Improvements in or relating to Automatic Guns.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Dec., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 3rd Oct., 1896-Accepted, 7th Nov., 1895
Improvements in or relating to Automatic Guns.
I, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, of 18 Queen's Gate Place, in the County of
Middlesex, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as follows:-
This invention relates to automatic guns and chiefly to those having a calibre of
one and half to four inches, although it is applicable to still larger guns.
Guns of such calibre have heretofore usually been loaded and fired by hand or
by semi-automatic means whereby all the operations required for working the gun
except those of thrusting the cartridge into the barrel and pulling the trigger have
been performed by energy derived from the recoil.
Now according to my present invention, all of the operations (except pulling the
trigger) required to work the gun, are performed automatically.
My improvements are preferably applied to guns in which the breech-block
slides downward to open the breech, and the breech mechanism is substantially the
same as that described in the Specification of my former Patent No. 477887
although it may be advantageously applied to other forms of breech mechanism.
In quick-firing guns it frequently happens that the cartridge is not pushed into
the gun with sufficient force to send it fully home, whereupon the breech becomes
jammed and firing is delayed. Sometimes the man working the breech attempts to
close the breech before the cartridge is fully inserted thus causing delay in firing.
According to my invention such delays are avoided, and the cartridge is thrust
into the barrel by automatic means with ample force to ensure its being sent fully
home. For this purpose I provide the gun with a tubular cartridge-carrier capable
of a to-and-fro movement controlled by a powerful spring and of an up and down
sliding movement on a suitable guide, or a turning movement about a pivot. The
said carrier may, for example be pivoted on the rod or bar of the shoulder piece or
crutch. It is open at the forward end and closed at the rear end and is so
balanced and controlled by a spring or weight as to descend to its lowest position
when loaded with a cartridge and to rise again to its highest position when the
cartridge is removed. Above the gun mounting and in front of the cartridge-
carrier I provide a stationary or non-recoiling magazine for containing several
cartridges which can be placed in the magazine by hand while the gun is being
fired. Forward of the magazine 1 provide the gun with a suitable cup-shaped
buffer which, when the gun recoils, passes through an opening in the front wall of
the magazine, strikes the lowermost cartridge, and drives it out of the magazine
through the rear end thereof and into the cartridge carrier which, when in its
highest position is in line with the lowermost cartridge in the magazine. The
carrier is furnished with a pad or buffer at the rear end to avoid injury to the
cartridge and also with a spring catch or equivalent device to prevent the rebound
of the cartridge from the carrier. The carrier is moved backward against the
pressure of its spring by the recoil movement of the gun and is locked by a catch
in the recoiled position. The carrier when loaded with a cartridge tends to
descend and will descend as soon as the sliding part of the gun which recoils
underneath the carrier moves forward again out of the way. During the forward
movement of the gun after recoil the breech is opened as in some semi-automatic
guns. By the descending movement of the carrier the cartridge is brought in line
with the axis of the barrel and at the same time the retaining catch which is

page_text: holding the carrier in its recoiled position is liberated whereupon the carrier is
driven forcibly forward by its spring and the cartridge is thrown into the gun.
The carrier being thus relieved of its load then rises again ready for the next
discharge, the breech-block is closed and the gun is ready to be fired. If the
trigger be held back the gun will continue to fire automatically.
I sometimes provide an adjustable spring in combination with a projection or
finger on the carrier arm so as to tend to keep the carrier up when it is raised, and
to keep it down when it is lowered. In this case the breech-block can be utilized
for raising the carrier.
By my invention a very small gun which closely resembles the ordinary quick
firing guns can be made.
It is obvious that the gun provided with a magazine as above described can be
fired much more quickly than one without a magazine.
In some cases it may be necessary to provide a catch controlled by the breech-
block to prevent the descent of the carrier until the breech-block has reached its
lowermost position thereby allowing time for the extraction and expulsion of the
empty cartridge-case before the carrier falls into the position for inserting the
cartridge into the
gun.
In some cases where the shield is so situated that it would interfere with the
placing of the magazine above the gun, the magazine is placed at the side or
beneath the gun and the carrier is constructed to turn through the required angle
to deliver the cartridges, by means of a coiled spring or otherwise, properly to the
barrel. In some instances the magazine may be dispensed with and the cartridges
may be placed by hand directly in the aforesaid carrier tube.
Dated this 10th day of December 1895
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or relating to Automatic Guns.
I, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, of 18 Queen's Gate Place, in the County of
Middlesex, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to automatic guns and chiefly to those having a calibre of
one and a half to four inches, although it is applicable to still larger guns.
