IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for
Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS, AND IN
CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME."-A communication from abroad by Hiram
Berdan, of the City and State of New York, United States of
. America.
Sealed the 2nd October 1868, and dated the 9th April 1868.
PROVISIONAL. SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 9th April 1868.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS, AND
IN CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in the adaptation to breech-loaders of a hooked
cartridge shell extractor attached to and combined with the sliding bolt

page_text: breech piece, so that it moves backward and forward with the breech
piece. The hook of the extractor is allowed to pass freely over the flange
of the head of the cartridge shell in the forward closing movement of
the breech piece, and it is held rigidly down over the head during such
portion of the opening movement of the breech piece, as is necessary
for the drawing out of the cartridge shell from the chamber of the fire-
arm. There is an inclined surface on the top side of the extractor which
bears against a pin screwed into the breech piece, and there is a spring
placed behind the extractor for the purpose of pushing it forward. The
rear end of the extractor is capable of protrusion through the part of the
breech piece within which it is applied, and the inclined or rounded end
receives the coiled spring. The sliding pin hammer and firing pin is
combined with a sliding bolt breech piece, so that the hammer or firing
pin is drawn back within the breech piece far enough to sheath its point by
the act of turning the breech piece preparatory to its opening movement,
and it is held back during the longitudinal movement of the breech
picce back and forth by means of a bayonet joint. A tubular projection
or sleeve encloses the sliding pin, hammer, or firing pin, and extends
forward over a portion of the sliding bolt breech piece. On the under
side of this sleeve the full-cock and half-cock notches are made, so that
by this means a longer and stronger helical spring than usual can be
employed for driving forward the hammer and firing pin. Stops are
adapted to the sliding bolt breech piece and the sliding pin hammer or
firing pin, so that the breech piece is locked securely and prevented from
turning while the hammer or firing pin is at half-cock, or held by the
entrance of the sear into its safety notch. A spring hook is employed
to serve the two purposes of throwing the cartridge shells out of the
breech receiver after they have been withdrawn from the chamber of the
gun, and of preventing the forward movement of the breech piece when
it is open while the muzzle of the fire-arm is depressed. A small hole is
made in the screw which serves the purpose of securing the notched slide
in the frame of the back sight of the fire-arm. The head of this screw
which secures the slide of the back sight is provided with arms which
project beyond the sides of the frame of the sight, so that the slide may
be screwed up tight on the frame when required.
The improvement in cartridges consists in combining a patched bullet
with a brass cartridge shell. The patch is made of paper wound tightly
round the bullet which is then placed in a brass shell or case, the inner

page_text: edges of which are bevilled off to facilitate the introduction of the
bullet.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Scal
Patent Office on the 9th October 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Edward Newton, Her special
licence that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Edward Newton, 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 FIRE-ARMS, AND IN CARTRIDGES FOR THE
SAME," being a communication to me from Hiram Berdan, of the City,
County, and State of New York, in the United States of America,
upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 William Edward Newton, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained

page_text: in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say):-
The first part of this Invention relates to the extractors for with-
drawing the discharged shells of metallic cartridges or such metallic
portions of the shells of cartridges as remain in the chambers of the
breech-loading fire-arm after the discharge.
The Invention relates particularly to the extractors of that class of
breech-loaders whose breech piece is in the form of a sliding bolt opening
and closing with a movement parallel or nearly so with the bore of the
barrel, in which class of breech-loaders it has been heretofore difficult
to obtain an extractor which is positive and reliable in its action.
The Invention consists in a hook extractor attached to the breech
piece, but having a certain amount of sliding motion independently
thereof, and is so organized and combined with the breech piece that its
hook may pass freely over the flanged head of the cartridge shell when
it moves forward with the breech piece in the closing movement of the
latter for loading, but is held rigidly down over the head during such
portion of the opening movement of the breech piece as is necessary for
drawing out the cartridge shell from the chamber. The positive
extraction of the shell is thus insured.
This part of the Invention also consists in so constructing the hook
extractor with an inclined surface on its back, and providing in the
sliding bolt breech receiver a bearing for the inclined surface, and
applying to the extractor a spring which exerts a constant tendency to
press it forward, so that when in the act of closing the breech piece the
front hooked end of the extractor comes in contact with the flanged head
of the cartridge shell in the chamber of the fire-arm, and the forward
movement of the extractor with the breech piece is thereby temporarily
arrested, and the end of the extractor is permitted to rise high enough
for its hook to pass over the flange of the head of the shell, and the
extractor is afterward forced forward by the spring within the breech-
piece, and (being thus forced forward) has the inclined surface on its
back so pressed against the aforesaid bearing in the breech piece as to
cause its hook to be depressed over the flange, and when the breech piece
is drawn back the bearing within it (by its action upon the inclined
surface of the extractor) both holds down the latter with its hook over
the flange and compels it to move back with the breech piece and with-

