IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH. LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME
Year: 1869

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Vincent Fosbery at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th May 1869.
I, GEORGE VINCENT FOSBERY, V.C., a Major in Her Majesty's Bengal
Staff Corps, now of Cowley, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH.
LOADING FIRE-ARMS, AND CARTRIDGES FOR THE SAME," to be as follows:-
My improvements relate mainly to fire-arms whose breech is closed
by a block which slides vertically across the aperture at the rear of the
barrel, and the said improvements consist chiefly in the combination of
the said block with peculiar devices for depressing and raising the block,
for exploding the cartridges, and for ejecting the exploded cartridge shells
from the piece. The block slides in vertical grooves in the breech
chamber, and is raised or depressed therein by a lever pivotted at the
rear of the said chamber. The firing pin extends through the block and
lever. The block and lever are depressed to open the breech, and the
empty cartridge shell is ejected and the piece cocked by one movement
of a sliding extractor bar which is arranged at the side of the breechi

page_text: chamber. A stud on this sliding bar works in an inclined slot or
passage in the lever and acts as a cam to raise or depress the same.
The main spring is attached to the under side of the block lever. The
lock is provided with a hammer which by means of an ordinary trigger is
caused to drive forward the firing pin. The block lever is sometimes
provided with a plate which is caused by the extractor bar to start the
pin from the base of the shell. The barrel of my improved fire-arm is
fixed in any strong and convenient manner to a metal shoc or breech, in
which is formed the chamber to receive the breech block and other parts
of the mechanism. The said block is a metal piece which is of such a
width as to cover properly the rear of the barrel when the breech is
closed. The thickness of this block is preferably less than its width, and
may be about five-cighths of an inch or less so that it occupies but little
space. The vertical grooves wherein the said block is fitted to slide are
formed in the sides of the breech chamber, and the rear shoulders of these
grooves form the abutment which sustains the block against the force
of the recoil. The sides of the block which work in contact with theso
grooves may be channelled or cut away to leave as little bearing surface
as possible and thereby reduce the friction between the block and grooves,
and to prevent the liability of the jamming or sticking of the block
therein. The chamber is extended from these recoil shoulders to the
rear of the shoe to receive the lever which is pivotted at the rear of the
chamber. The said lever is of such a width as so nearly fill the said
chamber, but is so fitted as to move freely up and down between the sides of
the same. Its forward end is connected to the block in such a manner that
the latter will move freely in the vertical grooves as the lever works on
its pivot or fulcrum; I prefer to form this connection between the lever
and block by constructing the lover with jaws which fit in a groove
formed around the rear and over the top and bottom of the block. The
lever and block are perforated to receive the firing pin which extends
from the front of the block to the hammer or striker, whereby it is
driven forward when the trigger is pulled. The said pin may be made in
two parts jointed together to allow one part to move with the block
lever without moving the other part which extends through the block,
but I prefer that the pin should be made in one piece with its forward
end reduced in size and that the block should be perforated with a taper
hole which allows the required movement of the pin when the lever is
adjusted. At one side or extending through the block lever I form a
slot or passage for the pin or stud which projects from the side of the

page_text: extractor bar. This bar slides in a groove or channel formed at the
side of the breech chamber parallel with the bore of the barrel, and is
provided with a handle whereby the piece is manipulated. The slot or
passage in or through the lever is of a peculiar form, and by its combi-
nation with the pin or stud of the extractor bar affords the means
whereby the operations of opening and closing the breech are effected
rapidly and simultaneously with the necessary operations of the other
parts of the mechanism. The said slot or aperture for a short distance
from its forward end is made parallel with the extractor bar. The central
portion of the slot from this forward portion is inclined upwards, so that
when the extractor bar is moved the pin or stud acts as a cam on cither
the upper or lower side of the slot and raises or depresses the block lever.
From this central portion the slot is extended in such a direction as to lie
parallel with the bar when the lever is depressed. These exterior
portions of the slot or passage permit the movement of the pin or stud
beyond the limits required for raising or depressing the block, this extra
movement to the rear being necessary to allow the extracting devico
to withdraw the cartridge while the forward parallel portion serves as a
rest or stop for the block lever. The extracting device consists mainly of
a claw or catch which extends through or over the side of the shoe in the
proper position to lic under the rim of a cartridge inserted in the charge
chamber, This claw or catch projects from a slide which works at the
sido of the extractor bar. The latter is constructed and arranged to
operate in combination with the said slide, and is provided with studs
or projections which move the slide at the proper time to extract the
cartridges, a certain amount of play or "lost motion" being allowed
between these projections to give the necessary force to overcome the
resistance caused by the sticking of the shells in the charge chamber and
to allow the block to operate properly in combination with the extractor;
or the extractor may consist of a vertical claw or a plate provided with
claws moving on a pin or fulcrum placed beneath the charge chamber
and operated by means of a stud or projection fixed on or connected with
the extractor bar and arranged to have a certain amount of "lost
motion" as before described.
The central-fire cartridges ordinarily used in breech-loading fire-arms
are so constructed that the firing pin penetrates the base in exploding
the cartridge It is therefore necessary that means should be provided

