IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Claude Etienne Minié, of Paris, in the
Empire of France, and of 16, Castle Street, Holborn (City), London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES."
Scaled the 15th September 1854, and dated the 31st May 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Claude Etienne
Minić at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 31st May 1854.
I, CHARLES CLAUDE ETIENNE MINIE, of Paris, in the Empire of France,
and of 16, Castle Street, Holborn (City), London, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES" to be as follows; and
consists in certain means of using in rifle or smooth gun barrels cylindrical,
oblong, or spherical bullets of a less diameter than the bore of the barrel, by
a cylindrical socket or ball carrier, made of any suitable light material, such as
rolls of cartridge paper made into suitable form; this socket has on its front
flat end a recess to receive the projectile of reduced diameter; on its back end
is a cavity, for allowing the gases to spread out the cylindrical socket against
the barrel cylinder, and in case of rifle barrels, thus to give to both socket
and ball a rotating motion. The front and back recesses may have various
shapes, care being taken to make the front recess taper, so that the bullet
may leave the socket gently as soon as the flight of the latter is retarded by
the resistance of the air.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Charles Claude Etienne Minié in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 25th November 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
CLAUDE ETIENNE MINIE, of Paris, in the Empire of France, and of 16, Castle
Street, Holborn (City), London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the
year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Charles Claude Etienne Minié, Her special licence that I, the said
Charles Claude Etienne Minié, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Charles Claude Etienne Minié, 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 PROJECTILES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Charles Claude Etienne Minié, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Charles Claude Etienne Minié, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly desribed and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
These improvements consist in certain means, hereafter described or indi-
cated, of using in rifle or smooth gun barrels cylindrical, oblong, elongated,
or spherical bullets of a less diameter than the bore-of-the-barrel, thus allowing
to reduce considerably the weight of military ammunition, without necessitating
any change in the barrels of the present fire-arms. Thus, by the improve-
ments which will be described herein-after the weight will be reduced in
the following proportions:-With the common musket, the projectile as at
present used weighs fifty grammes, or one ounce & eight-tenths, and has a
diameter of 17 millimètres, or six-tenths six-hundredths of an inch; whilst the
improved projectile will only weigh from 15 to 20 grammes, or one-third of

page_text: an ounce to one ounce & a quarter, and have a diameter of 10 to 12 milli-
mètres, or four-tenths to five-tenths of an inch. I effect these improvements
by means of a cylindrical socket or bullet carrier, made of any suitable light
material, such as rolls of cartridge or other paper cut to the proper length,
and pressed or stamped into a suitable form. This cylindrical socket or bullet
carrier has on its front flat end a recess for receiving the projectile of reduced
diameter; on its back end I leave a cavity, for allowing the gases generated by
the explosion of gunpowder or other explosive matter to spread out the cylin-
drical socket against the barrel cylinder, and in case of rifle barrels both the
socket and ball receive a rotating motion. The front and back recesses may
have various shapes given to them, care being taken to make the front recess
tapering from front to back, so that the bullet may leave the socket gently as
soon as the flight of the latter is retarded by the resistance of the air.
Having thus briefly set forth the general nature of my Invention, I shall
now proceed to describe several examples of the way in which the same is or
may be carried into effect. For this purpose, I have shewn on the annexed
Sheet of Drawings the application of the principles above set forth to conical
or clongated bullets, resembling in external form those commonly called
Minie's rifle bullets, with respect to which my present improvements are
particularly useful, as they allow to reduce the weight of said projectiles
without thereby diminishing their efficiency; I wish it, however, to be under-
stood that the socket or bullet carrier is equally applicable to other descriptions
of bullets, balls, or projectiles. Fig. 1 is an elevation of a socket or ball
carrier; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same; Fig. 3 is also a longi-
tudinal section, with the ball put into its place; Figs. 4 and 5 shew a longi-
tudinal section and back end view respectively, of a slight modification of the
ball socket or carrier.
As is seen by the Drawing, the general form I prefer to give to the ball
carrier for rifle arms is that of a portion of a plain cylinder. As to the way
of manufacturing these ball carriers, I do not think it necessary to specify
more than has been stated above, since a great variety of means may easily be
devised for the same purpose without deviating from the principle. I wish,
however, to mention, that on account of its lightness, I prefer paper as the
material from which the socket is made, although other materials may be
suitably employed for the same purpose; also, I generally prefer to make the
diameter of the socket a little less than the bore of the barrel, for the purpose
of facilitating loading. A is a taper or conical recess on the front end of the
carrier for receiving the ball, which, fitting. easily into said recess, leaves it
during the flight of the projectile as soon as the difference between the veloci-