page_text: draw the cartridge shell from the chamber. The same part of the
Invention further consists in providing for a similar operation of the
extractor to that above described as effected by the spring, by so con-
structing the extractor and the projection provided on the exterior of
the sliding bolt breech piece for its reception that the extractor may
extend through the rear end of the projection and work in contact with
a suitably shaped surface on the recoil bearing as the breech piece is
turned to be locked after loading.
This part of the Invention is illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of
the accompanying Drawing. Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section of
the breech parts of a breech-loading fire-arm; Fig. 2 is a top view of the
same; Fig. 3 is a transverse section in the line x, x, and showing the
parts in rear of the line; Fig. 4 is a transverse section in the same line,
but showing the parts in front thereof.
A represents the breech receiver bored centrally and longitudinally
in the manner common to the breech receivers of other sliding bolt
breech-loaders for the reception of the sliding bolt breech picce B, and
having in its upper side a longitudinal opening a, a, for the passage of
the locking projection b and handle 61 of the breech piece; and from this
longitudinal opening a lateral recess c, d, for the reception of the
projection 6 when the breech piece is locked, the rear end c of this recess
serving as the recoil shoulder. The projection b is bored longitudinally
throughout, as shown at d in Figures 1 and 3, for the reception of the
extractor D, the rear portion of the bore being made smaller to form a
shoulder e for the bearing of the spiral spring C, which is coiled around
the extractor for the purpose of pressing it forward, and in the bottom
of the front part of the bore there is cut a slot f, as shewn in Fig. 1,
for the passage of the front part of the extractor, which is made thicker,
as shewn at g, than it is near the middle of its length, the middle
portion being thin enough to give it a moderate amount of elasticity,
and the greater thickness at g being to stiffen the front portion, whichi
terminates in the hook j. On the back of the above-mentioned thicker
portion of the extractor is an inclined surface h, and above this inclined
surface there is screwed into the breech piece a screw i, which protrudes
into the bore d, and the inner end of which forms an inclined bearing
surface for the inclined surface on the back of the extractor. The
hook of the extractor protrudes through the front end of the pro-
jection 6 of the breech piece, and projects beyond the face of the breech

page_text: piece, which is composed of a steel plug k inserted and secured into the
end of the bolt B. In front of the recess c, d, the breech receiver and
as much of the barrel as comes in the way are cut away, as shown
at 6 in Figures 1 and 4, to permit the hook of the extractor to pass round
the exterior of the head of the cartridge shell when the breech piece is
turned to be locked after loading the gun. The cartridges to be used are
to have a flange around the exteriors of their heads for the hook of the
extractor to take hold of.
The operation of the extractor is as follows:-After loading, and when
the breech piece B is being moved forward to close the breech, the
extractor moves forward with the breech piece until after its hook has
come in contact with the head of the cartridge shell and has been
partially arrested or had its motion retarded by the resistance of the
cartridge to its further forward movement and until the face of the
breech piece comes to a bearing against the cartridge, after which if
the cartridge is not home the extractor continues its forward movement
with the breech piece until the cartridge has been pushed home, but in
the slight movement of the breech piece which thus takes place while
the forward movement of the extractor is partially arrested or retarded,
the inclined under surface of the end of the hook coming in contact
with the head of the cartridge causes the hook by the elasticity of the
middle portion of the extractor to rise high enough to pass over the head
of the cartridge shell, and then the spring presses forward the extractor
relatively to the breech piece. As the extractor thus moves forward its
inclined surface h moving in contact with the bearing surface of the
point of the pin i causes its hook to be depressed over the head of the
cartridge shell, where it remains ready for the extraction of the shell
when the breech piece is drawn back. In turning the breech piece to
bring its projection 6 into the recess c, d, of the breech piece and thereby
lock it the hook of the extractor passes freely within the cavity l. When
the breecch piece is drawn back after firing the bearing point of the
screw by coming in contact with the inclined projection h on the
extractor acts like a wedge to press and hold down the hook, and
thereby insure its proper action.
In order to prevent any failure of the action of the extractor, owing to
its becoming rusted, into the bore d, or to the breakage or failure of the
spring C, the recoil shoulder c at the rear of the recess c, d, in the brecchi
piece is slightly bevilled or rounded, as shewn in Fig. 2, at its junction

