Ix. PROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND ORDNANCE, AND IN PROJECTILES AND APPARA- TUSES TO BE EMPLOYED THEREWITH
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Archibald Brooman, of 166, Fleet Street.
in the City of London, E.C., Patent Agent, for the Invention of "Ix.
PROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND ORDNANCE, AND IN PROJECTILES AND APPARA-
TUSES TO BE EMPLOYED THEREWITH."-A communication from Charles
Rochaz, residing at Paris..
Sealed the 22nd September 1859, and dated the 22nd March 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Archibald Brooman
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd March 1859.
T. RICHARD ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, E.C., Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND ORDNANCE, AND IN PROJECTILES
AND APPARATUSES TO BE EMPLOYED THEREWITH," (communicated to me by Charles
Kochaz, residing at Paris), to be as follows:-
This Invention consists, in the first place, in forming and fitting breech-
loading small arms as follows:-The breech end of the barrel is cut off truly
plane at right angles to the axis, and a moveable breech piece attached by
screws to one arm of a lever fits accurately against it. The lever is pivoted on
a pin supported by a projecting piece formed on or attached to the underside
of the barrel, and the other arm of the lever is firmly held when the breech
piece is in place by a stop or catch in the stock. The breech piece is forced
tightly against the end of the barrel bya pressure screw or by pressure screws.
The cock is pivoted on the same axis as the lever,and the end of the projecting

page_text: piece is formed eccentric, in order that the lower end of a spring which is
attached at its upper end to the head of the cock, may be so acted upon as to
force the cock sharply against a needle, pin, or percussion cap, when the arm
is to be discharged by a suitable trigger. In some cases cartridges are to be
used with a fulminating priming, in which case the said priming is to be
discharged by means of a pin or needle fitted in a hole of two different
diameters in the breech piece,and furnished with a spring to withdraw it after
it has been struck by the cock. When ordinary cartridges and percussion
caps are to be used a small discharging tube for carrying the cap is fitted
permanently in the breech piece. This tube projects both behind and before
the breech piece, behind to receive the cap, and before in order that when the
breech piece is forced forward by the lever, the end of the tube may penetrate
the cartridge case, and carry the fire to its interior. If the contact between
the breech piece and the end of the barrel should not be considered sufficiently
perfect of itself an elastic ring or washer may be interposed between them.
The Invention further consists in forming a bullet with a recess at the rear
end, filled with a fulminating mixture, which will answer the end of the
ordinary gunpowder charge, and do away with the employment of cartridges.
The Invention also includes the application of the essential features of
the breech-loading apparatus before described to revolvers, by forming the
projecting piece before named upon the case containing the revolving
chambers, fitting a cock to it, as already explained, and dispensing with
the movable breech piece and lever.
The Invention also consists in forming and fitting cannon in the manuer
before explained in relation to small arms, in so far as the fitting of the breech
piece to the plane end of the barrel is concerned, but in the case of cannon
the breech piece is to slide up and down against and not to be moved
bodily away from the end of the barrel. Motion is to be imparted to it by
means of rods and levers acting by means of a fulcrum, or of fulcra attached
to the cannon itself.
The Invention further consists in forming projectiles to be fired from
rifled small arms or cannon with wooden projecting plugs, either let
partially into or passing entirely through the projectile.
The Invention further consists in forming a non-recoil carriage for guns
with a single pivot on its upper part to support the gun, and with pairs of
legs or standards, of unequal length, which sustain the weight of the gun
at the time of discharge, the wheels being then off the ground, and which
are turned up so as to let the wheels come down upon the ground when
the gun has to be transported.

page_text: Finally, the Invention consists in forming a rod with spring arms inclined
in opposite directions, for the purpose of cleaning out the bore and the grooves
of breech-loading cannon.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Archibald Brooman in the Great Scal Patent Office
on the 22nd September 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ARCHIBALD BROOMAN, of 166, Fleet Street, in the City of London, E.C.,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine,in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Richard Archibald Brooman, Her special licence that I,the said Richard
Archibald Brooman, myexecutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as 1. the said Richard Archibald Brooman, 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, withinthe United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS AND ORDNANCE, AND IN PROJECTILES AND
APPARATUSES TO BE EMPLOYED THEREWITH," (communicated to me by Charles
Rochaz, residing at Paris,) upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Richard Archibald Brooman,my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly 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 Richard Archibald Brooman, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:—
This Invention consists, in the first place, in forming and fitting breech-
loading small arms as follows:-The breech end of the barrel is cut off truly

