IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOAD- ING GUNS
Year: 1853

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 BREECH-LOAD-
ING GUNS."A communication.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 5th September 1853.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING GUNS" to be as
follows:-
This Invention of improvements in breech-loading guns relates to
that class of fire-arms in which the breech is secured to the barrel of
the gun by means of a screw on both breech and barrel, portions of
each screw being cut away to allow the breech to enter the barrel, and
when the parts have been thus brought together they are firmly secured
by imparting to one of the parts a portion of a turn on its axis.

page_text: The Invention consists in an improved method of connecting the
parts together, and of unscrewing the breech from the barrel.
A screw is cut upon the end of the breech, and a corresponding
female screw upon the interior of the barrel. These screws are then
marked off into six sections, and the threads upon every alternate
section in each are cut away. It is then evident, that by turning the
breech so that the sections of the breech upon which the threads remain
opposite to the sections of the female screw of the barrel from which
the threads have been cut away, that the one may be slipped into the
other.
If now the breech be made to perform a sixth of a revolution
the sections of the male screw upon which the threads remain will
engage with the screw sections of the female, and the two will be drawn
firmly together.
When the parts are unscrewed the breech is drawn back, and may
then be turned upon on an axis so as to bring its chamber into a
vertical position for loading, after which the breech is returned into
the barrel, and the two are locked together. These motions are performed
through the intervention of appropriate cams, catches, and springs, by
the motion of a single lever worked by the hand of the gunner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, filed by the said William Edward Newton in the Great-
Seal Patent Office on the 4th March 1854.
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 Fifth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the seven-
teenth 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 William Edward Newton, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Edward

page_text: time
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
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 In-
vention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING GUNS," being a com-
munication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument 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 per-
formed, 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
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon
(that is to say):
This Invention is applicable to that class of fire-arms in which the
breech is secured to the barrel by means of a screw on both breech and
barrel, portions of each screw being cut away to allow the breech to
enter the barrel when a portion of a turn of the breech secures the two
together. And this Invention consists in a method of unscrewing the
breech from the barrel and withdrawing the same, of turning up the
breech so as to bring its chamber into a vertical position for loading,
and then returning the breech into the barrel and locking the two
together, which motions are performed through the intervention of ap-
propriate cams, catches, and springs by the motion of a single lever
worked by the hand of the gunner.
To enable others skilled in the art to make and use the Invention I
will proceed to describe it in detail:-Fig. 1, is a side view of a gun
with the improvements attached; Fig. 2, is a side view of the same,
the breech being unscrewed preparatory to withdrawal; Fig. 3, is a
side view of the gun with the breech withdrawn and in the position

page_text: for loading; and Fig. 4, is a plan view of the gun; Figures 5, 6, 7, 8,
and 9, are details, which will be referred to hereafter; Fig. 10, shews
the means of securing the breech to the barrel.
.
A male screw is cut upon the end of the breech, and a corresponding
female screw is made on the interior of the barrel. These screws are
then marked off into six sections, and the threads upon every alternate
section in cach are cut away.
It will thus be evident, that by turning
the breech so that those sections j, of the male screw upon which the
threads remain stand opposite to the sections j', of the female screw
from which the threads have been cut away, the breech may be readily
slipped into the barrel. If now the breech be made to perform a
sixth of a revolution those sections of the male screw upon which the
threads remain will engage with the screw sections of the female screw,
and the two parts will be drawn firmly together. A, is the gun car-
riage; B, the barrel of the gun; C, the moveable breech. a, a, arc
straps secured to the barrel of the gun (see the plan Fig. 4); the strap
a, is seen detached at Fig. 5, and the strap a¹, at Fig. 9. D, is a
ring
which surrounds the breech, and in which the latter is permitted to
revolve. Upon each side of this ring is a pin b, which pins revolve and
traverse in the slots c, of the straps a, a'. The strap a, has also an ir-
regular slot d, d³, & t, in which plays a pin e, secured to the breech,
and through which the breech is moved in the manner hereafter
explained. f, is a lever of the form represented in Fig. 6, and pivoted
to this lever at the point i, is a catch lever h, (shewn detached at
Fig. 7.) This catch lever, which turns freely on its pivot, is furnished
near to one end with a recess or notch m, into which at certain junctures
the tooth n, of the spring o, (Fig. 8,) is allowed to fall. The tooth n,
is raised out of the notch m, at certain intervals by the pin e, which
presses against the projection p, of the spring o, and thus the tooth n, is
borne outwards sufficiently to clear the catch lever h, which is thus
permitted to drop by its own weight. 7, is the cover of the powder

page_text: along the surface r, of the lever, and is thereby raised through the
vertical portion d, of the strap a, carrying with it the breech, which is
permitted to turn within the ring D, and is thus unscrewed from the
barrel of the gun. At the close of this first motion of the lever f, the
parts are in the position represented at Fig. 2, the pin in its passage
having raised the spring tooth n, out of the notch m, in the catch lever h,
which is thus permitted to fall and grasp the pin e, with its hook 8, as
seen in Fig. 2. The motion of the lever f, is now reversed, and the
catch lever h, forces the pin e, along the horizontal portion d', of the
strap a, until the centre pins b, have reached the end of their respective
slots c, in the strap a'. The continued movement of the catch lever h,
causes the pin e, to move in the curved portion t, of the slot of the
strap a, and thus the parts are brought into the position shewn at Fig. 3,
the breech being in a vertical position and ready for loading. When
the loading has been effected the breech is to be returned to its former
position preparatory to discharging the gun. To this end the lever f,
is raised, and the catch lever h, by means of its hook s, carries the pine,
first through the curved portion t, of the slot, whereby the breech is
again brought into a horizontal position, and then, as the pin passes
through the horizontal portion of the slot, the breech passes into the
barrel. The spring tooth n, upon the lever f, remaining in the notch m,
of the catch lever h, the latter is raised out of the way of the pin e, as
shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 2. The breech is now to be screwed to
the barrel, and for this purpose it receives axial motion, which is
effected in the following manner :-The lever f, is again depressed, and
as the dog h, is held up out of the way by the spring tooth m, the
hooked portion, of the lever f, passes over the pin e, which is thereby
depressed through the slot d, and the breech is again screwed up, as
represented at Fig. 1, and the piece is ready for firing.
Having now described the Invention of "Improvements in Breech-
loading Guns," as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent
as aforesaid, I wish it to be understood that I do not claim the uniting
of the breech to the barrel by means of male and female screws, por-
tions of which are cut away to enable the one to enter the other, the
two being secured together by a partial revolution of one of them, as

page_text: this has been done before; but what I do claim under the herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent is, the above-described combination of
parts for the purpose of operating the moveable breech constructed and
arranged substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Third day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)