IMPROVEMENTS IN T D 65 GUDE DIDACE BOD THE CADER CYT
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hiram Stevens Maxim of Cannon Street in the City of
London, Mechanical Engineer for an Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN
T
D
65
GUDE DIDACE BOD THE CADER
CYTHED
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hiram Stevens Maxim.nt
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th July 1883.
HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, of Cannon Street in the City of London, Mechanical
Engineer, "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINE OR BATTERY GUNS AND IN CARTRIDGES
FOR THE SAME AND OTHER FIRE-ARMS
"
In my provisional specification dated June 26th 1883 N° 3178 I have described
an invention whereby I utilize the kick or recoil of a gun or, rifle to operate the
breech mechanism. I have stated in the said specification that my said invention
is applicable to guns of that class now commonly terned battery or machine guns
that is to say guns which have one or a series of barrels arranged in combination
with mechanism which supplies the cartridges to the said barrel or barrels, fires
them, extracts the empty shells and ejects the same from the gun.
My invention is designed especially to provide automatic guns of this class that
is to say guns in which the feeding, firing, extracting, and ejecting devices are
operated by the force developed by the recoil of the breech block and parts.
connected therewith.
I will first describe my said invention in connection with a gun having one
barrel; I fix the barrel in a strong frame which may be mounted on a suitable
stand or carriage. The barrel therefore does not participate in the recoil move-
ment. The explosive force generated in the barrel by the explosion of a cartridge
therein tends to expel the cartridge from the barrel and would obviously drive the
said cartridge violently therefrom if it were not supported against the force of the
explosion. In machine and other breech loading guns as ordinarily constructed
the cartridge is supported in the barrel by a block, bolt or plunger which, at the
time of the explosion, is firmly locked or secured to the breech, but after the
discharge is moved away from the breech to permit the empty cartridge case to be
extracted from, and a fresh cartridge to be inserted in, the barrel.

page_text: But I support the cartridge in the barrel by means of a plunger or slide con-
nected with mechanism sustained by elastic resistance which, in yielding, stores up
the energy or force of the recoil to be utilized for performing the subsequent
operations of feeding, loading, firing, extracting and ejecting.
Morcover to facilitate the working of my improved mechanism I have devised
metallic cartridges which are not encumbered with the ordinary head or flange.
These cartridges are hereinafter described.
I arrange at the rear of the barrel a plunger which slides endwise in suitable
guides and carries the firing pin and the cock or hammer. This plunger is con-
nected by a rod or rods with a spring or springs which tend always to draw or
keep the plunger up to the barrel but which yield to the force of the explosion so
that the said plunger is forced backward taking with it the empty cartridge case
far enough to allow the latter to be expelled from the gun and to permit a fresh
cartridge to be deposited by the feed mechanism in front of the plunger.
For the purpose of my present invention I form a continuous belt or chain of
cartridges so that they may be fed uninterruptedly from a box or magazine placed
in any convenient position to the breech of the gun. I prefer to use a double
web of any suitable fibrous material in which the cartridges are secured
transversely to the web and parallel to each other at equal distances apart.
For moving this belt of cartridges uniformly and continuously so as to bring the
cartridges successively into the space in front of the plunger as it is drawn back
from the barrel I employ the following mechanism;-that is to say-1 arrange
below the breech mechanism two feed wheels whose peripheries are formed with
equidistant transverse grooves or channels in which the cartridges lie as they pass
over the said wheels. Over one of these feed wheels I pass the belt or cliain of
cartridges so that as the said wheel rotates it brings the cartridges from the said
box or receptacle. I term this the first feed wheel. The other or second feed
wheel is arranged at the front side of, and higher than, the first wheel.
The position of this second feed wheel relatively to the barrel, the plunger, and
the first feed wheel, is such that each groove or channel in the periphery of the
second wheel as it turns on its axis, comes in line with one of the grooves of the
first feed wheel and subsequently occupies the space between the front of the
plunger and the rear of the barrel; that is to say the space into which each
cartridge is brought prior to being forced into the barrel of the plunger. The said
feed wheels are carried on shafts or spindles arranged parallel to the barrel and
supported in suitable bearings in the main frame. In combination with, and
parallel to, the aforesaid plunger and carried by a cross bar or arm extending
downward therefrom I arrange an auxiliary plunger or pusher; this pusher
occupies such a position that when a groove in the first feed wheel coincides with
a groove in the second wheel the said pusher is in line with the two grooves and.
