US896496A - Automatic firearm. - Google Patents

Description

.NO, 896,496, PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908.

' W. J. WHITING.-

AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2a, 1900.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR {VJ/4a? PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908,

4 SHEETSSHEBT 2.

W. J. WHITING. AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 26, 1906.

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WITNESS ES o. 896,496. V PATENTED AUG.18, 1908.

W. J. WHITING. AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26 1906.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

PATENTED AUG. 18, 1908 W. J. WHITING.

AUTOMATIC FIREARM.

APPLICATION IILED JULY 26, 1906.

4 SHEETSSHBE T 4.

-O. n U

WITNESSES WILLIAM JOHN WHITING, or HANDsw'oRrn, NEAR BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

AUTOMATIQ FIREARM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 26, 1908. Serial No. 327,920.

Patented Aug. 18, 1908.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM JoIIN WIIIT- ING, subject of the King of Great Britain, re-

siding at 53 Douglas road, Handsworth, near Birmingham, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Firearms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has'relation to automatic pistols-and other firearms of that general ty e in which the se' uence of 0 erations invo ved in the firing o a shot an the reloading of the arms, viz., 'the opening of the breech after the discharge, the extraction and ejection of the spent cartridge shell, the cocking of the hammer, the insertion of a fresh cartridge from the magazine into the barrel and the re-closing and securing of the breech, are performed automatically by the movements of a reci r ocating breech slide, first in a backward irection under the influence of the recoil energy developed by the discharge and then in a forward direction by the reaction of a spring which is influenced and rendered operative by the said backward movement of the slide. ,7

In particular, the present improvements are applicable to pistols or fire arms of the type in which the breech slide is operatively connected with a re-action' spring fitted inside the handle or grip part of that frame-of the arm through the medium of a lon swinging arm or lever which is fulcrume to the said frame and has one end connected with the said slidewhile theother end has abearing against the spring; and in which also the magazine s ring is utilized for operating a device which osition after the last cartridge has been fired and thus affords a positive indication that the magazine is empty.

' One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved pistol or arm of the above referred-to type in which the connection between the reaction spring lever and the breech slide is made'by a simple detachable device which facilitates the disconnection of theseitwo arts and enables the said slide to be read' y detached and removed from the body of .the pistol Without necessitating any disturbance of the re-action spring or its lever or of the firing mechanism 0 the arm;

Other objectsrof the said invention are to provide for the effective locking of the pistol 1n its closed position solely by the effort of locks the breech slide in its open the reaction spring; to mount and arrange the barrel in a special manner whereby it is also influenced and maintained'in its roper position relative to the other arts of t e pistol by the reaction spring w en the breechslide is closed; to utilize the movement which the barrel makes on the opening and closing of the breech slide to actuate a device which controls the firing mechanism and prevents double shotsor inadvertent discharge when the breech slide is in motion, and generally to construct and arrange the several parts of the pistol so as to render the same positive and effective in its action and perfectly safe in use, in addition to which the pistol is considerably simplified inasmuch that by the improved construction hereinafter described, the use of latches bolts or other devices for locking the breech'slide- (when closed) to the barrel is entirely obviated, and the 'said' breech-slide is secured in its closed position and the barrel is maintained in interlocking engagement therewith solely by the agency of the re-action spring, the said barrel for this purpose, being mounted in such a manner as to be ca able of a limited diagonal movement relative to the breechslide and the stationary body of the arm, while by means of suitabl arranged inclined-plane surfaces on the re atively movable elements, the said barrel, on coming under the influence of the re-action spring when the pistol is closed, is raised and interlocked with the breech slide, but when. the slide is acted upon and forced rearwardly by recoil energy and the barrel is relieved of the forward thrust or pressure transmitted from there-action spring, thesaid barrel is de ressed and disengaged from the said slide and thereby leaves the latterfree to make its reciprocating movement. I

