IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Lieutenant Francis Bacon, of the Royal Marine
Artillery, of Wymondham Rectory, in the County of Leicester, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Lieutenant Francis
Bacon at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 17th April 1868.
I, Licutenant FRANCIS BACON, of the Royal Marine Artillery, of
Wymondham Rectory, in the County of Leicester, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-
ARMS," to be as follows:-

page_text: spring in such manner that it serves both to project forward the striker
which explodes the priming, and also as the spring for the sear or catch
by which the said striker is retained until the moment of firing.
The following is the construction I adopt:- At the breech end of the
barrel, and either in one piece with it or securely fixed to it, I form a
trough open at the top or it may be on one side. It contains a sliding
bolt passing out through the back of the trough and receiving a con-
venient handle beyond. On the holt and a short distance in front of
the handle are projections or lugs which by resting against the end of
the trough hold the bolt in the trough when the handle is turned down
to one side, but when the handle is raised by turning the bolt about one
quarter round the projections or lugs come opposite passages in the back
of the trough which allow them to escape, and the bolt can then be
drawn back out of the trough, which it leaves open to receive the
cartridge for loading the picce. The bolt is slotted with a slot passing
diametrically through it. The slot commences near the fore end of
the bolt and terminates near its after end. The front of the bolt is also
perforated for the passage of the fore end of the striker, which is lodged
within the slot in the bolt. The striker terminates in a hook or catch
at its rear end, and it has lugs or projections upon it which project
beyond the bolt and are pressed upon by a coiled spring which surrounds
the bolt, and the same spring also bears on a sear or catch which is
fitted into the slot at its hinder end, the said scar or catch also having
projecting lugs or projections which receive the pressure of the coiled
spring, and also by bearing against the back of the trough in which the
bolt works serve to keep the scar or catch therein. Then in loading,
when the bolt is drawn back it brings the striker with it but the sear
remains where it was, being stopped by the back of the trough, so that
the coiled spring becomes compressed between the striker and the sear
until the catch on the striker comes against the catch or hook of the
sear, and then as both are inclined the sear yields to one side to allow
the striker to come back, and in so yielding it compresses the coiled
spring more on one side than on the other; then immediately that
the nose of the sear hook has passed that of the striker the spring
throws the sear back and the striker thus becomes retained, and it
remains so held when the bolt is returned, and it is so returned as soon
as a cartridge has been inserted into the trough. The bolt is then

page_text: locked by turning down its handle to one side, and if the shoulder at
the end of the trough is inclined the position which the handle will
then assume may serve to indicate whether the piece is loaded or
otherwise, as when the. flange of the cartridge is interposed between
the end of the bolt and its scat at the end of the barrel the handle
cannot be forced so far down as when there is no cartridge case in the
gun. The front of the bolt also may be countersunk at the percussion
hole, and thus nothing can touch the cartridge cap in forcing the bolt
home. When the bolt is in the trough the opening in the trough is
closed by a cover which is retained by a ring at its fore end encircling
the bolt, and at its rear end it is retained by housing underneath the
head or end of the bolt, which is undercut. When the breech is closed
there is no room for the cover to move longitudinally, and when the
breech bolt is drawn back one of the projections or lugs on it turns up
and prevents any longitudinal movement of the cover independent of
the bolt. The undercut head of the bolt by fitting to the back of the
trough holds the trough truly-in-position when the breech is closed
and prevents any vertical play and binds it down to the trough.
The cover has a hook at its fore end which serves as an extractor;
it enters a notch at the rear end of the barrel, so that when the
cartridge is in its place in the barrel the nib of the extractor is
in front of the flange of the cartridge, and after firing when the
breech is opened the extractor brings the old case back with it, and
as soon as the fore end of the case is free of the barrel the case is
thrown out of the trough by the pressure of the striker against its
basc. This method of ejection enables me to reduce the opening for
the cartridge to the size of its body, thereby increasing the strength
of construction of the trough and thus enabling it to be yet further
lightened. The internal edges only are removed in one part to permit
the introduction of the cartridge flanges, and the same relief allows
the escape of the cover when its ring is released from the bolt.
When a new cartridge has been put into the trough at the back of
the barrel, and when the cover is moved forward with the bolt in
closing the breech, the extractor hook rises and passes over the flange
of the cartridge, the extractor being mounted on centres or hinged to
enable it to tip upwards in this way; but the motion of the extractor
on these centres so as to let it escape the flange of the cartridge is
prevented during the opening of the breech by an arm on the striker