if moved forward will force the cartridge from the groove in the first wheel into
the groove in the second wheel thus freeing the said cartridge from the belt or
band in which it was carried to the first wheel; the said cartridge is then
carried by the said second wheel into the space in line with the barrel and in front
of the plunger. The said pusher rod is extended through the rear cross bar of the
frame and is provided with a knob or handle whereby the breech mechanism can
be manipulated by hand. To ensure the accurate alignment of each cartridge with
the barrel as it is brought up to the same by the feed wheel I form at the bottom
of each groove in the latter a slot and I form on the forward end of the plunger a
pin or feather adapted to enter and slide forward in this slot the end of the latter
at the rear side of the wheel being widened and inclined so that the said feather
cannot fail to enter the same as the plunger moves forward. And I employ
similar means to ensure accuracy in the working of the first feed wheel and
pusher rod.
The said feed wheels are actuated by the plunger through the medium of
apparatus hereinafter explained.
As above specified the aforesaid plunger carries the cock or hammer; the latter

page_text: is fulcrummed in the proper position to act on the firing pin which pin, or a rod
connected therewith, extends centrally through the said plunger. In combination
with the said cock or hammer I provide a device for cocking the same and for
releasing it so that it will be actuated by the main spring at the proper moment
to drive forward the firing pin to strike a cartridge that has been inserted into the
barrel. This device consists of an arm pivotted to the frame and arranged to
project into the path of the hammer as the latter moves with the plunger; the
said arm has on its end a bevelled surface which, as the plunger moves forward,
engages with the nose of the hammer and forces the same back against the pressure
of the main spring, thereby cocking the hammer.
The said arm will hold the hammer until the plunger has moved forward to its
full extent so that the cartridge is pushed home and is properly supported in the
barrel the inclined surface of the arm then allows the hammer to slip therefrom
and strike the rear end of the firing pin which is thus driven forward and explodes
the cartridge. I provide the said arin with means whereby it may be adjusted on
its pivot or axis so that it can be set in the position above specified, or can be
set in such a position that it will not cock the hammer in the movement of the
plunger, or will cock it, but prevents its release. This object is accomplished by
forming shoulders on the boss or hub of the said arm and arranging the same
in combination with fixed shoulders and a spring which limit the adjustment of
the said arm and hold it when adjusted. Moreover I provide the axis or spindle
of the hammer with a lever or handle outside the frame so that it can be
manipulated by hand.
The manner in which the longitudinal to-and-fro movement of the plunger is
caused to impart the required intermittent rotary motion to the feed wheels is as
follows, that is to say:-each of the said wheels has formed on one side thereof a
ratchet pinior. In combination with these ratchet pinions I arrange pawls carried
by a vertical sliding bar arranged at one side of the plunger and fitted to slide in
bearings fixed on the side of the frame. A lever with a curved end is arranged
with its other end in engagement with the said vertical bar; a roller on the
plunger acts on the curved end of the said lever at each movement of the said
plunger. At the commencement of each forward movement of the plunger it
imparts through the medium of the said lever a downward movement to the said
vertical bar and in this downward movement the pawls turn the feed wheels on
their axes through as many degrees as will carry each cartridge forward a distance
equal to the space between the grooves; at the end of each backward movement of
the plunger the said vertical bar and pawls are moved upward by the curved lever.
without operating the feed wheels.
I prevent any possibility of the accidental backward movement of the said
wheels by providing stop-pawls to engage with the rachet teeth thereon. A spring
is arranged to bear on the upper end of the vertical bar to assist or facilitate its
downward motion.
As the cartridges which I prefer to use in my improved gun have no head or
flange it is obvious that I must provide novel and special means for the extraction
of the exploded shells or cases from the barrel. The shell is started or forced a
slight distance outward by the pressure existing in the barrel from the moment of
explosion till the bullet is out of the barrel. But without provision for its .
temporary connection with the plunger the latter when moving back under the
effect of the momentum imparted to it through the medium of the cartridge would
leave the latter in the barrel, I therefore provide the plunger with a clutch or
gripping device which grasps and holds the cartridge case tightly while the plunger
is recoiling and then releases it and permits it to be carried away from the breech
and ejected from the gun by the feed wheel. This clutch device consists of a pair
of jaws one of which is formed on the end of the plunger and the other of which is
the short arm of a lever carried by and pivotted on the said plunger. This arm of
the lever occupies such a position that it grips the shell at the moment of the
explosion and is tightened thereon by the backward movement of the plunger.

