historicalfirearms:Early Firearms SuppressorsThe firstviable firearm suppressors appeared at the tur
historicalfirearms:Early Firearms SuppressorsThe firstviable firearm suppressors appeared at the turn of the 20th century with aseries of patents being granted on various designs between 1909 and 1920. Some of the first granted were for designs by Hiram Percy Maxim, son of Sir Hiram Maxim - inventor of the machine gun, who established an engineering company. Initially Maxim’s company was focused onthe burgeoning automobile market. It was not until 1905 that Maxim begandeveloping a series of designs to moderate sound. The drawing from Maxim’s March 1909 patent, #916885, showing his first design intended to spiral gases into vortices (source)Initially he experimentedwith valves, vents and bypass devices. He eventually finalised his basic ideaand developed a series of practical suppressors; these were sold by the MaximSilent Firearms Company, which would later become the Maxim Silencer Company.With the success of Maxim’s silencers a number of rival designers and companies began developing their own designs. The early 1910s saw a flurry of designs patented. Some of these are featured above. These included: James Stinson’s ‘Gun Muffler’ (US Patent #959400)George Childress hemispherical expansion chamber silencer (US Patent #953943)Charles H. Kenney’s 1910 silencer which had a large pre-expansion chamber (US Patent #1017003) Andy Shipley’s 1910 patent was one of the first to suggest porting the firearm’s barrel (US Patent #971083)Major Anthony Fiala’s spiral baffle silencer (US Patent #1341363)Harry Craven’s shotgun silencer (US Patent #984750)Eugene Thurler’s 1911 patent which used a bayonet style attachment system and used deflecting cones (US Patent #1000702)Herbert Moore’s gas trap (US Patent #1080154) R.M. Towson’s ‘Recoil Neutralizer and Muffler’ which was little more than an unconventional muzzle break for both small arms and artillery (US Patent #1390658)The most successful competitor to Maxim was RobertA. Moore who patented his first silencer design in 1910. Developed for largecalibre hunting and military rifles Moore’s design used a large gas chamberwhich sat beneath the rifle’s muzzle. (US Patent #956717) Moore would go on to compete against Maxim during US Army rifle silencer trials just before the beginning of World War One. The civilian market for firearms silencers began to decline during the Great Depression and was dealt a severe blow in 1934 by the National Firearms Act. If you enjoy the content please consider supporting Historical Firearms through Patreon! -- source link
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