IMPROVE- MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Deane and John Deane, junior, trading under
the Style or Firm of John Deane and Son, of King William Street, in
the City London, Gun and Pistol Manufacturers, and William Harding,
of Forest Hill, in the County of Kent, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."-Partly a communication from
abroad by Captain Alexandre Delvigne, of Les Ternes, near Paris.
Sealed the 19th September 1860, and dated the 23rd March 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Deane, John Deane,
junior, and William Harding at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 23rd March 1860.
We, JOHN DEANE, and JOHN DEANE, junior, trading under the Style or Firm
of John Deane and Son, of King William Street, in the City London, Gun
and Pistol Manufacturers, and WILLIAM HARDING, of Forest Hill, in the
County of Kent, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in breech-loading fire-arms,
and is more especially applicable to fire-arms for sporting purposes, where it is
desired to project several shot or bullets simultaneously. For this purpose
the barrel of the gun is composed of an assemblage of small hexagonal barrels
bored from end to end, the number of which depends upon the number of bullets
desired to be projected at one and the same time; the bores of the barrels
may, if desired, be rifled. The back part or breech end of the assembled

page_text: barrels constituting the barrel of the gun is strengthened by being fitted into
and fixed in a metal ring or ferrule, which embraces the whole circumference
of the breech end of the barrel of the
gun. Between the breech end of the
barrel of the gun and the breech plate closing the ends of the barrels there is
a moveable plate, which bas bored through it passages corresponding with the
respective bores of the assembled barrels. This moveable plate is for the
purpose of containing the shot or bullets. The back of this plate rests against
the breech plate, which has holes or chambers bored in it corresponding with
the passages in the moveable plate, and with the respective bores of the
assembled barrels constituting the barrel of the gun. Each of the holes or
chambers in the breech plate is of sufficient depth to contain the requisite
charge of powder for propelling one of the bullets. All the holes or chambers
in the breech plate are made to communicate with one another, so that all
the charges will be caused to explode when one charge is exploded. The
barrel of the gun may be connected to the breech plate by forming on the
exterior circumference of the metal ring or ferrule, embracing the breech end
of the barrel of the gun, a screw thread to take into a female screw on the
interior of a metal tube or cylinder projecting beyond the breech plate,
segments of each of the screw threads being cut away in such manner that the
barrel may be slid up to the breech plate (the segments of the male screw on
the end of the barrel then passing between the segments of the female screw),
and be securely locked in position by being caused to make a partial revo-
lution. This arrangement for connecting the barrel to the breech has before
been proposed, but in place of permitting the barrel to be entirely detached
from the rest of the piece, as heretofore, I connect the barrel to the breech by
hingeing to the under side of the metal tube or cylinder projecting beyond the
breech plate a short bar, and connecting the barrel to this bar in such manner
that the barrel can slide to and fro along it, in order that the end of the barrel
may be free to slide in and out of the metal tube or cylinder. And in order
that the barrel may be turned partly round so as to be locked in position, the
bar to which the barrel is connected is not hinged directly to the metal tube
or cylinder, but is hinged to a sliding piece, which is capable of sliding partly
around the tube or cylinder.
In place of connecting the barrel to the breech by segments of screws, as
above described, the ring or ferrule embracing the rear end of the barrel may
at its under side be hinged to the under side of the breech plate. This
arrangement permits of the moveable plate for containing the bullets being
made with a conical projection at each end of each of the passages or orifices
through it; the conical projections on one side of the moveable plate would

page_text: then enter conical recesses formed at the rear end of the passages or bores of
the barrel, and the conical projections on the other side of the moveable plate
would enter conical recesses at the mouths of the holes or chambers in the
breech plate, by which means a tight joint is secured between each of the
passages.
The barrel may be connected to the breech by other arrangements than
those above described. By thus forming breech-loading fire-arms with a.
moveable plate for containing the bullets between the barrel and powder
chambers, the piece after having been fired may be quickly reloaded, as by
having several moveable plates filled with bullets the boles or powder chambers
in the breech plate will only have to be refilled with powder, and a fresh plate
containing a fresh supply of bullets inserted between the barrel and the breech-
plate, and the barrel locked in position, when the piece will be ready to be
again discharged.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Deane, John Deane, junior, and William Harding in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 22nd September 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME,, we, JOHN
DEANE, and JOHN DEANE, junior, trading under the Style or Firm of John
Deane and Son, of King William Street, in the City of London, Gun and
Pistol Manufacturers, and WILLIAM HARDING, of Forest Hill, in the County
of Kent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said John Deane, John Deane, junior, and William Harding, Her
special licence that we, the said John Deane, John Deane, junior, and
William Harding, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as we, the said John Deane, John Deane, junior, and William Harding,
our 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," (the result partly of communications from abroad, made to us by