page_text: which is then forward and enters beneath the tail of the extractor
and so holds its other or hooked end down. This principle of causing
the striker on firing to act on the extractor and bind it to the cartridge
may be otherwise carried out and may be applied in arms of other
construction. The discharge of the piece is effected by a trigger
pressing on the scar so as to tip it, overcoming the resistance of the
spiral spring.
In some cases in place of applying the coiled spring on the exterior
of the bolt I make the bolt hollow and put the spring within it. I
then modify somewhat the arrangement by which the striker is retained
by the sear. I form the striker with a T-formed or similar end which
when it is brought back comes up to a passage of corresponding form
in the scar (or the part which I will call the sear) and it enters this
passage; the passage however is twisted or rifled so that the striker
is turned partly round by it against the resistance of the coiled spring
which at one end is attached to the striker and at the other to the scar.
Presently the head of the striker emerges at the other end of the
passage and the spring immediately turns the striker back, and so
it becomes locked, its T-formed end no longer corresponding with the
passage in the sear. In the rear end of the bolt is also a disc with
a notch in it adapted to receive the end of the striker, and the end
of the striker is contained in this notch when the bolt is forward and
the breech closed. The trigger acts on the disc and partly turns it
carrying the striker with it until its cnd again corresponds with the
passage in the sear, and then the striker returns and effects the dis-
charge of the cartridge. In place of employing a trigger the disc
may have an arm or button upon it which the finger presses upon
directly in discharging the piece. The principle of connecting the
striker and sear by a spiral spring and so forming the two parts that
the one partly rotates the other as they come together, so that tension
may be put on the spring which afterwards re-acts and causes the
parts to catch together, may be carried into practice in various other
ways. A slot may be made in the bottom of the trough and through
the stock, into which slot the action of the bolt will sweep any sand
falling in when the breech is open.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Lieutenant Francis Bacon in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th October 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, Lieutenant
FRANCIS BACON, of the Royal Marine Artillery, of Wymondham Rectory,
in the County of Leicester, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of April, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Francis Bacon, Her special licence that I,
the said Francis Bacon, executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Francis Bacon, 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 BREECH-LOADING FIRE-
ARMS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Francis
Bacon, 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 Francis Bacon, 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 thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in breech-loading
fire-arms.
In constructing breech-loading fire-arms adapted to receive cartridges
having their priming at their base or rear end I employ a coiled spring
in such manner that it serves both to project forward the striker which
explodes the priming, and also as the spring for the scar or catch by
which the said striker is retained until the moment of firing,

page_text: The following is the construction I adopt-At the breech end of the
barrel, and either in one piece with it or securely fixed to it, I form
a trough open at the top or it may be on one side. It contains a sliding
bolt passing out through the back of the trough and receiving a con-
venient handle beyond. On the bolt and a short distance in front of
the handle are projections or lugs which by resting against the end
of the trough hold the bolt in the trough when the handle is turned
down to one side, but when the handle is raised by turning the bolt
about one quarter round the projections or lugs come opposite passages
in the back of the trough which allow them to escape, and the bolt can
then be drawn back out of the trough, which it leaves open to receive
the cartridge for loading the piece. The bolt carries the striker and its
spring, acting as already mentioned. The front of the bolt is perforated
for the passage of the fore end of the striker, which is lodged within the
slot in the bolt. When the bolt is in the trough the opening in the
trough is closed by a cover which is retained by a ring at its fore end
encircling the bolt, and at its rear end it is retained by housing under-
neath the head or end of the bolt, which is undercut. When the breech
is closed there is no room for the cover to move longitudinally, and when
the breech bolt is drawn back one of the projections or lugs on it turns
up and prevents any longitudinal movement of the cover independent
of the bolt. The undercut head of the bolt by fitting to the back of the
trough holds the trough truly in position when the breech is closed and
prevents any vertical play and binds it down to the trough. The cover
has a spring hook at its fore end which serves as an extractor; it enters
a notch at the rear end of the barrel, so that when the cartridge is in its
place in the barrel the nib of the extractor is in front of the flange of the
cartridge, and after firing when the breech is opened the extractor brings
the old case back with it, and as soon as the fore end of the case is free
of the barrel the case is thrown out of the trough by the pressure of the
striker against its base. When a new cartridge has been put into the
trough at the back of the barrel, and when the cover is moved forward
with the bolt in closing the breech, the extractor hook rises and passes
over the flange of the cartridge.
In some cases I form the striker with a T-formed or similar end which
enters a passage of corresponding form in the sear (or the part which I
will call the sear). The coiled spring at one end is attached to the

