CERTAIN NEW AND USEFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN GUNS, CARTRIDGES, AND PROJECTILES
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henri Adrien Bonneville, of the British and Foreign
Patent Offices, 18, Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, France, and 5, Piccadilly,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "CERTAIN NEW
AND USEFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN GUNS, CARTRIDGES, AND PROJECTILES." A
communication from Willard Brigham Farwell and Stephen Greely Clarke,
two persons resident, the first in the City, County, and State of New York,
and the second at Tenafly, County of Bergen, and State of New Jersey, both
in the United States of America.
Sealed the 24th February 1880, and dated the 28th August 1879.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henri Adrien Bonneville at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th August 1879:
"
HENRI ADRIEN BONNEVILLE, of the British and Foreign Patent Offices, 18, Rue
de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, France, and 5, Piccadilly, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent. "CERTAIN NEW AND USEFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN GUNS.
CARTRIDGES, AND PROJECTILES.” A communication from Willard Brigham Farwell
and Stephen Greely Clarke, two persons resident, the first in the City, County,
and State of New York, and the second at Tenafly, County of Bergen, and State of
New Jersey, both in the United States of America.
The improvements relate more particularly to that class of guns known as
breech-loading battery guns in which cartridges are placed in a hopper and auto-
matically brought into proper position in the breech of the gun and exploded, and
the shells ejected in regular succession by appropriate mechanism, and to cartridges
and projectiles for such guns.
In the Drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved gun mounted upon a
carriage; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the breech of the gun upon a larger scale;
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of the breech with the same open; Fig. 4
is a similar section with the breech closed and the lock in the act of exploding the
cartridge, and in this Figure is shown a longitudinal vertical section of the cartridge
and projectile constructed in accordance with the Invention; Fig. 5 is a vertical
transverse section at the line x, x, in Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is a similar section at the
line y, y; Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of one of the cartridges and its projectile,
drawn upon an enlarged scale to show the details of construction; Fig. 8 is a
longitudinal section of the cartridge head before the cartridge shell is put in; and
Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section of one of the projectiles constructed in a somewhat
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page_text: different manner; Fig. 10 is a sectional view of one of the projectiles having a
different device for a percussion fuse, designed to produce an explosion of fulminate
and consequent bursting of the shell by the direct impact of the projectile without
the intermediation of a hammer carrying a firing pin and controlled by a detent.
A is the barrel of the gun constructed in the usual form, and made in one piece
This breech-piece
with the breech-piece B or screwed into the forward end of it.
is chambered out to receive the mechanism for loading and firing. C is the breech-
block which is fitted accurately to a recess cut at the rear end of the barrel. This
breach-block is mounted upon a carriage D having a longitudinal movement a
little more than equal to the length of a loaded cartridge. E is a locking slide
moving vertically in a recess cut in the breech-piece immediately in the rear of the
breech-block chamber.
The apparatus for loading and firing is driven by the hand-lever Facting through
the pinions G, H, and I and the cam J. The lever F is an ordinary pump-handle
lever pivoted to the breech-piece at K, and having its forward end constructed in
the form of a toothed sector as shown at I, which engages with the pinion G.
The pinions H, H, and I, and the cam J are keyed to the same shaft as G and
.revolve with it upon the movement of the lever F.
=
The apparatus for feeding the cartridges into the breech-piece is best shown in
Figs. 2, 5, and 6. O is a hopper or magazine in which the cartridges are stored;
P is a feed-jaw having a transverse horizontal motion in guides; J is a cam keyed
to the shaft driven by the pinion G; R is a lever pivoted to the breech-piece at S.
and to the feed-jaw at T, with a pin working in a slotted hole. This lever carries a
pin U which runs in the groove of the cam J so that the revolution of the camı
imparts a transverse motion to the feed-jaw. In the position shown in Fig. 6 the
broad horizontal surface of the feed jaw supports the cartridges in the magazine,
but when it is retracted sufficient space is left for a cartridge to drop down in front
of the perpendicular face of the jaw where it is thrust sidewise into the breech
upon the forward movement of the jaw.
The breech-block carriage D has a longitudinal rack attached to its lower surface
in proper position for the pinion I to engage with it, and the locking slide E is also
fitted with vertical racks for the pinions H, H. The teeth on these pinions I and
H; H, are however cut away upon part of their circumferences, so that during a
part of their revolution they do not engage with their respective racks but pass
over them, and the toothed and blank parts are adjusted in such a manner that
there is no simultaneous movement of the feed jaw, the breech-block, and the
locking pin, but their movements are successive; that is to say, the feed jaw first
advances and places a cartridge in front of the breech-block, the carriage then
moves forward and drives the cartridge home, and the locking slide then moves up
behind the breech-block. The parts are successively returned to their former
position in the inverse order.
