Improvements in the Construction of Heavy Guns or Cannon.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 3rd Oct., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 2nd July, 1894-Accepted, 11th Aug., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Heavy Guns or Cannon.
We JAMES EASTWICK of No. 11 New Square, Lincoln's Inn W.C. Barrister
and ILLIUS AUGUSTUS TIMMIS of No. 2 Great George Street, Westminster, S. W.
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
The objects of our invention are in connection with breech loading guns and are
specially designed and worked out.
1st. To protect the screw threads of the breech while loading and as a
consequence.
2ndly. To facilitate and lessen the time required for loading and firing.
We would point out that, in order, up to the present time, to protect the screw
threads in the breech of the gun, from the damaging effects of shot or shell or
cartridge passing over them, a copper (or soft metal) half tube has been inserted,
in some cases, into the breech to protect the screw threads.
These screw threads are not continuous as interrupted places are cut away
(longitudinally with the bore of the gun) so that there are an equal number of
blocks of screw threads & of interrupted places.
The breech block has also an equal and corresponding number of blocks of screw
threads and interrupted places on its outside circumference where it enters the
breech. So that when the breech block is forced into the breech the parts
containing the screw threads enter the interrupted parts in the breech while the
interrupted parts in the breech block contain those parts of the breech containing
the screw threads.
The use of the soft metal half tube above named is a source, of great waste of
time-and if it be not used, very great care has to be exercised and this causes
waste of time.
Bearing these conditions in mind and with the above objects in view we take
any suitable service gun or we construct new guns and make our improvements as
follows:-
We construct a number of solid teeth or threads which correspond to and fit into
any desired number of the grooves between the screw threads in the breech of
the gun. Then we join these teeth by metal piates which lie over and protect the
screw threads in the breech. These teeth and plates do not extend into the
interrupted parts in the breech.
When the breech block is forced into the breech the teeth and metal plates
which we join by one or more rings do not hinder the breech block being
Bent home.
The breech block is then rotated, say one sixth of a turn, in the ordinary way, to
lock it, and as it rotates its threads engage in the grooves between the screw
threads in the breech and so force out the teeth and protecting plates from their
loading position into the interrupted parts of the breech.
On the other hand when the breech block is unlocked and rotated back again its
screw threads force the teeth and protecting plates into their former position ready
for the next loading operation.
What is new in this invention is the protection of the screw threads in the
breech by means of shields of metal which are not taken out of the gun but are
moved into and out of position by the unlocking and locking of the breech block
or by suitable gearing working in unison with it.

page_text: The protecting shield and their guides and junction pieces may be of any
suitable shape and material.
2
The breech block may be hinged to the gun or separate from it.
Dated this 3rd day of October 1893.
.
Improvements in the Construction of Heavy Guns or Cannon.
We, JAMES EASTWICK of No. 11 New Square Lincoln's Inn W.C., Barrister
and ILLIUS AUGUSTUS TIMMIS of No. 2 Great George Street Westminster S. W.,
Civil Engineer, 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 :-
Our invention relates to improvements in breech loading guns and has for its
objects :
1st. To protect the screw threads of the breech while loading and as a
consequence,
2ndly. To facilitate and lessen the time required for loading and firing.
We would point out that hitherto the screw threads in the breech of the gun
have in some cases been protected from the damaging effects of shot, shell or
cartridge passing over them by the insertion into the breech of a copper (or soft
metal) half tube covering the screw threads.
It is well known that these screw threads are not continuous, as interrupted
places are cut away (longitudinally with the bore of the gun) so that there are an
equal number of blocks of screw threads and of interrupted places.
The breech block has likewise an equal and corresponding number of blocks of
screw threads and interrupted places on its outer periphery where it enters the
breech, so that when the breech block is forced into the breech the parts containing
the screw threads enter the interrupted parts in the breech while the interrupted
parts in the breech block contain those parts of the breech provided with screw
threads.
The use of the aforesaid copper (or soft metal) half tube is a source of great
waste of time and if it be not used, great care has to be exercised, which likewise
involves a loss of time.
Bearing these conditions in mind and with the above named objects in view, we
take any suitable service gun or we construct new guns and carry out our
improvements as follows:
We construct a number of solid teeth or screw threads which correspond to and
fit into any desired number of the grooves between the screw threads in the breech
of the gun.
Then we join these teeth by metal plates which lie over and protect the screw
threads in the breech. These teeth and plates do not extend into the interrupted
parts in the breech.
When the breech block is forced into the breech the teeth and metal plates
which we join by one or more rings do not hinder the breech block being sent
home.
The breech block is then rotated say one sixth of a turn in the ordinary way to
lock it and as it rotates, its threads engage in the grooves between the screw threads
in the breech and so force out the teeth and projecting plates from their loading
position into the interrupted parts of the breech.
On the other hand when the breech block is unlocked and rotated back again its
screw threads force the teeth and projecting plates into their former position
ready for the next loading operation.

page_text: What is new in this invention is the protection of the screw threads in the breech
by means of shields of metal which are not taken out of the gun, but are moved
into and out of position by the unlocking and locking of the breech block or by
suitable gearing working in unison with it.
The protecting shields, their guides and junction pieces may be of any suitable
shape and material.
The breech block may be hinged to the gun or separate from it.
The accompanying sheet of drawings illustrates our invention as applied to a
helical breech block.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through the breech and breech block on line x o. y
of Fig. 2;
Fig. 2 is a view of that end of the shield which is nearest to the chamber;
Fig. 3 is a view of the outer end of the shield;
Fig. 4 is an external view of the shield removed from the breech.
In these figures A is the gun, B the breech block, C the obturator, D the screw
threads on the breech block B, D¹ the screw threads or teeth of the threaded
portions of the parts FFF... of the shield (Figs. 1 & 4), E is an external ring
which connects the partially threaded portions FFF... of the shield. G are the
open portions of the shield in which the threaded portions of the breech block B
lodge themselves when the breech block has been rotated to unscrew the
breech G G¹. . . are recesses cut inside ring E corresponding to and as wide as
open ports G in order to allow of the breech block B being removed
H is a ring
which connects the inner ends of the threaded portions D'. J J are two stops
attached to the external ring E and limiting its partial rotation as they strike
against pin K. The shield is shown partially threaded, but it may, if desired, be
threaded throughout its whole length.
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:
In breech loading guns the application of metallic shields for the protection of
the breech block screw threads whilst loading, said shields consisting of metal
plates provided with screw threads and so connected together that when the breech
18 open the shields lie over and protect the screw threaded portions of the breech,
while the partial rotation and locking of the breech block after loading causes the
shields to partly rotate and come to occupy the interrupted portions in the breech
block, substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 2nd day of Tul 1904
JAMES EASTWICK.
I. A. TIMMIS.