page_text: its T head travels along the corresponding passage in the sear until
presently the head of the striker emerges at the other end of the passage
and the spring immediately turns the sear back, and so the striker
becomes locked, its T-formed end no longer corresponding with the
passage in the sear. The striker is at the time of firing prevented turning
by its T-formed end being held by a disc in the rear end of the bolt,
which disc has a notch in it adapted to receive the end of the striker ;
the trigger acts on the sear and partly turns it until the end of the
striker again corresponds with the passage in the sear, and then the
striker returns and effects the discharge of the cartridge.
And in order that my said Invention may be most fully understood
and readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 is a plan of a double-barrelled fowling piece constructed
according to my Invention with a single coiled spring acting by_its_
compression as a main spring, and when-liberated projecting forward the
striker which explodes the priming, and by its torsion as a sear spring,
or as the spring for the sear or catch by which the striker when drawn
back is retained until the moment for firing. In this Figure the stock
and the muzzle ends of the barrels are removed from the left-hand
barrel, also the sliding bolt and parts connected therewith are taken out
so as to shew more clearly its trough-like cnd. The right-hand barrel
has all the parts complete, and they are represented at the position in
which they stand when the gun is ready to be discharged. Figure 2 is
a longitudinal section taken through this barrel and its working parts
whilst they are in the same position. a is a plate fixed to the stock
and having guide surfaces upon it, the uses of which are hercin-after
described. A plan of this plate is shewn separately at Figure 3, and
transverse sections taken at the lines A, A., and B, B, respectively by the
Figures 4 and 5. A longitudinal section taken on the centre line C, C,
is shewn at Figure 6, and in this Figure the triggers A, A, are also
shewn. b, b, are the barrels at their breech ends, they are open at the top
or are of trough-like form; the breech end of one of them is shown at
Figure 7. c is a sliding bolt, which closes the breech of the barrel; it
is hollow, as is seen at Figure 2, and contains other parts within it, as
will presently be described. Four views of this bolt are shewn separately
by the Figures 8; its front end forms the abutment for the cartridge, and
its hinder end has a head or cap cupon it, on which a handle c* is formed

page_text: for moving the bolt out and in, in opening and closing the breech. c² is
a projection on the side of the bolt which serves to guide it in these
movements, being held in the notch 6 (Figure 7). When the breech
is closed, however, the projection travels out of this notch, and the
handle c** being turned down the bolt becomes locked, the projection c*
upon it then no longer being opposite to the notch . d is the cover
which closes the trough end of the barrel; when the breech is closed it
moves with the bolt c, to which it is held by a ring d' upon it, which
encircles the bolt in front. Three views of this cover are shewn separately
at Figures 9. At the back the cover is held by the projection d² upon
it entering an undercut ring, groove, or recess in the head c¹ of the bolt.
The cover is securely held to the bolt both when the breech is closed and
when it is open, for when closed the cover is stopped from moving
forward to escape from the groove in the head by the front end of the
trough, and when the breech is open it is stopped from moving forward
by the projection d' then standing behind the projection c³ on the bolt.
d' is the spring extractor hook fixed to the cover; c is the striker, which
is received within the bolt c, its front end in striking upon the priming
of the cartridge is protruded from the face of the bolt at the small
central hole c; e is a coiled spring surrounding the stem of the striker
and fixed to it at the front, and at the back it is fixed to the cap e²,
through which the stem of the striker passes freely. The cap e fits into
the interior of the head c' of the bolt, and is there locked by bayonet
grooves ex, receiving within them the studs c*. e is an arm fixed on
the stem of the striker, and which it will be presently seen acts as
a sear; its end e³ bears against the guide surface a' on the plate, the
torsion of the spring e' holding the scar arm up against it. Four views
of the striker with the parts connected with it are shown separately at
Figures 10.
This then being the general construction of the apparatus its action is
as follows:-In opening the breech after firing the handle cx is first
turned up until the projection c³ on the bolt corresponds with the notch b¹
of the barrel, the bolt can then be drawn back; the same motion of the
handle causes the lump e* on the cap e³ to come against the sear arm e
and force it partly back so as to retire the point of the striker behind the
face of the bolt. During the outward motion of the bolt the extractor
hook d' draws back the case of the fired cartridge out of the barrel, and
.it is assisted in so doing by the projection d³, which travels in the

