US2364803A - Crash plane - Google Patents

Description

P. MAYH EW CRASH PLANE Dec. 12, 1944.

Filed Aug. 19, 1941 @aziak INVENTOR ayew A ORNEYS z Patented Dec. 12, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CRASH PLANE Q 3 Peter Mayhew, Barrington, R. I.

Application August 19, 1941; Serial No. 407,423

7 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a havier-than-air airplane of the fighting type for use in warfare for the destruction of enemy apparatus such, for instance, as battleships.

Heretofore, there has been the suicide type of attack on such objects as battleships, in which a pilot would run an airplane or boat into the enemy's battleship with the attacking carrier I provided with enough explosives to damage the enemys objects. In such an attack the person guiding such attacking plane or boat wouldlose his life. The loss of the pilot in this sort of Warfare is a drawback and not one which is desirable.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a crash type of warfare without the loss of the pilot..

Another object of the invention is the provision of an explosive carrier of any desired size which may be guided toward an object to be attacked by an auxiliary airplane releasable from the main explosive carrier, after the direction of the carrier has been provided for, that the pilot who directs the same may get away in the auxiliary plane while the main carrier will maintain its course through gyroscopic control into engagement with its target.

With theseand other objects in view, themvention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing: v

Fig. l is a topplan view of the assembly of explosive carrier and airplane;

Fig.2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, illustrating the auxiliary or get-away planes attachment to the main plane in greater detail;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of one of the controlling mechanisms; 1

Fig. 5 is a sectional view illustrating another of the control mechanisms;

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view illustrating means for attaching the two separable flying units together; and h Fig. 8 is a section on line 88 of Fig. 7.

The impelling means for the main explosive carrier may consist of as many different impelling units are are necessary, and the amount of explosive carriedmay be increased in difierent units depending-upon the size ofthe carrier which may be built. A complete airplane with controls will also be mounted on the carrier in a releasable manner, and there will be provided means for controlling both the carrier and the complete airplane from the latter prior to disconnection of the two while a gyroscope will be carried by the main explosivel'carrier for'maintaining the controls in the set position after the separation of the two.

With reference to the drawings in greater detail, the explosive-carrying structure is designate generally IIO, as shown in Fig.2, and the get-away complete airplane is designated generally I I. The explosive-carrying structure, by reason of the fact that it is not intended to carry'a' personor pilot, is thin or of shallow depth and provides small windre sistance and therefore iscapable of great speed; it consists of leading wings l2 andtail wings l3 which are joined together by" some connecting structure M such, for instance, as a shallow body} which is provided with openings l5'that the pilot of the airplane ll may look therethrough.

The leading wings provide supports fora plurality of engine units [6 equipped with propellers 25 arranged in symmetrical balanced relation and also for a plurality of torpedoes or explosive units I1 also placed in symmetrical balanced arrangement and projecting beyond the forward end of the leading wings. A rudder I9 is provided, and separately operated hinged ailerons elevators. There will also be. carried a stabilizing gyroscope 18 for maintainingthe controls for the engines and other movable operating mechanism of the flying unit in desired position after the explosive carrier and airplane are separated. Also, there are struts 21 for supportingtake-off wheels 22 anda strut 23 for supportingthe rear wheel 24. All of this mechanism is well known in airplane apparatus and is therefore not attempted to be illustrated in detail herein, I

The. structure so far described might be referred to asa skeleton flying structure as it has no cockpit for the reception of a passenger or pilot.

On the body 14 at a location near the tail or trailing. wing I3, I have mounted the complete airplane ll by means of blocks 25 providing sockets 21 for each of two landing wheels 28 fo the plane H and a block 29 recessed as at 30 for the landing wheel 3| of .the auxiliary or getaway plane I;. These landing wheels'have the usual truss supports. 32 and 33 extending downwardly from the body 34 of the plane which has mainwings 35-, tail wings 36, rudder '31, cockpit," 38, engine39, and propeller 40 all of a usual well-known type of airplane construction.