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings re resents a side elevation of a magazine pisto constructed in accordance with my invention, but one of the cover plates of the handle or grip which contains the detachable magazine is removed in order to show the arrangement of the breech-slide lever and re-.

action spring while a portion of the right hand side of the breech slide is brokenaway to illustrate the disposition and arrangement of the fastening which is tachably connecting the said breech-slide to its lever, and of the stop device whereby. the lever is held out of engagement with the said fastening in order to admit of the slide being rovided for de- I withdrawn rearwardly from its normal position upon the body of the pistol. This view shows the positions of the parts when the breech slide is closed and locked by the action of the spring and lever mechanism. Fig. 2 is a plan of Fig. 1, with parts in hori zont the detachable devices whereby the connection between the breech-slide and lover is made. Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 1 but shows the traversing breech-slide, with its lever and reaction spring, in the positions which they are made to'assume by the effect of the recoil following a discharge and whereby also, the tired cartridge shell is extracted and ejected and the hammer cocked as shown. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sect-ion of the pistol taken upon the dotted line .2: Fig. 1 but showing the barrel in plan. Fig. 5 shows a longitudinal vertical section of the pistol upon the dotted line a Fig. 2. This view shows the pistol closed and cooked, ready for firing. The magazine is shown in position within the'handle of the pistol and. the view also represents the arrangement of the mechanism which is operated by the spring-elevated magazine platform or follower for locking open the breech-slide after the last cartridge has been discharged from the magazine, while the figure also illustrates the manner in which the barrel is mounted within the body of the pistol and the means whereby the said barrel is constrained, when the breech slide is forced back, by the recoil or drawn back by hand, to make a slight diagonal movement for disengaging the same from the said slide (with which it is normally interlocked) and for actuating mechanism which completely disassociates the trigger from the sear during the time that the slide is in motion and thereby prevents accidental discharge or double shots and also renders it impossible for the pistol to be fired other than when the breech-slide is fully closed. Fig. 6 another complete sectional view of the pistol, but shows the breech-slide at the end of its rearward movement after having extracted and ejected the last car tridge. This view shows how the follower of the empty magazine is raised by its spring during the last portion of the rearward traverse of the slide and is made to actuate and position the device for locking open the said slide. Fig. 7 shows how the said slide is locked open by the magazine spring and follower so as to afford to the shooter a positive indication that the magazine is empty. Fig. 8 is a cross section of Fig. 5 upon the dotted line 1' showing the relativeflpositions of the barrel, the breech-slide and the stationary body when the pistol is closed; Fig. 9 is a cross section of Fig. 6, upon the dotted line a" and shows the relative positions of barrel and body when the pistol is open or when the.

breech slide is making its backward and for- 1 section showing the arrangement oi" the latter part from the body. shows the normal position of the stop, in

ward movements. .Fig. 10 is another ver tical section of Fig. 5, but taken upon the dotted line 9; through the parts of the barrel and breech slide which interlock with one another when the pistol is closed. Fig. 10 a vertical section upon the dotted line Fig. Fig. 11 is a horizontal section of Fig. 1 upon the dotted line is showing the arrangc-ament of the externally operated stop whereby the breech-slide lever is kept out of engagement with the fastening stud of the breech-slide when it is required to detach This view hich it affords no impediment totlie engagement of the recoil lever with the said stud. Fig. 12 is a similar section to Fig. 11 but shows the lever stop in its operative position in which by blocking the forward movement of the lever, it prevents the same from being retained by the re-action spring in engagement with' the fastening device and. admits of the latter being removed for freeing the slide from the .body part. In. this position a portion of the stop also projects into the magazine-chamber and thus serves as a means for preventing the introduction of aFharged magazine into the pistol other than when the breech slide is properly connected with the lever. Fig. 12 (Sheet 3) is an elevation of a part of the pistol showing how the lever is held out of engagement with the fastening. stud by means of the stop device which is shown in horizontal section in Figs. 11 and 12. Fig. 13 shows a longitudinal section and a plan of the reciprocating breech slide separately. Fig. 14 shows a side elevation and a topside plan of the barrel separately. Fig. 15 is an elevation of the right hand side of the body of the pistol separately, and also a topside plan of" the same. Fig. 16 shows two separate views of the fastening stud with which the reaction lever engages. Fig. 17 represents an elevation and edge view of the limb which serves to cooperate with an extractor on the breech-slide for ejecting the fired cartridge shells from the pistol and is also in:

