Improvements relating to Automatic Guns.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to Automatic Guns.
We, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, of 18 Queen's Gate Place, in the County of
Middlesex, Mechanical Engineer, and LOUIS SILVERMAN, of Crayford Works,
Crayford in the County of Kent, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to improvements whereby the cartridge carrier or holder of
a Maxim gun is rendered more efficient than heretofore in respect of preventing
injury to the cartridge cases. This cartridge carrier is a vertically sliding piece or
slide attached to the forward end of the breech-block or lock of the automatic
mechanism. It holds the cartridges by their rims or flanges, takes them from the
feed belt to the loading position, holds them as they are pushed into the barrel,
withdraws the empty cases and takes them to the exit tube or aperture.
Heretofore the carrier slide has been so constructed and arranged that there has
been a certain amount of lateral freedom or play of the slide relatively to the barrel
and we have discovered that when the breech-block or the carrier-slide has this lateral
freedom at the instant of firing a very powerful vibration is set up, that is to say,
the metal of the end of the barrel and of the breech-block and carrier-slide is set
into a high state of vibration that may be compared to that of a vibrating tuning
fork. We have also discovered that when very thin cartridge cases are used with
smokeless powder, especially when the pressure is very high, the cartridge cases are
broken near the head by such vibration. It appears that the vibrations in the
barrel and in the block are such that when a cartridge is in the act of being with-
drawn from the barrel it is knocked violently from side to side and this knocking
breaks off its head.
Now in order to prevent this destruction of the cartridge cases it is necessary to
provide means for supporting and confining them at the sides so that they cannot be
subjected to such violence and we find that this result can be most efficiently effected
by modifying the formation of the carrier and the end of the barrel in such a
manner that without impairing the free vertical movements of the carrier for the
purposes above specified, the aforesaid lateral vibration of the said carrier will be
prevented. For this purpose we form the end of the barrel with a projection in
which we cut a groove or channel extending across the aperture of the bore and
we arrange the carrier to slide in this groove so that it will fit closely between
the sides thereof at the moment of firing.
In some instances the carrier slide and the groove in the end of the barrel may
have their sides parallel but inasmuch as the said slide has to leave and return, to
the end of the barrel after each discharge it is necessary to provide for the free
entrance of the slide between the sides of the groove in closing the breech; this
object can be more effectually accomplished by making the groove and the slide
taper, that is to say narrower at the upper than at the lower end especially as we
have found by experiment that in order to effectually prevent the breakage of the
cartridges it is necessary that the barrel and the slide should be solidly locked
together at the instant of firing and that there should be absolutely no play or
freedom of movement between the slide and the barrel. As the slide moves forward.
in the closing of the breech its narrow end is opposite the wide portion of the groove
so that it enters the same quite freely but as it rises into the firing position its side

page_text: edges approximate closely to those of the groove and thereby lock it so firmly and
closely to the barrel as to prevent its having any lateral movement.
As a further improvement we bevel the edges of the groove in the barrel and the
edges of the carrier. That is to say we make them wider at the back than at the
front so that the slide will at the instant of firing be wedged into the barrel in both
directions, miz. by rising in the groove into the firing position and also by being
pushed firmly against the end of the barrel by the action of the breech mechanism.
Dated this 16th day of April 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements relating to Automatic Guns.
We, HIRAM STEVENS MAXIM, of 18 Queen's Gate Place, in the County of
Middlesex, Mechanical Engineer, and LOUIS SILVERMAN, of Crayford Works,
Crayford, in the County of Kent, 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 improvements whereby the cartridge carrier or holder
of a Maxim gun is rendered more efficient than heretofore in respect of preventing
injury to the cartridge cases. This cartridge carrier as ordinarily constructed
consists of a vertically sliding piece attached to the forward end of the breech-block
or lock of the automatic mechanism. It holds the cartridges by their rims or
flanges, takes them from the feed-belt to the loading position, holds them as they
are pushed into the barrel, withdraws the empty cases and takes them to the exit
tube or aperture.
Heretofore the carrier has been so constructed and arranged that there has been a
certain amount of lateral freedom or play thereof relatively to the barrel and we
have discovered that when the breech-block or the carrier has this lateral freedom
at the instant of firing a very powerful vibration is set up, the metal of the end of
the barrel and of the breech-block and carrier being then in a condition that may be
compared to that of a vibrating tuning fork. We have also discovered that when
very thin cartridge cases are used with smokeless powder, especially when the
pressure is very high, the cartridge cases are broken near the head by such vibration.
It appears that the vibrations in the barrel and in the breech-block are such that
when a cartridge is in the act of being withdrawn from the barrel it is knocked
violently from side to side and this knocking frequently breaks off its head.
Now in order to prevent this destruction of the cartridge cases it is necessary to
provide means for supporting and confining them at the sides so that they cannot be
subjected to such violence and we find that this result can be most efficiently obtained
by modifying the formation of the carrier and the breech end of the barrel in such
a manner that, without impairing the free vertical movements of the carrier,
independent lateral vibration thereof will be prevented.
In the accompanying drawings we have shown means whereby we can attain
this object.
Figure 1 is a central horizontal section of the breech end of the barrel with the
cartridge carrier engaging therewith; Figure 2 a front view of the carrier and
Figure 3 a face view of the breech end of the barrel; B being the barrel and C the
carrier.
The breech end of the barrel is shewn with a vertical guide-way or groove B¹ and
the carrier is adapted to slide in this guide-way so that it will fit very closely between

page_text: the sides thereof at the moment of firing. The carrier C and the guide-way B'
may have their sides parallel from end to end so long as a close fit is produced
between them as above stated, but inasmuch as the said carrier has to leave and return
to the breech end of the barrel after each discharge it is necessary to provide for
the free entrance of the carrier between the sides of the guide-way in closing the
breech. This object can be most effectually accomplished by making the guide-way
and the carrier taper, that is to say by making the guide-way slightly narrower at
the upper part B than at the lower part B³, and the carrier slightly narrower at the
part y, y than at the part z, z. This tapered formation is more especially desirable
as I have found by experiment that in order to effectually prevent the breakage of
the cartridges it is necessary that the barrel and the carrier should be solidly locked
together at the instant of firing and that there should then be absolutely no play or
freedom of movement between the carrier and the barrel. As the carrier moves
forward in the closing of the breech its narrow end is opposite the wide portion of
the guide-way so that it enters the same quite freely but as it rises into the firing
position its side edges come closely into contact with those of the guide-way and
thereby lock it so firmly to the barrel as to prevent its having any independent
lateral movement.
We further insure the close contact of the edges B of the guide-way B' and the
edges C of the carrier by making them inclined or bevelled as shewn in Figure 1
of the drawing; that is to say they may be made wider at the back than at the
front so that at the instant of firing the carrier is firmly wedged in place by rising
in the guide-way and by being pushed firmly against the breech end of the barrel
by the action of the breech mechanism in closing the breech.
The said cartridge carrier may be operated as set forth in the Specification of a
prior Patent No. 5864 of the year 1895 or by any other suitable means.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
In an automatic gun having a breech-block provided with a transversely sliding
cartridge carrier, the means substantially as described for preventing injury to the
cartridges by the vibration of the carrier.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.