page_text: with the longitudinal opening a, a, of the breech piece, and as when the
hook of the extractor does not project forward far enough to hook over
the head of a cartridge shell with which the face of the breech piece
may be in contact, the rear end of the extractor will project through
the rear end of the projection 6 of the breech piece; this end of the
extractor passing in contact with the bevilled or rounded portion of the
shoulder c will cause the extractor to be pushed forward the requisite
distance in the act of locking the breech piece.
Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the breech receiver,
breech piece, and extractor, illustrating a modification of this part of
the Invention by which the spring C before described is dispensed with.
The extractor D' is made of a nearly flat piece of steel with a hook j
at its front end, and a downward projection m at its rear end, and is
made with a projection r on its back a short distance in rear of the hook;
it is elastic in rear of this projection, but not at all so or not in any
considerable degree in front thereof. A pin p is inserted transversely
through the back part of the projection 6 of the breech piece below the
extractor, and another pin q is inserted through the front part: of the
projection above the extractor. When the breech piece moves forward
the extractor moves with it until arrested by the cartridge or by any
other means, and the continued forward movement of the extractor
carries the pin q beyond the projection r, leaving the hook free to rise as
permitted by the elasticity of the part behind the projection r, and to
pass over the flange of the head of the cartridge shell. When the
breech piece is drawn back, the extractor being temporarily arrested by
the friction of the cartridge shell in the chamber of the gun, the pin q
passes over the projection r, and so holds down and locks the hook j
over the flange of the shell, and the pin p coming in contact with the
projection m of the extractor in the continued movement of the breech
piece draws back the extractor and effects the extraction of the shell.
Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing another modification of
the extractor. In this modification the extractor D2 is made with a
forwardly projecting hook n on its under side entering a hook-formed
recess in the breech piece B, and is elastic in rear of this hook but
not so to any considerable extent in front of it; it is attached near its
rear end by a screws to the breech piece, but is slotted longitudinally,
as shewn at s¹, where the screws passes through it to permit it and
the breech piece to move to some extent 1 ngitudinally independently.of

page_text: each other. As the breech piece moves forward the arrest or retardation
of the movement of the extractor relatively to it, produced either by the
resistance of the cartridge shell or by any other means, causes the hook n
to be withdrawn from under the hooked lip of the recess t, as shewn
in Fig. 1, and so leaves the hook j free to rise and pass over the head
of the cartridge shell; but as the breech piece is opened the hooked lip
of the recess t passes over the hook.n, and so locks down the hook j,
while in the continued backward opening movement of the breech piece
the extractor is drawn back with it by the screw & coming to the rear
end of the slot 8', or by the extremity of the hooked lip being brought
in contact with the opposite part of the hook n, or of the front end of the
recess being brought in contact with the extremity of the hook n.
Another part of the Invention consists in providing for so drawing
back the firing pin or sliding hammer within a sliding bolt breech
piece by the act of turning the breech piece preparatory to drawing
it back that the point or front end of the pin or hammer is sheathed
within the breech piece and will so remain while the breech piece
remains turned to the position which admits of its sliding movement,
thereby preventing the accidental explosion of the cartridge by the
point of the pin or hammer striking it in the forward closing movement
of the breech piece, which in sliding bolt breech-loaders having the
hammer or firing pin working through the breech is liable to occur
in case of any corrosion or fouling, which prevents the free working
of the hammer or firing pin.
In carrying out this part of the Invention the head or portion of
the hammer or firing pin which protrudes through the rear end of the
breech piece is made with a forward tubular projection or sleeve which
extends over a portion of the rear of the breech piece, and in this
sleeve there is secured a pin which works in a groove of such form in
the rear portion of the breech piece that the hammer being prevented
by suitable means from turning with the breech piece is drawn back
by the act of turning the breech piece preparatory to its being opened.
The above-mentioned sleeve is another important feature of the In-
vention, as it not only protects the connection of the hammer and
breech piece by which the aforesaid drawing back of the hammer is
effected, but by having the cock and half-cock notches formed upon
its exterior it enables a a longer spiral mainspring to be used.
Another feature of the Invention consists in providing the sliding

