Disappearing carriage. (Ordnance)
A
carriage for heavy coast guns on which the gun is raised above the
parapet for firing and upon discharge is lowered behind the parapet
for protection. The standard type of disappearing carriage in the
coast artillery of the United States army is the Buffington-Crozier
carriage, in which the gun trunnions are secured at the upper and
after ends of a pair of heavy levers, at the lower ends of which is
attached a counterweight of lead. The levers are pivoted at their
middle points, which are, with the top carriage, permitted restrained
motion along the slightly inclined chassis rails. The counterweight is
held in place by a pawl and ratchet. When the gun is loaded the pawl
is released and the counterweight sinks, raising the gun to the firing
position above the parapet. The recoil following the discharge returns
the gun to the loading position, the counterweight rising until the
pawl engages the ratchet.
© Webster 1913.