IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING GUNS AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED THEREWITH
Year: 1879

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Augustus Frederick
Blakeney at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd
November 1879.
"
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS FREDERICK BLAKENEY, of Bury Street, in the County of
Middlesex, Captain in the 1st Royal Lanark Militia. IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING GUNS AND IN APPARATUS TO BE USED THEREWITH.”
My Invention relates to improvements in breech loading guns, and to apparatus
for facilitating the loading and opening and closing the breech of the same.
The said Invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts
comprising the breech mechanism of such guns. The said Invention is based upon
the principle that for a given area the fewest and broadest surfaces afford the
greatest strength when in juxtaposition in parallel planes.
According to my said Invention I form in the gun a breech chamber oval or
oblong in transverse section, and with a circular portion or cavity at the front and
rear of the same. Into this breech chamber I fit a compound breech block, that is
to say, a block consisting of several (preferably three) parts of corresponding
sectional form. The parts of the said block are capable of adjustment on a central
axis, so that they may all be brought into line to enter the breech chamber, and
when inserted therein the rear and front portions are turned in the said circular
recesses, and so that the major axes of the parts of the bolt coincides with the minor
axes of the breech-chamber, thereby locking the said bolt in the breech-chamber.
The width or smallest diameter of the said compound breech block should be some-
what greater than that of the bore of the gun. The front portion of the said block is
provided with a projection to receive a gas-check. The middle portion, which may
consist of one or more pieces, is of the same sectional form as the front and rear
portions of the said block, and should exactly fit the interior of the breech-chamber.
This part of the breech block is designed to increase the surface of resistance, that
is to say, the surface which supports the block against the explosive force tending
to drive it from its place in the gun; it receives additional support by means of
screws passed laterally through the breech chamber. The rear portion of the said
block which is immediately at the rear of the said middle portion should correspond
in form with the front portion of the said block, with the exception of the projection
for the gas-check on the latter. The front, central, and rear portions of the said
block have their common axis on a bolt or pin which passes longitudinally through

page_text: them; the said pin is made square or otherwise so fitted to the front and rear
portions as to ensure their turning with the said bolt, but it is made round at its
central portion, which turns freely in the central portion of the block.
I may modify the construction of my improved breech block by placing the rear
portion thereof on a tube or sleeve fitted to turn independently on the axial bolt
or rod of the block, so that in locking the breech the front and rear portions may
be turned in opposite directions.
When my Invention is applied to heavy ordnance I provide the gun with a small
platform at the rear of the breech, on which platform I arrange trucks or trolleys
to run in grooves or on rails on the said platform at right angles to the bore of
the gun; when the breech is opened the breech block is drawn back upon one of
the said trolleys, which can then be moved to one side while the loading trolley is
brought in position for charging the said gun. This loading trolley is provided
with a spring bolt and catch for the following purpose:-I use a piston or rammer
for pushing the projectiles into the gun; this piston is caused by the said catch to
engage with the trolley or part that holds the projectile. This part is pushed into
the breech chamber with the projectile resting thereon till the end of the said spring
bolt strikes the end or shoulder of the said chamber; the said bolt then actuates
the catch to release the piston, which can then pass over the top of the trolley
or part whereon the projectile rests and push the latter into its place in the gun.
The piston is then drawn back till the catch again takes hold thereof and is drawn
with the trolly out of the breech chamber. Then the loading trolly is moved to
one side and the other trolly is moved back into the position for putting in the
breech block. If desired the said trolleys may be provided with endless chains or
screws or other mechanism for moving or adjusting them.
For small guns, such as field pieces, I prefer to provide the breech for supporting
the block when drawn out with a swivelling arm pivotted in such a position that it
can be moved to and fro into and out of line with the axis of the breech chamber.
The upper part of the said arm may be formed with a ring through which the block
can slide, and which ring is provided with a catch or other suitable means for
holding the block securely therein when drawn out of the gun.