GB150442A - Improvements in apparatus for raising submerged or sunken vessels - Google Patents

Abstract

150,442. Gray, H. A. June 5, 1919. Sunken ships, raising.-In salvage apparatus in which the wreck is first raised slightly by preliminary floats and afterwards lifted to or near the surface by auxiliary floats, the floats have the form shown in Figs. 1 and 6 respectively. The preliminary float 1, Fig. 1, is provided with a number of manually operated cocks 11, 11<1>, and 12 and with two compartments 8 and 9. There is at the top an air-pressure pipe 22, Fig. 15, and an air-relief pipe 21 and at the bottom a chain 3 carrying a hook for engaging in say a port hole of the ship. The hook may have a spring barbed point. The float 1 is kept vertical by keeping the compartment 9 full of air and may be kept horizontal when used as shown in Fig. 2 with the notch n fitting on to the keel by having the compartment 8 full of air and the compartment 9 flooded. Balancing floats 102 may be used as shown. The auxiliary float 35, Figs. 5 and 6, used as shown in Fig. 5, has a number of compartments which may be connected by manually operated cocks 38, an air tube 41, and tubes 39 for the lifting-chains 50, Fig. 5. The chains are hauled up by mechanism mounted in the additional buoys 55 which may be supplied with air through pipes 56. Hinged pawls 47, 48 prevent the chains from returning. Water leaves the float 35 by pipes 42 and a valve governed by a hand screw 20. In order to get the wrecked ship 67 into the position between the floats 35, shown in Fig. 12, levers 65 are used. These levers are supported by chains 71 and are pulled from the position shown in Fig. 11 to that shown in Fig. 12 by chains 70 connected to hauling mechanism in the buoys 55. The buoys 35 are forced apart by rods 62 with pistons fitting into the cylinder 57 supplied with pressure water through a pipe 64. Figs. 15 and 16 show a coupling for the sections of the pipes 22, 21. The pipes 22 are connected by an ordinary union coupling and one pipe 21 is secured to a conical piece 31 which can be pulled through a spider 27 until the pins 30 engage in recesses 29. The other pipe 21 is secured to a conical piece 26 which is forced into the piece 31 by a spring 34 which bears against the shoulder 33 and against a spider 25.