IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE
Year: 1879

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Longsdon, of Queen Victoria Street, in the City
of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE."
A com-
munication from abroad by Alfred Krupp, of Essen, in the Empire of Germany,
Cast Steel Manufacturer.
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Longsdon at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th March 1879.
ALFRED LONGSDON, of Queen Victoria Street, in the City of London.
IM-
PROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE." (A communication from abroad by Alfred Krupp, of
Essen, in the Empire of Germany, Cast Steel Manufacturer.)
The object of this Invention is to annul the recoil of ordnance.
The Invention refers to the employment of pieces of ordnance having the firing
chambers abutting one against the other and consisting as it were of pieces of
ordnance placed breech to breech, so that the muzzles are in opposite directions;
between the two pieces and in the metal connecting them the fuse aperture. is
formed, which is in connection with others leading to the charge chambers in the
pieces of ordnance aforesaid, so that by firing the fuse the pieces are simultaneously
discharged, the recoil is equalized, and the result is that the piece or pieces of
ordnance are to all intents and purposes stationary. The ordnance may be pivotted
or slung, so that it may be raised and lowered as required.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Alfred Longsdon in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th
September 1879.
ALFRED LONGSDON, of Queen Victoria Street, in the City of London.
"IM-
PROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE" (A communication from abroad by Alfred Krupp, of
Essen, in the Empire of Germany, Cast Steel Manufacturer.)
The object of this Invention is to do away with or partly or wholly to annul the
recoil of ordnance, that is, the shock and consequent running back produced by the
firing of the same, and thus to be enabled to make the mounting simpler, lighter,
and more secure than heretofore.
The object in view is attained by placing as it were two pieces of ordnance on the
same pair of trunnions breech to breech, so that the muzzles are in opposite direc-
tions, their axes forming a straight line or an obtuse angle with one another, and by
firing the two pieces simultaneously in opposite directions. Only one of the two
shots is intended to take effect on a certain point or object, while the other shot in
general is lost, or is more or less a dummy shot; the former case may without harm
take place at sea, the latter may be effected by causing the action of the shot to be
weakened and rendered harmless by special appliances; thus the shot may, for
instance, be so composed that it falls into small harmless pieces at a certain distance
from the muzzle.
Between the two pieces and in the metal connecting them the fuse appliances are
arranged leading to the charge chambers in the pieces of ordnance.
I mount the double cannon on a pivot carriage or frame as described in the Speci-
fication of my Patent, dated 16th April 1878, No. 1514, but it will be observed that
all the parts serving to support and stay can be made materially lighter than with
ordinary ordnance, as the strain is so greatly reduced.
When applied on ship board I dispense with all round firing, and confine myself
to such a sweep or angle, as the ship construction will admit, making the angle,
however, as large as possible. The war vessels may for like bore of gun be built
considerably smaller and weaker than rendered necessary by the use of the aforesaid
pivot gun or any other construction of ordnance.
The double gun may however also be mounted on any other suitable carriage or
structure adapted for the purpose.
Instead of raising and lowering the gun by the pivot carriage construction it may
be raised or lowered as required by being slung or freely suspended in ropes or
chains, which under certain circumstances may be advantageous.
And in order that the Invention may be more fully understood I will describe it,
with reference to the accompanying Drawings, as applied to a 30.5 centimetre
double gun on pivot carriage and in connection with "Krupp's" breech loading
arrangement, the axes of the two guns in this case forming a straight line.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section; Figure 2 is a cross section showing
how the projectile is taken hold of for loading, with a side view of same; Figure 3
is an eud view; Figure 4, a plan; Figure 5, an enlarged longitudinal section of
the middle portions of the double gun; and Figure 6 a vertical cross section through
the connecting or trunnion piece.
The two tubes A, A, are at their breech ends firmly connected to the cylindrical
trunnion piece B; b, b, are the trunnion pivots resting in the bearing piece C. As
the tubes overhang considerably at each end the weight of their outer ends is taken
by stays D, the supporting columns & of which are fastened to the trunnion piece B,
while the outer ends of the stays D are jointed to bands on the guns. The trunnion
piece B is bored out in line with the gun tubes, and has an open upper part or slot
the length and width of which are in accordance with the dimensions of the pro-
jectile and cartridge, and with the space required for convenient manipulation of
same; the wedge holes are also formed therein.

page_text: In order to effect the simultaneous ignition of both the charges with certainty
the fuse tube apertures in the two breech wedges a are connected by a common
tube E leading to the charge chambers, and containing the common vent hole e for
both; this tube is inserted after the two guns have been loaded.
The elevation required is obtained by a pinion and rack F from the pivot carriage;
the side movement is obtained by turning the pivot H round its axis.
The loading is effected as follows:-One wedge a is withdrawn, the trough a¹,
Figure 5, is inserted, and the projectile lowered into the slot in the trunnion piece
by means of crane and tongs G, Figure 2; the projectile is then pushed forward into
the common tube, and then the cartridge or powder charge. The trough a' is then
withdrawn and the gun closed by inserting the wedge a. In a similar manner the
other gun is loaded. The larger piece e containing the vent hole e of the fuse tube
appliance consisting of two parts united by hand wheel, screw coupling is then
inserted into its hole in the wedge with its conical end, the tubes contain explosive
ignition composition, and are by the hand wheel e³ drawn together to the shortest
length. Then the smaller part 2 of the fuse tube appliance is similarly inserted,
and both parts e¹ and e³ united by drawing forward the screw coupling e, which
had been pushed back on e². The complete tightening up of the parts of the fuse
tube appliance against each other is effected by turning the hand wheel e³, whereby
the piece e¹ is made longer, thus making joint and affording the required pressure.
The appliance is disconnected by reversing the operations.
If, as here supposed, the bore, the weight of projectile, and of cartridge are alike
for both guns, the shock by recoil will be entirely annulled. But it will also do to
vary one or more of these parts so as to make them different in the two guns. In
that case the recoil would be lessened and be like the difference of the total pressure
of the effective powder charge.
As before stated, the axes of the two guns may be at an obtuse angle with each
other. The resultant effects would then have to be annulled by the weight of the
guns or the gun carriage.
It is also understood, as before stated, that the double gun can be used not only
with the "Krupp" system of breech loading here shown, but with any other breech
loading system, whereby of course the details would be suitably altered.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,―
The combination of two gun or ordnance tubes so that their axis form one line
or an angle, and so as to be directed in opposite directions for the purpose of partly
or wholly doing away or annulling the recoil when both guns are simultaneously
fired, all substantially as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Longsdon, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.
ALFRED LONGSDON. (L.S.)