Improvements in and relating to Gun-carriages.
Year: 1897

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Gun-carriages.,
1, EDWARD WILSON VERY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing
at 702 Seventeenth Street North West, in the City of Washington and District
of Columbia, United States of America, Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to improvements in gun-carriages, and has for its object to
prevent the recoil of the gun carriage, to prevent its jumping or lifting under the
shock of recoil of the gun, to render the carriage substantially immovably fixed
during the firing; and to increase the mobility of the carriage in transportation.
My invention consists of the devices and combinations of devices hereinafter
described and claimed.
Reference is had to the accompanying drawings wherein the same parts are
indicated by the same letters, and in which-
Figure 1 represents a side-elevation of a gun-carriage embodying my
improvements;
Figure 2 represents a plan view of the same carriage, the gun mounting and the
recoil apparatus, being well understood, are omitted in the illustration.
In order to secure efficiency of fire in field-guns when mounted behind parapets,
it is necessary to check the recoil of the carriage as much as possible both to save
the time otherwise lost in returning the gun to battery and also to save space in
rear of the gun. Arrangements applied for this object should at the same time
permit the guns to be freely pivoted in the horizontal plane to secure rapidity and
efficiency of aim. In such positions great mobility of carriage should be secured
in order to permit the gun to be rapidly shifted in emplacement from one position
to another. The object of my invention is to apply such connections to the carriage
as shall facilitate its transport from one position to another and prevent its recoil
when fired from a platform.
I have represented these improvements as applied to the common general form
of field gun-carriage, but do not limit their application to such carriage, as they
are equally applicable to siege and fortress carriages.
In the tread of the trail of the carriage is fitted a trail-wheel A, by means of a
vertical pivot, B, passing through the trail-piece, so arranged that the wheel
may be freely pivoted about its vertical axis, and thus have its tread turned into
any desired vertical plane.
This wheel with its pivot is so mounted as to permit of being quickly removed
from the trail altogether, so as to permit the latter to rest on the ground.
Forming part of the upper end of this wheel-pivot is a socket C arranged to
receive and hold the end of a hand-spike D by means of which arrangements the
wheel may be slewed in any direction.
The provision shown for such removal consists in providing the horizontal socket
casting for the hand-spike with an under socket C¹ to receive the upper end of the
trail-wheel and a key or cotter-pin B¹ for securing the socket casting to the wheel-
pivot so that the removal of the pin leaves the socket and wheel-pivot free for
separation and the removal of the wheel.
By this arrangement of trail-wheel, the gun-carriage may be transported by
hand from place to place without lifting the trail or attaching it to a limber, and
the gun-carriage may be steered in any direction whilst being transported. When.
in action on a platform and the carriage being secured so that it cannot move
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page_text: backward in recoil, by. slewing its trail-wheel transversely to the axis of the
carriage, the latter may be freely pivoted in aiming. If no platform exists but
the carriage be brought into action on the natural ground, the trail-wheel may
be removed so as to drop the trail on the ground and thus offer a maximum of
natural resistance to recoil.
When in
A stout steel bar E is attached at one end F to the bottom of the trail, in such
a way by pivoting as to permit the bar to be raised and hooked up at its other end
when not in use. This movable end of the bar has a stout eye by which it may be
dropped and secured over a fixed pintle in the platform, as shown at G.
position on its pintle the length of the bar is such as to bring the centre of the
carriage axle directly over the centre of the pintle. When not in use, this bar
may be lifted up and held by a book or other device close to the bottom line of
the trail-cheeks of the carriage.
By this arrangement of bar, when a carriage is brought onto a firing-platform,
it may be quickly secured to a pintle-pivot and the bar completely resists the
tendency of the carriage to recoil in firing and at the same time maintains it in a
fixed pivoting position, the action of pivoting the gun in aiming being further
and greatly facilitated by slewing the trail-wheel in a plane transverse to the axis
of the carriage.
A stout rope H, preferably of steel-wire, but which may be of any other suitable
material, is looped to the axle of the gun-carriage, as shown at I. The bight of
this rope is caught under a hook J projecting from the top of the pintle and the
ends of the rope are secured to a. common winch or windlass K mounted between
the trail-cheeks of the gun-carriage in such a manner that the rope may be
brought tight by the winch and with an equal strain, or be slackened for
disengagement from the pintle-hook to permit it to be wound up out of the way on
the winch:
By this arrangement both the front and the rear ends of the gun-carriage are
prevented from jumping or lifting up under the shock of recoil, and at the same
time, since the bight of the rope is brought to the pintle-centre, and directly in
the pivoting line of the carriage, the latter may be freely pivoted without further
adjustment of the rope.
For this purpose
I have shown the rope as being looped to the underside of the
carriage-axle and leading therefrom through the hook on the fixed pintle, to the
windlass, whereby the rope will be under equal pulling force to hold the carriage
down, and while I prefer a single rope for this purpose, yet it is obvious that
separate ropes may be used. prefer also to use double windlass ratchets K and
a hand-wheel L mediately fixed upon the drum of the windlass for operating it.
The employment of the rope drawn firmly taut gives an unyielding hold-down
upon the carriage vertically upon the axle and obliquely upon the carriage-cheeks
in rear of the axle, both forces being from the same fixed point in the platform, so
that the carriage is firmly bound to the platform at the trail-end and at the
mounting-wheels and is made practically immovable during the firing instant;
while the recoil apparatus in which the gun is mounted in the usual manner, is
between the gun and the carriage, leaving the gun to recoil alone.
To release the rope from its holding down function, the windlass is unwound, the
rope disengaged from the pintle-hook and is then wound up out of the way.
Thus in general, when a carriage is mounted upon a platform, the combination
of the pivoting trail-wheel, pivoting-rod, securing-rope and pintle, retain the
carriage securely against recoil, permit it to be pivoted freely in ainning and enable
the carriage to be quickly released from restraint for a change of position.
Assuming the non-existence of a platform at the position necessary for bringing
the gun into action, the natural ground must be relied upon for checking the
recoil. In such a case, when coming into action, the trail-wheel is removed from
the trail permitting the latter to rest upon the ground so that in firing the trail-
spade L' digs into the ground and checks recoil. As, under circumstances of very
soft ground, the trail is liable to be forced deeper at each discharge, thus, giving

