IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MOUNTING OF ORDNANCE."
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Michael Longridge, of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
AND MOUNTING OF ORDNANCE."-A communication from abroad by

page_text: In guns as now constructed that part of the gun which is behind the
trunnions is subject to a two-fold strain, viz., a circumferential strain
tending to tear the gun asunder diametrically, or in other words to burst
the gun, and a longitudinal strain tending to tear the breech apart
from the trunnions; thus the same metal is at one and the same time
subjected to strain in two directions normal to each other.
The object of the first part of the Invention is to relieve the gun of
this longitudinal tensile strain, and cause it to be taken up separately.
In muzzle-loading guns this is accomplished by placing the trunnions at
the breech end of the gun.
In some cases these trunnions are furnished with roller wheels, and
the elevating gear is placed in front towards the muzzle end of the gun,
and the gun is mounted on a non-recoiling carriage capable of revolving
on a vertical axis, and constructed with curved or inclined ways rising
upwards at the back of the gun for the trunnion rollers to run upon.
The gun recoils up these ways, and afterwards descends to its normal
position.
In other cases the gun is mounted in a movable carriage, and there
are two sets of trunnions, of which the gun trunnions proper are situate
behind the breech, as in the former instance, and they are connected by
side rods with a pair of false trunnions, which I term the carriage
trunnions. These trunnions are formed on a hoop, through which the
chase of the gun passes, and in which it rests, but without being
attached thereto. The position of these false trunnions corresponds with
the ordinary position of the trunnions of a gun, and they are mounted in
the carriage in the ordinary way, and serve, together with the hoop, for
the support of the gun and as the axis on which it moves when elevated
or depressed in the usual way. But in this arrangement the strain of
the recoil is transmitted solely through the side rods from the gun
trunnions proper behind the breech to the carriage trunnions, and by
them to the carriage, so that the gun itself is relieved of all longi-
tudinal strain.
In breech-loading guns three sets of trunnions are employed, viz. :-
First. A pair of false trunnions on a hoop encircling the chase freely,
as before, and serving simply to support the chase and carry its weight
when the breech is open. In this case I term these the chase trunnions.
-

page_text: Secondly. What I term the carriage trunnions, upon which the whole
weight of the gun is carried, and which are mounted in the cheeks of
the gun carriage in the ordinary way.
Thirdly. The breech trunnions, which support the breech block and
receive the blow of the recoil and transmit it to the carriage trunnions
by side rods. In this case the carriage trunnions are formed on these
side rods, which extend forward to carry the chase trunnions, and back-
wards to connect with the breech trunnions.
The breech block is fitted to slide backwards and forwards along the
side rods to open and close the breech chamber of the gun.
When the breech block is drawn back to open the breech the chase is
free, and having sufficient preponderance at the muzzle end (when the
gun is unloaded), the chase tilts on its trunnions, the muzzle drooping
and the breech rising; at the same time the breech block and side rods
now preponderate over the chase, and the side rods oscillate on the
carriage trunnions, so as to depress the breech block and still further
elevate the chase trunnions and the chase, thereby completely unclosing
the breech chamber, and bringing it to position for loading. As soon as
the charge is introduced the preponderance of the chase is behind the
chase trunnions, and the chase drops into a line with the side rods; the
breech block is then moved forward to close the breech, and the whole
gun is evenly balanced on the carriage trunnions ready for firing.
The sliding breech block may be operated in various ways,―
One consists in the use of an eccentric on a spindle passing.trans-
versely through the breech block, the ends of said spindle forming the
brecch trunnions. This eccentric may either work in a sliding bush
fitted to move vertically in a slot in the breech piece, or the eccentric
may work in a strap in rear of the breech piece, and jointed thereto, the
sliding bush being in this case dispensed with.
According to another arrangement the breech trunnion spindle passes
behind instead of through the breech block, and is traversed by a screw
in the line of the axis of the breech block. This screw works in a nut
or female screw either in the rear of the breech block or in the breech.
trunnion spindle, being in either case so arranged as by its action to
move the breech block backward and forward as required.

