US1226348A - Submarine mine and propeller-entanglement. - Google Patents

Description

A. N. McGRAY.

SUBMARINE MINE AND PROPELLER ENTANGLEMENT.

APPLICATION HLED JAN. 30, I915- Pmnmd May 15,1917.

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WITNESSES I I A m NM i i r 81 i A. N. McGRAY.

SUBMARINE MINE AND PROPELLER ENTANGLEMENT. APPLICATION FILED IAN-30.1915.

1,226,348. I Patented May 15, 1917.

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WI T IVESSES MIL EN T05 Arihur N. McGray MAM? By A TTORIVEYS ARTHUR H. MOGRAY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SUBMAIRIINE MINE AND PROPELLER-ENTANG-LEMENT.

Specification of Letters Bat ent.

Patented May 15, 191?.

Application filed January 30, 1915. Serial No. 5,213.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR N. MoGRAY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Submarine Mine and Propeller-Entanglement, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to submarine defenses against naval crafts, both of the floating and submarine types, and the general objects of the invention are to provide a defense or a system of protection for coasts, harbors and the like, the defense embodying submerged elements floating a suitable depth below the surface of the water and serving as entanglements for the propellers of war crafts, whereby the latter will be rendered helpless against escape and exposed to the attacks of the enemy.

In carrying out .the invention the system of propeller entanglements comprises a plurality of lines or' cables separately laid over an area to be protected and disposed in parallel lines or intersecting lines, and each including a plurality of vertical Wires spaced apart and having suitable floats whereby the wires will lie close enough to the surface of the water as to be readily entangled with propellers of ships, the wires and cables being sufliciently light that they will be pulled up by propellers and more effectively entangled therewith, and' if desired these propeller entanglement elements and wires may include mineswhereby entangled ships may be destroyed by the entangling system itself. With a system of this character the various lines can bereadily laid by a craft similar to a cable layer, it being merely necessary to attach at spaced points on a line, as the latter is being paid out, the buoyant propeller entangling wires or elements, and also to attach weights or anchors from time to time on the line as it is paid out. It will thus be seen that an expanseof seacan be easily and quickly laid with the system of propeller entan lement.

A further ob]ect of the invention is the provision in connectionwith the sea entan-. glement referred to, of a vertical net anchored at the bottom and buoyant at the top and having arrange thereon a plurality of explosive mines and dummy mines suitably distributed, and. asthis net is located along the border of the area protected by the entanglement a submarine.

which has successfully worked its way through the entanglement will be endangered by the net, and if the net is observed before collision therewith the submarinewill attempt to escape by moving sternward, which will expose the submarine to danger by the propeller becoming caught in the entanglements, and thereby thrown out of commission.

With such objects in view, and others Figure 1 is a sectional view of a body of water showing a line of entanglements being-laid for creating a submarine defense;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a'body of water showing an entanglement layer in the oper ation of laying entanglement lines;

Fig. 3' is a view showing a submarine mine'net which borders the field of entanglement;

Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views of the floating propeller entanglements; and

Fig. 6 is a detail view of one of the means for attaching the entanglements with the anchoring cable or line.

. Referring to the drawings, A designates a wire cable or other line to which are attached at suitable intervals floating propeller entanglements B which terminate at their upper ends a few feet below the surface of the water, so that a floatin battle-' ship or other naval craft will be ikely to encounter the floating entanglements and have its propellers caught thereon, whereby the propellers will be rendered inoperative. The anchor line A is adapted to be laid a light draft boat equipped like an ordinary cable layer, and the entanglements B are adapted to be attached one after another as the anchor line A is paid out from the craft C. The end of the line A that is first thrown overboard will have a fluked anchor 1 so as to become firmly attached to the sea bottom, and at intervalsweighting anchors 2 are attached to the line A, these anchors being applied one after another as the line is belngrpaid'out. The lines may be of any desired length, according to the extent of the seabottom to be covered. As shown in Fig. 2, the cables A may be laid parallel to each other, as indicated, and if desired there may be intersecting lines, whereby the entanglements will be planted ve'ry densely, rendering it impossible for v ments will be suificiently close to the sur-- face as to become readily entangled .with propellers. In Fig. 1 a variety of forms of entanglements are shown. The upper ends may be of triangular formation, as shown at b, and each includes afloatB, and if de sired a mine 4 may be embodied in the entanglement at any suitable point, the float 7 being of suflicient buoyancy to keep the en'- tanglement afloat. The entanglements b have a rectangular formation at the top and include angularly disposed floats 5, and these entanglements may also include a floating mine 6. The entanglements may be of a multiform character, as shown at 6 wherein the entanglement is shown as having the lower section somewhat like the form b,

and attached to this lower section are a plurality of upper sections 7 and 8. This arrangement has an advantage that only one -main connecting wire 9 is employed to connect a plurality of'float-sustained entan -glements with the anchoring cable A. It

will be understood that when a floating or submarine craft encounters the field of propeller entanglement, the propellers will become caught on an entanglement and wind .the latter up .on the propeller and thereby disable the craft and render the same liable to destruction by the explosion of a mine that is incorporated in the entanglement. A mine net D may with advantage be used in connection with the system of propeller entanglements, and this net is adapted to be placed along the outer border of the entanglement system, and serves to prevent .the passage .of submarines through entanglements. This net D is made of wire or rope and has its bottom edge provided with anchors 10, and the upper edge is provided with floats 11, and distributed over the net are explosive mines 12 and dummy mines 13. If a submarine succeeds in passing through the field of entanglements by keeping at a level below the branched upper buoyant ends of the latter,

and encounters the'net D, there will be danger of destruction by explosion of the mines on the latter, and if the net is seen before it is reached there is likelihood of the propeller of the submarine boat becoming caught with the entanglements in maneuvering away from the net. The net D may have a microphone or equivalent device 1&

which is connected by a wire 15 with a watch ship E, sothat when a boat encounfloating entanglements be capable of quick attachment to and detachment from the anchoring cable, so that the laying and taking up of the entanglements can be effected with despatch, and therefore the cable A may have .snap hooks or equivalent devices 16,

and the lower ends of the entanglements, as

shown in Figs. 4 and 5, will be provided with eyes 17 to engage With the hooks. The anchors of the cable A may also be connected with similar snap hooks 16.

' From the foregoing description taken in connection with. the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and method of operation will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the principle ofoperation, together with thesystem which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the system shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the appended claims.

Although the invention has been referred to as a defense, it is to be understood. that this term is to include a blockade.

- Having thus described my invention, I

ters Patent:

'1. A submarine defense comprising a plurality of looped propeller entanglements, an anchoring cable, and a connection extending from the bottom of each loopto the cable,

vclaim as new and desire to secure by Leteach loop having float means for cooperating with the cable to maintain the loops more or less upright, and the float means also serving to hold the loops open for entanglement with propellers, said loops being independent of each other and free to move laterally in all directions from the anchoring cable. I

2. A submarine defense comprising a plurality of looped propeller entanglements, an. anchoring cable, a connection extending from the bottom of each loop to the cable,

each loop having float means for cooperating 130 with the cable to maintain the loops more In testimony whereof I have signed my or less upright, and the float means also a name to this specification in the presence of serving to hold the loops open for entangletwo subscribing witnesses.

ment with propellers, and mines attached ARTHUR N. MGGRAY. to the loops, said loopsfbeing independent Witnesses:

of each other and free to move laterally in C. BRADWAY',

all directions from the anchoring cable. PHILIP D. Romania.

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