US2247563A - Projectile - Google Patents

Description

July 1, 1941. R, s sp pmg 2,247,563

PROJECTILE Filed Oct. 18, 1939 W :i m.

/6 56. 3 a 75017827 61 6302261)? Q 5 H6. 1 y

Patented July 1, 1941 UNHTED STATES PANT ()FFICE PROJECIILE Robert S. Spalding, Denver, Colo.

Application October 18, 1939, Serial No. 300,039

4 Claims.

This invention relates to projectiles.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a projectile comprising a web to receive the force of a propulsive charge, and carrying a bullet of smaller diameter adapted to be disassociated from said Web upon the exhaustion of the propulsive force of the charge and to continue in flight alone.

Another object is to provide a projectile such that a bullet may be fired from a barrel larger in diameter than the bullet.

A further object of the invention is to provide a projectile such that an explosive or propulsive charge of any character or amount may be utilized in setting in flight a desired bullet.

A further object of the invention is to provide a projectile such that the design and organization of the firing piece may be independent of the size and character of the bullet to be fired.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby a bullet may be fired without coming into direct contact with the barrel of the firing piece or the hot gases generated by the explosion of a propulsive charge.

A further object of the invention is to provide a projectile such that the bullet to be fired may be of any desired material, or may contain within itself any desired charge.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the bullet to be fired may be of any desired shape within the limits imposed by a non-diverging trailing portion.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby bullets of dilierent diameters and masses may be selectively fired from a given firing piece.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of elements hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in

Which I Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved projectile. Figure 2 is an axial section taken as indicated by 2-2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a showing, partly in section and on a reduced scale, of the projectile indicated in Figure 2, positioned within a rifled barrel, portions of said barrel being broken away.

I will refer to that portion of my projectile which is adapted to go forward in effective flight as a bullet, although it may be of any suitable size and specific conformation, and may itself contain an explosive charge, or may be adapted for some special purpose such as casting a line attached thereto.

. discharge from the barrel of a firing piece.

In the use of conventional forms of projectiles, the shape and character of the bullet to be discharged, and the organization of the operative elements of the firing piece, as well as the quality and character of charge to be utilized, must of course be correlated in accordance with the characteristics of each in order to form an effective operative assembly. It will be readily apparent that the character of my improved projectile is such that many such limitations heretofore existing are eliminated, permitting great freedom in the selection and design both of the bullet and the associated elements of the firing piece. Likewise, great latitude is permissible as to the propulsive charge, which may consist of the conventional explosive charge of powder or the like, or for special purposes may consist of expansive or explosive gases or liquids.

For the purpose of directly receiving the force of the propulsive charge, I provide as a part of my projectile as assembled for insertion into a suitable firing piece, a web I0, which may be of any suitable material adapted to Withstand and react to the stresses necessarily encountered in This Web is of a diameter and contour adapted to fit the barrel of the firing piece and to be discharged serefrom by the force of the propulsive charge. Web i0 is provided with an integral reentrant socket 10, preferably formed so as to be coaxial with the barrel of the firing piece when the projectile is positioned in said barrel for the purpose of discharge, said socket being adapted to receive and hold a bullet ll. Bullet I! is fixed Within said socket sufiiciently securely that the projectile is susceptible of the necessary handling preliminary to use, and for positioning in the firing piece, but is so associated with Web 19 that the bullet and web may readily disassociate themselves upon discharge from the barrel. For the purpose of temporarily securing said .bullet in the socket I preferably utilize a fusible solder or cement, which binds the rear end of the bullet to the wall of the socket, as indicated at l2. The bullet and the socket wall are suitably contoured in relation to each other so that the bullet may readily fly forward out of said socket and continue its flight independently of said Web, as indicated by the broken line in Figure 2.

From the foregoing description of the assembly of Web ID and bullet I I, it is obvious that if said assembly be positioned in the barrel l5 of a fir-' ing piece as indicated in Figure 3, and a charge of power or other suitable explosive be placed rearwardly thereof in said barrel, and the end of said barrel rearwardly of said charge be closed by any suitable or conventional mechanism adapted for use in the firing of projectiles, upon the explosion of said charge said web and bullet will be shot forward as a unit, the fusible binder 12 will be melted by the hot gases generated by the explosion, and upon said web and bullet entering the exterior atmosphere the forward flight of web l will be retarded by reason of its relatively large area transversely of the line of projection, and bullet II will continue in flight toward the target position.

