Iм- PROVEMENTS IN RIFLED FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Henry, of Edinburgh, in the County of
Mid Lothian, North Britain, Gun Maker, for the Invention of "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN RIFLED FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 7th May 1861, and dated the 15th November 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Henry, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th November 1860.
I, ALEXANDER HENRY, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian, North
Britain, Gun Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN RIFLED FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of rifled fire-
arms, the essential peculiarity consisting in the form of the rifled bore, which
includes from four to ten planes, angles, and grooves. These surfaces may be
formed or arranged in various ways, and instead of relying wholly upon acute
angles, semicircular or curvilinear projections may be produced upon the
interior of the bore. In one example of the improved bore, consisting of such
a combination of planes and narrow curvilinear or angular surfaces of the bore
as made up
of wide planes and narrow grooves admits of a plug or missile of
larger size than usual, and, of course, requiring less expansion to fill the planes
than one which touches the centres of the planes only, and whilst it requires

page_text: less expansion there is less windage, and the planes with the grooves have more
power to insure the proper rotation of the missile or ball. In other forms of
bore embraced by this Invention planes and internal projections, either round,
square, or acute, are combined so as to afford double the number of points of
bearing for the missile when in the barrel, less windage before starting it, and
requiring a less amount of expansion to fill up the planes whilst there is an
equal amount or more power to cause the missile to rotate.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alexander Henry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th May 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
HENRY, of Edinburgh, in the County of Mid-Lothian, North Britain, Gun
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant onto me,
the said Alexander Henry, Her special license that I, the said Alexander
Henry, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Alexander Henry, my executors, administrators or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN RIFLED FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Alexander Henry, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of
them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, 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 Alexander Henry, 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 accompanying Drawings and to
the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-

page_text: My said Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of rifled fire--
arms, the essential peculiarity consisting in the form of the rifled bore, which
includes from four to ten planes, angles, and grooves. These surfaces may be
formed or arranged in various ways, and instead of relying wholly upon acute
angles, semicircular or curvilinear projections may be produced upon the
interior of the bore. In one example of the improved bore, consisting of such
a combination of planes and narrow curvilinear or angular surfaces or portions
the surface of the bore, as made up of wide planes and narrow grooves, admits
of a plug or missile of larger size than usual, and of course requiring less ex-
pansion to fill the planes than one which touches the centres of the planes only.
And whilst it requires less expansion there is less windage, and the planes with
the grooves have more power to insure the proper rotation of the missile or
ball. In other forms of bore, embraced by this Invention, planes and internal
projections, either round, square, or acute, are combined so as to afford double
the number of points of bearing for the missile when in the barrel, less windage
before starting it, and requiring a less amount of expansion to fill up the planes
whilst there is an equal amount or more power to cause the missile to rotate.
And in order that my said Invention of improvements in Fire-arins may be
properly understood, I shall now proceed to describe the several figures on the
explanatory Sheet of Drawings which I have hereunto appended, for the pur-
pose of showing certain modifications under which my improvements may be
judiciously carried out in practice, that is to say :-
Figures 1 to 6 on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings are end views and
sectional elevations of portions of the barrels of fire-arms, showing several
modifications of my improved modes of rifling fire-arms. These Figures are
drawn to a scale larger than the natural size, for the purpose of showing more
clearly the improved systems of rifling. In the modification shown in Figure 1,
the barrel is rifled so that in its end view or transverse section it presents a
quadrilateral figure, with angular projections or "lands" extending inwards
from the angles of the planes. In other words the rifling of the barrel forms
four plane surfaces A, and the periphery of the projectile C, which is indicated
by a dotted circle, touches the planes A at the centre. In addition to the
bearing surfaces thus obtained there are angular projections B, which extend
inwards from the planes A, so that the apex of each of the projections B is
concentric with the centre of the surfaces of its contiguous planes A. These
four ridges B thus afford a further bearing or support to the projectile, and by
this means double the number of points of bearing is obtained. These angular
ridges also fill up to a great extent the spaces between the angles of the planes
A and the periphery of the projectile, thus reducing the windage by lessening

page_text: more accurate.
the amount of expansion necessary to cause the projectile to fit the grooves of
the rifle or other fire-arm, so that the rotatory or spiral motion of the pro-
jectile is obtained with greater certainty, and consequently its flight is rendered
In the modification shown in Figure 2 of the accompanying
Drawings the number of plane surfaces A is increased to six, affording a corre-
sponding number of bearing points to the projectile C. But there is also the
bearing points obtained by the angular ridges B intervening between the planes
A which fill up to a greater extent the space between the barrel and the pro-
jectile. In this way a very small amount only of expansion is required to
cause the projectile to fill up the grooves of the rifling. The number of the
planes A in combination with the angular ridges B may be increased to twelve
planes, or, indeed, to a greater number, according to the capacity or diameter
of the bore of the barrel, the system of rifling being equally applicable to
ordnance as to small arms. In Figure 3 the system of rifling combines a
series of planes with curvilinear grooves. The planes A form a hexagon, but
in the centre of each plane a curved groove B is formed; the ridges or boundary
lines of these several grooves thus form the bearing points for the projectile C.
This system of combining curvilinear grooves with planes is further exem-
plified in Figure 4, in which the rifling consists of seven plane surfaces A,
intersected or divided longitudinally by the curved grooves B, which affords
an increased number of bearing points to the projectile C. Figure 5 is
also a representation showing the rifling as composed of a seven-sided
figure, with angular ridges B intervening. In this mode of rifling the pro-
jectile C very nearly fills up the whole of the bore of the barrel. Figure 6
represents a system of rifling composed of a five-sided figure, but showing the
application of three kinds of "lands" or projecting ridges. The angular lands
B have been herein-before described; the second kind is the curved ridge or
"land" D, its periphery projecting inwards, and thus affording a bearing
point for the projectile. The third kind of "land" forms a rectangular ridge
E, extending longitudinally between the plane surfaces A, the surface of the
ridge affording a very effective bearing point for the projectile, as is shown in
the figure referred to. These rectangular, as well as round ridges or "lands,"
are equally applicable to the several systems of rifling herein-before described
and shown in the accompanying Drawings, as well as to figures of a greater
number of sides than are therein represented. The system of rifling delineated
in Figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying Drawings is particularly adapted for
long range shooting, as the grooves admit of a somewhat larger projectile being
used than if the plane surfaces were not cut away, so that the amount of
expansion necessary to make the projectile fill the groove is lessened, at the

page_text: same time its figure is so little altered that it traverses through the air with
less resistance. With fire-arms rifled according to these modes a larger charge
of powder may be used, as there is less liability of stripping the bullet, thereby
giving a lower trajectory and ensuring greater accuracy in its flight.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is the system or mode of rifling or
grooving fire-arms in which a series of planes or flat surfaces are combined with
angular, curved, or rectangular ridges or "lands," either intervening between
the planes or intersecting the same, as herein-before described and shown in the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Henry, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one.
ALEXANDER HENRY. (L.S.)