US1359425A - Bomb-thrower and bomb to be thrown thereby - Google Patents

Description

E. PIE'RSANTELLI.

BOMB THROWER AND BOMB TO BE THROWN THEREBY.

IIIIIIIIIII '4 'IIIIIIIIIII APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8,1918.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

2 SH [TS-SHEET l- E. PIERSANTELLI. BOMB THROWER AND BOMB TO BE THROWN THEREBY APPLICATION- man JUNE 8. 191a. 1,359,425. Patented NOV. 16, 1920.

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EMILIO PIERSANTELLI, OF TURIN, ITALY.

BOMB-THROWER AND BOMB TO BE THROWN THEREBY.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, EMILIO PIERSANTELLI, a subject of the King of Italy, residing. at Turin, Italy, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bomb-Throwers and Bombs to be Thrown Thereby; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

and exact description of the invention,

clear, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which forma part of this specification.

This invention has for its object to provide an improved bomb thrower designed to be used instead of a rifle, and also an improved bomb designed to be thrown by the said improved bomb thrower.

Some constructional forms of the im proved bombthrower and of the bombs used therewith are illustrated by way. of example in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a side view and a plan of a first example of the improved bomb thrower with automatic cocking mechanism ;-Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a slightly modified form of the said bomb thrower ;:Figs. 4mm 5 are longitudinal sections of the automatic cocking mechanism and of the mechanism for releasing the striker, employed; in the forms of the im- 'proved bomb throwers shown respectively in Figs. 1 and 3;'-Fig. 6'is a longitudinal section of a second example of the improved bomb thrower in which the cooking mechanism is entirely mechanical and designed to be operated by'hand;-Figs. 7 and 8 show the cooking and releasing mechanism employed in the form shown in Fig. 6 in two difierent positions of operation ;Figs. 9, l0 and 11 illustrate the improved bomb. respectively in longitudinal section, side view and rear end view ;Fig. 12 illustrates a detail ;Fig. 13 shows in detail a modification in'the socket of the bomb.

A bomb thrower in accordance with the present invention (Figs. lto 3) comprises.

substantially a stock 1 preferably of wood to the front end of which is fixed the barrel 2, and which ends rearwardly in a crescentshaped butt 3, the ends of the crescent being pr erferably provided with sharp iron points 4.

he ceive the socket with which the bomb isprovided; the said socket has an extension debarrel 2 is of suitable diameter to resigned to receive the cartridge for throwing the bomb as well as for actuating the time fuse of the bomb. Generally, the cartridge employed for this purposeis the usual rifle cartridge. Inside the barrel there is mount- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented N 16, 1920, 7 Application filed June s, 1918. Serial No. 238,827.

ed a striker 5 capable of sliding axially,

(Fig. 2) and designed to act upon the percussion cap of the cartridge. This striker 5 is projected into its operative position by a suitable spring contained in the rear portion of the barrel 2, and in the constructional examples of the bomb throwers shown in Figs. 1 to 5 said striker is cooked the first.

time by hand and afterward automatically by the action of the gases generated by the ignition of the cartridge charge; these gases then effect the throwing of the bomb. The said striker may also be arranged to be cooked each time by hand and in such a case, suitable, cocking means must be provided that are capable of being operated by hand, as is the case in the bomb thrower shown in -Figs. 6, 7, 8 and hereinafter described. The

release of the striker is effected by any suitable mechanism, for instance by means of;

the rotary trigger 6 the several arms of which are operated successively by the operator.

Figs. 4c and 5 of the accompanyingdrawings show in detail two constructions of the automatic mechanism for cocking the striker as it is applied to the forms of bomb throwers shown in Figs. 1 and 3 respectively.

In the first of these examples (Fig.4), the barrel 2 is screwed onto a screw-threaded sleeve 2' fixed to the end of the stock 1. The striker5 is slidably guided by means of the piston-shaped head 5 which extends rearward and ends in the engaging cone 5 The spring 8 is guided inside the sleeve 9 which is fixed to the striker, and surrounding a rod 10 screwed to the sleeve 2. Said spring has a constant tendency to push the of the barrel into which it enterswith its beveled head. The return of the'catch 11, for the purpose of effecting the release of the striker, is produced by means of the wedge-shaped bolt 13 which is mounted so as to be capable of sliding longitudinally in the spring 15 and is controlled by the rod 14 which is jointed'thereto and which extends longitudinally inside the sheath 7 along the lower part of the barrel 2 and the stock 1. Said rod is pivoted by means of an eye to an arm of a .lever 16 which bears normally against a screw-adjusted stop 17. The other arm of the lever 16 is adapted to engage with the arms of the rotary trigger 6 which is capable of'rotating in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 4) and. is prevented from rotating in the opposite direction by the elastic pawl 18 that engages the teeth of a ratchet wheel 19 fixed to the rotary trigger.