The extractor consists of a recess R cut in the carriage just in front of the breech-
block, into which the flange of the cartridge fits. The empty shell when extracted
is ejected through an opening in the side of the breech-piece by the next cartridge
as it is pushed sidewise by the feed jaw.
The lock is best shown in Fig. 4. V is a hammer pivoted to the locking pin and
impelled by a common mainspring. X is a dog pivoted to the lower end of the
hammer. Y and Z are firing pins inserted in the locking pin and the breech-pin,
and held back by detent springs. They are held in place by transverse pins
passing through slots as shown in the Drawing, and are so arranged as to be in
line with each other and with the cartridge primer when the locking slido is driven
home.
A is a horizontal pin running transversely through the breech-piece in such a
position that when the locking slide ascends and carries with it the hammer, the
dog x engages with A' and raises the hammer until the locking slide is driven
completely home when the dog slips off from the pin and allows the hammer to fall
and explode the cartridge.

page_text: In order to prevent the recoil of the carriage the device shown in Fig. 1 is employed.
B₁, B', are chains having hooks to attach to the rim of the wheel as shown in
Drawing. These chains are hooked at their other ends over a pin carried by an
eccentric C pivoted to the tail-piece. D¹ is a lever for turning the eccentric.
The chains are hooked on as tightly as practicable when the lever is in its
forward position, and are then strained as taut as is desirable by pulling the lever
back. The pin carrying the chains is inserted in the eccentric below the centre
when in the backward position, so that no 'locking device for the lever is necessary.
The improvements in the cartridge relate principally to the construction of the
head and the primer. The head is made in one solid piece of any suitable metal,
preferably brass or iron. It has the ordinary flange a, a, and perpendicular to the
inside surface of the head are two annular flanges b, b, and c, c, separated from each
other by a narrow annular space. The outside flange b, b, is made of the uniform
diameter of the cartridge on its outside surface, but on the inside it is tapered
from the base so as to form an edge at the top. The shell d, d, is made in the
usual manner, but preferably in what is known as the "ribbon" form, and at the
base it is contracted so as to fit the inside surface of the flange b, b. The lower
edge is also turned in so as to fit into the space between the flanges b, b, and c, c.
The shell is placed in position in the head, and the flange c, c, swaged over upon
the turned-in edge of the shell, as shown in Fig. 7, with a suitable tool. This
makes a very tight and effective joint as all pressure from within tends only to
close it
up.
The primer F is screwed from the inside into a hole drilled in the centre of the
head; it is made in the form of a plug, and its rear end is cut down so that it
is slightly smaller than the surrounding hole, and it is made of convenient size and
shape to receive an ordinary percussion cap. A hole is drilled longitudinally from
the rear end of the primer, part of the way through it, and from the front-
end of this hole the end of the primer is made in a conical form, and is divided
longitudinally into four parts by two slits cut at right angles to each other, as
shown at g. These divisions of the cone are cut away and inade flexible at their
bases, as shown in the Drawing, so that any pressure of gas from the inside of the
cartridge immediately closes them together and prevents any back flow of gas.
It is obvious that this cone may be carried as far forward in the cartridge as is
desired so as to communicate fire to the charge well forward. It is also obvious
that cartridges made in this way may be used an indefinite number of times by
merely refilling them with powder, and placing a fresh cap upon the primer. They
are also safer to transport as the cap need not be applied until the cartridge is
needed for use.
The projectile is best shown in Fig. 7 and 9. It is constructed in the usual
conical form, and is made hollow to receive a charge of powder and a percussion
fuse. The body of the projectile is cast with several grooves upon its interior
surface as shown at h, crossing each, other at right angles in order to insure its
bursting into many fragments. The front end is solid, but the rear end is open to
receive a base plug k which has a flange overlapping the rear end of the projectile,
as shown in the Drawings. At a shoulder is formed upon the exterior surface of
the projectile, and rings m, m, m, of brass or other suitable material to take in the
rifling of the barrel are slipped over the base of the projectile up to the shoulder.
