IM- PROVELIENTS IN FIRE ARMS AND PROJECTILE WEAPONS PROVELIENTS IN FIREARMS AND PROJECTILE WEAPONS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Johann August Haberhauffe, of Grossmuhlingen, in
the Duchy of Anhalt, Germany, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVELIENTS IN FIRE ARMS AND PROJECTILE WEAPONS
PROVELIENTS IN FIREARMS AND PROJECTILE WEAPONS
11
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by
left by the said Johann August
Haberhauffe at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 19th May 1854.
I, JOHANN AUGUST HABERHAUFFE, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND PROJECTILE WEAPONS " to be as
follows:-
I construct a gun-barrel and the corresponding bullet or projectile in such
manner that the transverse sectional area of the bullet does not exceed three
quarters of the transverse sectional area of the barrel, but so that the bullet
is guided by and fits certain parts of the barrel, and is thus as effectually
directed as if it were made to fill the barrel. The form of barrel and projectile
admit of variation, but one which I find advantageous is to make the bullet
of square transverse section, and to make the barrel rectangular in the bore,
with a groove in each of the longer sides of the rectangle, to receive two
opposite sides of the square bullet. I employ a thick rectangular wad
between the bullet and the powder, which prevents the force of the explosion
being lost between the bullet and the barrel. I am thus enabled to employ

page_text: an elongated bullet or projectile, of comparatively small sectional area, without
reducing the sectional area of the barrel in a corresponding manner.
A large
charge of powder may be thus contained in a comparatively short length of
the barrel, which I find to render its explosion more powerful than when it is
made to occupy a considerable length of a barrel of small sectional area. The
bullet or projectile may thus be driven out with greater force and velocity than
by the ordinary guns.
I construct gun-barrels and projectiles on a similar principle, but having
the barrel divided into compartments by partitions extending from the
breach to the muzzle. These compartments are made to communicate with
each other, and serve as guides for the bullets or projectiles, the total trans-
verse sectional area of which does not exceed three quarters of that of the
barrel. One thick wad, with cuts or slits in it, corresponding with the
partitions in the barrel, is placed between the powder and the projectiles. I
prefer to employ a cartridge, consisting of, the powder and priming with the
wad and the projectiles, and I introduce this cartridge at the breach of the
gun, and fire it by a needle, as in the Prussian needle gun, or by a percussion
cap or other suitable means. This gun may be loaded with two or more
bullets or projectiles, one above the other, in cach compartment. It is well
adapted for the use of sportsmen, and may be made for small bullets or shot.
My Invention is applicable to cannons and other ordnance, and to muskets,
fowling-pieces, pistols, and fire-arms generally.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Johann August Haberhauffe in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 18th November 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHANN
AUGUST HABERHAUFFE, of Grossmuhlingen, in the Duchy of Anhalt, Germany,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Johann August Haberhauffe, Her special licence that I, the said Johann
August Haberhauffe, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as 1, the said Johann August Haberhauffe, my executors, administrators, and

page_text: 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 PROJECTILE WEAPONS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Johann August Haberhauffe, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Johann August Haberhauffe, 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 thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Drawing, and to
the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
I construct a gun-barrel and the corresponding bullet or projectile in such
manner that the transverse sectional area of the bullet does not exceed three
quarters of the transverse sectional area of the barrel, but so that the bullet is
guided by and fits certain parts of the barrel, and is thus as effectually
directed as if it were made to fill the barrel. The form of barrel and
projectile admit of variation, but one which I find advantageous is to make
the bullet of square transverse section, and to make the barrel rectangular in
the bore, with a groove in each of the longer sides of the rectangle, to receive
two opposite sides of the square bullet. I employ a thick rectangular wad
between the bullet and the powder, which prevents the force of the explosion
being lost between the bullet and the barrel. I am thus enabled to employ
an elongated bullet or projectile, of comparatively small sectional area, without
reducing the sectional area of the barrel in a corresponding manner.
A large
charge of powder may be thus contained in a comparatively short length of
the barrel, which I find to render its explosion more powerful than when it is
made to occupy a considerable length of a barrel of small sectional area; the
bullet or projectile may thus be driven out with greater force and velocity than
by the ordinary guns. I construct gun-barrels and projectiles on a similar priu-
ciple, but having the barrel divided into compartments by partitions extending
from the breech to the muzzle. These compartments are made to communicate
with each other, and serve as guides for the bullets or projectiles, the total
transverse sectional area of which does not exceed three quarters of that of the
barrel. One thick wad, with cuts or slits in it, corresponding with the parti-