flue'nced by the magazine spring after the ejection of the last cartridge for locking the; breech slide in its open position. This part of the mechanism can also be utilized at any time forlocking 0 en the breech slide. such as when the piste is'being used for single loading. Fig. 18 shows two views of an external push-piece which is connected with the limb Fig. 17 and serves as a'means for operating same when it is required to lock open the breech slide by hand when the pistol is being used. as a single loader and. for disengaging the limb from the said slide so as to permit the latter to be closed after it has been automatically locked open by the magazine spring. Fig. 18 shows two separate views of the lever which forms the contachable magazine which is carried within a chamber formed by the hollow handle 21.

The part of the frame which surmounts thesaid andle is of an open-ended channel section transversely and comprises upright sidewalls22 and a flat bottom or bed 23, and the barrel is mounted within the forward art of this channel while the after part of t e bed is formed with an opening 24 wherethrough the upper end 51 of the magazine extends on being pushed fully home into the handle 21, shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and secured there by a catch, such as 55.

The hammer 60 with its safety-catch 61 and the sear 62 are mounted rearwards of the magazine chamber, within a space 63 whose open top forms a continuation of the opening 24 in the bed, and the said sear is operated from the trigger 64 by a rocking bar 65 which extends rearwardly across the side of the handle so that its rear extremity engages the hanging tail 66 of the sear when the breechslide is in its normal and fully closed osition as shown in Fig. 5, but is, under allot er con-- ditions depressed out of such engagement and held clear of the said sear by means of a loose pin 67 which is arranged to work vertically within the frame and is formed at its lower end with a slot or ga wherein the searoperating bar engages w ile its upper end normally projects above the bed of the standing body and is kept by means of the spring 68 in contact with the undersideof the barrel which is adapted to make a diagonal or oblique movement under the influence of the reaction spring and the opening and closing motions of the breech slide and to depress the pin 67 and sear bar atthe commencement of the backward movement of the said slide and to allow these parts to be restored by the spring 68 to their normal 1 positions on the completion of the forward movement.

, The reciprocating breech-slide takes the form of an inverted channel-sectioned element whose length is approximately equal to that of the channeled portion of the body, andwhose flat top 41 lies above the said body while its hanging sides 42 come respectively on the outer sides of the upright walls 22 as clearly shown in the cross sectional view Fig. 8, while in order to hold down the slide and guide the same in its rectilinear traversing, movements backwards and forwards upon the said body feathers or ribs 25 are-formed along the outer sides of the walls 22 and are engaged within corresponding grooves 45 on the inner sides of the walls 42. These guide grooves extend completelyifrom end to end T of the slide and their extremities are open so as to admit of the said slide being introduced onto and withdrawn from off the body from 70 the rearward end of the pistol, J Depending from the rear part of the top of the breech slide is a loading and cooking rib 46 which is fitted with an extractor 47 and mechanism with the striker 69 of the firing and which when the pistol is closed and a charged magazine is in place within the handle, lies upon the topmost cartridge in the said magazine and positions the forward extremity of the striker against the live car- 0 tridge within the chamber of the barrel, but when the breech slide is driven back by the recoil after the discharge and the empty shell has been extracted and ejected, the loading rib moyes backwardly, clear of the magazine 35 (cooking the hammer 60 in so doing) and thus admits of the uppermost cartridge therein being raised by the action of the spring 52 and platform or follower 53 until arrested by the stop wings 54 which project or overhang inwardly from the opposite sides'of the top 51 of the magazine This operation positions the elevated cartridge in line with the front end of the loading rib, so that during the forward .or return movement of the breech slide, the said cartridge is forced by the said rib endwise out of the magazine and into the chamber of the barrel, so that When the'slide reaches the limit of its forward movement, the pistol is again ready for firing.

