GB105978A - Improvements in Explosives Shells. - Google Patents

Abstract

105,978. McGill, J. F. May 4, 1916. Projectiles; projectiles, making.-Relates to explosive shells divided into a number of superposed radial chambers for containing chain shot, and consists in the combination of means for dividing the shell into radial chambers for effecting the tangential discharge of chain shot with means for selectively varying the tangents on which the chain shot are discharged. In the form shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the shell is divided into four transverse spaces A, B, C, D by disks 36, and each space is divided into four chambers bv crosspieces 35 interlocking with lugs on the disks 36. These chambers are filled with chain shot 39, 40, and are surrounded by a cylinder 20 made in four segments provided with external ribs 21 engaging grooves in the shell body 17, and with internal grooves 28 engaging the cross-pieces 35. The chain shot are held in the chambers bv bent lugs 41 on the disks 36, and sometimes also by separate segments. All these internal fittings are clamped between the base 15 and the nose 16 of the shell, a cruciform disk 34 being interposed between the base 15 and the chambers. The disks and crosspieces are perforated, and passage ways 27, 25, 24 are formed in the base and through and around the cylinder 20 to lead into the chambers the gases of explosion from a bursting charge 29 situated in the nose of the shell, thus to ensure the dispersion of the chain shot. The fuse tube 18a extends well into the charge 29 to prevent the chocking of the passages 24 with unburnt powder, The chambers of the various sections A, B, C, D can be arranged at various angles relatively to each other according to the grooves 28 selected for the cross-pieces 35, and the shot 39 can be arranged within the chambers at various radial distances from the axis of the shell to cause the chain shot to spread in various tangential directions and at various speeds. In order to facilitate the loading of this shell, the internal fittings are assembled in upright position over a rod 42, Fig. 11, above a disk 44a which, together with the cruciform disk 34, is screwed to one end of the rod 42, and a disk 44<x> with a sleeve 45 is clamped against the chambers by a disk 44 which is screwed to the other end of the rod 42. The device is then turned on its side, resting on the edges of the disks 44, 44a, which are larger than the rest, and the chain shot are put into the chambers and locked therein. Then the disk 44a is removed, the device is inserted into the shell within the cylinder 20, and the rod 42 is unscrewed from the cruciform disk 34 and removed with the disks 44, 44<x> and the sleeve 45.