IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF MOUNTING AND WORKING REVOLVING AND OTHER GUNS."
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Anthony Edwards Scott, of Lewisham, in
the County of Kent, Commander in the Royal Navy, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF MOUNTING AND WORKING REVOLVING AND
OTHER GUNS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Anthony Edwards
Scott at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 11th September 1866.
I, ROBERT ANTHONY EDWARDS SCOTT, of Lewisham, in the County of Kent,
Commander in the Royal Navy, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF MOUNTING AND WORKING REVOLVING
AND OTHER GUNS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates, first, to a novel method of training and fighting
heavy revolving or pivotting guns upon the decks of vessels round a fixed
centre, and when necessary traversing the guns from this fixed centre to other
fixed or imaginary pivots at or near the sides of the ship, the slides being
secured or held down to the deck by means of friction rollers or by plain blocks
working in grooves or under projections either on the racers, or on the deck,
or on the sides of the ship, so that the slides and their guns may with safety
and facility be shifted to work round or partly round various centres,

page_text: according to the direction or line in which it is desired to fire. The advantage
of this plan over the turntable as now used, with or without turrets, is that
it will enable the guns to be brought close to the ship's side, and be fired
ahead or astern clear of funnels, masts, boats, and other ship's gear.
The Invention consists, secondly, in the use of a mantelet or bullet-proof
protection to cover the crew of the gun when worked on my improved system.
This mantelet may be either supported upon the gun slide or rest upon the
deck on rollers or upon other supports, so as to be readily moved round with
the gun. The muzzle of the gun when out will project through the mantelet,
and the necessary openings to admit of aiming may also be cut in the
mantelet.
The Invention relates, thirdly, to a plan of transporting, training, and
traversing an upper or main deck gun by means of racers or slotways on or
in the deck, and of rollers or trucks fitted to the gun slide, so as to readily
turn or be turned round on a vertical pivot in the required directions for
transporting, training, or traversing the gun. By guiding the front and rear
rollers into and causing them to follow the proper curves in the racers or slots
in the deck, the gun may be transported, traversed, or trained in the required
direction, either with or without friction rollers, blocks, or pins working in
grooves. The front and rear rollers may be fitted with central projecting
flanges which will take into corresponding grooves in the racers or in the
deck, or flanged trucks or rollers may be used with raised racers, or both
may be used in combination, or the front and rear rollers may be plain, in
which case guides, pins, or friction rollers must be fitted to work in the
grooves of the racers or deck. Either the front or rear rollers, or both, fitted
us above, may be provided with excentrics or other means to throw them in
and out of action, so as to allow the slide to rest upon rollers, or upon front
or rear blocks, or upon both blocks and rollers; or instead of providing the
rollers with excentrics the excentrics may be adapted to the blocks so as to
steady the movement of the gun in a seaway and relieve the rollers or trucks
when firing, especially at high elevations.
The next improvement consists in fitting a bolt to the front or rear of the
slide or to both front and rear, so as to readily drop into a circular slotway or
groove in transporting, traversing, or training, and thus admit of the slides
being secured for firing much more quickly than on the old plan of catching a
pivot point or nipple, or using a pivot bar or flap. These bolts may work on
a hinge and be keyed for security after dropping into the slotways or grooves,
which are to be laid down, placed, or made at an arc corresponding to the
imaginary front or rear pivot, round which the gun is trained or traversed.

page_text: The next improvement consists in the use of toothed racks upon the sides,
decks, or slides of vessels for the purpose of transporting, training, or traversing
the guns as aforesaid.
Another improvement consists in the use of training racks upon turntables
when the turntables are used for traversing guns, whether in ships or fortifi-
cations of any kind, whether floating or erected upon the land.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Anthony Edwards Scott in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th March 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
ANTHONY EDWARDS SCOTT, of Lewisham, in the County of Kent, Commander
in the Royal Navy, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Robert Anthony Edwards Scott, Her special licence that I, the
said Robert Anthony Edwards Scott, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Robert Anthony Edwards Scott, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during 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 for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OF MOUNTING AND WORKING
REVOLVING AND OTHER GUNS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Robert Anthony Edwards Scott, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands
and seals, 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 Robert Anthony Edwards Scott, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto anu:xed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-