The forward part of the top of the slide is formed with a rectangular aperture48 which serves both to admit of the cartridges being inserted into the chamber of the barrel when the pistol is being used as a single loader,

and wherethrough also the spent cartridge shells are ejected during the rearward trav- 'erse of the breechslide under the influence of the recoil following an explosion. Whenthe pistol is closed, this aperture is engaged by a rectangular block or projecting piece 31 on the top of the chambered end of the barrel and is kept thereby the action of the spring 70 and lever 71 as hereinafter described, but

when the pistol is fired the downward diagonal movement which-the barrel is compelled .to make lowers the said block from its interlocking engagement with the slide and admits of the latter being driven rearwardly by' the recoil action. movements and of the controlling of' the firing mechanism by the barrel actuated pin 67 the rear portion'32 of the said barrel is made of a square or rectangular section so as To admit of these to fit closely within the inside of the fore art of the channel-sectioned body (see igs. 8, 9 and 10) and its opposite sides are formed with series of parallel oblique ribs 33 which are set at an angle of about 45 degrees relative to the axis of the .barrel and. run

rearwardly from the top to the bottom edge of the rectangular part 32 of the barrel, while the inner surfaces of the corresponding side walls 2 of the body are formed with grooves e9 which are engaged by, and corre spond in angular disposition and width to the said ribs, but are of somewhat greater length, owing to the fact that in order to provide for the barrel making a limited oblique or diagonal movement relative to the body and breech slide, the square sectioned part 32 of the barrel is made "less in depth than the inside of the channeled part of the body, and thus the ribs 33 are capable of sliding slightly within the grooves 49 when the barrel makes the diagonal dropping or rising movement under the influence of the reciprocating breech slide. Thus, the barrel and breech slide are so arranged that when the latter is closed and held in that position by the action of the spring 70 and lever 71, the forward end of the cooking rib bears against the breech face of the barrel and transmits the eilort of the said spring in a forward direction to the said barrel, which by virtue of the inclined rib and groove connections be tween it and the body is forced into and -1naintained in the position shown in Fig. 5,

wherein the flat top 34 of the barrel lies against the underside f the forward solid top of the breech slide and is thereby prevented from rising or making any further forward oblique movement and the block 31 is in interlocking engagement with the aperture 48, while the bottom 35 of the said barrel'is elevated above the bed of the body part and is normally maintained in that position by the thrust effort of the spring combined with the action of the opposed inclined planes provided'by the engaging ribs and grooves on the tworrelatively movable parts 20 and 40 of the pistol. The upper end of the pin 67 bears against the underside of the barrel so that when the latter is in its elevated position as shown in Fig. 5, the said pin is raised by its spring into the inoperative and normal position in which it permits the searoperating-bar to make effective engagement with the tail of the sear.

The forward edge of the block 31 and the opposed edge of the aperture 48 are formed so as to constitute vertical shoulders 36,37 which normally butt against one another as shown in Fig. 5 and form thrust abutmcnts which compel the barrel to move with the breech slide (when the latter is forced back by recoil action or drawn back by hand) until the said block 31 has been fully disengaged from the aperture 48 by thc action of the inclined ribs and grooves on the barrel and body of the pistol. In either case, as soon as the barrel is relieved of the eilort of the spring when the breech slide is moved backwards in opposition to the said effort,

the vertical shoulder 37 of the breech slide butts against the opposed shoulder 36 of the barrel and compels the latter to he moved rearwardly with it and be simultaneously depressed by the opposed inclines of the engaging ribs and grooves which compel the said barrel to makeits downward diagonal motion the effect of this compound movement being to disengage the block 31 from the aperture 4.8 and lower it into a plane below that of the underside of the breech-slide and. thereby leave the said slide free to complete its rearward movement along the body and over the depressed barrel as shown in Fig. 6.

