#breech loading rifle

[historicalfirearms]

Breech-Loading Durs Egg Carbine

My other project, The Armourer’s Bench, returns with a new video and in-depth article looking at a 18th century cavalry carbine made by Durs Egg, based on Giuseppe Crespi's breech-loading action! 

Check out the video above and read the accompanying article here.

[redarmyscreaming]

Main gun of Russian circular Battleship Novgorod. The 28 cm L/20 M67 was an early breech loading rifled built-up gun designed by Krupp.

[historicalfirearms]

Poppenburg’s 1865 Needle-Fire Breech Loading Rifle

In February 1865, Johann von der Poppenburg, a Prussian mechanical engineer working in Birmingham was granted his first British patent for a breech loading design. In October Poppenburg was also granted a US patent for his design; the drawings can be seen above. 

It is possible that Poppenburg developed his design for the British Army’s call for a cartridge conversion system for their existing Pattern 1853 Enfield rifles. The design had a ‘charge chamber’ which which swung out horizontally from the breech which could then be loaded with either loose powder and shot - which was conventionally ignited with a percussion cap or with a paper cartridge which was detonated when pierced by a needle.

The images above show the rifle’s design using a needle firing pin similar to the Dreyse M1841. The patent describes this part of the action:

‘The discharge of the gun is effected by a central striker, which strikes either upon a percussion cap put on a nipple fixed in the back of the charge-chamber or the said striker forces a needle through a small hole in the back of the charge-chamber and discharges the cartridge.’ 

The patent explains that when using a more conventional percussion cap system a hammer lock needs to be fitted in place of the needle. The primary ignition system Poppenburg seems to have had in mind was the needle system which was enclosed in a tubular slide with its spring. 

A cutaway detail view of Poppenburg’s action with the needle striker cocked (source)

One of the rifles most interesting ergonomic features is the way in which the charge chamber was able to pivot at a right angle to the barrel to ease the loading of powder and then projectile (see image #3). The patent explains the complex way in which the action was locked. The breech was locked by two rods protruding from the needle striker slide. Once the charge chamber had been placed in position after loading the slide was pushed home with the rods fitting into two recesses in the front of the chamber. A snap bolt connected to a flat spring also locks the chamber in place at the rear of the spring by engaging with a shoulder. This can be seen in fig. 7 & 9 in the patent drawings.

How many of these breech loaders were made is unclear, however, it is believed the photographed example was a trials rifle. The needle fire system’s limitations were well known by the 1860s and the system was all but obsolete with the introduction of self contained and later metallic cartridges. As a result a year later Poppenburg patented another breech loading design utilising self contained cartridges and an interesting new action. With the financial backing of John Benson a local merchant Poppenburg offered the Benson-Poppenburg breechloading rifle for testing in 1868, however; this too was subsequently rejected.

Sources:

Images One & Two Source

Image Three Source

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[historicalfirearms]

The Sartoris Breech-loading System

In March 1817 Urbanus Sartoris, a Parisian (possibly Milanese) merchant and inventor living in London, patented his breech-loading system (British patent number 4,107). The system built upon an earlier design by Giuseppe Crespi. Sartoris’ system used an interrupted thread screw breech which could be unscrewed by twisting the barrel (see image #3). This would allow the chamber block to rise up to enable loading. The interrupted thread screw breech improved upon Crespi’s system allowing the breech to have a gas-tight seal. 

An English-made example of a Crespi system carbine. The Crespi system suffered from a lack of breech gas seal. (source)

There is some variation between the surviving examples of the firearms using Sartoris’ system but the basic method of loading remains the same. The spring-loaded handle on the barrel lifted and turned, this unthreads the breech locking threads opening up the action (see image #1). The barrel can then be pushed forward (not unlike Frederick Prince’s later system), this allows the breech chamber to be lifted to enable loading of powder and ball. The chamber would then be depressed again and the barrel brought back and turned locking the breech threads. The method of ignition varied over time with early examples having a flintlock while others had Alexander Forsyth’s ‘scent bottle’ detonator lock ignition system and others were later adapted to use percussion caps as they became the standard in the mid 1800s. 

A 22-Bore Sartoris Patent Breech-Loading Percussion Target Rifle (source)

Sartoris patented some improvements to his design in January 1819 (British patent number 4336) and between 1822 and 1825 London gunmaker Anthony Farindon Biven manufactured both military and civilian firearms using Sartoris’ system before he went bankrupt in 1826. Anthony Farindon Biven manufactured sporting and target rifles as well as examples of smoothbore cavalry carbines in various calibres but the design never became truly popular. 

A .65 calibre Sartoris breechloading smoothbore flintlock cavalry carbine, c.1820 (source) 

Interestingly at least one example of a Baker Rifle using Sartoris’ system was produced in 1817 and 15 or more examples of smoothbore carbines were made for volunteer cavalry/yeomanry in 1820 (see above). However, the British Board of Ordnance showed little interest in the system and with the liquidation of Anthony Farindon Biven’s gunmakers the Sartoris’ system faded into obscurity.

Source:

Image One Source

Image Two Source

Image Three Source

British Military Firearms 1650-1850, H.L. Blackmore, (1961)

A Dictionary of London Gunmakers 1350–1850, H.L. Blackmore, (1986)

British Military Rifles, P. Duckers, (2005)

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