IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Kenneth Henry Cornish, of No. 7, South Molton
Street, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."
Sealed the 13th September 1867, and dated the 13th April 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Kenneth Henry Cornish
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th April 1867.
I, KENNETH HENRY CORNISH, of No. 7, South Molton Street, in the County
of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
This Invention bas for its object improvement in breech-loading fire-arms,
particularly where carrying their own percussion, and applies both to the
manufacture of new weapons and the conversion of old ones from muzzle
into breech loaders. In making new guns the rear end of the barrel which
terminates in a solid tang or tail piece should carry a small hinge joint suitably
placed above the lock plate, along and over which for about an inch or more
running forward from the "break off" there should be left a ledge of nietal
about a quarter of an inch thick, and projecting a suitable distance from the
barrel along the medium line of its long axis; this joint as well as the ledge of
which it forms part should be supplementary to the true circumference of the
barrel at the point where they are placed coincidently and at the part where
the hinge joint is situated, as well as for an eighth of an inch or more in fiont

page_text: of and behind it, the diameter of the barrel should be rather thicker than
elsewhere. The hinge joint is intended to carry a stop lever, the ledge of metal
to afford an attachment for the extractor to be pivoted on, as well as to
strengthen the barrel at this point, similar ledge of metal may be advan-
tageously formed on the opposite side of the breech, and if very great strength
is desired a similar strip of metal about an eighth of an inch thick and
continuous with the tang may also be employed on the outside of the lower-
most part of the breech. A segment of a circle sufficiently large to allow the
cartridge case in its greatest diameter to be dropped easily into the trough thus
formed should be removed from the upper part of the rear of the barrel, an
for a sufficient distance at the fore part of this trough, longitudinally in from
three-cighths to half an inch at the thickened part of the barrel whero the
hinged joint is placed a transverse groove is made and sunk in the breech,
going from one end of the cord of the removed segment to the other; binged
to the joint outside this groove and embedded in it in such a manner as to
receive regular and even support all the way round, save where a small slot is
cut for the interual arm of the lever extractor to play in, is a stop lever which
need not be more than from three-eighths to half an inch in thickness in a
military rifle. This stop lever is pierced by a hole or slot for a striker to pass
through, or is arranged to carry a nippled striking rod of any suitable kind;
this stop lever does not in any way depend for its fulcrum upon the hingo
joint by which it is attached, although it may be raised by the hand from the
side opposite to which it is hinged; it is intended to be actuated by a connecting
rod attached to a suitable point on the long arm of a lever pivoted to the lock
plate at one end and to a spur of metal left projecting above and to the outer
side of the upper part of that portion of this stop lever which turns upon the
hinge pin. The hinge should be placed in that position which will allow
the stop lever to enter at such a radius as will enable it to pass into its fulcrum
through the smallest possible aperture; the stock has a suitable groove cut at
the head parrallel to the lock for the reception of the tang which guides the
cartridge into the bore of the barrel; the empty cartridge case is thrown out
by a pivoted lever extractor, the external long arm of which is actuated by a
portion of the short aim of a lever which also cocks the gun and raises the
hinged breech block. The lock may be made on any approved pattern, provided
that the cock may be so constructed at its lower and anterior portion as to give
a sufficient leverage to the pivoted lever by which it is cocked. Where the stop
lever does not carry a striker the hammer is provided with one which passes
through the slot in the stop lever into the barrel. The extractor spring may
be so arranged below the lege to which the extractor is pivoted as to be

page_text: covered by the lock plate or stock. Pivoted strongly at a suitable point on the
Jock plate or elsewhere is a lever, the long arm of which may point towards
the muzzle when the breech is closed, the end of its short arm is used to cock
the guns, and afterwards actuate the extractor. The connecting rod by which the
lever raises the stop lever at the same time that it cocks the hammer is attached
to a suitable point in the long arm of this lever; the parts of this lever must be
so arranged that by the time the gun has been brought to full-cock by the arm
acting on it the breech block shall also have been gradually raised clear of the
bore; at this point a spur of metal left on the short arm of the lever forces
back the outer arm of the extractor. A hammer headed spring is attached to
the long arm of this lever, the head of which passes through a hole near the
pivot;, this is arranged to counteract the force of the extractor and also to
keep the lever and breech. block in place when the action is closed; if closed
by the hand the stop lever drags the lever into place, if by the lever this forces
down the stop lever.. The breech action described may be employed for double
barrelled guns as may also the following variation:-Instead of a binged stop
lever one of suitable form may be employed, so fitted as to slide vertically in
the fulcrum; the motion given to it by the lever being the converse of that
used for raising the hinged block. The connecting rod must be attached at a
suitable point in the short arm of the lever, which also cocks the gun and
actuates the extractor, and to the end of a rigid rod of suitable length verti-
cally parallel to the block which travels up and down in a suitable groove on.
the outside of the barrel; in all other respects the principles of construction
are identical. In converting old guns it is sometimes necessary to cut off the
end of the barrel and screw on a breech piece constructed on either of the
plans described, but where the barrel is thick enough to afford a proper
fulcrum, and there is enough spare metal at the side, a strap of metal carrying
the hinge joint may be adapted and screwed on, or otherwise secured to it, and
the necessary alterations may be made in the barrel; where this is done the
tang should also be screwed or riveted to the barrel, and in such a manner as
to strengthen the fulcrum as much as possible. In altering and converting
guns care must be taken to slope the tang and the groove which it lines
upwards and backwards in such a manner that they shall not encroach upon
the space required for the lock or the pins by which the lock plate is secured
to the stock. The hammer must be adapted so as to be actuated by the lever
pivoted on the lock plate which actuates the extractor and raises the stop lever
precisely as in the methods before described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Kenneth Henry Cornish in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th September 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J, KENNETH
HENRY CORNISH, of No. 7, South Molton Street, in the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen. Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Пler
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Kenneth Henry Cornish, Her special licence that I, the said Kenneth
Henry Cornish, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Kenneth Henry Cornish, 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN. BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Kenneth Henry Cornish, 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 Kenneth Henry Cornish, 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, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements. in breech-loading fire-arms,
particularly where carrying their own precussion, and applies both to the
manufacture of new weapons and the conversion of old ones from muzzle into
breech loaders. In making new guns the rear end of the barrel, which ter-
minates in a solid tang or tail piece, should carry a small binge joint suitably
placed above the lock plate, along and over which for about an inch or more
running forward from the "break off" there should be left a ledge of metal
about a quarter of an inch thick, and projecting a suitable distance from the
barrel along the medium line of its long axis; this joint as well as the ledge