The downward movement which the barrel is constrained to make in advance of the rearward traverse of the breech slide depresses the pin 67 and tilts the sear-operating bar into its ineffective position as shown in Fig. 6, in which it-can impart no movement to the sear in the event of the trigger being pulled, and as the barrel is maintained in this lowered position and holds the pin down during the whole of the backward and forward movement of the breech slide, it follows that the firing mechanism is kept out of action during the whole of the time that the breech slide is in motion, and that double shots and other accidental discharges are thereby rendered impossible. But when the recoil energy has expended itself and the breech slide is again driven forward by the return movement of the lever 71 under the re-action influence of the spring 70, then just before the said slide reaches the limit of this motion and when the aperture 48 has been brought over the block 31, the forward end of the loading rib 46, after it has forced a cartridge from the magazine into the barrel chamber as already described is timed to strike against the breech .end of the said barrel so that during the completion of the said breechslide movement the barrel is carried or pushed along with the slide and the opposed inclined surfaces of the ribs 33 and grooves 49 compel the barrel to make an upward oblique motion which brings its top against the underside of the said slide and reengages the block 3]. with the aperture 48 and the parts are maintained in these positions and the pistol iskept closed by the tensioned spring 70 acting against the tail of the lever 71 and compelling the long arm thereof to exert a constant forward thrust against the breechslide which in turn acts upon the barrel and keeps it in the elevated position with the'vertical abutment shoulders 36, 37 in proper relationship to one another; it being of course obvious that the breech slide eifectively'limits the upward movement of the barrel under the thrust of the spring and lever 70, 71 by reason of the fact that it is itself feathered to and held down upon the body by the longitudinal grooves 45 in the one part engaging over the ribs 25 on the other part. It is also restraint exercise pressed and restores the sear operating harinto its normal position, in effective engagement with the sear tail and also lifts the con trolling pin 67 into contact with the under side of the barrel as shown in the pistol is then again ready for firing.

T 1e connection between the lever 71 and the breech slide 40 is made by a special fastening which, by the cooperation of a stop device designed to arrest the forward angular movement of the said lever, enables the latter to be' readily disconnected and permits of the slide being Withdrawn endwise from off the barrel and the body. This connection consists of a loose or detachable stud or pin 80 which is carried by the breech-slide and is provided with an annular groove 81 within which the forward edge 72 of the up er end of the swinging lever 71 is normally ept in engagement by the effort of the spring 70 and so secures the stud to the slide, but the stop device 90, when operated by finger pressure from the outside of the pistol as ereinafter more fully described is adapted to block the forward throw of the said lever and permit of an independent movement being imparted to the slide, sufiicient to disengage the groove of the stud from the edge ofthe lever and leave the said stud free to be withdrawnand to disconnect the breech slide from the body.

In the particular arrangement shown in the drawings, the right hand side of the load- Y ing rib 46 is separated from the inner face of the corresponding side wall of the breech slide by a space 82 (see Fig. 2 and the sectional plan Fig. 4) into which the upper end of the lever 71 extends and moves therein during its angular movement. The leverconnecting stud 80 is arran ed across the forward end of this s ace wit its outer end lying in a hole 83 in t 1e side-wall of the slide and its inner end engaging within a socket 84 in the side of the loading rib so that the stud is rigidly supported at two separated points and is thereby calculated to effectively resist the stresses which are exerted against it. The groove 81 is so disposed that when the stud is pushed fully home into its'socket 84, it will register with the space 82 and with the edge of the lever which engages therein as shown in Figs. l to 4, while in order to admit of the stud traveling to and fro with the slide, the side of the standing body is cut away at 85 to form a gap or clearance whose length is e ual to the rescribed throw of the stud and side and w ose rearward end 86,

forms a stop which cooperates with the said stud for limiting and arresting the rearward.

movement of the breech slide as Shown in Fig. 3; the forward motion'stop beingof Fig. 6, and that i within a recess 93.

course, formed by the top of the barrel, forward of the block 31, bedding against the underside of the breech-slide.