- The bomb 24 may be of any suitable construction. Its characteristic feature consistsin a socket 22 provided atthe rear designed to be slipped into the barrel 2 and to fit therein tightly by means of the an? nular packing 22 with which it is provided. The socket 22 is hollow and is pro-- vided with a projection in the form of a sleeve 21 in which the cartridge 20 is placed.

This sleeve is fixed to the socket 22' by means of the .end 21 which is suitably perforated so as to establish communication between the interior of the socket 22 and the interior of. the barrel 2. The bottom of the cavity of the socket 22 contains the percussion cap 23 for igniting the time fuse 1 of the explosive charge of the bomb.

The whole of the bomb has preferably the form shown in Figs. 9 to 11'. By this form the connection of the sleeve 21 to the hollow socket 22 is effected preferably (Fig. 11) by means of three thin arms 21 preferably of wedge-shaped cross section, so that the gases of combustion of the cartridge charge can. pass freely from the cavity of the socket into the bore of the barrel 2.

A -The upper end of'the socket is screw-- threaded at 22 It is to this screw-threaded portionthat the bomb proper 24 is connected by screwing, so that the latter can be changed easily and quickly or replaced by another bomb when required.

terminate in a detonator 24 in the case The bomb 24 may of itself be of any type and size; it contains at least (Fig. 9) the explosive charge 24*" and the time fuse 24 which is fixedtothediaphragm 24. The fuse terminates outwardly in a defiagrating head situated facing the percussioncap 23 that is intended to be exploded by the action of the bullet of the cartridge 20 which strikes it and which is adapted to be fitted V 'in the orifice in the end of the socket 22 .wherein the percussion cap 23 is itself mounted. At its inner end the fuse 24 may ciently assured by the packings 22. However, if for any reason it should be necessary to have a more effective tight-jointing, recourse may be had to the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 13. In this arrangement the socket 22 is provided with a ring of springs 40 fixed at one end to a collar 40 and mounted like the latter in a recess in the socket 22. When the socket is inserted into the bore of the barrel, these springs 40' bear againstthe latter and thus provide an extremely effective jointing. The collar 40 with its springs 40' may be formed as shown in Fig. 12 bybeing cut out from one piece which is then fixed by beading or folding over on the socket 22;

In theconstructiOnal example illustrated in Fig. 5, the mechanism for engaging the whole of thestriker is situated centrally and consists of three spring hooks 25 fixed to the block 27 which is fixed in its turn to the sleeve 2. These hooks 25 are inclosed in the sleeve 9 upon which there is mounted thespring 8 that acts upon the whole of the striker. In this arrangement the cone 5", serving to effect th striker when the latter is pus ed to the rear, is sufiiciently small to pass between the teeth 25' of the hooks 25 which will be temporarily moved apart, whereupon the cone 5' will be held between the teeth 25 and will hold the striker in its cocked position. The release of thestriker is produced in this arrangementvery similarly to that. in the conical member 26. This member 26 by acting upon the central ortion of the spring hooks 25, moves theatter apart and thus produces the disengagement of the teeth 25' from the cone 5 The manner in which the improved bomb thrower according to the exampleshown in Figs. 1 to 5 is to be employed and in which it operates is as follows g The striker is'cocked by hishing it down into the cooked position, this being done by the use of for instance a rod inserted through the barrel 2 until it comes into contact with the striker head 5. The bomb,

rovided with the cartridge 20 as shown in ig. 4 is then mounted on thebarrel'2 by inserting the socket 22 into the bore of the barrel. The weapon can then be fired either by the operator placing the same against his shoulder in the same way as in the case of an ordinary rifie, or by holding enga ement of the .ploding,

sion cap 23 and produce the ignition of the.

it in both hands, or by resting it with its points 4 upon the ground and aiming it at the desired angle. On the cartridge exthe bullet will strike the percus-' time fuse of the explosive charge of the bomb, while the gases of the cartridge charge will act upon the inner end of the cavity of the socket 22 and'upon the diaphragm 2", and passing throughthe central hole in the latter and throughthe additional holes 2, will act upon the piston 5. Thus the said gases produce on the one hand the throwing of the bomb and on the other hand they cause the recoil of the whole of the striker which is thereby returned into the cocked position by engaging with the holding means constituted by the catch 11, or by the teeth 25' of the springs 25 according as to whether the bomb thrower is of the type illustrated in Fig. 4:

y or that illustrated in Fig. 5. The recoil of the whole of the striker is limited by the fact that the said whole will strike either against the rod 10 (Fig. l) or against the mouth 10 of the sleeve 9 (Fig. 5)'. In both cases the striker is cooked automatically and when another bomb is to be thrown, it is merely necessary to insert the latter into the barrel 2 and to voperate anew the trigger 6.