page_text: pin hammer and the sliding bolt breech piece through which it works
with suitable stops, whereby when the breech piece is turned to the
right in the position for firing, and the hammer is drawn back to a
position of half cock or locked by the sere entering a safety notch, the
breech piece is prevented from turning, and is thus securely locked,
but when the hammer is either full cocked or free from the serc the
breech piece is free to be turned.
The above improvements relating to the hammer and breech piece
and their connections are illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, before referred
to, and their explanation is further facilitated by Fig. 6*, which is a
longitudinal view of the breech picce, and by Fig. 7, which is a
diagram of the groove in the rear portion of the breech piece.
E is the hammer in the form of a long pin working entirely
through the breech piece B, which is bored longitudinally and centrally
for its reception. This hammer has its front portion reduced in size
and its front end sufficiently pointed to enable it to serve as a firing
pin, thereby dispensing with a separate pin or needle, and its rear
end extends some distance through the rear end of the breech piece.
F is the spiral mainspring coiled around the hammer within the
breech piece. To that portion of the hammer which extends through
the rear of the breech piece there is firmly secured the knob or
head E', which is taken hold of to cock it when it has not been left
cocked by the act of closing the breech piece. This knob or head E
has made in the same piece the tube or sleeve E, which is bored
cylindrically to fit easily to the cylindrically turned exterior of the
rear portion of the breech piece, and on the exterior of this sleeve
there is a rib u which is received within the longitudinal opening a, a,
in the top of the breech receiver, and which thereby prevents the
hammer from ever turning with the breech piece. In the bottom of
this sleeve there are formed the cock notch y and safety notch z. In
the portion of the breech piece which is received within the sleeve B'
there is cut an endless groove 11, 12, 13, 14, the form of which is
best shown in Fig. 7, where it is represented as projected on a plane,
though it is also to some extent represented in Fig. 6* and in dotted
outline in Fig. 1. This groove receives the end of a pin w, which is
screwed into and projects within the sleeve B³. The portions 11 and 13
(of the groove) which are parallel with the length of the breech piece
are at a distance apart from centre to centre equal to the distanco

page_text: which the breech piece turns to release its projection 6 from the
recess c, d, of the breech receiver, and the length of the longer
portion 11 which is presented in range of the pin to when the breech
piece is turned in position for firing is sufficient to permit the move-
ment of the pin w the whole distance required for the movement of
the hammer within the breech piece for cocking and firing. The
portion 14 extends directly across at right angles to 11 and 13, and
the portion 12 has its front side inclining backward from 11 to 13.
In the forward movement of the hammer to fire the charge, the pin
to passes freely along the portion 11 of the groove 11, 12, 13, 14, but
when after firing the breech piece is turned to the left from the position
shewn in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 1 the inclined front side of
the portion 12 of the groove acts like a cam on the pin w and so draws
back the hammer far enough to withdraw its point within the face of
the breech piece, as shown in Fig. 1, forward of which position it
cannot advance during the longitudinal movement of the breech back
and forth, nor until the breech is again turned to the right to bring
its projection. 6 into the recess c, d, and hence. there is no possibility
of its penetrating or even striking the cartridge until the breech piece
is in a position for it to do so without danger. The portion 13 of
the groove contains the end of the pin to while the breech is being
moved forward to close it after loading, when the hammer has been
left cocked by the act of opening the breech piece, and the portion 14
contains the pin while the breech is being moved to the right to
secure it when the hammer is in the same position. The portion 11
of the groove also serves as a passage for the pin wo in the act of cocking.
the hammer while the breech is closed and secured. If the hammer has
not been cocked previously to the backward opening movement of the
breech piece, it is drawn back with the breech piece and cocked during
the movement by the front of the groove being in contact with the pin w.
The half-cock or safety notch and the groove 11, 12, 13, 14, are
relatively so arranged that when the hammer is drawn back to the
position in which the sere enters the notch, while the breech piece
is turned to the right in position for firing, the pin w serves as a stop
to the portion 15 of the breech piece, which is left within the groove, and
the breech piece is therefore effectually locked by the act of pulling
back the hammer to engage its safety or half-cock notch with the sere.
By forming the cock and safety notches y and z on a tube or sleeve
which projects forward from the head of the hammer over the exterior