page_text: tions in the barrel, is placed between the powder and the projectiles. I prefer
to employ a cartridge, consisting of the powder and priming with the wad and
the projectiles, and I introduce this cartridge at the breech of the gun, and
fire it by a needle, as in the Prussian needle gun, or by a percussion cap, or
other suitable means. This gun may be loaded with two or more bullets or
projectiles, one above the other, in each compartment. It is well adapted for
the use of sportsmen, and may be made for small bullets or shot. My Inven-
tion is applicable to cannons and other ordnance, and to muskets, fowling-
pieces, pistols, and fire-arms generally. Figure 1 of the accompanying
Drawing is a section of a gun-barrel constructed according to my Invention.
A is the barrel, which is of a rectangular form, and furnished with small ribs
a, a, which form the guide for the bullet B, which is also of a rectangular
form. Figure 2 is a plan of a cartridge for this gun. B is the bullet, which
is of an elongated form, and round or conical at the front end; C is a thick
wad, and D is the charge of powder. By this arrangement it will be seen
that a comparatively large charge of powder in a compact form is made to act
upon an elongated bullet of comparatively small sectional area.
A great
velocity can thus be given to the bullet. If the barrel were made of the same
sectional form and size as the bullet, and the same charge of powder employed,
the powder would occupy so great a length in the barrel as to endanger a
portion of it being blown out without being ignited, or to produce such a
retardation in the combustion of the power as to diminish its effect. If, on
the other hand, the bullet were made wider and shorter, so as to fill the barrel,
it would experience a greater resistance from the atmosphere; and if the bullet
were made to fill the barrel, and of the same length as shewn in the Figure, it
would not only meet with greater atmospheric resistance, but its weight
would be increased, and the velocity which the charge of powder is capable of
imparting to it would be reduced. The wad C is made of sufficient thickness
to retain its form in passing through the barrel. A thin wad would be bent
up on the two sides of the bullet, and would allow a large portion of the force
of the explosion to be lost. If preferred, the powder may be introduced loose
into the gun, and only the wad attached to the bullet.
Figure 3 shows a section of a barrel adapted for the discharge of two
bullets B, B, which are guided in a similar manner to that shewn in Figure 1.
One thick wad is employed for the two bullets.
Figure 4 is a section of a barrel adapted for the discharge of six bullets,
which are shewn in their places in the section Figure 5. One large thick wad
is employed for the six bullets. b, b, are ribs or partitions, fixed within the
barrel A, and carrying the small ribs a, a, which guide the bullets. The wad

page_text: has slits cut in it to correspond with the partitions b, b. It will be remarked
that all the compartments communicate together, so that all the bullets may be
propelled with as equal a force as possible. In all these cases the transverse
sectional area of the bullet or bullets does not exceed three-quarters of the
transverse sectional area of the barrel.
.
The charge of powder may be fired by any of the ordinary means, and the
gun may be loaded from the muzzle or from the breech. In Figure 6 I have
shewn a side view, partly in section, of a portion of a needle-gun, adapted for
firing six bullets, and having a barrel of a similar sectional form to that shewn
in Figures 4 and 5. This gun is made with a sliding breech, advanced by a
screw, and is discharged by means of a needle or pin. In Figure 6 the breech
is in its place ready for firing. Figure 7 shews the same gun with the breech
drawn back, ready for receiving the cartridge. A is the barrel; E is the breech,
which slides in the prolonged portion F of the barrel. The upper part of this
prolongation is removed at f, to admit of the introduction of the cartridge. A
strong screw G is connected to the back of the breech E, so that the screw can
turn freely, and advance or withdraw the breech E. The screw G works in a
nut H, which is firmly fixed to the prolonged portion F of the barrel. I' is a
wheel or disc, with teeth on its face, which work into other teeth formed by
grooves cut in the thread of the screw G, as shewn in Figure 8, which is a
transverse section, shewing the screw G, nut H, and wheel I. A portion of
the nut H is cut away to allow of the action of the wheel I. By turning this
wheel I, by means of a handle J, the screw G is turned round and advances
through the nut until it has forced the breech E forward, so as to close the
barrel A. By turning the handle J in the opposite direction, the breach E is
drawn back. Figure 9 is a side view of the screw G and breech E; K. is the
needle which fires the powder. This needle passes through a longitudinal
perforation in the axis of the screw G, and carries a cross bar L, which presses
against a spiral spring M. This spring when fully compressed is inclosed in a
tube fixed in the stock of the gun, and shown at N, in Figures 6 and 7, and
also in Figure 10, which is a side view of a portion of the gun with the side of
the stock removed, so as to show the action of the trigger in discharging the
gun. Figure 11 is a transverse section of the same. The cross bar L slides
upon two bars 0, 0, fixed to the sides of the prolongation F of the barrel.
P, P, are two levers or catches, pressed downwards by springs Q, and capable
of being raised by pulling the trigger R, which branches out into two arms, as
shewn in Figure 11.
Figure 12 is a side view, and Figure 13 is a sectional plan, of a cartridge
adapted for this gun. B, B, are the bullets; C is the thick wad, and D is