The improved bomb thrower according to the second example shown in Figs. 6 to 8, comprises as usual the stock 1 preferably of wood, to the front end\of which the barrel 2 of the weapon is fixed by screwing on the sleeve 2. The rearpart of the stock is preferably straight and ending in a sharp point t which may serve as a support in the ground; it is preferably fixed in a removable manner by screwing on the stock 1 and serves as a plug for closing the recess 1, that is intended to serve as a container for any accessories for the weapon.

The striker 5 extending through the diaphragm 2" of the barrel, is slidably mounted by means of its enlarged rear part 5'.in the part of smallest diameter 2 of the barrel, while by means of its rod 5 -slidably mounted in a suitable longitudinal hole in the stock 1, it is connected to the cooking and releasing" mechanism hereinafter described. A coiled spring 8 is provided in side the part of smallest diameter 2 of the barreland bears at one end against the part 5' of the striker and at its other end in the mortise 2 in the end of the sleeve 2. This spring serves to push the striker proper into its'operative position.

The cooking and releasing mechanism which is adapted to be operated by hand is arranged in the box 30 fitted in a suitable mortise provided near the middle of the stock 1, and is fixed therein by any suitable means, for instance by screws 31. This mechanism consists of two levers 32, 33 ful- By means of a suitablecoupling, the lever- 33 is positively connected to the lever 32 only when it rocks in a determined direction. This coupling may be constituted for instance. by providing the lever 33 with a nose 33 which by the action of a leaf spring 35 fixed to the lever 32, fits in a lateral recess in the said lever 32. By this arrangement the lever 33 is able to operate the lever 32 in the direction of rotation necessary for exerting a pull upon the rod 5*, whereas it is free to rotate in the opposite direction without actuating the lever 32 in opposition tothe elastic resistance of the leaf spring 35.

The lever 33 is further provided with 30 and projects to the outside in the form of a finger-piece 6 adapted to be operated by the hand of the marksman. Its other end inside the box 30 terminates in a tooth 6' designed to engage the tooth 33 of the lever 33. The operating lever has a constant tendency to be moved in the direction of the arrow a (Fig. 6) by elastic means which may consist for instance of a coiled spring 37 fixed at one end to the box 30 and bearing with its other end against the operating lever.

The operation of the above described bomb thrower according to the second example and having a cooking destined to be operated by hand, is as follows 2- On the marksman pressing with his hand upon the finger-piece 6 in such a manner as to cause it to turn in the direction of the arrow b (Fig. 6), the tooth 6 will press against the tooth 33" of the lever 33 and will cause the latter to turn, and by means of its nose 33 to move with it the lever 32, and thereby exert a pull upon the rod 5 of the striker, the result being to compress the spring 8. As soon as the position shown in Fig. 7 has been reached, the tooth 6 will become disengaged from the tooth 33, so that the levers 32 and 33 as a whole will be released to the rear by the action of the spring 8 which has been previously stressed, while the striker 5 is violently impelled and strikes '(Fig. 9) the percussion cap of the cartridge 20 mounted in the sleeve 21 of the socket-22 with which the bomb 24 is provided, thereby effecting the throwing of the said bomb. To restore the weapon int-o condition to repeat the above described working, it is merely necessary to let go the finger-piece 6. Then the latter under the action of the spring 37 moves back again and acting with the back of its tooth 6 upon the back of the tooth 33", it causes the lever 33 to rock as shown in Fig. 8 until after having moved past thetooth 33", the said lever 33 will be returned by the spring 35 in the direction of the arrow Fig. 8 into the position shown in Fig. 6 whereln its tooth 33" can be actuated anew by thetooth 6 on the subsequent operation of the .fingerpiece 6, and so on.

By means of the above described mechanism the cocking of the weapon is thus effected by hand a few -instants before it is released, and by'means of the same member that effects the release. In the second example of bomb thrower therefore, the gases generated by the explosion of the cartridge charge have no function beyond that of throwing the bomb.

