IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Vincent Fosbery, at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 19th November 1868.
I, GEORGE VINCENT FOSBERY, V.C., a Major in Her Majesty's
Bengal Staff Corps, now of Cowley, in the County of Middlesex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME," to be as
follows:-
My improvements relate mainly to fire-arms whose breech is closed
by a block which slides vertically across the aperture at the rear of
the barrel, and the said improvements consist chiefly in the combination
of the said block with peculiar devices for depressing and raising the
block for exploding the cartridges and for ejecting the exploded
cartridge shells from the piece. The block slides in vertical grooves
in the breech chamber and is raised or depressed therein by a lever
pivotted at the rear of the said chamber. The firing pin extends
through the block and lever. The block and lever are depressed to

page_text: open the breech and the empty cartridge shell is ejected and the piece
cocked by one movement of a sliding extractor bar which is arranged
at the side of the breech chamber. A stud on this sliding bar works
in an inclined slot or passage in the lever and acts as a cam to raise
or depress the same. The mainspring is attached to the under side of
the block lever, or when the lever itself forms the breech block or
stopper the spring may be fixed directly on the block. The lock is
provided with a hammer, which by means of an ordinary trigger is
caused to drive forward the firing pin. The block lever is sometimes
provided with a plate which is caused by the extractor bar to start
the pin from the base of the shell.
The barrel of my improved fire-arm is fixed in any strong and con-
venient manner to a metal shoe or breech in which is formed the
chamber to receive the breech block and other parts of the mechanism.
The said block is a metal piece which is of such a width as to cover
properly the rear of the barrel when the breech is closed. The thickness
of this block is preferably less than its width and may be about five-
The
eighths of an inch or less so that it occupies but little space.
vertical grooves wherein the said block is fitted to slide are formed in
the sides of the breech chamber and the rear shoulders of these grooves
form the abutment which sustains the block against the force of the
recoil. The sides of the block which work in contact with these
grooves are channelled or cut away to leave as little bearing surface
as possible, and thereby reduce the friction between the block and
grooves, and to prevent the liability of the jamming or sticking of the
block therein. The chamber is extended from these recoil shoulders
to the rear of the shoe to receive the lever which is pivotted at the
rear of the chamber. The said lever is of such a width as to nearly
fill the said chamber, but is so fitted as to move freely up and down
between the sides of the same. Its forward end is connected to the
block in such a manner that the latter will move freely in the vertical
grooves as the lever works on its pivot or fulcrum. I prefer to form
this connection between the lever and block by constructing the lever
with jaws which fit in a groove formed around the rear and over the
top and bottom of the block. The lever and block are perforated to
receive the firing pin which extends from the front of the block to the
hammer or striker whereby it is driven forward when the trigger is
pulled. The said pin may be made in two parts jointed together to

page_text: allow one part to move with the block lever without moving the other
part which extends through the block, but I prefer that the pin should
be made in one piece with its forward end reduced in size, and that
the block should be perforated with a taper hole which allows the
required movement of the pin when the lever is adjusted. At one
side or extending through the block lever I form a slot or passage for
the pin or stud which projects from the side of the extractor bar. This.
bar slides in a groove or channel formed at the side of the breech
chamber parallel with the bore of the barrel, and is provided with a
handle whereby the piece is manipulated. The slot or passage in the
lever is of a peculiar form, and by its combination with the pin or stud
of the extractor bar affords the means whereby the operations of opening
and closing the breech are effected rapidly and simultaneously with
the necessary operations of the other parts of the mechanism. The
said slot or aperture for a short distance from its forward end is made
parallel with the extractor bar; the central portion of the slot from
this forward portion is inclined upward so that when the extractor bar
is moved the pin or stud acts as a cam on either the upper or lower
From this
side of the slot and raises or depresses the block lever.
central portion the slot is extended in such a direction as to lie parallel
with the bar when the lever is depressed. These exterior portions of
the slot or passage permit the movement of the pin or stud beyond
the limits required for raising or depressing the block, this extra
movement to the rear being necessary to allow the extracting device
to withdraw the cartridge while the forward parallel portion serves as
a rest or stop for the block lever.
.
The extracting device consists mainly of a claw or catch which
extends through or over the side of the shoe in the proper position
to lie under the rim of a cartridge inserted in the charge chamber.
This claw or catch projects from a slide which works at the side of
the extractor bar. The latter is constructed and arranged to operate
in combination with the said slide and is provided with studs or
projections which move the slide at the proper time to extract the
cartridges, a certain amount of play or "lost motion" being allowed
between these projections to give the necessary force to overcome the
resistance caused by the sticking of the shells in the charge chamber
and to allow the block to operate properly in combination with the
extractor.

