Improvements in or relating to Small Arms, Machine Guns, and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Oct., 1897-Accepted, 27th Nov.,
1897
-
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
Improvements in or relating to Small Arms, Machine Guns, and the
like.
A communication from ALBERT JORDAN, of 127, rue de la Source, Brussels, in the
Kingdom of Belgium, Gentleman.
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT, of 111, Hatton Garden, in the County of Middlesex,
Chartered Patent Agent, 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:
The present invention relates to improvements in small arms machine guns and
the like and is applicable to rifles, revolvers, guns on carriages mitraileuses and any
other fire-arms, and provides a spreading or fan fire. The fire arm according to the
present invention is constituted by the combination of several barrels or several
borings in one barrel the bores of which are at an angle to each other so that a fan
shaped device is produced. That is why I term the new gun a fan-fire gun the
barrels or bores converging towards the operator towards the centre and spreading
out at the opposite end. According to the amount of spreading out at the outer
extremity, which amount may be determined as desired, a more or less extended
surface is obtained. The application of this invention is quite as convenient for
small and large guns as for rifles, revolvers and the like.
Figures 1 to 6 of the accompanying drawings, show diagrammatically the
principle on which the invention is based, five barrels constituting the new fan-gun
being shown by way of example.
In Figure 1 the distance apart at the outer end of the gun is supposed to be, by
way of example, millimetre a spreading surface a¹³ being obtained for
the distance A which is supposed to be the distance to which the projectile can be
thrown, for instance, say 2000 metres, each point etc. will be one metre distant
from the next, the whole spreading being thus equal to 5 metres.
Figure 2 shows an arrangement where the distance apart is twice as great that is
to say 1 mm. at the outer end of the gun. The points a¹² etc. will thus be 2 metres
distant from each other, the total spreading being 10 metres.
In Figure 3 the distance is supposed to be 1 mm. at the outer end, the whole
spreading surface being consequently 15 m.
From these diagraminatic figures the great importance of this improved fire arm
will be seen as it thus becomes possible to fire in one unit of time, say five projectiles
at once which spread on a horizontal line of 5, 10 and 15 metres, as desired thus
covering an extended surface, instead of one point.
Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view of such a combination, of five small calibre
barrels B for rifles, and
Figure 5 a similar view for five larger barrels B such as might be mounted on a
carriage.
The present invention does not present any difficulties as regards the loading of the
barrels or the manufacture of cartridges, such a cartridge combined from 5 small
cartridges is shown in Figure 6.

page_text: The casing D contains in a single sheath or casing the five cartridges which project
at E, their distance apart d corresponding to the distance apart of the barrels of the
gun at the percussion chamber. The cartridges terminate in projectiles c¹ c² c³ ec
These projectiles have an initial distance apart corresponding to the distance apart
of the barrels.
In order to avoid any changes in the existing sighting devices and the precision of
fire or in the manner of loading the central barrel is utilised for aiming and provided
with a sight, said barrel being between two inclined barrels on the right and two of
the left hand side.
Of course the arrangement of the barrels their number and the extend of the
spreading action may be varied as desired for different arms of infantry, cavalry
artillery etc. and according to the object to be attained.
The principle on which this invention is based, having thus been described, it
remains to be remarked that the arrangement of a series of barrels or bores in a fan
shape creates a large surface of fire instead of a single point, increases the destruc-
tive action of the gun in a unit of time, without interfering with all other existing
conditions, that is to say the quickness of fire, range of projectiles etc.
It is also to be added that the combined cartridge can be loaded in the ordinary
manner or by repeating mechanism.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner
the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A gun or fire arm comprising several barrels or borings arranged in a fan-shape,
and forming a single instrument said barrels being arranged at an angle with each
other converging rearwardly towards a common centre and spreading out at the outer
end in the shape of a fan, substantially as described.
LOL
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