The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

TWO-MOTION BREECH-MECHANISM. 197 as it turns round laterally as soon as it is unscrewed. The breech-block carrying device consists of a horizontal exten- sion hinged to the projections on the side of the gun ; this extension is provided with a screwed end, on which the block is fixed by means of a bayonet joint, and it is made with a groove in which the firing striker acts ; the safety arrangement against missfires is placed in this same groove. The firing device consists of a pointed striker, the trigger acting in the body and head of the striker ; the arrangement, as a whole, is similar to that which will be described not a sufficient range to operate the striker, and there is therefore, no risk of prématuré fire. When the gun is fired, the spring bolt falls down in the laich ; if there is a miss-fire, the gun does not recoil, the boit remains in place, and the breecli cannot be opened. The extractor is placée! in a groove made in the wall of the breech end of the gun ; the breech-block operates it in swinging round. To open the breech, the lever is given a quarter-turn from right to left to disengage the threads ; the breech- Figs. 645 to 648. Two-Motion Breech-Mechanism, with. Repeating Device. hereafter as fitted to the breech-pieces which open in one action. In firing the gun, the trigger is worked by a line, the striker is drawn back, the action pressing down a spring ; the trigger then frees itself, and the striker is thrown forward against the fuse. This operation can be renewed as many times as necessary without touebing the breech- piece. As a security against prématuré fire, the end of the trigger lever presses, through the interposition of a friction roller, on a spring bolt, which slides in a suitable latch fitted to the rear end of the breech-block. If the end of the trigger is not exaetly opposite the bolt—-in other words, if the breech is not completely cl oseel—the trigger has block then pivots round the hinge, and when it has turned completely, it acts on the extractor, and the cartridge-case is ejected. To close the breech, the two actions are repeated inversely. In these actions a special spring latch unites the breech- block carrier to the block-screw and to the gun. Figs. 645 to 648 show the breech locked, the breech-block unscrewed, and the breech opened. Two - Motion Breech Mechanism, with Plastic Obturator and Percussion Firing Device (Figs. 649 to 652, Plate CXV., and Figs. 653 to 657).-—This type consists of a breech-screw, with obturator and movable head ; of its support, and of the firing arrangement. The breech-block is in the shape of a truncated cone 2 u