US1664167A - Torpedo guard - Google Patents

Description

March 27, 1928.

J. GREENWICH TORPEDO GUAR D Filed Sept. 27, 1920 '7 Sheets-Sheet l I n1 J5 6 4 ll A 6 m INVENTOR March 27, 1926. 1,664,167

J. GREENWICH TORPEDO GUARD Filed Sept. 27, 1 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR March 27, 1928. 1,664,167

J. GREENWICH TORPEDO GUARD Filed Sept. 27, 1920 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR J. GREENWICH March 27, 1928.

TORPEDO GUARD Filed Sept. 27, 1 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 o E E ill INVENTQR March 27, 1928. 1,664,167

J. GREENWICH TORPEDO GUARD Filed Sept. 27, 1 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 O U DO 000 006C? 6060 u H F i 2 INVENTOR Marh 27, 1928;

J. G REENWIC H TORPEDO GUARD Filed Sept. 27. 1920 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR March 27, 1928. 1,664,167

- T. GREENWICH 'ronmano GUARD Filed Sept. 27. 1926 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR Patented Mar. 27, 1928.

JOHN GBEENWICH, or "rnnivwo'on, IDAHO.

'ronrnno ocean.

Application filed September 27, 1920. Serial No. 413,066.

This device relates to new and useful improvements in shields for ships of war, as well as for ships of commerce in time of war, and the principal object of the invention is to provide means to intercept torpedoes and the like and to remove them away from the ship.

Another object of the invention is to provide a submerged shield made up of a plu rality of individual members, each member having an explosive in a cartridge associated therewith and adapted to be exploded by energy of water, driven by a quick moving torpedo, with some help or without any help of energy of the moving torpedo striking the yielding and entangling nets, that are associated with separate shields and are placed in front of the same. The force of this explosion will break the wood shield, made not very strong and especially designed for a breakage in middle, thus giving a passage to the gases and the gas driven currents of water to act upon the torpedo to remove the same away from the ship.

The explosion of the torpedo will probably not occur at all, because the primary action on the war head of the torpedo will be a comparatively mild one, on account of the protective nets held by coil springs in front of every shield and on account of the yielding of these springs, and nets, and shield under energy of water driven by the moving torpedo, or under energy of the torpedo itself, and on account of entangling by the nets the firing mechanism of the torpedo, thus stopping a revolution of the fan of the torpedo and consequently locking the firing mechanism of the torpedo.

The torpedo can not explode by a shock, because of before mentioned primary mild action on the torpedo and because the device is so constructed that the currents of water, as well as the broken parts of the device, will get at first side movements and may exert only a side action on the torpedo. -Be sides this, these broken parts, moved by the force of explosion, are constructively protected by the nets, by the springs holding these nets, and by diagonal bars which are not heavy and are hardened like springs. The more heavy piece, driven by the force of explosion, i. e., the piston is constructively protected by canvas and by two layers of snock absorbing watertight compound.

Movement away of the torpedo with some side impulse, due to a noncoincidence in most "ases of a longitudinal axis of the torpedo with the direction of the resultant of forces, generated by an explosion of the cartridge or the cartridges, may give the ship a possibility of passing the torpedo, and if the deflected torpedo shall. hit the ship again, it will be moved and forced to the side again. Besides this, the mere process of forcibly removing the torpedo will probably disturb the intricate mechanism of the torpedo, thus putting it out of order.

Even it the explosion of the torpedo does occur, this explosion can not occur close to the ship, because an earlier explosion of the cartridge as well as some difference in the times of explosion of: the charge in the oartridge and of the 'reat mass oi dry and wet guncotton of the torpedo will gain some time. and this gained time will allow the removing of the torpedo to some distance, and even if this distance shall not be far enough, the final result of the explosion of the torpedo will be considerably diminished in force and in time by the explosion of the adjoining shields, by the counteractions of the currents of water from the explosion of the torpedo and ot the cartridges, and by the diminution of the fulcrum for the torpedo explosion, due to the gases from exploded cartridges.

Because the bulls of some ships may not; be strong enough to withstand the effect or effects of explosions of the cartridges, these hulls can be strengthened, if it should be necessary.

The resistance of the yielding parts of the device can be so calculated that it will prevent the explosion of the cartridges from the common sea waves. A. special contrivance locks the device, thuspreventinp; an explosion from some powerful sea waves.

Separate torpedo guards are fastened to the separate planks of wood, and these planks are fastened to the hull of the ship by a tow screw bolts, thus making an adjustment of the device an easy and a' quick job.

The invention also consists in some other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing my invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like plunger.

or corresponding parts throughout the sev-- porting the frame" and: of means to fasten the" nets to the frame;

Figure 51is' a front View of means to operate the" locking cont rivance' from lnside of shlp.

