IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND THEIR CARRIAGES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thorsten Nordenfelt, of 1, St. Swithin's Lane, in the
City of London, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING
FIRE-ARMS AND THEIR CARRIAGES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thorsten Nordenfelt at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 17th December 1881.
THORSTEN NORDENFELT of 1 St. Swithin's Lane in the City of London.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH LOADING FIRE ARMS AND THEIR CARRIAGES."
The object of my Invention is to make a strong mechanism and carriage for a
quick firing gun.
At the rear end of a barrel I screw on a breech box, or I extend the barrel itself
somewhat enlarged towards the rear so as to form a breech box. Within this
breech box I move a breech block to and fro in a transverse direction to the centre
line of the gun; the block can be tongued into corresponding grooves in the breech
box in order to increase the bearing surface.
In the breech block is held the firing pin in such a manner that when the block
is closed the firing pin is in a line with the centre line of the barrel; this firing
pin is driven forward by means of a flat spring fixed at one side of it, or of a spiral
spring inserted round the firing pin. In order to move the breech block transversely
1 push into the block close up to the side of the firing pin a larger bolt which I
call the action bolt, and which has at its rear end one or more handles, by which it
can be moved round. Between the handles and the action bolt proper, I have a
certain number of teeth formed around the bolt like a segment of a pinion. These
teeth work into other teeth formed in the rear of the breech box, which thus form
the rack. When the action bolt is turned by means of the handle the pinion
works in the rear and moves the breech block transversely to the one side until a
hole or open part of the breech block comes into line with the barrel chamber,
when the extractor or extractors described later on, throw out the empty fired

page_text: cartridge case, and through which opening I insert by hand the fresh cartridge
which I am going to fire.
The firing pin is cocked by the following means
At the rear end of the firing pin I form a head which runs into a helix shaped,
or diagonal, groove in the action bolt; as the action bolt is turned this groove thus
moves the firing pin rearwards against the firing spring; when the action block is
again moved back the head of the firing pin is supported by the catch mentioned
below and runs in another groove which goes straight round the action bolt, and
the firing pin is thus held back with the firing spring compressed until the action
block is quite home, when a longitudinal groove in the action bolt allows the firing
pin head which has been released from the catch to be propelled forward by the
firing spring and to strike the percussion cap.
In order to extract the fired cartridge case I insert one or two extractors into
slots cut along the front of the action block. The extractor has on the one end a
hook which takes hold of the cartridge rim and at the other end a cam which is
acted upon by a transverse motion of the action block. When the cartridge is
home into the chamber the hook end of the extractor is pushed into the chamber
by the cartridge rim; the opposite cam end of the extractor standing out into the
breech block. At the back of the extractor are two semi-circular lugs which fit
into corresponding sockets in the breech box.
After the shot has been fired and the breech block is drawn out it first acts with
a slow wedge notion on the back of the extractor with a view to loosen the.
cartridge case; and this action takes place by pivoting-round-the-first-lug-until-the-
second lug reaches its socket, when the final movement of the breech block acting
upon the cam end of the extractor makes this extractor pivot very rapidly round
the second lug, thus throwing out the already loosened cartridge case violently
rearwards through the hole or opening provided in the breech block.
The gun can either be fired by the last motion of the transverse movement of
the action block, or this action block can be closed without firing the gun, so that
in order to fire it I have to push or pull a separate trigger. This is done by means
of a catch in the shape of a bolt which acts upon a lug on the firing pin opposite
its head; this lug is bevelled off in order to act on a similarly bevelled off surface
on the catch or bolt. The bolt is held down by a spring, and when the bevelled
lug on the firing pin raises the catch or bolt, this spring brings it back to position,
and prevents the head of the firing pin from running down the helix groove.
Underneath the catch or bolt is a trigger which when turned in one direction
leaves room for the bolt to pass over it and thus the trigger has to be pushed up in
order to fire the gun but when the trigger is turned in the other direction the bolt
during the last portion of the transverse movement of the breech block is brought
in contact with the trigger and is raised by a slanting surface on the trigger until
the bolt releases the firing pin head and the shot is thus fired without pushing or
pulling the trigger for each shot. On the trigger is a key which holds it in the
position desired.
The improvement in gun carriages has for its object to lessen or take up the
recoil of the gun and can be adopted for naval as well as field carriages.
For this purpose I use a lever which at its upper end is forked shaped so as to
constitute the bearings for the trunnions.
As close up to this fork as practicable is a hole parallel with the centre line of
the trunnion bearings. A bolt through this hole has both its ends fitted into the
bearings which in case of the naval carriage are fixed on brackets or otherwise to
the bulwarks of the ship or other supports; and in the case of a field carriage this'
bolt can constitute the centre part of the axle itself, and has its bearings in the
plates of the trail.
