartridge the extractor will be actuated by the
said incline to pull the same outward from the charge chamber.
A portion of the left-hand front surface of the block is bevelled or inclined in
such a manner that when a cartridge is inserted in the charge chamber and the
block is operated to close the breech the said inclined surface acting on the base
of the said cartridge will force the same securely home in the gun.
In some instances we provide in combination with the breech block a plate
hinged to one side of the gun so as to lie in front of the block and to turn on its
hinge to open and close the breech as the block is moved outward or inward. This
block may be used with the mechanism above described for forcing the cartridges
home in the charge chamber or may be provided with an obturator for closing the
breech in guns not adapted for fixed ammunition.
According to another modification of our said invention we so arrange the
breech mechanism that the breech can be very quickly and conveniently opened or
closed by a lever which has a double movement or movement in two directions for
opening or for closing the breech.
For this purpose we construct the breech aperture and the block and hinge or
pivot the said block below and 'to one side of the centre of the bore, as above
described. But the lever is pivotted to the said block in such a manner that it
moves in an arc in a longitudinal plane ;--that is to say for locking and unlocking
the breech block when closed it moves up and down on its pivot towards and away
from the breech end of the gun. But as the block is pivotted in such a manner as
to move laterally in and out of the breech aperture or chamber it follows that in
opening the breech the complete movement of the said lever must consist firstly of
a movement in a plane coinciding with the direction of the longitudinal axis of the
gun and secondly of a movement in a plane transverse to such axis. When the
breech is closed and the breech block locked the handle of the lever is turned
downward across the centre of the breech block. A nose or catch on it near its
pivot then enters a notch or slot in the gun and thereby locks the breech block
therein. To open the breech the said lever is first turned upward to disengage the
said catch from the notch and then the lever is turned with the block about the
pivot of the latter as above described. An excentric is arranged at the pivot of
the lever, in combination with the firing pin for cocking the same when the lever

page_text: is first moved. Or we provide other suitable means for cocking the firing pin.
The extractor is arranged and operated substantially as above described.
Dated this 31st day of May 1892.
FRANCIS EDWARD DYKE ACLAND.
CARL HOLMSTRÖM.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Breech Mechanism for Quick-firing Guns.
We, FRANCIS EDWARD DYKE ACLAND, Captain, late Royal Artillery, and
CARL HOLMSTRÖM, Engineer, both of 32 Victoria Street, in the City of
Westminster, 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 :-
Our improvements relate to novel forms and arrangements of breech-mechanism,
whereby we greatly facilitate the opening and closing of the breech of quick-firing
guns.
According to our said improvements we provide for the opening and closing of
the breech by apparatus so arranged that by a continuous movement of the
operating-handle in one direction the breech is closed and the breech-block locked,
and by a continuous movement of the said handle in the opposite direction the
breech-block is unlocked, the firing-pin cocked, the breech opened, and the spent
cartridge extracted.
In order that our said invention may be clearly understood we will now proceed
to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein,
Figure 1 is a rear view of a quick-firing gun with breech-mechanism according
to our invention applied thereto, and the breech closed.
Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the linea of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing the breech open.
Figure 4 is an elevation of a detail of the preceding figures, which is hereinafter
particularly described.
Figure 5 is a plan of the detail illustrated in Figure 4.
Figure 6 is a view of the said detail turned at right angles to the position in
which it is shown in Figure 4.
Figures 7 and 8 are views of other details of Figures 1, 2 and 3.
Figure 9 is a rear view of a quick-firing gun fitted with an alternative arrange-
ment of certain portions of the breech-mechanism according to our invention.
Like reference-letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
B is the
With reference first to Figures 1 to 8, A is the breech of the gun.
breech-block. A¹ is a breech-aperture or chamber which extends through one side
of the gun, as shown. A² is the charge chamber which opens into the said
aperture. Upon the rear face of the breech is a grooved projection A³, and on
the rear face of the breech-block is a segmental projection B' and a plate C; the
latter is secured in place by bolts C₁ and provided with an arm (2 by which
the breech-block is pivoted to the breech, so as to move laterally into and out of the
aperture A. A pin C³ fixed to the arm C² enters a hole A' in the breech and
constitutes the pivot about which the block turns.
The said breech-aperture is circular on the left hand side and this circular
portion merges into curved upper and lower surfaces concentric with the said
hole A and extending to the opening in the side of the gun.
In the projection A³ a groove is provided, the portion A' of which is concentric
with the bore of the gun, the continuation A of the groove being inclined towards
the axis of the said bore. The object of the said projection will be hereinafter

