US36152A - Improved metallic defensive armor - Google Patents

Description

-119 all w/wm it may concern.'

and exact description `of the same, ,which has that the corners of such bolts will gain 'ahold upon and tend to tear up or penetrate inclined .armor which will act equally well against round bolt in circumstances where other armor would i this specification, and similar letters of reference indicate like parts in both figures.

. sel or fortification constructed of wood and land bolted together 'in the same manner as is generally adopted in ship-work. The entire 4accordance with what are generally considered UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

i3., i3. .HOTCHKISSQ OF SHARON, UONNECTiCU'I.

IMPROVED METALLIC DEFENSIVE ARMOR.

Sprcilicntion forming part of vLetters Patent No. 31h-|52, dated August l2, 1862.

Be it known that I, B.' B. HoTcHKIss, of Sharon, in the county of Litchfield, in tlieState of Connecticut, have invented a certain new andiinportant Improvement in Armor Plating for War-Vessels and Fortifications; and I do hereby declare that the'following is a fnll,clear,

of Letters Patent therefor. e

It has been found in experiments heretofore conducted relative to the eliect of projectiles upon iron plates that the i1at-headed bolt will penetrate more readily than otheni'orms, and

been prepared with a view to theY procuring armor wherefother projectiles are deflected The object of my invention is to produce an or conical shot as that heretofore known, and which will also serve to deiiect the dat-headed be enetrated or loosened.

-T e nature of my invention consists in so overlapping inclined and superposed armor-- plates thata portion of the edges of each is only exposed'and suchedges when struck by a fiat-headed bolt or other projectile having suiiicicnt power to penetrate willl become detached and form a shoeor false point for the projectile, on which shoe it glances or slides upon the next plate, and is thereby deiiected and prevented from doing other damage.

The accompanying drawings form a part of Figure l is a vertical section, and Fig. 2 is l plain view, of a portion of the side of a vesarmored according to my invention. c

A represents a wall of timber, and B and C, respectively, the outer and inner skin or planking and ceiling, these parts being arranged structure-bolwerks, wall, easeinate,v breastwork, or whatever name it may be called-is not perpendicular, but inclined at an angle of about forty-five degrees with the horizon, in

correct principles in iron -plateddefenses against ordnance.

1 2 3 4 5 6, Ste., are plates of iron of plain 'sform and of-proper length and breadth. D D, die., are bolts having heads counteisunk into the plates at the points indicated,and provided with'nnts d and suitable washers at their inner ends, as represented. The plates are ar- Aranged relatively rto each other and to the wood-work A B C in the m'annerreprcsented,

each plate lying with its lower edge'ncxt thc Wood and covering the sheet next above, ex-

cept aportion of the upper edge, and the platesof each series are arranged to break joints with the other series, as shown in Fig. 2. The head of each bolt, except the lowerniost ones,ou the entire structure is covered bythe outer aud-lower plate,'so as to conceal and protect it in the manner represented. flhc manner of arranging these and their i'astenings is analogous to the arranging of shingles or clapboards on a building, except that in my invention the positions arevtlie reverse of those of ciapboards, the butts or exposed edges bcing in my :invention presented upward.

I prefer to use for the plates 1 2, die., iron as tough as can be commanded, accurately rolled and cut to the required shape, and about one inch thick. The'irawings represent four such plates superposed one upon the other at every point on the outer surface of the work;4 but it is obvious that a greater or lesser number may be made to serve, as may be desired. The plates are previously punched or drilled by suitable xnachinery,-so that the holes accurately coincide in position with each other and. with the holes in the wood-work, and the plates are applied by the aid of thc bolts and nuts in the obviousmanner, beginning with the uppermost tier of plates and adding the next lower tiers successively.

E represents the position of a fiat-headed boit from a Whitworth or other suitable rified gun at the instant of its impact with the plates. The red Iinesindicate an important function or effect of the invention in shoeing such a bolt and making it at least practical! y rounded vin form outside. It will l served that the lower edge of the projectile at its forward end meets the outer plate in n favorable position for cuttingoii the plate on i the outside layer, so as to commence to penetrate-the shield or armor, but that the mere act of cutting the outer plate under these eircumstances causes the piece cut to be carried forward with the shot on an angle, as shown in red outline. Inthis condition the front of theprojectile will meet the face .ofy the next and next succeeding plate with less ability to ent them-that is to say, while the bolt E vwould bite eil'ectively hold ofthe solid plating of an ordinarily platedgvcsscl, in inyiinproved armor, so soon as it cuts clear a piece of the enter plate, the said piece is held by friction and other eircu mstanccs in the front ofthe shot,A

soas practically to blunt or round the front',

ofthe bolt and cause'it to slipor glance from the succeeding plates.

I am aware that plating has before been made in several separate'layers of plates; but

. I do not know that'it has ever been before arranged so as to produce the effect of my inven. tion in glancing the projectiles upward, cans.

ing a portion of the outer` plate to be cut o `or' crushed out and carried forward, so as to shield the-other plates-in `part from the action of thel projectile,or rather from the edgesthereof, inthe mannerl haveshown.

It is obviousthat if theblow is sulieientlyv severe the under plates, a, and the plates, 1 2

8vo., 'which are first applied, may be crushed and indented by the force upon the superposed plates; but the general effect of theinvention is su'icientl y indicated by the figures.

'The facility afforded by my inventionfo'r fitting and applying the armor, also for allow- .ing the same to work in a seaway, and also for allowing rough edged or `uhtrim med plates to be used, is very obvious.

I have represented three methods of ladaptin g the lower edges ofthe several, plates to the the square e lgesxnay be employed, or any,

suitable soft material may be introduced-to lill the spaces.

AAll the plates of my invention may of course be underla-id with any other material or overlaid with any material, or each plate may be separately coated*l or laid upon any suitable fibrous, gnmmyfor other modifying or preserving material.

The bolts D may be lmade in any style or securedin. any manner other than by nutsl d, if desired, ar'd the plates 1 2, &c.,may bo grooved and to'ngned together at their edges, so as to strengthen the joints, if desired,

Having now fully described 'my invention what I claim as new, and desire to secure by f The arrangement of th'eplates 1 2 3, Src.,

upon the ineli'ned .sides of ,vessels and fortifications, so that thelower plate'sshall overlap upon the higher, in the manner and' for the purpose herein set forth.'v

n.1 n. Horenmss.

' Witnesses: G. vH. BABoocrc,

Tiros. CREGIN. f

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