page_text: Another method consists in employing hydraulic pressure for the
purpose. To this end the breech trunnions are formed on a hydraulic
cylinder, receiving at its front end a ram or plunger formed on the rear
end of the breech block. A screw passes into the cylinder through the
rear end to displace the fluid therein in order to obtain the pressure
requisite to force forward the breech block to close the breech. The fluid
in the cylinder receives the force of the recoil, and when the screw is
withdrawn a partial vacuum is formed in the cylinder, and the breech
block is forced back by atmospheric pressure..
According to another arrangement the cylinder is divided into two
chambers by a transverse partition of sufficient strength, and having a
small aperture connecting the two chambers. The area of this passage
may be varied, or it may be closed altogether. When the breech block
is forced forward to close the breech the fluid is forced into the foremost
chamber, where it is retained by closing the passage until the gun is
fired. By a suitable arrangement the passage is opened at the same
moment that the gun is fired, and the fluid is partly driven back by the
force of the recoil into the rear chamber, whereby the shock of the dis-
charge is lessened.
There are many methods of operating the breech block, of which the
foregoing will serve as examples.
The second part of the Invention relates to a method of igniting the
charge in breech-loading guns without allowing any escape of gases
through the vent, whereby the wear of the vent caused by such escape
is avoided. This is effected by an arrangement whereby a percussion
cap placed on a nipple fixed to the face of the breech block within the
breech chamber is exploded by a blow transmitted by a small internal
cup-headed spring striker mounted in the breech block.
The cup head is detached from the striker and has little or no motion,
it being in close contact with the percussion cap. It fits tightly on a
nipple on the face of the breech block, and completely encloses the end
of the hole through which the striker works, so as to entirely prevent
the escape of gas.
The percussion cap nipple is made to turn partly round to enable the
cap to be fitted on it.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Michael Longridge in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 8th June 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MICHAEL
LONGRIDGE, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Michael Longridge, Her
special licence that I, the said Michael Longridge, my executors, admi-
nistrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Michael Longridge,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
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 THE CONSTRUCTION AND MOUNTING OF ORDNANCE," a commu-
nication to me from abroad by James Atkinson Longridge, of Trinidad,
in the West Indies, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Michael Longridge, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and
cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Michael Longridge, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :-
These improvements have for their object,―
..
11
1
1
from the recoil

page_text: Secondly. To avoid the wear and enlargement of the vent caused by
corrosive and abrasive action of the gases produced by the discharge.
In ordinary guns that part of the gun which is behind the trunnion is
subject to a two-fold strain, viz., a circumferential strain tending to tear
the gun asunder diametrically, or in other words to burst the gun, and a ·
longitudinal strain tending to tear the breech apart from the trunnions;
thus the same metal is at one and the same time subjected to strain in
two directions normal to each other.
The object of the first part of the Invention is to relieve the gun of
this longitudinal tensile strain, and cause it to be taken up separately.
In muzzle-loading guns this is accomplished by placing the trunnions at
the breech end of the gun.
When the gun is mounted on a non-recoiling carriage these trunnions
are furnished with roller wheels, and the elevating gear is placed in
front towards the muzzle end of the gun, and the gun carriage, which
is capable of revolving on a vertical axis, is constructed with ways
curved upwards behind the gun for the trunnion rollers to run upon.
The gun recoils up these ways, and afterwards descends to its normal
position.
When the gun is mounted on a movable carriage there are two sets of
trunnions, of which the gun trunnions proper are situate behind the
breech, as in the former instance, and they are connected by side rods
with a pair of false trunnions, which I term the carriage trunnions.
These trunnions are formed on a hoop, through which the chase of the
gun passes, and in which it rests, but without being attached thereto.
The position of these false trunnions corresponds with the ordinary
position of the trunnions of a gun, and they are mounted in the carriage
in the ordinary way, and serve, together with the hoop, for the support
of the gun and as the axis on which it moves when elevated or depressed
in the usual way. But in this arrangement the strain of the recoil is
transmitted solely through the side rods from the gun trunnions proper
behind the breech to the carriage trunnions, and by them to the carriage,
so that the gun itself is relieved of all longitudinal strain.
In breech-loading guns three sets of trunnions are employed, viz. :-
First. A pair of false trunnions on a hoop encircling the chase
freely, as before, and serving simply to support the chase and carry its

