IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ORDNANCE
Year: 1866

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 THE CONSTRUCTION OF ORDNANCE."— A
communication from abroad by James Tyler Ames, of Chicopee, in the
State of Massachusetts, United States of America.
Sealed the 27th July .1866, and dated the 5th March 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton:
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th March 1866.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ORDNANCE,"
to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention in making ordnance is to obtain the required
degree of strength where the explosion of the charge exerts the greatest force
and without incurring the expence of making the whole cannon of the metal
or metals required for obtaining such strength.
The Invention consists in making the rear or breech portion of the cannon
which has to resist the explosion of the charge of wrought iron, steel, or other
:

page_text: suitable metal, and then casting the forward or muzzle part on to the forward end
thereof, and causing the two parts to become united. The rear portion of the
cannon nearly up to the trunnions is made of steel or such other metal as will
resist the force exerted by the explosion of the charge, and the forward end
thereof is turned to a bevil, or it is made in the form of a flute joint and the
part so formed is properly secured in a suitable mould of the intended form of
the whole cannon, and on to this is cast the forward or muzzle part with the
trunnions.
In order to secure the union of the cast part with the rear or breech part
the passages through which the molten metal is introduced are made tangential
to the circle so as to cause the metal while it is in a molten state to revolve in the
mould, or the entire mould is caused to rotate so that the breech part within
the mould may become highly heated and expanded before the cast metal
unites with it. If desired the breech or rear portion may be bored and the
muzzle or forward portion cast hollow thereon.
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 5th September 1866.
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 March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth 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 said William
Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Edward Newton, 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 "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ORDNANCE," being a communication to me
from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly

page_text: 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 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 Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
:
Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawing represents a longitudinal section of a
cannon made on the improved plan taken in the plane of the axis of the bore
and trunnions; Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modification of the above. It is
well known that the greatest force exerted by the explosion of the charge in a
cannon is at and for a short distance beyond that portion of the bore which
contains the charge, and that the difficulty heretofore experienced in making
cannon has been to give them the required strength at the part which has to
resist the greatest force of the discharge. No difficulty has been experienced
in making cast-iron cannon of sufficient strength in other parts. To make the
entire cannon of steel or other metal capable of resisting such force is very
expensive, and to avoid such expence. various plans have been devised and
tried, such as making the entire cannon of cast iron, and giving the required
additional strength to the rear portion by shrinking iron or steel bands on to
it, but so far this has failed to give the required strength, and even if it
should give the required strength the cannon becomes too heavy and unwieldy,
particularly for field pieces.
The object of the present Invention is to obtain the required degree of
strength where the explosion of the charge exerts the greatest force, and
without incurring the expense of making the whole cannon of the metal or
metals required for obtaining such strength.
The Invention consists in making the rear or breech portion of the cannon
(that is the part which has to resist the greatest force developed by the
explosion of the charge) of wrought iron, steel, or other suitable metal, and
then casting the forward or muzzle part on to the forward end thereof, and
causing the two parts to become united.
The rear portion A of the cannon nearly up to the trunnions is made of
steel, or such other metal as will secure the required strength to successfully
resist the force exerted by the explosion of the charge, and the forward end
thereof is turned to a bevel, as represented by the line B, or it is made in the
form of a flute joint, as represented by the line C at Fig. 2, and the part so

page_text: formed is properly secured. in. a suitable mould of the intended form of the
whole cannon, and on' to this is cast the forward or muzzle part D with the
trunnions E, E. In order to secure the union of the cast part D with the
rear or breech part A the passages through which the molten metal is intro-
duced are made in a. tangential line to the circle, so as to cause the metal
while it is in a molten 'state to revolve in the mould as in the well-known
way of casting iron rolls, or the entire mould is caused to rotate so that the
breech part within the mould may become highly heated and expanded before
the cast metal-unites with it. After the whole has solidified and cooled down,
and the casting has been taken out of the mould, it is to be finished in any
suitable manner not necessary to describe, as that makes no part of the
present. Invention. If desired the breech or rear portion. A may be bored,
and the muzzle. or forward portion D cast hollow thereon by forming the
mould in a suitable manner to obtain that result..
And although I have above stated that the forward or muzzle portion D
with the: trunnions is cast on to the previously formed part A, I have made
such statement simply because that it is the best mode of carrying out the
Invention, but I do not wish to be understood as limiting the Invention to
such mode of application, as the trunnions may be made part of the rear
portion A, or otherwise secured thereto. And so of the mode of causing the
cast portion to unite with the previously formed portion on which it is cast;
any other suitable mode of causing the parts to unite may be used.
. What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is, the method
above described of making cannon by casting the muzzle or forward portion
on to the forward end of the rear or breech portion previously formed of
steel or other metal of suitable strength to resist the force developed by the
explosion of the charge as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Third day of September, in the year of our
1. Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
:
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.s.)