IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINE GUNS
Year: 1881

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Friedrich Löbel at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 18th March 1881,
FRIEDRICH LÖBEL, of Brighton, in the County of Sussex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINE GUNS."
•
My Invention relates to guns in which two or more barrels are arranged side by
side in a frame supported upon a carriage or other suitable position, and in which
by the movement of a handle actuated by an attendant such barrels are loaded
with cartridges, and the cartridges are fired, and fresh ones substituted for them
with great rapidity, and for as long a time as may be desired.
It has for its objects novel methods of construction and arrangement by which
the gun is more simple and easily worked, and is less liable to get out of order than
guns of a similar kind as heretofore made and used. I arrange the barrels in a
line horizontally, or if a considerable number are to be used in two lines
horizontally, one above the other, those in the upper line being preferably arranged
between those in the lower line.
For instance, twenty barrels may be arranged in the lower line and nineteen
above them.
These barrels are firmly held together and supported at or near their breech and
muzzle ends by transverse bars or plates strongly bolted or otherwise attached to a
frame which carries the entire apparatus, and may be fitted in trunnions or a
vertical socket, or both, so that the barrels can readily be directed and moved in
any desired direction.
The barrels are arranged not absolutely parallel, but diverging slightly at the
muzzles horizontally so as to spread the line of fire, and for a sufficient part of their
length are made preferably to fit accurately against each other, and are provided
with lugs or projections fitting into corresponding recesses or grooves in the frame
to take the force of the recoil when the cartridges are fired.

page_text: At and against the open breech ends of the barrels is carefully fitted and firmly
fixed to the frame which holds them a steel plate having holes corresponding with
the bores of the barrels, and at a sufficient distance back from this steel plate a-
strong transverse plate is suspended by end pivots somewhat behind its centre of
gravity, which pivots work in sockets formed upon or attached to the frame. Into 5
the space between this swinging plate and the steel plate is dropped from above a
frame or plate of steel or other sufficiently strong material having perforations
through it corresponding with those in the steel plate and the barrels, the thickness
of the frame being about equal to the length of the cartridges, and the perforations
being made of such size as to receive the latter freely. If therefore the frame 1
described be filled with suitable cartridges by hand or otherwise, and then dropped
into the space provided for it, which it fits freely, and if the suspended plate behind
be then forced firmly against it, the steel plate and the frame carrying the cartridges
will substantially form part of the breech end of the barrels, through which the
missiles will be discharged when the cartridges are exploded.
1
In order to secure the exact adjustment of the cartridge frame in its place I
provide end grooves or guides upon it fitting freely corresponding guides in the
ends of the space into which it drops, and upon the front of the suspended plate I
arrange two or more conical projections or studs accurately fitting into corresponding
recesses in the back of the cartridge frame, so that when the latter is forced forward 2
the studs are forced into the recesses, and the cartridge plate is thus adjusted
exactly in its proper position.
The suspended plate has a hole through it opposite the end of each cartridge, the
backs of these holes being preferably conical, and a parallel plate is arranged behind
them provided with a corresponding number of conical projections fitting into the 2
holes, and their ends being of such length that if the plate carrying them be
suddenly driven forward they strike and explode the cartridges.
In order to force forward the suspended plate by which the cartridge frame is
adjusted and fixed as described, I arrange a screw or cam in a convenient position
behind the plate, and supported in bearings upon the frame of the gun in such
manner that it can be readily forced forward and withdrawn to a sufficient extent
by an attendant standing in a convenient position either at the side of or behind
the gun.
The screw or cam operates two of more pressure blocks of suitable shape
which press the suspended plate forward in order to adjust and fix the cartridge
frame or withdraw the pressure in order to allow the cartridge frame to be removed:
as desired.
The transverse plate which carries the conical studs by which the cartridges are
fired, as above described, is made capable of a sufficient amount of movement to or
from the suspended plate, and it is arranged so that when the pressure is applied
to the back of the latter by means of the cam or screw, the plate with the conical
studs is held back at a short distance from the suspended plate, but when the
movement of the handle by the attendant is continued it releases the plate, which,
with the studs, is propelled suddenly forward by one or more springs, and the
cartridges are thus exploded.
