CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, of 16, Castle
Street, Holborn, London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."-A communication.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux
Bellford at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 1st April 1854.
I, AUGUSTE EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 16, Castle Street, Holborn
(City), London, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS" to be as
follows:-
This Invention consists, firstly, in a sliding breech of novel form and con-
struction; secondly, in certain means of holding the said sliding breech in
such a position as to leave the chamber exposed, and of quickly throwing it into
its place to close the chamber; and thirdly, in a certain form which I have
given to the chamber for the purpose of enabling it to receive a bullet of
improved construction.
The wooden stock of the rifle, to which is secured the breech supporter, which
may be made of malleable iron or other suitable metal, and is of such form as
to receive within it a considerable portion of the barrel, and also the sliding
breech, and to serve to attach the same to the stock. The chamber, and a
part of the barrel in front of it, fit into the breech supporter. The back of
the chamber enters a short distance into the recess, which is made in the
breech supporter to receive the sliding breech, which forms a part of or is

page_text: rigidly attached to a lever, which is attached near its front end by a transverse
pivot to the under side of the breech supporter, at a point opposite or nearly so
to the front of "the chamber.
The front face of the breech is in the form of an arc, and the back of the
chamber forms a corresponding arc; so that as the back end of the lever is
raised up and down, the front face of the breech works in close contact with
the back of the chamber. The back of the breech has also the form of an
arc, thus making the breech constitute a curved wedge. The back of the
recess in which, the, breech works is in the form of an arc, and when the
breech is in its place to close the chamber, it fits tightly between the back of
the chamber and the back of the recess; but as the lever is pulled downwards
to expose the chamber, the back of the breech works out of contact with the
back of the recess, so as to enable the breech to move easily downwards.
When the breech is in place to close the chamber, its face has such an incli-
nation that the explosive force of the powder will tend to draw the breech
upwards, and thus draw the wedge tight into the recess, and thus prevent the
escape of the fire in front of the breech. The vent is made through the breech,
to which the cap or priming is applied.. A spring is applied to the lever in
front of its fulcrum in such a manner as to force the breech into the recess,
but this spring will yield to the force applied by the hand to the back end of
the lever to withdraw the breech for the exposure or opening of the chamber.
When the breech is in place to close the chamber, the back end of the lever is
intended to be in contact with the breech supporter or the stock; thus the
jamming of the breech is prevented, when it is suddenly left free to the action
of the spring. Behind the breech a bolt slides within the breech supporter,
and has a spring applied to it in such a manner as to force it forward. When
the breech is in place the bolt passes against it, but when it is drawn down to
expose the chamber, the bolt passes over the top of it, and prevents it being
returned to its place by the spring, until the bolt is drawn back by a small
trigger applied to it for the purpose. The upper part of the breech supporter
in rear of the chamber is made of such form, that a cartridge or a bullet
and charge of loose powder may be introduced to the chamber in line with the
bore.
The chamber of the barrel is enlarged conically from the front part. This
may at first sight appear to be similar to the enlargement of the chamber in
other fire-arms which load at the breech, but the nature and object of this
enlargement will be better understood after a brief explanation of the form
of the bullet which I intend to employ. For the greater portion of its length,
the external form of the bullet is that of a frustrum of a cone' whose base is

