US676649A - Ordnance. - Google Patents

Description

meme me sa, sem.

J. W." KLiNE.

RDNANCE.

(Application filed klar. 5, 1901.)

(No Mode.)

- 2 Shegts-Slheei I.

No. 675,649. Patented, sung ls, mol.

J. W. KLINE.

RDNANCE.

(Application filed Mar, 5, 1901.). (Re Eiodel.) 2 Si eeee s-Sheet 2.

Z'"Y i 1l Jenn W. nLrNE, or WAsrnNeroN, Drs'rmc'r or COLUMBIA.

ORDNANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 676,649, dated June 18, 1901.

u i Application iiled March 5, 1901. Serial No. 49,837. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern..-

Be it known that I, JOHN VV.KLINE,a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Washington, District of Columbia, have invented certain' new and useful Improvements in Ordnance; and I do herebydeclare the following'to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in breech-loading ordnance, and has for its objects tol provide an auxiliary removable jacket or sleeve to be applied to the breech end of the gunand which supports and retainsin proper relation to the gunthe breechblock and its operating mechanism, to p'rovide means carried on the gun to support the muzzle and prevent the sagging or deflection of the extreme end, and to provide means whereby the body of the gun may be reversed.

supports, and the breech mechanism are secured. lHence in assembling and fitting these various parts it has been necessary to operate upon the entire heavy cumbersome gun structure, thereby requiring the attention ot' many skilled Workmen and greatly increasing lits cost of constructiomas Well as multiplyingthe chances of seriously damaging or absolutely ruining the piece by unforseen accidents to the delicate and complicated mechanism employed in machining the parts. My invention Aentirely avoids these vital objections, as I employ a separate removable'auxiliary jacket which may be apolied to or removed from guns of thejsame type, which carries all of the detachable mechanism, and which may be Worked up and assembled with its coperat- 1 p ing parts as an integral structure and .then

applied to the gun-body, which has been previously made ready. By this means the cost .of manufacture Will be greatly reduced, the

facility with -which the parts" are machined will be materially enhanced, and the danger of injuring the entire gun structure, due to accident or carelessness, will be entirely obviated.

In the modern gun cll forty or fifty calibers as now constructed it has been discovered that the great weight ot the muzzle end projecting far out from the carriage-supports inevitably causes the end of the gun to drop, thereby producing a buckle or bend in the bore, which increases with time. est deviation from the normal alinernent of the bore materially interferes with 'the passage of the projectile through the gun, and even a small drop or deflection is snllicicnt to result in wedging the projectile in the riiling and, if the charge of powder is large, to rupture the gun at the point of stoppage of the projectile. In eitherevent the gun would bc damaged beyond repair.

The slight-v By my invention I am enabled to wholly avoid the buckling or deflection of the guubarrel or to correct any deviation that has i occurred in a gun already in use. To this end I employ an adjustable stay or support connected to the respective ends of the gun and adapted to support the muzzle or free end and preserve the absolute alinement of the bore throughout. I further contemplate correcting any existing sag or deflection of thegun by reversing or turning the body one hundred and eighty degrees after removing the aux iliary jacket and remounting the gun in its reversed position in the carriage and subscquently res'eouring the jacket and its appur tenant parts in place. By this means all of the parts are retained in their proper relation and the deflected tube will settle back to a normal alinement. y

My invention is disclosed in the nying drawings, in which- Figure l illustrates a modern type of highcaliber ordnance with my improvements attached. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 show details of vaaccom parions modifications of the auxiliary jacket and the means for securing the same to the gun-body. Fig. 5 is an 'enlargedend clevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. l. Figs.

IOO

6 and 7 are an elevation and a section of the 1 auxiliary jacket shown inFig. l. Figs. 8, 9, .and l0 are further modilications of the jacket and its securing means.

Referring to Fig. 1, A represents the body with the successive hoops and the jacket shrunk on. The breech end of the gun is fin- .ished with a series of keys or lugs A12 A13, disposed about the periphery thereof to afford a securing means for a removable auxiliary sleeve or jacket C', which is bored to accurately fit the butt of the gun and to project over the rear face thereof, as clearly indi-'.

cated. A fillet A on the breech end of the gun is adapted to receive a corresponding shoulder C9, turned on the inside of the jacket C. The interior of the jacket C is provided with a groove C12 C13 to engage the corresponding lugs A12 A13 on the gun-body and secure thev parts in position. Iuorder to lock the jacket to the gun-body, I provide machine-bolts E, which take through the overhanging flange of the jacket into the metal of the 'gun-body, as clearly indicated. lThe breech-block seat D in this particular form is carried by the jacket. (Shown particularly in Figs. .land 7.)

Projecting upwardly from the surface of the" jacket is a lug C', Ithe purpose of which will be explained later, and on the opposite side of said sleeve are two lugs C2, which are adapted to receive the 'piston-rods O of the recoil mechanism O, which may be of any preferred form. l

Removably mounted on the muzzle end of the gun is a stirrup S, having a projecting lip S extending toward the muzzle and a rearward arm S2 at its opposite side. Passing through a suitable perforation in the upper part of said stirrup and secured thereto by a ball-joint R2 is a tension or stay rod R, which is adj ustably secured to the lug C' on the jacket C. A saddle T, iitted'to the contour of the gun-body, supports the rod R about midway of its length and affords a suitable bearing for the rod when the same is under tension.