page_text: The other arm of the said lever extends through a fixed guide and is so formed and
arranged that as the plunger reaches the end of its backward movement the
extremity of the said arm comes in contact with the guide and is thereby caused to
raise its short arm and release the cartridge shell. The end of the barrel has in it
a transverse slot or groove which permits the extractor to take hold of the tube of
the cartridge. The jaws of the extractor are preferably provided with teeth or
notches to ensure then taking a firm hold of the tube of the cartridge.
In some instances I arrange in combination with the above described automatic
breech mechanism the following apparatus for arresting and controlling the
operation of the gun.
!
I attach to the rear cross-bar of the frame a vessel containing water or other
suitable liquid.. The plunger of the breech mechanism is extended rearwardly and
provided with a piston which is fitted to work in a cylinder forming part of the
said vessel; the said piston is fitted with cup leathers and I provide apertures at
one part of the piston whereby the liquid has access to the inside of one of the cup
leathers and expands the same. This cylinder has apertures at its rear end through
which the water is forced into a space or chamber surrounding the cylinder by the
piston as the plunger moves back, these apertures being properly formed and
arranged to ensure the required amount of resistance. Above the said space or
chamber is another chamber separated from the lower chamber by a valve. This
valve is provided with a regulating screw and with stops so that it can be adjusted
open and close fully or partially to give more or less freedom to the passage of the
liquid from one compartment to the other so that I can by the adjustment of the
said valve vary the speed of working of the gun.
to
When I construct my improved guns with more than one barrel I use substantially
the same mechanism as that herein described but I prefer that this mechanism
should be so arranged that the recoil of the plunger of one barrel shall operate the
breech mechanism of another barrel. For this purpose I connect the plungers by
means of a lever or beam and connecting rods or links, or I employ for connecting
the said plungers toothed wheels suitably arranged to communicate the required
motion from one to the other; or I employ other suitable devices for connecting
the plungers.
My improvements in cartridges cousist partly, as above stated, in making the
cases or shells without the ordinary flange or rim. They also consist in forming
around, or partially around, the shell or tube a series of grooves or indentations
which permit the extractor of the gun to take a firm grasp of the shell in with-
drawing the same from the barrel. The said improvements also consist in making
the base of the cartridge case or shell cup-shaped; that is to say with a rim which
is fitted tightly within the tube portion of the shell in a position at some distance
from the end thereof and in sucli a manner that by the force of the explosion the
said base will be driven back to the end of the shell. Iu using these cartridges
the end of the plunger of the gun extends within the rear part of the tube external
to the base so that the latter when driven back by the force of the explosion acts
on the moving breech mechanism and imparts thereto the momentum by virtue of
which it operates as above described, the tube of the shell or case being grasped by
the extractor and drawn out as the plunger moves backward.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Hiram Stevens Maxim in the Patent Office on the 16th January
1884.
HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, of Cannon Street, in the City of London, Mechanical
Engineer, "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINE OR BATTERY GUNS, AND IN CARTRIDGES
FOR THE SAME AND OTHER FIRE-ARMS,"
"
In the specification of my former Letters patent dated 26th June, A.D. 1883,
N° 3178, I have described an invention whereby I utilize the kick or recoil of a
gun or rifle, or a part of the same, to operate the breech-mechanism thereof. My
present invention relates to the application of this principle to guns of that class
now commonly termed hattery or machine guns, that is to say, guns which have a
barrel or a series of barrels arranged in combination with mechanism which supplies
the cartridges to the said barrel or barrels, fires the said cartridges, extracts the
empty shells, and ejects the same from the gun..
My present invention is designed especially to provide automatic guns of this
class, that is to say, machine or battery guns in which the feeding, firing, extracting
and ejecting devices are operated by force developed by the recoil of the breech-
block and parts connected there with.
In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated my said invention in connection
with a gun having one barrel.
"
Figure 1 is a plan of the said gun with the cover or top plate removed.
Figure 2 is a central longitudinal section of the same with some of the parts
shewn in elevation.
Figure 3 is a sectional elevation shewing part of the feeding mechanism.
Figure 4 is a plan of one of the feed-wheels hereinafter described.
Figure 5 is a sectional elevation shewing another part of the feeding mechanism,
which also serves for ejecting the cartridges.
