IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS.”—A
communication from abroad by Edmond Lefaure and Jules Villain,
both of Paris, France.
Sealed the 22nd April 1873, and dated the 29th October 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 29th October 1872.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-
ARMS," a communication, to be as follows:-
The said Invention has for its object various important improvements
in the construction of the so-called "Chassepôt" rifle, which improve-
ments are of such a nature as to greatly simplify the charging of the
same, and also the taking to pieces and putting together of the parts

page_text: when the soldier has to clean his rifle. According to the said Invention
the cocking is effected by the bolt at the moment when the breech is
opened to admit the cartridge; thus the time required for charging the
arm is shortened. Moreover the cocking of the arm may be effected by
the direct manipulation of the cock; and the said arm has the further
advantage of only containing very strong pieces, such as firing pins,
springs, and the like; the needle, the obturator, and the spiral springs,
all of which deteriorate rapidly, being dispensed with.
"
In carrying these improvements into practice, the breech piece of the
Chassepôt" rifle which receives the barrel and also the bolt and its
manipulating lever are retained. The said bolt in this improved arm
contains only a firing pin of such diameter as to give it great strength,
and which is furnished with two collars for guiding it and limiting its
movements. This firing pin may be readily removed from the bolt
simply by unscrewing the head of the latter by means of a turn-screw
with two pins or points. It will be obvious that if it is desired to use the
cartridges at present made for these arms a needle and obturator may be
adapted to this bolt.
For actuating the firing pin a cock is employed solidly formed upon
an ordinary tumbler controlled by a link and a flat spring as in ordinary
gun locks. The employment of this cock with its tumbler permits of
obtaining naturally the safety notch without the necessity of employing
any especial arrangement or drill.
This method of controlling the cock permits a more gentle action, and
consequently greater precision in the aim, while at the same time it
obviates the necessity for the employment of the coiled springs of the
Chassepôt " rifle, which springs were subject to breaking, and of which
it was always necessary to have a reserve in case of accident.
The main spring, which is forked to connect to the link, is held against
a projection formed upon the breech by means of a plate and screw.
The said screw is secured by a pin, so that it cannot be entirely with-
drawn, and the loss of either the screw or plate in the field is thereby
prevented.
As herein-before stated, the cocking of the gun is effected either
directly by means of the cock or by drawing back the bolt. For this
purpose the rear of the latter is closed by a screw plug perforated in
such a manner as to permit the passage of the extremity of the firing

page_text: pin, which at the moment when the bolt handle or lever is raised acts
laterally upon the body of the cock, and causes it to retire for a certain
distance. Then in drawing back the bolt the cock is forced completely
back, the cocking notch of the tumbler being caught by the detent which
is kept constantly pressed against the tumbler by the detent spring.
which is secured to the breech.
In order to permit the reciprocating movement of the bolt and its
passage over the cock when the latter is forced down into a recess made
in the rear of the fixed breech piece, the said bolt at its lower part is
provided with a groove extending to the aforesaid screw-head, so that it
may be withdrawn and replaced without taking the arm to pieces.
Furthermore the rear part of this groove is rounded in such a manner as
to facilitate the cocking simultaneously with the opening of the arm
when the bolt is drawn back; the movement of the latter is limited by a
screw as in the ordinary " Chassepôt " rifle.
As with these improved arms metallic cartridges may be used, the arm
is provided with an extractor furnished with a claw, which fits in a
groove made in the lateral face of the longitudinal bar of the bolt. This
extractor is terminated at the rear by a curved portion, whose extremity
is capable of sliding in a small groove made in the side corresponding to
the top opening of the breech. This curved portion of the extractor
when the manipulating lever is raised projects behind the heel of the
longitudinal bar of the bolt, which thus draws back the extractor when
the breech is opened. In order to obtain the automatic extraction of
the cartridge a stop is fixed in the interior of the breech of such a form
that at the moment when in withdrawing the bolt the extractor brings
out the empty shell the flange of the latter strikes the aforesaid stop,
which causes it to tilt, and thereby ejects it from the arm.
For avoiding any danger which might arise from the accidental dis-
charge of the arm, there is placed at the rear of the breech a small
pivotted cross bar, which when turned down lies in front of the cock,
whose action upon the firing pin is therefore rendered impossible until
the said cross bar is raised, when the action of the cock upon the said pin
will be unimpeded. There is also upon the front face of the cock, below
the striated portion which serves for the direct cocking, a slight channel
in which the said cross bar rests when turned down; therefore the latter
will not be raised by the blow of the cock or by any force applied to the