page_text: the powder. A small plate of copper or other suitable material is placed in the
centre of the wad next to the gunpowder. The explosive or percussion com-
position is fixed on this plate, and is fired by the blow of the needle, which
penetrates through the back of the cartridge and through the charge of powder.
The wad has a number of slits in it, corresponding to the partitions in the barrel
of the gun.
These partitions are tapered near the breech, so as to enable them
to enter the wad with greater facility; or these partitions may be made with
sharp chisel edges, so as to cut the slits in the wad when the cartridge is forced
in by the sliding breech, or when it is driven through the barrel by the explo-
sion. The wad may then be manufactured without any slits. The wad may
be of woollen felt, or of a mixture of tow, or cotton and paste pressed into a
mould, or of other suitable material. The bullets may be attached to it by
paper and paste, or cemented into recesses formed in the wad for that purpose.
The mode of using this weapon is as follows:-The wheel I is turned round
by the handle J, so as to draw back the sliding breech E, as in Figure 7. The
cartridge, Figures 11 and 12, is then pushed into the barrel at the opening f.
The backward motion of the screw pushes back the cross bar L, until it is
caught by the catches P, P, in Figure 10. The wheel I is now turned in the
reverse direction, by which means the cartridge is pushed into the barrel, which
is closed by the sliding breech E; the gun is then pointed at the mark and
discharged by pulling the trigger R. The operation of loading is thus very
simple, and may be performed with great rapidity, and a volley of six bullets is
delivered at each discharge.
Guns may be made to discharge other numbers of bullets besides those shewn
in the Drawings. Thus, a gun may be constructed with two rows of five com-
partments in lieu of two rows of three compartments each, as shewn in Figures
4 and 5. Each of these ten compartments may be constructed to receive two
bullets or shot, and two or more bullets or shot may be placed one upon the
other; thus twenty, or forty, or sixty shots, or a greater or less number, may
be discharged at once. Guns thus constructed for throwing a large number of
small bullets or shots may be employed as fowling pieces, and for shooting deer
and other animals. Those for throwing a fewer number of larger bullets or
single bullets may be employed for the purposes of war.
Cannon may be
constructed in a similar manner for discharging one, two, or more bullets or
shot simultaneously; the wad or sabot, if necessary, being made with slits, to
correspond with the partitions in the gun.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that what I claim is,-
Firstly, the constructing fire-arms and projectile weapons for discharging

page_text: one or more bullets or shots simultaneously, in such manner that the bullet or
bullets or shot may be made of a transverse sectional area, not exceeding three-
quarters of the transverse sectional area of the barrel, which is so constructed
as to guide such bullet or bullets or shot in its or their course, in manner
herein-before described.
Secondly, the constructing fire-arms with partitions or ribs in their barrels,
dividing them into four or more compartments communicating with cach
other, and each adapted to contain and guide one or more bullets or shots, as
herein-before described.
Thirdly, the constructing cartridges or charges for fire-arms, having a wad
with a bullet or bullets or shots attached to it, whose transverse sectional area
does not exceed three-quarters of the transverse sectional area of the wad, as
herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Johann August Haberhauffe, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Eighth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
JOHANN AUGUST HABERHAUFFE. (L.S.)
Witness,
CHARLES COWPER,
20, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane,
London.