page_text: of a portion of the breech piece the mainspring may, if the breech
piece and tube be of sufficient length, have its rear end extended in
rear of the 'sere and a greater length of mainspring be thereby obtained.
Another advantage of the tube or sleeve is that it covers in and protects
the connection of the hammer and breech piece from dirt and from
the weather.
Another feature of the Invention consists in providing in the lower
part of the breech receiver a spring hook which serves the two purposes
of jerking out the discharged cartridge shells after they have been
withdrawn from the chamber of the barrel, and also of preventing the
sliding breech picce from accidentally slipping forward when it is open
while the muzzle of the gun is depressed. This feature is illustrated
in Fig. 1, in which H is the hook having an elastic shank and attached
to the under side of the breech receiver by a screw 16. The point of
this hook works through a hole in the bottom of the breech piece, into
the interior of which its elasticity gives it a tendency to project, and
it is so situated that it occupies a position just in front of the face of
the breech piece when the latter is drawn back its full distance. While
the breech piece is closed or partly open it presses upon and holds down
the hook; but when its face passes the point of the hook the latter
springs upward and so suddenly throws upward the cartridge shell which
has been withdrawn from the chamber by the act of opening the breech
piece and ejects it from the breech receiver. Then the point of the hook
by protruding through the inner surface of the breech receiver scrves
as a stop to the breech piece and prevents its accidental forward move-
ment in case of the muzzle of the gun being depressed while it is open,
yet as its rear side is bevilled it yields readily to allow the breech piece
to pass when any considerable forward pressure is applied to the breech
piece, as in applying the hand to close it.
).
:
Another part of the Invention relates to improvements in the back
sights of fire-arms. It consists in obtaining a peep-hole and a sight
notch in the same slide by making the peep-hole in the screw which
secures the slide to the frame, also in constructing the head of the screw
with two arms which project beyond the sides of the frame of the sight
and so forms a good hold for the thumb and finger to screw it up very
securely. This part of the Invention is illustrated in Figures 8, 9, 10,
and 11 of the Drawings, in which Fig. 8 is a front view, Fig. 9 a vertical
section, Fig. 10 a back view, and Fig. 11 a horizontal section of the

page_text: sight. K is the frame having the slide L fitted to it in the usual manner;
M is the screw which secures the slide in the frame, screwing into a
tapped hole in the centre of the slide and having its head projecting in
two opposite lateral directions in the form of arms 17, 17, which by
being screwed up tightly against one side of the frame draw the flanges
18, 18, of the slide close up to the opposite side of the frame and
so cause the slide to be firmly clamped at any height to which it may
be adjusted. These arms 17, 17, are of such length and so arranged that
when the screw is screwed up tightly they project beyond the sides
of the frame, as shewn in Figures 8, 10, and 11, and thus present a good
hold to the thumb and finger for screwing up or unscrewing. The slide
has the usual notch 19 on its upper edge, and the peep-hole 20 is formed
by a hole bored centrally through the screw. One side of the frame
may be graduated for the range in sighting through the notch and the
other for the range in sighting through the peep-hole.
Another part of the Invention relates to metallic or metal-cased
cartridges for breech-loading fire-arms. The advantages of patched
bullets are too well known to need explanation. Hitherto no practicable
mcans have been devised of providing for the patching of the bullets
of metal-cased cartridges, and when the cartridge shells are made of
copper the patching is perhaps impracticable owing to the inelasticity
of the metal, but by the use of brass, which is to some extent clastic,
this difficulty is obviated. This part of the Invention, therefore, consists
in the combination of a patched bullet with a brass cartridge shell, as
illustrated in Fig. 12 of the Drawing, which is a central longitudinal
section on a scale larger than the natural size of a metallic cartridge
with a patched bullet. The patch 21 (made of paper) may be rolled
lightly round the bullet or applied at the base thereof and have its edges
turned over the sides thereof, and is inserted therewith into the mouth
of the brass shell P, the edge of which is slightly bevilled or rounded off
internally to facilitate its insertion. The elasticity of the brass, while
permitting the introduction of the patched bullet with comparative
facility, causes the shell to contract itself tightly around the patch, and
in firing the expansion due to the tension produced by the explosion
permits the patch to leave the shell with the bullet, the patch neither
being torn in the act of entering nor in that of leaving the shell.
I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as

page_text: First. A hooked cartridge shell extractor attached to and combined
with the sliding-bolt breech piece of a breech-loading fire-arm so that
it moves backward and forward with the breech piece, and although its
hook is allowed to pass freely over the flange of the head of the cartridge
shell in the forward closing movement of the breech piece it is held
rigidly down over the head during such portion of the opening movement
of the breech piece as is necessary for drawing out the cartridge shell
from the chamber of the fire-arm.
I also claim the combination of the inclined surface h on the extractor,
the bearing in the breech piece, and the spring C applied to the
extractor, as herein described.
. I further claim the combination of the extractor having its rear end
capable of protrusion through the part of the breech piece within which
it is applied, and the inclined or rounded surface c on the breech receiver,
as and for the purpose herein decribed.
Second. I claim combining the sliding pin, hammer, and firing pin
with a sliding-bolt breech piece so that the hammer or firing pin is
drawn back within the breech piece far enough to sheath its point by
the act of turning the breech piece preparatory to its opening movement,
and it is so held back during the longitudinal movement of the breech
piece back and forth, as and for the purpose herein described.
Third. I claim the tubular projection or sleeve E on the sliding pin
hammer or firing pin extending forward over a portion of the sliding-bolt
breech piece, as and for the purpose herein described.
Fourth. I claim providing stops on the sliding-bolt breech piece and
the sliding-pin hammer or firing pin so that the breech piece is locked
securely by being prevented from turning while the hammer, or firing pin
is at half-cock or held by the entrance of the sere into its safety notch,
as herein described.
Fifth. I claim the spring hook H, applied and operating as herein
described, to serve the two purposes of throwing the cartridge shells out
of the breech receiver after they have been withdrawn from the chamber
of the gun, and of preventing the forward movement of the breech piece
when it is open while the muzzle of the fire-arm is depressed.
Sixth. I claim the peep-hole made in the screw, which serves the
purpose of securing the notched slide in the frame of the back sight of
a firc-arm, as herein described.

