IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING ORDNANCE AND PROJECTILES."
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jacob Snider, junior, of Great Carter Lane, in the
City of London, Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING ORDNANCE AND PROJECTILES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jacob Snider at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 7th April
1864.
I, JACOB SNIDER, junior, of Great Carter Lane, in the City of London,
Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING ORDNANCE AND PROJECTILES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in the details of an Invention for
which Letters Patent were granted to me bearing late September 1st, 1863,
No. 2156.
My present Invention consists, first, in cutting the hole to receive the
movable breech piece or block, I do not slope off or display its edges or face
at the outer surface or body of the gun, as described in the Specification of my
Patent of September 1st, 1863, No. 2156, before referred to, but in other
respects the said hole or receptacle is as therein described.
The breech piece or block described in the Specification of the aforesaid
Letters Patent may in this my present Invention. have its upper portion
dispensed with in order to reduce the weight of the movable breech piece or
breech block, and render it easier to manipulate or work. I do not alter the

page_text: vertical front face nor the rear angular face of the movable breech piece or
block, nor change its method of action when manipulating to work the breech
apparatus, but I apply a different mechanism to that described in the Specifi-
cation of my Patent dated September 1st, 1863, No. 2156, to attain the same
end or object, and a mechanism better adapted, more especially to the largest
ordnance, that is to say, to cause the breech block to retire from the barrel
face bore of the gun simultaneously with its being lifted out of its receptacle
in the body of the gun.
The second part of my Invention consists in certain arrangements of
mechanism hereafter described for opening and closing the breech block.
I pass a solid arm or axle through the rear part of the gun, and through a hole
or receptacle in the breech block. The opposite end of this arm or axle rests
in a receptacle in the solid body of the gun forward of the breech block. This
axle has its largest diameter at its rear end, where it rests in the body of the
gun in the rear of the breech opening, and its smallest diameter is at its
forward end, which rests in the body of the gun forward of the breech block,
while the intermediate portion which fills the receptacle for the said axle in
the breech block is eccentric to its axis, it having its hole concentric to its.
axis. The larger diameter portion has cut upon it a male screw thread of
such spiral as shall be equivalent to the angle of the rear face of the breech
block. The eccentric portion of the said axle contains a slot or groove on its
face parallel to its axis, which bites or takes hold of a ridge or lump provided
in the hole or receptacle for the axle in the breech block. The breech block
is then attached to this axle by means of a screw or screws or other fastening.
'The female screw into which the male screw on the axle works is cut inside a
cylinder, which is secured firmly in the solid of the gun rear of the breech
block. In small ordnance I dispense with a full spiral or male screw on the
axle, and also with the cylinder to receive the said screw; I merely cut an
angular groove in the axle, and let a pin into it through the body of the gun,
so that in turning the axle the angular groove on it will impinge on the pin
and back the breech block as it is lifted. It will thus be perceived that one
simple turn of the handle (to be provided on the projecting end of said 'axle
at the rear of the gun) of less than one-fourth the circumference, the breech
block will be lifted and the gun made ready to load; and a reverse one simple
move of less than a quarter turn of the axle will close the bore for firing,
while at the same time the breech block will be lifted and simultaneously
cause its forward vertical face to be freed from the barrel face, and from the
face of the gas check in manner and for the purposes set forth in the Specifi-
cation of my Patent dated September 1st, 1863, No. 2156.

page_text: The third part of my Invention consists of an improved "gas check," in
order to avoid lodgement of fire in the chamber or bore of the gun from debris
of a cartridge after discharge. This consists in giving a closer fit than has
been heretofore done to the forward face of the "gas check" in its bearing of
its forward face or edge in the recess provided for it in the bore of the gun,
and to cause it still to recede against the face of the breech block on explosion
of the powder charge I curve out or otherwise shape a portion of its interior
annular face in such manner as to leave all around the interior face a recess
or cavity, so that on explosion of the powder charge the "gas check" will not
only be driven back to close the breech joint, but any deposit of ignited debris
from the cartridge envelope remaining in the chamber or bore will be
prevented.
The fourth part of my Invention is as follows:-The bolt provided for in
the Specification of my Patent of September 1st, 1863, No. 2156, in larger
sized ordinance I make to pass entirely over and across the top edge of the
breech block, as now here described as a part of my improvement, and to have
its forward end to enter a hole to receive it in the solid of the gun, in which
case it would not be self-locking or latching.
The fifth part of my Invention is as follows:-In order to prevent the shock
of the explosion affecting injuriously the adjustment or working of the breech
block or the axle, or its fastenings, I make both the screw or fastening by
which it is attached to the breech block and the face of the eccentric, and also
the slot in the axle which covers or bites on and forms the leverage by which
the breech block is mainly lifted, to have a little play, the said play of the
5 screw or fastening, and on the eccentric, being proportioned the one to the
other, so that when the axle is turned the screw will function to cause tho
breech block to recede precisely simultaneously with the eccentric bearing on
and lifting the breech block.
The sixth part of my Invention is as follows:-I cover the opening for the
breech block in the solid outer surface of the gun with a copper or other
suitable metal lid, hinged to the gun, so that when the breech block rises the
cover of the lid will lift, and as the breech block descends or closes it will fall
shut; or this lid or cover may be operated to open and shut by an attachment
to the top edge of the breech block, and when the gun is not in use it may be
5 fastened by a latch or otherwise.
The seventh part of my Invention is as follows:-In addition to my Inven-
tion of improvements on projectiles destined to be used in rifled cannon, as set
forth in the Specification of my Patent dated September 1st, 1868, No. 2156,
I cut grooves into the projectile along that portion of its flanges when most

