IMPROVE- MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING SMALL-ARMS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Tipping Lawden, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturer, and John Thomas, of
Birmingham, aforesaid, Gun Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING SMALL-ARMS."
Sealed the 19th February 1875, and dated the 15th October 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Tipping
Lawdon and John Thomas at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 15th October 1874.
We, THOMAS TIPPING LAWDEN, of Birmingham, in the County of
Warwick, Gun Manufacturer, and JOHN THOMAS, of Birmingham,
aforesaid, Gun Maker, do hereby declarc the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING SMALL-ARMS," to be as
follows:-
Our Invention has reference to such breech-loading small-arms as are
furnished with external hammers, or internal or concealed hammers,
which actuate or drive forward the strikers by which the small-arms are
discharged, the said strikers being situated in the body of the arm as in

page_text: drop guns or in the hinged closing block of the arm, as in the Snider
rifle and similar kinds of rifles.
Our Invention consists principally in lifting the hammers of the said
small-arms to half-cock by the recoil of the striker of the arm after the
said arm has been discharged. For this purpose we construct and arrange
the parts of the striker in the following manner :— -We will describe a
striker applied to a drop-down gun. We make the striker of a central
stem or striker proper, which ignites the cartridge, and a strong hollow
or cylindrical head, which receives the blow of the hammer of the gun.
The said hollow or cylindrical head has an inverted cup form, its closed end
being rounded. The said head has a diameter considerably greater than
that of the central stem or striker proper. A large opening is made in
the break-off of the gun, in which opening the head of the striker works
closely, and the lower or acting end of the stem or striker proper fits in
a smaller hole passing through the face the break-off. Around the
central stem or striker proper is a strong coiled spring, the said spring
taking its abutment at bottom against the bottom of the opening in the
break-off in which the head of the striker works, and at top against the
under side of the hollow head of the striker. The motion of the striker
is limited by a cross pin.
We use with a striker of the kind described an ordinary gun lock,
having an external or internal hammer. When by pressing the trigger
the hammer is liberated, the said hammer acting upon the head of the
striker drives it inwards and causes its central stem or striker proper to
ignite the cartridge and discharge the gun.
By the driving inwards of the head of the striker by the hammer the
strong coiled spring of the striker is compressed, and on the falling
hammer coming to rest the compressed spring by its rebound or recoil
lifts the striker in the break-off, and the said striker acting upon the
hammer raises the latter to half-cock or to a position of safety. The
lifting of the hammer to half-cock is thus effected by the motion of the
striker, the same motion of the striker bringing the said striker to its
normal position ready to be again driven forward to discharge the gun.
The construction of striker described may be used in place of ordinary
strikers, that is, it may be used for discharging the gun only instead
of discharging the gun and lifting the hammer to half-cock. In this
case a light coiled spring is employed in place of the strong spring which
is necessary for lifting the hammer to half-cook.

page_text: By using strikers constructed according to our Invention the clogging
which usually attends the use of strikers of the ordinary kind is
avoided.
We do not limit ourselves to the details of the strikers herein-before
described, as the said details may be varied; for example, instead of a
coiled spring, as described, a flat or bow spring may be employed, and
1 L
1
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Tipping Lawden and John Thomas in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th April 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, THOMAS
TIPPING LAWDEN, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun
Manufacturer, and JOHN THOMAS, of Birmingham, aforesaid, Gun
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four,
in the thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs
and successors, give and grant unto us, the said Thomas Tipping Lawden
and John Thomas, Her special license that we, the said Thomas
Tipping Lawden and John Thomas, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said Thomas Tipping Lawden and John
Thomas, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 SMALL-ARMS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Thomas Tipping Lawden and John
Thomas, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of
us or them, 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

page_text: six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that 1, the said Thomas Tipping Lawden, on behalf
of myself and the said John Thomas, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :—
Our Invention has reference to such breech-loading small-arms as are
furnished either with external or internal or concealed hammers, which
actuate or drive forward the strikers by which the small-arms are dis-
charged, the said strikers being situated in the body of the arm as in
drop-down guns, or in the hinged closing block of the arm as in the
Snider rifle and similar kinds of rifles.
Our Invention consists principally in lifting the hammers of the said
small-arms to half-cock by the recoil of the striker of the arm after the
said arm has been discharged. For this purpose we construct and
arrange the parts of the striker in the following manner:-We will
describe a striker applied to a drop-down gun. We make the striker of
a central stem or striker proper, which ignites the cartridge, and a
strong hollow or cylindrical head, which receives the blow of the hammer
of the gun. The said hollow or cylindrical head has an inverted cup
form, its closed end being rounded. The said head has a diameter
considerably greater than that of the central stem or striker proper.
An opening is made in the break-off of the gun, in which opening the
head of the striker works closely, and the lower or acting end of the
stem or striker fits in a smaller hole passing through the face of the
break-off. Around the central stem or striker proper is a strong coiled
spring, the said spring taking its abutment at bottom against the bottom
of the opening in the break-off in which the head of the striker works,
and at top against the under side of the hollow head of the striker. The
motion of the striker is limited by a cross pin.
We use with a striker of the kind described an ordinary gun lock,
having either an external or internal hammer. When by pulling the
trigger the raised hammer is liberated, the said hammer acting upon
the head of the striker drives it inwards, and causes its central stem or
striker proper to ignite the cartridge and discharge the gun.
By the driving inwards of the head of the striker by the hammer the

