US41112A - Improvement in submarine explosive projectiles - Google Patents

Description

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. D. WILLOUGHBY.

Marine Torpedo.

No. 41,112. Patented Jan. 5, 1864.

Witnesses 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. D. WILLOUGHBY.

Marine Torpedo.

Patented Jan. 5, 1864.

IIH

NlTED STATES JAMES D. WILLOUGHBY, or WASHINGTON, DISTRICT or COLUMBIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN SUBMARINE EXPLOSIVE PROJEQTILES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 41 ll,ll I12, dated January 5, 1864.

To all whom it may concern v I Be it known that 1, JAMES D. WiLLoUeHnY, of Washington city, in the county of \Vashington and District of Columbia, have invented a new Traveling Torpedo; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, andexact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which Figure l is a top view of the buoy and torpedo. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through Fig.1, taken in the plane indicated by the red line a: w thereon. Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a top view of the payingout apparatus, and Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the same. Fig. 6, Sheet 2, illustrates the operation of my invention.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfignres.

This invention relates to certain novel improvements in destroying vessels at sea, in harbors, &c., where such vessels are inaccessible, or where it would be deemed unsafe and impracticable to attack them with the ordinary means.

The nature of my invention consists in the employment of traveling torpedoes, which are suspended beneath buoys or suitable floats,.

moment of contact with it, all as will be here inafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, 1 will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

111- Fig. 1, Sheet 1, of the annexed drawings 1 have represented three floats or buoys, A A A; but in practice it may not be found necessary to employ more than two, and in some instances one buoy will be found suf-' These buoys may be made of boiler-. iron and formed of the shape of a cylinder,

ticient.

hollow inside, ilnt at the stern, and conicalor tapering upward at the bow, and they should possess suflicient floating capacity to sustain two or three hundred poundsin the. water. Fi ...2 rc )IOSODtS about the she )e I desire to tend to keep these ends upward, for reasons" hereinaftertobeexplaincd. When threefloats,

A A A, are used, they are connected together at suitable distances apart by means of bracerods a a, and the magazine or torpedo is sus-' pended beneath the cent-ral'buoy, A.

The torpedo B maybe made of the same shape as the buoy A; but instead of the for ward end inclining downward and backward, as in the buoy, the. forward end of the torpedo inclines downward and forward, asshown in Figs. 2 and 6. The tendency of the waterupon-the torpedo will be to keep it down, which bcingcounteracted by the upward tendency of the bow of the buoy, the machine will glide through the water smoothly, and the torpedo'will not in any case be tossed out of the water.

This torpedo may beconstructed of" boileriron, the size being controlled by the destructivem-s's desired of it, andit is tilled with powder or any explosive compound which will give the best results, and communicating with the powder in this torpedo are several friction-fuses, which are shown ill-Fig. 2, consistingbf tubesb-b, which are charged with the fulnnnate of mercury, or any other one of he fulminates, and projecting into these tubesare short rods 0 c, which are connected to a draw-rod, 0.- The fuse-rods c 0 may be serrated, so that when they are moved buclv This can be done by packing the fuse-rods c c v in their tubes.

The torpedo B is secured at its rear end to r a long metal tube, 1) which is flaring at its rear end, as shown at d,Figs. 2 and (i, and which is curved atits forward end, as shown in Fig. 2. Both ends of this tube may be The tube. extends back in rear of t-hetor-pedo in a sti'ai ght I left open', or one end may be closed.

line, and it should be made of siiliicic'nt size to. support the torpedo. This tube 1) is filled with rocket-powder of such character asnotxto burn too rapidly nor too siowly, and

such as will burnnndcr water and, by its rcaction upon the water, will propel the machine forward.

The tube or rocket D, carrying on its forward end the torpedo, is supported in the water ata suitable distance below its surface by the buoys A AA above described, and this rocket-tube is connected to the buoys by means of adjustable extension-rods EE,which are made adjustable for the purpose of raising or lowering the torpedo and rocket with reference to the buoy, according to the size and draft of the ship to be destroyed, and also for setting" the rocket-tube at any desired point of inclination.

The draw-rod O, to which the right-angular fuse-rods c c are connected, has its bearings intwo pillow-blocks, ee, projecting up from the torpedo shell, and, extending back behind the forward extension-rods E, this red C is connected to the extension-rods G, which project upward,and are again connected'to another draw-rod, H, which is supported in bearings h h under the buoy A, as shown in Figs. 2 and 6 of the drawings. r

The two rods 0 and H are in the same ver tical plane, and both being connected they move together, which movement i'gnites'the fuses and explodes the torpedo. It is not intended'that the lower draw-rod, 0, shall come in contact with the side of avessel to be blown up unless by some accident the torpedo is not low enough to pass under the keel of the vesso], in which case the explosion will take place before the rod H strikes the vessel, and a great deal of the force of the explosion may be lost; but it is intended that the magazine shall be so far below the surface of the water, and at such a distance beyond the bow of the buoy, that it will be brought directly under the keel of the vessel before the forward end of the rod H strikes the side of the vessel. Then when this rod H strikes it will be forced back, carrying with it the rod 0 and fuse-rods a c. and exploding the torpedo.