The stop device 90 consists of a small ush piece which is mounted in the frame 0 the pistol, adjacent to the magazine chamber in the handle, is capable .of a slight sliding movement in opposition to a spring 91, but is prevented from turning and also llmited in its outward motion underthe influence of the said spring 91 by a fixed 'pin 92 engaging The pusher extends to the outside of the frame into a position in which it may conveniently be operated by fingerpressure and the rearward edge thereof is arranged so that it projects into a recess 27 in the side of the frame wherein the lever 71- works. This rearward edge is formed with a notch 94 which'normally registers with the groove 81 in the connecting stud and also with the forward edge of the lever which engages in the said notch (as shown in Fig. 11) when the pistol is closed and passes into the same at the completion of every forward movement, so that under normal conditions, the sto of the fever orin any way afiect its engagement with the stud. But assuming that it is desired to disconnect and remove the breech slide from the body, the said slide is first drawn back sufiicie'ntly to disengage the edge of the lever from the notch 94 and then the stop is pressed inwards so as to bring its solid head or outer end 95' in front of the said lever and thereby positively prevent the same bei g thrown fully "forward by the s ring. hen the-leverjisthus blocked by t e stop, the breech slide is'relieved of the 1 thrust effort of'the reaction 's' ring and on -the'same being pushed forward. y hand into its fully closed position, it carries the stud 80 with it and takes the groove Slclear of the edge of the blocked lever. Tl'llS action breaks the connection between the lever and the stud and leaves the latter free to be laterally withdrawn from the breech slide which can then be pulledendwise off the body, while when the slide is again pushed onto the said body and brought into its normal and fully closed position the stud 80 can be re-inserted with its groove presented to the edge of the lever. Then by drawing back the slide and stud together for a short distance,. t'he groove I 81 is made again to engage the lever and the continuance of the movement of theslide still in the same direction causes the lever to J swing back out oflcontact with'the stop, which thereupon is forced outwards by its: 1 spring into the position shown in Fig. 11' in 1 which its notch 94 registers with the edge of the lever and ermits of the same making its full forward t ow. In" this manner'the'operative connection between fthe re-action spring, the lever and the breech slide is again l I restored. v r

, the spent cartridge shells during ;the.rear-' In order to prevent the introduction of a charged magazine into the pistol other than when the re-action spring and lever are in operative connection with the breech slide a portion 96 of the stop 90 may beso arranged that when the said stop is in the lever-blocking position shown in Fig. 12, the said part 96 will extend into the magazine chamber and prevent a magazine being pushed fully home into the magazine chamber.

As already stated, the pistol is provided with a catchdevice for locking the breechslide in its open position, the same being operable either by hand or by the action of the magazine spring when the magazine is empty. To provide for this action, and also for the ejection of the extracted cartridge shell during the rearward throw of the breechslide, the rearward portion of the inner face of the left hand sidewall of the channeled frame is formed with a recess 101, in which is mounted a rocking limb Orblade 100, whose for ard end is fulcrumed to the said frame at 102 so as to be ca able of an angular movement in a vertical p ane, while a spring 103 is arranged to act'upon the said limb and normally (lepressthe same so thatits lower edge rests upon the bottom edge 104 of the recess 101, as shown in Fig. which represents the.

position assumed by the limbwhen the pistol is closed and any cartridges remain in the magazine. Extending inwardly from. the.

