IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE, WHEREBY THEY ARE RENDERED MORE PORTABLE, AND IN CARRIAGES FOR TRANSPORTING THE SAME
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hobbs, of Pancras Lane, in the City of
London, Shop Fitter, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE,
WHEREBY THEY ARE RENDERED MORE PORTABLE, AND IN CARRIAGES FOR
TRANSPORTING THE SAME."
Sealed the 28th December 1866, and dated the 11th July 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hobbs at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th July 1866.
I, WILLIAM HOBBS, of Pancras Lane, in the City of London, Shop Fitter,
5 do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
ORDNANCE, WHEREBY THEY ARE RENDERED MORE PORTABLE, AND IN CARRIAGES FOR
TRANSPORTING THE SAME," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates principally to field pieces, the object being to facilitate
the use of large guns in the field by rendering them readily transportable, and
providing means for their transport. To this end I make my guns in sections,

page_text: providing one, two, three, or more sections or parts that shall be removable
from the breech end, and a like or other number of parts removable from the
muzzle I provide a core piece, having the bore complete, and either in one
piece with or removable from a central piece carrying the trunnions. The
removable sections I screw on or otherwise affix to the bore piece, one after
the other; all these sections being accurately fitted on the core piece impart
to it the necessary strength to resist the force of the explosion; the breech
section may be a close-ended piece, to form the termination thereof. By
removing a section simultaneously, or one after another, from the muzzle and
breech the gun is always kept nearly on a balance on its trunnions, and is
therefore always easily manageable. The trunnion piece in transporting
allways remains in its own carriage, and the bore piece also, if in one there-
with; if removable 1 provide a separate carriage for it, as also for the several
sections into which the gun is divided. Supposing there are six sections
removed from the gun, I provide six additional carriages, each of which is
adapted to receive a section when removed from the gun; it may, for instance,
be a round stem-like part to carry the section, which is simply slipped off the
core piece on to such stem when removed, and the reverse operation when
applied. In applying the sections to the gun the stem-like part of the
transport carriage is brought close up to the core piece to facilitate the
operation; the stem piece should have a projecting registering part fitting
into a hole, or it may be the bore of the gun. The six carriages should be
each specially adapted for carrying the several sections, and five of them may
be constructed to take readily to pieces and pack for transport in the sixth,
when they are not required for the transport of the sections of the gun. Each
extra transport carriage might be capable of carrying two sections, and so
reduce the number of extra carriages by one half. By this means a large
gun is readily separated into seven or eight separate pieces, and is rendered
easy of transport, therefore presenting facilities for the use of large guns in
positions where it would be impossible to get them if in one piece. Any other
kind of additional carriages might be used to transport the sections of the gun,
but which would not afford the same facilities for applying and removing the
sections on and from the gun as the special carriages described for the
purpose.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Dobbs in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th January 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
LOBBS, of Pancras Lane, in the City of London, Shop Fitter, send greeting.
WHEREAS Hei most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, beaning date the Eleventh day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundied and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Hei leign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Hobbs, Her special licence that I, the said William Hobbs, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Hobbs, my executois, administi ators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereaftei 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
ORDNANCE, WHEREBY THEY ARE RENDERED MORE PORTABLE, AND IN CARRIAGES
FOR TRANSPORTING THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said William Hobbs, my executors or administrators, by an insti ument
in waiting under mv, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Hobbs, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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 Sheet of Diawings hereunto annexed, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) —
My Invention relates principally to field pieces, the object being to facilitate
the use of large guns in the field by rendering them readily transportable, and
providing means for their transport. To this end I make my guns in sections,
providing one, two, three, or more sections or parts that shall be removable
from the breech end, and a like or other number of parts removable from the
muzzle end I provide a central tube having the bore complete, and either
in one piece with or removable from a central piece or section on which the
trunnions are formed. The removable sections I screw on or otherwise affix

page_text: to the bore piece, one after the other, all these sections being accurately fitted
on the bore piece or tube, to which they impart the necessary strength to
resist the force of the explosion; the breech section may be a close-ended
piece to form the termination of the bore. By removing a section at the
bieech and muzzle simultaneously, or even one after another, the gun will
always be kept nearly on a balance on its trunnions, and will therefore be
always easily manageable. The trunnion section in transporting always
romains in its own carriage, and the bore piece or tube also, if of one piece
therewith; if removable I provide a separate carriage for it, as also for the
several sections into which the gun is divided. Supposing there are six
sections removed from the gun, I provide six additional carriages, each of
which is adapted to receive a section when removed from the gun; it may,
for instance, be a round stem-like part to carry the section, which is simply
shipped off the bore piece on to such stem when removed, and the reverse
operation when applied to the gun In applying the sections the stem-like
part of the transport cainage is brought close up to the bore or centre pieco,
and to facilitate the operation the stem piece should have a projecting part
fitting and entering the bore of the gun. The six carriages should be each
specially adapted for carrying the several separate sections, and five of them
may be constructed to take readily to pieces and pack for transport in the
sixth, when they are not required for the transport of the sections of the gun.
Each extra transport carriage might be capable of carrying two sections, and
so reduce the number of extra carriages by one half. By this means a large
gun is readily separated into seven or eight separate pieces, and is rendered
easy of transport, therefore presenting facilities for the use of large guns in
positions where it would be impossible to get them if in one piece. Any other
kind of additional carnages might be used to transport the sections of the
gun, but which would not afford the same facilities for shipping and unshipping
(so to speak) the sections on and from the gun as the special carriage above
descubed.
My improvements in portable ordnance are represented in the Drawings
annexed, which I teim Hobbs' armour plated ordnance, consisting of an inuer
tube of wrought steel, or other metal strengthened by sections of armour
plating of gun metal, cast on, wrought iron, or other suitable metal, said
Inner tube having a screw cut at either end, by which the extreme sections of
plating are secured, and the whole held together as one piece. The armour
plating sections are, say, seven in number, the middle one having the
ti unions formed on it, this being in position on the gun camage, the inner