These rings are of somewhat greater diameter than the forward end of the projectile
itself, and are separated from each other by washers n, n, of about the same
diameter as the forward end of the projectile. The washer o is of sufficient
thickness to fill up the space between the last ring and the flange of the base plug,
and all are held firmly in position by screwing home the base plug. The percussion
fuse is contained in a hollow cylinder p made in one piece with the fuse plug.
Into the forward end of this cylinder is screwed a plug having a chamber for
fulminate and for more ready penetration into the powder, the end of the plug is
made conical. Holes are drilled into the fulminate chamber from the outside of
the cylinder so that the fire from the fulminate may be communicated to the charge

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in the projectile. The plungers is made of considerable weight, it fits loosely
inside of the cylinder 2? and terminates in a point toward the fulminate chamber;
g is a spring or a detent made of soft wire bearing upon the plunger 8 and retaining
it upon ordinary occasions from contact with the fulminate. This percussion fuse
may easily be constructed upon a plug screwed into the front end of the projectile,
as shown in Fig. 9, by reversing the position of some of the parts the rings in
such case being shrunk in over the forward end of the projectile, as shown in
Fig. 9.
Another mode of construction and application of a percussion fuse to the projectile
is shown in Fig. 10. The fuse case A³ is in this instance screwed into the forward
end of the projectile. It is a hollow cylinder bored through from end to end, and
having a screw plug B2 with a point projecting from its inner end upon which the
fulminate F is driven and exploded. Holes are drilled at right angles with each
other through the inner end of the fuse case and just below the line of the point of
the screw plug, by means of which, when the fulminate is exploded, the fuse is
communicated to the powder in the interior of the projectile, and the bursting
thereupon takes place. A plug C2 having a cap D carrying the fulminate F
screwed into its inner end is seated into the forward end of the fuse case. It
carries a collar E2 which is threaded, and by means of which it is screwed into the
forward end of the fuse case. The end of the plug projects about three-sixteenths
of an inch beyond the forward end of the fuse case, and for convenience in putting
the plug in and taking it out a milled collar is left at the end so that it may be
conveniently screwed in and out with the finger unaided by any tool.
The impact of the projectile on striking any object drives the plug C³ into the
fuse case, shearing off the collar E and striking the fulminate into the pointed
screw plug B2 explodes the same and bursting the shell in the manner already
described. The fulminate F is confined in the cap D3 by being enclosed inside a
cup formed by boring into the cap D2, the end of which is turned or crimped over
on to the fulminate, thus preventing it from being thrown out at the moment of
discharge.
By this device for a percussion fuse it is evident that the maximum of safety is
reached in the construction, manipulation, and transportation of explosive percussion
projectiles, for the plug carrying the fulminate can at any moment be removed
from the fuse case, and the fulminate cap taken out to be replaced again at pleasure
without disturbing the powder in the shell. Moreover the collar E2 can be made
of sufficient, thickness and strength to resist breakage or shearing away from the
accidental dropping of a loaded shell or an accidental blow, no matter how heavy
the projectile, the impact of the shot on being fired against any object always
being of sufficient force to shear away the, collar and explode the fulminate. All
the parts of the fuse are thus firmly fixed and cannot be disturbed from any cause
but one, and can only be brought into operation at the moment of impact.
The operation of the gun is as follows:-After a cartridge has been fired, and when
the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 6 and 9, upon raising the lever F the
pinions G, H, H, and I, are revolved, and the locking slide Ę is lowered until it is
clear of the breech-block C, and the dog X rises and passes over the pin A' and
drops into place again. The carriage D is then retracted and carries with it the
breech block which draws out the exploded cartridge shell, the flange of which is
held in the recess R. The feed jaw P is then retracted by the cam J and lever R
until a cartridge from the hopper O drops down in front of the vertical face of the
feed jaw. Upon depressing the lever F the parts are moved in the reverse order.
The feed jaw P is first advanced and thrusts the cartridge in front of it sidewise
into the breech-block and ejects the 'shell of the exploded cartridge which falls out
upon the other side of the gun. The teeth of the pinion I then engage with the
rack on the carriage D and drive the breech-block forward into its recess, and the
cartridge is thrust into the rear end of the barrel. The pinion I now presents a
blank space to its rack, and the pinions H, H, engage with their racks, and the
locking slide E moves up behind the breech-block into the recess M. As the locking

page_text: pin rises the dog X engages with the pin A¹ and raises the hammer V until the
locking slide is home, when the dog passes the pin A' the hammer falls and acting
through the firing pins Y and Z explodes the cap on the nipplé f. The fire passes
through the hole in the primer and through the slitted cone and explodes the
charge when the gases pressing upon the divisions of the slitted cone drive them
together and all backward flow of gas is effectually checked.