Guns of such calibre have heretofore usually been loaded and fired by hand or
by semi-automatic means whereby all the operations required for working the gun
except those of thrusting the cartridge into the barrel and pulling the trigger, have
been performed by energy derived from the recoil.
Now according to my present invention, all of the operations required to work
the gun, (except pulling the trigger) are performed automatically.
My improvements are preferably applied to guns in which the breech-block
slides downward to open the breech, and the breech mechanism is substantially
the same as that described in the Specification of my former Patent No. 47788,
although it may be advantageously applied to other forms of breech mechanism.
In quick-firing guns it frequently happens that the cartridge is not pushed into
the barrel with sufficient force to send it fully home, whereupon the breech
mechanism cannot be operated effectually and firing is delayed. Delay in firing is
also sometimes caused by reason of the gunner's attempting to close the breech
before the cartridge is fully inserted. According to my invention such delays are
avoided, and the cartridge is inserted into the barrel automatically with ample
'force to ensure its being thrust fully home.
A

page_text: For the purpose of my invention I provide the gun with a cartridge carrier into
which the cartridges are received one by one from the magazine, or otherwise, the
said carrier being so arranged that the energy of the recoil of the gun will cause it
to automatically bring the cartridge it contains into alignment with the barrel and
deliver it into the cartridge chamber, after which the said carrier will assume its
normal position ready to receive a fresh cartridge. And it is a peculiarity of my
present invention that the successive cartridges are automatically thrown
projected instead of being pushed from the magazine into the carrier and from the
carrier into the barrel. This is a very important feature of my invention because
it permits the use of cartridges whose length is greatly in excess of the length of
the recoil movement of the gun.
or
In order that my said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried
into effect I will proceed to describe the same more fully with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which,
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation,
Figure 2 a plan; and
Figure 3 a vertical transverse section on the line 1. 1 shewing the cartridge
carrier arranged to slide on and oscillate about a rod or bar forming part of the
shoulder piece of the gun.
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation; and
Figure 5 a plan showing another construction in which the carrier does not slide
but is pivotally arranged and provided with a spring piston to throw the cartridge
from the carrier into the barrel.
Figure 6 is a sectional elevation and Figure 7 a vertical transverse section on
the line 22 of Figure 6 shewing a modified construction of the arrangement
illustrated in Figures 1 to 3.
Figure 8 is a sectional elevation shewing a modification of the arrangement
illustrated in Figures 6 and 7.
Figure 9 is a sectional elevatiou and Figure 10 a vertical transverse section on
the line 3. 3 of Figure 9 shewing a further modification.
Figure 11 is another transverse section similar to Figure 1C with certain parts
omitted, and illustrates the carrier in another position.
Figure 12 is a fragmentary transverse section taken substantially on the line 4. 4
of Figure 9.
Figures 13 and 14 are vertical transverse sections shewing a device for
supporting the carrier in its raised position until the breech is fully opened.
In these figures I have shewn my invention applied to a gun of the kind in
which the breech mechanism is operated by the recoil of the barrel.
In all these figures A is the breech-block; B the recoiling barrel; C the
magazine; D the cartridge carrier; and E the shoulder piece or crutch. As
before stated the breech-block here shewn is adapted to slide in a vertical plane to
open and close the breech. a is the lever handle by which the gunner can operate
the breech block by hand.
Referring more particularly to Figures 1, 2 and 3 the cartridge carrier D here.
shewn consists of a hollow cylindrical receptacle closed at its rear end and having
a bell mouthed opening and a lip d at its forward end. The said carrier is formed
in one piece with a sleeve d' which is adapted to loosely fit on a tubular casing d
which is capable of rectilinear movement on a hollow rod F, against the resistance
of a spiral spring d' contained within the said tubular casing. This spring
surrounds the rod F and abuts at one end against an internal shoulder d on the
forward extremity of the said tubular casing and at the other end against the
socket E by which the shoulder piece E is secured to the rod F. This socket E'
has a longitudinal slot e in its under side to receive a corresponding projection d³ on
the tubular casing so that although the casing will be free to slide longitudinally
it will be prevented from turning. The aforesaid sleeve d¹ has an enlarged end
at de which abuts against a shoulder d' on the tubular casing and serves as a box
for the reception of a spring d³. One end of this spring is connected to the said

page_text: shoulder d and the other end to the said sleeve d¹ in such a manner that the spring
tends to keep the carrier, when empty, in the raised position in which it is indicated
in Figures and 3.
