IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND IN CARTRIDGES FOR BREECH-LOADING FIRE- " ARMS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Johann von der Poppenburg, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND IN CARTRIDGES FOR BREECH-LOADING FIRE-
"
ARMS."
Sealed the 28th July 1865, and dated the 14th February 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Johann von der Poppen-
burg at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 14th February 1865.
I, JOHANN VON DER POPPENBURG, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
AMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND IN CARTRIDGES FOR BREECH-LOADING
FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists, firstly, of the following improvements in breech-
loading fire-arms :-I elongate the barrel at its rear or breech end, and in the
said elongated part I make an opening to which I hinge a charge chamber.
The said charge chamber is binged to the side of the barrel and opens by
moving in a horizontal plane. In opening for the reception of the charge the
freo end of the said charge chamber is thrown towards the muzzle of the gun,
the open end of the charge chamber being turned towards the breech end of

page_text: the gun. After the introduction of the charge the chamber is turned upon its
hinge and introduced into the opening in the barrel. The discharge of the
gun is effected by a central striker which strikes either upon a percussion cap
put on a nipple fixed in the back of the charge chamber or the said striker
forces a needle through a small hole in the back of the charge chamber and
discharges the cartridge. The said striker is constructed and worked in the
following manner :-A tubular slide working in the prolongation of the barrel
and moving in the direction of the axis of the barrel carries in its axis the
cylindrical rod described which has on its inner end the needle already referred
When a percussion cap is employed a hammer head is fixed in place of
the said needle. The said rod and tubular slide are connected by a spiral
spring surrounding the rod, which spring tends to press the rod within the
slide. After discharge the tube and slide are drawn back together, and the
trigger engages with the rod and fixes it in its withdrawn position. By
pressing forward the slide the spring is compressed and the charge chamber at
the same time bolted down. The slide is fixed in position by a snap fastening.
On pressing the trigger the central rod is disengaged, and is urged forward by
the compressed spring so as to cause it to strike the cartridge and discharge
the gun. The charge chamber springs open on the withdrawal of the slide,
and is fixed down before the bolting described takes place by a spring
fastening. The charge chamber is capable of turning into a position at right
angles to its normal position, so that when opened its mouth may be brought
uppermost and it may be charged with a bullet and loose powder similar to a
muzzle-loading gun.
My Invention consists, secondly, in making cartridges for breech-loading
fire-arms in the following manner :-I make in the centre of the base of the
projectile a small recess or hole in which the fulminating powder encased in
metal is placed. The needle in discharging the cartridge passes through the
gunpowder and strikes the fulminating powder through the metal in which it
is encased.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Johann von der Poppenburg in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th August 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHANN
VON DER POPPENBURG, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Engineer,
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Johann von der Poppenburg, Her special licence that I, the said
Johann von der Poppenburg, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Johann von der Poppenburg, 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 BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
AND IN CARTRIDGES FOR BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition.
(amongst others) that I, the said Johann von der Poppenburg, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, 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 Johann von der Poppenburg, 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 thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention consists, firstly, of the following improvements in central
fire breech-loading fire-arms. I elongate the barrel at its rear or breech end,
and in the said elongated part I make an opening to which I hinge a charge
chamber. The said charge chamber is hinged to the side of the barrel and
opens by moving in a borizontal plane. In opening for the reception of the
charge the free end of the said charge chamber is thrown towards the muzzle
of the gun, the open end of the charge chamber being turned towards the
breech end of the gun. After the introduction of the charge the chamber is
turned upon its hinge and introduced into the opening in the barrel. The
discharge of the gun is effected by a central striker, which strikes either
upon a percussion cap put on a nipple fixed in the back of the charge
chamber, or the said striker forces a needle through a small hole in the back
of the charge chamber and discharges the cartridge. The said striker is
constructed and worked in the following manner-A tubular slide working

page_text: in the prolongation of the barrel, and moving in the direction of the axis of
the barrel carries in its axis the cylindrical rod or striker described, which
has on its inner end the needle already referred to. When a percussion cap
is employed a hammer head is fixed in place of the said needle. The said rod
and tubular slide are connected by a spiral spring surrounding the rod, which
spring tends to press the rod within the slide. After discharge the rod and
slide are drawn back together and the trigger engages with the said rod and
fixes it in its withdrawn position. By pressing forward the slide the spring is
compressed, and the charge chamber is at the same time bolted down. The
slide is fixed in position by a snap fastening. On pressing the trigger the
central rod is disengaged, and is urged forward by the compressed spring so
as to cause it to strike the cartridge and discharge the gun. The charge
chamber springs open on the withdrawal of the slide, and is fixed down before
the bolting described takes place by a spring bolt fastening.
The charge
chamber is capable of turning into a position at right angles to its normal
position, so that when opened its mouth may be brought uppermost, and it
may be charged with a bullet and loose powder similar to a muzzle-loading
gun.
My Invention consists, secondly, in making cartridges for breech-loading
fire-arms in the following manner :-I make in the centre of the base of the
projectile a small recess or hole, in which the fulminating powder encased in
metal is placed. The needle in discharging the cartridge passes through tho
gunpowder and strikes the fulminating powder through the metal in which it
is encased.
Having explained the nature of my Invention I will proceed to describe
with reference to the accompanying Drawings the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in side elevation, and Figure 2 in plan, a portion of a
central fire breech-loading gun constructed according to my Invention, the
parts of the gun being in the positions which they respectively assume after
the gun has been discharged; Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section, and.
Figure 4 a horizontal section of the same, the parts being in the positions
which they respectively assume when the gun is ready to be discharged;
Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 represent portions of the same as herein-after
explained.
The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
.and 9; a is the barrel of the gun elongated at its rear or breech end; the
elongated part is marked b. In the said part an opening at c is made, to