page_text: impinges on the riflings in the bore of the gun, and into these grooves
I compress a composition made of any suitable material which shall form
simply a medium or vehicle to mix with and retain or convey amorphose
graphite in a densely compressed form, and to hold the said amorphose
graphite firmly in place in the grooves, and so that the said compressed
amorphose graphitic composition will have a face very slightly elevated above
the metal surface of the body of the shot or projectile, so that I not only
prevent the projectile from too violently bearing or frictioning on the bore of
the gun, but provide also a highly anti-attrition substance to serve to reduce
friction, and serve as a lubricant in propelling projectiles from cannon.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Jacob Snider in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
7th October 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JACOB
SNIDER, junior, of Great Carter Lane, in the City of London, Merchant,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Jacob Snider, junior, Her special licence that I, the said Jacob
Snider, junior, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Jacob Snider, junior, 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 "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING ORDNANCE AND PROJECTILES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Jacob Snider, junior, 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 Jacob Snider, junior, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is

page_text: to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-
My present Invention relates to improvements in the details of an Invention
for which Letters Patent were granted to me, bearing date September 1st,
1868, No. 2156, and it consists,-
First, in cutting the hole to receive the movable breech piece or block
I do not slope off or display its edges or face at the outer surface or body of
the gun, as described in the Specification of my Patent of September 1st, 1863,
No. 2156, before referred to, but in other respects the said hole or receptacle
is as therein described.
The breech piece or block described in the Specification of the aforesaid
Letters Patent may, in this my present Invention, have its upper portion
dispensed with in order to reduce the weight of the movable breech piece or
breech block, and render it easier to manipulate or work. I do not alter the
vertical front face nor the rear angular face of the movable breech piece or
block, nor change its method of action when manipulating to work the breech
apparatus, but I apply a different mechanism to that described in the Specifi-
cation of my Patent dated September 1st, 1863, No. 2156, to attain the same
end or object, and a mechanism better adapted more especially to the largest
ordnance, that is to say, to cause the breech block to retire from the barrel,
face, or bore of the gun simultaneously with its being lifted out of its receptacle
in the body of the gun.
The second part of my Invention consists in certain arrangements of
mechanism, hereafter described, for opening and closing the breech block.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a rear end view; Figure 2 is a
longitudinal section through the line a, b, c, d, of Figure 1; and Figure 3, a
vertical section through the line e, f, of Figure 2, of a breech-loading gun or
piece of ordnance constructed according to my Invention; and Figure 4 is a
top view or plan of the same. Similar letters of reference indicate like parts
in all the Figures. I pass a solid arm or axle g through the rear part of the
gun h and through a hole or receptacle in the breech block m. The opposite
end of this arm or axle g rests in a receptacle in the solid body of the gun
forward of the breech block. This axle g has its largest diameter at its rear
end, where it rests in the body of the gun in the rear of the breech opening,
and its smallest diameter is at its forward end, which rests in the body of the
gun forward of the breech block, while the intermediate portion i which fills
the receptacle for the said axle in the breech block is eccentric to its axis.
The larger diameter portion has cut upon it a male screw thread k of such

