IMPROVEMENTS. IN ORDNANCE
Year: 1855

page_text: Sealed the 15th June 1855, and dated the 2nd February 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Goodfellow
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 2nd February 1855...
I, BENJAMIN GOODFELLOW, of Hyde, in the County of Chester, Engineer,'
do hereby declare. the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS. IN
ORDNANCE" to be as follows:-.
The nature of my Invention consists in materially increasing the weight of
cannon or other ordnance, so as to prevent entirely or in great measure the
recoil, thereby imparting all or nearly all the force of the exploded powder
to the ball; also in causing the powder to be ignited more suddenly than
heretofore, by firing it nearer the centre, or at two or more places at the
same time.
In order to facilitate transport, I make each piece of ordnance in two or
more lengths, each length being mounted on a carriage; and so arranged that
they can be attached and detached in a short time; the parts or lengths.may
be connected by segments fitting on to collars near the joint, which segments
are held together by hoops, or the parts may be. connected in any other
convenient manner: I propose to make the touch-hole in a large nipple,

page_text: which can be instantly screwed out and taken away, thereby leaving a large
hole in the gun, and rendering it useless without spiking.
Heavy pieces of ordnance constructed as above described, when put together
may be supported on one pair of wheels; consequently, if the carriages of
the other portions are removed, the piece could not be taken away by the
enemy, as it would be too heavy to be removed on one pair of wheels. Each
portion or length of one of my improved pieces of ordnance when separate
may be made to form a gun of equal proportion and range of the whole when
united, by introducing a socket made of wrought iron or steel to reduce
the bore.
To prevent bursting or expanding, I propose to make the breech part of the
piece of ordnance of wrought iron, lined with a steel bush, so turned and
fitted as to require the outer casing to be beated before the steel bush could
be inserted. I propose to cast or forge pieces of ordnance hollow, and to
bore out to the requisite diameter with a boring rod, supported at each end
of the piece, leaving a shoulder at the breech to insert a plug with the 'head
inside.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Benjamin Goodfellow in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st August 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, BENJAMIN
GOODFELLOW, of Hyde, in the County of Chester, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Benjamin Goodfellow, Her special license that I, the said Benjamin Good-
fellow, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Benjamin Goodfellow, 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
ORDNANCE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Benjamin
Goodfellow, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should
particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in

page_text: 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 Benjamin Goodfellow, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following Specification thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings (that is to say) :-
My said Invention consists, first, in materially increasing the weight of
ordnance, in order to diminish the recoil and to increase the force of the
exploded powder on the projectile; secondly, in an improved mode of connect-
ing the parts of a piece of ordnance put together in two or more lengths;,
thirdly, in inserting bushes or tubes into pieces of ordnance to increase their
strength and durability, and in inserting a bush or tube into each portion of a
compound piece of ordnance, in order that when disconnected each portion
may be employed as a gun of about the same range as the original piece, but
of diminished bore; and, fourthly, in causing the powder to be ignited near its
centre, and at more than one point at the same time, thereby producing a
more sudden explosion than heretofore.
I have in the said Drawings given Figures for shewing how my improve-
ments in ordnance may be constructed, similar parts in each of the Figures
being marked with similar letters of reference.
Figure 1 of the said Drawings is a longitudinal section of a compound piece
of ordnance, shewing my improved mode of connecting the portions thereof;
A is the breech piece, which I prefer to make of wrought iron, lined with a
steel bush a tube A³, in order that it may resist the explosion of the charges;
it is desirable to make the outer circumference of this tube slightly conical, and
to heat the breech piece before the tube is inserted, so that the cooling of the
metal on to the tube may hold the latter firm. A shoulder is left in boring
out the end of the tube A" for the head of the plug A², by which the breech
is closed. B is the centre picce; and C, the muzzle end of the piece of
ordnance, both of which may be of cast iron; the centre piece B has a taper
projection fitting into a taper recess in the breech piece A, and the two parts
are united by the segments D, shewn also in Figure 2, which are slightly tapered
at their inner edges to fit on the projections A' and B'. The outer circum-
ferences of the segments D are also a little tapered, to allow the hoops E, E,
to be driven on when the segments are in their places; a small space is left
between each of the projections A' and B', to facilitate the taking asunder of
the parts...
The end piece C is in like manner connected to the centre piece B.