The other end of the lever opposite to the above mentioned fork is either so
inade that it acts itself as a flat spring or else it is rigid and bears upon a support
spring, which can be either a flat spring or a volute buffer spring; the spring at
this opposite end of the lever bears in the case of the naval carriage against the

page_text: deck or bulwark or other rigid support, and in the case of the field carriage it
bears against a fixed support at or near the lower end of the trail.
The lever can either be straight all the way from the fork to the end which acts
upon the spring, or it can be bent at or near the above described hole so as to
follow the shape of a horizontal naval carriage or the shape of the trail of a field
carriage. When the gun is fired the recoil acts against the trunnion bearings on
the fork and thus causes the lever to pivot round the bolt or axle, and consequently
the other opposite end of the lever compresses the spring against its rigid support.
It will thus be seen by making the distance from the trunnion bearings to the bolt,
around which the lever pivots, very short, and the distance from this bolt to the
spring at the opposite end very long, the spring will only have to support a smaller
pressure than the actual recoil namely; a pressure diminished in proportion to the
different lengths of the lever above and below the bolt on which it pivots. As soon
as the gun is fired and the spring has been compressed the spring immediately
pushes the lever back against a stock on its other side, when the gun is again in the
same position as when it was fired; this arrangement enables me to allow a very
short recoil movement to the gun without too great a strain upon the gun carriage.
As the recoil moves the gun rearwards when fired along the are round the pivot
bolt I arrange my elevating gear as a parallel motion to prevent the gun from
throwing up its muzzle; this is done by putting a second lever on the abovo
mentioned pivot bolt or axle and extending this lever backwards and connect its
rear end with the gun by means of another fork or connecting rod, the length of
which should be the same as the distance beween the centre of the pivot bolt and
the centre of the trunnions. 1 can raise the second lever upon a horizontal
elevating screw, or I can attach a crank to this second lever which crank is acted
upon by guides on a horizontal elevating screw, or again I can attach this crank to
the nut on the horizontal elevating screw;-When the gun is fired its movement
during the recoil back wards will then be exactly parallel to what the centre of the
gun was before the shot was fired.

page_text: :
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Thorsten Nordenfelt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
17th June 1882.
THORSTEN NORDENFELT of 1 St. Swithin's Lane in the City of London.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH LOADING FIRE ARMS AND THEIR CARRIAGES."
The object of my Invention is to make a strong mechanism and carriage for a
quick firing gun.
At the rear end of a barrel I screw on a breech box or I extend the barrel itself
somewhat enlargened towards the rear so as to form breech box. Within this
.breech box I move a breech block to and fro in a transverse direction to the centre
line of the gun; the block can be tongued into corresponding grooves in the breech
box in order to increase the bearing surface.
In the breech block is held the firing pin in such a manner that when the block
is closed the firing pin is in a line with the centre line of the barrel, this firing pin
is driven forward by means of a flat spring fixed at one side of it or of a spiral
spring inserted round the firing pin. In order to move the breech block trans-
versely I push into the block-close-up-to-the-side-of-the-firing-pin-a-larger_bolt
which I call the action bolt and which has at its rear end one or more handles by
which it can be moved round. Between the handles and the action bolt proper I
have a certain number of teeth formed around the bolt like a segment of a pinion.
These teeth work into other teeth formed in the rear of the breech box which thus
form the rack. When the action bolt is turned by means of the handle the pinion
works in the rear and moves the breech block transversely to the one side until a
hole or open part of the breech block comes into line with the barrel chamber
when the extractor or extractors described later on throw out the empty fired
cartridge case and through which opening I insert by hand the fresh cartridge
which I am going to fire.
The firing pin is cocked by the following means :-
At the rear end of the firing pin I form a head which runs into a helix shaped or
diagonal groove in the action bolt; as the action bolt is turned this groove thus
moves the firing pin rearwards against the firing spring; when the action block is
again moved back the head of the firing pin is supported by the catch mentioned
below and runs in another groove which goes straight round the action bolt and
the firing pin is thus held back with the tiring spring compressed until the action
block is quite home, when a longitudinal groove in the action bolt allows the firing
pin head which has been released from the catch to be propelled forward by the
firing spring and to strike the percussion cap.
In order to extract the fired cartridge case I insert one or two extractors into
slots cut along the front of the action block. The extractor has on the one end a
hook which takes hold of the cartridge rim and at the other end a cam which is
acted upon by a transverse motion of the action block. When the cartridge is home
into the chamber the hook end of the extractor is pushed into the chamber by the
cartridge rin; the opposite cam end of the extractor standing out into the breech
block. At the back of the extractor are two semicircular lugs which fit into
corresponding sockets in the breech box.