page_text: This Invention relates, first, to a novel method of training and fighting heavy
revolving or pivotting guns upon the decks of vessels round a fixed centre, and
when necessary traversing the guns from this fixed centre to other fixed or
imaginary pivots at or near the sides of the ship, the slides being secured
or held down to the deck by means of friction rollers or by plain blocks
working in grooves or under projections either on the racers, or on the deck,
or on the sides of the ship, so that the slides and their guns may with safety
and facility be shifted to work round or partly round various centres,
according to the direction or line which it is desired to fire. The advantage
of this plan over the turntable as now used with or without turrets is that it
will enable the guns to be brought close to the ship's side and be fired ahead
or astern clear of funnels, masts, boats, and other ship's gear.
The Invention consists, secondly, in the use of a mantelet or bullet-proof
protection to cover the crew of the gun when worked on my improved system.
This mantelet may be either supported upon the gun slide or made to rest
upon the deck on rollers or upon other supports, so as to be readily moved
round with the gun. The muzzle of the gun when out will project through the
inantelet, and the necessary openings to admit of aiming may also be cut in
the mantelet.
The Invention relates, thirdly, to a plan of transporting, training, and
traversing an upper or main deck gun, by means of racers or slotways on or
in the deck and of rollers or trucks fitted to the gun slide, so as to readily turn
or be turned round on a vertical pivot in the required directions for trans-
porting, training, or traversing the gun. By guiding the front and rear rollers
into and causing them to follow the proper curves in the racers or slots in the
deck, the gun may be transported, traversed, or trained in the required direction,
either with or without friction rollers, blocks, or pins working in grooves.
The front and rear rollers may be fitted with central projecting flanges which
will take into corresponding grooves in the racers or in the deck, or flanged
trucks or rollers may be used with raised racers, or both may be used in
combination, or the front and rear rollers may be plain, in which case guide
pins or friction rollers must be fitted to work in the grooves of the racers or
deck. Either the front or rear rollers, or both, fitted with flanges as above,
may be provided with excentrics or other means to throw them in and out
of action, so as to allow the slide to rest upon rollers, or upon front or rear
blocks or upon both blocks and rollers; or instead of providing the rollers with
excentrics, the excentrics may be adapted to the blocks so as to steady the
movement of the gun in a seaway, and relieve the rollers or trucks when firing
especially at bigh elevations.

page_text: The next improvement consists in fitting a bolt or block to the front or
rear of the slide, or to both front and rear, so as to readily drop into a circular
slotway or groove or under a projecting flange, so that when transporting,
traversing, or training the gun the slides may be held securely and likewise
be ready for firing the gun much more quickly than on the old plan of
catching a pivot point or nipple and using a pivot bar or flap. These bolts or
blocks may work on a hinge and be keyed for security after dropping into the
slotways or grooves (which are to be laid down) placed or made at an arc
corresponding to the imaginary front or rear pivot round which the gun is to
be trained or traversed, or to the direction or directions in which it is required
to transport the gun.
The next improvement consists in the use of toothed racks upon the sides,
decks, or slides of vessels for the purpose of transporting or traversing the guns
as aforesaid.
Another improvement consists in the use of training racks upon turntables
when the turntables are used for traversing guns, whether in ships or fortifi-
cations of any kind, whether floating or erected upon the land.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a gun slide with
part of my improvements adapted thereto.
The slide is shewn ready for pointing the gun, and is held securely against
the longitudinal strains arising from firing the gun by means of the head
block C, which has a roller with its edge working under the front racer k, and
holding down the head of the slide, in which position it is keyed by the wedge g.
In order to assist the head or front block C in holding the slide longitudinally the
trucks a, a', which rests upon the racers 7, 1, are provided with central flanges
which run in the grooves g', g¹, of the racers and guide the slide in training.
These trucks are in fact formed somewhat like castors, that is, the flanged
roller turns upon horizontal pivots in a block or frame provided with a vertical
stud pivot or axle which turns in a socket in the gun slide. By this means the
trucks and their accessories are made of great strength to resist and sustain
the strain produced by firing the gun. The slide with its gun is trained or
pointed by means of suitable power applied to turn the shafts, s', and give
motion to the pinion p, which moves round upon the rack d; the pinion p is
moved from d to d' by means of the levere which is secured by the pin f.
The short part of the shaft s' which carries the pinion p is jointed to the shaft s'
by means of a coupling. In order to traverse the slide with the gun so as to
work them at another position or port tho trucks a and a¹ are turned to the
line of the traversing curves r, r³, by means of a lever applied at 6 and 6',
the pinion p is moved by the levere from the rack d to the rack and is

