Carriage and Traction Arrangement for a Machine or Quick Firing Gun.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 21st Mar., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Carriage and Traction Arrangement for a Machine or Quick
Firing Gun.
I, The Right Honourable DOUGLAS MACKINNON BAILLIE HAMILTON
COCHRANE, EARL OF DUNDONALD of 34 Portman Square in the County of
London, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My invention relates to a construction of carriage and arrangement of the
traction for a machine or quick firing gun, in such a manner, that the whole
structure is light yet strong, that a single horse or draught animal can be readily
attached for traction and detached when the gun is to be served, that a single
gunner can drive during traction, can rapidly put the gun in condition for service
and can then work the gun without other aid, that the gun can be readily trained,
laterally levelled, and elevated or depressed to such an extent as to be capable of
giving vertical fire-that a considerable store of ammunition cau be carried, and
portions of this can be readily put in convenient position for serving the gun and
that the gunner is shielded while working the gun. I shall describe the carriage
and traction arrangement according to my invention referring to the accompanying
drawings.
Figure 1 is a side view showing the carriage in condition for traction.
Figure 2 is a side view showing the carriage in condition for serving the gun.
Figure 3 is an end view.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 show the gun in various elevations.
The other figures are drawn to an enlarged scale.
Figures 7 and 8 are respectively a perspective view and a longitudinal section of
the stand for the gun.
Figure 9 is a perspective view shewing one mode of attaching the pole to the
saddle.
Figures 10 and 11 show the two positions of the gunner's seat and strut.
A is the axle having at each end bearings, preferably ball bearings, for wheels A'
which are preferably of light construction such as those used for velocipedes having
wire spokes and elastic tyres. To the axle near the wheel bearings are fixed two
diagonal stays A2 A3 and to them at their meeting point is fixed preferably in a
detachable manner a vertically curved pole B having swivelled to its end a ring B'
which can be engaged on a stud B2 projecting upwards from a sleeve that can turn
and slide between springs on a cross bar fixed on the rear part of the riding saddle
s shown in Figure 9. When the ring B¹ is engaged on the stud B2 it is held by a
pring latch fitted in the stud. To the axle A near the wheel bearings are hinge
ointed two diagonal stays C' C' and near to them at their meeting point is jointed
rod or tube C3 which is fitted to slide within an outer tube C, this outer tube
liding through an eye C which is hinge jointed to the rear end of the pole B.
The axle A and stays A2 A3 constitute a triangular base and these with the
tays C C² and tubes C3 C4 constitute a pyramidal frame which carries the gun G.
or the sake of lightness I prefer to make the parts A A A C C² C³ as well
s C and also the pole B all of steel tube. On the pole B at a convenient distance
rear of the gun I mount a saddle B³ like that of a velocipede on which the

page_text: gunner sits while serving the gun. Connected to the saddle are a pair of arms B',
which during traction are raised by a spring under the saddle as shewn in Figures 1
and 10 but when the saddle B2 is sat upon by the gunner these arms B are turned
vertically downwards so as to form a pair of oblique struts or legs, as shewn in
Figures 2, 3 and 11, giving the carriage stability while the gun is being served.
On the axle A are hung ammunition-boxes A (Figure 3) which being plated with
steel serve to shield the lower limbs of the gunner. In front of the stays C¹ C³ is
fixed a steel plate A which shields the upper parts of the gunner's body.
The
The gun is mounted on the pyramidal framing in the following manner.
gun G is held by pins 91 92 passing through the eyes of the gun, the front pin gl
also passing through the front fork of a frame G and the rear pin g² through a
fork swivelled at the top of a screwed stem G2. This stem screws through a
swivel mounted at the rear end of the frame G₁ and can be turned by a hand
wheel G so as to raise or lower the breech of the gun. To the sliding rod or
tube C is jointed a disc frame H on the boss of which is swivelled the upper
end of tube h, through this tube h passes another tube or it might be a rod H³ on
the top of which is fixed the frame G'. The tube or rod H³ is held down by a
nut at its lower end but is free to turn within the tube h and can be clamped in
any position by a screw clamp G'. On a lower lip of the disc frame H between it
and a cover ring is mounted free to turn, preferably on and under balls, a ring H.
From the ring H¹ project on each side a pair of arms K K' on which are held by
staples triangular boxes K2 K³ to contain the ammunition for serving the gun, the
one box K2 on the right hand holding the cartridge carrying belt which for the
time is supplying the gun, the other box K holding a charged belt ready for use
when the former is exhausted, the box K3 being in that case brought round into
the position of K by turning the ring H' half round.
The boxes K2 K3 are made triangular in shape so that they can turn clear of the
stays C C². They are plated with steel on both sides so that when they are hung
on the arms KK in whichever attitude they present themselves they form parts of
the shield protecting the gunner. The ring H can be held in position by a
clamping screw h. Or a fork may be jointed to the side of the frame G and
dropped so as to engage one of the arms K or K' thus holding these arms in the
position suitable for supplying the ammunition to the gun, and when the gun is
trained one way or the other causing the ring H' with its arms and ammunition
boxes to turn with the gun. To the lower end of the tube h is attached an arm L
which engages a circularly curved guide L' attached to the stays CC2. As the
tube his turned on the swivel at its top, the arm L travels along the guide L' to
any part of which it can be fixed by a clamp L. By this means the gun can be
laterally levelled, thus providing for one of the wheels A' being on a different
level from the other. The training of the gun is effected by turning the frame G
and its axis H³ which can be fixed by the clamp G.
The elevating or depressing of the gun is roughly effected by pushing down or
drawing up the tube through its eye and clamping it in any position as shown
in Figure 6, a more delicate adjustment being effected by turning the hand wheel G³.
In extreme cases where the depression of the muzzle has to be such that the fire
shall be vertically downwards, then, the outer tube C4 being fully drawn up through
its eye, C, the inner tube C3 is also drawn a certain distance out of C and clamped
there so that the pyramidal framing is thus turned forward to such a position that
the axis of the gun is vertical and its muzzle presented downwards as shewn in
Figure 4. In this condition of the frame, if the gun be trained one half round
its axis still remains vertical but its muzzle is presented upwards as shewn in
Figure 5.
Instead of or in addition to the screw adjustment for elevation G2 G³, a screw
swivel may be adapted to the upper part of the sliding tube or rod C³, by turning
which this may be pushed into or drawn out of the tube C
The gun is worked in the following manner :-During traction, the pole ring B