The forward end of the said tubular casing carries a pivoted catch or pawl d
having a tail do. This pawl is acted upon by a spring d which tends to force the
nose d of the pawl in a downward direction. G is a bracket bolted to the framing
or some stationary part of the gun, this bracket carrying the rod F which is firmly
connected to the socket g of the bracket by the nut g'. H is a buffer consisting of
leather washers or other suitable material, interposed between the front end of the
tubular casing and the socket g of the bracket, for the purpose of diminishing or
deadening the concussion between these parts when the spring d³ reacts after its
compression by the recoil of the gun. In the bracket G is a notch g² which
receives the nose of the pawl d when the tubular casing and carrier slide
backwardly, such engagement of the pawl with the notch keeping the carrier in its
retracted position until the pawl is released.
Firmly secured to the barrel B near its breech-end is a lug B' which is connected
by a rod B' to a cup-shaped spring buffer or plunger B³ which, when the barrel
recoils, acts upon the nose of the lowermost cartridge in the magazine C so that
the said cartridge is forcibly expelled rearwardly from the magazine through an
exit opening C and thrown or projected into the carrier D. That is to say the
aforesaid plunger B' has only a comparatively short rearward movement and therefore
it does not expel the cartridge from the magazine by a continuous push but by a
sudden blow, so that as above stated the comparatively short movement of recoil is
sufficient to cause the delivery from the magazine to the carrier of a cartridge
having a length much greater than that of the recoil movement of the barrel.
The closed end of the said carrier is provided with a leather or other buffer D¹
for absorbing the force of the shock when the base of the cartridge strikes the end
of the carrier. The exit opening C¹ of the magazine is provided with a hinged
flap C which is kept in its closed position by means of a spring (acting upon a
tappet C carried by the hinge pin of the flap. This flap serves as a guard to
protect the detonator of the lowermost cartridge in the magazine from being
accidentally struck by the nose of the cartridge in the carrier.
In order to prevent the cartridge from rebounding when it is thrown from the
magazine into the carrier I provide the latter with a spring-controlled catch d¹³
which engages with the rim of the cartridge and offers sufficient resistance to
prevent its rebounding or its accidental escape when the gun is fired at depression.
As before stated the carrier D when empty normally occupies the position
represented in Figures 1 and 3, under the influence of its spring ds, that is to say it
lies in alignment with the exit opening from the magazine ready to receive the
lowermost cartridge therefrom.
When the gun is discharged and the barrel recoils the lug B' actuates the spring
plunger B in the magazine by exerting a pull on the rod B and at the same time
actuates the tubular casing d¹ by exerting a backward pressure on a nose d¹ formed
on the said casing. Therefore the lowermost cartridge is thrown from the magazine
into the carrier simultaneously with the rearward movement of the latter. As the
carrier completes its rearward movement the nose of the pawl d comes into
engagement with the notch g³ whereby the carrier and the cartridge it contains are
retained in their rearward position. The barrel in regaining its firing position
causes a cam-like projection B* to come beneath a cam piece d" on the sleeve d' of
the carrier, so that the carrier is supported in its elevated position until the barrel
has almost regained its firing position. During the forward movement of the barrel
the breech block has descended to open the breech, and the said cam piece being
at this time clear of the projection B*, the carrier is permitted to turn downwardly,
by the weight of the cartridge it contains, into a position to bring such cartridge
into alignment with the barrel. As the carrier assumes this position the said cam
piece dis (by the partial rotation of the sleeve d') strikes and depresses the tail of
the pawl d thereby disengaging the nose of said pawl from the notch g. The

page_text: compressed spring d³ is thus released and by its reaction causes the carrier to
forcibly move forward towards the cartridge chamber. The sudden stoppage of
the said carrier as the tubular casing strikes the buffer H, allows the cartridge,
by its momentum, to escape from the temporary restraint of the catch d" and to
be forcibly thrown or projected completely home into the cartridge chamber. The
carrier no longer being kept in its downward position by the weight of the
cartridge, resumes its elevated position under the influence of the spring d³ and is
then ready to receive a fresh cartridge from the magazine. As the cartridge
enters the cartridge chamber it acts upon well known mechanism whereby the
breech block is released and allowed to ascend to close the breech. Meanwhile the
cam piece d has regained the original position represented in Figure 1 and
the parts are therefore ouce more in condition to perform a similar cycle of opera-
tions at the next discharge of the gun. By keeping the trigger pulled the gun
will continue to fire automatically so long as cartridges are supplied to the
carrier.