One method of accomplishing this is as follows: The moveable plate with the
studs is kept separated from the suspended plate by light springs, and when the
pressure is removed from the suspended plate by the screw or cam the action of
the handle which drives the latter also withdraws and retains by a detent two or
more wedges, which, by means of strong springs, force forward the plate carrying
the conical studs. After the suspended plate has been forced tightly against the
cartridge frame, the continued action of the handle releases the detent, and the
strong springs acting upon the wedges force forward the latter, which in turn
actuate the plate carrying the conical studs by which the cartridges are ignited.
I arrange one or inore moveable catches, upon which the frame loaded with
cartridges falls when it is dropped into the machine, and these catches are connected
with the handle by which the apparatus is actuated, so that when the latter is
turned to release the suspended plate the catches are momentarily withdrawn and

page_text: the cartridge frame containing the empty cartridge cases drops out, a second full
one taking its place from above, and being prevented from dropping too far by the
immediate release of the catches, or by others which come into operation immediately
after the first have been withdrawn.
.
By constantly supplying fresh frames filled with cartridges the action of the gun
may be continued as long as may be desired.
The empty cartridge cases are removed from the frames and full ones substituted
for them by hand or in other convenient manner, and it will be seen that in
this way they have opportunities of becoming cool during the time when they are
not in use.
.
The arrangements above described may be modified to suit varying circumstances.
Instead of the cartridge frames extending across the lines of barrels they may
be divided into two or more sets, each covering and supplying a certain number of
the barrels.
The cartridges may be fired simultaneously, or a certain number at each end
simultaneously, followed by a number of the adjoining ones, and finally the central
ones, or vice versa, so as to prevent a lateral recoil. Or the upper row of cartridges
may be first exploded and followed by the lower row.
A frame or guide is provided, carrying a number of loaded cartridge frames
which descend one by one into the gun as described, a fresh supply being constantly
added above.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Friedrich Löbel in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th September 1881.
FRIEDRICH LÖBEL, of Brighton, in the County of Sussex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINE GUNS."
This Invention relates to guns in which a number of barrels are arranged and
held firmly fixed in a frame supported upon a moveable carriage or other convenient
fixed or moveable support, and in which by the movement of a handle actuated by
an attendant such barrels are supplied with cartridges which can be fired and
fresh ones substituted for them with great rapidity, and so on for as long a time as
may be desired. The present. Invention has for its objects novel methods of
construction and arrangement by which the gun is more simple and easily worked,
and is less liable to get out of order than guns of a similar kind as heretofore
made and used. In order to put the Invention in operation I arrange a sufficient
number of barrels, two or more, in a line horizontally side by side, or if a con-
siderable number are to be used, in two lines, one above the other, those in the
upper line being preferably arranged between those in the lower, as, for instance,
twenty barrels in the lower line and nineteen in the upper one, so as to economize
space and material as much as possible.