Figuretis a sectional view of'pushbolt that holds a in position the lever for locking and unlocking of the'device.

Figure 7' is a front view of one of the shields with the frame, bearing; the nets,reposing on springs fastened toithe shield', the nets bBiHgTShOWPbIOkGH ofi.

V'Figure Sis a section on line M-N of Figure'7.

Figure 9 is a detail of head for the Figure 10 is an enlarged vertical view of the essentiahparts of the device with:

details.

Figure 1 1 is anenlarged' sect-ionali view of the'cart'ridge mechanism of" the device.

Figure 12 is'two views of a metal plate of the" shield. V

Figure '13 is enlarged views of the collars with locks.

Figure 14 is an enlarged: sectional view of the cartridge to' show the grooves for .grease and the flanged ring of variable strength-H Figure 15 is an enlarged. sectional view of thercylinder for plunger, showing-the grooves for grease, the hole for lock, and the valve opening for the outlet of the water.

My present invention is a further unprove'ment and a reductloni to "the practice of my torpedo guards, filed at the office- March 15, 1918, Serial No. 222,682;

In accordance with my present marking of the drawings, 1 indicates the hull: of ship and 2 theplanksto which the separate torpedo guards; arefastened; 3-indicates-the principal wood plank of separate shields.

The shields girdf'the liull of ship like a belt and thickness and depth of such belt is dependent on the principles of torpedo attacks. 4, 5, and 6 indicate correspondingly thestrips of wood: reinforcing the principal wood plank 3 of the shields'at edges and: in

center; These strips of Wood are fastened to the principal wood plank of the shield by wood screws A, or: by similaraneans.v

The wood shield is designed to be broken by the force of explosion of the" cartridge to give a passage to the gases and the gas driven currents ofwater to act upon the torpedo. It is made not thick and is constructed not. very resisting the breakage byforce acting from behind, i. e., the explosion. of a cartridge, but greatly resist ing the forces acting on it in front, i. e., the sea waves. The thickness about one inch for the principal wood plank 3 and the same thickness'for reinforcing strips of wood 4, 5, and 6 is most suitable for ordinary purposes. I prefer to use spruce, wllichis veryflexible, not heavy, and-is less liable to be split by action of sea waves. The sizeof the shield must correspond tor the size of torpedoes and torpedo driven: currents of waiter.v I prefer to use theshieitls with an area less than an areaoif the cross section. through the war headof a torpedo, to insure a more full action of the-driven by the torpedo current of water, and on account of a lessresistance andla better yield' 1 ing of water behind a smaller shield. At the'time of an explosion of a cartridge, on

account ot'the inertia of the borderparts of the: shield and-2 owingrto the greater constructiveresistance of the border. parts, the shield \VillllGblOkEIL at-middle and broken parts; on account of resistance of the" border parts, will get a turning moment that will remove these parts at the sides thus giving: a": passage to the gases and to the" driveniby the gasescurrents of water to1act upon thetorpedo;

The wood shield: is protcctedin front by three orr morerows of nets -7, 8,and 9, composed of interengaging rings to entangle the fixing mechanism of thetorpedo. For this purpose the sizes of rings are diflerent;

The rings offnet in front are about 2inches in internal diameter, the next ones about 1 inch, and the'last ones about inch;

The nets are held imposition by nine coil springs 10, oneatqeach corner, one at center, and four between corners;r said nets are fastened by the wires B to the frame 11, which. is made from spring, pieces hardened like springs to--prevent a bending of said pieces. The frame is connected to thesprings 10'by eyes 11 andll" at the ends of spring. pieces 11. To make this possible the front. ends of springs 10 are shaped in eyes 12 to receive eyes 11 and 1.1 of the :frame 11; Other ends of the springs 10 are fastened: to thereinforcing strips of wood. 4, 5, and 6 by thenuts I3, and for this purpose the ends of the springs 10 adjoiningto the strips of wood are enlarged straight pieces 14 and bear threads to l receive'the'nuts 13;

i The wood shields, aswell as the netsconnected to thennare spaced apart sufficiently to' permit both of them to have movements independent of the other shields and their nets.

