US1087192A

US1087192A - Aerial torpedo.

Info

Publication number: US1087192A
Application number: US77845013A
Authority: US
Inventors: Andrew M Shuhany
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1913-07-11
Filing date: 1913-07-11
Publication date: 1914-02-17
Anticipated expiration: 1931-02-17

Description

A.. M. SHUHANY. AERIAL TORPEDO. APPLIUATION FILED JULY11`, 1913.

` Patented' Fab. 1'?, 1914.

ai? Wg ya? 5,1

l ANDREW IVI. SHHANY, OF CHELlVIS-FORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

AERIAL froRrEDo.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

Applieationled July 11. 1913. Ser'i'al N0. 778,450.

'T0 all vrs/tom -z't may concern.'

Be it known that l, ANnREw l\I.'SHU IIANY, a subject of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Chelmsford, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of VMassacliusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improve-V ment in Aerial Torpedoes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to aerial torpedoes or torpedoes designed to be dropped or thrown from flying machines, as aeroplanes and air-ships or dirigible balloons.

The object of said invention is to secure in such torpedoes greater certainty of discharge, accuracy of flight and safety in loading and handling. and to prevent accif dental or. premature discharge.

ln the accompanying drawing Figure l is an elevation of the charging side of the torpedo, the cover of the body or compartn'icnt which carries the explosive charge be'ingremoved, and the weight and drag and adjacent parts of the body being in central lon-- gitudinal section; Fig. Q, a section of the body on the line 2- 2 in Fig. 1'; Fig. 3, a front elevation of the torpedo; Fig. 4, a longitudinal central section of the firing-pin `guide, shoving said pin and its retracting spring in side elevation; Fig. 5, a side elevation of the plunger and its guide-plug and check-nut and of the safety pin.

rllhe body A of the torpedo is a box of any suitable material, the pieces of which when the body bursts will serve as missiles, preferably, of metal as cast-iron, and preferably rectangular or, at least, having a fiat side -on which it may rest while being filled. The cover B 'of the box is ra-bbetedv at l) (Fig. 2) and the adjacent side-edges of the box A are rabbeted at a to it the cover which is retained on the box by bolts or screws C which pass through the cover at right angles to the face of said cover, andv are tapped into the adjacent faces ofthe two rabbets as indicated in Figs. l and 2 and into the sides a2 of thesame. Opposite sides a2 have on their inner faces grooves or Ways a3 which receive the ends of a sliding crossbar D, which, is perforated midway between its entsfto receive and fit a cartridge shell E filled with a suitable explosive andhaving a primer e filled with material eX- plosible by'percussion. The cartridge is retained in the holdingbar D by. suitable retaining means as by a cap-screw F which turns insaid bar until its head rests on the flange el of said cartridge. Two screws G G pa'rallel with each other and with the ways a3 a pass through and are threaded into the bar D near its ends and are just long enough to reach from the inner face of the cover B to the inner face of the opposite side a* of the box A when said cover is fastened in place, so that vby turning said screws G`G the primer e or a portion vof the flange c1, if the cartridge be a rim-fire cartridge, may be brought into exact alinement with the firing-pin H hereinafter described. A weight I, preferably of east-iron, having a tapering shape to cleave the air and represented as afrustuln of a rectangular pyramid, is rigidly secured by screws z' z' to the front end al of the box A and has an aXl l hole 'il 1n alinement with a perforation a5 in the box A.

The gravity of the substantially solid weight I causes the torpedo, when let go, to descend `vertically with said weight I in advance. y

Before the weight I is secured to Ithe box A, the rear end of the tubular tiring-pin guide J` (Figs. 1 and 4) the end at the right in Fig. 4, said guide containing the ringpin H and its retracting spring L, is inserted in the perforation a5 up to the collar .7' and the guide-retaining spring M is placed-v in the hole l against an annular shoulder 2'2- in -said hole il and the other or lower end, of said guide is inserted in said spring M' and'hole up to said collar y', the compression of said spring between said shoulder 112 and collar j holding said .collar against the front of the box A.

The guide J closely fits the perforation a and ,the 'firing-pin H has a sliding fit in said g1 'de and is normally held out of contact wi h the primer e of the cartridge by a spiral wire spring L surrounding said pin and compressed between the bottom jl of the counterboredl recess 7'2 and a collar ja on CII collar js, against an annular bea-ring plug j" secured in the front end of said guide.

an externally-threaded plug n turned in the front end of said hole and prevented from becoming loose by a check-nut nl. The plunger is normally .kept out of Contact with the firing-pin by a spiralY spring' n2 surrounding said plunger and compressed between said reduced part 3- of the hole i" and the collar n3.