page_text: I also claim the construction of the head of the screw which secures
the slide of the back sight with arms 17, 17, which project beyond the
sides of the frame of the sight, as herein described.
Seventh. I claim the combination of a patched bullet with a brass
cartridge shell, as and for the purpose herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Ninth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)

page_text: En the Matter of Letters Patent granted to William Edward
Newton, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil. Engineer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND IN CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME,"
bearing date the Ninth day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-eight, and Numbered 1200, being a com-
munication to him from Hiram Berdan, of the City, County,
and State of New York, in the United States of America.
DISCLAIMER AND MEMORANDUM OF ALTERATION proposed to
centered by the said Hiram Berdan as Assignce of the said Letters
atent pursuant to the Statutes in that case made and provided.

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HIRAM
BERDAN, now residing at Berlin, in the Empire of Germany, send
greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her Majesty Queen Victoria by Her Letters Patent under
the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
bearing date the Ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, granted unto the said William
Edward Newton, his executors, administrators, and assigns, the sole
privilege to make, use, exercise, and vend, the Invention entitled
"IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND IN CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME," within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, during the term of fourteen years thence next
ensuing :
And whereas in pursuance of a condition in the said Letters Patent
contained, William Edward Newton did by a Specification under his
hand and scal duly filed, describe, and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention and in what manner it was to be performed:
And whereas the said Letters Patent were applied for on behalf of
me, the said Hiram Berdan, and have been duly assigned to and are now
vested in me, the said Hiram Berdan:
And whereas since the filing of the said Specification I, the said
Hiram Berdan, have ascertained that the claims, as made under the
said Letters Patent, are too wide and in some cases claim what was not
new at the date of the grant of the Letters Patent, and I am there-
fore desirous of amending the said Specification, and I do hereby amend
the same by disclaiming and striking out from the said Specification
certain parts of the title of the said Invention and of the said Specifi-
cation and its claiming clauses, and by altering the same in manner
following (that is to say):-
From the title of the said Invention I disclaim and omit the words
"and in cartridges for the same." I insert after the words "marked
thereon," which occur in page 4 line 2 of the Queen's Printers' copy of
the said Specification published at the Great Seal Patent Office in 1871,
being a second edition, the following words, that is to say:-" And to
the disclaiming clause which precedes the clauses containing the claims

page_text: ":
now made;" also after the word "Invention," where it occurs at the
commencement of the defining clauses of the said Specification, being
respectively in lines 4 and 8 and 13 and 22 of the said printed copy, I
insert respectively the following words, that is to say:-" As originally
described," and immediately preceding the words "I claim as the
Invention," found in line 37, page 12, of the said printed copy, I insert
the words It should be understood that it is not intended to claim as
forming the Invention for which the said Letters Patent were granted
"all that is contained in the foregoing description and referred to in the
"Drawings annexed, although for the sake of giving full information the
"form in which the description was originally drawn has been to a con-
"siderable extent retained, but." I also strike out all the claiming clauses
contained in pages 13 and 14, except so much of the first claiming clause
as is contained between and including the words "first A hooked," and
the words "as-herein described."
And the said Specification when disclaimed, altered, and amended
will read in its material parts as follows:-
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 Drawing hereunto
annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon, and to the dis-
claiming clause, which precedes the clause containing the claim now
mado (that is to say) :-
The first part of this Invention, as originally described, relates to the
extractors for withdrawing the discharged shells of metallic cartridges
or such metallic portions of the shells of cartridges as remain in the
chambers of the breech-loading fire-arm after the discharge. :
The Invention, as originally described, relates particularly to the
extractors of that class of breech-loaders whose brecchi picce is in the
form of a sliding bolt opening and closing with a movement parallel or
nearly so with the bore of the barrel, in which class of breech-loaders it
has been heretofore difficult to obtain an extractor which is positive and
reliable in its action.
The Invention, as originally described, consists in a hook extractor
attached to the breech piece, but having a certain amount of sliding