Each separate shield is yieldingly connectecl with the hull of ship by. means of iii) plungers 15, made preferably from spring steel pieces hardened like springs to prevent a. permanent bending of these pieces. Ono plunger is connected to each corner of the principal wood plank 3 of the shield, and said plungcrs slide in cylinders 16 fastened to the plank 2 by wood screws 17 and in working order passing through the hull of ship 1 and through a flanged piece 18 fastened to the hull of ship from inside by the screws 19. The heads of the plungers are conical nuts 20, sunk in the principal wood plank of the shield and receiving the correspoi'iding threads on the front ends of the plungers 15. Recesses 21 in these nuts are intended to receive the forks of a nut driver. The conical form of the nuts is chosen here to facilitate the breakage oi the shield un derthe action of the force of an explosion of the cartridge; I

A waterproof lining 22 around the cylinder 16, composed of canvas 01' some other stuff. is thoroughly saturated with wax and tallow compound. or the like, to prevent a passage of water into the ship. The end of: the cylinder 16 is kept closed by a screw bolt- 23 which can be removed in time of greasing of said cylinder. A hole 24 with an opening 24' in the lower side of the cylinder 16 is an outletior water, it some should enter into said cylinder, and this hole will be automatically .closed after firing of the device by a valve 26, owing to a considerable pres sure of sea water under certain depth upon said valve. A coil spring 27 one end of which 27 is screwed. into the valve 26 and another 27 into ring supporting said spring screwed into the hole 24 of the cylinder16, thus holding the openingfla open in an ordinary condition. Longitudinal grooves 28 inside of the cylinder 16 are intended'to receive some kind of half solid grease thus alleviating the sliding of the plungers 15.

In the center of each shield is located a plunger 29 which at its inner end is provided with a piston 30 that can slide in a cylinder 31. Longitudinal grooves 32 inside of said cylinder are filled with some kind of half solid grease to produce an easy sliding of the piston 30. Saidpiston also possesses a circumferential groove 33, filled wit-h amixture of tallow and hemp cut into very small pieces to facilitate a sliding of this piston, as Well as for the purpose to keep moisture away lroin the cylinder 31.

The cylinder 31 is provided with a reduced extension 31 which terms the car tridge part oi the device and in which is lo cated the explosive charge 34. The end of this extension its in the socket 35 and is ren'io-vably held therein by screw bolts 36, locked in position by pins 37. Said socket is fastened to the plank 2 by screw bolts 41. and the plank 2 is fastened to the hull of ship 1 by four screw bolts 42. It is apparent that the construction of fastening the separate torpedo guards to the separate planks of wood makes an operation of fixing,

the explosive charge and the "ap perfectly dry I place a film C 01 pitch and wax compound. or the like, directly over the plate 38 and cover this by a layer of cement D. I also locate a packing ring 43 of rubber, or the like, in a recess formed in the plate 38.

A second shoulder 31 is formed in the cylinder 31 and a coil spring 44 has one end seated against said shoulder and its other end seated against the bottom of the piston 30 to hold it in its forward position. The piston being prevented from leaving the cylinder by a flanged ring 45 secured to the enlarged end 31" of the cylinder 31 by screw bolts 46. The piston 30 is provided with a firing pin 17 which when said piston moved in *ardly will come in contact with the expl sive cap 39 and will explode the same.

The mentioned flanged ring 45 possesses the flanges a5 and 45 unequal in thickness, and the thickness is gradually increased from one end to the other. At the time of ex plosion ot the cartridge and of breakage of said ring by the piston 30 the less thick. say upper part of the ring, will be broken first and the opposing resistance of stronger lowerpart will generate a turning moment of the piston, say down below, and. the action of the weight of the piston will help this downward movement of the same, thus giving a ')assage after breakage of the shield, to the gases and to the driven bv the gases currents of water to act upon the torpedo to remove the same away from the ship.

The wood shield is reinforced by a plate ot a soft metal 48 to hold the wood parts of the shield together, in case said parts shall be split by tl raction of sea waves. I prefer copper reinforcing plate painted with some waterproof paint. liiecause such plate will not be much corroded by the sea water and will also more easily yield under action of force of explosion of the cartridge; To tacilitatc the yielding of the plate at its middle and a. breakage of the shield at middle part for the purpose of opening a passage to the products of explosion to act upon the torpedo, said plate possesses rows of holes 41-9 at its middle portion, as it is shown in the Figure 12.

The bars 50 behind the plate 48 extend lit) 1 the spring steel and are hardened like springs.

Both the cylinders 16 and 3-1 I make watertight; Cylinder 16 by a-mixture 53 of by' screw. bolts 59;

tallow with hemp, cut into very small' pieces, and cover this mixture by a waterproof canvas 54?, fastened to the "flange of said cylinder by before mentioned wood screws 17. The cylinder 31 by a layer 55-of pitch, wax, and tallow compound, covered by a waterproofcanvas 56, and by an inner, layer of mixture 57 of tallow and hemp, cut into very small pieces, and cover this mixture by 'awaterproof canvas 58. Both canvases arefastened to the flange of said cylinder Said watertight cover of the cylinder-31 is of a considerable thickne'ss for the, watertight purpose as well. as fortlie purpose of a shock. absorbing coveringforthe'piston 30, in case said piston'at the time of explosion ot'the cartridge will hit the torpedo.

