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36:
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109:
591:" breech block, where the block circumference was alternately threaded and left unthreaded at a slightly smaller diameter to allow the whole block to be fully inserted and rotated a fraction to lock it. Hence if the block circumference was divided into two sets of threads and gaps, the block only needed to be rotated ¼ turn to lock it instead of several turns. The tradeoff was that only ½ the block's circumference was threaded, reducing the security accordingly.
1063:
merely to lock the cartridge in place rather than provide obturation. The powerful backward force generated by 6-inch QF guns still required a strongly seated breech screw with as much thread as possible. However, a basic interrupted-thread screw sufficiently long enough to have enough thread to secure the cartridge on firing still required three separate motions to operate – rotate, withdraw, swing aside after firing, and repeated in reverse before firing.
1084:(Armstrong's ordnance arm) developed a coned version of the interrupted-thread screw, with a decreasing rather than constant diameter towards the front. This eliminated the second "withdrawal" motion, with just two motions now necessary, rotate and swing aside. This proved short-lived, with Britain adopting charges in bags using the Welin stepped interrupted screw for all guns 5 in (130 mm) and up within several years of it becoming available.
789:
912:
933:
854:
Britain, France, and the United States preferred screw breeches for most calibres, but the major drawback of the de Bange interrupted screw as first implemented was that only half of the circumference of the breech block could be threaded, and hence it needed to be fairly long to achieve safe locking
1062:
Britain used brass cartridge cases for all calibres up to 6 inches in the late 1880s and early 1890s. However, British-designed quickfiring ("QF" in
British terminology, which became synonymous with charges in metal cartridge cases) continued to use screw breech blocks, but with their function
586:
The early "screw" mechanisms for sealing the breech consisted of threaded blocks which were screwed tightly into the breech after loading, but the threads themselves were insufficient to provide a gas-tight seal. This was further complicated by the need to screw and unscrew the breech as quickly as
1067:
1058:
guns loaded ammunition as a single cartridge with projectile, cartridge case and primer in a single unit. The cartridge case sealed the breech on firing and a vertical sliding wedge (block) locked it in place. These new guns incorporated recoil control devices which facilitated consistency of aim,
582:
At the time of development of the first modern breechloaders in the mid-19th century, gunpowder propellant charges for artillery were typically loaded in cloth bags, which combusted totally on firing. Hence, unlike with a metal rifle cartridge, the breech mechanism itself somehow needed to provide
954:
in contrast, adopted "Horizontal sliding block" breeches, rather than screw breeches, for all artillery calibres up to 16 in (410 mm) naval guns. This was similar in some ways to the original "Armstrong screw"; the shot and powder cartridge were inserted through the open rear end of the
780:
Company in Europe replaced a papier-mache obturating cup in bag-loaded RBLs with a metallic gas ring and patented his invention in 1861, later perfecting it in 1864 and 1866; most countries paid royalties to
Broadwell for the design, but in Germany the Krupp company stole it and used it for free.
850:
system introduced in 1877 solved the obturation problem with an asbestos pad impregnated with grease which expanded and sealed the breech on firing. The de Bange system formed the obturation system for all subsequent screw breeches to the present day. Britain adopted the de Bange breech when it
594:
The other possibility of sealing the breech was to enclose the propellant charge in a metal cartridge case which expanded on firing and hence sealed the breech, leaving the breech-block merely needing to lock the cartridge case in place. This was more easily accomplished by sliding the block in
923:
invented an ogival screw breech, similar to the
Armstrong model in the way it eliminated the need to withdraw the screw before swinging it to the side. Bofors continued to use this in medium artillery into the 20th century. The Elswick conical screw breech is very similar in concept.
697:
His "Armstrong screw" breech involved loading the shell and gunpowder propellant charge in a cloth bag through the hollow breech screw, lowering a heavy block into a slot behind the powder chamber and screwing the breech screw tightly against the block to lock it in place. A degree of
1059:
allowed single-motion loading and could be fired as soon as the cartridge was inserted, and then ejected it after firing, these properties denoting a "quick-firing" gun. This set a new standard for artillery, and made firing cycles measured in seconds rather than minutes possible.