page_text: ties of the bullet and its socket or carrier is sufficiently great. B is the cup-
shaped back recess for receiving the gases evolved by explosion, which, exerting
a great pressure on the sides of the recess, cause the socket to spread on and
fit closely to the inside of the barrel, so as to cause the explosive substance to
act with its full power upon the projectile, and in case of rifle barrels cause
it to assume a rotatory motion. For the purpose of assisting this spreading
action, I sometimes use incisions made cross-wise at the back of the carrier,
as shewn at a, in Figs. 4 and 5,. or in any other suitable way. It may also
be useful to observe, that with these bullet carriers a stronger charge may
be used than with the ordinary projectiles, and thus a longer range, may be
obtained.
I wish it also to be understood that the back and front recesses, which I
have shewn to represent surfaces of revolution, may have any other convenient
shape given to them.
Although the plain socket or carrier, herein-before described, may be used
for both rifled and plain or smooth barrels of fire-arms, yet for the latter or
smooth barrels I generally prefer using either another shape of socket or
carrier, which is represented in elevation, Fig. 6, and front end view, Fig. 7;
or else a new kind of ball or bullet, represented in elevation, Fig. 8, and
back end view, Fig. 9. This carrier has a conical or other shaped recess A on
its front end, the same as the sockets previously described; but instead of
making it plain, I form on its cylindrical surface three screw threads 1, 2, 3,
these threads being about 4 millimètres (3-16ths of an inch) deep, and coiling
round once in a length of projectile of about 2 centimètres (13-16ths of au
inch), as used for a bore of 18 millimètres (about 5-Sths 3-32ds of an inch).
The rotating motion is in this case imparted to the projectile by the gases,
which, bearing upon the helical surfaces of the threads, set the projectile into
a spinning motion, which is kept up in spite of the resistance of the atmo-
sphere, and may be varied according to the pitch of the screw from one to two
turns every six feet.
As above stated, the helical threads may also be applied (so as to dispense
with the necessity of using either sockets or heavy rifle barrels) to the projec-
tile itself, as figured in Figs. 8-and-9-;-in-this-case I find it necessary to give
one millimètre (0-039 of an inch) windage to the projectile. In general, when
screw threads are thus applied to the carrier or to the projectile itself for
both musket and cannon, .I wish it to be understood that I proceed upon the
following rules or data, without, however, confining myself to them:-Each
screw thread or helix must only make one turn on the cylinder; the helical
grooves must open towards the conical or ogival part of the projectilc, so as to

page_text: afford an escape to the gases. The depth of the thread should equal one
quarter of the diameter of the projectile. In helical projectiles the length of
the cylindrical portion should always be equal to the bore; the centre of
gravity should be at equal distances from both ends and also in the centre line.
The helical projectile for cannon may be made solid or hollow, for placing the
centre of gravity as is desired; when the projectile is solid, its conical or ogival
portion may be swelled out, and the threads cut deeper at the back; when the
projectile is made hollow, it will be easy to place the cavity in such manner
that the centre of gravity shall be at the centre of the projectile.
Having thus described the general nature of my improvements, and the way
or ways in which the same are or may be carried into effect, I wish it distinctly
to be understood that I claim as novel, and secured to me by the herein-before
in part recited Letters Patent,-
First, the use and application to projectiles of a carrier or socket of any
suitable shape or material, for the purpose of using projectiles of any diameter
less than the bore of the barrel.
Second, the application of helical or screw threads to such carriers, or to the
projectiles themselves, for the purposes of making the projectiles lighter and
applicable to being used in smooth barrels.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Claude Etienne Minié, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Second day of November, in the
year of our Lord 1854.
CHARLES CLAUDE ETIENNE MINIE. (L.S.)