A. leakage at place of. the screw bolts 40 holding the plate 38 Iprevent by a pitch and Wax compound 60 covered by acanvas "'61 and held in place by screw bolts 62.

For the explosive charge I prefer to use the kinds that belong to the quick acting explosives and. at the same time are least detonated by shocks and not very afiected by moisture. It is apparent that the use give also some surplus of power, that will remove the water and the torpedo to some distance away from the ship.

Thepractice shows that the rate of burning gas from a certain explosive depends upon the size of grains used, upon the area of burning surface, upon the pressure, and upon the temperature. vTo shorten a duration of burning of the explosive to gain some time, in case the explosion of the torpedo will actually occur, I prefer to use a of the explosive charge is constructively made not small, and the effect-can be increased by a sufficient quantity of a good" and effective detonators Thepressure of gases is here a favorable condition, because of a considerable resistance of the piston 30 owing to the flanged ring 45, which must be broken to give way to the said piston.

The final result will be also increased by the resistance of water.

The resistance of the spring 44 inside of the cylinder 31 must be so calculated that combined with the resistance of the sliding" parts of the device and with the resistance of 'water behind the shield, it will hold the pressure of water at a certaindepth and will resist the common sea waves, but will yield under pressure of? the energy of the water driven by a quick moving torpedo.

To prevent an explosion oi the cartridges in rough seatrthe device p0ssesseslocksfor the plnngers 15, which arebolt pieces 63 hearing threads 63' near heads '63 to screw these pieces intocoll'ars- 644embracing the cylinders 16. These bolt shaped locks may slide in holes 65 of the cylinders-I6, and the direction of this sliding is made perpendicw lar to the sliding of theiplungers 15. Ad-

joining collars 64 are knuckle joined'by pins 64; locked by cotter pins 64. Links 66 between couples ofcollars and links 67adjoin ing-the first collars are intended to relieve the possible strains upon the looks 63. 66, 66", and 67 are pinsand 66, 66", and 67 are cotter pins for knuckle joints of these links with collars. Links 67 are joined witha horizontal bar'68 by means of knuckle joined links 69 and 70' with pins 69", 69, and 70 and cotter pins 69", 69"", and 70". Links 70 contain cylindrical parts 7 1, which can slide in the tened to the hull ofship 1 by wood screws 73. Said sliding secures a parallel motion of the bar 68 under the'action'of the lever 7 4" pillow blocks 72fasoperating said bar by means of intermedimy links 7 5 and 7 6'. 77 and 78 are pins, 79

and 80 are cotter pins for knuckle joints of these links. A pin 81 witha cotter pin 82 knuckle joins link 7 6 with the operating lever 74. A bracket- 83 with forks 83' is.

knuckle joined with the operating lever 74 and said bracket is fastened to the hull of ship 1 by Wood screws 84'. A pin: 85 with a cotter pin 86 is an axis ofrotation' of'the operating lever 74. A spring 87 is intended to facilitate the movements of said lever. This of the spring 87 are shaped in eyes 87 and i 87" to receive'the'before mentioned eyes 88 (ill and 91. It is apparent that a moving of the operating lever 74: down will be an easy job owing the considerable weight of the bar 68 and of the other movable parts of the locking contrivance. Toraise the lever it will be necessary to overcome, besides the iriction of the moving parts, the weight of the bar -68, as well as a weight of the other moving parts of the locking contrivance, and the spring 87 performs a greater part of this job, and the resistance of this spring can be so calculated that a downward and an upward motion ot the operating lever 74 will not be a hard job.

A push bolt 93, held in position by a coil spring 94, can slide in a cylindrical hole of a flanged pipe 95. A flange 95 is intended for fastening this pipe to the hull of ship by screw bolts 96, and an inner fial'ige 95 is intended to stop forward movement of said push bolt. A bottom part of the flanged pipe 95 contains a screw bolt 97 intended as a base tor the spring 94;. The push bolt 93 .is constructed to receive a hole 74 in an enlarged end 74' of the lever 74- and to hold this lever in its locking or unlocking position. 1 denotes the locking position of the push bolt and F the unlocking position of the sai'ne.

()ne turn oi. the lever 74 locks or rmlocks the many vertical rows of the shields. The number of shields locked by single turn of the lever is limited only by the curvature of the ship, by a practicability and an accuracy oi lnindling, and by a human force. I prefer to use for the locking a human force, as more intellectual and more sensitive than a machine force to prevent damage or putting the device out of order.