page_text: The central-fire cartridges ordinarily used in breech-loading fire-arms
are so constructed that the firing pin penetrates the base in exploding
the cartridge. It is therefore necessary that means should be provided
for releasing the pin, and that such means should so operate as to free
the pin before the block begins to move down.
For this purpose I
provide a small arm which is pivotted to the block lever and arranged
in combination with a plate whose rear end lies in contact with a head
or collar on the rear of the firing pin. This plate is formed with an
inclined recess or slot through which the pin or stud of the extractor
bar passes. The under side of this plate rides on the extremity of the
small arm and when the extractor bar is moved backward the pin or
stud acts on the lower side of the slot in the plate, and the small lever
on which the said plate rides being depressed and turned towards the
rear of the breech allows the said plate to move backward and thereby
force back the firing pin. The rear end of the said plate is supported
upon a stud or other suitable guide.
The mainspring is secured upon the under side of the block lever or
to the block itself. With the parts arranged as above described, I
prefer to secure the said spring to the lever near the forward end of the
same. I also prefer to use a simple flat piece of steel, but if desired
a V-shaped or bent spring may be used. The free end of the main-
spring rests on the tumbler, which is preferably formed solidly or in
one piece with the hammer. I prefer to construct the said hammer and
tumbler with hollow trunnions through which is passed an axle on one
of whose ends and at the side of the shoe is fixed the lever whereby the
lock is controlled. The trigger is arranged in the ordinary manner
within a trigger guard below the stock and is provided with a sear to
take into notches in the tumbler to hold the trigger at full or half-cock.
The side lever is provided with a stud or projection, and the end of
the extractor bar strikes the same when drawn back and thereby
adjusts the hammer to full-cock, or the same object may be effected
by a projection on the rear end of the lever which is arranged to act
on the hammer when the lever is depressed. The notches in the
tumbler are so arranged in combination with the extractor bar and
side lever that the hammer may be set to half-cock by moving the said
bar slightly backward.
My improvements also relate to cartridges which are constructed with
a metal disc at the base which is provided with a hat cap, a percussion

page_text: cap, and an anvil. Over the cap I place a thin cover of sheet brass or
copper, under which the cap is so arranged as to be readily ignited by
the blow of the firing pin. The said cover is drawn over the metal
disc to receive the tube or body of the shell, which is a coil of sheet
metal or metal and paper. This tube is crimped around its lower edge
and inserted into a second coil or cup; I insert this cup within the thin
covering of the base, the inner end of the hat cap projecting through a
hole in the bottom of the cup at the end of the tube. I then drive on
over the hat cap a perforated disc of metal or other suitable material.
The projectile of my improved cartridge is formed with a collar or
projection which fills the grooves formed by the rifling in the barrel.
The diameter of the portions of the bullet on each side of this collar fit
the bore of the barrel, the diameter being slightly tapered and reduced
towards the rear end of the projectile. When the latter is expelled
from the cartridge the force of the explosion slighly expands this rear
end and causes it to fill the barrel, but not to fit so tightly as to produce
friction between this part of the projectile and the barrel. I form at
the rear end of the bullet a ring or channel into which the shell is
crimped to secure the bullet in the shell.