page_text: Captain Alexander Delvigne, of Les Ternes, near Paris, and partly of inven-
tion and discovery made by one of us,) upon the condition (amongst others)
that we, the said John Deane, John Deane, junior, and William Harding,
our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our or
their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them, 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 John Deane, junior, on behalf of myself
and the said John Deane and William Harding, 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:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in breech-loading fire-arms,
and is more especially applicable to fire-arms for sporting purposes, where it is
desired to project several shot or bullets simultaneously. For this purpose the
barrel of the gun is composed of an assemblage of small hexagonal barrels,
bored from end to end, the number of which depends upon the number of
bullets desired to be projected at one and the same time; the bores of the
barrels may, if desired, be rifled. The back part or breech end of the
assembled barrels constituting the barrel of the gun is strengthened by being
fitted into and fixed in a metal ring or ferrule, which embraces the whole
circumference of the breech end of the barrel of the gun. Between the breech
end of the barrel of the gun and the breech plate closing the ends of the
barrels there is a moveable plate, which has bored through it passages corre-
sponding with the respective bores of the assembled barrels. This moveable
plate is for the purpose of containing the shot or bullets. The back of this
plate rests against the breech plate, which has holes or chambers bored in it
corresponding with the passages in the moveable plate, and with the respective
bores of the assembled barrels constituting the barrel of the gun. Each of the
holes or chambers in the breech plate is of sufficient depth to contain the
requisite charge of powder for propelling one of the bullets. All the holes or
chambers in the breech plate are made to communicate with one another, so
that all the charges will be caused to explode when one charge is exploded.
The barrel of the gun may be connected to the breech plate by forming on the
exterior circumference of the metal ring or ferrule, embracing the breech end
of the barrel of the gun, a screw thread to take into a female screw on the

page_text: interior of a metal tube or cylinder projecting beyond the breech plate,
segments of each of the screw threads being cut away in such manner that the
barrel may be slid up to the breech plate (the segments of the male screw on
the end of the barrel then passing between the segments of the female screw),
and be securely locked in position by being caused to make a partial revo-
Jution. This arrangement for connecting the barrel to the breech has before
been proposed, but in place of permitting the barrel to be entirely detached
from the rest of the piece, as heretofore, we connect the barrel to the breech
by hingeing to the under side of the metal tube or cylinder projecting beyond
the breech plate a short bar, and connecting the barrel to this bar in such
manner that the barrel can slide to and fro along it, in order that the end of the
barrel may be free to slide in and out of the metal tube or cylinder. And in
order that the barrel may be turned partly round so as to be locked in position,
the bar to which the barrel is connected is not hinged directly to the metal
tube or cylinder, but is hinged to a sliding piece, which is capable of sliding
partly around the tube or cylinder.
In place of connecting the barrel to the breech by segments of screws, as
above described, the ring or ferrule embracing the rear end of the barrel may
at its under side be hinged to the under side of the breech plate. This
arrangement permits of the moveable plate for containing the bullets being
made with a conical projection at each end of each of the passages or orifices
through it; the conical projections on one side of the moveable plate would
then enter conical recesses formed at the rear end of the passages or bores of
the barrel, and the conical projections on the other side of the moveable plate
would enter conical recesses at the mouths of the holes or chambers in the
breech plate, by which means a tight joint is secured between each of the
passages.
The barrel may be connected to the breech by other arrangements than
those above described. By thus forming breech-loading fire-arms with a
moveable plate for containing the bullets between the barrel and powder
chambers, the piece after having been fired may be quickly reloaded, as by
having several moveable plates fitted with bullets, the holes or powder
chambers in the breech plate will only have to be refilled with powder, and a
fresh plate containing a fresh supply of bullets inserted between the barrel and
the breech plate and the barrel locked in position, when the piece will be
ready to be again discharged.
And in order that the Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, we will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.