page_text: manipulating lever, whose rear cam strikes the said cross bar; and the
opening of the arm without first raising the said cross bar will be
prevented.
The said cam or projection carried by the bolt at its rear portion has
the effect of preventing an accidental discharge when the manipulating 5
lever is not fully turned down to hermetically close the breech, as when
the arm is in this position the cock in falling strikes this projection and
cannot act on the firing pin.
As above stated, metallic cartridges are employed with this improved
arm, and therefore the barrel must be chambered for the reception of the 1
cartridges. It is preferred to use cartridges whose shell is composed of
Dutch metal rolled, and thereby made elastic to such an extent that
after the explosion the metal shrinks slightly, and leaves the empty shell
quite loose in the chamber, thereby facilitating its extraction.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 26th April 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her special
licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William Robert Lake,
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," a communication to me from
abroad by Edmond Lefaure and Jules Villain, both of Paris, France,

page_text: firing pin d, furnished with two bearings for guiding and limiting its
movement, and which may be easily drawn back by unscrewing the
head e of the bolt. This firing pin is actuated by a cock fin one piece,
with an ordinary tumbler g controlled by a link h and a bent spring i, as
in the ordinary locks of flint guns. The safety notch cut upon the
tumbler is thus obtained without the employment of any special contri-
vance or operation. This control of the cock, at the same time that it
suppresses the employment of the spiral spring, permits a much easier
discharge, and consequently greater precision in firing. The main or
double spring i which controls the link his adjusted to a projection upon
the breech a by means of an iron plate k and a screw 1, rivetted so that
it cannot be entirely removed, whereby the loss of the said screw and of
the plate in active service is prevented. It is sufficient to slacken the
screw and to cause the plate & to be turned a quarter revolution upon
itself, to render free the passage of the spring i when it is desired to
remove or replace it.
The cocking of the rifle is effected either directly by means of the
cock f, or by the opening of the bolt; for this purpose the rear part of
the latter is closed by a screw stopper m perforated to allow the extremity
of the firing pin d to pass, and having a projection or cam n, which at
the moment the lever o is raised acts laterally upon the body of the cock
and forces it back a certain distance; then on bringing back the bolt c
its reversal is completed by causing the tumbler, which is solid with it,
to pass in front of the safety notch j and the cocking notch p, or it is
seized by the trigger q, which is kept up by the trigger spring r secured
to the fixed breech. The said projection or cam n also has the effect of
preventing accidental discharge when the working lever o is not completely
turned down to hermetically close the breech, because when the parts of
the arm are in this position the cock in falling comes in contact with
this projection and cannot meet the firing pin.
In order to permit the to-and-fro movement of the bolt and its
passage over the cock f, when the latter is reversed in the hollow
space & cut in the rear part of the fixed breech, the bolt has at its lower
part a groove t extending as far as the screwed head e'; it may thus be
removed and restored to its place without its being necessary to take the
arm to pieces; moreover the rear of this groove is rounded to facilitate
the cocking of the hammer when it is brought behind the bolt c, whose
course is limited by the screw to as in the ordinary " Chassepot" rifle.

