US1288990A - Submarine mine. - Google Patents

Description

J. w. RENO.

SUBMARINE MINE.

APPLICATION men DEC. 1. 1911.

1,288,990. Tatentml Dec. '24, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. W. RENO.

SUBMARINE MINE.

APPLICATION m2!) 05c. I. 1917.

Patented Dec. 24, 1918 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

jW/W

TE S

JESSE VT. RENO, OF NEW YGRK, N. Y.

SUBMARINE MINE.

Application filed December 1, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J nss i V. RENO, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Submarine Mine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in submarine mines in which a bomb is an element to operate in conjunction with a floating spar, and wire rope target of an effective area many times greater than the ordinary steel hollow sphere mine. The ordinary mine consists of a hollow steel sphere of about thirty inches in diameter, containing the explosive, anchored to a weight resting on the sea bottom, by a wire cable. The excess buoyancy of the sphere is suflicient to keep the mine at a predetermined depth below the surface. The mine is usually exploded by contact with the hull of a ship. This type of mine is most deadly to surface ships which have a very broad beam and navigate in a fixed horizon. The submarine, however, with no fixed horizon and having a very narrow beam is more diflicult to destroy by this means, especially as the bow wave which accompanies the boat is known to prevent contact.

The object of my invention is to provide a mine for the destruction of submarine boats, which will be more effective than the mines now in use; another object is to provide a mine that can not be pushed aside by the bow wave of the submarine boat; still another object is to provide a mine for submarine boats which will not be dangerous to surface ships, which cannot cause an explosion of the mine by contact with the lower spar which holds the explosive charge in suspension many feet below the surface ships or in contact with the upper spar, which will be pushed aside or down by the surface boat without causing any pull on the lanyard wires or setting off the boom. A still further object of my improvement is to provide a mine for submarine boats that is packed in a comparatively small space for transportation, is capable of being easily and readily handled for transportation and delivery into the sea; is self-setting in the sea; and is of such a character as to be quickly made and at a comparatively small cost. There are still other objects gained by my invention which will appear upon its manufacture and use.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 24, 1918.

Serial No. 204,970.

I attain these objects by the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1, is a side view of the entire mine fully extended in all its dimensions, anchored and set ready for submarine boats;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the entire mine, anchored, and in the act of extending itself to its full dimensions and entire efiective area;

Fig. 8 is a side view of the entire mine, folded or packed ready for transportation or delivery in the sea or anchored on the bottom of the sea, but at which time, it has not released itself to extend itself, as shown in Figs. 2 and 1;

Fig. fh is a view in cross section of the folded mine shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view in longitudinal section of the bomb and trigger device for setting off the bomb;

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the arrangement between the spreader spar, the wires, the trigger and its lanyard.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

By reference to the drawing it will be seen that my invention consists substantially of a rectangular shaped target, comprised of an upper buoyant member or spar, 1, which may be of any suitable length; I contemplate that a suitable length generally speaking will be about fifty feet. There is a lower buoyant member or bomb spar, 2, of about the same length as the upper spar, and

spaced a considerable distance below the upper spar. I conte .iplate allowing a space between the two spars of about fifty feet, generally speaking, when the mine target is fully extended. The upper and lower spars are connected together by two tension cables or wires, 3. The four middle wires, 4, shown as preferably slack, are spaced apart from each-other sufliciently to allow the vertical cutwater of a submarine boat to enter between two adjacent wires and thereupon, the hull of the boat acting as a wedge, spread them farther apart from each other, for a purpose that will be presently explained. I have shown joints, 5, in the wires, 3, and st, at or about the middle of their length. I secure to the upper spar the ends of the wires, 3 and 4, by means of screw eyes, 6, threaded into the spar, and to the ends of the lower spar the ends of the two end tension wires, 3, by screw eyes, 6, also.

By means of the screw eyes and joints, I am enabled to fold the wires and pack them and the two spars close together, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing. Of course, I do not desire to limit my mine to the use of any particular number of wires or to the use of screw eyes and joints, as afiording efficient connections and means to secure the wires to the spars, and allow the wires to be folded and thespars packed closely together. The lower ends of the wires, at, between the two end tension cables, 3, are secured to the ends, 7, of bell crank levers, 8, pivoted in'the lower spar, 2. The other ends,'9,'of the bell crank levers are made fast to'the end of lanyardsylO, secured to the ends, 11, ofa trigger-likedevice,'for an ex plosive bomb,12, shown in detail in Fig. "5,

