IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES TO BE USED THEREWITH
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Isaac Hammond, of the City of Winchester, in the
County of Hants, Gun Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES TO BE USED THEREWITH."
Sealed the 8th July 1859, and dated the 26th January 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Isaac Hammond at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 26th,
January 1859.
I, ISAAC HAMMOND, of the City of Winchester, in the County of Hants,
Gun Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-'
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES TO BE USED THERE-
WITH," to be as follows:-
This Invention, so far as it relates to breech-loading fire-arms, consists
principally of a certain improvement in the construction of needle guns, and
of an improved method of constructing the self-acting extractor or instru-
ment, whereby the removal of the empty cartridge cases is effected after the
charge has been fired, these several improvements being applicable to those
fire-arms wherein the barrel is turned down from the breech upon a pin or
pivot in order to receive the charge.
The lock is chiefly constructed in the ordinary manner, the cock being;
however, furnished with a short pin adapted, when the cock descends, to pass
through an aperture in the stationary breech plate, striking upon a pin in the

page_text: centre of the rear end of the cartridge, and which pin is in connection with the
detonating composition, as herein-after mentioned, and thus causing the latter
to explode and ignite the powder.
The cartridge extractor consists of a metallic plate, one face of which is
connected with the barrels by means of short pins working in holes or sockets
drilled in the division between the barrels. At the bottom of the plate is
a small moveable stud or click acted upon by a suitable spring, the same being
so arranged as to work in a slot formed in the face of the stationary breech
plate when the barrels are being turned down for loading and when being
returned to the horizontal position after being charged, such slot being also
provided with a spring in the interior thereof. When the gun is to be loaded,
the extractor plate is freed from the stationary breech plate, and pressed home
to the ends of the barrels. The cartridges are then inserted in the barrels,
the ends thereof being partially held by the said metallic plate as by a collar.
The gun having been discharged, the barrels are again turned down, when the
stud at the bottom of the said metallic plate being held in the slot formed in
the breech plate, the same is drawn back from the barrels, bringing with it the
ends of the cartridge cases, which are then easily removed.
The cartridge, as constructed in accordance with this Invention, is intended
to be used in fire-arms of the needle lock description made with the improve-
ments herein-before mentioned. The case is constructed with a metallic cap
at the rear end thereof, in which a thick wad of felt or other suitable material
is placed, and through which the pin acting upon the detonating powder
passes.
The wad being held or confined within the cap of the cartridge case
remains together with the said pin after discharge has taken place, and being
compressed by the effect of the discharge, effectually prevents the escape of any
gas or other product arising from the combustion of the gunpowder into the
breech or lock.
It has been mentioned that in the fire-arms to which this Invention is
applicable the barrels are turned down upon a pin or pivot. In order to
afford additional security, and to prevent the possibility of the barrels being
moved or acted upon at that part during discharge, and also to relieve the
pressure upon the pin or pivot, a tumbler, placed in the face of the breech
plate and actuated by a lever, may be employed.
Double-barrelled fire-arms have been herein-before mentioned, but these
improvements are equally applicable to those with single barrels.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Isaac Hammond in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th July 1859..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ISAAC
HAMMOND, of the City of Winchester, in the County of Hants, Gun Maker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, and in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Isaac Hammond, Her special licence that I, the said Isaac
Hammond, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Isaac Hammond, 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
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES TO BE USED
THEREWITH, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Isaac
Hammond, my executors or adminitrators, 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 Isaac Hammoud, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to
the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-.
This Invention relates to certain improvements in breech-loading fire-arms,
such improvements being applicable to those fire-arms in which the needle
lock is employed, and wherein the barrels are turned down from the breech
upon a pin or pivot in order to receive the charge, and also to an improved
cartridge to be used with such fire-arms.
In the first place I will proceed to describe my Invention so far as it
relates to the construction of fire-arms, and which consists of the following

page_text: improvements-First, an improved combination of mechanism. connected
with the breech, and employed in and connected with the operation of firing;
second, an improved form of extractor for withdrawing the cartridge cases
from the barrels after the gun has been discharged; third, an improved
tumbler and lever connected with the breech, and employed for the purposes
herein-after mentioned.
First, the cock, which is in the ordinary form, is furnished with a pin fixed
on the inner side thereof, and working through a slot formed in the lock
plate. Inside the lock plate, and attached to the breech, is a swivelled pin,
which works through a hole drilled in the vertical portion of the stationary
breech plate, such hole coinciding with the axial line of the barrel. The
mode of action is as follows:-The cock being let down in the ordinary way
for firing, the pin affixed thereto and working through the slotted lock plate
strikes the swivelled pin, causing the same to pass through the before-
mentioned hole in the stationary breech plate, and impinging upon a pin fixed
in the rear end of the cartridge, as herein-after described, such last-mentioned
pin being in connection with the detonating composition in the cartridge,
which is thus caused to explode, the swivelled pin being drawn back by means
of a helical spring attached to the rear end thereof.
.
Another method of effecting the same object, and which in some cases I
prefer, is to dispense with the pin affixed to the cock as in the arrangement
last described, and to construct the tumbler of the cock so as to strike upon
the before-mentioned swivelled pin, pushing the same forward in a horizontal
position until it has struck the cartridge pin, when it is freed from the action
of the tumbler, and brought back by the helical spring, as before mentioned.
To the inner side of the strap of the stationary breech plate, and which is
fitted into the stock, a lever is attached, the same being placed in connection
with the swivelled pin before mentioned, the said last-mentioned lever being
acted upon by a lever attached to the plate behind the trigger guard in such a
manner that when the last-mentioned lever is grasped by the hand in the act
of firing, the lever affixed to the inner side of the strap of the breech plate is
pressed in and acts upon the swivelled pin, pressing it within range of the
tumbler of the lock, or towards the pin attached to the cock, according to the
method of construction employed, so that when the cock descends the pin is
pushed forward and strikes the cartridge pin. When the pressure is taken off
the trigger plate levers, the communication between the swivelled pin and the
tumbler of the cock is disconnected, so that the gun cannot be discharged
without the pressure being put on the levers. It is thus manifest that the