page_text: screws.
plane at right angles to the axis, and a moveable breech piece attached by
screws to one arm of a lever fits accurately against it. The lever is pivoted
on a pin supported by a projecting piece formed on or attached to the under
side of the barrel, and the other arm of the lever is firmly held when the
breech piece is in place by a stop or catch in the stock. The breech piece is
forced tightly against the end of the barrel by a pressure screw, or by pressure
The cock is pivoted on the same axis as the lever, and the end of
the projecting pieceis formedeccentric, in order that the lower end of a spring
which is attached at its upper end to the head of the cock may be so acted
upon as to force the cock sharplyagainst a needle,pin,or percussion cap when
the aim is to be discharged by a suitable trigger. In some cases cartridges
are to be used with a fulminating priming, in which cases the said priming is
to be discharged by means of a pin or needle fitted in a hole of two different
diameters in the breech piece, and furnished with a springto withdraw it after
it has been struck by the cock. When ordinary cartridges and percussion
caps are to be used, a small discharging tube for carrying the cap is fitted
permanently in the breech piece. This tube projects both behind and before
the breech piece, behind to receive the cap, and before in order that when
the breech piece is forced forward by the lever, the end of the tube may
penetrate the cartridge case and carry the fire to its intérior. If the contact
between the breech piece and the end of the barrel should not be considered
sufficiently perfect of itself, an elastic ring or washer may be interposed
between them.
The Invention further consists in forming a bullet with a recess at the rear
end filled with a fulminating mixture, which will answer the end of the
ordinary gunpowder charge, and do away with the employment of cartridges.
The Invention also includes the application of the essential features of the
breech-loading apparatus before described to revolvers, by forming the pro-
jecting piece, before named, upon the case containing the revolving chambors,
fitting a cock to it, as already explained, and dispensing with the moveable
breech piece and lever
The Juvention also consists in forming and fitting cannon in the manner
before explained in relation to small arins,in so far as the fitting of the breech
piece to the plane end of the barrel is concerned; but in the case of cannon
the breech piece is to slide up and down against, and not to be moved bodily
away from the end of the barrel. Motion is to be imparted to it by means of
rods and levers acting by means of a fulcrum, or of fulcra attached to the
cannon itself.
'The Invention further consists in forming projectiles to be fired from rifled

page_text: small arms or cannon with wooden projecting plugs, either let partially
into or passing entirely through the projectile.
The Invention further consists in forming a non-recoil carriage for guns
with a single pivot on its upper part to support the gun, and with pairs of
legs or standards of unequal length, which sustain the weight of the gun
at the time of discharge, the wheels being then off the ground, and which
are turned up so as to let the wheels come down upon the ground when
the gun has to be transported.
Finally, the Invention consists in forming a rod with spring arms inclined
in opposite directions, for the purpose of cleaning out the bore and the
grooves of breech-loading cannon.
The accompanying Drawings illustrate the manner in which this Invention
is carried into effert.
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 9 shew the system as applied to breech-loading
small arms and projectiles, and cartridges for the same. a is the birrel of an
arm, which is fixed or jointed to a projecting piece or heel 6, the back part
or end of which forms a sort of hook; c is the cock attached to the pro-
jecting piece b, and free to turn round the point ; m is the trigger fitted
to the end of the piece b. The cock c carries a spring e, terminated at its
lower part by a roller f, and held at its upper part by a pressure screw g,
which serves to vary at will the tension of the spring. According as the cock
is raised or not the roller takes into or disengages itself from the hook
formed on the end of the projecting piece. It follows, that as soon as the
trigger is pulled, the roller f will be pushed back from the hook in the pro-
jecting piece, and will canse the cock to strike on the piston of the breech
piece, which in its turn strikes on the cartridge and produces the explosion.
The piston a' moves in a hole of two different diameters formed in the centro
of the breech, and is held by a spring b', which yields the moment the button
of the piston is struck by the lammer. The breech piece is of the shape
shown at Figure 2, and is held by means of screwed bolts k, k, to a piece l,
which is pivoted to the axis d. This piece consists of a forked lever
terminated on one side by two jaws, each of which carries an eye through
which the bolt & passes, and is traversed by a pressure screw ¹, which acts on
the breech piece. 'The other breech of the lever k is furnished with a bolt, nut
away at the corners, which takes into a stop placed in the stock of the arm.
By means of these two screws and the bolt, an equal pressure is obtained on
the whole surface at the breech of the arm. The barrel and the stock of the
arm are held and the mechanism is covered by two plates (not shewn in
the Drawing, in order to illustrate the working parts more clearly).