page_text: strong coiled spring of the striker is compressed, and on the falling
hammer coming to rest the compressed spring by its rebound or recoil
lifts the striker in the break-off, and the said striker acting upon the
hammer raises the latter to half-cock or to a position of safety. The
lifting of the hammer to half-cock is thus effected by the motion of the
striker, the same motion of the striker bringing the said striker to its
normal position ready to be again driven forward to discharge the gun.
The construction of striker described may be used in place of ordinary
strikers, that is, it may be used for discharging the gun only, instead of
discharging the gun and lifting the hammer to half-cock. In this case
a light coiled spring is employed in place of the strong spring which is
necessary for lifting the hammer to half-cock.
By using strikers constructed according to our Invention the clogging
which usually attends the use of strikers of the ordinary kind is
avoided.
We do not limit ourselves to the details of the strikers herein-before
described, as the said details may be varied; for example, instead of a
coiled spring, as described, a flat or bow spring may be employed, and
the striker and bow spring may be made in one piece.
We will now describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings
the manner in which our Invention may be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, and Figure 2 the same partly in
section, a drop-down gun having ordinary external locks and hammers,
the said gun being provided with part of our Invention; Figure 3
represents the striker detached. a, a, is the striker consisting of a
head a, and a stem or striker proper a³, the said striker working in the
nipple box or case c, which is screwed into the break-off d of the gun;
e is the external hammer of an ordinary lock. Around the stem a² of
the striker is a strong coiled spring f, the said spring taking its abutment
at bottom against the bottom of the opening in the break-off in which
the striker works, and at top against a collar g on the striker. The.
spring fis of such strength that its recoil is sufficient to lift the hammer e
to half cock. In Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawing the striker a, a³, is
represented lifted to its normal position, and the hammer e raised to
half-cock by the said striker.
When by the nulling of the trigger of the gun the raised hammer is

page_text: inwards, and discharges tho gun. By the driving inwards of the head a
of the striker the strong coiled spring fis compressed, and on the falling
hammer coming to rest the compressed spring by its recoil or rebound
lifts the striker a, a³, in the break-off, and the head of the striker acting
upon the hammer e lifts it to half-cock or to a position of safety, as i
represented in the Drawing.
Instead of screwing the box or case c in which the striker a, a², works
into the break-off, the said box or case may be fixed in the break-off by
a cross pin h, as in Figure 4.
Figure 5 represents in back elevation, and Figure 6 partly in elevation 1
and partly in section, the body of a drop-down gun, in which the strikers
are constructed differently from those herein-before described, and the
strikers are lifted in the break-off for cocking the hammers by a double
flat spring.
Figure 7 represents one of the strikers separately. The strikers in this 1
arrangement are without boxes or cases. Each striker consists of a
strong head i working in the recess in the break-off, the under side of
the said head carrying the stem or striker ³. The head of the striker
is rounded. k, k, is the double arm spring for lifting the strikers and
hammers. The said double arm spring is connected at 7 to the body 2
of the gun, and the ends of its arms engage respectively with slots in
the strikers i, i³, i, ². By the pressure of the said spring arms k, k, the
strikers, after the gun has been discharged, are lifted in the break-off,
and the hammers bearing on the heads of the strikers are at the same
time lifted to half-cock.
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The construction of striker represented in Figures 5, 6, and 7 may be
used, with a strong coiled spring instead of a flat spring. In this case the
cylindrical head i of the striker is made hollow, and in the hollow head
the coiled spring takes its abutment. The motion of the striker in the
recess in the break-off when a coiled spring is used is limited by a cross 30
pin working in a slot in the said striker. The last described construction
of striker is represented in section in Figure 8.
The kind of striker represented in Figure 7, and the hollow striker
represented in Figure 8 may be used for discharging the gun only, a
lighter spring in this case being used.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that
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page_text: we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and
illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature
of our Invention, but we claim as our Invention of improvements in
breech-loading small-arms having either external or internal hammers
for driving forward the strikers of the said small arms,-
-
First. Lifting the hammers of the small-arms to half-cock by the
recoil or rebound of the striker after the arm has been discharged,
substantially as herein-before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawings.
Secondly. The construction of strikers for the said small-arms herein-
before described with reference to Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the accom-
panying Drawings, that is to say, dispensing with the use of a box or
case for the striker to work in, and making the striker with a large head
to receive the blow of the hammer, and with a central stem to ignite the
cartridge, as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Tipping Lawden, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
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THOMAS TIPPING LAWDEN. (L.S.)
Witness,
HENRY SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.