US2711707A

US2711707A - Submarine airplane carrier

Info

Publication number: US2711707A
Application number: US13666A
Authority: US
Inventors: Seitzman Julius
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1948-03-08
Filing date: 1948-03-08
Publication date: 1955-06-28
Anticipated expiration: 1972-06-28

Description

June 28, 1955 J. SEITZMAN SUBMARINE AIRPLANE CARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March a, 1948 ATTORNEYS June 28, 1955 J. SEITZMAN SUBMARINE AIRPLANE CARRIER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 -Illl llll I III II ATTORNEYS United States Patent SUBMARINE AIRPLANE CARRIER 7 Julius Seitzman, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application March 8, 1948, Serial No. 13,666

I 7 Claims. (Cl. 11416) This invention relates to submarines, and more particularly to submarines adapted for the carrying and launching of airplanes.

.- The principal object of the invention is to provide a submarine vessel adapted to carry one or more airplanes in'its hold and having an elevator to raise them to the deck from the hold and vice versa.

Another object is to provide means for sealing the opening of the elevator shaftway in a water-tight fashion.

Another object is to provide a submarine airplane carrier hull having an offset conning tower and means for compensating for the drag produced by the conning tower when the vessel is submerged.

A still further object is to provide means on the deck of the submarine to facilitate the handling, launching and retrieving of airplanes.

Other objects and advantages will in part appear and in part will be obvious from the following detailed description of the present preferred embodiment of the invention, taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a submarine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof; I

Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional view of the elevator shaft and adjacent parts showing the elevator raised flush with the deck and the auxiliary shaft-closing panel or door in closed position; I I

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing a modified arrangement of tlie auxiliaryshaft sealing door;

Fig. 5 is a :detailed view'showing another modification thereof; F

Fig. 6 is a section taken substantially on the plane Fig. -7 is a view taken substantially on the plane 77 of Fig. 5 showing locking means for fixing the position of the elevator ple ltform in the shaftwaytand 'Figffl8 is a detailed sectional view showing airtight sealing means-between the elevator platform and the walls of the shaftway. v

Referringto Figs. 1 andf2, the hull 10 of the submarine is provided internally with a hangar space 11 connected at its-forward-end with an elevator shaftway 12 containing an elevatonhaving a vertically movable platform 14. The superstructure-aft of the elevator forms a flat deck. -which slopes downwardly at the stern portion, considering the normal position of the vessel when surfaced, so that the stern end of the deck will be slightly beheaththe water. .Just aft of thev elevator platform 14 is 'a'- turntable 16.which may berotated to reverse the direction of an airplanes-position relative to the deck.

v Ihe vessel is shown as adapted for use with amphibious planes =whichfare provided with wheels as well as floats and, to facilitate the handling and launching of the planes from the deck of the submarine, the flat deck 15 is provided with spaced parallel longitudinal grooves 17 adapted to accommodate the wheels. These grooves preferably extend across the turntable 16 and elevator platform 14 as shown in Fig.1. They serve to center planes 2,71 1,707 Patented June 28, 1955 on the deck, guide them in a straight line and prevent skidding sideways.

Referring to Fig. 3, platform 14 is adapted to be raised ice and lowered in shaftway 12 by means of cables whichare reeled on drums 18 and 19 and attached to the lower parts of the framework of platform 14. These drums are actuated by a motor 20 through a reduction gear 21 which drives the drums through worms 22, 24 mounted on a shaft 25. There are two'drums at each side controlling four lifting cables as may be seen in Fig. 6.

The drums 18 and 19. are contained in .recesses which communicate with the shaftway 12 but are otherwise sealed off from the interior of the vessel by air-tight walls such as 26, 28. Shaft 25 passes through the wall 26 but is rotatably mounted therein in an air-tight fashion. The periphery of the elevator platform 14 is provided as shown in Fig. 3 with a U-shaped groove 29 which engages with a downwardly-extending lip 30 forming a part of the hull structure of the vessel and these two parts are provided with suitable gaskets so that when they are in the position shown in Fig. 3 an airtight closure will be formed.

Surrounding the shaftway 12, a short distance below the upper end thereof, the hull of the submarine is provided as shown in Figs. 3 and 6 with a secondary deck structure 32 which is provided on one side of the shaftway 12 with a closed passage 34 in which is slidably mounted an auxiliary sliding panel or door 35 provided on its under side with a rack 36 adapted to be driven by a pinion 38 operated by a motor 39. When the panel 35 is extended across the shaftway 12 it engages grooves provided in the secondary deck 32 where suitable gaskets may be used to form an air-tight seal.

It will thus be seen that, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6 a closed chamber is formed between the elevator platform 14 and the sliding panel 35. Before the submarine submerges this chamber is filled with air under pressure, supplied from suitable storage and pumping equipment (not shown) through a pipe 40. This compressed air tends to force the platform 14 upwardly to counterbalance the hydraulic pressure thereon and to prevent the entrance or seepage of any water past the sealing surfaces 29 and 30. i

Various modifications of the sealing structure just described are shown in Figs. 4 and 5. In'Fig. 4 the sliding panel 35a is placed at deck level in the position occupied by platform 14 in Fig. 3 and the platform 1411 is stopped a short distance below it in a position corresponding to that occupied by the pane1'35 in Fig. 3. Since platform 14a is adapted to slide up and down in the shaft, it is desirableto provide means for positively locking it in this closing position. Fig. 7 shows means for doing this in the form of a plurality of radially sliding bolts 42 which may be extended and retracted by means of a suitable motor controlled de-' vice 44 disposed under the elevator platform. The construction of such locks is well known and need not be particularly described. An air-tight seal between the shaftway 12 and the platform 14a may be formed as shown in Fig. 8.