page_text: which a charge chamber d is hinged. A valve or tube d² is situated at the
jointed end of the said chamber and prevents the escape of gas between the.
said chamber and barrel on the discharge of the gun. The chamber d is
hinged at e to the side of the barrel a and opens by moving in a horizontal
plane. In opening the charge chamber d for the introduction of the cartridge
the free end of the chamber is thrown towards the muzzle end of the
gun, the
open end being turned towards the breech of the gun. The throwing back of
the charge chamber is effected by a coiled flat spring f situated around the-
axis of the joint e, one end of the spring being fixed to the axis of the joint,.
and the other end to the moveable knuckle e, connected by the arm g to the
charge chamber d. When the charge chamber is turned into the opening c
in the prolonged part 6 of the barrel, the spring f is tightened or compressed
upon the axis of the hinge e. On releasing the charge chamber the tension of
the spring opens the said chamber and throws it upon the outside of the barrel.
The charge chamber d may be made capable of turning into a position. at
right angles to the position represented, so that when opened its mouth may
be brought uppermost; in this position it may be readily charged with a
bullet and loose powder similar to a muzzle-loading gun. The prolonged part b
of the barrel is made in two parts represented separately in Figures 5 and 6.
In Figure 6 the charge chamber is removed. The gun is discharged by
means of a needle h fixed to a central rod or striker i. The said needle
passes through a tube k in the prolonged end of the barrel, and also through
a hole in the tube fixed in the back of the charge chamber d. The said rod
or striker is constructed and worked in the following manner-m is a
tubular slide working in the prolonged end 6 of the barrel, the said tubular
slide carrying the discharging mechanism of the gun, as well as that by which
the charge chamber d is fastened down. This tubular slide and parts carried
by it is shown separately in side elevation in Figure 7, end elevation in
Figure 8, and longitudinal section in Figure 9. In the axis of the tubular
slide m is the rod or striker i, having at its front the needle h, and at about
its middle the short cylinder or block n, working freely in the interior of the
said slide and guiding the rod i. The said rod i is further guided by its outer
end working in a hole in the closed outer end of the slide m (see Figures
3 and 4); the rod i and tubular slide m are connected together by a flat
coiled spring o, one end of which spring is fixed to the top of the slide m, and
the other end to the short cylinder n. By means of the said spring o, the
rod i and needle h are urged forward to discharge the gun; the tubular slide m
is fixed in the prolonged part 6 of the barrel by a spring fastening at p, the

page_text: spring of the said fastening being fixed to the top of the slide, the said spring
fastening engaging with a shoulder at q on the cylindrical surface of the said
prolonged part. By depressing the thumb-plate p³ the spring fastening p is
liberated from the shoulder q, and the said slide can be drawn back by means
of the said thumb-plate nearly out of the prolonged end 6 of the barrel. The
charge chamber d is fixed in its place during discharge by means of two
rods or bolts r, r, on the front end of the slide, being made when the slide is
pushed home to enter holes or recesses s, s, in the front end of the said chamber
and securely hold it down. A snap bolt t also assists in holding down the
charge chamber, the said snap bolt being pressed outwards by the coiled
spring. The snap bolt t is connected to a flat spring t³, having a head or
thumb-plate t at its end. This head or thumb-plate t works in a slot u in
the tubular slide m, and also in a slot u³ in the end of the prolonged part 6 of
the barrel (see Figures 1 and 5.) The rod i carrying the needle h is fixed in
position for firing by means of tooth carried by a spring v³. The said
tooth being liberated by means of the trigger w of the gun, the short
arm w² of which is made to act upon the free end of the spring 2; the said
tooth v works in a slot in the tubular slide m, and passes through an opening
in the bottom of the prolonged part b. In the tube l, a packling 12 of cork, or
caoutchouc, or leather is placed, in which packing the needle h works tightly,
thus preventing the escape of gas from the charge chamber d to the mechanism
of the gun.
b
The action of the parts is as follows: When the gun has been dis-
charged the needle h, rod i, and spring o, are in the positions represented
in Figures 7 and 9, that is, the needle h is situated in the charge chamber d,
and the short cylinder n is held by the expanded spring o against the front
end of the tubular slide m. In order to reload the gun the thumb-plate p³ is
depressed so as to liberate its spring fastening p from the prolonged part b
By drawing back the slide m, the needle h is withdrawn from the axis of the
charge chamber, and the pins or bolts r, r, at the end of the slide are also
withdrawn from the charge chamber. The same motion also withdraws the
snap bolt t, the withdrawal of the said snap bolt being effected by the end u
of the slot u in the slide m coming against the shoulder t of the head of the
spring, and giving a sliding motion to the said bolt by making the said
head of the spring advance in its slot u³ in the prolonged part 6 of the
, barrel. On the withdrawal of the snap bolt t the charge chamber d is thrown
back by the action of the spring f ready to receive a fresh cartridge. Wher
the pressure is removed from the slide m the snap bolt t is pressed outwards