page_text: -
The cartridge extractor v adapted to this arm is flat and lies in a
groove formed laterally in the upper part of the bolt; its rear part is
curved backward, and its extremity y can slide into a small groove
formed in the breech a. When the working lever is raised the curved
part of the said cartridge extractor is placed behind the heel of the part x,
which draws it back when the breech is opened. The hook of this cartridge
extractor lies in a triangular recess, formed in the corresponding part
of the chamber of the rifle, and allows sufficient play for the claw to clear
the casing of the cartridge while remaining completely shut in this
recess; therefore the interior surface of the chamber does not present
any break of continuity, and the socket of the cartridge being perfectly
sustained at all points cannot break at the moment of the explosion.
In the interior of the breech a is arranged a stop w in such a manner
that at the moment when on drawing the bolt back the cartridge
extractor withdraws the empty shell its rim strikes against this stop,
which causes it to spring the other way, and thus throws it out of the
arm.
In order to avoid all possibility of danger from accidental discharges
of the arm, the working lever o is hollowed out in its front part to receive
a rectangular two-armed lever, of which one of the arms A rests partly
in the hollow of the working lever, while the other arm B lies in a recess
formed in the projection x of the bolt, and extends a certain distance
outside of this projection into two grooves C, D, formed in the front face
of the recess of the breech a, and which correspond with the two
positions of the cocking and safety notches.
A spring E fixed at the back of the arm A of the said lever tends to
press it downward in front, while the projection of the arm A outside
the working lever permits when it is seized by the hand the exit of the
arm B from the grooves C, D, and the turning of the obturator c upon
itself in order to open or close the arm, or to set it on the safety notch;
this simple arrangement maintains the bolt in all its positions, and does
not permit any movement not made by the hand upon the arm A of the
rectangular lever.
It will be seen that the safety appliances adapted to this improved
fire-arm are of three kinds, viz. :-First, the safety notch formed on the
tumbler g; second, the cam n arranged on the back of the bolt; and
third, the rectangular lever adapted to the working lever, and whose

page_text: extremity enters the notches D, E, corresponding with the safety and
cocking notches.
It must be observed that the front stopper e of the bolt has a length
sufficient to enable it to enter deeply into the chamber of the barrel b,
and thereby any projection of the fragments of the cartridge outside the
arm in case of accidental breakage of its shell, and all loss of gas at the
moment of the explosion will be prevented; moreover the front face of
the stopper e is slightly recessed to press forcibly the rim of the cartridge
against the vertical face of the steel tube G at the interior of the barrel b
of the rifle. It may be seen that these improved fire-arms, being designed
to receive metallic cartridges, the barrel b is bored to the dimensions
of the cartridges employed; those preferably adopted have a shell com-
posed of a sheet of foil rolled in such a manner as to present an amount
of elasticity which facilitates the extraction of the empty cartridge. If
however it is desired to use the ordinary cartridges employed for
Chassepot" rifles, a needle and plug may be adapted to the aforesaid
bolt without changing any part of the mechanism above described.
66
Figure 9 illustrates the application to an unaltered "Chassepot." rifle
of a cartridge extractor and stopper with a central pin permitting the em-
ployment of metallic cased cartridges, as well as an arrangement of parts
intended to effect the cocking of the rifle by the raising of the working
lever; for this purpose the needle is replaced by a firing pin d, and the
obturator or plug of india-rubber by a metallic stopper e with a slightly
hollowed face. The barrel of the rifle is fitted with a steel tube G having
a groove z of triangular form intended to receive the claw of the cart-
ridge extractor v in order that the shell of the cartridge may not burst
under the action of the powder.
In order to avoid loss of time in the loading of the arm I have, as may
be seen in Figure 10, united by inclined planes H the grooves formed
at present in the rear part of the bolt, and upon the cock there is a
tappet whose oblique face is repulsed when the working lever is raised;
the loading of the rifle may therefore be effected without touching the
cock. The extremities of the two planes H are limited by the corres-
ponding spaces in the the cocking and safety notches, whose use is thus
retained.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correpondents, and the manner of performing the

page_text: Second. The cocking of the rifle by the bolt.
Third. The application of a cartridge extractor and a stop for ejecting
the empty shells from the arm.
Fourth. The application of safety appliances for preventing accidental
discharges of the arm.
Fifth. The application to ordinary "Chassepot"
Chassepot" rifles simply
chambered and furnished with a firing pin and with a metallic obtu-
rator of the above-described cartridge extractor, and a simple contrivance
cocking without the employment of any additional mechanism.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of April,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
things
Witness,
JAMES EDWARDS,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
WM. ROBT. LAKE. (L.S.)