page_text: of which it forms part should be supplementary to the true circumference of
the barrel at the point where they are placed coincidently, and at the part
where the hinge joint is situated, as well as for an eighth of an inch or more
in front of and behind it; the diameter of the barrel should be rather thicker
than elsewhere. The hinge joint is intended to carry a stop lever. The ledge
of metal to afford an attachment for the extractor to be pivoted on, as well as
to strengthen the barrel at this point, a.similar ledge of metal may be advan-
tageously formed on the opposite side of the breech, and if very great strength
is desired a similar strip of metal about an eighth of an inch thick, and con-
tinuous with the tang may also be employed on the outside of the lowermost
part of the breech. A segment of a circle sufficiently large to allow the
cartridge case in its greatest diameter to be dropped easily into the trough
thus formed should be removed from the upper part of the rear of the barrel,
and for a sufficient distance at the fore part of this trough longitudinally in
from three-eighths to half an inch at the thickened part of the barrel where
the hinge joint is placed a transverse groove is made and sunk in the breech,
going from one end of the cord of the removed segment to the other;
hinged to the joint outside this groove and embedded in it in such a manner
as to receive regular and even support all the way round, save where a small
slot is cut for the internal arm of the lever extractor to play in, is a stop
lever which need not be more than from three-eighths to half an inch in thick-
ness in a military rifle; this stop lever is pierced by a hole or slot for a striker
to pass through, or is arranged to carry a nippled striking rod of any suitable
kind. This stop lever does not in any way depend for its fulcrum upon the
hinge joint by which it is attached, although it may be raised by the hand
from the side opposite to which it is hinged, it is intended to be actuated by
a connecting rod attached to a suitable point on the long arm of a lever
pivoted to the lock plate at one end, and to a spur of metal left projecting
above, and to the outer side of the upper part of that portion of this stop lever
which turns upon the hinge pin. The hinge should be placed in that position
which will allow the stop lever to enter at such a radius as will enable it pass
into its fulcrum through the smallest possible aperture. The stock has a
suitable groove cut at the head parallel to the lock for the reception of the
tang which guides the cartridge into the bore of the barrel.
The empty
cartridge case is thrown out by a pivoted lever extractor, the external long
arm of which is actuated by a portion of the short arm of a lever, which also
cocks the gun and raises the hinged breech block. The lock may be made on
any approved pattern, provided that the cock may be so constructed at its
lower and anterior portion as to give a sufficient leverage to the pivoted lever

page_text: by which it is cocked. Where the stop lever does not carry a striker the
hammer is provided with one which passes through the stop lever into
the barrel. The extractor spring may be so arranged below the ledge to
which the extractor is pivoted as to be covered by the lock plate or stock.
Pivoted strongly at a suitable point on the lock plate or elsewhere is a lever,
the long arm of which may point towards the muzzle when the breech is closed;
the end of its short arm is used to cock the gun, and afterwards actuate the
extractor. The connecting rod by which the lever raises the stop lever at
the same time that it cocks the bammer is attached to a suitable point in the
long arm of this lever, the parts of this lever must be so arranged that by the
time the gun has been brought to full cock by the arm acting on it the
At this
breech block shall also have been gradually raised clear of the bore.
point a spur of metal left on the short arm of the lever forces back the outer
arm of the extractor. A hammer-headed spring is attached to the long arm
of this lever, the head of which passes through a hole near the pivot; this is
arranged to counteract the force of the extractor, and also to keep the lever
and breech block in place when the action is closed; if closed by the hand
the stop lever drags the lever into place, if by the lever this forces down the
stop lever. The breech action described may be employed for double-
barrelled guns, as may also the following variation:-Instead of a hinged
stop lever one of suitable form may be employed so fitted as to slide vertically
in the fulcrum, the motion given to it by the lever being the converse of that
used for raising the hinged block; the connecting rod must be attached at a
suitable point in the short arm of the lever, which also cocks the gun and
actuates the extractor, and to the end of a rigid rod of suitable length ver-
tically parallel to the block which travels up and down in a suitable groove
on the outside of the barrel; in all other respects the principles of con-
struction are identical. In converting old guns it is sometimes necessary to
cut off the end of the barrel and screw on a breech piece constructed on either
of the plans described, but where the barrel is thick enough to afford a proper
fulcrum, and there is enough spare metal at the side, a strap of metal carrying
the hinge joint may be adapted and screwed on or otherwise secured to it,
Where this is
and the necessary alterations may be made in the barrel.
done the tang should also be screwed or rivetted to the barrel, and in such a
manner as to strengthen the fulcrum as much as possible. In altering and
converting guns care must be taken to slope the tang and the groove, which
it lines upwards and backwards in such a manner that they shall not encroach
upon the space required for the lock or the pins by which the lock plate is
secured to the stock. The hammer must be adapted so as to be actuated by

