Charles Ragon de Bange Charles Ragon de Bange ( 1833 – 1914 ) , often simply called de Bange , was a Polytechnician and a French artillery colonel of the 19th century . He invented the first effective obturator system for breech - loading artillery . Its basic principle of functioning is still widely in use to this day . He also designed a system of field guns of various calibers which served the French Army well into World War I : the " Système de Bange " . Career . De Bange breech obturator system . Many attempts had been made at developing breech - loading cannons , but had only partial success sealing of the breech . When fired , hot gasses and burning gunpowder could escape , losing power and potentially burning the operating crew . Rifles , with smaller loads and less stress , were able to use rubber or other materials in O - rings , but a suitable system for cannons was not as easy to come by . Several materials were able to hold the pressure and heat of cannon fire , but did not naturally expand like rubber , thereby failing to provide a tight seal . In 1872 , de Bange designed the " De Bange system " , a new type of obturator for cannons . His design used a breech block made of three parts ; an interrupted screw locking mechanism at the rear , a doughnut - shaped grease - impregnated asbestos pad that sealed the breech , and a rounded movable " nose cone " at the front . When fired , the nose was driven rearward , compressing the asbestos pad , squeezing it so it expanded outward to seal the breech . The French referred to the shape of the breech ' s nose as " mushroom like " , as it resembled the cap of a mushroom . The action was controlled by a handle , normally mounted vertically on the right side of the breech . When lifted , the handle operated a cam that forced the breech to rotate counter - clockwise , unlocking the interrupted thread . The entire breech was then pulled rearward with the same handle , sliding on a ring - shaped holder . The breech holder was hinged on one side , normally the left , so when the breech block was slid all the way to the rear it could be rotated out of the way for loading . The de Bange system was widely adopted , including by the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy . The technique developed by de Bange is still in use today . The only major advance on the original de Bange system was the introduction of the stepped screw in the Welin breech block of 1889 , which greatly increased the load - bearing surface of the breech , allowing them to be made shorter , simpler , more secure and faster to operate . Other block mechanisms are also used , but the de Bange obturator remains widespread even on these . Manufacture of cannons . In 1873 , de Bange became Director of the " Atelier - de - précision " in the Central Depot in Paris ( Paris arsenal ' s precision workshop ) , in order to redesign French light and heavy artillery . Between 1877 to 1881 , De bange developed several artillery pieces , such as the De Bange 90 mm cannon ( field artillery , 1877 ) , the De Bange 80 mm cannon ( mountain artillery , 1878 ) , the De Bange 120 mm cannon ( siege artillery , 1878 ) , De Bange 155 mm cannon ( siege artillery , 1877 ) , as well as mortars for siege warfare , such as the 1880 De Bange 220 mm mortar , and coastal batteries such as the De Bange 240 mm and De Bange 270 mm . Several of these weapons were used during the colonial wars of the end of the 19th century , during the First World War and also sometimes during the Second World War . As with other cannons , the de Bange cannons had the disadvantage of being slow to fire , as they were affected by recoil , and thus had to be re - aimed after every shot . This inconvenience would be solved with the onset of the famous recoilless Canon de 75 . From 1882 to 1889 , de Bange was Director of the Cail Manufacturing Corporation ( " Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Cail " ) , the forerunner of the " Société française de constructions mécaniques " , where he worked on weapon design and trade , selling guns to such countries as Serbia . A street is named after him ( " Rue du Colonel de Bange " ) in the city of Versailles .