The improved bomb thrower owing to the simplicity of its construction is cheap to make, while its throwing efficiency is much greater than that which can be obtainedwith the ordinary rifle with which it can be compared as regards ease oftransport and use. istic feature consists in that it uses the ordinary rifle cartridges, while the bomb by reason of its special construction which ren-' ders it capable of being thrown with the improved bomb thrower, is absolutely devoid of risk before being thrown, whether it be fitted with a cartridge or not, this feature being very advantageous bothas regards transport and handling.

Although the weapon forming the subject of the present invention is more particularly designed for throwing bombs, it'is however to be understood that the said weapon may be used also for throwing any object or casin screwed on the screw-threaded end 22" o the socket 22 (Fig. 9) in place of the bomb proper.

The hereinabove described weapon is pro 'vided preferably either with a bayonet permanently fixed thereon and. adapted to be folded back into an inoperative position when it is not required for use, or with a fasteningdevice for the attachment of the usual bayonet.

The -hereinbefore described weapon, especially when provided with a bayonet, is a full and advantageous substitute for the usual rifle in modern combats. This weapon has in fact all the characteristics'of a portable weapon andconsequently of a weapon of assault either for attacking or for giving very intensive fire by bombing. The rifle which has become henceforth a weapon having over sufficient ballistic properties, and

at the same'time insufficient as regards quantity and efliciency of fire, maybe replaced to advantage by the present improved weapon which is much more simple, cheaper and comprises iii itself the necessary qualities for throwing the present infantry projectile, that is to say, the bomb that has hithereto Another rather important character-.

ner the problem of throwing the bomb, while all the experiments made hitherto in this direction have been directed toward'the possibility ofconverting the usual rifle into a bomb thrower, and have encountered the difficulty of having the cartridge, that is to say, the charge for throwing the bomb, separated from theactual bomb by an obstacle such as the barrel of the rifle, so that it was not possible to utilize the whole efficiency of the cartridge, that is to say, of the charge and ofthe bullet. Now on the contrary in a weapon according to the present invention the striker and the cartridge have been'transferred substantially from the rear portion to the muzzle of the weapon in such a manner that the cartridge being freed from the obstacle that was constituted by a ballistically delicate and exact device, such as the rifle barrel, can be better and completely utilized for throwing and for automatically igniting the bomb.

It is to be understood that this invention is not limited in any, way to the precise arrangements described and shown, and that without departing from the nature of the invention they can be modified in, an way that may be found necessary or desira le by the requirements or circumstances of practical use.

I claim- 1. A bomb thrower comprising a barrel, percussion mechanism operating near the end of the barrel in combination with a bomb having a rearward tubular socket to fit into the end of said barrel and a cartridge holder extending from'the end of said socket to. hold a cartridge in firing relation to said percussion mechanism. 7

2. A bomb thrower comprising a rifle barrel,.a. socket adapted to be mounted in the muzzle of the barrel and support, a bomb at the end thereof means for supportin a with cartridge in the socket, and a str1 er in the barrel adapted to explode the cartridge, whereby the exploding cartridge charge will throw the bomb and theicar tridge bullet explode the latter.

3. A bomb thrower comprising" a short gun barrel, a stock therefor, a socket member for insertion into the barrel havinga prolongation adapted to receive a rifle cartridge, a striker slidably mounted in the having a butt, a short gun barrel fixed tothe I front end of the stock, a socket for supporting a bomb adapted to fit into the muzzle of the barrel, an extension fixed in the socket to receive a rifle cartridge, and a striker slidably mounted in the rear portion of the barrel and adapted to act upon the percussion cap of a cartridge mounted in said extension, said cartridge constituting the charge for throwing the bomb, and means for cocking and releasing the striker.

5. A bomb thrower comprising a barrel, percussion mechanism operating near the end of the barrel in combination with a bomb having a rearward tubular socket forming a gas chamber fitting into the end of said barrel, a cartridge holder extending from said socket for presenting a cartridge to said percussion mechanism, said gas chamber vented to the rear thereof.

6. A bomb thrower having a barrel and an automatic cocking firin mechanism, in combination with a bomb aving a socket extension at the rear forming a gas chamber and fittin the end of said barrel, and a cartridge hol er extending from said socket member for presenting the cartridge to the percussion member, said socket member vented into the barrel to effect the cocking of the firing mechanism.

7. A bomb thrower having a barrel .and an automatic cockin firin mechanism, in combination with a omb aving an explosive charge chamber, a fuse chamber connected to the latter by a fuse, a socket mem-- ber closing the fuse chamber and having an opening in line with said fuse, said socket member fitting the end of said barrel and having rearwardly'directed vents, and a cartridge holder extending from said socket member and of smaller diameter to present.

a cartridge to said firing mechanism, whereby the gases from said cartridge and from said fuse chamber will be vented from the

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