page_text: Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a breech-loading fire-arm constructed
according to this Invention. The parts of the piece in this Figure are in the
position they assume when the piece is ready for firing. Figure 2 is a side view
partly in section of the same fire-arm, shewing the parts in the position they
assume when the barrel is turned down for the piece to be loaded.
a, a, are
a number of hexagonal barrels of equal length; these barrels are held
together at each of their ends by rings or ferrules b, b, and it is preferred that
the barrels should, in addition, be soldered together; the exterior of each of
the barrels being coated with a soft metal before putting the barrels together.
Each of the barrels is bored through from end to end, and the bores of the
barrels may, if desired, be rifled. On the exterior of the ring or ferrule b,
embracing the rear end of the assembled barrels a, is a screw thread, portions
of the screw thread being cut away as shown; c is the breech-plate fixed to
the stock of the fire-arm. This plate is for the purpose of closing the ends of
the barrels a, a; projecting from the plate c is a tube or cylinder c¹, in the
interior of which there is a screw thread, and portions of this screw are cut
away, so that the segments of the screw on the ring or ferrule b may pass
between the segments of the screw left in the cylinder c', and the ring or
ferrule may thus be slid up to the plate c, and the barrel may then be locked
in position by causing it to make a partial revolution. The barrels are pre-
vented from being entirely detached from the breech by the handle b¹ on the
under side of the ring or ferrule b, having a hole formed in it, through which
the bar d passes, there being a stop at the end of the bar to prevent the handle
from sliding off its end, and in order that the barrels may be turned partly
round the bar d is hinged to a sliding piece e, which is capable of sliding
partly around the cylinder c¹; this sliding piece is kept in position by the
guide e'; f is the moveable plate for containing the bullets. This plate has a
number of holes formed through it, corresponding to the bores of the assembled
barrels. In each of these holes a screw thread is cut, in order that the rear
end of the bullets may be screwed into them. In the plate c holes or
chambers are also formed corresponding to the bores of the assembled barrels.
These holes or chambers are for the purpose of receiving the charges of
powder. Small holes are bored from the bottom of one hole or chamber to
the bottom of the hole or chamber next to it, so that when the charge of
powder in one hole or chamber is discharged, the charges of powder in, the
other holes or chambers will be discharged also. The charge of powder in
one of the holes or chambers is discharged by a cap placed on the nipple g.

page_text: When loading the piece the barrels a are turned down into the position shown
at Figure 2. The holes or chambers in the plate c are then filled with powder,
and the points of the bullets contained in a plate ƒ are inserted into the rear
ends of the barrels a. The rear end of the assembled barrels is then slid up
to the plate c, and the barrels are locked in position by causing them to make
a partial revolution, and the piece is then ready to be discharged. Figure 3
shows the arrangement for connecting the barrels a, a, to the breech-plate c, in
which the ring or ferrule b, embracing the rear ends of the assembled barrels,
is hinged at its under side to the under side of the breech-plate c. In order to
hold the rear ends of the barrels against the breech-plate when the piece is
ready for firing, the upper part of the ring or ferrule b is formed with a pro-
jecting piece h, and through this piece there is a hole into which the upper
end of the locking bolt i passes, and the rear end of the barrels are thus held
against the breech-plate. The bolt i can be withdrawn by turning down a
lever hinged to the under side of the breech-plate, the lever k being con-
nected by a link to the bottom of the bolt i; when the bolt is withdrawn the
barrels may be turned down into the position shown in red lines; j,j, is the
plate for containing the bullets. This plate has conical projections at each
end of each of the holes formed through it, as shown at Figure 4; the conical
projections on one side of the plate entering conical recesses in the rear ends
of the barrels, and the conical projections on the other side entering conical
recesses formed at the mouth of the holes in the breech-plate c. By this
means a tight joint is secured between each of the passages. The plate f in
this arrangement is made of a sufficient width to contain the bullets; the
bullets being merely inserted into the holes.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Deane, jun', have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
JOHN DEANE, JUN'. (L.S.)