903:: i.e. if the block of a large gun had four steps of threads, 80% of the screw was threaded, allowing a much shorter screw and hence breech block. This allowed the block to be unscrewed and swung out in two motions – the "two motion interrupted screw" breech.
855:
of the breech, which required three separate motions to open after firing; rotate to unscrew, retract the screw and swing to the side. Loading required the 3 operations in reverse. This was hence termed a "three motion block" and was slow to operate.
730:
Whatever obturation that was achieved relied on manual labour rather than the power of the gun's firing, and was hence both uncertain, based on an unsound principle and unsuited to large guns. Armstrong screw-breech guns were initially adopted by the
966:
cartridge, which expanded against the chamber wall on firing and effectively sealed the breech. The sliding block, in both horizontal and vertical forms, and metal cartridge case continued to be the preferred German breech system until after
739:, but concerns about limited armour penetration of the shells due to limited maximum velocity, safety concerns with the breech blocks blowing out of guns, and higher skill levels demanded of gunners led the British Government to revert to
1042:
as a light 47-mm naval gun from 1886. The gun was ideal for defending against small fast vessels such as torpedo boats and was immediately adopted by the RN as the "Ordnance QF 3 pounder
Hotchkiss". It was built under licence by
706:
in both horizontal and vertical form, with the crucial difference that
Armstrong failed to make the progression to loading the powder charge in a metal cartridge, with the result that complete obturation was impossible.
498:
gives projectiles directional stability and increased range. Loading from the rear of the gun leaves the crew less exposed to enemy fire, allows smaller gun emplacements or turrets, and allows a faster rate of fire.
758:. However, the British Army and Navy preferred to revert to muzzle-loaders until larger high-powered breech-loaders with secure obturation systems that were relatively simple to operate were developed.
628:
and shot contained in pots dropped at the back of the barrel, but the poor seals made them dangerous, and they wore quickly and could not be scaled to larger weapons. Until the 19th century, only
835:
In the meantime the French persevered with trying to develop breechloaders which combined faster loading than muzzle-loaders, high power, safety and solved the problem of obturation. The
557:) escaped rearwards through the breech. This was both a safety issue and one of gun performance – all the propellant gas was needed to accelerate the projectile along the barrel.
702:
was achieved via a cup on the face of the block being forced into a recessed ring on the chamber face. The system was in effect a vertical sliding block such as later used by
710:
560:
The second problem was speed of operation – how to close the breech before firing and open it after firing as quickly as possible consistent with safety.
595:
behind the cartridge case through a vertical or horizontal slot cut through the rear of the breech : the "sliding wedge" or "sliding block" breech.
147:
142:
639:
patented a design for a breech-loader with a cylindrical breech plug secured by a horizontal wedge; it was adopted by Sweden in 1854. Independently,
1016:
in the late 1870s to the early 1880s and was an enlarged version of the successful rifle-calibre
Nordenfelt hand-cranked "machine gun" designed by
1180:
British forces traditionally denoted smaller ordnance by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately 3 pounds (1.4 kg).
127:
899:. This had threads in sets of steps of increasing diameter so that instead of only half of the screw being threaded, the fraction threaded was
754:
castle town and force its inhabitants to surrender quickly, and
British Armstrong light field guns proved deadly against Chinese forces in the
679:
132:
955:
breech into the gun bore, and a steel block was slid home into a horizontal slot cut through the breech to close the rear end of the breech.
942:
1118:
Marshall J. Bastable (1992). "From
Breechloaders to Monster Guns: Sir William Armstrong and the Invention of Modern Artillery, 1854–1880".
666:
Advances in metallurgy in the industrial era allowed for the construction of rifled breech-loading guns that could fire at a much greater
57:
137:
869:
451:
79:
851:
returned to breechloaders in the early 1880s after some initial experiments with the inferior "Armstrong cup" obturation system.