.
Figure 6 is a plan of another feed-wheel hereinafter described.
Figure 7 is a sectional elevation shewing the mechanism for rotating the said
feed-wheels, and
Figure 8 is an edge view of a part of the said mechanism.
Figure 9 is a front end view of the breech block or plunger detached.
Figure 10 is an elevation of the breech end of the barrel
Figure 11 is a section on the line x, x, Figure 2.
Figure 12 is a front elevation, and
Figure 13 an edge view of a lever for firing the gun by hand, and
Figure 14 is a sectional elevation shewing part of a gun in which is inserted a
cartridge made according to my invention.
Figure 15 is a sectional elevation of the said cartridge, drawn to an enlarged
scale.
Similar letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawing
A indicates a strong metal frame, which is provided with a lid or cover A¹ and
which may be mounted on any suitable stand or carriage.
The barrel B is fixed in the said frame and does not participate in the recoil. At
the rear of the barrel is the breech-block or plunger C, which slides longitudinally
in suitable guides as hereinafter described and carries the firing pin c and the cock
or hammer c. This plunger, on its front upper side, has a projection carrying a
rod C² passing through the guide a and having at its front end a bridge-piece d to
which are connected the spiral springs D. These springs tend always to draw or
keep the plunger up to the barrel, but yield to the force of the explosion, so that

page_text: the said breech-block or plunger is thereby forced backward taking with it the
empty cartridge case far enough to allow the latter to be ejected from the gun and
to permit a fresh cartridge to be deposited by the feed mechanism in front of the
breech-block or plunger. The spiral springs D are also connected with screw-
threaded rods d¹ which pass through the frame A, and have, on the outer side
thereof, nuts d² whereby the tension of the said springs can be regulated.
E is a continuous. belt or chain into which the cartridges e are inserted so that
they may be fed uninterruptedly from a box or magazine placed in any convenient
position. I prefer to form this belt of a double web of any suitable fibrous material,
in which the cartridges are held transversely to the web and parallel to each other
at equal distances apart.
To move the belt E uniformly and intermittently, and to bring the cartridges
successively in front of the breech-block or plunger, I employ the following
mechanism, that is to say-I arrange, below the breech mechanism, two feed-
wheels F, G, which are formed with equidistant longitudinal grooves. or channels
fg to receive the cartridges. Over the feed-wheel F, which is arranged upon a
shaft F below the barrel, 1 pass the belt or chain E, so that as the said wheel is
intermittently rotated, it brings the cartridges from the said box or receptacle into
position to be thrust successively into the grooves in the feed-wheel G as herein-
after described. The feed-wheel G is arranged in front of the wheel F on a shaft G¹
which is below the barrel B but above the shaft F¹.
The position of the wheel G relatively to the barrel B, the breech-block or
plunger C, and the wheel F, is such that the lowermost groove or channel g in the
wheel G is in line with the uppermost groove' f in the wheel F, and the uppermost
groove in the wheel G is in line with the barrel. In combination with, and
parallel to, the breech-block or plunger, I provide an auxiliary plunger or pusher H
carried by a cross-bar or arm C¹ extending downward from the breech-block or
plunger. This pusher is arranged as shewn in Figure 2 so that when a groove fin
the wheel F coincides with a groove g in the wheel G, the said pusher is in line
with the said grooves, and, as the breech-block moves forward, will force a cartridge
from the groove f into the groove g thus freeing the said cartridge from the belt or
band E. The feed-wheels are then partially rotated as hereinafter described and
another cartridge is forced from the wheel F into the wheel G and so on, and the
cartridges are successively carried by the rotation of the wheel G into line with
the barrel and in front of the breech-block or plunger C. To prevent the band E
from being pushed forward with a cartridge, when the latter is forced from one of
the grooves f, the wheel F is provided with a circumferential recess f¹ which
receives the said band so that it is held against displacement.
The pusher H extends through the rear end of the frame A and is provided with
a knob or handle / whereby the breech-mechanism can be operated by hand.
To ensure the accurate alignment of each cartridge with the barrel as it is brought
up to the same by the wheel G, I form at the bottom of each groove g a slot g¹, and
I form on the forward end of the breech-block or plunger C a fin or feather g²
adapted to enter and slide in this slot, the end of the said slot at the rear side of
the wheel being widened and inclined; as shewn in Figure 6, so that the said
feather cannot fail to enter the same as the breech-block or plunger moves forward.