page_text: Figure 6 is a view of a cartridge the Inventor employs in connection with
this Invention. A washer of card or other suitable material, having a hole in
its centre, is placed at the end of the cartridge which contains some fulminating
priming. To fire with cartridges constructed in the ordinary manner, the
Inventor makes use of a nipple or touch-hole, as shewn at Figure 5, which is
fitted or screwed into the breech piece, and projects before and behind the
breech piece, as shown in the Drawing, and as has been fully described in
the former part of this Specification.
:
Figure 9 shews a bullet with a recess formed at its rear end, which is fitled
with a fulminating mixture, as shown, to answer the purpose of ordinary
cartridges. This mixture is introduced into the cavity in a pasty state, and
when dry it is covered with a fulminating priming. A space is left betweon
the charge and the paper or skin that covers the priming and the base of the
ball, in order to keep the charge dry, and to prevent friction whilst the ball is
handled. The sides of the ball may, if desired, be hollowed out in order to
contain some lubricating material. The ball just described will be found
particularly useful in the two-chamber revolver, the working parts of which
are shown at Figure 4. The frame which holds the two chambers on the
spindle a terminates at its rear end in a projecting piece, which has been
already described with reference to Figure 1. It also carries a hammer, a
trigger, and a trigger guard. The hammer is fitted with a spring at its back
part, and has a slit or aperture formed at its upper end for the reception and
play of the needle it, the head of which is in the form of a T, which takes into
the slit lengthwise, in order to keep the needle in a straight line whilst the
hammer moves. A spring which is inserted in the frame carries an car, which
is held by the breech during the rotation of the cylinder, and which falls into
a notch in the breech as soon as the revolving chamber is level with that of
the barrel. The ball for this revolver instead of having a flange or projection
at its base, is better if it be bevilled off at that part, in order to facilitato its
insertion in the cylinder. With this arm the firing can be very rapid and
continuous, with the additional advantage of being able to take a deliberate
aim, and not compelled to fire the arm so soon as the revolving chamber
comes opposite the bore. It will be seen, that this arrangement of mechanism
for a revolver is equally applicable to a sporting gun or musket; it has too,
the advantage of being able to be loaded without the person who fires altering
his position for a moment.
Figure 15 is a view of a scraper having tempered elastic steel spring
branches or projections to unlead or clean the barrel of a rifled arm fitted
with a movable breech constructed according to this Invention. Figure 21.is

page_text: a view of a hammer or cock of a gun provided with a spring 62 held by one
end to the tumbler in a notch. When the hammer is cocked, this spring
presses against the head of the trigger c², which has a projection formed on
it, so that as soon as the trigger is pulled the string is released. The
hammer is brought back by means of a branch of the trigger, the forked
extremity d² of which receives the end of the tumbler.
Figures 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 16, show the different parts constituting
the improvementsin ordnance projectiles and apparatuses connected therewith,
constructed according to this Invention. The back or rear end of the cannonm
is hollowed out, as shewn in the Drawing, and receives the mechanism which
produces the required movements of the breech piece (1); this breech piece
slides freely in a groove, which allows it to be raised or lowered according to
the action of a lever; when it is raised it is held there by two pressure
screws, the head of one of which is shewn with an opening for the reception
of a lever or key, but to which a fixed handle can be fitted. The breech piece
has a touch-hole or passage (5) formed in its centre, which is screwed or
otherwise fitted in, and the lower part of the breech piece is intended to
receive all the appliances suitable forworking the hammer or cock; the piece
s closed by introducing a handle or lever n¹ into an eye (6) formed in the
bar (3), the action of which raises the breech piece; it descends by its own
weight when the pressure screws are unscrewed, and thus opens the rear
end of the cannon and allows the charge to be inserted. This arrangement
can be varied, if desired, and that for example shewn at Figure 16 can be
adopted, in which the handle n¹ is pivoted at one of its extremities o¹, and
is held by a rod (7) fixed to the breech (1). The handle slides under a
roller p', to render its action as easy as possible. All the appliances in con-
nection with the breech piece can be easily detached therefrom, and as easily
replaced when required to be used. In order to facilitate the means for
taking aim and firing in all directions, and to avoid the inconvenience attending
the recoil of the gun, the Inventor adopts the following arrangement for gun
carriages:-The spring, Figures 13 and 14, receives the trunnion of the
piece, which rests on a pivot (8), which is fixed below the spring, and which is
intended to facilitate the pointing in a horizontal direction by almost doing
away with friction. The spring, Figure 12, has four supports, q', attached to
it, and held by cross pieces r³, thus forming two frames, which are pivoted on
the spring, and are independent one of the other. The length of the shortest
of these frames is longer than that of the diameter of the wheels s¹. When
the gun moves these frames are held and stayed, the one to the other, and are
drawn up to two eyes, as is now done with gun carriages constructed in the