face of the said rocking limb, at an intermediate position between its ends, is a lateral projection 105, which serves a-double-pur pose by acting both as an ejector device for cooperating with the extractor 4:7 to eject ward traverse of the breech slide and as a stop for arresting the forward movement of the said slide as hereinafter described. To admit of the unimpeded forward and backward movement of the breech slide when the limb 100 and projection 105 are in their inoperative positions as shown in Fig. 5, the left hand side of the loading rib 46 is formed from end to end with a longitudinal recess 106 (see the cross sectional view Fig. into which the said projection extends and when the limb is not otherwise influenced its spring 103 maintains the same in such a osition that as the breech slide is thrown ack by recoil energy after a discharge the empty shell which is drawn along with it by the extractor 47 is made to forcibly impinge against the forward e'nd'of the said projection in advance of the said slide reaching the limit of its rearward motion and is thereby tilted and ejected through the open aperture 48 as shown in Fig. '6.

In order to lock the breech slide in its openposition, it is necessary to impart an upward movement to the limb 100 when the said slide is at the end of its backward stroke, so as to slightly elevate the projection' 105 and bring it out of line with the side recess 100 of the loading rib and into the path of the forward end of the said rib, which on being carried forward with the slide impinges against the rear end of the said projection shown in Fig. 7, and by preventing further movement of the said slide, positively locks the same in its open position. This elevation of the limb into its locking position may be performed by hand, for whic rearward end is connected with a push piece 107 mounted in the body of the pistol and operable from the outside thereof, this pusher or slide being also utilized for depressing the limb and disengaging the pro jection fro'm the loadin rib when it is desired to re-clo'se'the pistol; or the same result may be obtained automatically by the action of the magazine spring 52 and follower 53. For this purpose the edge of the limb is formed with an extension or car 108 which extends through a gap In the upper end 'of the magazine, as shown in Fig. '7 so as to come within the path of the --spring-elevated follower, and thus, when the topmost cartridge has been loaded into the barrel by the forward movement of the breech slide, the said follower comes in contact with the piece 108 and brings the limb within the influence of the magazine spring, so that when the breech slide is blown. back by the recoil from the discharge of the said cartridge and immediately the side recess ofthe loading rib has cleared the projection 105, the limb is tilted upwards by the said magazine spring and the said projection is raised into operative position for blocking the return movement of the slide. The same action can be obtained when using the pistol as a single loader so long as the empty magazine is left in position to enable the limb to be influenced by the magazine spring. In both cases the locking projection is disengaged and the breech slide is released by operating the external pusher 107, when the action of the spring automatically restores the said slide to its closed position and leaves the pistol 'ready for -firing.

Having fully described my invention what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:- V

1. An automatic fire-arm. comprising a barrel provided with a locking projection, a

reciprocatory breech slide formed with an ejection. aperture 'having front and rear walls to engage the front and rear walls of said barrel projection to lock the slide and barrel from movement in either direction, a spring for retaining the breech slide in locked position with the ejection aperture in interlocking'engagement with the barrel projection, and means for disengaging the said 1-1- jection fromits cooperating aperture prior to the rearward movement of the breech slide and for reengaging the said projection and i purpose its turne position.

aperture when the said slide moves into closed position.

2. An automatic fire-arm comprising a barrel provided with a locking projection, a

'reciprocatory' breech slide rovided with an aperture which correspon s in shape and size to the said locking projection and 1s adapted to serve both as an ejection 0 ening for the empty shells and as a locking e emen't when fully engaged with the said barrel proj ection, and means for movin the barrel and slide relatively to engage an disengage said projection with respect to said aperture.