page_text: spiral as shall be equivalent to the angle of the rear face of the breech block.
The eccentric portion i of the said axle contains a slot or groove on its face
parallel to its axis, which bites or takes hold of a ridge or lump provided in
the hole or receptacle for the axle in the breech block m; the breech block m
is then attached to this axle by means of a screw or screws n or other fasten-
ing. The female screw into which the male screw on the axle works is cut
inside a cylinder o, which is secured firmly in the solid of the gun rear of the
breech block. In small ordnance I dispense with a full spiral or male screw
on the axle, and also with the cylinder to receive the said screw; I merely cut
an angular groove in the axle and let a pin into it through the body of the
gun, so that in turning the axle the angular groove on it will impinge on the
pin and back the breech block as it is lifted. It will thus be perceived that
by giving the axle one simple turn of less than one-fourth of the circum-
ference, the block m will be lifted as shewn by the dotted lines in Figure 3,
and the gun made ready to load, and a reverse one simple move of less than
a quarter turn of the axle will close the bore for firing, as shewn by the full
lines in Figure 3, while at the same time the breech block will be lifted, and
simultaneously cause its forward vertical face to be freed from the barrel face
and from the face of the gas check, in manner and for the purposes set forth
in the Specification of my Patent dated September 1st, 1863, No. 2156. I
fit a handle t to the axle to facilitate the turning of the same.
The third part of my Invention consists of an improved gas check, shewn in
section and front elevation at Figure 5, in order to avoid lodgement of fire in
the chamber or bore of the gun from debris of a cartidge after discharge. This
consists in giving a closer fit than has been heretofore done to the forward
face of the gas check in its bearing of its forward face or edge in the recess
provided for it in the bore of the gun, and to cause it still to recede against
the face of the breech block on explosion of the powder charge; I curve out
or otherwise shape a portion of its interior annular face in such manner as
to leave all around the interior face a recess or cavity, so that on explosion of
the powder charge the gas check will not only be driven back to close the
breech joint, but any deposit of ignited debris from the cartridge envelope
remaining in the chamber or bore will be prevented.
The fourth part of my Invention is as follows:-The bolt o¹, Figure 3,
provided for in the Specification of my Patent of September 1st, 1863, No. 2156,
in larger sized ordnance, I make to pass entirely or partially over and across
the top edge of the breech block, as shewn in Figure 3, and this forms a part
of my improvement; its forward end enters a hole to receive it in the solid of
the gun, in which case it would not be self-locking or latching.

page_text: The fifth part of my Invention is as follows:-In order to prevent the shock
of the explosion affecting injuriously the adjustment or working of the breech
block, or the axle, or its fastenings, I make both the screw or fastening by
which it is attached to the breech block and the face of the eccentric, and also
the slot in the axle which covers or bites on and forms the leverage by which
the breech block is mainly lifted, to have a little play, the said play of the
screw, or fastening, and on the eccentric, being proportioned the one to the
other, so that when the axle is turned the screw will function to cause the
breech block to recede precisely simultaneously with the eccentric bearing on
and lifting the breech block.
The sixth part of my Invention is as follows:-I cover the opening for the
breech block in the solid outer surface of the gun with a copper or other
suitable metal lid or apron p, Figure 3, hinged to the gun, so that when the
breech block rises the cover of the lid will lift, and as the breech block
descends or closes it will fall shut, or this lid or cover may be operated to open
and shut by an attachment r fitted to the top edge of the breech block, and when
the gun is not in use it may be fastened by a latch or otherwise. The space
between the lid and the breech block is sometimes filled with a block of cork
or wood; q is an aperture formed through the lower portion of the gun extend-
ing from the base of the receptacle for the breech block to the lower surface
of the gun for the passage or escape from the said receptacle of dust or dirt
that might accumulate there by the continued opening and closing of the
breech block. I prefer to make this aperture somewhat conical, larger at
bottom than at its upper end, and as shewn in Figures 2 and 3. r¹, r', are
small studs inserted at the base of the aperture for the breech block, on
which the said block rests when closed for firing, as shewn in Figures 2
and 3.
The seventh part of my Invention is as follows:-In addition to my
Invention of improvements in projectiles destined to be used in rifled cannon,
as set forth in the Specification of my Patent dated September 1st, 1863,
No. 2156, I cut grooves into the projectile along that portion of its flanges
which most impinge on the riflings in the bore of the gun, and into these
grooves I compress a composition made of any suitable material which shall
form simply a medium or vehicle to mix with and retain or convey graphite
in a densely compressed form, and to hold the said graphite firmly in place in-
the grooves, and so that the said compressed graphitic composition will have a
face very slightly elevated above the metal surface of the body of the shot or
projectile, so that I not only prevent the projectile from too violently bearing
or frictioning on the bore of the gun, but provide also a highly anti-
:

page_text: attrition substance to serve to reduce friction and to aid in propelling projec-
tiles from cannon.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my "Improve-
ments in Breech-loading Ordnance and Projectiles,"-
First, the employment in breech-loading ordnance of a breech block for
closing the breech aperture, constructed substantially in manner herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Second, the improved axle and parts connected therewith for operating the
opening and closing of the breech block, substantially as berein-before described
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Third, the employment of a bolt or pin for securing the breech block in
position, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings.
Fourth, the method or methods, herein-before described, of causing the
breech block to recede, together with the arrangement or arrangements for
preventing the shock caused by the explosion of the charge from acting
injuriously on the parts of the gun, substantially in manner herein-before
described.
Fifth, the employment of covers or aprons for keeping dirt or grit from the
surface of the breech block, constructed and acting substantially in manner
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Sixth, the construction and employment of gas checks, substantially as
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Seventh, the application to or the employment of graphite or of a graphitic
composition to grooves formed on the surface of projectiles, substantially in
manner and for the purposes herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jacob Snider, junior, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventh day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
EDWP. G. BREWER.
JACOB SNIDER, JUNE. (L.S.)