After the shot has been fired and the breech block is drawn out it first acts with
a slow wedge motion on the back of the extractor with a view to loosen the
cartridge case and this action takes place by pivoting round the first lug until the
second lug reaches its socket, when the final movement of the breech block acting up-
on the cam end of the extractor makes this extractor pivot very rapidly round the

page_text: second lug thus throwing out the already loosened cartridge case violently rearwards
through the hole or opening provided in the breech block.
The gun can either be fired by the last motion of the transverse movement of
the action block, or this action block can be closed without firing the gun, so that
in order to fire it I have to push or pull a separate trigger. This is done by means
of a catch in the shape of a bolt which acts upon a lug on the firing pin opposite its
head;
this lug is bevelled off in order to act on a similarly bevelled off, surface on
the catch or bolt. The bolt is held down by a spring and when the bevelled lug
on the firing pin raises the catch or bolt, this spring brings it back to position and
prevents the head of the firing pin from running down the helix groove. Under-
neath the catch or bolt is a trigger which when turned in one direction leaves
room for the bolt to pass over it and thus the trigger has to be pushed up in order
to fire the gun, but when the trigger is turned in the other direction the bolt
during the last portion of the transverse movement of the breech block is brought
in contact with the trigger and is raised by a slanting surface on the trigger until
the bolt releases the firing pin head and the shot is thus fired without pushing or
pulling the trigger for each shot. On the trigger is a key which holds it in the
position desired.
The improvement in gun carriages has for its object to lessen or take up the
recoil of the gun and can be adopted for naval as well as field carriages.
For this purpose I use a lever which at its upper end is forked shaped so as to
constitute the bearings for the trunnions.
As close up to this fork as practicable is a hole parallel with the centre line of
the trunnion bearings. A bolt through this hole has both its ends fitted into the
bearings which in case of the naval carriage are fixed on brackets or otherwise to
the bulwarks of the ship or other supports; and in the case of a field carriage this
bolt can constitute the centre part of the axle itself and has its bearings in the
plates of the trail.
The other end of the lever opposite to the above mentioned fork is either so
made that it acts itself as a flat spring or else it is rigid and bears upon a support
spring, which can be either a flat spring or a volute buffer spring; the spring at
this opposite end of the lever bears in the case of the naval carriage against the
deck or bulwark or other rigid support and in the case of the field carriage it bears
against a fixed support at or near the lower end of the trail.
The lever can either be straight all the way from the fork to the end which acts
upon the spring, or it can be bent at or near the above described hole so as to
follow the shape of a horizontal naval carriage or the shape of the trail of a field
carriage. When the gun is fired the recoil acts against the trunnion bearings on
the fork and thus causes the lever to pivot round the bolt or axle and conse-
quently the other opposite end of the lever compresses the spring against its rigid
support. It will thus be seen by making the distance from the trunnion bearings
to the bolt around which the lever pivots very short and the distance from this
bolt to the spring at the opposite end very long, the spring will only have to
support a smaller pressure than the actual recoil namely; a pressure diminished
in proportion to the different lengths of the lever above and below the bolt on
which it pivots. As soon as the gun is fired and the spring has been compressed
the spring immediately pushes the lever back against a stop on its other side when
the gun is again in the same position as when it was fired; this arrangement
enables me to allow a very short recoil movement to the gun without too great a
strain upon the gun carriage. As the recoil moves the gun rearwards when fired
along the arc round the pivot bolt I arrange my elevating gear as a parallel motion
to prevent the gun from throwing up its muzzle; this is done by putting a second
lever on the above mentioned pivot bolt or axle and extending this lever backwards
and connect its rear end with the gun by means of another fork or connecting rod,
the length of which should be the same as the distance between the centre of the
pivot bolt and the centre of the trunnions. I can raise this second lever upon a
horizontal elevating screw or I can attach a crank to this second lever which

page_text: crank is acted upon by guides on a horizontal elevating screw or again I can
attach this crank to the nut on the horizontal elevating screw; when the gun is
fired its movement during the recoil backwards will then be exactly parallel to
what the centre of the gun was before the shot was fired.
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.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of the breech portion of a gun constructed according
to my Invention.
Figure 2 is a transverse section taken on the line A, B in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is an horizontal section, the breech being closed.