page_text: motion independently thereof, and is so organized and combined with
the breech piece that its hook may pass freely over the flanged head of
the cartridge shell when it moves forward with the breech piece in the
closing movement of the latter for loading, but is held rigidly down over
the head during such portion of the opening movement of the breech
piece as is necessary for drawing out the cartridge shell from the
chamber. The positive extraction of the shell is thus insured.
This part of the Invention, as originally described, also consists in so
constructing the hook extractor with an inclined surface on its back, and
providing in the sliding bolt breech receiver a bearing for the inclined
surface, and applying to the extractor a spring which exerts a constant
tendency to press it forward, so that when in the act of closing the
breech piece the front hooked end of the extractor comes in contact with
the flanged head of the cartridge shell in the chamber of the fire-arm,
and the forward movement of the extractor with the breech piece is
thereby temporarily arrested, and the end of the extractor is permitted
to rise high enough for its hook to pass over the flange of the head of
the shell, and the extractor is afterwards forced forward by the spring
within the breech picce, and (being thus forced forward) has the inclined
surface on its back so pressed against the aforesaid bearing in the breech
piece as to cause its hook to be depressed over the flange, and when the
breech piece is drawn back the bearing within it (by its action upon the
inclined surface of the extractor) both holds down the latter with its
hook over the flange, and, compels it to move back with the breech piece
and withdraw the cartridge shell from the chamber. This part of the
Invention is illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the accompanying
Drawing.
Fig. 1 is a central longitudinal section of the breech parts of a breech-
loading fire-arm; Fig. 2 is a top view of the same; Fig. 3 is a transverse
section in the line x, x, and showing the parts in rear of the line;
Fig. 4 is a transverse section in the same line, but showing the parts in
front thereof.
A represents the breech receiver bored centrally and longitudinally in
the manner common to the breech receivers of other sliding bolt breech-
loaders, for the reception of the sliding bolt breech piece B, and having
in its unner side a longitudinal onening a A for the passage of the

page_text: locking projection and handle 1 of the breech picce, and from this
longitudinal opening a lateral recess c, d, for the reception of the
projection 6 when the breech piece is locked, the rear end c of this
recess serving as the recoil shoulder. The projection is bored
longitudinally throughout as shewn at d, in Figures 1 and 3, for the
reception of the extractor D, the rear portion of the bore being made
smaller to form a shoulder e for the bearing of the spiral spring C, which
is coiled around the extractor for the purpose of pressing it forward, and
in the bottom of the front part of the bore there is cut a slot f as shewn
in Fig. 1, for the passage of the front part of the extractor which is
made thicker, as shewn at g, than it is near the middle of its length, the
middle portion being thin enough to give it a moderate amount of
elasticity, and the greater thickness at g being to stiffen the front portion
which terminates in the hook j. On the back of the above-mentioned
thicker portion of the extractor is an inclined surface h, and above this
inclined surface there is screwed into the breech piece a screw i which
protrudes into the bore d, and the inner end of which forms an inclined
bearing surface for the inclined surface / on the back of the extractor.
The hook of the extractor protrudes through the front end of the
projection of the breech piece, and projects beyond the face of the
breech piece which is composed of a steel plug inserted and secured into
the end of the bolt B. In front of the recess c, d, the breech receiver, and
as much of the barrel as comes in the way are cut away, as shown at b,
in Figures 1 and 4, to permit the hook of the extractor to pass round
the exterior of the head of the cartridge shell when the breech piece is
turned to be locked after loading the gun. The cartridges to be used are
to have a flange around the exteriors of their heads for the hook of
the extractor to take hold of.
The operation of the extractor is as follows:-After loading, and when
the breech piece B is being moved forward to close the breech, the
extractor moves forward with the breech piece until after its hook has
come in contact with the head of the cartridge shell and has been
partially arrested or had its motion retarded by the resistance of the
cartridge to its further forward movement, and until the face of the
breech piece comes to a bearing against the cartridge, after which, if the
cartridge is not home, the extractor continues its forward movement
with the breech piece until the cartridge has been pushed home, but in