page_text: the pin before the block begins to move down. For this purpose I
provido a small arm which is pivotted to the block lover and arranged
in combination with a plate, whose rear end lies in contact with a head
or collar on the rear of the firing pin. This plate is formed with an
inclined recess or slot through which the pin or stud of the extractor bar
passes. The under side of this plate rides on the extremity of the small
arm, and when the extractor bar is moved backward the pin or stud
acts on the lower side of the slot in the plate, and the small lever on
which the said plate rides being depressed and turned towards the rear
of the breech allows the said plate to move backward and thereby force
back the firing pin; the rear end of the said plate is supported upon a
stud or other suitable guide. Or the same object may be attained by
the employment of two blocks or plates which are hinged together and
compelled to assume an inclined position with regard to each other when
the stud of the extractor bar is forced forward but which are straightened
and therefore lengthened by the passage of the said stud when the bar is
drawn back, the extremity of the rearmost plate or block abutting against
a head or shoulder on the said firing pin. The main spring is secured
upon the under side of the block lever with the parts arranged as above
described. I prefer to scoure the said spring to the lever near the
forward end of the same. I also prefer to use a simple flat piece of steel,
but, if desired, a V-shaped or bent spring may be used. The free end of
the main spring rests on the tumbler, which is preferably formed solidly
or in one piece with the hammer. I prefer to construct the said hammer
and tumbler with hollow trunnions through which is passed an axlo, ou
one of whose ends and at the side of the shoe is fixed the lever whereby
the lock is controlled. The trigger is arranged in the ordinary manner
within a trigger guard below the stock, and is provided with a scar to
take into notches in the tumbler to hold the trigger at full or half cock.
The hammer is adjusted to full-cock by a projection on the rear end of
the lever, which is arranged to act on the hammer when the lever is
depressed. The notphos in the tumbler are so arranged in combination
with the extractor bar and side lever that the hammer may be set to half
cock by moving the said har slightly backward,
My improvoments also relate to cartridges which are constructed
with a metal disc at the base, which is provided with a hat-cap, a per-
cussion cap, and an anvil. Over the cap I place a thin cover of sheet
brass or copper, under which the cap is so arranged as to be readily

page_text: ignited by the blow of the firing pin. The said cover is drawn over the
metal disc to receive the tube or body of the shell, which is a coil of
sheet metal or metal and paper. This tube is crimped around its lower
edge and inserted into a second coil or cup. I insert this cup within the
thin covering of the base, the inner end of the hat-cap projecting through
a hole in the bottom of the cup at the end of the tube. I then drive on
over the hat-cap a perforated disc of metal or other suitable material.
The projectile of my improved cartridge is formed with a collar or
projection which fills the grooves formed by the rifling in the barrel.
The portion of the bullet on each side of this collar fit the bore of
the barrel, the diameter being slightly reduced towards the rear end
of the projectile. When the latter is expelled from the cartridge the
force of the explosion slightly expands this rear end and causes it to fill
the barrel, but not to fit so tightly as to produce friction between this
part of the projectile and the barrel. I form at the rear end of the
bullet a groove or channel into which the sholl is crimped to secure the
bullet in the shell, the said groove being so placed as to receive and
retain the metal displaced from the collar by the lands or projections of
the rifling.