disappearing carriage

1 definition found

disappearing carriage - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Disappearing \Dis`ap*pear"ing\,
     p. pr. & vb. n. of Disappear.
  
     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 Suppl.]