IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Pearce Pocock, of Camberwell, in the
County of Surrey, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 28th June 1867, and dated the 31st December 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Pearce Pocock at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st December 1866.
I, GEORGE PEARCE POCOCK, of Camberwell, in the County of Surrey,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a novel mode of closing the breech of breech-loading
fire-arms, and consists in effecting this object by means of a block which is made
to retreat from and open the breech in a diagonal direction. To this end the
breech block is placed in a groove or chamber immediately behind the rear
end of the barrel, and extending downwards and rearwards in a diagonal
direction through the body and stock of the gun. The bore of the barrel is
above the level of the upper part of the stock, so that when the breech block
is drawn down it will leave the breech end exposed and open to receive the
cartridge. It is proposed to use metallic, cartridges carrying their own

page_text: fulminate, and they may be made either on the central-fire or flange-fire
principle. The cartridge may be exploded by a pin which passes through the
breech block in a horizontal direction, and is struck by a hammer placed
either at the side as in ordinary guns, or in a socket immediately behind the
breech block as in many other breech-loaders; or if preferred the hammer
used in either of the above manners may be dispensed with, and the pin may
be driven forward by a striker let into a socket in the breech piece and
mounted on a centre pin which passes through the breech piece; this striker
is actuated by the tumbler, to which is attached the mainspring of the arm.
Upon drawing the trigger the tumbler is relieved from the sear, and the main-
spring by pulling round the tumbler causes a projecting stud on its rear end
to force forward the striker against the exploding pin; this or another
projection on the tumbler will be brought under the bottom end of the breech
piece, and will prevent it from being displaced by the explosion of the charge.
If the tumbler be placed in rear of the breech piece and its fore end or nose
be elongated it may be made to perform the functions of a striker, and thus
somewhat simplify the construction of the gun.
When the second arrangement of striker is used, the exploding pin must not
pass through the breech piece, but when the last arrangement or an external
striker or hamn.er is used for the purpose the pin must project through the
back, and the nose of the hammer or striker by being made to enter a notch at
the back of the breech piece will secure it in place when the explosion of the
charge takes place. The breech piece may be drawn by means of a quick-
threaded screw acted on by an external arm which will form a continuation of
the trigger guard, or the required action can be effected by means of a link
motion, also acted upon by an external lever which will form the trigger
guard. When the charge has been fired the breech piece is to be drawn
down, and the empty cartridge case will be drawn out by means of an
extractor which slides in a groove under the barrel, and is connected to the
breech piece by means of a steel or other elastic link. It is preferred to
release the extractor when it bas pushed out the empty case, and this is
effected by the connecting link being made with a spring catch, which when
the breech piece is drawn down to its fullest extent will escape from under
the extractor and allow the latter to be drawn back by a coiled or helical
spring.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Pearce Pocock in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 29th June 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
PEARCE POCOCK, of Camberwell, in the County of Surrey, Gentleman, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Pearce Pocock, Her special licence that I, the said George
Pearce Pocock, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said George Pearce Pocock, 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," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Pearce Pocock, 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 George Pearce Pocock, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to a novel mode of closing the breech of breech-
loading fire-arms, and consists in effecting this object by means of a block
which is made to retreat in a diagonal direction from and open the breech end
of the barrel.
Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawing is a longitudinal vertical section of a
breech-loading fire-arm constructed according to my Invention. In this
Figure all the working parts are shown in the position they would assume
when the gun has just been discharged. Fig. 2 is another sectional view in

