US39218A - Improved defensive armor for marine and other batteries - Google Patents

Description

. sel and the lives of -those on board.

UNITED STATES PATENT' @Triciav 'JAMES B. nADs, or sir. LOUIS, Missonnrf IMPROVEDDEFENSIVE ARMOR FOR MARINE AND OTHER BATTERIES.

v-Speeication forming part of 'Letters Patent No. 39,218, dated July 14, 1863.

To all whom, itvnay concern:

Be it known that 1JAMYES B. Enns, of the city and county of St. Louis, and State of Mis- Sourifhaveinvented certain. new and useful Improvements in Armorvfor War.- Vessels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a t'ull and clear description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingvdrawings,.and to the letters of reference marked thereon,-and made to form a. part ot' this specification.

It is well knownthat serious diiiicully has been experienced in the practical employment ot' ironclad war-vessels, frointhe fact that the 'transverse bolts used to secure the armornlates have been liable to breakage and `other damage by the labor and strain ot' the vessels at sea, and also by the action of projectiles used against said vessels by the enemy, thereby creating leakage and endangering the vesl To avoid those and other difiicultics,and to secure many important advantages, among which may be .mentioned givingto the vessel additional strength, (which is due to the mass of metal forming the armor,) cheapncss of construction, and practica-l efiiciency are the objects of this invention, the nat-1re ot' which relates to the employment of T or angle-iron bars, in combination with metallic dowel pins', for securing the armor-plates, and making a system of breakingjoints by an arrangement otthe said angle-iron bars and armor-plates, as hereinafter' specified and represented.

In reference to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation representing a portion of an iron-clad vessel constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal longitudinal sectional plan taken through the real line A B. Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing the peculiar inode of securing the armor-plates; and Fig. 4 is a vertical section showing, specially, the arrangement. of the angle-irons, the armor-plates being removed.

C represents the metallic sheathing, which l will be arranged, riveted or bolted, and secured to the ribs d of the vessel, in accordance with the usual method of constructing iron vessels.

E represents the armor plates, which will be formed of iron of suitable shape and thickness for the vessel to be constructed, reference being had to the purpose for which the vessel is intended, andv of a length as great as possible, in order to avoid frequentjoints and to secure continuity of metal to the greatest possible extent. The said armor-plates E may be graduated in thickness, so as to aiford the proper resistance above and below the Waterlinc, and suitable sockets will beformedin them for the reception of the metallic dowelpinsf. (Shown clearly in Fig. 3, and by dotted lines in Fig. 1.)

g represents the angle-iron bars, which will be formed of suitable strength and thickness and tirmly bolted tothe sheathing Cla-nd to the ribs d. Their lateral or horizontal projection will be equal to the thickness of thearmorplates employed, so that aVv smooth and even surface may be produced. In the said lateral projections ot' the angle-irons will be formed peri'orations to correspond with the sockets in the armor-plates for the reception ofthe dowelpinsf, so that, as the said armor plates E are placed upon the vessel, they .will be permanentlyand rigidly secured in such marinera-s to become a part of the vessel by means'of the said angle-irons g and dowel pins f, as fully shown in Fig. 3. Bowel-pins Will also be inserted in the armor-plates'E at the joints formed a-t their ends, as fully shown by dotted lines in Fig..l,.by means ot' which the said joints will be peifectly secured. In the construction of the said angle irons g andarm orplates E, and in their arrangement upon the vessel, care will be taken that the joints formed by the butting or meeting ot' their ends may alternate, thereby creating a system of breakingjoints, which is very important and essential to the strength and ecacy ofthe vessel. This arrangement of parts and system of breaking joints will be clearly understood by reference to Fig. l ofthe drawings.

The operation of laying on and securing the said armor-plates may be described as follows: At the proper point upon the hull of the vessel 'or the base of the tirst or lowest armorplate will be secured, as before described,the lowest an gle-iron, g'. (It will be seen that the vertical portion of this angleiron g extends downward.) The first armor-plate will then be placed in its proper position upon the vessi l, rt sin g upon the said angle-iron g. Dowe'i pins (which in this instance may, if found necessary, be formed with a screw-thread) will then be driven up through the angle-iron g into the lower edge of the said armor-plate in such manner as to hold it rigidly in its place. The second angle-iron will then be'litted and bolted to its place. A secondary iron plate of a thickness equal to that of the vertical portion of the said angleiron, and of a width adapted to the difference between the height of thesaid vertical portion of the angle-iron g and the width of the armor-plate, may then be fitted to its proper place and firmly bolted or riveted to the sheathing C and ribs d. The principal object of this secondary plate is to atiorda smooth, even, and solid surface against which the next armor-plate may be fitted;

The second angle-iron, g, being new secured in its proper place, dowel-pinsj'willbe driven down through its perforations into the sockets in the upper edge of the armor-plate already fitted to its place. The upper ends of the said dowel-pins will extend above the angleiron in such manner as to be adapted to lit into the sockets in the lower edge of the next armor-plate, which may then be fitted to its place.-

The above description will answer for each succeeding angle-iron and armor-plate until the armor ofthe vessel is completed. The upper edges of the last or upper armor-plates will be secured by means of pins corresponding with the dowel-pinsf, which will be driven down through the deck 4of the vessel into sockets, before described. It will thus be seen that the armor of the vessel is rigidly and permanently secured in the inost thorough and efficientmanner, so as to form a vital part of the si ren'gth of the vessel without the employment ot' a single through bolt or rivet, and that the withindescribed system of. breaking joints is such as to secure the continuous strength of the metal employed in the highest possible deprojectiles; also, safety from leakage caused by the breaking of through-bolts either by the said action of projectiles or the labor of the vessel at sea; vast economy in labor and expense in the construction of vessels and keeping the saine in repair, and converting the strength of the armor into part and parcel of the strength of the vessel instead of carrying an immense dead-weight of metal as armor which a'ords no material strength to the vessel, which is the case with iron and ironclad war-vessels now in common use.

I do not confine myself to any particular thickness for the iron arinor-plates E, as it is obvious the same may be varied to meet the requirements of the service for which the vessel may be intended.

I do not wish to be understood as claiming that there is anything new in alternate joints for ordinary purposes, for I am aware that similar devices are common for various purposes; but I believe the within-described arrangement of the angle-iron bars g and armorplates E and dowel-pinsj, creating a system of breaking joints for the purpose of giving additional strength to the armor of war-ves- JAS. B. EADS. [L. s.] Witnesses:

H. E. CLIFTON, E. A. SKEELE.

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