Similar means may, if desired, be employed to ensure accuracy in the working of
the wheel F and pusher H.
Each of the said feed-wheels is suitably enclosed in a casing to prevent the
slipping of the cartridges from the said grooves or channels. The casing F2 which
surrounds the wheel is provided with two openings F3, F4. The opening F
through which the cartridges pass to the feed-wheel is bell-shaped as shewn in
Figures 2 and 3, for the purpose of guiding the cartridges. After the cartridges
have been pushed from the web E into the grooves of the wheel G, the empty
web passes through the opening F3. The casing G2 surrounding the wheel. G has
only one opening G3 through which the empty cartridge shells pass as the grooves
or divisions of the wheel come successively opposite the said opening."
:
The

page_text: manner in which the breech-block or plunger C, in its longitudinal to-and-fro
movement, is caused to impart the required intermittent rotary motion to the
feed-wheels is as follows, that is to say, the said wheels F, G have ratchet
pinions K, L formed or fixed thereon. In combination with these ratchet pinions, "
I arrange pawls K¹, L¹ carried by a vertical bar k arranged to slide in bearings or
guides fixed on the side of the frame A. A lever M is pivotted at m and has its
end 2 curved as shewn; the other end 3 of the said lever engages with the upper
end of the vertical bar k. A roller on the breechi-block or plunger C acts on the
curved end of the lever M at each movement of the said plunger. At the com-
mencement of each forward movement of the plunger C it imparts, through the
medium of the lever M, a downward movement to the vertical bar and in this
downward movement the pawis K, L' turn the feed wheels on their axes so as to
move each cartridge a distance equal to the width of one groove. At the end of
each backward movement of the plunger C, the said roller acts upon the curved
end 2 of the lever M and moves the vertical bark and pawls K¹, L' upward
without operating the feed-wheels. To prevent the accidental backward movement
of the said wheels I provide stop pawls K2, L³ to engage with the ratchet teeth
thereon. A spring N is arranged to bear on the upper end of the vertical bar k to
assist or facilitate its downward movement.
As above stated, the breech-block or plunger C carries the cock or hammer c¹.
The said cock or hammer is arranged upon a pivot or fulcrum c* in the proper
position to act on the firing pin c, which pin, or a rod connected therewith, extends
centrally through the breech-block or plunger C as shewn in Figure 2. In com-
bination with the hammer c', provide a device which, during the forward
movement of the breech-block, will cock the said hammer and will release the
same so that it will be actuated by the main spring J at the proper moment to
discharge the gun. This device consists of an arm I pivotted to the frame A and
arranged in such a position that it projects into the path of the hammer c¹ as the
latter moves with the breech-block or plunger. The said arm has at its end a
bevelled surface i which, as the breech-block or plunger moves forward, engages
with the nose c³ of the hammer, and forces the same back against the pressure of
the main spring J, thereby cocking the said laminer. The arm I will hold the
hammer until the breech-block has completed its forward movement and the
cartridge is pushed home and properly supported in the barrel. The inclined
surface of the arm I then permits the hammer to slip therefrom and strike the
rear end of the firing pin c, which is thus driven forward and explodes the
cartridge. I provide the arm I with means whereby it may be adjusted on its
pivot or axis so that it can be set either in the position above specified, or in such
a position that it will not cock the hammer during the movement of the breech-
block or plunger, or will cock it but not release it. This object is accomplished by
forming shoulders on the boss or hub of the said arm and arranging, in combi-
nation therewith, a shoulder or piece c¹, fixed to the axis or spindle c, and provided
with a spring c, which limits the adjustment of the said arin and holds it when
adjusted. Moreover I provide the axis or spindle c of the said arm with a
lever or handle c³ outside the frame, so that it can be adjusted or the gun fired
by hand.