3'. An automatic fire arm comprising a reciprocatory breech slide, a react1on spring, a swinging-lever for connecting the s ring with the breech slide, abarrel adapte to inter lock witli'the breech slide when the latter is in its closed position, a body portion, said ejeotlon aperture corresponding in shape and size to said projection'and adapted to be engaged by thesaid locking projection, a reaction sprin for influencing the movement of the'barre and further adapted to cause the interlocking of the barrel rojection with the said aperture when'the s 'de is closed, a

tionand barrel rovi and grooves, an the said interlocking parts swin ing lever for connecting the spring with the s ide, a barrel adapted to interlock with the slide, and a body portion, said body pored with engaging ribs of the barrel and breech slide provided with opposed abutment shoulders forthe purpose set forth. 7

-5, An automatic fire arm comprising a breech slide, a barrel capable of being alternatel'y depressed and elevated with the opening and closing of the breech slide, a firing mechanism, a trigger, a bar actuatedby the trigger for'operatmg the firing mechanism, a sear, and a slidin device connected with the operating bar and actuated by the movement of the barrel for controlling the position of,

said bar with respect to the sear.

6.' An automatic fire arm comprising a reciprocatory breech slide, a body portion provided with a gap or clearance, a re-action lever, and a removable stud or pin carried by the slide for connectingfthe re-action lever thereto, said stud or pin adapted to traverse within the gap or clearance of the body por- 'tiOILQ i J I 7. An'automatic fire arm comprising a re ciprocatory breech slide, a re-action spring lever, a loose and removable stud or pin for connecting the lever to the breech slide, and

a stop device adapted to be moved into the path of the lever for the purpose of blocking its movement, thereby admitting of the breech slide being independently traversed by hand for disengaging the stud from the lever and enabling the same to be removed from the breech slide so as to disconnect the slide from the lever.

8. An automatic fire-arm comprising a reciprocatory breech slide, a barrel adapted to interlock with the slide, a re-action spring for retaining the breech slide in its closed position,

and in interlocking engagement with the barrel/an extractor mounted on the breech slide,

a limb mounted in the frame of the arm and carrying a lateral projection, a spring for nor mally influencing said limb to maintain same in a position whereby it will cooperate with the -extractor for ejecting spent cartridges during the recoil of the breech slide, and a magazine spring adapted to influence said limb for the ejection of the last cartridge from the magazine and move same into a position in which it will lock the breech slide in its open position. 9. An automaticfire-arm comprising a reciprocatory breech slide provided with an ejection aperture, a barrel having a locking projection adapted to engage in said aperture, said barrel adapted to interlock with the breech slide when the latter is in its closed position, a re-action spring for influencing the movementof the barrel and .fur-

ther adapted to cause the interlocking of the barrel projection with the breech slide when the slide is closed, a swinging lever for connecting the spring with the breech slide, said barrel and body provided with a system of inclined and engaging ribs and grooves whereby'the barrel is constrained to make diagonal downward movement when the recoil actuated breech slide is traversed rearwardly and to rise in the reverse direction into its interlocking position when the said slide is returned 'by the re-action spring into its closedposition.

10; An automatic fire arm comprising a reciprocatory breech slide, a magazine spring,

a limb carrying alateral projection adapted to be raised by said spring when the slide is at the end of its rearward traverse into a position in which it will engage with the front of the slide thereby preventing the closing thereof, and an-extractorjcooperating with the projection on saidlocking limb for eject the spent cartridge shells from the breech s 1 e. 1

11. An automatic fire-arm comprising a reciprocatory*breech'Slide provided with an ejection aperture, a barrel guided for rectilinear movement in a direction diagonally of its axis, a locking projection arranged on the barrel and adapted to be fully engaged and disengaged relatively to said ejection aperture by the said diagonal movements of the barrel, a reaction spring for influencing the movement of the barrel and serving to interlock the barrel projection with the ejection aperture of the slide when the latter is closed,

and'a pivoted lever for operatively eonnoet- 10 ing the said spring to the breech slide.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of tWo subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM JOHN VVHITING.

Witnesses HENRY SKERRETT, HENRY NORTON .SKERRETT.

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