These barrels are firmly held together and supported at or near both their
breech and muzzle ends by transverse bars or plates strongly bolted or otherwise
attached to a frame which carries the entire apparatus, and may itself be fitted in
transverse trunnions or in a vertical socket or both; and I prefer that the frame
should also be fitted with longitudinal trunnions or joints, as hereinafter described,
so that the barrels can be readily moved and made to point in any desired direc-
tions. I arrange the barrels preferably not absolutely parallel, but diverging
slightly at their muzzles, so as to spread the line of fire, and for more or less of
their length they are made preferably to fit accurately against and mutually
support each other, and are also provided with lugs or projections fitting into
corresponding recesses or grooves in the frame, in order to take the force of the
recoil when the cartridges with which the gun is loaded are fired, as hereinafter
described. At and against the open breech ends of the barrels is carefully fitted
and firmly fixed to the frame which holds them a plate, preferably of steel, having
holes through it corresponding with the bores of the several barrels, and at a
sufficient distance back from this steel plate a strong transverse plate or block
is suspended by end pivots or guides which fit and work in sockets formed upon or
attached to the frame of the gun. The space between the perforated steel plate
and the plate or block last described forms an opening into which is dropped from
above a loose frame or plate of steel or other sufficiently strong material which fits
the opening freely, and has through it perforations corresponding exactly in number
and position with those in the barrels and in the steel plate, with which they
exactly coincide when the plate is dropped into its position. The thickness of this
loose plate is about equal to the length of the cartridges which are to be used, and
the perforations through it are of such size as to receive the latter freely. If
therefore the loose plate or frame be filled by hand or otherwise with suitable
cartridges, and is then dropped into the space or opening left for it, and into which
it freely fits, and if the suspended plate behind be then forced firmly against its
back, the steel plate and the frame or plate carrying the cartridges will substantially
form part of the breech ends of the barrels, through which the missiles will be
discharged if the cartridges are exploded. In order to ensure the exact adjustment
of the loaded cartridge plate in its place I provide upon its ends grooves or guides

page_text: which fit freely in corresponding guides in the ends of the space in which it is
dropped and fits, and upon the front of the suspended back plate I arrange two or
more conical projections or studs accurately fitting into corresponding recesses in
the back of the cartridge plate, so that when the latter is forced forward the studs
are pressed into the recesses, and the cartridge plate is thus guided and adjusted
exactly into its proper position.
In order to explode the cartridges when adjusted and held in their proper
position, as described, I make a small hole in the suspended back plate opposite to
each cartridge, the backs or outer ends of these holes being preferably conical, and
a separate parallel plate is arranged behind them provided with a corresponding
number of conical striking pins fitting into the holes and having their front ends
of such length that if the plate which carries them be suddenly driven forward
they strike and explode the cartridges. In order to force forward the suspended
plate by which the loose plate carrying the cartridges is adjusted and fixed, as
before described, I arrange a strong screw or cam in a convenient position behind
the suspended plate, and carried in bearings in the frame of the gun in such
manner that it can be readily forced forward or withdrawn to a sufficient extent
when desired by an attendant standing in a convenient position either behind or
at the side of the gun. The screw or cam operates one or more pressure blocks of
suitable shape, which press the suspended plate forward in order to first adjust and
then fix the cartridge plate in the way already described, or withdraw the pressure
in order to allow the cartridge plate to be introduced or withdrawn, as desired.
The suspended back plate may be of such shape that when the pressure against it
is removed it falls back by its own weight, or it may be drawn back as well as
forced forward by the screw, or it may be withdrawn by springs when the pressure
of the screw is withdrawn.
I make the separate transverse plate which carries the striking pins by which
the cartridges are exploded as above described, capable of a sufficient amount of
movement to or from the suspended plate, and I arrange it so that when the
pressure is applied to the back of the latter by means of the screw or cam, the
striking plate carrying the pins is held back at a short distance from the back of
the suspended plate. When it is desired that the gun should be fired, the striking
plate is released either by a further movement of the handle, or by the movement
of a separate handle by an attendant.
I arrange one or more moveable catches or supports upon which the frame loaded
with its cartridges is supported when it is dropped into the opening provided for
it in the machine, and these catches are connected with the handle actuating the
main screw already described, or with a separate handle, so that when the suspended
plate is withdrawn, as described from the back of the cartridge plate, the supports
upon which the latter rests are also momentarily withdrawn, and the plate con-
taining the empty cartridge cases falls out of the gun.
In the accompanying Drawings, which aro in illustration of my Invention, in
Sheet 1, Figure 1 is a plan partly in section of a part of the gun, the remainder
being broken off above the centre line x, y. Figure 2 is a longitudinal section, and
Figure 3 is a transverse section through the barrels. Figure 4 is a perspective
view of a cartridge box or frame. a, a, a, are the barrels held in place upon the
frame b by plates c and d, and fitting against each other, as shewn in Figure 3.