ing position of the platform, in which is positioned an inflatable tube'46 connected to a pipe 48 through which hydraulic fluid can be introduced into the tube to inflate it into the position shown in dotted lines so that The wall 12a of the shaftway is provided with a groove 45, extending all around the clos their meeting edges with an interlocking water-tight joint at 49. Obviously, such a two part closure could be used in place of the single panel closure 35 shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 6, the deck space 15 is kept free from obstruction by offsetting the conning tower 50 to one side of the hull. vided with the usual periscopes 51. In order to compensate for the drag produced by this offset conning tower, a similar structure 52 is built on the opposite side of the hull of such form and shape as to produce a drag equal to that of the conning tower. This structure may be the same shape as the conning tower proper and may, if desired, be used as an additional con ning tower. It will be observed that both of the structures 50 and 52 are sufficiently offset to permit the passage of an airplane between them with its Wings extended.

In use, it will be seen that the vessel described above can be operated in a manner similar to that of a surface carrier. The planes will be elevated from the hold or hangar space 11 on the elevator 14. When they reach the level of the deck 15, if they are not already facing in the proper direction for take-off, which is toward the stern, they may be placed on the turntable 16 and their direction reversed. With the grooves or tracks 17 on the elevator, turntable and deck all in alinement, the plane starts its take-off from the elevator platform 14, becoming air-borne, with the aid of rocket assistance if necessary, before it reaches the stern of the vessel. It is contemplated that upon return the planes will land in the water and, floating up toward the stern, will be directed so that their wheels engage the grooves 17, after which they move forwardly to the elevator platform and may be lowered into the storage space 11.

Since obvious changes may be made in the details of construction illustrated and described without departing from the spirit of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such details but is to be construed broadly within the purview of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a submarine carrier for airplanes having a deck, a hangar space wholly within its hull, a vertical elevator shaft connecting with said space and open at the top through said deck, and an elevator in said shaft, shaft closure means comprising the elevator platform adapted to cooperate with said shaft to form an airtight closure thereof, auxiliary closure means comprising a sliding panel projectable across said shaft in spaced relation to said platform when said platform is in shaft-closing position to form a compression chamber between said platform and said panel in the portion of said shaft immediately below the deck, means to pro- .1."

ject the panel across the shaft, and means for injecting compressed air into said chamber to counterbalance the water pressure on the platform when the submarine is submerged.

2. In a submarine carrier for airplanes having a deck, a hangar space wholly within its hull, a vertical elevator shaft connecting with said space and open at the top through said deck, and an elevator in said shaft, shaft closure means comprising the elevator platform adapted to cooperate with said deck to form an airtight closure of said shaft, auxiliary closure means comprising a sliding panel projectable across said shaft in spaced relation to said platform when said platform is in shaft-closing position to form a compression chamber between said platform and said panel in the portion of said shaft immediately below the deck, means The conning tower is Pl'Or.

to project the panel across the shaft, and means for injecting compressed air into said chamber to counterbalance the water pressure on the platform when the submarine is submerged.

3. In a submarine carrier for airplanes having a deck, a hangar space Wholly within its hull, a vertical elevator shaft connecting with said space and open at the top through said deck, and an elevator in said shaft, shaft closure means comprising the elevator platform adapted to cooperate with said shaft to form an airtight closure of said shaft at a point below deck level, the shaft above said point being entirely enclosed, and auxiliary closure means comprising a pair of sliding panels at deck level to close the open end of said shaft to form a chamber between said panels and said platform, means to project said panels across the shaft, and means for supplying air under pressure to said chamher to counterbalance the pressure of water on said auxiliary closure means when the submarine is submerged.

4. In a submarine carrier for airplanes having a deck, a hangar space wholly withinits hull, a vertical elevator shaft connecting with said space and open at the. top

through said deck, and an elevator in said shaft, shaft closure means comprising the elevator platform adapted to cooperate with said deck to form an airtight closure of.

said shaft when raisedrto deck level, a secondary deck structure surrounding the upper part of said shaft and spaced from the upper end thereof, an auxiliary closure comprising a sliding panel cooperating with said secondary deck structure and movable into position to form with said secondary deck structure a complete closure of the upper portion of said shaft, means to project said panel across the shaft, and means for supplying air under pressure to said upper part of said shaft between said platform and said panel to counterbalance the pressure of water on said platform when the submarine is submerged.

5. In a submarine carrier for airplanes having a deck, a hangar space wholly within its hull, a vertical elevator shaft connecting with said space and open at the top through said deck and an elevator in said shaft, shaft closure means comprising the elevator platform adapted to cooperate with said shaft to form an airtight closure of said shaft at a point below deck level, the shaft above said point being entirely enclosed, and auxiliary closure means comprising a sliding panel at deck level to close the open end of said shaft to form a chamber between said panel and said platform, means to project said panel across the shaft, and means for supplying air under pressure to said chamber to counterbalance the pressure of water on said auxiliary closure means when the submarine is submerged.

6. A structure according-to claim 5 wherein said platform is provided with radially extensible locking means cngageable with the walls of said shaft to secure it in its shaft closing position. w h

7. A structure according to claim 5 wherein said shaft is provided adjacent the periphery of said platform when in its shaft closing position with an inflatable gasket member adapted to form an airtight closure between the walls of said shaft and said platform.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS