Early breeches for handguns
The breech of a firearm closes the cartridge chamber in the rear barrel . It prevents the combustion gases from escaping and transfers the force generated by the combustion of the propellant charge and accelerating the projectile as a counterforce to the weapon (actio equals reaction). In the case of muzzle-loading weapons , the breech is an integral part of the barrel. In the case of breech- loading weapons , it can be opened for loading; the escape of hot gases when the propellant charge is fired is prevented with the lid or in connection with the cartridge case .
history
At the time of the muzzle loader, loading and reloading was time-consuming; loading rifled guns was made even more difficult because of the use of oversized bullets. In addition, the gun could not be loaded lying down, the shooter had to give up cover. It was also not possible to get to the tightly locked part of the barrel in order to unload the weapon if the ignition failed. The ball had to be removed from the front with a ball puller, which was a time-consuming and dangerous undertaking. Cleaning the barrel, which was closed at the back, was also time-consuming.
The advantages of breech loading rifles, the higher rate of fire and the ability to load while lying down were undisputed. The problem was that it was initially not possible to create a permanently gas-tight lid. The locks of weapons with caseless ammunition had to be form-fitting with the barrel, which was difficult because of the manufacturing technology at the time and the thermal expansion. Another solution was sealing with compressible sealing materials, but their service life was limited by the effects of heat. Only with the introduction of the metal cartridge cases, which adapt to the pressure of the propellant gases on the cartridge chamber, could a perfect seal be achieved.
Attempts were made early on to manufacture handguns with rear loading, but it wasn't until the beginning of the nineteenth century that, thanks to advances in metallurgy and manufacturing technology, reasonably functioning breech-loading guns could be made or existing muzzle-loading weapons modified for rear loading.
Early breech loaders
As early as the eighteenth century, inventive gunsmiths were producing breech-loading weapons of all kinds, one of these weapons that still exist today was the flintlock hunting rifle made around 1715 for the Spanish King Philip V , it could be separated at the end and fired ammunition in reloadable iron cases that look like modern ones Cartridges could be inserted into the rear end of the barrel.
Patrick Ferguson , a British army officer, developed a breech-loading weapon , the Ferguson rifle , in 1772 , with a screw inserted at the rear end of the barrel perpendicular to the barrel axis. This could be turned down with the trigger guard, the ball could be inserted through the opening above and the powder poured in. It is not known whether Ferguson was familiar with the vertical screw cap linear bushing manufactured by Adam Knot between 1740 and 1760.
In Paris, the Swiss gunsmith Jean Samuel Pauly patented a breech-loader for metal cartridges as early as 1812, which had a block cap that could be swiveled upwards. In later developments, the weapon could be bent at the end of the barrel, which meant that the barrel and breech had a form-fitting cylindrical shape in order to avoid gas loss. The charge was ignited first with an ignition pin and later with compressed air.
As early as 1817, the Harpers Ferry Armory in Virginia was producing a large number of the breech-loading flintlock rifles with rifled barrel, developed and patented by the American John H. Hall . With this weapon, a block attached behind the barrel could be folded up and then loaded from the front. The Austrian M 1770 dragoon carabiner with the Crespi bolt lock system worked according to the same principle .
The invention of the sleeve ammunition was important for the further development of the breech loader; it was invented simultaneously in France in 1836 by Casimir Lefaucheux and Louis Nicolas Auguste Flobert . While the Lefaucheux cartridge had pin ignition and disappeared again towards the end of the 19th century, the Flobert cartridge became the forerunner of the rimfire cartridge that is still used today. Both cartridges enabled the simplified production of breech-loading, since the problem of the breech lock was eliminated; it was taken over from the cartridge case.
In the development of the breech loader, two systems were used early on, that of the block lock and that of the cylinder lock. The block lock has the advantage of being short, so it was suitable for changing from muzzle-loaders to rear-loading, today it is still used, mostly as a drop block lock, on hunting and sporting weapons. Epoch-making was in 1835 the construction of a rifle with cylinder lock by Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse (born November 20, 1787 in Sömmerda near Erfurt, † December 15, 1867 ibid); his weapon was introduced into the Prussian army in 1841 and became the model for all military rifles well into the 20th century.
Block closure
In this case, the breech block is pivoted or pushed away from the rear end of the barrel in order to load the cartridge. The locking block can be prevented from retreating or opening by its axis, by a locking wedge or by an abutment directly behind it. Break-open rifles work on the same principle, but the breech and rear frame of the weapon are identical.
In terms of design, the snuff box is one of the block closures. With the Snider-Enfield rifle , the breech block is swiveled out to the side on an axis parallel to the barrel axis.
Tabatière closure
With the trapdoor lock, developed by the American Erskine S. Allin in 1865 and used in the Springfield M1873 , and with other constructions such as the Swiss Milbank-Amsler, a modified (adapted) muzzle-loader, Albini-Brändlin and Wänzel , it is folded up for loading, the locking wedge behind it must be used be solved. The loading tray is released when it is opened. Since the snuff box is short, it was mainly used to adapt muzzle-loaders.
Corrugated block closure
The corrugated block lock (also called tabernacle lock) was developed by Karl Holub and Josef Werndl in 1866 , manufactured at the Austrian weapons factory in Steyr and first used in the M1867 infantry and hunter rifles. The bolt, a cylindrical block, is embedded in the bolt housing behind the barrel and is prevented from moving back by an abutment at the rear. If it is turned parallel to the barrel axis, the loading recess milled eccentrically along its length releases the cartridge chamber for reloading. Firing is done by an external cock.
Rolling block closure
The rolling block lock is a rotating block lock that was patented by Leonard M. Geiger in 1863, further developed by Remington engineer Joseph Rider and used by Remington Arms , Ilion, NY from 1865 on various rifles and pistols. The clasp is extremely strong and easy to use. The locking block, which is mounted on a thick axle perpendicular to the barrel axis, is locked by the tap, which is also attached to a thick axle. The recoil is transmitted to the frame through these two axes. To open it, the cock must first be cocked, after which the locking block can be tilted backwards. The cartridge is pushed into the open chamber. The locking block is then folded up; a spring prevents it from opening. When the trigger is pulled, the fast-moving cock locks the breech and ignites the cartridge.
Kipplauf lock
The barrel can be tilted around an axis of rotation with the tilt barrel lock, thus exposing the cartridge chamber so that a cartridge can be inserted. The lock is part of the system housing ( receiver ) which usually also contains the ignition mechanism, the lock, with the exception of older cockguns and weapons with side locks , which are only used today for high-quality hunting weapons. The first series-produced weapons with a drop barrel bolt from 1836 fired cartridges with Lefaucheux ignition . Since the middle of the 18th century, barrel locks were designed for breech loaders which fired rim and center fire cartridges.
The tilt barrel lock is one of the most commonly used designs in modern shotguns , combined hunting weapons and weapons for sporty shotgun shooting. With the widespread Greener system, locking wedges grip hooks below the rear end of the barrel and lock the lock. To strengthen the lock, an additional locking element is often attached above the barrel axes. Opening is done manually by the shooter using an operating lever, the cartridge cases are lifted a little out of the chamber when the breech is opened by an extractor or ejected using a spring-driven ejector.
Drop block lock
With the vertical drop block bolt, the bolt block usually slides downwards in a direction perpendicular to the barrel axis and thus releases the barrel end, after which the cartridge can be pushed into the chamber. The vertical block system is not suitable for the conversion of muzzle loaders, as the breech block slides down to open and has to be guided, which requires a lock box.
With the Sharps system , the breech block is guided in the breech block through links. For loading it is pulled down using a lever mechanism to release the cartridge chamber. The first Sharps rifles used in the American Civil War still fired paper cartridges, later models used case ammunition.
Tilt block closure
The Peabody latch has a rear-hinged breech block that could be tilted for loading by pulling the trigger guard down. An outside cock was used for ignition. The Swiss arms and later automobile manufacturer Martini in St Blaise (Canton Neuchâtel) improved the system by integrating the firing mechanism into the breech block so that it is automatically cocked when it is loaded. Developed by Henry O. Peabody of Boston, Massachusetts and published on July 22, 1862 under Pat. 35,947 patented Peabody rifle was manufactured by Providence Tool Co. from 1866 .
The first weapon with this breech introduced into an army was the Lorenz infantry rifle M.1854 introduced in Austria-Hungary . In this weapon, the breech block was folded down by pulling up a lever attached to the rear of the block.
Cylinder lock
The slide, which can be opened to the rear parallel to the barrel axis, is unlocked by turning and retracted by one cartridge length; as it moves forward, it pushes a new cartridge from the loading recess into the chamber. This feature also enables reloading from a magazine attached instead of the loading recess, which is why the cylinder lock is also suitable for repeating rifles .
Screw cap
The path taken in Bavaria can serve as an example of converted or adapted weapons. There the Podewils rifle was changed to Lindner in 1867 for rear loading, the percussion ignition was retained.
The lock developed by Edward Lindner consists of a screw lock with an interrupted thread and a dust cover. To reload it must be turned and pulled backwards parallel to the barrel axis. The cartridge is ignited with an external tap.
Cylinder lock
The decisive step in the development of modern breech-loaders was the needle gun developed by Johann Nikolaus von Dreyse , which was adopted by the Prussian army in 1841. Its cylinder lock was the model for all later infantry rifles and is still used today in the majority of modern bolt action rifles.
While the Dreyseg rifle is sealed using a flush contact surface - the outer cone of the barrel matches the inner cone of the pressed-on breech - the sealing of its French competitor, the Chassepot rifle model 1866, is carried out using a rubber-like lid attached to the bolt head analogous to that of Charles Valérand Ragon de Bange developed French De Bange cannon.
The cylinder lock is also referred to as a chamber lock. From 1900 onwards it was the most commonly used breech for army rifles. It is still produced today in various versions, but the locking principle is always the same. To unlock, the chamber must be turned with the bolt handle before it can be opened. The locking takes place either via the bolt stem or a different number of locking elements which engage in corresponding recesses in the system sleeve or the barrel extension. The most widespread and copied is the Mauserschloss, which can still be considered the endpoint of the principle today.
literature
- WHB Smith, Joseph Smith: The Book of Rifles . Ed .: The National Rifle Association. 1963, LCCN 63-012562 .
- Norm Flayderman (Ed.): Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms . ISBN 0-87349-313-3 .
- Harold L. Peterson (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Firearms . George Rainbird Ltd., London W2 1964.
- Frank Sellers: Sharp's Firearms . Beinfeld Publishing Inc., North Hollywood, CA 1978, ISBN 0-917714-12-1 .
- Jaroslav Lugs: Handguns . Military publishing house of the GDR, ISBN 3-327-00032-8 .
- WHB Smith Joseph E. Smith (Co-author): Small Arms of the World. A Basic Manual of Military Small Arms . 1957.
- Clement Bosson: Poor individual you Soldat Suisse . Editions Pierre-Marcel Favre, Lausanne 1980, ISBN 2-8289-0035-5 .