As the cartridges which I prefer to use in my improved gun, and which are
hereinafter described, are made without any head or flange I provide the means
hereinafter set forth for extracting the empty shells or cases from the barrel. The
shell is started or forced a slight distance outward by the pressure existing in the
barrel from the moment of explosion until the bullet leaves the barrel. But,
without provision for its temporary connection with the breech-block or plunger,
the latter, when moving back under the effect of the momentum imparted to it
by the explosion, would leave the cartridge shell or case in the barrel. I therefore
provide the plunger with a clutch or gripping device which grasps and holds the
said shell or case tightly during the recoil of the plunger and then releases it and
permits it to be carried away from the breech by the feed-wheel G and ejected

page_text: through the opening G³. This clutch device or extractor is constructed somewhat
similar to that described in the said former specification, that is to say, the fixed
jaw o is formed on the end of the breech-block or plunger C, and the movable
jaw o forms the short arm of a lever P pivotted to the said breech-block. This
jaw o¹ is so arranged that it grips the cartridge shell at the moment of the explosion
and is tightened thereon by the backward movement of the breech-block. The
long arm p of the lever P extends through an aperture p¹ in the guide a and is
so formed and arranged that as the breech-block C approaches the end of its
backward movement the said arm comes in contact with the guide a and the short
arm or jaw o¹ is thereby raised so as to release the cartridge shell. The breech
end of the barrel is formed with a transverse slot or groove b, as shewn in Figures 2
and 10, to permit the extractor to take hold of the tube or shell of the cartridge.
The jaws of the extractor are preferably provided with teeth or notches to ensure
their taking a firm hold of the cartridge-shell.
In some instances I arrange, in combination with the above described automatic
breech mechanism, the following apparatus. for assisting and controlling the
operation of the gun, that is to say, I attach to the rear cross-bar of the frame A, a,
cylinder Q which is filled with water or other suitable fluid. The breech-block C
is extended rearwardly and provided with a piston q which is fitted to work in the
said cylinder; this piston is fitted with cup-leathers 92 and has apertures 9³
whereby the liquid has access to the inside of one of the cup-leathers to expand
the same and thus prevent leakage from the said cylinder. The cylinder Qhas
apertures q at its rear end; through which apertures the water or other fluid is
forced (into a space or chamber q5 surrounding the cylinder Q) by the piston q
during the backward movement of the breech-block; these apertures being
properly formed and arranged to ensure the required amount of resistance to such
movement. Above the space or chamber q³ is another chamber R separated from
the lower chamber q5 by a valve ?. This valve is provided with screws, ², as,
shewn in Figure 2, whereby it can be adjusted to open fully or partially and the
passage of the liquid from one compartment or chamber to the other can thus be
regulated so as to vary the speed of working of the gun.
My improvements in cartridges consist partly, as above stated, in making the
cases or shells without the ordinary flange or rim; they also consist partly in
forming around, or partially around, the shell or tube a series of grooves or inden-
tations which permit the extractor of the gun to take a firm grasp of the shell in
withdrawing the same from the barrel. The said improvements also consist in
making the base of the cartridge case or shell cup-shaped as shewn and fitting it
tightly within the tubular portion of the shell, a short distance from the end
thereof, in such a manner that by the force of the explosion the said base will be
driven back to the end of the shell. In using these cartridges the end of the
breech-block or plunger of the gun enters the rear part of the shell external to the
base, so that the latter, when driven back by the force of the explosion, acts on the
moving breech mechanism and imparts thereto the momentum by virtue of which
it operates as above described, the tube of the shell or case being grasped by the
extractor and drawn out as the breech-block or plunger moves backward. My.
invention relates to cartridges which have a metallic tube or shell and are usually
known as metallic cartridges.
•
A cartridge having no flange and having grooves around its head is shewn in
the gun in Figure 2; this construction will serve for small cartridges where the
friction between the shell and barrel is not very great. But for cartridges of large
size I prefer the construction shewn in Figures 14 and 15, in which e* indicates
a metallic cartridge shell, the sides of which are paralled from e¹ to e² the remaining
portion being taper. e indicates the movable base, which, before the cartridge is
fired, is in the position shewn, but which, during the explosion of the cartridge,.
moves to the end of the same. This construction obviates the necessity for starting
the shell from the barrel at the moment of the explosion as herein before described
with reference to the cartridge shewn in Figure 2, which has a tixed base and is
·

page_text: moved backward during the burning of the powder. The construction shewn in
Figures 14 and 15, moreover, tends to prevent the shell of a cartridge from
expanding under the force of an explosion and thus reduces the power which would
otherwise be required to draw the shell from the barrel.