page_text: weight when the breech is open. In this case I term these the chase
trunnions.
. Secondly. What I term the carriage trunnions, upon which the whole
weight of the gun is carried, and which are mounted in the cheeks of
the gun carriage in the ordinary way.
Thirdly. The breech trunnions, which support the breech block and
receive the shock of the recoil and transmit it to the carriage trunnions
by side rods. In this case the carriage trunnions are formed on these
side rods, which extend forward to carry the chase trunnions, and back-
wards to connect with the breech trunnions.
The breech block is fitted to slide backwards and forwards along the
side rods to open and close the breech chamber of the gun.
When the breech block is drawn back to open the breech the chase is
free, and having sufficient preponderance at the muzzle end (when the
gun is unloaded), the chase tilts on its trunnions, the muzzle dropping
and the breech rising; at the same time the breech block and side rods
now preponderate over the chase, and the side rods oscillate on the.
carriage trunnions, so as to depress the breech block and still further
elevate the chase trunnions and the chase, thereby completely unclosing
the breech chamber, and bringing it to position for loading. As soon as
the charge is introduced the preponderance of the chase is behind the
chase trunnions, and the chase drops into a line with the side rods; the
brecch block is then moved forward to close the breech, and the whole
gun is evenly balanced on the carriage trunnions ready for firing.
The sliding breech block may be operated in various ways,—
One consists in the use of an eccentric on a spindle passing trans-
versely through the breech block, the ends of said spindle forming the
breech trunnions. The eccentric may either work in a sliding bush
fitted to move vertically in a slot in the breech piece, or the eccentric
may work in a strap in rear of the breech piece, and jointed thereto, the
sliding bush being in this case dispensed with.
The second part of the Invention relates to a method of igniting the
charge in breech-loading guns without allowing any escape of gases
through the vent, whereby the wear of the vent caused by such escape
is avoided. This is effected by an arrangement whereby, a percussion

page_text: cap placed on a nipple fixed to the face of the breech block within the
breech chamber is exploded by a blow transmitted by a small internal
cup-headed spring striker mounted in the breech block.
The cup head is detached from the striker and has little or no motion,
it being in close contact with the percussion cap. It fits tightly on a 5
nipple on the face of the breech block, and completely encloses the end
of the hole through which the striker works, so as to entirely prevent
the escape of gas.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 illustrate the improvements constituting the
first part of this Invention as applied both to muzzle and breech loading
guns.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation a muzzle-loading gun mounted
.on a non-recoiling carriage, the gun having its trunnions placed behind.
the breech end of the chase, and provided with rollers to run up on
inclined ways on the carriage. a is one of the trunnions; b, its roller;
and c, the inclined way on which it, runs. The ways c are curved
upwards behind the gun, as shown, so as to oppose a gradually increasing
resistance to the recoil of the gun. The ways c are formed on the gun
carriage d, which is moveable upon a vertical pivot e for training the gun
horizontally. f is the clevating screw near the muzzle; it is provided
with a cross head, upon which the chase of the gun is bedded, and slides
when the gun recoils.
Figure 2 represents a side elevation of another arrangement of muzzle-
loading gun mounted on a recoiling carriage. The gun trunnions are
placed behind the breech at a, as before, but are connected by side
rods with a pair of trunnions h, which I term carriage trunnions,
formed one on either side of a trunnion hoop i encircling the gun, and
in which the chase of the gun rests without being attached thereto.
The trunnions project through the bosses of the side rods g, and are
mounted in the cheeks of the carriage in the ordinary way.
Figures 3 and 4 represent a side elevation of a breech-loading gun
duated cording to this Invention In Figure 3 the oun is shown.

