IMPROVEMENTS IN SPADE BAYONETS AND BAYONET FASTENINGS
Year: 1873

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edward Thomas Hughes at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th November 1873.-A communication from abroad by Felix
Chillingworth, of Springfield, in the County of Hampden, in the
State of Massachusetts, United States of America.
I, EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent
Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for " IMPROVEMENTS IN SPADE BAYONETS AND BAYONET
FASTENINGS," a communication to me from abroad by Felix Chilling-
worth, of Springfield, in the County of Hampden, in the State of
Massachusetts, United States of America, to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to make the bayonet shank of regular
form, free from angular projections, for the purpose of providing a smooth
handle for the spade bayonet, thereby removing any liability of cutting
or injuring the hand by any sharp projections when the bayonet is
detached from the gun, and used for the purpose of digging in forming
entrenchments, and at the same time to improve the means of attaching
the bayonet to and detaching it from the gun..

page_text: In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a side view of a bayonet and
shank made according to this Invention.
Fig. 2 is another side view of the shank made upon a spade bayonet ;
Fig. 3 is an end view of the same.
Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the sleeve through line I.
Fig. 5 is an end view of the socket with the sleeve removed; Fig. 6 is
a side view of the same with the sleeve removed and showing the stud.
Fig. 7 is a transverse section of the sleeve through line H; Fig. 8 is a
longitudinal section of the sleeve through line N of Fig. 7.
And Fig. 9 is a side view of the friction pin, its stop, and spring.
In the drawing A represents the shank, and E the blade of a trowel
bayonet, upon the end of which shank is made the arm 6 having sight
slot a made therein, extending into the shank sufficiently to receive the
sight of the gun, and a sleeve B having a longitudinal groove a¹ therein
which I denominate, the "sight groove" is made to fit said arm
properly.
A hole is made in the shank or socket which is made sufficiently thick
for that purpose, and a pin e is inserted therein with a sping x behind it,
as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1, 2, and 6, so that the end of the pin
may project a little from the shank, as shown in same Figures, and a
projection h is made upon the arm, which projection should not be placed
upon the arm at any point between the friction pin e and the sight slot
a, but may be placed upon any other portion of said arm. I prefer to
place it a little to one side of the line of the friction pin e, as shown
in Figs. 5 and 6. That part of the sleeve having the largest inside
diameter fits upon the arm, and a shoulder m in said sleeve meets the
end of the arm so that the part of the sleeve having the smallest inside
diameter forms a continuation of the inside of the arm, both being of the
same inside diameter.
A groove n is formed on the inside of the sleeve at right angles to the
sight groove a¹ of sufficient size to allow the projection or stud h to move
therein, and the groove n is of such length (extending from the sight
groove) as to allow the sleeve to be turned upon the arm until the sight
groove a¹ and the friction pin e coincide, and also in the other direction
until the sight groove a¹ and sight slot a in the arm coincide.

page_text: The extreme inner end of the sight groove is beveled or rounded off
upon one side, as shown at i, and the other side of the same is straight,
as shown in Fig. 5, and the outer end of the friction pin is rounded, as
shown in Figs. 1, 6, and 9. This construction of the end of the sight
groove and the end of the pin allows the sleeve to be turned upon the
arm in attaching the bayonet to and detaching it from the gun, for
when the sleeve is in its place upon the arm with the end of the friction
pin e projecting slightly into the groove a¹, if the sleeve is forcably
turned upon the arm 6 in a direction to bring the sight groove a¹,
directly over the sight slot a, the bevel i rides over the rounded end of
the pin e and pushes the pin back into its socket. The pin remains in
this position until the sleeve is turned back again, and when the sight
groove a¹ is brought again into line with the friction pin e, said pin is
pushed into the groove by the spring behind it, and as the straight side
of the sight groove strikes the pin the sleeve is prevented from turning
any further.
If it is desired to detach the sleeve from the arm 6 it is only necessary
to insert a strong wire into the sight groove in the sleeve and press back
the friction pin, at the same time turning the sleeve so that the sight
groove a¹ shall be in line with the projection or stud h when it may be
easily withdrawn from the arm b.
The neck or shank which connects the blade E to the socket is made
concave upon the outside, as shown at f to give suitable bearing for the
fore finger when pressing the bayonet as a spade into the ground,
thereby preventing the hand from slipping over the neck fand being
cut by the blade, and so that the soldier in lying upon the ground and
firing from behind his intrenchments, may use it as a rest to fire from by
sticking the blade in the ground and placing the stock or barrel of his
gun in the concave part f, and thus keep the gun clear from the dirt,
and in using a breech-loading gun he would not be obliged to remove
his gun from the rest after every discharge of the piece.
I prefer to make the friction pin with a small neck or shank t of
smaller diameter than the ends of the pin, and with a stop pin & inserted
in the socket and passing between the two larger ends of the pin e, so
that said pin shall have less friction surface in its longitudinal action,
and so that it may not be accidentally lost out. This construction of the
pin and its stop is shown clearly in Fig. 9, and the friction pin might

page_text: have an elongated part extending through the shank or socket to the
front part of the neck, the shank having a hole made therein for that
purpose, and with a small knob on the extreme end of the elongated
part so that in case dirt should get into the socket of the friction pin,
and cause the pin to stick in the socket, a slight pressure upon the knob
would force the pin out again into its place. This attachment or
fastening is equally applicable to the ordinary triangular bayonet, as
shown in Fig. 1, as to the trowel or spade bayonet, shown in Fig. 2, and
such variation may be made in the shank as may be necessary to
accommodate the construction of the bayonet, and is equally applicable
to the sword bayonet.
The friction pin and the sleeve may be corrugated upon the inside to
prevent the surfaces from rusting together, and to prevent their working
hard if dirt should get in.
The blade may have a strengthening rib on the back extending longi-
tudinally thereon, which may be either rolled out solid with the blade or
welded thereto as may be most convenient in construction, and the blade
may be curved or convex upon its back and concave upon its face, and
may have a greater or less degree of curvature in its length if desirable.
It will be perceived that the sleeve of the socket contains the sight
groove a¹ which is wholly inside and entirely covered, and that when the
socket is attached to the gun, the sight of the gun slides along in said
groove until the socket is in place, and the sleeve is turned to secure it
to the gun.