1198:
937:
Krupp horizontal sliding block (left side) breech on large gun exhibited at the
Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876.
1012:, built in Britain from 1880. The gun was expressly designed to defend larger warships against the new small fast-moving
1098:
563:
Two solutions were developed more or less in parallel, the "screw breech" block and "sliding wedge" or "sliding block".
1193:
1168:"Reports on the Vienna Universal Exhibition of 1873: Presented to Both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty"
50:
44:
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1219:
172:
718:
was a pivotal development for modern artillery as the first practical rifled breech loader. Pictured, deployed by
268:
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61:
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683:
682:
was awarded a contract by the government to design a new piece of artillery. Production started in 1855 at the
403:
1074:
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353:
773:
1204:
Willian F Fullam & Thomas C Hart, USN, Text-Book of
Ordnance and Gunnery. Chapter IV Breech Mechanisms
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breech met the first three requirements to a great extent and partially solved the obturation problem.
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These rapidly improving breech systems and the powerful new guns they facilitated led to an
437:
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It was superseded for anti-torpedo boat defence in the mid-1880s by the new generation of
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from 1865 to 1880, when Britain finally deployed reliable screw breech mechanisms.
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1020:. The gun fired a solid steel bullet with hardened tip and brass jacket.
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However, unlike Armstrong, Krupp loaded the powder propellant in a metal
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541:: the sealing of the breech after firing to ensure that none of the
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The major problem to be solved with breechloading artillery was
1206:
published by United States Naval Institute, Annapolis MD, 1905
783:
542:
29:
746:
The Imperial Japanese Army used Armstrong cannon during the
107:
1199:
W. L. Ruffell, The Gun – Rifled Ordnance Breech Mechanisms
1194:
Royal New Zealand Artillery Association, Breech Mechanisms
800:
1031:" guns of 47-mm and 57-mm calibre firing exploding "
892:solved this problem in 1889–1890 with his stepped
670:. After the British artillery was shown up in the
643:first proposed a breech-loader gun in 1832 to the
1035:" shells weighing 3–6 lb (1.4–2.7 kg).
919:Also in the early 1890s, Arent Silfversparre of
975:), and is still used by some modern artillery.
445:
8:
452:
438:
91:
1008:The first quick-firing light gun was the
574:swivel breech-loading gun of the time of
80:Learn how and when to remove this message
946:Diagram of the horizontal sliding wedge.
880:While working as a weapons designer for
43:This article includes a list of general
1110:
1038:The French firm Hotchkiss produced the
901:number of steps / (1 + number of steps)
647:, and first tested such a gun in 1845.
99:
487:in the barrel and is loaded from the
7:
674:as having barely changed since the
148:Siege artillery in the US Civil War
143:Field artillery in the US Civil War
1073:coned interrupted screw breech of
776:who worked as sales agent for the
201:Cannons of Maritime Southeast Asia
138:Naval artillery in the Age of Sail
49:it lacks sufficient corresponding
25:
525:and continued until the start of
787:
34:
587:possible; this was met by the "
514:warship design that led to the
494:The spin imparted by the gun's
876:with 4 sets of 3 thread steps.
1:
1004:, the first practical QF gun.
128:Artillery in the Song dynasty
1099:Anglo-German naval arms race
133:Artillery in the Middle Ages
1000:gunners in action with the
1236:
982:
915:Bofors ogival screw breech
862:
765:
173:List of cannon projectiles
831:interrupted screw breech.
624:were breech loaded, with
269:Breech-loading swivel gun
1082:Elswick Ordnance Company
1045:Elswick Ordnance Company
684:Elswick Ordnance Company
491:at the rear of the gun.
472:piece which, unlike the
404:Self-propelled artillery
962:case much like a large
483:which preceded it, has
354:Large-calibre artillery
64:more precise citations.