It is obvious that guns of this type may be constructed with two barrels, by
placing the hopper and feeding mechanism between the barrels.
The feed jaw inay
in such case have a vertical face upon each lateral edge and be so arranged as to
feed from the same hopper to both barrels alternately.
The mode of operation of the percussion projectile and of the device for locking
the wheels of the carriage is too obvious to need more detailed description.
It is well known that guns have been heretofore constructed in various forms in
which the mechanism for introducing the cartridge, locking the breech-block, and
firing the cartridge, has been made to work automatically, and no claim is made for
such automatic loading and firing irrespective of the particular devices employed.
It is also well known that chains with hooks have been hitherto employed for the
purpose of locking the wheels of a gun carriage, and no claim is made to such use
of chains and hooks irrespective of the particular device hereinbefore set forth for
keeping them tight.
It is also well known that metallic cartridges with a flanged head have heretofore
been constructed in a variety of ways, and especially by forming the head out of a
number of pieces rivetted together, and that primers and gas checks of various
forms have been used in connection with such cartridges, and no claim is made to
have invented such cartridges, primers, or gas checks, irrespective of any particular
devices, nor to have invented conical projectiles with rings of soft metal to engage
with the rifling of the barrel or such projectiles when fitted with an apparatus for
exploding them by percussion.
But having described the Invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure
by Letters Patent is,―
1. The combination in a gun of the lever F and the pinions G, H, H, and I, with
the breech-block and reciprocating carriage D, having a rack attached to its lower
surface, and the locking slide E fitted with racks on its forward surface, substan-
tially as described and for the purposes set forth.
2. The pinions H, H, and I, and the cam J fixed to the same shaft in combina-
tion with the reciprocating carriage D fitted with a rack and carrying the breech-
block C, the reciprocating racks and locking slide E, the lever R and the feed jaw P,
substantially as described and for the purposes set. forth.
3. The lever F, the pinion G, and the cam J, affixed to the same shaft as said
pinion in combination with the lever R and the feed jaw P, substantially as
described and for the purposes set forth.
4. The combination of the cam J, the lever R, and the feed jaw P, substantially
as described and for the purposes set forth.
5. The combination in a gun of a magazine for cartridges with a transversely
reciprocating feed jaw, having a broad horizontal surface to support the cartridges
in said magazine and a vertical surface to feed the same to the gun, substantially
as described and for the purposes set forth.
6. The combination in a gun of a feed jaw, a breech-block carriage, and a
locking pin, having successive reciprocating movements, substantially as described
and for the purposes set forth.
7. The chains and hooks B', B', the eccentric C', and the lever D₁, in combination
with a wheel and trail-piece of a gun carriage, substantially as described and for
the purposes set forth.
8. The combination in a cartridge of the shell d, having its rear edge turned in,
with a solid metallic head having an outer and inner annular flange, the said inner
flange being turned over upon the edge of said shell, substantially as described
and for the purposes set forth.

page_text: I
9. The combination of a cartridge head with a gun nipple countersunk therein,
substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.
10. The combination of a cartridge head with a slitted cone inside of the same
and connected with the primer, the said cone being cut away at its base, substan-
tially as described and for the purposes set forth.
11. The combination with a conical projectile of the rings m; m, the washers n, n,
and 0, and a flanged base plug, the said flange overlapping said washer o, substan-
tially as described and for the purposes set forth.
12. A percussion fuse for a projectile consisting of a plug & inserted either in the
base or in the apex of the projectile and carrying a tubular extension enclosing a
plunger and fulminate, substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.
13. The combination in a projectile of the plunger & and the detent q with a
perforated chamber in front of said plunger, the whole being enclosed in the hollow
cylinder p, substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.
14. An explosive projectile having deep grooves crossing each other upon its
inner surface, substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.
15. In an explosive projectile a percussion fuse case seated in the same, carrying
a hammer with fulminate so confined by a flange or other device as to be impelled
against a firing pin only by a heavy blow sufficient to break away the flange or
other confining device, and to drive it against such firing pin, substantially as
described.
16. The combination in a percussion fuse of a fuse case as A³, the firing pin B²,
with the hammer plug C, having a threaded collar E2, or other similar confining
device, and the fulminato cap D holding the fulminate F%, substantially as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, have hereunto set my
band and seal, this Twenty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
H. BONNEVILLE. (L.S.