Barrels of Fire-arms; Adjustable or Variable Sight for the same; Discharging Large Shot or Explosive Shells from Guns of Small Bore; Rifling Ordnance and Guns; Cartridges, Pro- iectiles &c.
Year: 1852

page_text: Barrels of Fire-arms; Adjustable or Variable Sight
for the same; Discharging Large Shot or
Explosive Shells from Guns of Small Bore;
Rifling Ordnance and Guns; Cartridges, Pro-
iectiles &c.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
HENRY NEEDHAM SCROPE SHRAPNEL, of Gosport, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
by Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster,
the Twenty-third day of August, One thousand eight hundred and
fifty-two, in the sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her
heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Henry Needham
Scrope Shrapnel, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, Her especial license,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Henry Need-
ham Scrope Shrapnel, my exors, adiñiors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Henry Needham Scrope Shrapnel, my exors, admors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times during the term of years therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within Eng-
land, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN ORDNANCE AND FIRE-ARMS, CARTRIDGES, AND AMMU-
NITION, OR PROJECTILES, AND THE MODE OF MAKING UP OR PREPARING THE

page_text: SAME; in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I,
the said Henry Needham Scrope Shrapnel, shall cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same; reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said Henry Needham Scrope Shrapnel, do hereby declare that the
nature of my said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to
be performed, are fully described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:
My Invention consists, first, of improvements shewn at Figure 2*, in
the form of the bottom of the barrel, just where the fuse of an elongated
or other barrel is placed after being rammed, home. As it is necessary
that an elongated or other ball should expand larger than the bore of a
piece, I have the part of the barrel where the base of the ball rests
pared out in a conical form, so as to allow of ample expansion. a,
represents a section of a barrel; ; the ball; c,,the chamber for the
powder. A portion of the barrel at, e, is cut away to about one
third the length of the ball on the charge: being fired the ball is
expanded into the recesses a, a, which. being larger than the bore the
ball is expanded and forced into the other part of the barrel and
groovings, and has a much greater hold, preventing the least possible
windage, and gives thereby additional velocity to the projectile..
My second improvement consists of an improved sight. This part
of my Invention consists of making the instrument, called the sight"
of fire-arms capable of folding in such manner as to be fixed at times
at varied elevations and according to scale. Figure 1, is a plan of part
of the barrel of a rifle or other fire-arm; Figure 2, is it side view
thereof; and Figure 3, shows another side view of the apparatus, con-
stituting the adjustable or variable sight, being shown. in section. 'In"
each of these views the same letters are used to indicate similar parts:
a, is a plate, which is fixed-by-soldering or otherwise to the barrel bas

page_text: shown; c, is the folding part which constitutes "the sight;" it moves
on an axis at d. so that it may be folded down or elevated, as is shown
by red lines, or to any intermediate position; e, is a link which is
connected at one end to the "sight" c, and at the other end to the
slide f, which slides in the groove formed in the plate a, and it slides
somewhat tightly, in order that it may retain the "sight" in the desired
position so long as it is desired to do so; g, is a graduated plate or
surface; and h, a pointer fixed to the slide f. By the use of this
arrangement to fire-arms an officer, judging of the distance of an
enemy or other mark, may direct the men to fix the sight in a suitable
position for the distance, and thus ensure better aim.
My third improvement, shewn at Figure 1, is for using cylindro-
spheric shot and shells, to which is attached a rod 7, 1, 7, 2, of metal
or wood, which rod passes right through the breech of the gun, by
which means a three-pounder gun can drive a six-pounder shell, and
the tail or rod attached thereto preserves the shot or shell in its flight,
so as to insure bursting by percussion or concussion when striking a
ship or other body.
My next or fourth improvement, shewn by Figure 3, relates to
rifling ordnance and guns, by what I call the sphero-elliptic form given
to the piece by this method of rifling. Figure 1, is a section of a
cylinder;,,, are the cuts so deep as the rifling is intended, and
the dotted lines the circle out of which the cuttings are effected, and
the sweeps from and to the several ends of cuts exhibit the form by
which the form is graduated from one to the other, thereby changing
the circle to three spliero-elliptic grooves. I propose iron balls, shells,
or bullets to be made, having the appearance of the section x, y, z.
The advantage to be gained. by this method of rifling is, to ensure a
more general expansion of a bullet and a better hold upon the rifling,
and by adopting this form of shot, or shell, or ball, which is to ensure
graduated shaped wings to the ball for strength and equalizing the
friction within the piece, which is not so in the old method of rifling.
My next or fifth improvement has for its object means of increasing
range and reducing windage. I attach a thick wad of any material and
a strong metal plate to the spherical ball or projectile of any other
form (see Drawing). Figure 4, is a ball with metal wire cast with it.

page_text: as A. Figure 5, is a ball shewing the wad B, and the metal plate D,
through the centres of which the wire passes. Figure 6, shews a ball
with the wliole fixed to them ready for firing. The result of this
arrangement is, that on the charge being fired the force drives the
metal plate D, towards the ball, which compels the wad to expand, and
the ball passes up the bore or barrel with a much greater velocity,
owing to a considerable decrease in windage or escape of the gas,
thereby ensuring all the advantages herein described.
My next or sixth improvement has for its object the mode of
making up the balls and cartridges. Metalic wire or cord is cast with
the ball. The felt wadding or wad has a hole punched through its
center, as also the metal plate D. The ball wad B, aud metal plate D,
are all then connected by means of the wire or cord A, and fastened or
tied at the back of the metal plate D. The cartridges are made up
by cartridge paper, or pasteboard, or other material, being secured to
the wad choked at 8, s, Figure 7, having the appearance a, a; the wad
being less than the bore of the piece or gun; to ensure facility in
loading; the charge is then put into the cartridge a, a, and secured
by paper or a hard top, to be removed by the fingers or teeth prior
to loading. My next method is, having a strong case of tin, paper, or
other substance, made like the bottom of a pill box p, p, the charge of
powder is first put in, afterwards the ball B is put in and secured,
having the appearance of C, and secured by paper pasted round the
case and ball. In loading, the man secures the ball in his teeth, and
draws the case away, shakes the powder down the barrel, and places
the ball in the muzzle ready for ramming down.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Needham Scrope Shrapnel,
have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of
February, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-second day of
February, in the year of our Lord 1853, the aforesaid Henry Needham
Serope Shrapnel came before our said Lady the Queen in Her
Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and
every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.