A resistance of the coil spring 44, inside of the cylinder 3]., as Well as a, resistance of the sliding parts of the device, may be correspom'lingljy calculated, as was before mentioned. and the locking will. be necessary only at rough sea and in case of a storm, and practice shows that in time of a rough sea or a storm the torpedo attack from submarines, torpedo boats, and even from large war ships is, generally speaking, unsuccessful and lots of times is not possible at all. Besides this, the locking contrivance is so constructed that for few men only a very short time will be necessary to unlock the device in case of a necessity.

It will be seen that a shield is provided which girds the hull of ship like a belt and said shield made up of a plurality of independent shields; Vhen driven by a quick moving torpedo the current of water strikes one or more separate shields, said shield or shields by energy of water alone, or with some help of an energy of the torpedo, striking the yielding nets in front of the shield, will be forced inwardly, the plungers slid ing in the cylinders and the firing pin 4.7 of

the piston 30 will explode the cap 39, thus firing the explosive 34 in the extension 31.

The most effective range for torpedo attacks is one half mile or less, and fired at this distance the torpedo possesses a great velocity, about 30 miles per hour, and drives the current of water with considerable velocity and consequently with considerable energy. The energy of moving matter is a great mechanical factor, and this factor,as it is confirmed by an action of the hydraulic ram, is capable of overpowering a resistance of Water in a comparatively calm condition. Because the separate shields, as were mentioned before, are small ones something about one foot square, and the distance of the firing pin 47 from the explosive cap 39 is constructively made small, and a Watertight covering on the front part of the cylinder 31 is constructively shaped parabolically, or the like, and the energy of water driven by a quick moving torpedo is a great one, a side yielding oi the water behind the shield will readily take place, and under action of the energy of the driven by the moving torpedo current of water, with some help or without any help of the energy of the torpedo, striking the yielding nets in front of the shield, will occur an explosion of the charge 34 in the cartridge 31, as was explained before. The resultant gases will force the piston 30 outwardly, and because the flanged ring 45, as was before mentioned, possesses the flanges and 45 of unequal strength, a less strong, say upper flange, will be broken first, and the resistance of a stronger lower flange will generate a turning moment of the piston 30, that will remove it to the side, say down below, anda weight of the piston will help this downward motion of the same. It is apparent, too, that the broken flanges 45 and 45 will be removed to the sides by a generated turning moment of these pieces at the time of theirbreakage. Owing to the inertia of the border parts of the shield and owing to a less constructive resistance of a middle part of the shield than the border parts, the wood parts of the shield, as well as the metal plate 48 of the shield with the holes 49 at its middle part, will be broken at middle, and the broken parts on account of a greater resistance of the border parts will generate a turning moment, that will remove these parts to the sides, thus opening a passage to the gases and to the driven by the gases currents of water to act upon the torpedo to remove the same away from the ship. Because the longitudinal axis of the torpedo in most cases does not coincide with the direction of the resultant of forces, gen erated by the explosion of cairtridge or cartridges, the torpedo will get not only a forward impulse it will get also some side impulse.

The explosion of thetorpedo will probably not occur at all, owingto the special construction of war head cit-torpedo with its'firing pin, whiskers, and revolving fan, owing to the yielding and entangling nets 7, 8, and 9 in front of every shield, and owing to a-hcor nparatively mild primary action of the gases and of thrown by gases currents of water;,said mild action willv be caused by primary counteractions of currents of water driven by the moving torpedo and byan explosion of the chargel34. associated with every shield; at the time of said counteractions of currents of water will be some comparatively calm condition oi? currentsot water, which probably will check the revolution of the fan 01' the torpedo, if this revolution shall not be affected positively before by the exit-angling nets 7, 8, and 9. It. is a well known fact that used at pres ent torpedoes are dangerous only when they are'actually underway. vIn a restful con dition, as well as in a case oi? not quick enough motion, the little tan prevents the firing pin from driving in. The motion of thetorpedo through water causes this fan to revolve, and after the torpedo has reached a certain speed, will compel the fan to spin itself oil", thus releasing the tiring pin froni its restraining position. When a torpedo travels with a velocity of 25 to &0 miles per hour, the 'trontpart oi the firing pin is subject to considerable pressure, which 'must be constructively restrained to avoid an ex plosion oi the torpedo while under way. To secure an explosion of a moving torpedo it mustmeetsome solid object, which will concentrate instantly a great energy of the mow ingitorpedo on the firing pin. In the considered here case the powerful energy of the water driven by the moving torpedo will diminish the confrontin resistance of the r i D coil springs 10 associated with the shield and will in many cases explode the charge 34 in the cartridge 31 just before the torpedo itself will reach the nets 7 8, and 9, and if the torpedo itself does reach said nets before an explosion of the suddenexplosive 34L in the cartridge 31, the firing mechanism'of the torpedo willrbe entangled in time of yielding the nets vas well as the coil springs 10 holding these nets and the coil spring 44 insideojt the cylinder 31, and the result will be a. locking of the firing mechanism of the torpedo, owing to a stopping or a retarding of revolutions of the re volving fan of the firing mechanism of the torpedo.