r in which there is a firing pin, 18, movable by a coiled spring, l4t,to fire the mine,"held under compression and inert by means of a lead"screwthreaded bolt, 15, threaded into one'end of the firing pin, the head of the bolt; beingsecurely held by a keeper, 16, fast on the-lower spar. The stem, 17, of the bolt is passed through two shear plates,,18, to the free ends, 11, of which the lanyards, 10, are attached, as already described. I also pass through the ends, 11, of the shear plates, lead rivets, 19, into the keeper, 16, which serves to retain the-shear plates against being moved by a pull-on the lanyards, Xcept wherein the strength ofthepull is sufiicient to cause the plates to shear the rivets, 19; and the bolt, 15. The trigger or firing mechanism shown in Fig. 5 may be omitted and any other form of approved mechanism be used instead, which would cause an explosion and be actuated by the lanyards. I would point out, however, that the arrangement shown can only be set off by a strong pull on the lanyards due to the use of the rivets, 19, which are sheared only by a strong pull, say one hundred pounds, at the lanyard. When they are sheared, the bolt, 15, is also severed, allowing the firing pin through the coil spring, 14:, to strike the fulminate cartridge, F. The explosive charge will be contained in a tube, 20. I" have shown the upper spar and the middle of the lower spar as hollow, in order to lessen their weight. I have secured the bomb tube, 20, to the lower spar by threading it into the lower spar. To the lower or bomb spar, 2, I secure an anchor, 21, by cables, 22, with joints, 23, at or about their middle length, and connected at their ends to the spar and anchor, by means of screw eyes, 24:. The anchor is adapted to rest on the bed of the ocean, and secure themine at'its location. I have shown the anchor, 21, in the form of a piece of railroad rail; but, of course, the anchor need not be in that form, so long as it shall accomplish my purpose in my mine. I have already explained that my submarine wires may be'folded' in oiithemselveg'the I will proceed towires being-jointed in themiddleand freely connected at their ends to the screw eyes for. this purpose; th'e'spacmg'stnps also serve to prevent the heads -'of-theiscre\'veyes fronr injury. When the parts of the min'ehave been packed -=together, as shown fo'rinstance in Figs-"3 and4, I blnd them togetherin' that packedposition" by the-use of lashings,

26. I have shown themas passed around the anchor, 21, or,?specifically, *asshown in Fig.

4:, through'ho'les, 27, inthe' web of the piece of railroad rail, used in that example-as the anchorformy mine. The free ends-of the lashings are passed -through"holes,28, in

pieces of canvas orwebbing, 29, and'the free ends, 30, of thewebbing' are passed over the upper spar "and secured to each other by a cement 'or other substance, such as glue,

that-ioses its 'adhesiveness'iin water. Upon the InlfiGiITlilSPfiCkGd and bound condition being launched in the'sea from a ship, it

sinks to the bottom,"wtth the anchor rail resting uponthe'sea bed. After a sufficient interval of time for the adhesive substance to lose its adhesiveness in thewater, and allow the spars by their buoyancy to' separate the ends, 30, of the webbing-29, the spars rise in the'sea, tothefull' extent of the wires, which secure themandthefanchor rail together, as shown in Fig-1 1 of the drawing,

In Fig. '2, I have shown th upper spar, 1, 1n theact of r1s1 ng,"l1ftin'g the 'ends'of the Wires, 3 and 4:, with it as it r1ses,'1t being the first of the two spars to begin to rise upon It is being freed from its bound"position. well-known that the velocity of currents in the ocean is much greater nefar'the surface of the sea than atson'ie depth; therefore, in order to reduce the resistance of theupper spar, l, to the currents, I make its thick ness as small as'possibl in the'conditions.

It will be understood that the excess buoyancy of the whole apparatus Wlll be the same if the buoyancy displacementis divided between the upperand lower spars. If the lower spar has suiiicient buoyancy to support the bomb and anchor wires, the upper spar will only need to support'the weightof the wires attached to it so thatit will have considerable excess buoyancy which will tend to" keep the apparatus upright"as against the tides It will be observed that my mine is very portable, and can be readily.

and easily shipped and stored aboard a ship for transportation, and as easily handled aboard ship, and launched therefrom as conveniently and readily as the ordinary mine. Because of its compactness, large numbers of my mines can be stored aboard a small ship and carried to the locations where they are to be set in the sea, and be rapidly and secretly launched, and allowed to set themselves. They can be launched from a moving ship through a hole in the stern, one mine following in quick succession, so that when they have set themselves in the sea, they will form a practically continuous barrier as against an enemy submarine boat, and by my mine, harbors, channels or sea spaces can be rapidly and effectively closed to the entrance or exit of enemy submarines.

The self-setting featur of my invention is very important. I base my opinion of this on actual experiments made under my supervision in ocean waters with a full size model, which I made containing the essential features of this invention. In that case, however, it was found very difficult to set the mine from the surface down by unrolling it from the upper spar, which was supported from the side of a ship. In my experinient flexible rope cables were wound about a round steel ten inches diameter and forty feet long pipe, which formed the upper buoyant spar. There may be circumstances, however, where it would be advisable to set the mine from the surface down, as was done in the test referred to, therefore, I do not wish to be limited in the scope of my present invention.

