GB308215A - Improvements in or relating to automatic firearms - Google Patents

Abstract

308,215. Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Co., (Assignees of Browning, J. E.). March 19, 1928, [Convention date]. Breech actions, sliding barrel and breechblock: cooling barrels; stocks. - The barrel 2, Fig. 2, with a barrel extension 20, and the breech-block 28, recoil together for a short distance, until a ledge 42 on the breech-block passes behind a locking shoulder 41 on the breech casing 3. While the barrel extension 20 recoils, its rear face 59 rocks an " accelerator " lever 55 in a counter-clockwise direction about its pivot 56 on the receiver 1; and when the breech-block is released from the shoulder 41, the lever 55 lifts the rear of the breech-block, thereby removing a lug 33 thereon from a locking shoulder 26 on the barrel extension, and the lever 55 then throws the breech-block backwards away from the barrel, thereby opening the breech. The lever 55 comes to rest against a stop on the barrel extension, and the rear face 59 of the barrel extension comes to rest against a shoulder on the lever 55. Meanwhile, the breech-block, which is connected by a flexible link 29 to a plunger 31 bearing on a spring 32, compresses that spring and completes its recoil movement, and is afterwards returned forward by the spring. As the breech-block nears the barrel, inclined surfaces 43, 44, on the breech casing and breech-block respectively, wedge the breech-block down bringing the lug 33 into locking engagement with the shoulder 26 again. The breech-block and barrel, thus again locked together, return to the forward firing position, the lever 55 at the same time completing its return clockwise movement under the influence of a lug 64 on the barrel extension; and the breechblock again becomes locked against upward movement bv the shoulder 41. Premature return of the barrel is prevented by a lever catch, which is deflected by the breech-block on its return movement and then allows the forward movement of the barrel. A handle 77 is provided on the breech-block. The firing pin 82, Fig. 37, is mounted with its spring 85 in the breech-block, and is cocked during the recoil by a lever 100. The firing pin is then held cocked by a sear 88, which is engaged by a notch in a link 108 pivoted to the trigger 9. The trigger is pulled for each shot, but the loading is automatic. The breechblock and the trigger can be locked by lugs 51, 52 of a safety lever 45. The barrel 2 is surrounded by a jacket 6 within a cover 5; vent holes 6a are provided and the stock 4 is attached by front and rear bands to the barrel and by bolts 105 to the receiver and the trigger plate and guard 104, 10. When the breech-block recoils, an extractor 78, Fig. 55, pivoted on the breech-block and controlled by a spring, withdraws the spent cartridge case from the barrel; and an ejector 132, pivoted on the receiver and deflected by a, cam 135 on the breech-block, throws the cartridge case out through a side opening. On the forward return of the breech-block, it loads the barrel chamber with a fresh cartridge from the magazine. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 (3) (a) also describes a magazine 11, Figs. 54 and 55 (Cancelled), which contains cartridges in staggered formation fed upwards by a follower 122 and a spring 123. A projection 122<a> on the follower maintains the lowest cartridge in its proper place; and a lug 122b on the follower lifts a spring plunger 137 on the back wall 116 of the magazine chamber when the magazine is empty. The plunger 137, when thus lifted, comes in front of the breech-block and holds the breech open until a fresh magazine is inserted. The magazine is held in place by a spring latch 124, which snaps into a notch 127 in the back wall of the magazine. The magazine is made of sheet metal, and its seam 140 is arranged internal'y along the back wall to form a stiff back and to hold the cartridges forward away from the lug 122b and plunger 137. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.