An explosion of the torpedo may notalso occur from a shock because, as was explained before, the piston will be removed to the side, and the protective nets 7, 8, and 9, as well as the springingdiagonal bars 50, will constructively separate the war head of the torpedo from the piston 30.

Besides this, the front part. of the piston 30, as was mentioned before, is covered with the canvases '56 and 578 and by .two layers and 57 of a soft. andshock absorb ing watertightcompound. r

Removingthe torpedo'to the side willlgive the ship the possibility'of passing said top pedo, and will hit the ship again, it will "be removed again. Besides this, a mere;process.ot forcibly removing the torpedo will probably disturban intricate mechanism of the same, an adjustment of the hydrostatic piston, pendulum, or even the Obry gear which is a coniplicated contrivance too, and this disturbance will probably lessen the danger from the torpedo. a v v If the explosionof the torpedo does actually occur, this explosion may not occur close to the ship, because. a dilference intimes of explosion of the cartridge of the :device and of war head ot the torpedo, as well as the use tor the *artridgeofan'explosive very quick acting. and of a sufficient quantity of a good and effective detonator, will gain some time, as was mentioned before, and this gained than will allowa removing-oit-th'e torpedo to some distance away from the ship, and even it this distance shall not be far enough, the final result of theeaplosion (it the torpedo will be considerably dimin-- ished in torce and in time by an explosion oi the adjoining shields, by counteractions oi currents of water from both explosions ot the torpedoand of the cartridges of 'the device, and by a diminution ofi'he tulcruin for the exploded torpedo, due to the gases 'troin exploded cartridges. v

If by action of some one factor some 'artridgcs do explode and there is no time to put new ones, the danger from torpedoes is prevented by a tact that the size of separate nets and associated with them shields is less than the size of a cross section through the war head of the torpedo, and the adjoining members will protect the ship from tor pedoes.

Before a great storm .it will be better to remove the torpedo guards from the ship,

and this operation onv account of beforementioned constructive features of the device is an easy and a quick job. Strictly speaking. there is a necessity to keep steadily the tor pedo guards around the ship only in war time or before a battle and at all other times the guards may be removed from the ship and stored in someplace close to thehull of ship for a convenience in handling of the same. Because separate planks 2 to which the separate torpedo guards are fastened are combined with the cylinders 16, fastened to the plank 2 by the wood screws 17,. at the t me of removing of said guards :from the ship an undesirable hole will be produced in the bullet theship, and all such holes must if the torpedo so removed.

llii

be immediately closed by a cover 98,' supplied with a strip of leather 99 and a hinge 100, that enables said cover to revolve m a vertical plane. A screw bolt 101 at the end of the cover 98 can press snug and watertight the mentioned cover to the flanged piece 18. tening bolts for the hinge 100. Screw bolts 104 are intended to close other undesirable holes, which will be produced in the hull of ship at the time of withdrawing the screw bolts 12, fastening the planks 2 bearing the separate torpedo guards to the hull of ship 1. Chains 105 receive eyes 104 of the screw bolts 104 and are attached to the hull of ship 1 by wood screws with eyes 106 to pre= vent the losing of these necessary screw bolts.

Torpedo guards must be inspected from time to time, especially in time of war, to insure a successful action in a time of neces sity, and this procedure, on account of simple constructive features of the device, is a quick and an easy job.

To protect parts of torpedo guards from the action of sea water sai'd parts must be coated correspondingly. The wooden parts must be painted with some waterproof paint, and the metallic parts must be painted or coated with some metal resisting the action of sea water; sliding parts must be kept well greased to insure better results. It is apparent that the plunger-s 15 may be lubricated at any time from inside of ship after unscrewing the screw bolts 23. The piston 30, as well as the inside of the cylinder 31, must be well greased in time of assembling parts of said cylinder to prevent any rusting. The longitudinal grooves 28 inside of the cylinder 10, as well as the grooves 32 inside of. the cylinder 31 and a circumferential groove 33 of the piston 30, must be well filled with before mentioned half solid grease to insure an easy sliding of the plungers 15 and the piston 30. i

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of my device, which forces the unexploded torpedo away from the ship, will be readily apparent. The device can be very useful for the costly war ships, because "the damage from a torpedo, if some occur, can not be, as was explained before, a great one, thus preventing a sinking of the costly war ship. The device can be also useful as a guard from mines and other floating dangers for the ships.