page_text: explained. The pivot C³ is below and to one side of the centre of the gun, as
shown, so that when the breech is closed the block occupies a position in which its
weight tends to retain it. To support the block, when closed, against the pressure
tending to force it away from the breech, we form the entire surface of the breech
chamber or aperture A with ribs A7 and grooves A8, and we form similar ribs B²
and grooves B³ on the inner side and upper and lower surfaces of the block to
engage with those of the breech chamber. To prevent inconvenience from the
accumulation of dust or other foreign matter we make the grooves in the chamber
slightly deeper than the ribs on the block.
The aperture A' and the block B are of such a shape that when the breech is
closed the aperture is completely filled by the block, the ribbed and grooved
surfaces of which are then forced into contact with the ribbed and grooved interior
of the said aperture. The said ribs A' and grooves A are inclined towards the
powder-chamber so that as the breech-block moves into position to close the breech
it is forced towards the said chamber to bear against the base of the cartridge
therein.
B is a toe upon the breech-block adapted to bear against the under side of the
gun when the breech is open, so that the outward movement of the block is limited;
the said toe is provided upon its inner face with a cam surface or incline B*, shown
in Figure 8, to operate an extractor, as hereinafter explained.
A portion B of the front surface of the block is bevelled or inclined in such a
manner that when a cartridge is inserted in the charge chamber A2 and the block
is operated to close the breech, the said inclined surface, acting on the base of the
said cartridge, will force the same securely home in the gun.
C is a hook formed upon the arm C2. D is a spring fixed at one end to the
breech and provided at the other end with a hook D₁; E is a short chain which
connects the hooks C and D¹. The spring D partially counterbalances the weight
of the block B.
A semi-circular gap C' is provided in the plate C as shown. F is a disc pivoted
to the breech-block 13 in the following manner :-It is provided with a circular
flange which is received in a groove G formed in the edge of the plate C and
projection B', and it bears against a projection B on the breech-block; by these
arrangements the disc is adapted to be easily turned in its place in the breech-
block as hereinafter set forth.
Two arins F2 and F3 are provided upon the said disc. F is a handle provided
upon the arm F2; F is a roller arranged to turn upon a suitable stud F on the
arm F3. The roller F is adapted to enter the groove in the projection A³ which
acts to guide it, for a purpose hereinafter explained. For the grooved projection A³
any other suitable guiding device can be substituted, if desired.
F7 is a segmental groove provided in the inner face of the arm F³; the portion F8
see Figures 4 to 6 of the said groove is inclined as shown to act as a cam, for the
operation of a cocking-lever, as hereinafter set forth. F is a segmental projection
provided upon the inner face of the disc F and free to move within the limits of a
gap B formed in the block.
H is the firing-pin, which is arranged to move endwise in a cavity in the breech-
block. is the firing-spring, coiled around the firing-pin, and bearing at one end
against a plug J which closes the rear end of the cavity, and bearing at the other
end against a shoulder formed by the enlargement H' on the pin. The said
enlargement is provided with a notch H2, and at the rear end of the pin is a slot H³.
K is a cocking-lever, pivoted in the breech-block. One end K¹ of the said lever
enters the slot H³ in the rear end of the firing pin. The other end, K², enters the
aforesaid groove F7 in the arm F³.
L is a detent, pivoted in the plug J and situated in the cavity through which the
firing pin passes. The claw L thereon is adapted to engage with the notch H2 in
the firing pin, and is kept against the said enlargement H by the spring L².
M M° are rods, in line with each other when the breech is closed; the part Mo
being arranged to slide in the breech-block and to bear against one end of the

page_text: detent L, the part M being adapted to move endwise in a hole in the breech. The
said rods act to operate the said detent against the resistance of the spring L².
N is a bell-crank lever, pivoted to the breech, and provided with an eye N¹ to
receive a lanyard, by which the said bell-crank lever can be caused to operate the
rods M Mº.
O is a spring, placed in a cavity in the breech, to act upon the head M' of the
rod M to keep it in engagement with the bell-crank lever N.
P is a detent pivoted by the pin P' to the breech block. The said detent is
adapted to engage with the aforesaid projection F' on the disc F. P' is an exten-
sion upon the said detent adapted to enter a groove A¹0 in the breech and to bear
against a stop A" therein. Qis a lug on the block and P³ a spring secured to the
detent P and bearing upon the lug Q, so as to tend always to force the said detent
towards the disc F.
R. is an extractor which has two arms R' and which turns about the pivot pin S
in the breech; the arms R' extend into the proper position to engage with the
rim of a cartridge in the charge chamber, and are suitably formed for that
purpose. T is a lever (shown separately in Figure 7) which is pivoted upon
the pivot pin T in a channel in the breech. The upper end T2 of the said lever
enters a recess R2 in the lower of the two arms R' of the extractor. The
lower end T³ of the said lever lies in the path of the toe B₁ and of the cam
surface B* on the breech block, by which it is operated. As an alternative
the extractor R can be dispensed with, and the upper end of the lever T suitably
formed to engage with the rim of a cartridge in the chamber, and to operate
directly thereon.
The operation of the apparatus illustrated in Figures 1 to 8 will now be
described-Starting with the parts in the position in which they are indicated in
Figure 1, to open the breech the disc is turned by means of the handle F4,
which is pulled in the direction indicated by the arrow, in Figure 1. In the first
part of this movement of the disc, the roller F³ moves in the portion A³ of
the groove in the projection A³, which portion is concentric with the bore of the
gun, and the firing pin H is drawn back for a short distance, clear of the cartridge,
by the action of the cam-surface F8 of the groove F7 on the end K2 of the cocking
lever K. During this operation the arm F2 has moved about the central pivot
independently of, and without moving the block.
Next, the side of the portion A of the groove in the projection A³ acts upon
the roller F on the arm F³, so that the said arm exerts a considerable thrust upon
the breech-block, and starts the said block slowly into motion about the pivot C³,
and the cam surface F8 completes the rearward movement of the firing-pin so that
the notch H² therein is engaged by the claw L' of the detent L. Thenceforward,
the pull on the handle F4 being maintained, the arm and block move together in the
opening of the breech, about the pivot C³ of the block. As the roller F³ leaves
the projection A³ the segmental projection F is engaged by the detent P and
simultaneously comes into contact with the lower end of the gap B' against which
it bears whilst the breech block is turned as aforesaid by the handle Fabout the
pivot C³ into the position in which it is indicated in Figure 2. The movement
of the block in opening the breech is checked, for the prevention of unnecessary
shock, by the pull exerted by the spring D upon the hook C4 through the medium
of the chain E, and is stopped by contact of the toe B₁ with the underside of the
gun as shown in Figure 2.
During the opening of the breech the cam surface B* on the toe B* operates the
lever T, which in turn operates the extractor R to cause the arms R¹ to eject
the empty case from the chamber.
The breech is closed by returning the breech-block B to its original position by..
means of the handle F; the spring D acts to facilitate the return. The arm F2
carrying the handle F is prevented from turning relatively to the block during
the first portion of the return movement of the latter, by the engagement of the
detent P with the projection F as aforesaid, but, as the roller on the end of