5y reference to Fig. 1 of the drawing, it will be observed that even if the cutwater of a submarine boat should take my mine at a very acute angle, the boat would enter between the vertically disposed Wires between the spars, l and 2, and cause the bomb to explode, and this action would be aided by the horizontal rudders on the submarine boat which project from its sides at about fifteen feet from the prow of the boat, or if the boat did not enter between the wires, but strike the mine a glancing blow, the boat would exert such tension on the wires as to pull the lanyard of the bomb and cause an explosion, in brief, my mine presents an effective target area. for submarines many times larger than the ordinary Submarine mine, as has already been stated and explained.

It will be perceived that the form and con struction of my mine are much simpler, easier and less costly to manufacture than the ordinary spherical submarine mine, and that the materials I may use are very abundant, ordinary and cheap, and professional or skilled labor is not required to make it, ship or transport it or set it in the sea, or take it up from the sea. Rough sawed timber, discarded spars or telegraph poles and wire, and pieces of old railroad rails, whlch otherwise would have no especial use except for scrap, may be utilized in the construction of my mine; consequently large numbers of my mine can be made at comparatively small cost and quickly set in large numbers in the waters infested by enemy submarine boats. Their presence would have a strong moral effect upon the crews of enemy submarine boats, thus greatly restricting the use of that dreadful and ruthless engine of destruction.

The operation of my mine is as follows The submarine when submerged usually cruises about fifty feet below the surface and the shape of the forward end of the boat is more or less wedge shaped consequently, assuming that my mine is in its path, the vertical cutwater of the boat will pass between the adjacent vertical wires, 3, as shown in dotted lines Fig. l, spreading them apart and causing a heavy strain upon the lanyard, 13, thus pulling the trigger and firing the bomb. It is well-known by experiment that the explosion of say one hundred pounds of tri-nitro toluene within thirty feet of the hull of a submarine boat will cause such damage to the hull that leaks will start in numerous places and the boat will lose its buoyancy and sink. For this reason I do not consider it necessary to make actual contact with the front of the submarine boat as provided in my previous invention, U. S. Patent No. 1,173,463. If the submarine boat strikes my mine at an angle or a glancing blow, it will displace the wires sufficiently to cause the bomb to explode, as already stated.

I claim 1. In a submarine mine for submarine boats, the combination of an upper, buoyant spar, a lower buoyant spar, adapted to be held in the sea below the upper spar, an explosive bomb connected to the lower spar, a trigger-like firing device for the bomb, tension wires or cables connecting the spars together and slack wires fastened to the trigger, the wires being spaced apart from each other to allow the prow of a submarine boat to enter between them and thrust the wires aside, and thereby effect a pull of the trigger and fire the bomb.

2. In a submarine mine for submarine boats, the combination of two buoyant spars, adapted when the mine is set in the water to be held spaced apart from each other, one above the other, an explosive bomb, connected to the lower spar, a trigger-dike firing device for the bomb, wires connecting the spars together and fastened to the trigger, the wires being jointed at about their middle, to enable them to be folded upon themselves and the spars and wires be packed closely together in a bundle, the wires being spaced apart from each other when the mine is set to allow a submarine boat to enter between the wires and thrust them to one side, and thereby to pull the trigger and fire the bomb.

3. In a submarine mine for submarine,

boats, the combination of two buoyant spars, adapted when the mine is set in the water to be held spaced apart from each other, one above the other, an explosive bomb, connected to the lower spar, a trigger-like firing device from the bomb, wires connecting the spars together and fastened to the trigger, the wires'being jointed at about their middle, to enable them to be folded upon themselves and the spars and wires be packed closely together in a bundle, the wires being spaced apart from each other when the mine is set to allow a submarine boat to enter between the wires and thrust them to one-side, and thereby to pull the trigger and fire the bomb, and means tobind the spars and folded Wires together, the said means being self-releasing after the mine is launched into the water, to allow the mine to set itself.

4. In a submarine mine for submarine boats, the combination of two buoyant spars, and an anchor therefor, the spars being,

adapted when the mine isset in the sea to be held spaced apart from each other and from the anchor, one above the other, an explosive bomb attached to the lower one of the two spars, a trigger-hke fir ng device 'Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing'the Commissioner of Patents. 7 Washington, D. 0.

5. In a submarine mine for submarine boats, the combination of upper and lower spars, an explosivebom'b carried by the lower spar, a trigger-like firing device for the bomb, a lanyard therefor, tension wiresconnecting the spars together and slack Wires between them attached to the lanyard,

safetyrivets to hold the trigger against being pulled except upon thG'IIIOX QmQIIt of the slack wires by a submarine boat against them.

6. In a submarine mine for submarine boats, the combination of upper and lower spa-rs, an explosive bomb carried by the lower spar, a trigger-like firing device for the bomb,"a lanyard therefor, bell crank levers, pivoted in the lower spar, and having one end connected to the lanyards, wires at the ends of the spars connecting them together and Wires intermediate of the ends of the spars, connected to the u, per spar, and to the other ends of the bel crank levers, safety rivets to hold the trigger against being pulled except upon the movement of the wires by a submarine boat against them. In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specificationin the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JESSE W. RENO.

Witnesses:

ERNEST L. GALE, Jr., HAZEL R. GATES. V

Images