4
In the arrangement illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 the carrier does not shift
longitudinally on the rod F or rotate thereon as described with regard to Figures 1
to 3, but the said carrier is pivotally connected at its closed end to a fixed
bracketforming part of the hollow rod F. The hollow rod contains a spiral
springand a sliding tube f2. This tube f is closed at its. forward end and at its
rear end is screw-threaded to receive a lug which projects through a longitudinal
slot in the hollow rod F. The lug f' is provided with an annular piston f that
is capable of sliding to and fro in the carrier D; the forward movement of the
said piston being limited by the slot and the rearward movement by the buffer d*
within the carrier. The aforesaid spring f1 bears at one end against the closed
extremity of the tube and at its other end against the shoulder piece E. The
carrier is represented in Figure 4 in its raised position ready to receive a cartridge
from the magazine C; that is to say its bell-mouth lies opposite the lowermost
cartridge in the magazine, the carrier being held in this position by a pivoted
finger F whose position is regulated by the breech-block. The closed end of the
aforesaid tube f is connected to a rod which is affixed at fx to the barrel by an
arm so as to recoil therewith. As in the construction previously described, the
magazine is provided with a spring plunger B for expelling successive cartridges
from the magazine as the barrel recoils, and to this plunger the aforesaid rod
connected by an arm fx.
8
is
When the recoil of the barrel takes place the lowermost cartridge in the
magazine is thrown into the carrier D by the action of the said plunger B', as
already stated, and at the same time the spring is compressed by the longitudinal
movement of the rod whereby the annular piston f recedes as the cartridge
enters the said carrier. As the cartridge and the annular piston thus recede, the
nose of a spring catch carried by the closed end of the carrier is caused to
project through the said annular piston and engage with the rim of the cartridge,
thereby restraining the said cartridge from any tendency on its part to rebound
from the carrier. At the same time the annular piston comes into engagement
with a shoulder ƒ³ on an arm ƒ 10 which is pivoted at f" to the hollow rod F and
is normally kept in its engaging position by a spring". The annular piston is
therefore temporarily prevented from returning under the influence of the com-
pressed spring and the cartridge remains in the carrier ready to be thrown into
the barrel at the required time.
When the breech block descends to open the breech, the pivoted finger F¹ likewise
descends but at this time the carrier is prevented from performing its downward
movement by reason of its being still supported by the breech end of the recoiling
barrel. When however the barrel is in the act of regaining its firing position it
releases the carrier which is therefore then free to descend by its own weight and
that of the cartridge it contains, so as to bring its mouth opposite to the cartridge
chamber in the barrel. Simultaneously with this movement of the carrier a cam
piece or tooth f1 on the pivotal end of the said carrier bears against and actuates

page_text: -
the curved end 14 of the arm f10, whereby the latter is raised and its shoulder f
brought out of engagement with the annular piston f. Therefore the piston f°
being no longer restrained, suddenly advances under the action of the compressed
spring and completes its limited forward movement, thereby expelling or
throwing the cartridge from the carrier into the cartridge chamber.
When the breech block ascends again to close the breech, the arm F1 is likewise
elevated and thereby raises the carrier into the position represented in Figure 4
ready to receive a fresh cartridge at the next recoil of the gun.
As in the previously described arrangement the exit opening of the magazine is
provided with a flap which is connected by arms Cs to pivots C, but in this case
the said flap closes by the action of gravity instead of by a spring.
In the arrangement illustrated in Figures 6 and 7 I have shown means whereby
the spring d referred to in connection with Figures 1, 2 and 3 can be dispensed
with, the said carrier being brought into its raised position by the breech-block.
In this case I employ a spring device I which consists of a socket i pivotally
connected to a lug on the tubular casing d and of a pin adapted to slide in the
aforesaid socket and pivotally connected to a lug on the carrier. The socket and
its sliding pin occupy a diagonal position and are surrounded by a spiral spring
It will be remembered that the casing d does not oscillate, and consequently the
lug does not alter its angular position when the carrier turns about the rod F,
therefore when the carrier is in either of its extreme upward or downward positions
the spring acts to retain the said carrier in such position. The carrier D is in
the present example shewn of increased length so that its mouth lies quite close
to the exit opening in the magazine. In other respects the arrangement is similar
to that shewn by Figures 1 to 3 and operates in an analogous manner.