The vertical adjustments of the torpedo and rocket are effected by means of the extensionrods E E and extension rods G, and this adjustment regulates the depth of the torpedo with respect to the draft of'the vessel it is desired to destroy. If it is required to adjust the torpedo with respect to the width of the vessel to be destroyed, this can be done by using set-screws on the lower bearing ends of the extension-rods E E for fixing the tube D- at any desired point to which it may be adjusted.

The rocket-tube B being open at both ends, and having its forward end bentbackward, it will be seen that the rocket may be ignited at either or both ends it found desirable. It maybe found best to ignite the rocket at its forward end, in order that the force of the expelled gases may react upon the water directly in rear of the torpedo and as near to it as possible. In this event the forward end of the tube D will be made flaring'instead of the rear end of this tube. The object of flaring the end of this rocket-tube is to increase the superficial area of the resisting medium against which the gaseous matter resulting from the combustion of the rocket-powder impinges, thus increasing the impellin g force of the rocket.

Now, in order to give direction to the buoy and rocket, and to be able to direct the machine with some degree of precision to any desired object, I employ a paying-out machine, to which the buoy isconnected by means of two or more guide-ropes, g 9. These ropesare connected to the buoy at its rear end, and wound upon the drums or reels J J of the paying-out machine, (represented in Figs. 4 and 5 of thedrawings,) and this machinebeingestablished in some convenient position on the deck of a vessel, the buoy can be guided in its passage through the water by means of the fric tionbrake arms N N, which, on being applied to the hubs i i of the reels J J, will regulate the speed of-th ese reels'and tighten or slacken either one or the other of the guide-ropes g g.

It is intended to useithese traveling torpedoes at night, and the darker the night, so long as the position of the enemy be known, the better for success,- as the approaching object willnot be seen by the enemy, while it may be seen by those directing its course by means of a dark-lantern, L, which is arranged on top of the buoy and protected from; the water, and in guiding the machine to its destination it is only necessary to keep this light ina line with the object to be destroyed.

The distance to which the machines maybe impelled through the water will depend upon the capacity of the rocket-tube for containing powder and the length of time required to consume this powder, together with the distance to which a given amount of powder will impel the machine. This being determined, the length of guide-ropes and the distance necessary to approach the fee is known.

Before sending these machines off it will be necessary to know with some degree of certainty the size of the. enemies vessel, and to regulate the depth of the torpedo below the surface of the water, so that it will pass under the keel ot' the vessel and allow the rod on the buoy to strike the side thereof. These adjustments being made and the machine all ready, it is lowered into the water by means of davit s or other suitable contrivances. When the guide-ropes are properly connected to the payin gout apparatus, and the rocket ignited by means of a string fuse suitably applied to it, the'maohine starts on its errandofdestruction, guided and controlled in its course through the water by a person. having hold of the brake-levers N :N. The torpedo passes under the vessel first, and then the rod H strikes the vessels side with such force as to instantly ignite the fuse and cause the explosion of the torpedo.

The rod H might be casually pushed back so as to cause a premature discharge, should it come in contact with any light floating ob sane 3 ject, and to prevent this a spring may be applied to this rod in such a manner as to keep it in place until it strikes the desired object.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isv 1. The combination of buoys or floats A A A with a' torpedo or magazine of powder sus-.

pended beneath the same, and operating-substantially as and for the purposes herein described.

2. In combination with a floating torpedo, a rocket constructed and applied substantially as described.

3. The means, substantially as described, applied to the buoy and torpedo for exploding the latter automatically.

4.. The adjustable extension-rods E E, or their equivalents, for supporting the torpedo and rocket and allowing the same to be raised or depressed,- substantially as described.

5. The combination of a traveling torpedo with a payingout apparatus constructed for guiding the torpedo in its course through the water without the interposition of a rudder,

substantially as described.

6. The combination of a dark-lantern, L, with a traveling torpedo, substantially as and for the purposes described.

7. Arranging and supporting the torpedo beneath the buoy, substantially as described, in such a relation therewith that the torpedo can be brought under the keel of a vessel and there exploded, substantially as described.

8 A rocket-torpedo consisting of the magazine B, fuse or fuses c c, and rocket 1), constructed substantially as described.

J. D. WILLOUGHBY.

Witnesses:

R. T. CAMPBELL, .ToHrrP. JAcoBs.

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