page_text: By, this arrangement; the parts forming a compound piece of ordnance, are
much firmer connected-can be taken asunder and put together in much less
time than when bolts are employed for connecting thein. I propose to make
the piece of ordnance about five hundred times heavier than the projectile, in
order to diminish the recoil, and increase the effective force of the explosion
on the projectile
Figure 3 represents a longitudinal section of another compound piece of
ordnance. In this instance the breech end marked A is only connected to the
other parts to give the requisite weight. The centre piece B and end piece C
form the barrel of the gun; the touch-hole, which will be explained hereafter,
being at F, in this case the centre pieces B and C may be lined with a steel
bush or tube, as, above described. The parts B and C are connected as above
described, but the part A is only .connected to B by means of the taper
socket and the key G, as little or no power is exerted to disconnect these two
parts. The end of the piece B is closed by the plug B,, which forms, the
breech of the gun...
Figure 4 is a section through, the breech piece A, mounted on a separate
carriage to be used as a field piece.
Figure 5 is a section through the centre piece B, also mounted on a separate
carriage: In this instance the tube B³ is shewn inserted into the barrel, for
reducing the bore, and thereby increasing the range of the gun; this tube
abuts against the shoulder left at one end in boring out the barrel. It is
evident that by inserting bushes or tubes of wrought iron or steel the duration
of the piece of ordnance, will be greatly increased, for the power of resistance
is much greater in wrought iron or steel than in cast metals; consequently the
explosion of the charge will produce less injurious effect than in ordnance of
the usual construction; another great advantage is, that when the internal
tube or bush is worn or injured, it may be taken out and replaced at a com-
paratively small expence. The muzzle piece C may in like manner. be
mounted on a pair of wheels, and used as a field piece by inserting the bush
or tube C³, shewn detached in Figure 8.
My improvements in touch-holes are shewn on an enlarged scale in Figures
6 and 7. F is a plug or nipple screwed into the metal of the gun, and furnished
above with a square head for a-spanner or screw key to fit on; the touch-hole
is bored through the tube G, which projects below the plug or nipple, and is
continued into the barrel. When the charge is being put into the gun the
tube G is raised, so that the projecting end may not interfere with the
loading; but when the charge is in and the piece is to be let off, the tube G is
pressed down, thereby bringing the lower end of the touch-hole near to the

page_text: centre of the bore, and igniting the powder near the centre of the charge;
I, I, represent four or other suitable number of branch touch-holes joining
the centre touch-hole, by means of which the powder may be ignited in two
or more places at once. The plug or nipple F is made sufficiently large that
the piece of ordnance may be rendered unserviceable when the same is
removed; by this means spiking is avoided.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I wish to remark that I stated in my Provisional
Specification that in order to facilitate transport I make each piece of
ordnance in two or more lengths, each length being mounted on a carriage,
and so arranged that they can be attached and detached in a short time; also
that heavy pieces of ordnance constructed as above described when put,
together may be supported on one pair of wheels; consequently, if the carriages
of the other portions are removed, the piece could not be taken away by the
enemy, as it would be too heavy to be removed on one pair of wheels; also I
propose to cast or forge pieces of ordnance hollow, and to bore out to the
requisite diameter with a boring rod, supported at each end of the piece.
I wish it to be understood, that since the filing of the said Provisional
Specification I have found that these parts are not new, I therefore make
no claim to them; but what I do claim is,-
First, increasing the weight of pieces of ordnance for the purposes
described.
Secondly, the improved mode of connecting the parts of a piece of ordnance
put together in two or more lengths, as shewn and described.
Thirdly, inserting tubes or bushes with pieces of ordnance, to increase the
strength and durability thereof, and to render each part of the compound piece
of ordnance capable of being used as a gun.
And, fourthly, the improvements shewn and described in the construction
and arrangement of touch-holes.
In witness whereof, I, the said Benjamin Goodfellow, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Thirty-first day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
B. GOODFELLOW. (L.S.)