page_text: with the breech closed ready for firing, and in Figure 4 with the breech
open for loading. is the chase of the gun supported in a hoop i, which
encircles the chase without being attached to it. The hoop i has a pair
of trunnions k, termed the chase trunnions, which are supported in
bosses or bearings on forward extensions of the side rods d. m is a
heavy block of metal closing the breech; it is also provided with a pair
of trunnions a, received in bosses or bearings at the rear end of the side
rods d, which serve to lock the chase and breech block firmly together.
The breech block is supported in the line of the side rods by guides or
supports n connected to the side rods, and it is operated as hereafter
described in reference to Figure 5. The whole gun is supported by a
pair of trunnions o, termed the carriage trunnions, formed on the side
rods d, and mounted in the gun carriage. These trunnions are the axes
upon which the entire gun moves when the breech is closed.
.
The method I prefer for opening and closing the breech is shown in
Figure 5, which represents the breech block detached from the gun, and
partly in section. a is one of the breech trunnions, as before; it is in
one piece with the opposite trunnion, being continued through the
breech block from side to side; p is an eccentric portion uniting the two
trunnions, and turning in a gun metal bush r, fitted to slide up and
down in a rectangular openings in the breech block to admit of the
eccentric being rotated without raising or lowering the breech block.
The bush has however no horizontal motion in the openings, so that
by turning the eccentric p half round, the breech block will be moved.
backwards or forwards, as the case may be, relatively to the trunnions a,
the supports n of breech block sliding upon the side rods d.
2°
A convenient arrangement for operating the eccentric is shown in
Figure 3. is a worm wheel keyed on one of the trunnions a, and u is
a tangent screw or worm gearing therewith mounted in bearings on the
side rods d, and operated by hand wheel u¹
To load the gun the breech block m is moved back to the red line
position shown in Figure 3 by turning the eccentric p; Figure 5; the
parts then assume the position represented in Figure 4. When the
charge is introduced its weight tilts the chase to the position shown in
red lines in Figure 4, and the breech is then moved forward, and the
gun is ready for firing.

page_text: The second part of the Invention is illustrated in Figure 6, which
represents on a larger scale a longitudinal section of the breech block
provided with means for exploding the charge without allowing any
escape of gases through the vent. v is a steel boss fixed in the face of
the cast-iron breechi block, and by which the breech is closed; it is pro-
vided with the ordinary gas check v. u is the nipple upon which a
percussion cap is placed; this nipple is fixed in face of boss v, and can
be turned out of line with the striker in order to put on the cap. w is a
cup head by which the blow of a spring striker x is transmitted to the
percussion cap; this cup head is on a short stem w¹ fitted in the boss v,
the cup head completely enclosing the hole in which the said stem w¹ is
received, as shewn, thereby preventing any escape of gases therethrough,
This cup head w is detached from the striker x, and has little or no
movement, being in contact with the percussion cap on the nipple u.
The striker x is fitted to slide through a brass bush y screwed into the
breech block, and it has a shoulder ¹, between which and the bush
the spiral spring z is confined. The spring striker x, when drawn back,
as shewn in red lines, to compress the spring is retained by any suitable
device until released to discharge the gun.
y
Having described the nature of the Invention and the manner of per-
forming the same, I would observe that I am aware of the Patent
granted to William Morgan-Brown, dated December 4th, 1874, No. 4166,
and that I do not broadly claim making the breech piece and chase of
breech-loading guns in two separate parts, and connecting them by side.
rods for taking up the longitudinal strain, and I declare that what I
claim as the Invention to be protected by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. A muzzle-loading gun having rollers on trunnions at or in rear of
the breech in combination with inclined ways on the carriage for the
rollers to run upon, as and for the purpose herein shown and described.
2nd. A muzzle-loading gun provided with trunnions at or behind the
breech end connected by side rods with a second pair of trunnions
mounted on the gun carriage, and formed on a hoop encircling the gun
loosely, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3rd. Constructing breech-loading guns, substantially as herein shown
and described, with a breech-closing block separate from the chase and
provided with trunnions connected by side rods with other trunnions on

page_text: a hoop on which the chase rests, the said side rods having an inter-
mediate pair of trunnions upon which the entire gun is mounted in the
carriage, as and for the purpose specified.
4th. Fitting the breech block to slide upon the side rods and operating
it by an eccentric on the breech-block trunnions working in or behind
the breech block, substantially as shown and described.
5th. In breech-loading guns the cup head w, fitted in the breech block
as described, in combination with a spring striker and a nipple for the
percussion cap, as and for the purpose set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Michael Longridge, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Third day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
MICHAEL LONGRIDGE. (L.S.)