page_text: being engaged on the stud B2 of the saddle, and the gun and its supporting frame
being canted over so far, as nearly to balance the pole, as shown in Figure 1, the
gunner occupies the saddle riding the horse which draws the carriage after it.
When the gun is to be served the gunner dismounts, releases the spring latch of
the stud B and disengages the pole ring B' allowing the horse to move away. He
then rests the end of the pole on the ground and seats himself on the saddle B³
putting the arms B' into position to form supporting legs as shewn in Figures 2
and 3.
The gunner can then level the gun laterally, train it in any direction, elevate or
depress it, and start it into action, and when the belt held in box K2 is exhausted
of its cartridges, he can swing round the arms K K so as to bring the box K
containing another belt into position for feeding, and while this is supplying the
gun he can remove the empty belt from K2 placing it, if desired in one of the
boxes A and putting into K2 a fresh belt taken from A. When the gun has to
be removed the gunner moves the horse and pole into such relative positions that
he can engage the pole with the saddle, which he can do whether the horse faces
forwards or sideways, and he can then mount and drive off with the gun.
In some cases I provide a seat or saddle over the part where the rear end of the
pole is attached to the base of the carriage near the place marked C³ so that the
gunner may sit on it instead of on the saddle, or one of two gunners may sit on it
while the other rides the horse.
For
Although I have shown in Figure 9 one mode of attaching the pole to the
saddle by engaging a ring swivelled at the end of the pole upon a stud projecting
upwards from the saddle, the attachment may be effected in other ways.
instance, the pole may terminate in a pin end which is inserted in a ring suspended
by springs in a framing carried by the saddle, the pin end of the pole being furnished
with a spring latch which yields as it is being introduced into the ring but after it
is introduced prevents it from being withdrawn unless the spring is pressed back.
According to another method the pole may have a fork attached to its end by a
swivel, which allows the fork to turn partly round, and a more or less elastic cord
connecting the prongs of the fork may be engaged on a pair of forwardly projecting
hooks fixed on the saddle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A carriage for a machine or quick firing gun consisting of a pyramidal framing
attached to the axle of a pair of road wheels, and to a vertically curved pole
having its front end adapted to be attached to a saddle on a horse or other draught
animal substantially as described.
2. In constructing the pyramidal framing, the combination of the axle A, the
diagonal stays A2 A3 rigidly attached to the axle, the diagonal stays C¹ C' hinged
to the axle, and the double tube C C adapted to slide through the eye C,
substantially as described.
3. For laterally levelling and training the gun and adjusting its elevation, the
combination of the arm L, its guide L' and clamp L², the axis H³, disc frame H
and frame G', screwed stem G2 and hand wheel G³, substantially as described.
4. In combination with the disc frame H the ring H' and its two pairs K K' of
arms adapted to carry ammunition boxes K2 K3 substantially as and for the purpose
set forth.
5. For shielding the gunner, the combination of the plate A attached to the
frame, the plated ammunition boxes K2 K3 hung on the arms K K' and the plated
ammunition boxes A hung on the axle, substantially as described.
6. The traction arrangement, consisting of the vertically curved pole attached
to the framing, the saddle on the draught animal and means of engaging the pole
thereto substantially as described,

page_text: 7. For seating the gunner and supporting the pole when the gun is served, the
combination of the spring carried saddle B³ and arms B substantially as
described.
Dated this 10th day of February 1896
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.