Figure is an horizontal section, the breech being open and Figure 5 is a rear
elevation.
a is the breech box and b is a breech block capable of sliding transversely
therein. c is the firing pin within the breech block and d a spring pressing it
forward. e is the action bolt inserted into the breech block and able to turn
therein. are the handles of the action bolt and e' an arc of teeth upon it.
ala are corresponding teeth upon the breech box. By this gear when the action
bolt is turned to open the breech the breech block is carried towards the left until
the_hole_or_opening ', in it is brought opposite to the bore; in closing the breech
the gear causes the breech block to be moved to the right until the firing pin is in
the axial line. c is a head or projection on the firing pin entering an inclined
groove e in the action bolt and by it when the action bolt is turned to open the
breech the firing pin is forced back. is a catch bolt which retains the firing pin
during the closing of the breech and e³ is a groove in the action bolt which then
contains the projection c¹. e is a groove in the action bolt which permits the
firing pin to fly forward and fire the charge when the breech is closed and when
the catch is moved out of the way. is the extractor, it is lodged in an hori-
zontal slot in the face of the breech block. is the hook by which the extractor
takes hold of the cartridge rim. kare projections upon the extractor which
are received into corresponding recesses in the breech face. These projections and
recesses ensure when the breech block slides along the breech face the extractor
shall receive a rolling motion. The back of the slot in which the extractor is
contained is so shaped as to control the motion of the extractor in a suitable
manner. is a spring pressing the catch bolt houtwards, the head of the firing
pin is inclined at c* and there is a corresponding incline upon the catch bolt at hx.
When the firing pin is forced back the catch bolt moves inwards to permit it to
pass and then immediately returns and retains it. m is a trigger of a bolt like
form, it operates by raising the catch pin bolt and liberating the firing pin. m³ is
a screw which retains the trigger bolt in its place its end entering an L shaped
groove in the bolt. The trigger bolt can thus if desired be thrust in and then
retained by turning it partly round. The end of the trigger bult then stands in
the path of the catch bolt and both being inclined it results that the catch bolt
is thrust inwards in the final movement of closing the breech; the firing is then
automatic.
Figure 6 shows the gun upon a field carriage made in accordance with my
Invention. This Figure is a side elevation.
Figure 7 is a rear elevation and Figure 8 is a plan..
a a are the wheels. bis the axle and c is the trail. d is a lever free to turn
upon the axle and forked at its upper end where are the bearings for the trunnions
of the gun. e is a spring by which the other end of the lever d is supported.
The spring e rests upon the trail beneath the gunners seat. f is a link with a
head at its upper end resting upon the spring and at its lower end it is forked and
jointed to the lever d. g is an arm free to turn upon the axle and adjustable for
aiming. is a hand sciew held in a collar jointed to the arm g and working

page_text: through a trunnion nut which is carried upon the trail. k is a link connecting
the arm g with the breech end of the gun.
Figure 9 is an elevation partly in section of the arrangement of carriage or gun
support adapted for use on ship board. Figure 10 is a rear elevation of the same.
Here the axis b is carried in a suitable fixed frame. d as before is the lever
carrying the gun, e is the spring, g is an arm upon the axle and h the aiming
screw. The aiming screw in this case works through a trunnion nut. The nut is
held in a fork having a stem entering a socket which is of a piece with the aiming
arm g. is the link connecting the aiming arm with the breech of the gun as in
Figures 6, 7 and 8.
Another arrangement is shown in Figure 11 here the aiming screw has right and
left threads; it works through two trunnion nuts one of which is held in stationary
bearings whilst the other is embraced by a fork on the lower armn of the two armed
bent lever g I.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the manner of
performing the same I would have it understood that I claim :-
First. The action bolt e of the gun operating the breech block and the firing
pin substantially as described.
Second. The combination of the breech block b and the extractor &, the sliding
movement of the breech block imparting a rolling motion to the extractor upon
the breech face substantially as described.
Third. The combination of the sliding breech block b containing the firing pin
and catch for retaining the same, with the trigger m capable of being set in the
path of the said catch so as to displace the same at the instant the breech is closed,
and thus automatically to discharge the gun substantially as described.
Fourth. My improved breech loading gun substantially as described.
Fifth. In a gun carriage, the parts a, b, c, d, e and f substantially as in Figure 6, 7
and 8.
Sixth. In a gun carriage, the parts a, b, c, d, g, h and substantially as in
Figures 6, 7 and 8.
Seventh. In a gun carriage suitable for use on ship board and otherwise the
parts bd and e substantially as in Figures 9 and 10.
Eighth. My improved gun carriages substantially as described and represented
in the annexed Drawings,
In witness whereof I the said Thorsten Nordenfelt have hereunto set my
hand and seal this Fifteenth day of June in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty-two.
THIN NORDENDELT
THE NORDENFELT
(L.S.)