For the purpose of preventing the combined weight of the superimposed
cartridges in the magazine from retarding the expulsion of the lowermost cartridge,
I have shewn, in Figure 7, the magazine provided with an escapement which
comprises a pivoted double armed pawl c one of the said arms, viz. c', serving to
support the cartridge that is immediately above the lowermost one and the other
arm, viz. c, resting against the side of the said lowermost cartridge. As the
lowermost cartridge is expelled from the magazine the arm turns inwardly owing
to the weight of the upper cartridges turning the arm o' outwardly. This movement
releases the next succeeding cartridge and allows it to fall and in so doing it acts
upon and turns outwardly the arm thereby again bringing the arm c¹ into its
original position to support the upper cartridges.
For
In Figure 8 I have illustrated a construction whereby the carrier D does not
slide longitudinally but only receives an oscillatory or rocking movement.
this purpose I provide a rod J immediately below the crutch-rod F. This rod
like the rod F, is stationary and is surrounded by a spiral spring ; which is
contained within a sliding casing jl. The socket E which receives the outer
end of the rod J is formed with a longitudinal slot e to receive a projection
ou the casing so that the latter can slide on the rod J without turning thereon.
The inner ends of both rods F and J are rigidly connected to a bracket G carried
by some stationary part of the gun. is a fixed collar on the casing and this
collar is acted upon by some recoiling part of the gun. The inner end of the
said casing is closed by a cap between which and the bracket G is
interposed a buffer as
in the arrangement described in connection with
Figures 1, 2 and 3. This cap carries a spring controlled pawl * which is
adapted to engage with a fixed projection when the casing recoils and
compresses the spring j. The outer end of the said casing is provided with a
collar j formed with a segmental groove which receives a segmental flange j
projecting from a short sleeve x loosely mounted on the rod F. An arm j
also extends laterally from this short sleeve and protrudes through a longitudinal
slot in the carrier D, and is furnished with a piston j" which works within the
carrier. On recoil of the barrel, the rearward movement of the casing j¹ brings
the pawl into engagement with the projection, and thereby retains the casing j
:8

page_text: in its rearward position and keeps the spring compressed. At the same time la
rearward movement is imparted to the piston as the cartridge enters the carrier D
from the magazine and when the breech is opened the carrier turns into its lowered
position under the weight of the cartridge it contains. As the carrier turns, the
cam piece d acts on the pawland by depressing it, disengages its nose from the
projection and allows the compressed spring j to react and thrust forward
the piston whereby the cartridge in the carrier is thrown therefrom into the
barrel in a similar manner to that already stated in connection with Figures 4
and 5. The spring then acts to raise the empty carrier into its elevated position
ready to receive a fresh cartridge.
In Figures 9 and 10 I have shewn a carrier, which in so far as its angular and
rectilinear reciprocating movements are concerned, is similar to the carrier
illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, but in the present example I have constructed it
with a flap valve k and a series of openings at its closed end. The internal
diameter of the said carrier is such that the rim of the cartridge will approximately
fit it and work therein like a piston, so that as the cartridge is forcibly thrown
from the magazine into the carrier when the barrel recoils, the said cartridge will
more or less compress the air within the carrier and thereby create sufficient
resistance to its movement to bring it quietly to rest. In order to regulate the
escape of the air from the carrier so that the resistance to the movement of the
cartridge therein can be varied, I provide the aforesaid flap valve with holes k
which, by shifting the said valve angularly, can be caused to more or less correspond
with the holes kl. I find it advantageous to form in the wall of the said carrier a
series of perforations * for enabling the air compressed by the cartridge to escape,
the said perforations being preferably so arranged that they gradually decrease in
size, so that the escape of air is reduced as the cartridge approaches the end of the
carrier and the resistance to its movement thereby correspondingly increased. In
order to prevent the cartridge from leaving the carrier by the reaction of the
compressed air, after the energy of the moving cartridge has been exhausted,
I provide a finger which protrudes into the carrier at a point where it will be
capable of engaging with the rim of the cartridge when the latter is fully home in
the carrier. This finger is coupled by a crank k to a spindle k which is carried
in bearings k7 on the sleeve d' of the carrier. The said spindle is provided
with an arm which is so arranged that when the carrier assumes its lowered
position, and brings the aforesaid cam piece d into contact with the tail of the
pawl do to disengage the latter from the notch 92, the said arm 8 will also come
against the said pawl (see Figure 11) and by so doing will partially rotate the
spindle and thereby remove the finger from engagement with the rim of the
cartridge. At the same time as this release takes place the carrier is propelled
forward by the compressed spring d³, and the cartridge being unrestrained by the
said finger A, is forcibly thrown from the carrier into the barrel as already explained
with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The aforesaid finger k³ also serves to prevent the
cartridge from falling out of the carrier when the gun is fired at depression.