1120:Technology and Culture
1078:
1005:
947:
939:
916:
877:
837:Lahitolle 95 mm cannon
832:
727:
663:
651:Armstrong screw breech
637:Martin von Wahrendorff
613:
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304:Double-barreled cannon
112:
1069:
1010:1-inch Nordenfelt gun
1002:1-inch Nordenfelt gun
992:
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872:
827:
774:Lewis Wells Broadwell
741:rifled muzzle-loaders
713:
658:
611:
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111:
481:rifled muzzle loader
466:rifled breech loader
349:Infantry support gun
1154:"William Armstrong"
1075:QF 6-inch naval gun
950:The German company
907:Bofors ogival screw
882:Thorsten Nordenfelt
604:Early breechloaders
95:Part of a series on
1079:
1006:
948:
940:
917:
897:Welin breech block
878:
865:Welin breech block
859:Welin breech block
833:
799:. You can help by
772:American engineer
728:
678:the industrialist
664:
614:
612:Wahrendorff breech
589:interrupted thread
580:
113:
27:Class of artillery
1220:Artillery by type
928:The sliding block
894:interrupted screw
841:interrupted screw
817:
816:
750:to devastate the
680:William Armstrong
545:generated by the
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279:Coastal artillery
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16:(Redirected from
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1027:and Nordenfelt "
1018:Helge Palmcrantz
985:Quick-firing gun
979:Quickfiring guns
839:of 1875 with an
812:
809:
791:
784:
756:Second Opium War
641:Giovanni Cavalli
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389:Recoilless rifle
221:Majapahit cannon
92:
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60:this article by
51:inline citations
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668:muzzle velocity
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616:The very first
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578:, 16th century.
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374:Naval artillery
339:Helical railgun
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211:Filipino cannon
206:Japanese cannon
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1188:External links
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1126:(2): 213–247.
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874:Welin breech
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846:Finally the
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801:adding to it
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733:British Army
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583:obturation.
581:
576:Oda Nobunaga
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468:(RBL) is an
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409:Siege cannon
369:Mountain gun
319:Gun-howitzer
167:
76:
67:
48:
778:Gatling Gun
722:during the
672:Crimean War
632:were used.
622:Middle Ages
553:(initially
527:World War I
522:Dreadnought
384:Railway gun
334:Hand mortar
329:Hand cannon
294:Demi-cannon
62:introducing
1105:References
1056:Nordenfelt
998:Royal Navy
996:depicting
890:Axel Welin
748:Boshin War
737:Royal Navy
726:(1868–69).
724:Boshin War
700:obturation
635:In 1837,
551:propellant
539:obturation
516:battleship
474:smoothbore
419:Swivel gun
414:Smoothbore
394:Rifled gun
324:Gun-mortar
254:Autocannon
190:By country
45:references
1052:Hotchkiss
1050:Both the
1025:Hotchkiss
960:cartridge
808:July 2022
626:gunpowder
555:gunpowder
518:class of
504:arms race
470:artillery
314:Field gun
274:Carronade
249:Artillery
161:Operation
1214:Category
1088:See also
848:de Bange
829:de Bange
692:Woolwich
686:and the
572:Japanese
533:Overview
512:ironclad
424:Tank gun
344:Howitzer
309:Falconet
289:Culverin
259:Basilisk
1170:. 1874.
1140:3105857
1071:Elswick
994:Woodcut
620:of the
618:cannons
599:History
549:of the
547:burning
496:rifling
485:rifling
379:Railgun
284:Coilgun
264:Bombard
238:By type
121:History
101:Cannons
58:improve
1138:
971:(e.g.
921:Bofors
886:London
489:breech
477:cannon
364:Mortar
359:Minion
47:, but
1136:JSTOR
964:rifle
952:Krupp
720:Japan
704:Krupp
543:gases
399:Saker
1054:and
752:Aizu
735:and
714:The
520:HMS
510:and
479:and
1128:doi
884:in
803:.
690:at
506:in
1216::
1134:.
1124:33
1122:.
1047:.
1029:QF
888:,
694:.
570:A
529:.
464:A
1156:.
1142:.
1130::
1077:.
810:)
806:(
453:e
446:t
439:v
83:)
77:(
72:)
68:(
54:.
20:)
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