For greater security in loading and han dling the torpedo, a safety pin is passed through a transverse hole in the plunger y. close to the front end of the bearing plug,

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said pin being represented as smaller at the point o for easy introduction and provided 'on its larger part with a screw-thread 0F to engagea corresponding thread. in said hole. Theo plunger at its front end has an enlarged head n4.

For greater directness of iiight and to keep the weight in. advance at all times, a drag P is secured to the rear end of the body A byl screws 72 p", said drag consisting of a box of light material as Wood and having a cover p hinged thereto at p1 p1 and secured when closed by a. latch p2. This drag or box is substantially empty of everything but air, althouoh it may be used.'v to contain a 'few coils o? a time fuse vQ when desired. The safety-'fuse Q ends within the body or box A in a cartridge or case Q containing any .desired highly-explosive material so that if the torpedo is dropped over water or la bog and might fail to explode,

4owing tothe little resistance offered by'these,

or should strike a glancing blow on rock or other hard material between the front and rear of the weight and be thrown on its side without the head of the plunger striking, the4 explosion of the torpedo will bejcertain.

'The fuse Q goes throuoh holes a v3 p* to the it may bey outside of the torpedb so that lighted before dropping the torpedo. The

' body A is loaded with explosive material and may also contain missiles and highly iniammable material, like Greek fire, to create confia-grations.

The construction of the `firing-pin guide and its coperating parte allows said guida` to be pushed forward until the firing pin projects therefrom, so'that the firing-pin may be grasped by the thumb and linger and brought in contact with the cartridge or sufficiently nearto it to determine the correct position Tof the primer or rim ot the cartridge with reference to the tiring-pin.

'I claim as my invention:

l. The combination in an aerial torpedo,

I ot a hollow body adapted to receive explosive material, a tapering weight secured to the front of said body, and a drag of lighter 2. The combination in an aerial torpedo,-

of a body consisting of a hollow box adapted to receive explosive material, a metallic weight secured to the front'o'f said body, and a drag consisting' of a substantially empty box secured to the rear of said body and projecting beyond the sides of the same.

The combination in a torpedo, of a hollow body having a perforated front, means for holding a cartridge in said body in alinement -With said perforation, a Weight rigidly secured to the front of said body and having a hole in alinement with said perfo ration, a firing pin arranged in said perforation and hole, Ameans 'for guiding said ring pin, a spring normally to hold said firing pin out of contact with said cartridge, a plunger arranged in said hole and projecting from the front of said weight and means for normally holding said plunger out oi contact with said firing-pin.

4. The combination in a torpedo, of a hollow body having a perforated front, a weight secured to the front of said body and having a hole therethrough in alinement with said perforation, said hole having a middle portion ot reduced diameter, a tubular iring-pin guide arranged in said .perforation and hole and having in its front portion a coun ter-bored recess, a liring pin longer than said guide, and provided. with a collar, a spring arranged in said recess and compressed between the rear end of said recess and said collar, a bearing-plug for said firing-pin secured in the front end of said guide, a. plunger having a collar arranged in said hole in alinement with said firingpm, a spring compressed between said last named collar and the annular shoulder at the reduced part of said hole, an externallythreaded plug through which said plunger projects in front of said weight, and means for preventing accidental turning of said lu p 5. rlhe combination in a torpedo, ot a hollow body having a perforated front, a. j

weight secured to the front of said body having a A hole therethrough in alinement with said perforation, said-hole having a middle portion of'reduced diameter, a tubular tiring-pin guide arranged in said perforation and hole, and having in its front portion a counter-bored recess, and having a collar, a spring surrounding said guide in front of said collar and compressed between said collar, and a shoulder in said hole normally to hold said collar against the front of said body, a Afiring-pin longer than said guide and arranged in said guide and provided with a coilar, a spring arranged in said recess and 4compressed"heiween the rear e In wit-ness whereof, I have affixed my sigend of said recess and said last named collar, nature in presence of wo witnesses.

and adjustable means for holding afk car- .tridgeiin said body, to 'enable said guide to ANDREW M SHUHANY' be pushed forward and said firing-pin to Witnesses: j be drawn backward to observe the alinemeni;v ALBERT M. MOORE,

\ of said pin withsaid cartridge. WILLIAM F. CUii'rIN.