page_text: which the moveable breech piece is shown as drawn away from the breech of
the barrel so as to open the same for the introduction of a cartridge.
The breech block a is placed in a groove or chamber made in the body of
the gun immediately behind the rear end of the barrel b, and extending down-
wards and rearwards in a diagonal direction through the body and stock of
the gun, as shewn in the Drawings. The bore of the barrel is above the level
of the upper part of the stock, so that when the breech block a is drawn
down it will leave the breech end exposed and open to receive the cartridge,
but when the breech block is in its place to close the breech it will abut
against the under side of a projector piece at the end of the barrel, and
thus form a joint into which water cannot run from the barrel; with this arm
it is proposed to use metallic or other cartridges carrying their own fulminate,
and they may be made either on the central-fire or the flange-fire principle.
The cartridge may be exploded by a pin which passes through the breech
block a in a horizontal direction so that it may be struck by a hammer placed
either at the side as in ordinary guns, or in a socket immediately behind the
breech block as in many other breech-loaders; or if preferred the hammer
used in either of the above manners may be dispensed with, as shewn in the
Drawings, and the firing pin c may be placed at the end of a curved striker
let into a socket in the breech piece in such a manner that it may work in an
are or from a centre which passes through the body of the arm; this striker c
is driven forward by the tumbler d, which is actuated by the mainspring e of
the arm. Upon drawing the trigger f the tumbler is released from the sear g,
and the mainspring e by pulling round the tumbler causes a projecting
stud d' on its rear end to force forward the striker pin c against the end of
the cartridge; this projection d' or another one on the tumbler will be
brought under the bottom end of the breech piece a, as shewn at Fig. I, and
will prevent it from being displaced by the explosion of the charge. If the
tumbler d be placed in rear of the breech piece and its fore end or nose d' be
elongated it may be made to perform the functions of a striker, and thus
somewhat simplify the construction of the gun.
When the arrangement of striker shewn in the Drawing is used, the
exploding pin must not pass through the breech piece, but when the last
arrangement or an external striker or hammer is used for the purpose the
pin must project through the back of the breech piece, and the nose of the
hammer or striker being made to enter a notch at the back of the breech
piece will secure it in place when the explosion of the charge takes place.
The breech piece is drawn down or removed from the breech by means of a
quick-threaded screw h which passes through and works in a sleeve or nut i'

page_text: of the external arm or lever j which forms a continuation of the trigger
guard; or the required action can be effected by means of a link motion also'
acted upon by an external lever which will form a scroll guard for the
trigger.
When the charge has been fired the breech piece a is to be drawn down
into the position shown at Fig: 2, and the empty cartridge case will be drawn
out by means of an extractor k which slides in a groove under the barrel, and
is connected to the breech piece by means of a steel or other elastic link ..
It is preferred to release the extractor k when it has pushed out the empty
case, and this is effected by the connecting link being made with a spring
catch, which when the breech piece a is drawn down to its fullest extent will
escape from under the extractor and allow the latter to be drawn back by a
coiled or helical spring, as shewn at Fig. 2.
In order to prevent the gun from being discharged when the breech block
is not properly secured in its place, the rear end of the trigger is made to
enter a notch in the female screw i, through which passes the quick-threaded
screw h. Unless the breech be properly closed the notch in the female screw
will not be brought opposite to the point of the trigger, and unless it does so
the trigger cannot be drawn back in order to act on the sear g and release the
tumbler d. Before the breech piece a can be drawn down to open the breech,
as shewn at Fig. 2, the gun must be half-cocked and the projecting nose d'
of the tumbler drawn back out of the way of the breech block a.
The gun
is set at cock or half-cock by means of a thumb lever k mounted on the
axle of the tumbler d, like an ordinary hammer, and as shewn by red lines
in the Drawing; when the tumbler & has been drawn back in this manner
a small spring c will draw down the striker c, and cause the projecting firing
pin at its upper end to retreat into the breech piece, as shewn at Fig. 2.
The gun may be cocked without the use of the thumb lever k, which if
desired may be entirely dispensed with by slightly altering the form of the
projecting nose d' of the tumbler, so that by drawing down the breech piece
by means of the lever j the tumbler may be forced back far enough for the
sear to catch either into the full-cock or half-cock bent or notch of the
tumbler. When such an arrangement is employed a safety guard to act on
the sear must be used.
Having now described my Invention of improvements in breech-loading
fire-arms, and having explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent, as aforesaid,
mounting the moveable breech piece in such a manner that it may be drawn

page_text: down in a straight line in a diagonal direction so as to open the rear end of
the barrel for the introduction of the cartridge, as herein set forth.
I also claim the use of the curved striker, as above shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Pearce Pocock, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-eighth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
GEORGE PEARCE POCOCK. (L.S.)