page_text: secured by the pin f, and the front block c is unkeyed and turned up ready
for transporting the slide by means of the pinion p working round in the
rack d'.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the curves and racks adapted to the stern of such
a vessel as the Achilles, and shews the slide supposed to have been traversed
round from the position A to the position B along the grooved racers r and r'.
The front block C has been let down and keyed, and the fore trucks a, a, have
been turned ready for pointing the gun, and the pinion p moved forward from
the traversing rack d to the training rack d, the lever e being secured by the
pin f as before. The rear trucks a', a', are still in the traversing position, the
gun being supposed to be running out, but its weight not yet far enough
forward to allow them to be turned; when this can be done the rear trucks a', a',
are to be turned to a line with the training racer and the slide with its gun
will be then ready for working in the direction B.
As a modification of the arrangements shewn in Fig. 2 the curves can be
varied in form, arrangement, and position so as to enable the heaviest guns
upon slides to be transported safely from end to end of a ship without the
trucks leaving the grooves; or the guns may be secured in one place and fought
in another, to do which they may be carried in safety along lines of suitably
grooved racers laid to any curve or succession of curves, the trucks (similar to
those shewn in Fig. 1) being capable of being turned to any angle or angles.
Fig. 3 shews a gun mounted with four fixed trucks n, n', two at each end
of the slide, and having four moveable trucks m, m', capable of being brought
in and out of action by the capstan nuts e, e'. In every position the slide is
held securely down to the deck by the strong blocks or rollers c, c', the lower
edges of which work under the edges of the racers l, l, k, k, l, l, and k', k', which
are grooved for that purpose. These blocks or rollers c, c', serve the further
purpose of resisting the longitudinal strain of firing when the gun is fought
with its slide fixed to the central pivot. A strong bullet-proof protection or
mantelet d, Fig. 3, is suitably supported at the front of the gun, the muzzle of
which projects through an aperture in it. This mantelet revolves with the slide
and thus affords shelter to the gun's crew. The position of the slide and curved
mantelet shewn in elevation at Fig. 3 is indicated by the dotted lines in the
plan view Fig. 4. The gun is supposed to have been fired upon the pivot h
in the direction C, Fig. 4, and to be required to be traversed to another
position in order to fire in the direction D.
By referring to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the rear flap 9 has been passed
over the pivot a and keyed, and the front flap f has been released from the
pivot point p (Fig. 4), and is in process of being turned up. The moveable

page_text: trucks m, m, must be brought into action, so as to just take the weight of
This is done by turning the
When this has been effected
another position as at D upon
the slide and gun off the fixed trucks n, n¹.
capstan nuts e, c', by the aid of suitable levers.
the slide and its gun can be traversed round to
the curves or racers 1, 1, and on its fore part reaching the pivot point h' the
front flap f is to be secured to it. The trucks m, m³, are moved out of action,
and the rear flap 9 released and turned up. The slide and gun are now ready
for pointing in the line D, and can be trained round to the direction indicated
by the dotted lines. It will be evident that the plan of working guns shewn
and described are as applicible to land defences as to ships or floating batteries;
they are also very suitable for the upper decks of flush-deck vessels, and will give
great advantages to small vessels in working one or two heavy guns. The plaus
shewn in Figures 1 and 2 are suitable for the upper decks of large ironclads.
Similarly grooved racers to those shewn would with proper training gear be
very suitable for moving and working the gun or guns of small vessels from one
broadside to fight upon the other broadside. The danger usually incurred in
a seaway would thus be entirely prevented.
I would here remark that when turntables are used for traversing guns in
ships or land fortifications, training racks may be adapted thereto for the purpose
of training the guns in the manner already explained.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Mounting and
Working Guns," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforeasid,
the mode of and combination and arrangement of parts herein set forth for
mounting, traversing, training, or otherwise working guns in ships, floating
batteries, or land fortifications.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Anthony Edwards Scott, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, the Eleventh day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.