For the purpose of adding strength to web it, and rendering it susceptible of withstanding the force of the propulsive charge without adverse distortion, I provide suitable stays, which may conveniently be of the character indicated at 3 and I4, stay [3 extending between the periphery of Web ID and the rearward portion of its socket, and being secured in any suitable manner so as to lend rigidity between said portions of said web; stay 14 may extend rearwardly of the periphery of web It and perpendicular thereto for a suitable distance, and may curve inwardly and join said web in the vicinity of the forward portion of its socket, stay I4 being likewise suitably secured to give the necessary rigidity. The axial portions of the stays l4 engage against walls of the rifle bore and serve to position and maintain the web l0 transversely of said bore.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the web and bullet are positioned in a rifled barrel, and in case of utilization in this manner the periphery of web [0 should, of course, be of suitable material so that it may effectively coact with the grooves I6 in the barrel I in order that the conventional rotatory effect may be attained. In the case of utilization with a barrel of smooth bore of course the conventional principles of design for that case will obtain.

The carrier assembly represented by the web I0, socket I0 and stays l3 and It is so constructed and of such material as to be relatively very light in Weight, thereby reducing the total weight of the projectile assembly for prompt reaction to propulsive forces acting thereon and for concentration of mass in the bullet element l l. The web I0 is preferably crowned in such manner and to such degree as will develop enhanced sealing engagement between the periphery of said web and inner Walls of a rifle bore through fiexure of the web deriving from the force of a pro-pulsive charge acting thereon, the inherent elasticity of the material forming said web and the stays l3 and I4 accommodating a degree of distortion thereof under the tremendous forces normally generated to initiate projectile flight.

Although I have illustrated my invention primarily for the purpose of showing the method of positioning in and discharge from a rifle bar- ,rel, it is obvious that web It may readily be fitted into the open end of a cartridge case, containing an explosive charge, and fitted with a cap and formed with a rim in the usual manner, so that the whole assembly may serve as a cartridge and be utilized in a firing piece of conventional de- Slgll.

Since many changes, variations, and modifications in the specific form, construction, and arrangement of elements shown and described may be had without departing from the spirit of my invention, I wish to be understood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims, rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a compound projectile, a rearwardlytapered bullet and a carrier in separable association therewith, said carrier comprising, in a unitary assembly, a circular web, an integral, axially-disposed, retroceding socket opening forwardly through said web and adapted to receive and seat the tapered rear portion of a bullet, tension members fixedly engaging between points on the margin of said web and the rearward end of said socket, and stays fixed to and extending rearwardly from said web margin in parallel relation with the web axis.

2. In a compound projectile, the combination with a rearwardly-tapered bullet of a carrier for said bullet adapted to separate therefrom during flight, said carrier comprising a relativelythin, circular web formed with an integral, thinwalled, axially-disposed, retroceding socket adapted to receive and seat the rearward portion of a tapered bullet, tension members engaging between spaced points of the web margin and the rear end of said socket, and stays rigidly associated with and extending rearwardly from the web margin in parallel relation with the assembly axis.

3. In a compound projectile, a carrier for rearwardly-tapered bullets, said carrier comprising, in a unitary rigid assembly, a relatively thin, circular, forwardly-crowned web formed with a thin-walled axially-disposed, integral, retroceding socket contoured to receive and seat the rear portion of a bullet, tension members engaging between spaced points of said web margin and the rear portion of said socket to stiifen and strengthen the assembly, and a plurality of stays fixed in uniformly-spaced relation to said web margin and extending rearwardly therefrom in parallel relation with the assembly axis to position and guide said assembly relative to the bore of a gun.

4. In a compound projectile, a carrier for rearwardly-tapered bullets, said carrier comprising a forwardly-crowned, circular web adapted for marginal engagement with the bore of a gun, a central, rearwardly-tapered socket rigidly associated with, opening forwardly through, and extending rearwardly of said web, tension members connecting between spaced points of said web margin and the rear end of said socket to stiifen and strengthen the assembly, stays fixed in uniformly-spaced relation to and extending rearwardly from said web margin in parellel relation with the assembly axis to position and guide the assembly relative to the bore of a gun, and braces between the rearward ends of said stays and said web and socket unit.

ROBERT S. SPALDING.

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