Within the body or fusilage "34 there is mount.- ed support M for a U-shaped: retracting member whichis anti-frictionally'mounted on this support'by rollers'43 and may-be moved back and forth through link 41 and lever 44 pivoted as at 45 0n the floor 46. A rod; 48 is threaded the lever 44 permitting the wing nut and rod 48 to drop downwardly through the support 4| and through opening 55 in the floor 46 of the air 7 plane ll. 7

In order to controlthe motors in the explosive carrier I0, I have provided an arrangement such as shown in Fig. 5, comprising a shaft 60 connected by universal joint 6| to shaft 62 and connected by universal joint 63 to shaft 64. Shaft 62 has a hand wheel 65 which, upon rotation, will rotate the shaft 64 through thisuniversally connected link 60 so as to operate pinion gear 66 and rack '61 one way or the other to accelerate or slow down the engines 16 of the explosive carrier I0. I have shown only one such control connection, as all of these engines may be operated in unison; or I may have one of such connections for the starboard engines and another control for the port engines; or each of the engines may be individually controlled if de- M sired. The link 60 consists of a square shaft 68 and a tube having a square bore 69 (see Fig. 6)

,for receiving the same telescopically so that these may pull apart for vertical separation ofthe plane II from the carrier l0.

In Fig. 4, I have illustrated a connecting shaft 70 comprising two parts consisting of a square shaft TI and a telescoping shaft 12 having a square bore 13. The universal joint 14 connects the same to a shaft l5,and universal joint 76 connects the same to shaft 11. Operating wheel 18 may turn the shaft 1 to rotate the gear 19. and manipulate a quadrant 80 for movement of the flexible cords 8| or 82 to operate the rudder and aileron or other manipulating control mechanism of the explosive carrier l0. "An indicator r 83 may be provided for showing the position of the mechanism controlled. Upon separation of the carrier ll from the plane H], the link will slide apart as heretofore explained in connection with the engine control for the explosive carrier. Several controls, one for' each part to be ope'r-- ated, such as shown in Fig. 4 may be provided for controlling the different mechanisms of the explosive carrier; and these may be arranged for operation in unison by similar controls in the airplane H, or may be separate therefrom. The

ailerons or elevators will each have one of these;

controls. A gyroscope unit will be so arranged as to maintain'the controls in --a set position .once they are manually moved to such position.

By the above arrangement the entire assembly such as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 may bedirected by the pilot in the cockpit 38 towards some battleship and so directed that substantially the center of the battleship at the boiler rooms will be struck. The elevation need be only a short distance above the water; and it may be that a haze or fog will exist covering the entire ship 1 with the exception of possibly its conning towers which will be visible above the fog. The pilot of the assembly here described will thus direct this assembly toward the battleship at the correct height and then by pulling :the release lever For disconnection of the two 1 the battleship. A sufiicient number of torpedoes or explosives ignitable by impact would be carried by the carrier plane, and in sufficient numbers these explosives would destroy most any object which they contact. As the armor of the ship is increased, the number of torpedoes would be increased, it being the object to provide sufficient explosive to just overcome the object against which the plane is directed. While this carrier plane will be completely destroyed, it is a the optimum that the object against which it is directed will also be destroyed, While the pilot may get away in the auxiliary plane after he has directed the explosive carrier to its mark.

I claim:;

1. In combination an airplane,=controls therefor comprising ailerons and rudder, driving means therefor comprising a propeller and engine, a second airplane superimposed on the "first airplane, detachable means for connecting said planes together, means extending from the second airplane to the-first airplane for operation of the controls of the first airplane comprising members separably telescoped together with means for transmitting torque movement from one to the other. 1

2. In combination an airplane, controls therefor comprising ailerons and rudder, driving means therefor comprising a propeller and engine, a second-airplane superimposed on the first airplane, detachable means for connecting said planes together, means extending from the second airplane to the first airplane for operation of the controls of the first airplane comprising members separably telescoped together with "means for transmitting torque movement from one to the other, one of said members being universally connected at one end adjacent to one of said airplanes. r

, 3. In combination an airplane, controls therefor comprising ailerons and rudder, driving means therefor comprising a propeller and engine, a second airplane superimposed on the first airplane, detachable means for connecting said planes together, means extending from the'sec- 0nd airplane to the firstairp'lane for operation of the controls of the first airpl-anecomprising members separably telescoped together with universally connected at one end adjacent to one of said airplanes and'the other member being universally connected at its end adjacentto'the other of said airplanes. K

4. 'In combination an airplane, controls therefor comprising ailerons and rudder,

means therefor comprising .apropellerand en.- g ne, a second airplane superimposedcon the first airplane, detachable means for connecting aid planes together comprising a support having spaced portions, a head on spaced positions .a link fixed to the first plane and extending into the-second pianetbetweensaid said link and a with .drawable fork between said spaced portion and :head to form a lock.

. PETERTMAYH EW.

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