page_text: by its spring a short distance only (that is, to a distance much less than that
epresented) into the opening c, in which the charge chamber shuts down.
During the withdrawal of the slide m the short cylinder, n acts upon the
ooth v of the spring v³, and depresses it until the slide has been drawn back
to the full extent, when the said tooth is raised by its spring, and engaging
behind the short cylinder n fixes it, and thus holds the needle h in its with-
drawn position, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. The cartridge having been
introduced into the charge chamber d, the said chamber is shut down into the
barrel and fastened by the snap bolt t, the bevilled face of the said charge
chamber pressing back the bevilled end of the snap bolt to enable it to enter
the barrel. By now pressing forward the tubular slide m by the thumb plate p³
into the position represented in Figures 3 and 4, the pins or bolts r, r, are
made to enter the recesses 8, 8, in the end of the charge chamber d, and hold
it down securely for firing the snap bolt t, being at the same time pushed
nearly to the top of its recess in the charge chamber by the action of the end
of the slide on the said bolt. This motion of the tubular slide m also com-
presses the spring o between its top and the short cylinder n. When the
tubular slide has been pushed home it is fixed by the spring fastening p as
before explained. The last described motion of the slide m does not affect
the rod i and needle h, the said parts being fixed by the engagement of the
tooth v behind the short cylinder n. The parts of the gun now have the posi-
tions represented in Figures 3 and 4, and the gun is ready for discharge. On
pulling the trigger w its short arm w² depresses the spring and liberates
the tooth from the short cylinder n; the central rod i is now urged forward
by the compressed spring o, causing the needle h to pass through the tubes k
and into the cartridge in the breech chamber d and discharge the gun.
When it is required to wholly remove the tubular slide m and parts
connected with it from the prolonged end of the barrel, the said slide is first
withdrawn to its full extent, the only obstacles to its being completely with-
drawn being the part 3 of the slide engaging with the shoulder ts of the
head t and the tooth v. By pressing upon the trigger w, so as to withdraw
the tooth from the slot in the slide, and at the same time pressing the
head t outwards from the slide, the said slide can be wholly withdrawn from
the prolonged end of the barrel.
When the gun is to be discharged by a percussion cap, I screw into the
back of the charge chamber a nipple, and remove the needle, and use in place
thereof a hammer head. This arrangement of my Invention is represented in
longitudinal section in Figure 10 of the Drawings. The hammer head by

page_text: which the percussion cap is discharged is marked A, and the nipple at the
back of the charge chamber for receiving the percussion cap is marked B.
In other respects the construction and action of the parts of the gun repre-
sented in Figure 10 are precisely the same as those herein-before described
and represented in the needle gun Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.
Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14 illustrate my improvement in cartridges, the
said improvement consisting in enclosing the fulminating powder by which
the cartridge is discharged in a recess or hole in the base of the projectile.
Figure 14 represents in section the projectile with a recess a in its base. In
the said recess the fulminating powder 6 wrapped in tin or lead foil is placed;
Figures 11, 12, and 13, illustrate the manner in which the fulminating
powder bis enclosed in the tin or lead foil c. The projectile, Figure 14, is
made up in the cartridge in the ordinary way. The needle of the gun in
discharging the cartridge passes through the gunpowder and strikes the ful-
minating powder 6 through the tin or lead foil c in which it is encased.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from
the nature of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention,-
Firstly, the general arrangement or combination of the parts of central fire
breech-loading fire-arms, whether the discharge be effected by the action of a
needle or by a hammer head, herein-before described and illustrated in
Figures 1 to 10, both inclusive, of the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly, the construction of the spring hinge of the moveable charge
chamber herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings.
Thirdly, the arrangement or combination of the parts described and
represented for bolting down the charge chamber during the discharge of
the gun.
Fourthly, the construction of the snap bolt described and represented for
holding the charge chamber in its place when shut down, as well as for
assisting in bolting down the said chamber for discharge, also the arrangement
of parts for working the said snap bolt.
Fifthly, the arrangement or combination of the parts described and repre-
sented for fixing the rod or striker in its withdrawn position, and for releasing
it to discharge the gun.
Lastly, the improvement in central fire cartridges for breech-loading fire-

page_text: arms herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14 of
the accompanying Drawings, that is to say, enclosing the fulminating powder
by which the cartridge is discharged in tin or lead foil, and placing it in a
hole or recess in the base of the projectile.
In witness whereof, I, the said Johann von der Poppenburg have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Second day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
JOHANN VON DER POPPENBURG. (L.S.)
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.