The barrels are shewn with lugs or projections e, f, which fit into grooves in the
frame b, by which they are firmly beld, and the recoil is received when the
cartridges are fired. g is a steel plate which is secured against the breech ends of
the barrels a, having holes through it corresponding with the barrels as shewn. h is
one of the frames or boxes containing holes in which the cartridges are placed.
This frame fits freely in guides i at its ends. is a back plate suspended from
pivots at 7, so that it can be forcibly pressed forward against or withdrawn from
the back of the frame 1 by means of the clutches or connections m, which are
actuated as desired by a screw or cam (not shewn in the Drawing). In the plate k

page_text: are a series of conical holes n, n, n, corresponding with the backs of the cartridges
in the frame h, and having fitted into them the striking pins o, o, o, which are
fixed in the moveable plate p, this plate being carried upon guides (Figure 2),
having springs s by which the plate and the striking pins o are withdrawn from
contact with the cartridges. In order to operate the apparatus the plate k is
withdrawn by means of the screw or cam, taking with it the plate p and the
striking pins o, 0, 0. The box or frame h filled with loaded cartridges is then
dropped into its place, and the back plate k is forced forward, tightening the
cartridge box up against the steel plate g, the box being adjusted exactly to its
proper position by the conical studs t. When the plate k is thus forced forward,
the plate with the striking pins o, o, o, is held back by a catch or detent, not
shewn in the Drawing, in such manner that when the detent is released, powerful
springs suitably arranged for the purpose, and which have been compressed when
the plate was drawn back, force the latter forward, and the pins o, o, o, striking
the cartridges, the latter are simultaneously exploded.
The method by which the plate p and the striking pins are thus forced forward
may be varied. For instance, the method shewn in Sheet 2 of the Drawings, and
hereinafter described may be used, or one or more wedges may be arranged at the
back of the plate, and provided with strong springs which propel the wedges
forward and drive the plate and pins against the cartridges. The wedges are
connected with the handle by which the screw or cam already described is actuated,
so that when the clutches or connections m are drawn back, the wedges are also
drawn back, and the plate p is free to recede. The wedges are so arranged that
the catch or detent by which they are held back is released by continuing for a
short distance the movement of the handle after the cartridge box has been
tightened up in its place, or by an entirely separate handle or trigger.
I prefer to arrange a frame or guides above the gun, in which two or more
loaded cartridge boxes can be placed one above the other, the lower one when in its
place being supported by one or more catches, as shewn at v, Figure 2, these catches
being withdrawn when the handle is turned to release the box after the cartridges
have been exploded, and the box containing the empty cartridge cases drops out,
and the next full one above it takes its place and can be fired in its turn, and so
on as long as boxes filled with loaded cartridges are supplied to the gun.
In Sheet 2 of the accompanying Drawings, Figure 5 is a plan, Figure 6 a
longitudinal section, and Figure 7 a back view of a gun constructed according to
my Invention but somewhat modified from that already described and shewn.
a, a, a, are the barrels held in place upon the frame b by the plate a, and the
bolts d, d, the projections e and f fitting into the frame as shewn; g is the steel
plate secured to the breech ends of the barrels a, and h is one of the frames or boxes
carrying cartridges and fitting freely in the guides i at its ends; k is the back
plate suspended from pivots at 7 so that it can be pressed forward against the
cartridge box by means of the connection m actuated by the screw A. The
moveable plate p carries the striking pins o, o, o, and is pressed forward by the
spring B. The spindle C revolves in the bearings w carried by the frame of the
gun and has a handle D at its lower end. Its upper end has a cam E which
operates the detent F attached to the plate p as shewn, so that when the handle D
is turned the plate p is drawn back, compressing the spring B, and is then suddenly
released and driven forward exploding the cartridges in the box / by means of the
striking pins o, o, o. H is a bar carrying supports I for the empty cartridge box
(shewn in dotted lines at h¹, Figure 6), and suspended from the pins K. An
excentric or cam at L upon the spindle C is connected to the bar H, as shewn, so
that when the upper cartridge box h has been tightened up in its place by the
screw A, and the handle D is turned for the purpose of firing the cartridges as first
described, the supports I are withdrawn and the empty cartridge box h¹ drops out,
the supports I being returned to their place before the screw A is again turned to
release the box h after the gun has been fired. In the method of arrangement

page_text: shown in Figures 5, 6, and 7, the frame a is shewn capable of adjustment not only
upon the pivots M, which are shewn in Figure 7 carried upon the frame of a gun
carriage, but also upon the pivot N so that its transverse horizontal position can be
altered as desired by a rack and pinion, as shewn in dotted lines at O in Figure 7,
or by other convenient means. The frame may also be mounted upon a vertical
pin, as shewn in Figure 2, so as to be capable of a sweeping horizontal movement
as well as upon the pivots M. and N. Sights may be fixed upon any convenient
part of the gun.
