IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF GUN CARRIAGES AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel Gover, of King's Street, Long Acre, in the
County of Middlesex, Builder, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF GUN CARRIAGES AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Daniel Gover at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 19th
June 1855.
I, DANIEL GOVER, of King's Street, Long Acre, in the County of Middlesex,
Builder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF GUN CARRIAGES, AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THERE-
WITH," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to facilitate the loading of field pieces, and to
protect the men who are working the gun from missiles thrown by the enemy.
To this end I mount the gun on a centre piece or turnplate, which is supported
by the carriage frame. The breech end of the gun is adjusted vertically by a
regulating screw, which has its bearing in a traversing segment piece provided
with antifriction wheels. This segment piece is intended to traverse an annular
tramway, for the purpose of turning the cannon round end for end, and thus
permitting the artillerymen to charge it without exposing themselves between
the gun and the enemy. To the rear end of the carriage frame a steering

page_text: wheel is fitted, to permit of the ready adjustment of the lateral range of the gun
when the gun is disconnected from the ammunition portion of the carriage.
At both ends of the carriage I provide shields, which are connected thereto
by jointed rods, and are capable of elevation and depression by means of
chains or otherwise. These shields I propose to set on the slant, and in such
positions as to protect the men in charge of the gun, whether seated on the
ammunition box or engaged in loading the gun. Any shots, therefore, striking
upon the shields will glance off at an angle and fall harmless to the ground.
When not required they may be unshipped with readiness..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance-of-the-conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Daniel Gover in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th
December. 1855.
-
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DANIEL
GOVER, of King's Street, Long Acre, in the County of Middlesex, Builder,
send greeting.
.
...
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,, the
said Daniel Gover, Her special license that I, the said Daniel Gover, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Daniel
Gover, 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 THE
CONSTRUCTION OF GUN CARRIAGES, AND APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Daniel Gover, 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 Daniel Gover, do hereby declare the
nature of my said-Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,

page_text: to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the letters
and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
My Invention of "Improvements in the Construction of Gun Carriages,
and Appliances connected therewith," has for its object, first, to facilitate the
loading of field pieces; and, second, to protect the men who are working the
gun from missiles thrown by the enemy.
In carrying out my Invention, I adapt to the gun carriage a central frame,
on which is supported the gun on a centre pin, so that it may be turned..
completely round or pointed with facility in any direction without moving the
carriage. The breech_end of the gun is adjusted vertically by a regulating
screw, which has its bearing in a traversing segmental piece or block, provided
with antifriction wheels, so as, to admit of the gun with. its segmental block
being moved or traversed round an annular tramway; which forms part of the
central frame, above mentioned. The gun may therefore be turned round end
for end, and thus permit the artillerymen to charge it without exposing them-
selves to the enemy in front of the gun. At the rear end of the carriage frame
a steering wheel is fitted, to permit of the ready adjustment of the lateral range
of the gun when the gun is disconnected from the ammunition portion of the
carriage.
In order still further to protect the artillerymen while working the
gun, I
adapt to both ends of the carriage shields, which are connected thereto by
jointed rods, and are capable of elevation and depression by means of chains or
otherwise when the gun is to be fired or removed. These shields should be set
on the slant, or at an angle with the horizon, and in such positions as to protect
the men in charge of the gun, whether, seated on the ammunition.box or
engaged in loading the gun... By placing these shields at an angle, any shots
upon striking the shields will glance off at an angle and fall harmless to the
ground.
In order, however, that my Invention may be clearly understood, I have
shewn in the accompanying Drawing various Figures of a gun mounted on my
improved plan.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a gun in the position it would occupy while
being loaded; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the ammunition waggon which
accompanies the gun, and to which it may be connected for the convenience
of transport, as-usual in land batteries; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the gun
and its appendages, as shewn in Fig. 1-; and Fig. 4 is a similar view of the
ammunition waggon-shewn-in-Fig. 2.
..a, a, a, a is the framing of the gun carriage, which, is, shewn as made

page_text: of wood, but metal may be employed for this purpose, if thought desirable.
The frame of the gun carriage is mounted on wheels b, b, as usual, and
on the top of the ordinary gun carriage frame is secured the horizontal
circular frame c, c, which is provided with a circular tramway (as seen
best in Fig. 3). The gun is mounted in bearings d, d, fixed on the circular
moveable plate e, which turns on a centre pin, shewn by dots at f, in Fig. 3.
The breech end of the gun is supported by an adjusting screw g, as usual, for
the purpose of pointing the gun with accuracy, and the lower end of this screw
rests upon a segmental traversing plate h, and is also supplied with a female
screw i, and arms, whereby the screw g, and consequently the breech end of
the gun, may be raised or lowered, for the purpose of accurately pointing the
gun before firing. The segmental plate h is provided with antifriction rollers,
which run on the circular rails of the frame c, c, as shewn in Fig. 3, and to
cach side of the segmental plate h is attached a cord j, j, whereby the plate h
and the gun may be pulled round end for end into the position shewn in
the Figures, as would be the case when it requires loading. When the loading
operation has been completed, the gun may be moved round again into the
position shewn by red lines in Fig. 3, when the segmental plate / will be
brought up against the stop piece 7, and thereby brought to the position it
originally occupied. This stop piece is capable of being fixed by means of a
set screw at any part of the circle. The tail end of the gun carriage is sup-
ported by a single wheel m, and is further provided with a double handle n,
whereby the end of the gun carriage may be lifted up by two men, and
the eye-hole o placed on a pin attached to the ammunition carriage, as is
usual in guns belonging to land batteries. p, p, are inclined shields, made
of some light hard wood or other suitable material, covered with sheet
iron, and attached to the gun carriage by means of the arms 9, 9, which
are jointed to both the gun carriage and the shield, so as to admit of the
latter being raised up into a horizontal position when required. This shield,
although apparently of slight construction, and ill adapted to resist a ball,
will, in fact, owing to the inclined position at which it is set, be perfectly
impervious to musket or rifle balls, which upon striking it will glide off
harmlessly. To the upper part of the shield are attached the cords r, r, which
extend back behind the gun to where the artillerymen stand, so that when the
gun is loaded and turned round in the direction of the enemy, as shewn by red
lines in Fig. 3, the artillerymen by pulling down the cords r, r, will raise up the
shield into the position shewn by dots in Fig. 1, and then the gun can be fired,
immediately after which the shield is again lowered into the position shewn
in the Figure, in order to protect the artillerymen while reloading. It will be

page_text: seen, on referring to Figures 2 and 4, that a similar shield is adapted to the
ammunition waggon, and is actuated in a precisely similar manner.
When the gun is being transported with its ammunition waggon from place
to place with its attendant artillerymen, the latter may be seated on the
carriages, as usual, and the shields raised up into the position shewn by dots in
Figures 1 and 2. In order that an additional number of artillerymen may
be enabled to ride upon the ammunition waggon, I adapt to the hinder part of
the box or case s, s, an additional step piece or foot board t, t, Figures 2 and 4,
so that, besides the ordinary number of men, others may sit back to back with
them on the box or case s, s.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in the Construction
of Gun Carriages, and Appliances connected therewith," and explained the
best method of carrying the same into effect, I claim, in conclusion, mounting
the guns of field pieces upon a traversing platform, as herein shewn and
described, whereby the gun may be turned round in either-direction, so as to
facilitate the loading or charging of the piece.
Second, I claim the application to the carriages of field pieces of inclined
shields, as above described, for the purpose of protecting the men employed to
work the gun from the missiles of the enemy.
In witness whereof, I, the said Daniel Gover, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
DANIEL GOVER. (L.S.)