page_text: the slight movement of the breech piece which thus takes place while
the forward movement of the extractor is partially arrested or retarded,
the inclined under surface of the end of the hook coming in contact
with the head of the cartridge causes the hook, by the elasticity of the
middle portion of the extractor to rise high enough to pass over the head
of the cartridge shell, and then the spring passes forward the extractor
relatively to the breech piece. As the extractor thus moves forward its
inclined surface h, moving in contact with the bearing surface of the
point of the pin i, causes its hook to be depressed over the head of the
cartridge shell, where it remains ready for the extraction of the shell
when the breech piece is drawn back. In turning the breech piece to
bring its projection 6 into the recess c, d, of the breech piece, and
thereby lock it the hook of the extractor passes freely within the
cavity l. When the breech piece is drawn back after firing the bearing
point of the screw i by coming in contact with the inclined projection /
on the extractor acts like a wedge to press and hold down the hook, and
thereby insure its proper action.
Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the breech receiver
breech piece, and extractor, illustrating a modification of this part of the
Invention by which the spring C before described is dispensed with.
The extractor D' is made of a nearly flat piece of steel, with a hook jat
its front end and a downward projection m at its rear end, and is made
with a projection on its back a short distance in rear of the hook; it is
elastic in rear of this projection, but not at all so or not in any con-
siderable degree in front thereof. A pin p is inserted transversely
through the back part of the projection 6 of the breech piece below the
extractor, and another pin q is inserted through the front part of the
projection above the extractor.. When the breech piece moves forward
the extractor moves with it until arrested by the cartridge or by any
other means, and the continued forward movement of the extractor
carries the pin q beyond the projection r, leaving the hook free to rise
as permitted by the elasticity of the part behind the projection », and to
pass over the flange of the head of the cartridge shell. When the breech
piece is drawn back the extractor being temporarily arrested by the
friction of the cartridge shell in the chamber of the gun the pin q
passes over the projection », and so holds down and locks the hook j over
the flange of the shell, and the pin p coming in contact with the pro-

page_text: jection m of the extractor in the continued movement of the breech
piece draws back the extractor and effects the extraction of the shell.
Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, showing another modification of the
extractor. In this modification the extractor D is made with a
forwardly projecting hook n on its under side entering a hook-formed
recess in the breech piece B, and is elastic in rear of this hook but not
so to any considerable extent in front of it; it is attached near its end by
a screw S to the breech piece but is slotted longitudinally, as shewn at 8',
where the screw 8 passes through it to permit it and the breech piece
to move to some extent longitudinally independently of each other.
As the breech piece moves forward the arrest or retardation of the
movement of the extractor relatively to it, produced either by the
resistance of the cartridge shell or by any other means, causes the hook n
to be withdrawn from under the hooked lip of the recess t, as shown in
Fig. 1, and so leaves the hook j free to rise and pass over the head of the
cartridge shell, but as the breech piece is opened the hooked lip of the
recess passes over the hook n and so locks down the hook j, while in
the continued backward opening movement of the breech piece the
extractor is drawn back with it by the screw 8 coming to the rear end of
the slot s', or by the extremity of the hooked lip t being brought in
contact with the opposite part of the hook n, or of the front end of the
recess being brought in contact with the extremity of the hook n.
It should be understood that it is not intended to claim as forming
the Invention, for which the said Letters Patent were granted, all that
is contained in the foregoing description and referred to in the Drawings
annexed, although for the sake of giving full information the form in
which the description was originally drawn has been to a considerable
extent retained, but I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters
Patent as aforesaid,―
First. A hooked cartridge shell extractor attached to and combined
with the sliding bolt brecch piece of a breech-loading fire-arm so that it
moves backward and forward with the breech piece, and although its
look is allowed to pass freely over the flange of the head of the cartridge
shell in the forward closing movement of the breech piece it is held
rigidly down over the head during such portion of the opening movement
of the breech piece as is necessary for drawing out the cartridge shell
from the chamber of the fire-arm.

page_text: I also claim the combination of the inclined surface on the extractor,
the bearing in the breech piece, and the spring C applied to the
extractor, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Ninth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hiram Berdan, have hereunto set
my band and seal, this Seventh day of August, One thousand
cight hundred and seventy-four.
I hereby grant my fiat, giving leave to General Hiram Berdan, of
Berlin, in the Empire of Germany, the above-named Petitioner, to file in
the Great Seal Patent Office, together with the Specification to which
the same relates, the above written Disclaimer and Memorandum of
Alteration, upon the condition that no suit shall be instituted against
"The National Arms and Ammunition Company," of Birmingham,
for any infringement by them of any claim or claims contained in the
above Disclaimer and Specification thereunto attached by reason of the
Baid Company manufacturing for and supplying to the Prussian Govern-
ment Manser rifles under the contract now existing between the said
Company and the said Government for the manufacture of 150,000 of
such rifles.