page_text: gun can be opened for loading without interfering with the lock or needles, or
the cock can be actuated in either direction, without interfering with the
arrangement for igniting the cartridge, and which is only brought into action
by the means aforesaid. For the purposes of explanation, I have in the fore-
going description spoken of a single barrel only, but it is manifest that these
improvements are equally applicable to double-barrelled guns.
1
I now proceed, in the second place, to describe the improved cartridge
extractor which forms a part of my Invention. The extractor consists of a
metallic plate, one face of which coincides with the ends of the barrels, and the
other with the vertical face of the stationary breech plate, the lower portion
of the extractor being furnished with two or any other suitable number of
points or teeth, and to admit which, when the gun is in a position for firing,
the ends of the barrels are provided with slots for the admission of the said
points or teeth. The rear face of the extractor plate is constructed with a
stud or projection working in a dovetailed slot formed in the face of the
stationary breech plate, the front of the extractor being formed with a slot in
which is a stud working on a pin or pivot centred therein. A metallic plate
is fixed between the barrels by means of screws or in any other suitable
manner, a hole being drilled through the same into the lump of the gun for
the reception of the pin carrying the said stud, a helical spring being attached
to the other end of the pin. When the barrels are placed in position for
firing, the spring forces the stud which works in the hole between the barrels
into a notch formed in the stud working in the face of the extractor, the
points or teeth of the latter passing through the cartridge case into the wad,
the extractor being lifted up by the action of the said studs when the barrels
are turned down for loading, thus freeing it from the barrels, and bringing
with it the empty cartridge cases, which are then easily removed from the
barrels. It will be observed that when the barrels are turned down the
extractor is entirely detached therefrom, the same being then only in connection
with the breech plate.
The third part of my Invention is that relating to the construction of the
tumbler and lever employed in turning the barrels down for loading, and and
which I effect as follows:-A tumbler of a semi-cylindrical form is passed
through the stationary breech plate in a horizontal position, the same being
actuated by means of a lever. Upon the barrels being turned down the flat
portion of the tumbler is presented to the lump attached to the barrels, thus
allowing them to retain the inclined position, while upon the barrels being
closed the tumbler revolves, and the cylindrical portion thereof takes into a

page_text: corresponding recess in the lump, thus holding the barrels firmly against the
breech plate, and preventing any escape of gas, and also relieving the pivot
from all strain during the discharge.
Having thus described my Invention so far as the same is connected with
the construction of fire-arms, I will now describe my improvements in car-
tridges to be used therewith. The case of the cartridge is constructed with a
metallic cap at the rear end thereof, in or in connection with which a thick
wad of felt or other suitable and analogous material is placed, a metallic pin
being inserted in the centre thereof, one end of which pin is in contact with or
proximity to the detonating composition which is placed between the wad and
the powder, the same being ignited upon the central pin being struck, as
herein-before mentioned. The wad being held or confined within the cap of
the cartridge case, or within the external covering thereof, remains together
with the said pin after the discharge has taken place, and being compressed
by the effect of the discharge, effectually prevents the escape of any gas or
other product arising from the combustion of the gunpowder into the breech
or lock.
The nature of my improvements will be still further understood upon
reference to the accompanying Drawings. Figure I. is a side view of the gun
with the barrels turned down, a cartridge being represented as inserted in one
of the barrels. The lock plate is removed, the mechanism in connection with
the breechi as before described, being shewn (partly in section), that is to say,
the tumbler actuated by the cock, and communicating with the swivelled pin,
the helical spring connected with the latter, and the trigger plate lever and its
action on the lever affixed to the inner side of the breech plate. Figure II.
represents the end of the barrels with the before-mentioned spring stud.
Figure III. is the cartridge extractor. Figure IV. is the stationary breech,
with the semi-cylindrical tumbler and lever for actuating the same, and
shewing the ends of the swivelled pins in the vertical face of the breech plate,
the lever being also shewn detached. Figure V. is a plan of the stationary
brcech, shewing the semi-cylindrical tumbler and the dovetailed slot for the
admission of the stud or projection on the rear face of the extractor.
Figure VI. is a sectional view of a cartridge with a metallic collar, to be used
in guns constructed with the extractor; and Figure VII. is a section of a
plain cartridge without the metallic collar, and which may be used with guns
in which it has been considered desirable to dispense with the extractor.
Having thus particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which it is to be performed, I wish it to bè

page_text: distinctly understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details or
arrangements which I have described or referred to, as variations may be
made therefrom without deviating from the principles or main features of my
Invention; and moreover that what I consider as novel and original, and
therefore claim as my Invention, are,-
Firstly, the herein-before described arrangements and combinations of
mechanism in connection with the breech of guns constructed with my
improvements.
Secondly, the cartridge extractor herein-before described, and the com-
bination of mechanism connected therewith.
Thirdly, the tumbler and lever employed in turning down the barrels, as
herein-before mentioned.
And, fourthly, the construction of cartridges in manner herein-before
described, to be used with fire-arms constructed in accordance with this
Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Isaac Hammond, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
E. P. H. VAUGHAN,
15, Southampton Buildgs,
Agent for the Patentee.
ISAAC HAMMOND. (L.S.)