Instead of being fixed parallel to each other as shown in the 'Drawings, the
barrels may be arranged more or less radially so as to spread the fire of their
missiles, and the extent of such radial arrangement may be made adjustable so as
to be more or less. Instead of the cartridges contained in the boxes h being fired
simultaneously as heretofore described and shewn, the striking pins and firing
apparatus may be arranged so that they are fired in sections successively, two or
more being fired simultaneously. One method of arrangement for this purpose is
shewn in plan in Figure 8 and in longitudinal section in Figure 9, in which k is
the suspended plate by which the cartridge box is tightened up; p, p, p, p, p, are
separate plates each carrying a certain number of striking pins o.
These plates are carried in guides r, r, r, r, r, and are pressed forward by the
springs B. The shaft A is arranged transversely across the frame and revolves in
bearings in the frame a. It carries cams E upon it which operate upon projections F
upon the spindles of the plates p. The cams are arranged so that when the
handle G is turned the plates p are drawn back and released one after the other
instead of simultaneously. The shaft A is shewn carrying also cams H operating
upon projections I at the back of the suspended platek, so that the latter is tightened
up and released at the proper times automatically by the continued revolution of
the shaft A. This shaft A may also carry an excentric or cam (not shewn in the
Figures), similar to that shewn in Figures 5, 6, and 7, actuating at the proper
times the bar carrying the supports upon which the empty cartridge box falls, and
in this way the entire operations of loading and firing the gun may be performed
by the continuous turning of the handle upon the shaft A so long as boxes filled
with loaded cartridges are supplied to the gun. The cartridge boxes being entirely
separate have time to become cool when removed from the gun, and they may be
arranged so as to be carried by endless chains operated automatically by the
machinery of the gun.
I do not confine myself to the precise form and arrangement of the different
parts of the machine gun herein described and shewn, but having now described
my Invention and the manner in which it is to be performed, I claim,―
First. The method of loading the machine gun by means of separate cartridge
boxes filled with cartridges and dropped in succession into position behind the
breeches of the barrels.
Second. The method of tightening such cartridge boxes in position by means
of one or more screws or cams acting upon a moveable block behind the cartridge
box.
Third. The method of adjusting the cartridge boxes in position by means of
conical studs and recesses.
Fourth. For the purpose of firing the cartridges the firing pins carried by one or
more moveable bars actuated by springs behind the moveable plate which tightens
up the cartridge boxes.
Fifth. The methods of drawing back and releasing the moveable bar or bars
carrying the firing pins.
Sixth. The moveable support or supports carrying the empty cartridge box when
the latter is released, and actuated by an excentric or cam at intervals.
Seventh. For the purpose of firing the cartridges in sets successively, the
separate moveable plates actuated by springs and carrying firing pins, the transverse
shaft with a corresponding number of cams in combination with detents connected

page_text: with the separate moveable plates, the cam or cams operating upon the moveable
block which tightens the cartridge boxes, and an excentric or cam operating at
intervals the moveable supports which carry the empty cartridge boxes.
Eighth. The general arrangement of the machine gun.
All substantially as described and shewn in the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Friedrich Löbel, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this 15th day of September, in the year of our Lord 1881.
FRIEDRICH LÖBEL. (LS.)