The using of my device will be also not very detrimental, because every explosion of the cartridge destroys only movable and less costly parts of the device, the cylinders 16 for the plunger-s 15, as well as the firing cylinder 30, will be probably not damaged at all, and the broken flanged ring 45 may be replaced by a new one. 1

Screw bolts 102 and 103 are fas- At present some torpedoes are supplied with a lance head, that can go through the commonly used nets, so making nets alone almost useless; said nets are kept steadily around the ships and at a considerable distance, so diminishing the velocity of the ship, but my device is kept close to the ship at a distance about one foot and half, so not very diminishing the velocity of the ship.

Besides this, my device, as was explained before, is composed of separate members fastened to the separate planks 2, that may be easily and quickly fastened to the hull of ship 1 by four screw bolts 42 and maybe evenly quick removed from the hull, thus making the keeping of the device steadily around the ship not a necessary matter in time of peace.

Some torpedoes are supplied with gun barrels, loaded with an explosive projectile, and for such kinds of torpedoes my device is more useful than the commonly used nets, on account of the considerable yielding means of the nets and of the shields and on account of a con'iparatively mild primary action of the gases and of the water on the war head of the torpedo, due to the counteractions of the currents of water driven by the moving torpedo and of the currents of water thrown by the force of the explosion of the cartridge or the cartridges, as has been explained before.

I desire it to be understood that I may make slight changes in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is" 1. A shield for ships comprising a plurality of separate shields yieldingly carried by the hull, and explosive means associated with the shields to be exploded by the backward movement of the shields.

2. A shield for ships comprising a plurality of separate shields yieldingly carried by the hull, a plurality of plungers carried by the shields, cylinders associated with the hull and receiving said plungers, springs for holding the plunger-s in their outward position, explosive means carried by some cylinders and firing means associated with some plungers for exploding the charge.

3. A shield for ships comprising a plurality of separate shields yieldingly carried by the hull, cylinders associated with the hull, plungers secured tothe shields and sliding in said cylinders, some cylinders having a portion for receiving an explosive charge, pistons connected with some plunger-s and sliding in suitably enlarged cylinders, a spring in said enlarged cylinder for holding both piston and plungers in position, firing means connected with the piston for exploding the charge and constructive means producing a breakage of affected shield at midtill Cal

dleitolopen ,way ,to :the products Ofi-QX'PIQSlOIl to actlnpon the torpedo.

shield for ships comprisingaplurality ofseparatershields yieldingly carried by the hull, portions of every shield being of unequal strength to afford a breakage of shield at,,middleunder action of exploded Charge, explosive means associated with every shield-to be exploded by the backward HIOVQlllBIlt of affected shield to remove the torpedo away from the ship, entangling means for the tiring mechanism of torpedo to prevent, an explosion-ofthe same; a looking contrivancc of device and system of links to-operatesaid locking contrivance.

5. Ashield tor-ships comprising a'plurality ofiseparate shields yieldingly carried by the hull, nets in front of every ,SlliBlClilSSO- ciated therewith, cylinders combined With thejlnillof ship, plungers associated with, the Shields and sliding-in said cylinders,spring means ,foriholding-the plungers in their outward position, explosive means carried by somecylinders, firing means. associated with corresponding ,plungers *lor exploding the charge ;;a locking-contrivanee for the plungersand. system of links to operate said-locking cont'rivance.

6. Ashield for ships comprising apluralityvotseparateshields yieldingly carried by the hull, yielding nets in trontof the shields associated therewith, spring means producing said yielding of the nets, cylinders penetrating r the ,hull of ship, plunger-s secured to the shields and sliding in said cylinders, centralicylinders being enlarged and having an extension for receiving an explosive charge, a piston connected with the central plunger and slidinginan enlargedicylinder, a spring in saidcylinder for holding piston in position, firing means connected with the .piston fOIZQXIflOtllIIQ the charge, constructive means producing a breakage-of affected shield at middle toopen way to the products of explosion to act upon the torpedo; a locking contrivance for the plunger-s, system of, links to operate said contrivance and operating leverassociated with the'links and vwith said contrivance.

