α. 1800s– Broadwell ring.
β. 1800s Broadwell's ring.
Broadwell ringn.
/ˌbrɔːdw(ɛ)l ˈrɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈbrɔdˌwɛl ˌrɪŋ/, /ˈbrɑdˌwɛl ˌrɪŋ/ Gunnery. Now historical.
A kind of circular gas-check for use in cannon and small arms.The device is in the form of a ring located in a chamber at the front of the breechblock or at the rear of the barrel; when the charge is ignited, gas rushes into a recess in the ring and presses the ring back against the breechblock and expands the ring in its chamber, so preventing escape of gas from the breech.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > breech > part to prevent escape of gas
gas check1856
Broadwell ring1867
gas ring1880
1867 Times 28 May 6/2 A copper ring gas check, much like the broadwell ring in front, fits into the back of the bore.
1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 347/1 Ring, Broadwell's, a means of preventing the escape of gas in a B.L.R. gun. It is the invention of an American, and is used in Mr. Krupp's and other guns.
1894 United Service. Apr. 386/1 The wedge is perforated with an axial vent, the packing consisting of a Broadwell ring.
1973 A. Seaton Army German Empire, 1870–88 29 The system of breech closing was by Krupp's single cylindro-prismatic wedge, and obturation was obtained by a Broadwell ring of pure copper, backed by a steel plate in the wedge.
2004 S. Bull Encycl. Mil. Technol. & Innovation 23/1 The system that had most immediate impact was that of Krupp, whose sliding wedge incorporated Broadwell rings and was used to great advantage in Prussia's wars of the later nineteenth century.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1867