IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FITTINGS OF GUN CARRIAGES AND METHODS FOR WORKING GUNS
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Duncan Preston Cunning
ham at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
or the 10th February 1864.
I, HENRY DUNCAN PRESTON CUNNINGHAM, of Bury, near Gosport, County of
Hants, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE FITTINGS OF GUN CARRIAGES AND METHODS FOR WORKING GUNS," to be as
follows:-
My improvements consist, firstly, in a brake or compresser for the purpose
of checking the recoil, and otherwise controlling guns; secondly, in arrange-
ments of fittings at the sill of the port to take the strain off the slide when
the gun is run out with force; thirdly, an improved arrangement of the
tackles for pulling round the after end of gun slides in training; fourthly,
in an improved arrangement of roller and plate upon which the gun slide
moves for the purpose of taking strain off the pivot bolt and otherwise
imparting security to the gun carriage and slide.
screws.
I construct my brake or compresser as follows:-To the rear chock or
cross piece of that description of gun carriage which is mounted upon slides
I fit metal plates or boxes, and furnish these boxes at the outer sides with
I employ a block of wood, which falls down into one of the boxes,
and embraces one angle of the slide. When it is required to apply this brake
or compresser to check the passage of the carriage over the slide the screws
are turned, and the effect is to compress the block against the slide. With

page_text: regard to my fittings to the sills of ports, in the ordinary arrangements of
gun carriages on board ships a chock is fitted upon the fore part of the slide
to stop or bring up the carriage when it is run upon the slide outwards to its
extreme point, and consequently when the carriage runs out with force and
impinges on the chock, the strain thereon is conveyed to the pivot bolt, to
which the slide is connected by a metal connecting plate, now I remove
the chock from the slide, and fit a chock or breast hook to the side of the
ship, underneath which the metal connecting plate is to work. Upon the
breast of the gun carriage I apply a small chock to butt against the chock on
the ship's side. Thus, when the gun runs out, the strain is thrown on the side
of the ship instead of upon the pivot bolt.
My improvement under the third head consists in leading tackles from
the after ends of the gun slide to the beams or deck overhead. By this
direction of applying the force for turning the end of the slide round for
training the gun a certain lifting effect is conveyed to the ends of the slide,
thus diminishing the friction and materially assisting in the movement of it,
and otherwise this arrangement of the tackles is superior to that which has
hitherto been adopted.
My improvements under the fourth head of my Invention consist in
supporting the slide of gun carriages at one or more points on rollers, the axes
of which are placed at an angle to correspond with the surface of an inclined
segmental plate fixed to the deck.
My Invention applies to guns worked in batteries as well as on board
ship.