page_text: at the back end, and the conical portion is made hollow to receive a portion
of the charge. The front part of the frustrum is the same size as the parallel
portion of the base of the barrel, and the back part is made of a diameter
about one-fourth part greater. The bullet is made of this form, in order that
by the projectile force of the explosion of the powder it may be driven very
tightly into and caused to fill or "slug". very perfectly in. the grooves of
the barrel, and by the expansion in the hollow part of the gases generated it
may be kept spread, so as to fit tightly in the barrel until it leaves it. In order
to introduce a ball of this kind, it is obvious that the chamber must be so
much larger than the parallel part of the bore as is necessary to admit the
largest part of the bullet. To make the bullet "slug" with the greatest degree
of perfection, it is desirable that the conical portion fit tightly to the chamber
from back to front, except where grooves are left to contain grease; I there-
fore make the cone in the chamber to correspond in the angle formed by its
sides to its axis with the cone of the bullet, and extend it so far into the
barrel that the bullet will fit tightly therein in the position it is desired to
occupy when the piece is charged. By thus fitting the bullet to the chamber,
either a cartridge or loose powder may be used; if the latter be used when
it is desired to charge, the muzzle of the piece merely requires to be inclined
downwards, the bullet dropped into the chamber, and the space behind it
filled with powder.; if the former be used, it merely requires to be of proper
length.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by
the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 28th September 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, AUGUSTE
EDOUARD LORADOUX BELLFORD, of 16, Castle Street, Holborn, London, Patent
Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford. Her special licence that
I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, my executors, adminstra-
tors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux
Bellford, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during

page_text: 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 of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," a communication, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, by an in-
strument 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 Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof (that is to say):-
The said Invention consists, firstly, in a sliding breech of novel form and
construction; secondly, in certain means of holding the said sliding breech in
such a position as to leave the chamber exposed, and of quickly throwing it
into its place to close the chamber; and thirdly, in a certain form which I
have given to the chamber for the purpose of enabling it to receive a bullet of
improved construction.
The accompanying Drawings represent a rifle constructed according to my
Invention. Fig. 1 is a side view; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section through the
centre; Fig. 3, a top view; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the breech
detached. Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the
several Figures.
A is the wooden stock of the rifle, to which is secured the breech sup-
porter B, which may be made of malleable iron or other suitable metal, and
is of such form as to receive within it a considerable portion of the barrel
and also the sliding breech, and to serve to attach the same to the stock A.
C is the barrel, which, with the exception of the form of the chamber
(herein-after to be described), may be considered as an ordinary rifle barrel.
The chamber and a part of the barrel in front of it fit into the breech sup-
porter B, and the barrel is secured in the breech supporter by
a male
screw on the former, and a female screw in the front part of the latter, as
represented at a, a, in Fig. 2. The back of the chamber enters a short
distance into the recess, which is made in the breech supporter to receive the
sliding breech, as shown at b, b, in Figs. 2 and 3. D is the sliding breech,
which forms a part of or is rigidly attached to a lever E, which is attached near
its front end by a transverse pivot C to the under side of the breech sup-

page_text: porter B, at a point opposite or nearly so to the front of the chamber: The
pivot c forms the fulcrum of the lever. The breech D stands up from the
lever, near the middle of its length; it is of a width equal to or a little
greater than the exterior of the chamber, with parallel sides, which fit easily
5 within a recess in the breech supporter.
The front face of the breech is in the form of an arc, described from the
centre of the pivot c, and the back of the chamber forms a corresponding arc,
so that as the back end of the lever E is raised up and down, the front face of
the breech works in close contact with the back of the chamber. The back
of the breech has also the form of an arc, described from a point a little below
the centre of the pivot c, and thus the upper part of the breech is thinner
than the lower part, thus making the breech constitute a curved wedge. The
back of the recess in which the breech works is in the form of an arc, de-
scribed from a point at the same distance from the centre of the pivot c as the
back of the brecch; and when the breech is in its place to close the chamber,
it fits tightly between the back of the chamber and the back of the recess;
but as the lever is pulled downwards to expose the chamber, the back of the
breech works out of contact with the back of the recess, as shown in Fig. 2,
so as to enable the breech to move easily downwards. When the breech is in
place to close the chamber, its face has such an inclination, that the explosive
force of the powder will tend to draw the breech upwards, and thus draw the
wedge tight into the recess, and thus prevent the escape of the fire in front of
the breech. The vent is made through the breech to which the cap or
priming is applied. A spring d is applied to the lever E in front of its fulcrum
in such a manner as to force the breech into the recess, but this spring will
yield to the force applied by the hand to the back end of the lever to with-
draw the breech for the exposure or opening of the chamber. When the
breech is in place to close the chamber, the back end of the lever is intended
to be in contact with the breech supporter or the stock, as shown at e, in Fig. 1;
thus the jamming of the breech is prevented, when it is suddenly left free to
the action of the spring d. Behind the breech a bolt f slides within the breech
supporter, and has a spring g applied to it in. such a manner as to force it
forward. When the breech is in place, the bolt passes against it, but when it
is drawn down to expose the chamber, the bolt passes over the top of it, and
prevents it being returned to its place by the spring d, until the bolt is drawn.
back by a small trigger h, applied to it for the purpose. The upper part of
the breech supporter in rear of the chamber is made such form that a
cartridge or a bullet and charge of loose powder may be introduced to
the chamber in line with the bore. The chamber of the barrel is enlarged