As in the construction illustrated by Figures 6 and 7 I provide the magazine
with an escapement for controlling the descent of the cartridges, but in this case
I employ a pivoted spring controlled pawl e having a tooth of which projects
through a curved slot in the magazine and lies adjacent to the cartridge
immediately above the lowermost one. A projection B is formed on the rod B
and this projection normally keeps the pawl in its disengaged position. When
however the barrel recoils on firing the gun, the rearward movement of the rod B2
causes the said projection B to leave the pawl and allow the latter to be shifted by
its spring into a position to engage with the cartridge immediately above the lower-
As the barrel regains its firing position and the rod B moves forward
again, the said projection B returns the pawl to its disengaged position so that it
will no longer support the cartridges in the magazine, thereby permitting them to
descend and a fresh cartridge to take the place of the lowermost one that has just.
been expelled from the magazine.
most one.

page_text: which
In order to regulate the extent of angular movement of the carrier a segmental
slot (Figure 12) may be formed in some non-rotary part contiguous to the
sleeve d¹, and the cam piece d" carried by the oscillatory sleeve has a stop
projects into the aforesaid slot and by coming against the opposite ends thereof
limits the angular movement of the carrier.
Figures 13 and 14 illustrate modified means for locking the carrier in its raised
position and consist of a pivoted catch having two arms m m' the former being
slotted to receive a stationary guide pin m² and the latter entering a vertical
groove A³ formed in the breech block. The extremity of the arm m is adapted to
engage with a notch m³ in the cam piece d" of the carrier-sleeve when the breech-
block is in its elevated position and thus supports the carrier. When the breech-
block completes its descent the upper end of the said vertical slot A³ acts upon the
arm m² and thereby turns the other arm m inwardly so as to release the carrier and
allow it to fall into the position represented in Figure 14 by the weight of the
cartridge it contains. It will be seen that by this arrangement the carrier cannot
descend until the breech block is in its lowermost position and the breech fully
opened.
Although I have shewn and described several examples of the manner in which
my cartridge carrier can be applied to a gun I wish it to be understood that I do
not confine myself exclusively thereto.
In some cases where the shield for protecting the gunners is so situated that it
would interfere with the placing of the magazine above the gun, the magazine may
be placed at the side of or beneath the gun, and the carrier then be constructed to
turn through the required angle for bringing the cartridges in alignment with the
barrel, by means of a coiled spring as already explained, or otherwise. In some
instances the magazine may be dispensed with and the cartridges be placed in the
aforesaid carrier by hand.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An automatic gun in which the loading is effected by causing the cartridges
to be thrown or projected from a magazine into a cartridge carrier, and from the
carrier into the cartridge chamber substantially as set forth.
2. The cartridge carrier arranged substantially as described to perform a back-
ward movement with the cartridge, an angular or lateral movement to bring the
cartridge opposite to the cartridge chamber, a forward movement to throw the
cartridge from the carrier into the barrel, and a reversed angular or lateral
movement to bring it into a position to receive a fresh cartridge.
3. The cartridge carrier arranged substantially as described so that it parti-
cipates only in an oscillatory movement and the cartridge is thrown from the
carrier into the cartridge chamber by a spring piston.
4. The combination with the cartridge carrier of a spring controlled piston
arranged to operate substantially as described with reference to Figures 4 and 5
or Figure 8 of the drawings.
5. The combination with the magazine and the carrier, of a spring plunger which
on the recoil of the barrel acts to throw or project the lowermost cartridge from the
magazine by performing a short sudden movement whose amplitude is much less
than the length of the cartridge.
6. The combination with the cartridge carrier, of means whereby the cartridge
thrown therefrom is prevented from rebounding in the carrier substantially as
described.
7. The combination with the cartridge carrier and the breech block, of means
for retaining the carrier in its elevated position until the breech is opened sub-
stantially as described with reference to Figures 13 and 14 of the accompanying
drawings.

page_text: 8. In an automatic gun the rod or bar of the shoulder piece serving as a support.
for the angularly moving cartridge carrier substantially as described.
9. In a gun of the kind or class herein specified the arrangement and combination
of parts for enabling the gun to be loaded automatically, substantially as described
with reference to one or other of the arrangements illustrated in the accompanying
drawings.
Dated Gifs oru day of October
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.