page_text: the arm F3 approaches the projection A³ on the breech, the pawl is caused, by
the contact of the stop A" with the extension P, to release the disc F, by
moving out of engagement with the segmental projection F. The disc F, thus
released, is turned by the handle F* so that the block, owing to the action of the
roller Fs on the side of the portion A of the groove in the projection A³, is
drawn slowly and with considerable force into the position in which it closes the
breech. The breech when closed, is locked by the engagement of the roller F
with the portion A of the said groove, and cannot be re-opened until the dis-
engagement of the said roller therefrom is effected. Until the roller F5 arrives
near the bottom or closed end of the said portion A³ of the groove, the cocking-
lever is held by the cam surface F8 of the disc so that the firing-pin, even if
released by the detent L, cannot be moved fully forward; but when the disc has
moved into the position in which the breech is locked as aforesaid, the cam-
surface clears the cocking-lever and the firing pin is free to move fully
forward when released by the detent L. The combination of the cocking-lever
with the firing-pin and with the cam-surface F8 thus forms a simple and efficient
safety-device.
In the modification of our improved apparatus illustrated in Figure 9 the
roller travels in a groove U, formed in the rear face of the breech. The
portions A and Aº of the said groove are similar to the portions indicated by the
same letters in Figures 1, 2 and 3, but the portion A is made to merge gradually
into a portion U' concentric with the pivot about which the breech-block turns.
The roller F is in the groove in all positions of the breech block, and the move-
ment of the disc is constrained thereby so that it is not able to move, relatively to
the block, during the first portion of the return movement of the latter. Thus
the portion U¹ of the groove acts to produce the same effect as the detent P and
projection F in Figures 1, 2 and 3.
Although we have herein before set forth certain methods in which our invention
may be advantageously carried into practice, we wish it to be clearly understood
that we do not limit ourselves to the methods thus exemplified, which may be varied
without departing from the nature of our said invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. In a quick-firing gun a breech-block which carries the firing pin and cocking
mechanism, and which in opening and closing the breech turns transversely to
the axis of the gun about a pivot not concentric with the said axis, for the purpose
specified.
2. A ribbed and grooved breech-block which carries the firing pin and cocking
mechanism, and which in opening and closing the breech moves in a plane trans-
verse to the axis of the gun, about a pivot not concentric with the said axis, into
and out of a ribbed and grooved breech-aperture extending to one side of the
weapon, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.
3. The combination, with such a breech-block, of a device rotatable therein,
provided with arms, one of which engages with guides in or upon the breech, sub-
stantially as herein before described, for the purposes specified.
4. The detent upon the breech-block in combination with means whereby the
said detent is engaged with, and disengaged from, the device which is rotatable in
the said breech block, substantially as described, for the purposes specified.
5. The combination, with the said rotatable device, of a firing pin and a safety
cocking-device, substantially as herein before described and for the purposes
specified.
6. The extractor, in combination with the means for operating the same, sub-
stantially as herein before described.
7. The combination of the breech-block and counterbalancing appliance therefor,
substantially as hereinbefore described for the purpose specified.

page_text: 8. A gun provided with breech-mechanism substantially such as that herein
described with reference to Figures 1 to 8 or to Figure 9 of the accompanying
drawings, for the purposes specified.
Dated this 25th day of February 1893.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.