page_text: the lever pivoted on the lock plate which actuates the extractor and raises the
stop lever precisely as in the methods before described.
And in order to explain my said Invention more completely I now proceed
to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into
practical effect, reference being had to the illustrative Sheet of Drawings
accompanying these Presents, and to the numeral figures and letters of
reference marked thereon, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the breech end of a breech-loading
fire-arm shewing the improved method above referred to for cocking the
hammer, opening or closing the breech, and actuating the extractor at one
operation; Figure 2 represents the parts employed to effect the above objects
in the position they would occupy when the gun was ready to receive the
cartridge; Figure 1 shews the position of the parts after the gun has been
discharged; Figure 3 is a transverse section through the line X, X, at
Figure 1; Figure 4 is a longitudinal and vertical section of the barrel and
breech, shewing the arrangement of the improved extractor, and Figure 5 is a
transverse section through the line Y, Y, at Figure 4; Figure 6 represents
the under side of the breech of the gun, sbewing the lever employed for
actuating the extractor. At each of the foregoing Figures I employ similar
letters of reference to denote corresponding parts in so far as such parts
appear or can be seen at each of such said Figures respectively.
;
A, A, marks the barrel of the gun; B, the breech thereof; C, the stock or
butt to which the barrel is affixed; D, a piece of metal screwed or otherwise
affixed to the breech end of the barrel; E, a metal breech piece for closing
the opening in the breech after the full cartridge has been inserted therein,
the piece E is hinged to D by a pin or screw at a, and the piece E is also
connected by a lug band rod c to a lever G at d', whose fulcrum is a pin or
screw d fixed in the lock plate H of the gun. The short arm G of the
lever G is intended to operate upon the spur e of the hammer I for cocking the
gun, and the long arm of the lever G as this lever is forced down comes into
contact with the edge of a short lever K, the fulcrum whereof is a pin or
screw passed through the trigger guard of the gun. The lever K has a slot g
formed therein into which the lower end of the flattened pin h takes; the
upper part of this pin passes through and is fixed securely in a short rod L;
this rod fits in a short piece of tubing i screwed to the outside of the barrel
and breech part of the gun. The upper part of the pin h serves as the
extractor for removing the spent cartridge. is a spring for pushing back the

page_text: extractor has the lever G is lifted up, or instead of employing an extractor of
the above construction I propose, if desirable, to employ an extractor of the
construction described and represented at Figure 7, where M marks an
extractor similar to that described and represented by Drawings accompanying
the Specification of a Patent granted to me the said Kenneth Henry Cornish,
and bearing date the 12th July 1866, numbered 1828, and I propose to
actuate this extractor by a spur N formed on the lever G, as at Figure 7; this
spur coming into contact with the outer bent arm 1 of the extractor pushes it
back, by which I am enabled to exert more power on the extractor and act
upon it suddenly as a blow, thereby rendering the removal of the spent
cartridge more certain than by the simple action of the breech block thereon,
as previously described in the Specification of the former Patent of the
12th July 1866 aforesaid.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my said
Invention for "Improvements in Breech-loading Fire-arms," together with
the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into practical effect,
I hereby declare my Invention to consist in and I claim as follows:-
First, I claim fixing the breech block, marked E on the Drawings, to the
outside of the barrel of a breech-loading fire-arm instead of to the inside
thereof as hitherto practised, the said breech block being hinged to a piece
of metal fixed to the outside of the barrel, as above described with reference
to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
Secondly, the mechanism above described and represented by the Drawings
for effecting the cocking of the gun, opening of the breech, and extraction of
the spent cartridge at one operation.
Thirdly, the mode above described of operating upon the hinged or lever
extractor as represented at Figure 7 of the Drawing.
Fourthly, and lastly, the general combination and arrangement of the
mechanism above described and represented for effecting the objects of this
Invention as constituting "Improvements in Breech-loading Fire-arms."
In witness whereof, I, the said Kenneth Henry Cornish, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
KENNETH HENRY CORNISH. (L.S.)