.7. A. shield for ships comprising a plnrality of separate shields associated with separate planks, said planks reinovably stastBTlQCl? to the hull of ship, yielding means forzsaid shields to accomplish an ignition of .an explosive associated therewith, constructive means 'to. produce a breakage of a'tl ecte d shield at.middletoopen Way torthe products of explosion to act-upon the torpedo, yielding nets in .front of every shield associatedtherewith, said (nets composed of interengaging rings to entangle the firing mechanism'o'ftorpedo to'prevent an explosioniof. the same, cylinders penetrating the hull of shipand means to make this penct *ating vatertlghtvand safe forship, plung ers, securedv tothe shields I and sliding; in said hull cylinders, central vcylinders. being enlarged and having an extension for :receiving an explosive charge, a piston connected: With the central ,plungerandj sliding in Said enlarged cylinder, aflangedring inlthewenlarged cylinder to retain-the outward:movement ofipistomsaidringwith flanges of'unequal strength to generate afturning moment of the piston under action of exploded charge, a spring in enlarged cylinder for holding the piston;andplungers in their-outward position, firing means connected with the piston Jtor igniting the charge; .a locking contrivance inside oi ship to stop movements oi the plunger-s to prevent an ignition of thecharge,said contrivanceabeingin shape of bolts screwed into collars embracing separate cylinders :lor the ,plungers, system of ,links to operate said ,contrivance from inside oi ship by levc1', andmeans :to

stop movement of saidvlever.

S. A. shield for ships comprising a'plurality of separate shields, associated :Wlliil'l separate planks, said planks :removably lfElS- tencd :to the hull of ship, reinforcing'bars for the shields, yielding means 'for :the

shieldstoproduce an explosionof thecharge.

associated therewith by energy :of water driven by movingtorpedo or by incombined energyotwater. and torpedo, constructive meansifor'brealmgmof affected shield atmid-i dlclo open way to the products of explosion to act upon the torpedo, nets in front of separate shields associated therewith .to entangle .the:iiringmechanism of torpedo, said nets composed of interengaging rings and fastened ;to the frame held 'in position by springsassociat-ed with said frame and with the shield, cylinders penetrating the hull of ship and means .to make this enetrating watertight and safe .for ship, plungers secured to:the separate shields and sliding :in mentionedcylinders and lubricating means for the same, central cylinders being enlarged and havingcan extension for receiving an explosivercharge, a piston connected with central plunger and sliding. .in the enlarged cylinderand lubricating means forrthe same, a flanged ring in the enlarged cylinder to retainithe outwardmovement of'piston, said ring with flanges, of unequal strength to generate a durning moment :of piston undcr action of I exploded charge, a shock absorbing and Watertight coveringi'or said piston, a spring in enlarged cylinder for holding the piston and plungers in their outward position, and firing means connected with thepiston .ior exp'lodingthe charge; a-looking contrivance inside ofshipfor-theplungers to preventan ignition'oi? the charge, said contrivanee in shape of bolts sliding in correspondingholes ofcylindcrs ;for plungers,

said bolts screwed into collars aembracing athe separate cylinders, system OfillllkSkl'Ild lever meager to operate said locking contrivance from in side of ship, push bolt to hold lever in its looking or unlocking posit-ion and spring means to alleviate operating 01. said. lever.

9. A shield for ships comprising a plurality of separate shields spaced sufliciently to permit independent movements of every one, said shields associated with separate planks, said planks removably fastened to the hull of ship, springing diagonal bars for the shields, reinforcing plate for the shield with holes in middle to afford a breakage of the shield at middle by force of explosion of the charge, yielding means for the shields to accomplish an explosion of the charge associated therewith by energy of water driven by moving torpedo or by combined energy of water and torpedo, yielding nets in front of separate shields associated there with to entangle the firing mechanism of torpedo, said nets composed of interengaging rings and fastened to a springing frame, said frame held in position by spring associated with the frame and with the shield, cylinders penetrating the hull of ship and means to make this penetrating watertight and safe for ship, plungers secured to the shield and sliding in said hull cylinders and lubricating means for the same, central cylinders being enlarged and having an extension for receiving an explosive charge, a piston connected with central plunger and sliding in said enlarged cylinder and lubrieating means for this cylinder and for the piston, a flanged. ring in said cylinder to re tain the outward movement of piston, said ring with flanges of unequal strength to generate a turning moment of the piston under action of exploded charge, a shock absorbing and watertight covering for the piston, a spring in the enlarged cylinder for holding the piston and the plungers in their outward position, firing means to keep said charge and explosive cap perfectly dry; a locking contrivance inner of ship to stop movements of the plungers to prevent an explosion of the charge, said contrivance in shape of bolts sliding in corresponding holes of cylinders for plungers, said bolts screwed into collars embracing said cylinders, system of links to operate locking contrivance from inside of ship by a lever, push bolt to hold said lever in its looking or unlocking posi tion and spring joined with the lever to alleviate operating of this lever.

Signed at Fernwood, in the county of Benewah, and State of Idaho, this 21 day of September, 1920.

JOHN GREENWICH.

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