page_text: 66
conically from the front part i, i; this may at first sight appear to be similar to
the enlargement of the chamber in other fire-arms which load at the breech,
but the nature and object of this enlargement will be better understood after
a brief explanation of the form of the bullet j, which I intend to employ.
For the greater portion of its length, the. external form of the bullet is that
of a frustrum of a cone, whose base is at the back end, and the conical
portion is made hollow to receive a portion of the charge. The front part
of the frustrum is the same size as the parallel portion of the base of the
barrel, and the back part is made of a diameter about one-fourth part greater.
The bullet is made of this form, in order that by the projectile force of the
explosion of the powder it may be driven very tightly into and caused to fill or
slug" very perfectly in the grooves of the barrel, and by the expansion in
the hollow part of the gases generated, it may be kept spread, so as to fit
tightly in the barrel until it leaves it. In order to introduce a ball of this kind,
it is obvious that the chamber must be so much larger than the parallel part
of the bore as is necessary to admit the largest part of the bullet. To make
the bullet "slug" with the greatest degree of perfection, it is desirable that
the conical portion fit tightly to the chamber from back to front, except where
grooves are left to contain grease. I therefore make the cone in the chamber
to correspond in the angle formed by its sides to its axis with the cone of the
bullet, and extend it so far into the barrel that the bullet will fit tightly therein
in the position it is desired to occupy when the piece is charged. By thus
fitting the bullet to the chamber, either a cartridge, as represented in Fig. 2, or
loose powder may be used: If the latter be used, when it is desired to charge,
the muzzle of the piece merely requires to be inclined downwards, the bullet
dropped into the chamber, and the space behind it filled with powder; if the
former be used, it merely requires to be of proper length.
1
Having thus fully described my Invention, I will proceed to state what I
claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent. I do not claim a sliding breech,
irrespective of its form and construction, as described, but I claim,
1rst, a sliding breech swinging on a pin, occupying a position outside the
barrel, but at a distance in front of the rear end thereof, having its face and
the rear face of the chamber to which it fits in the form of an arc, described
from the axis of said pivot, and fitting tightly when in place to close the
chamber between the rear end of the said chamber and the back of a recess in
the breech supporter or stock, substantially as herein described.
2d, I claim the combination of the arc-formed sliding breech, the spring
d, the spring bolt f, and the trigger h, substantially as herein described, for the
purpose of holding down the breech, to leave exposed the chamber until

page_text: the charge is inserted, and then causing it to fly quickly into its place and
close the chamber, as herein set forth.
I do not claim simply the enlargement of the rear end of the chamber, to
enable it to receive a bullet at the breech; but I claim,-
3d, making the chamber of a conical or tapered form, corresponding
exactly in the angle formed by the sides with the axis, with a bullet, a
portion of whose exterior is a frustrum of a cone, whose smaller end is of the
same size as the bore of the parallel portion of the barrel; the size of the said
chamber being such, that when the bullet is dropped in from the breech, it will
be arrested exactly in the position it is required to occupy when the piece is
charged and ready to fire, as herein fully set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Auguste Edouard Loradoux Bellford, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of September; in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
A. E. LORADOUX BELLFORD. (L.S.)