page_text: the gun an unnatural elevation which may become too great for the scope of the
elevating gear to counteract, I make use of the hand-spike to check or prevent this:
submersion of the trail in the following manner :-
One or more holes N are pierced horizontally through the trail-piece and are
sufficiently braced and lined to give adequate strength, and are of a size to permit.
of the insertion of the hand-spike D through them. The surface thus gained for
résistance by the hand-spike checks or prevents the submersion of the trial.
While I have described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be
understood that parts of my invention may be used separately or together, or in
connection with other equivalent parts; and that changes in the form, proportions
and manner of details of construction as are embodied in the terms of the claims.
herein, may be resorted to without departing from the essential features of my
invention. This will be indicated in the claims, as in any one of them the omission
of an element or the omission of reference to the particular features of construction.
of the elements mentioned, is intended to be a formal declaration of the fact that.
the omitted elements or features are not essential to the invention therein set out.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-.
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. In a gun-carriage and in combination with the carriage, a fixed emplacement
pintle or stud, a hold-back pivotally connecting the carriage-trail and said pintle,.
and a hold-down vertically connecting and binding the pintle and carriage-axle and
connecting diagonally and binding the pintle and the carriage cheeks, whereby
during the firing the carriage is caused to retain a fixed position.
2. The combination, with a gun-carriage, the trail-tread whereof has a vertical
bore provided with bearings, a trail-wheel mounted to swivel within said bearings.
and having a double socket-piece keyed upon the upper end of the wheel-pivot, for
the purpose stated.
3. The combination, with a gun-carriage, of a pivotally mounted trail-wheel, a
rod pivoted at one end to the trail, the other end of said rod pivotally engaging a
pintle or stud secured in fixed position beneath and centrally of the carriage-axle.
and a rope connecting the pintle and the axle and the carriage-cheeks substantially
as described and for the purpose specified.
4. In a gun-carriage, and in combination with the carriage, a recoil resisting-
device centrally pivoting said carriage and pivotally connecting its trail and a fixed.
emplacement hook, of a hold-down consisting of a rope engaging the axle and the
fixed hook and adjustably connected to the carriage-cheeks, substantially as
described.
5. In a gun-carriage and in combination with the carriage, a fixed emplacement.
stud, a recoil resisting device pivotally connected to said stud and the carriage-trail
and a fixed hook formed upon the stud, and a hold-down engaging the axle, the.
emplacement book and a winding connection on the trail-cheeks, substantially as
described.
6. In a gun-carriage, and in combination with the carriage, and a fixed emplace-.
ment pintle or stud, of a hold-back pivotally connecting the said pintle and the
carriage trail, and a hold-down rope connecting the carriage-axle, the pintle and the.
carriage-cheeks in rear of the axle, whereby the carriage is bound firmly to
the platform against recoil and against jumping or lifting under the shock of
recoil.
7. The combination with the gun-carriage and its mounting-wheels, a pintle or
stud fixed in the platform and a swivelling trail-wheel, of a winch or windlass
mounted between the trail-cheeks, and a rope connecting the windlass, the fixed-.
pintle and the carriage-axle, substantially as described.
8. In a gun-carriage, and in combination with the carriage, and a fixed emplace-.
ment pintle or stud, of an unyielding hold-down vertically connecting and binding
the pintle and carriage axle and diagonally connecting and binding the pintle and.

page_text: the carriage-cheeks whereby the carriage is held down at its axle and at its trail-
end from the same fixed stud.
9. The combination, with a gun-carriage, of a rigid device having its ends
pivotally connecting the trail of the carriage and a pintle or stud fixed in the
emplaced platform, whereby to retain the carriage securely against recoil, and a
flexible bold-down connection freely engaging a hook on the said fixed pintle or stud
and looped to the carriage axle, and a windlass mounted upon the carriage axle,
whereby the said windlass is caused to maintain said hold-down taut to prevent the
carriage from jumping or lifting under the shock of recoil.
10. The combination, with a gun-carriage, a winch or windlass mounted between
the carriage-cheeks of a pintle or stud adapted to be fixed in the platform, a hold-
down rope connecting the carriage-axle, the said pintle and the windlass, and
suitable means connecting the pintle and the carriage for preventing its recoil.
11. In a gun-carriage, and in combination with the carriage, a recoil resisting
device centrally pivoting the carriage to the platform and pivotally connecting the
carriage-trail, and a hold-down device connecting the axle and the carriage-cheeks
to said central platform-pivot, whereby the hold-down is caused to exert a direct
holding force upon the axle and upon the trail-cheeks, substantially as described.
12. In a gun-carriage, and in combination with the carriage and a fixed emplace-
ment pintle or stud, of an unyielding hold-down having a direct connection with
the carriage, the trail-cheeks, and with the said fixed pintle, whereby to form a
binder holding the carriage down in two directions from a fixed point.
Dd his wath do
1000
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.