IM- PROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Thomas Wilson at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 25th July
1864.
I, THOMAS WILSON, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Mecha-
nical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists of the improvements herein-after explained in
breech-loading fire-arms, the principal object of the said improvements being
so to construct the breech mechanism that it can readily be applied to the
ordinary service or Enfield rifle for the purpose of converting the said rifle
into a breech-loading rifle. My improvements may also be applied to other
fire-arms.
In applying my Invention to an ordinary service or Enfield rifle só as to
convert it into a breech-loading rifle, I alter the said rifle, and add to it
parts constructed in the following manner :-I remove the ordinary breech
pin from the barrel, and by preference shorten the breech end of the said
barrel about a quarter of an inch. I next enlarge the hole in the breech end
of the barrel, and cut in the said breech end a fresh screw thread. I then
screw into the said screwed breech end a breech bar or piece constructed as
follows: The said breech bar or piece consists of a strong rib, having at
either end a tubular part, the length of the opening or space between the said
tubular parts being somewhat longer than that of an ordinary cartridge, the
sides of the said opening being formed when the breech piece is in its place

page_text: by the stock of the rifle and the bottom by the said rib. The holes in the said
tubular parts are somewhat larger in diameter than the bore of the barrel, the
said holes coinciding with the said bore. The rib joining together and sus-
taining the said tubular parts is situated in a lower plane than the bores or
holes in the said tubular parts, so as to leave a clear space between the said
parts. An opening is made or cut in the head of the stock to receive the breech
bar and tubular parts, the said breech bar being firmly imbedded and screwed
in the bottom of the said opening. By this arrangement very little wood is
cut away from the stock, and the stock but slightly weakened, the said weak-
erring being compensated for by the breech bar extending along the head of
the stock, and being screwed thereto by a pin similar to the ordinary tail pin.
The end of the front tubular part of the breech bar is made into a screw, and
is screwed into the breech end of the barrel, and the inner face of the other
and rear tubular part constitutes a shoulder against which the breech bolt or
plug is supported during the discharge of the rifle. A sliding bolt works in
the rear of the breech piece, the end of the said bolt closing the breech
end of the barrel when pushed home. The bolt is moved backwards
and forwards by means of a solid handle on the said bolt, the said handle
being similar to that of an ordinary door bolt. A cartridge being introduced
through the opening in the breech piece between the tubular parts, the bolt
is pushed home, carrying before it the cartridge into the breech end of the
barrel; the handle of the bolt is then turned down, and made to bear against
the projecting end of the back tubular part of the breech bar, and the said
bolt is supported firmly by the said tubular part during the discharge
of the rifle. To open the breech end of the barrel the handle of the bolt
is raised into a vertical plane, and the said handle moved in a slot in the
top of the supporting tubular part of the breech bar; the said bolt is thereby
moved from out the end of the barrel, and the opening in the breech piece
made clear for the introduction of another cartridge. The top of the opening
in the breech piece through which the cartridge is introduced may be closed
by a plate or cover. Instead of making the sliding bolt work through the back
or rear tubular part of the breech bar as described, the said bolt may be made
to slide upon a dovetail rib formed on the upper part of the rear of the breech
In this case the bolt has a longitudinal groove made in it of a form
corresponding to that of the upper part of the said dovetail rib, the said groove
being of about one-half the depth of the said bolt. When the bolt has been
pushed home to close the barrel, the rear end of the said bolt is just beyond
the end of the dovetail rib, and is no longer engaged with the said rib. By
now turning the bolt by its handle the solid part of the bolt may be made to
bar.

page_text: cross and abut against the end of the said rib, and be supported by the said
rib during the discharge of the rifle. The sliding bolt or closer by which the
breech of the barrel is closed during discharge may be made to slide back-
wards and forwards without rotatory motion in the following manner:-The
said bolt or closer is made to slide on a dovetail bar or rib similar to that in
the last described part of my Invention. In order to effect the sliding motion
of the said bolt or closer, I joint to the end of the dovetail bar a strap or
lever, the said lever being also jointed near its middle to the rear end of a
leaf or plate, the front end of the said leaf or plate being jointed to the top of
the bolt or closer. By raising the lever the plug or closer is withdrawn from
the breech end of the barrel, and the charge may be placed in front of the
closer, and by lowering the said lever the plug or closer is pushed forward
and closes the breech end of the barrel, the charge being pushed into the
charge chamber by the closer; the gun is now ready for discharge. The closer
is supported during discharge by a lump on the under side of the lever, which
said lump when the lever is lowered fills up the space between the rear end
of the plug or closer and the projection on the end of the dovetail bar to which
the lever is jointed. Instead of making the lever move in a vertical plane, it
may work in a horizontal plane. In this case the leaf or plate connecting the
bar with the plug or closer also works horizontally.
Although for convenience of description I have described my Invention in
connection with an altered Enfield or regulation rifle, yet my said Invention
may also be carried into effect without reference to a muzzle-loading rifle.