page_text: ordinary manner. When the gut and carriage are in position for firing, the
frames are so adjusted that the recoil of the gun, when the explosion takes
place, is prevented. To accomplish this the frames are spread out for a certain
distance by raising the longest leg, and are kept in this position by rods or
bars that support the upper cross pieces. By these means the wheels are.
raised from the ground and supported by the frame just described. The
movable carriage which is shewn at Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14, is not drawn
to any particular scale, the Figures merely shewing the general principle as
applied to gun carriages, for example, the legs of the frame on the side of the
breech can, if desired, be made longer than they are shewn in proportion in
the Drawing, and can have a hole or holes formed at their lower part for the
admission of a rod or iron bar, which is driven into the ground to still
further prevent the possibility of any recoil.
;
The projectile which the Inventor prefers to employ in connection with the
cannon before described, is conical at one end, having wooden projections
placed as near as possible to that part where the cone cominences. For this
purpose the projectile is cast round a piece of wood, the ends of which form
the required projections. A projectile of this description is shown at Figure §.
These projections or protuberances », give to the projectile the required
rotary motion, and at the same time afford protection to the bore of the
piece.
Figure 17 is a view of another form of projectile, being a modification of
the one just described. It is made hollow at its rear end, and is shown for a
cannon with four grooves; its side is hollowed out in such manner as to receive
the plate or wooden washer shown at Figure 18, the extremities, a², a², a²,a²,
of which fit into the four grooves of the piece. The width of the grooves of
the projectile is intended to facilitate the separation of the washer from the
projectile, which takes place as soon as it leaves the piece, and the depth of the
groove at its rear end acts as a guide to the projectile, similar to the feathers
on an arrow. If it is not considered advisable to leave the projectile hollow
at its rear end, the space can be filled with wadding, or any other suitable
material. The arrangement just described is particularly applicable to a
projectile of the shape shown at Figure 19. It consists of a cylinder, hollow
from one end to the other, and grooved at any suitable part to receive the
plate or washer before described. The cutaway part at the front of the pro-
jectile can, if desired, have a screw thread formed round it to increase its
power of penetration, and the interior diameter of the front part, as far as the
washer extends, is a little less than the back part, in order to afford a support
to the whole of the circumference of the plate when the explosion takes place.

page_text: This arrangement of wooden projections is applicable to all cylindrical pro-
jectiles, whether they be solid or hollow. Figure 20 shows the Invention
applied to a hollow projectile, the passages for the admission of fire to explode
the samo are placed at the rear of the cone on a projection which prevents
them from coming in contact with the bore of the cannon.
It will be seen
that so soon as the conical part (1) has penetrated a certain distance the
priming or fuse touches the powder (2) and causes the explosion.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim,-
.
First. the construction of breech-loading small arms as herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Second, the employment of cartridges with a fulminating priming, which
is discharged by means of a pin or needle fitted in a hole of two different
diameters, as herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying
Drawings.
Third, the forming of a bullet to answer the purpose of an ordinary
bullet and cartridge, as herein-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings.
Fourth, the application of the foregoing improvements in small arms to
revolving. fire-arms, as herein-before described and illustrated in the
accompanying Drawings.
Fifth, the construction of breech-loading cannons, as herein-before
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Sixth, the construction of a non-recoil carriage for cannons, in the manner
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
Seventh, the forming of projectiles for rifled small arms or cannons with
wooden projecting plugs either let partially into or passing entirely through
the projectile, as herein-before described and illustrated in the accompany-
ing Drawings.
And last, the construction of a rod with spring arms for the purpose of
cleaning out the bore and grooves of breech-loading cannon, in the manner
herein-before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Archibald Brooman have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of September
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
R. A. BROOMAN. (L.S.)