When cartridges having this movable portion or base e³ are used, it is necessary
that the construction of the breech-block or plunger should be so modified that it
will move back for some distance independently of the extractors. This modification
is illustrated in Figure 14 in which the part c', carrying the rod C² and the
extractors, is not integral with the breech-block or plunger C as shewn in Figure 2,
but slides on a rod C3 which is screwed, or otherwise fixed, to the breech-block or
plunger C. This rod is formed with a collar c which fits into a recess in the
part c
When a cartridge is fired, the explosion causes the breech-block or plunger C to
move back until the collar impinges against the end of the recess clo, when the
part and the extractors o, o¹, begin to move with the breech-block. The length
of the recess c¹ corresponds to the distance between the face of the movable part
or base of the cartridge, and the end e¹ of the shell. It will be seen that the
breech-block or plunger is capable of being moved back for some distance
independently of the extractor.
When I construct my improved guns with more than one barrel, I use sub-
stantially the same mechanism as that herein described but I prefer that this
mechanism should be so arranged that the recoil of the plunger of one barrel shall
operate the breech mechanism of another barrel, that is to say, as one plunger
moves outward it imparts motion to another plunger which moves inward, and
vice versa.
For this purpose I connect the plungers by means of a lever or beam
and connecting rods or links, or I employ for connecting the said plungers toothed
wheels suitably arranged to communicate the required motion from one to the
other, or I employ other suitable devices for connecting the plungers.
Having thus fully described my said invention and the manner of performing
the same I wish to point out that I am aware that, in respect of some of the parts
and combinations thereof, the mechanism comprised in my present improvements
is somewhat similar to that described in the specification of my said former
Letters Patent, it must therefore be understood that I now make no claim to such
parts or combinations except as they exist in the guns or class of guns herein
specified, but with this reservation I claim the improved devices and combinations
herein described, that is to say :—
First. A machine gun constructed substantially as above described so that the
explosion of one cartridge will cause the recoil or withdrawal of the breech-block
or plunger from the barrel and thereby extract and eject the empty cartridge shell
or case and store energy in springs which by their reaction effect the insertion and
discharge of another cartridge or prepare the arm for the next discharge.
Second. In a machine gun, two feed wheels arranged in combination with each
other and with two plungers (with or without the belt or chain for carrying the
cartridges) in such a manner that the movement of the said plungers will cause a
cartridge to be moved from the first feed wheel into the second feed wheel and
another cartridge to be moved from the second feed wheel into the barrel,
substantially as set forth.
Third. In a machine gun, the combination of parts comprising the feed wheel G,
the breech-block or plunger and the extractor, whereby a cartridge is pushed from
one groove of the said feed wheel into the barrel and the empty shell is drawn out
of the barrel into the same groove and carried by the said feed-wheel to the
discharge opening, substantially as, and for the purpose, set forth.
Fourth. In a machine gun, the mechanism for causing the intermittent rotation
of the feed wheels by the movement of the breech-block or plunger, which
mechanism consists essentially of the lever M, the sliding bar k carrying the pawls,
and the ratchet wheels or pinions on the ends of the said feed wheels, all
constructed and combined substantially as, and for the purposes, set forth.

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Fifth. In a machine gun, the cock or hammer pivotted to the plunger and
arranged in combination with an arm pivotted to the frame and provided with
means for adjusting it either to automatically release the said cock or hammer or
to hold the same until released by hand, substantially as, and for the purpose, set
forth.
Sixth In a machine gun, the jaw.pivotted to the plunger or breech-block and
actuated by a lever passing through a guide fixed to the frame, to operate in
combination with a jaw fixed to the said breech-block or plunger, substantially as,
and for the purpose, set forth.
.
.
Seventh. The combination, with the other parts of a machine guni, of one or
more chambers containing water or other fluid and provided with one or more
regulating valves or similar devices, for assisting and controlling the operation of
the breech-block or plunger and the mechanism connected therewith, substantially
as set forth.
Eighth. A machine gun consisting of the parts constructed and combined
substantially as described with reference to Figures 1 to 13 and operating as
above specified.
Ninth. The construction of the said gun in such a manner that the discharge of
a cartridge with a movable base, substantially as described, will cause the partial
recoil of the breech-block or plunger before the extraction of the empty shell,
commences, as, and for the purposes, above specified.
Tenth. A metallic cartridge having the case or shell made without a flange and
with or without transverse or circumferential grooves, all substantially as, and for
the purposes, set forth.
Eleventh. A metallic cartridge constructed with a movable base, substantially
as, and for the purposes, pecified.
In witness whereof I the said Hiram Stevens Maxim have hereunto set my hand
and seal this sixteenth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and eighty four.
HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM. (L.S.)