US39179A - Improvement in sabots for projectiles - Google Patents

Description

2 sheets-sheet 41.

G. W. STAFFORD.

Sabot for Projectiles A Patented July 7, 1863.

NL PErEnS. PHoTollT IIIIHIII ANN TP 2 Sheets- Sheet 2.

c.' w. STAFFURD.

Sabot for Projeotiles.

Patented July 7,1863.

"IIIIIIV i Miren Sterns CHARLES IV. STAFFORD,

OF BURLINGTON, IOVA.

EMPROVENENT IN SABOTS FOR PROJECTLES.

Speciiieaiion Forming part of Letters-Patent Fo. 39,173. dated July 7, ltCll.

To all whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. STAFFORD, of Burlington, in the county of Des Moines and State of Iowa, have `invented a new and Improved Sabot for Spherical and other Sub- Caliber Projectiles, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is an axial section of my improved sabot with a spherical shot placed therein and the whole ready for transportation or for placing in the gun. Fig. 2 is a sectional perspective view ofthe sabot with the shot separated therefrom, as in the act of iring. Fig.V 3 is a front view of the sabot, and Fig. 4 is a side view. f

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

lThe subject of my invention is an improved construction of sabot adapted to receive the full force of the explosion upon an area larger than that o'f the shot, guide the shot in an accurately central position through the bore and separate from it, by atmospheric resistance at the instantV ofleaving the gun or immediately after, the principal objects being to relieve the p gun from undue strain, impart a high initial velocity to the projectile, relieve it from the effect of atmospheric resistance upon the sabot or casing, and give it an accuracy equal, or nearly so, to that of a full-caliber shot.

In order that others skilled in rthe art to which my invention appertains may be cnabled to fully understand and use the same, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A B O D represent a base-plate o1" peculiar construction, which may be cast in one piece of brass, iron, or other suitable meta-l. The said base-plate is formed of a disk, A, with a surrounding flange, D, a concentric conical shell, O, and a central post, D, the purposes of all which will be presently explained.

E E E2 Ez are a series of wooden rings placed one upon another in the manner shown, and connected to each other and to the metal disk A by longitudinal bolts F F.

G is a metal band, shrunk or otherwise sccured on the front of the casing or sabot thus formed. The external diameter of this band l corresponds .exactly with that of the outer iiange, IB, of the base-plate.

S represents the shot. The interior of the rings E2 and E in iront of the center of the shot have a diameter equal to that of the shot, to permit the insertion of the shot within the easing, and also to permit its escape therefrom in a forward direction inthe act of ring, as hereinafter explained. The interior of ring Ff' is in addition expanded from the front bacl placed a mass, I, of plaster-of-paris or other suitable material, to secure the shot within the from place to place. The interior of the ring E and the front ofthe conical shell O and post D form together a hemispherical cavity fitting the back of the shot.

rlhe peripheries of the flange B and band G constitute guides, by which the sabot is held and guided in an accurately central position within the bore, and also serve to confine the wooden casing at its respective ends, so as to preserve its i'orm and give it the necessary strength.

Operation The base-plate, rings, and band being secured together in the manner shown, the shot S is placed in the sabot thus formed, and is there secured by the application of the plaster I. It is then ready for transportation or for placing in the gun. In loading it is inserted with the base-plate next to the charge and the open end of the sabot forward. When the gun is fired, the force of the explosion is communicated to the shot by the metallic baseplate, and thel strength and peculiar form ofthe latter preserve itfrom the possibility of break` age, the conical shell C ait'ording an abutment avoiding unnecessary weight. The instant the front of the sabot reaches the muzzle ot' the gun the resistance of the atmosphere, be

shot in proportion to their respective weights, slightly retards the sabot, while the shot separates from it in a precisely longitudinal diu,rection and pursues its course alone.

The invention, in the particular form above described, is particularly adapted for use with a spherical projectile in a smooth-bore gun. By varying the shape of the interior of the sabot it may be adapted for use with proj ectward, forming a dovetail cavity, in which is casing while being handled or transported which cannot crush, and at the same timev lng greater against the sabot than against the iles of other form7 and by the use of suitable packing rings or disks it may be adapted to C, to form an abutment between the disk A and the rear of a spherical or other shot.

2. A sabot constructedwith a disk, A, iiange B, conical disk C, rings E E E2 E3, and band G, substantially as described, for use in con- Anection With a sub-caliber shot or shell.

The above specification of my improved construction of sabot for spherical and other projectiles signed this 16th day of April, 1863.

C. NV. STAFFORD.

lVitnesses:

Oornvrus KNIGHT, CHARLES SMITH.

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