page_text: steel tube is inserted within said trunnion section, and fixed therein by a
binding screw in its proper position, the several sections are then applied to
the tube, either alternately at breech and muzzle, or simultaneously, so as to
keep it nearly balanced on the trunnions. The solid breech section closes the
breech of the inner tube.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a mounted gun constructed according
to my Invention, and Figure 2, a plan of the same, but showing the outline of
the gun dotted, and the sectional armour plates or rings removed; Figure 3
represents a longitudinal section of the whole gun; Figure 4 represents a
side view of the inner steel tube and trunnion section of the armour plating;
and Figure 5 an end view of Figure 4; Figure 6, a side view, and Figure 7
an end view of one of the annular sections of armour plating, while Figure 8
represents the muzzle section in side view, and Figure 9 a like view of the
breech section.
a, a, is the wrought-steel tube forming the bore of the gun; it is accurately
bored in the interior, as usual in good guns, and is rendered truly cylindrical
on the exterior, it is further furnished with screws b, b, one at either end.
The several armour plating or strengthening sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7, are
accurately fitted to the exterior of the tube, so as to afford support to it in
resisting internal pressure. Supposing the whole to be in detached pieces,
and the trunnion piece 4 alone in the gun carriage resting therein on its
trunnions, I first insert the tube a, a, in part 4, and adjust it in the position
desited, where I fix it by a binding screw c, operated by a suitable key lever ;
I now apply sections 3 and 5, either simultaneously or in succession, one at
each end of tube a, then sections 2 and 6 in like manner, and ultimately
sections 1 and 7, which are screwed on to the ends of the tube a, and bind
the whole firmly together; it will be observed in Figure 3 that section 6 is
not fitted on to the tube a, but on to a part projecting from breech piece 7,
which in such arrangement I make entirely of cast steel, but instead of such
arrangement the section 6 may be fitted to tube a, and that tube continued
backward and screwed into part 7, as seen in red lines. The several sections
have annular grooves or recesses e and projections f, which fit the one into the
other, so that the one section offers support for the other; they are also
furnished with a steady or registering pin g and hole h to bring them accurately
together. Holes to receive the pins of a lever are formed in the sections 1
and 7, to enable their being screwed up tightly together. I sometimes make
the sections to screw together individually, in which case the steady pin g and
hole h are dispensed with, and I make two or three turns of a male screw on

page_text: the annular projections f, and corresponding female screws in the recesses e,
whereby the adjoining sections are each screwed firmly and strongly together.
I provide holes in the sections for the insertion of the toe or claw of a hand
lever, whereby to operate the screwing.
Figure 10 represents a modification of the steel inner tube, showing the
muzzle end of the gun in which that end of the tube a is shortened, and the
continuation of the bore made up by the muzzle section 1.
Figure 11 represents a plan, and Figure 12 a side elevation of a carriage
adapted for carrying a section of the armour plating of the gun. A, A, are
suitable shafts for a horse, terminating in a square frame and axle B, B,
mounted on wheels C, C, as usual; from frame B are erected two uprights
D, D', suitably stayed on uprights D, D', is disposed a timber E, on which
the section of the plating is carried; this is simply a timber strapped with
iron, and firmly secured to D, D¹; it is rounded at the overhanging end, and
may be sheathed in ion if necessary, or entirely of metal. A section of the
armour plating is shown dotted on E. The end y is reduced, so as to enter
the bure of the gun, so that in applying or removing the section it is simply
necessary to insert the small part y in the bore of the gun, and slide the
section off or on to the steel tube a, and so make up or dismember-the
gun. One of the carriages is of course provided for each section to be carried,
or two might be carried in one carriage by having the rounded part of E long
enough to accommodate two parts.
Figure 13 shows a front view, and Figure 14 a side view of a carriage
adapted to carry an armour plate section of gun. 1, 1, is a bent axletiee
supported on two wheels as usual; above the axle is fixed a curved iron
plate m further attached to a bow p in front, to which bow the shafts or pole
of the carriage is secured at q; from m four standards are raised supporting
pullies, over which ropes s are passed, suspending a leathern apron piece t, on
which a section of the gun is laid when removed from the gun, and lowered
on to plate m by two or four men, one at the fiee end of each rope s. The
sections may be raised from bed m in like manner to the desired elevation
when applying them to the gun. A section disposed on plate m and secured
in position by cross chains 3, 3, may be safely and easily transported over any
kind of country.
Having described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I desire it to be understood that the detail may be varied
without departing from my Invention, and that what I claim as my Invention
to be protected by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―

page_text: First, combining the parts of a gun in such manner that the several
sections or parts by which the inner tube or bore piece is strengthened can be
removed at the breech or rear as well as at the muzzle of the gun without
interfering with the trunnion section, as and for the purposes berein-before
described.
Secondly, I claim the arrangement of carriage for carrying the sections
represented in Figures 11 and 12 of the Drawings hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hobbs, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundied and sixty-seven.
W. HOBBS. (LB.)
Witness,
W. B. LUMLEY,
Indian Retired List,
23, Kildare Gardens, Westbourne Park,
London.