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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: POL-PRE |
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PRESENT DAY MACHINE-GUNS Hitherto we have been dealing with weapons worked by hand-power applied to a lever or winch-handle, the motion of this lever being translated by suitable mechanism into those by which the cartridges are loaded, fired, extracted and ejectedthe cycle continuing as long as the lever is worked and there are cartridges in the " hoppers " which feed the gun. In the modern " automatic " machine-gun, moreover, the loading, firing, extracting and ejecting are all performed automatically by the gun itself, either by the recoil of its barrel, or by a small portion of the gases of explosion being allowed to escape through a minute hole in the barrel near the muzzle. The following details of the British Maxim
Colt
The idea of using the recoil, or a portion of the gases of ex- i Attached to the rear of the barrel (b) on either side are two side plosion, for the working of the breech mechani in is by no means plates (h), between which in guides 0 works the aggregation of parts- e D, F, J, K, L, P, T and V, which constitute the lock, and (in bearings) new;- the latter system having been proposed and patented the crank axle E, crank E', and connecting rod I (see figs
to the side levers J of the former by means of the interrupted screw U; the latter enables the lock to be detached and removed. The crank axle E extends through both sides of the breech casing (d), slots.(k, fig. 7), allowing it a longitudinal movement
spring X (see dotted lines in fig. 7), and to its right-hand end a bell trunk lever, B B'; the arm B, which terminates in a knob, being turned by the crank handle, the arm B' working against the buffer stop C.In figs
axis
movement
The withdrawal of the lock and opening of the breech are effected as follows: The total travel in recoil of the barrel is about one inch, but on discharge the barrel, the side plates and lock all recoil together for about a quarter of an inch without any disturbance of the locking as explained above, and by the time this short travel is completed the bullet has left the muzzle. The arm B' of the crank handle then engages the buffer stop C and causes the crank axle E to rotate and the crank E' to fall and so draw back the lock from, and open, the breech. At the same time the fusee chain Y is wound up round the left-hand end of the crank axle E and the spring X extended. In the meantime the knob of the buffer handle B swings over, and just as the lock reaches its rearmost position (as in figs. to and I2) strikes the flat buffer spring H, and, rebounding, assists the crank in revolving in the reverse
The gun is fired by means of the trigger F, which is actuated b--the-projection (l) on the trigger bar (S), the latter being drawn
museums, there can be no doubt that (Sir) Hiram S. Maxim
practical
bear fruit earlier because the fouling left by the old forms of " black " or smoky powders was apt to clog the moving parts and to choke any small port. With modern smokeless powders this difficulty does not arise.The Maxim gun,i as will be seen from figs. 7 and 8, consists of two parts, the barrel casing (a) and breech casing (d), secured firmly maxim together. The former (a), which is cylindrical in form, Gus-. contains the barrel (b), and the water surrounding it to keep down the very high temperature attained by rapid fire, and the steam tube (c), which by the action of a sliding valve allows of the escape of steam but not of water. The barrel has asbestos packings at its front and rear bearings in the casing, which -b:caa{ B End of Article: PRESENT DAY If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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