I contemplate applying the breech-plug l mechanism as an entirety to the rear face of the sleeve C, 'and for this purpose I provide a hinge-socket G and the pin-bearing G to accommodate the pivotal breech mechanism; which may be of any of the well-known types.

' It is obviousgthat many changes may be made in the particular form of the annular jacket C, and the engaging means between the jacket and the gun-body may be varied to suit the particular design of the gun orto meet the exigencios of'the strength and proportion. i

In Fig.' 2 I have shown the jacket of the same general type as that shown in Fig. 1, except that a locking-joint of the bayonet type is provided between thc jacket and the g gun-body, as shown at A2 C3, wherein A2 rep- -jacket by suitable bolts, as shown.

tion.

Fig. 3 illustrates a modification in which the 'locking-joint formed by the grooves A3 on the gun and the ribs C4 on the jacket are provided with a dovetail engagement for the purpose-of strengthening the joint.

' In Fig. 4I have illustrated the jacket, which is adapted to be applied from the muzzle end of the gun a-nd set back to the seat on the breech end. To accommodate thisA arrangement, the gun is turned with a shoulder A4 adjacent to the breech end, which takes a corresponding flange C5 on the insidepf the jacket, and the latter is drawn in position by means of a ring F', which is screwed into said jacket until itfinds a firm bearing against the rear face at the breech end of the gun. The usual locking-bolts E ,are also employed in this modification, and the separable bushing B is fitted to provide the usual seat for thc breechplug. In Fig. 8 the jacket is cylindrical in form and accurately fits the outer surface of the gun-body near the breech and is secured by means of Ithe locking-joint A2 C2, corresponding to that in Fig. 2. The rear end of the gun is provided with a projecting boss, which is fitted with the breech-plug seat D2. rPhe annular shoulder thusleft on the rear of the gun is occupied by a ring-C21, which finds a firm bearing thereon and is screwed to the Fig. 9 differs from Fig. 8 only in the fact that the separate ring C21 has been replaced by a latscribed and is capable of the same applicaeral and integral ange on the jacket, which relieving thejacket from the recoil. A furtherv modification is shown in Fig. 10 wherein the jacket C, which is secured by ockingfjoint A2 C5, as above described, is provided with a central boss C25, carrying thebreech-plug seat, which is accurately fitted to an annular recess in the breech end pf the gun.

In assembling a gun provided with myimprovements it is my purpose to apply the jacket by slipping it over the breech or the muzzle end, according to the particular construction employed, giving it a partial turn and locking the engaging ribs and grooves together, and then securing the jacket in position against further rotation by setting up the bolts E in place, as shown in the various figures. It is to be understood, of course, that the jacket is finished and the parts made ready to receive the breech mechanism before i-t is applied to the gun, anditis obvious IIO that in handling and working the jacket, as v it weighs but a small fractional part of the total weight of the gun, fewer operatives willv beA required and the parts can be' adjusted and fitted with greater facility and at much less expense than by the old method, wherein it was necessary to mount the entire gunerases It has been found that the modern ordnance of high caliber tends to sag at the muzzle, and unless this tendencyis corrected the gun Will be ruined after one or more A rings 'by the projectile Wedging in vthe bore.`

I propose to avoid any tendency to sag at the muzzle by means of the stay-rod above de` scribed, and for this purpose the stirrup, which is removably mounted on the muzzle end of the gun and rlnds a firm hearing on the taper thereof, is drawn up to hold the bore of the gun in alinement by setting up the nut4 R on the end of the stayrod, as will be apparent.

In order to correct any sagging that may have taken place, l contemplate turning` the gun over through one hundred and eighty degrees to reverse it in position in its carriage. This is accomplished by removing the jacket and its attached parts and revolving the gun about its axis until it is reversed in position, after which the stirrup is turned to proper relation, the jacket secured in its new position, and the stay-rod loosely secured by the nut R to permit the muzzle end of the gun to drop by its own Weight until the bore again assumes accurate alinement, when the stay-rod is set to preserve the alinement thus attained.

What I claim as my invention is l. In breech-loading ordnance of the character described, the combination with the body of the gnu, a removable jacket secured to the breech end thereof and means to sc cure the breech-block and its operating mechanism to said jacket, said body and said jacket being so related that the body is reversible with respect to the jacket.

In breech-loadingl ordnance of the charbody of the gun, a removable jacketisccured to the breech end thereof, cooperating en' gagging' means on the jacket and the gunbody to lock the jacket in position, so related that the body may be reversed with respect to the jacket, and means to secure the breechn blockand its operating mechanism to said jacket. l

3. ln breeclrloading ordnance of the chan' acter described, the combination with the body of the gun, a removable jacket secured to the breech end thereof, and cooperating interlocking means on said gun-body and said jacket to secure the parts together, so related that the body may be reversed with respect tothe jacket.

4. In breech-loading ordnance ofthe character described, the combination of the gunbody, a removable jacket secured to the breech end thereof and so related thereto that the body may be reversed with respect to the jacket, and an adjustable stay-rod secured to said jacket and the muzzle of the gun to prevent sagging ofthe latter.

5. In breech-loading ordnance of the character described the combination of the'guubody, a removable jacket secured to the breech end thereof, a stirrup removably'secured adjacent to the muzzle of the gun, and an adjustable stay rod connected to said jacket and said stirrup.

l'n testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence or" two witnesses.

JOHN XV. KUNE.

'Vitnesses:

Ones. J. ONELL, Hue-n M. STERLING.

All!

Images