Improvements in Light Gun Carriages.
Year: 1899

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Light Gun Carriages.
We, ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON, Superintendent of Ordnance Works, and
GEORGE THOMAS BUCKHAM, Engineer, both of Messrs. Vickers, Sons & Maxim
Limited, of No. 28, Victoria Street, Westminster, in the County of London,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to the construction of wheeled carriages or mountings
for light artillery, such as mountain guns or landing guns, in such a manner
that they can be easily separated into parts convenient for transport witliout
requiring tools.
For this purpose the carriage is made in separate parts namely:---the trail,
the axle with wheels, and the elevating gear.
The trail consists of steel plates, generally two side plates and one top and
one bottom plate, joined together by a shoc and transoms.
The gun has trunnions engaging in semicircular trunnion bearings formed
on the top part of the front transom of the trail and has behind the trunnions
curved shoulders which, when the gun is in its place lie on correspondingly
curved portions formed on the trunnion bearings and thus securely lock the
gun to the carriage during normal elevation and depression.
The gun can easily be dismounted by removing the elevating joint pin. and
depressing the gun until it is stopped by the wheel axle, in which position the
curved shoulders are clear of the curved portions of the bearings and the gun
can then be lifted from the carriage.
The lower part of the front transom of the trail has also semi-circular bearings
to receive the axle, which is secured to the trail in the same manner as the
gun; the axle having projecting curved shoulders which engage corresponding
shoulders on the transom bearings. To the axle is attached a handle for turn-
ing it, this handle being kept in position by the trunnion of the gun so that
the axle cannot become unlocked until the gun is removed from the carriage.
After the gun has been dismounted the axle and wheels are detached by turning
the handle forward until the curved shoulders are disengaged whereupon the
trail can be removed from the axle..
F
The elevating gear comprising two bevel wheels and an elevating screw is
secured to bearings on the inside of the sides of the trail by trunnions and lugs
engaged like those of the axle and is dismounted by turning the whole gear
rearwards (about 90°), until the elevating, screw meets the bottom plate of the
trail. The hand lever, at the side of the trail is kept engaged with the driving
bevel-wheel by a spring and can be disengaged by pulling it outwards "against.
the spring whereupon. the elevating gear can be lifted out from the carriage.
Datad this 8th day of June 1800

page_text: P
We, ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON, Superintendent of Ordnance Works, and
GEORGE THOMAS BUCKHAM, Engineer, both of Messrs. Vickers, Sons & Maxim
Limited, of No. 28, Victoria Street, Westminster, 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:--
This invention relates to the construction of wheeled carriages or mountings
for light artillery, such as mountain guns or landing guns, in such a manner
that they can be easily separated into parts convenient for transport without
requiring tools, as we shall describe referring to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a side view, one wheel removed, and Fig. 2 is a plan of the gun
and mounting. Figs. 3, 4 and 5 shew details of the upper part of the trail
hereinafter referred to. The carriage is made in separate parts namely:-the
trail, the axle with wheels, and the elevating gear.
The trail consists of steel plates, two side plates a one top plate 6 and one
bottom plate e joined together by angle irons and a shoe s and transoms t.
The gun has trunnions engaging in semicircular trunnion bearings e
formed on the top part of the trail and has behind the trunnions curved studs f
which, when the gun is in its place as shewn in Fig. 5, bear against corre-
spondingly curved shoulders 9 (Fig. 4) formed on the trunnion bearings and
thus securely lock the gun to the carriage during normal elevation and
depression.
The gun can easily be dismounted by removing the elevating joint pin h
and depressing the gun until it is stopped by the wheel axle as shewn in Fig. 3,
in which position the curved studs are clear of the curved shoulders g of the
bearings and the gun can then be lifted from the carriage.
The lower part of the front transom of the trail has also semi-circular bear-
ings to receive the axle j, which is secured to the trail in the same manner
as the gun; the axle having projecting curved studs k which engage corre-
sponding shoulders on the axle bearings i. To the axle is attached a handle
for turning it, this handle being kept in position by the trunnion of the gun
as shewn in Fig. 5, so that the axle cannot become unlocked until the gun is
removed from the carriage. After the gun has been dismounted the axle and
wheels are detached by turning the handle forward as shewn in Fig. 4, until
the curved studs are disengaged from the shoulders on i, whereupon the
trail can be moved from the axle.
The elevating gear comprising two bevel wheels and an elevating screw m
is secured to bearings on the inside of the sides of the trail by trunnions n
and lugs o engaged like those of the axle and is dismounted by turning the
whole gear rearwards (about 90°) as shewn in Fig. 4, until the elevating screw
meets the bottom plate of the trail. The hand lever p at the side of the trail
for driving the elevating bevel-wheel can be disengaged from the wheel, and
then the elevating gear can be lifted out from the trail.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. A mounting for a light gun consisting of the separable parts, a trail, an
axle with a pair of wheels, and elevating gear, the gun itself as well as the axle
and the elevating gear being separable from the trail, substantially as described.

page_text: 2. The construction of the bearings on the trail for securing the trunnions
of the gun, for receiving the axle, and for receiving the trunnions of the
elevating gear with concentrically curved shoulders, to operate in combination
with curved studs projecting from the gun, from the axle and from the elevating
gear respectively, for holding the parts in connection, substantially as described.
Dated this 6th day of March 1900
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.