page_text: groove & formed in the trough-like end of the barrel, and as soon as the
front end of the case is free its head or flange is standing opposite the
notch in the trough end of the barrel; at the same time the end e³x of
the sear arm comes to the curved part a¹ of the guide surface a¹. The arm
following this curve escapes from the lump e*, and the striker suddenly
returns, and in doing so ejects the cartridge case the striker acting
together with the extract cants the case upwards, and it flies out of
the trough, its head passing out by the notch 62. Immediately after-
wards the end ex is caught by the projection a² on the plate a, and so
the further outward motion of the bolt is arrested. The cartridge is now
inserted into the trough-like part of the barrel, and the bolt is forced back
again. This first brings the end of the scar arm against the curve a*,
and the arm e is forced up the nosc e* so as to withdraw the point of
the striker that it may not rest against the priming of the cartridge, from
which a premature explosion might result. As the motion of the bolt
continues the end ex of the sear arm comes against the stop a*, the fore
end of the trigger standing on-the-outer-side of it, so that it cannot
possibly escape sideways past the stop. From this point the forward
motion of the bolt compresses the spring e', and as the bolt comes to the
end of its course and the cartridge is unable to go further forward the
extractor hook springs over its head; lastly by turning down the handle c¹×
the bolt is locked, closing the breech. When the trigger is pressed upon
the end is withdrawn, and at the same time the end f which is
inclined rises, and pressing upon the incline e* on the arm e³ turns it
partly round against the torsional resistance of the spring e' until the
end is free of the shoulder a*, the striker then immediately flies
forward and fires the cartridge. The recesses in the edges of the
trough end of the barrel arc to allow the ring of the cover to enter.
Figure 11 is a longitudinal section of a barrel fitted with another
arrangement for using one coiled spring by its compression and torsion
to serve as main spring and as sear spring. b is the barrel with a
trough-like opening in it, and receiving a bolt c with a cover d as before;
e is the striker with its spring e¹ around its stem; the spring is fixed to
the stem in front and in rear to the sear f, which is a tube (for con-
venience of construction made in two parts, as is shown), and having a
passage through it of the form shown at Figure 12, which is a trans-
verse section taken at the line A, A, Figure 11.
Figure 13 is another transverse section taken at the line B, B, and

page_text: Figure 14 is an end view. The stem of the striker is formed with a end
to correspond with the passage in the scar, and is held in it except
when the spring is compressed for firing. is a screw cap, which closes.
the rear end of the bolt e; it has a recess in it on one side, in which the
tail of the sear is received; it is able to move in this recess for a short
distance, and as is shown the trigger enters into the recess to act upon
it. is a collar encircling the sear, and having a hooked arm h' upon it;
it projects out through a slot in the side of the bolt. The action of the
parts is as follows:-As the bolt is drawn back to open the breech the
hook catches on a stop on the trough-end of the barrel, and then the
further motion of the bolt compresses the spring until the T head on
the tail of the striker travels out of the passage in the sear f, and then
immediately the striker turns slightly by the torsional action of the
spring as far as a stop on the sear will let it, and so the sear locks the
spring in a compressed state. The sear arm is at this time held in the
groove in the side of the bolt. As the breech is closed the shoulder /¹*
on the arm comes against the rear end of the barrel and stops it with
the striker and sear and parts connected therewith whilst the bolt is pushed
home, which brings the T end of the striker into the passage formed for
it in the screw cap g. The parts are now in the position in which they
are shewn at Figure 11, then to discharge the piece the trigger is pressed
upon it, acts partially to rotate the sear f, and the stem of the striker
being held from turning, the passage in the sear is thus brought to
coincide with the T end of the striker, which immediately flies through
it, and the required blow is struck upon the priming of the cartridge.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that what I
claim is, the employment of a coiled spring in such manner that it serves
both to project forward the striker, and also by its torsion as the spring
for the sear or catch by which the striker is retained until the moment
of firing.
I also claim the combining a sliding bolt and cover, as hercin
described.
I also claim the forming the striker with a T form or similar head,
and causing it to travel through a similarly formed passage in the sear,
with which passage as soon as it has passed out the torsion of the coiled
striker spring causes it to cease to correspond, so that the spring which
is then compressed is retained until by the action of the trigger over-

page_text: coming the torsional action of the spring the passage of the sear and the
end of the striker are again brought to agree.
In witness whereof, I, the said Francis Bacon, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
FRANCIS BACON. (L.S.)