US687398A - Armor-plate. - Google Patents

Description

Patented Nov. 26, I90l. n. w. GAHRIGUES.

A R M 0R P L A T E.

(Application filed Dec. 29, 1897,)

(No Model.)

//YVE/VTOR" Emu j I :UNIT'ED A EK D F E DAVID W, lGARRIG UE S, or woonlsnitv, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF oNE-' HALF TO ELBERT A. CORBIN, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.-

Aa oa- LA-Ts;

.sPnomcArIoN forming as of as Fatent No. 687,398, dated Inevembei 26, 1901. l ma filed December 29, 1897. Serial No. 664,494. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.- Y

Be it known that I, DAVID W. GARRIGUES, of Woodbury, Gloucester county, New Jersoy, have invented an Improvement in Armor-Plate, of which the following isa sp'ecification: Y

My invention has reference to the manufacture of armor-plate for vessels, fortifica 1 tions, &c. and it consists of certain'improve- 1o ments which are fully set forth in the following specification and are shown in the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

It is the practice to manufacture armorplate of great thickness and area by special 1 5 processes, most notably those known as Har-v 93 and Krupp processes. In these proc- -esses the'low-grade steel, such as Bessemer,

istreated in large furnaces to high temperatureswhile surrounded with a carbonaceous mass and with the exclusion of oxygen. The processes are very expensive to carry on, as

the great-thickness of the plates necessitates an exceedingly long and uniform action of 'heat. Furthermore, if the temperature and.

the conditions do not remain uniform there is unreliability in the resulting product, the center not being reduced to the condition of temper which is essential -to-the proper tensile strength and resisting qualities. The

0 thinner the plates. the more easily and accurately can the conditions or characteristics of- .the metal desired be secured, and conse-' quently the product per weight is greatly reduced in cost of production. It is therefore 3 5 desirable. to form the plates of as little thickness as possible so far as the metallurgical or tempering process is concerned. Further more, in the manufacture of the thick armorplates now and heretofore being manufac o tured other difficulties arisename1y, the

enormous mass of metal to be made into a plate necessitates the greatest care incastin g i and subsequent treatment-to avoid blow-holes and to secure homogeneousness, attainment 5 of which necessitates the most costly machinery and the highest class of skilled labor to manipulate it. The very nature of these thick plates prohibits them from having any .special grain or fiber'which is so important wherever a tensile or resisting strain is liable to take place. Furthermore, plates of enor I .mous thicknessheretoforeemployed are ex;

ceedingly heavy in proportion to their resisting qualities, and consequently battle-ships protected by such plates. to resis't'the piercing power of shot fromthe largest guns are ob-' jectionably top-lieavy, and as guns are being constantly made more pow-erfulit-will. b,e, i 1 1'1 possible under the present construction of I such vessels of warjto; avoid, making them dangerously top-heavy-so long as the present-- method of manufacturing armor-plate-there for is continued. i The object of my invention is to produce. armor-plate which shall have" advantageous features over=t-he armor-plate heretofore em.- ployed, while removing much of the .6bjec-- ftion nowexisting. I 3;,

The results of my improvements may be specified as follows: I .79 I First, the armor being built up of nu ine1'--' t ousplatessecuredtogetherduring'orprevious to its application to the ship enables the manufacture of the plates to be reduced any desired thicknessas, for example, an inch or inch and a half or more 'asagainsteighteen inches-with the resultinglcheapness of construction throughouhancl in beingable to--- treat the steel plate so produced ina manner. to secure accurately the exact temperor tensile strength required at a greatlyvred'uced cost per weight of the metal treated. This also secures the same resistance to penetration with less thickness and weight. Secondly,-by' forming the plates compara-- 8 tively thin as to thickness 1 am enabled to take advantage of the rolling operations for reducing the heavybillet into the platewith the result of securingthereby the greatly-m creased tensile strength due to the con'den- 9o sation of the mass under the compressing ac tion of the'rolls, together with the increased ductility produced by said rolling and the creation of a desirable fibrous condition,- ex- IOU tions and the line of juncture of the several plates made to break joints with those of the other plates of difierent layers. By this construction the compound or built-up plate of armor so produced secures the advantage of the fibrous condition of the metal in every direction, securing thereby a great obstructing power to penetration.

Fourthly, abuilt-up arm orprotection made as herein described is substantially continued from one end of the vessel to the other or over the entire length or so much as is protected, following the curvatures of the vessel, with the result of greatly increasing the resistance to strains upon the ribs or skeleton of the vessel than would result with independent heavy similar sections of massive armor heretofore employed.

Fifthly, by constructing my improved armor in plate-sections I am enabled to gradually reduce the. thickness of the armor as we descend below the water-line to secure the necessary protection to the proper depth without an abnormal weight.

Si'xthly, from my improved construction of armor-plate I am enabled to construct the interior or skeleton of the vessel in a stronger condition than is customary, as well as thereby reducing its cost of construction for a given strength.

My invention will be better understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which v Figure 1 is a cross-section of one side of a vessel having my im proved armor-plate thereon. Fig. 2 is afront elevation of aportion of the armor with parts of successive layers broken away to show the direction and grain of the plates. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a battle ship with my improved armor plate thereon, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing how the adjacent plates may be secured together in the built-up armor.

A is the skeleton or framework of the vessel, and with my improvements the ribs may be made upright or without angular portions or offsets to receive the armor. By this construction the interior capacity of the vessel is increased and the cost of construction of the framework is materially reduced.

B is the armor. This armor consists of a series of layers of plates 0 D E F and others to aggregate-the desired resistance, each composed of a series of plates of preferably great length compared with their width, accurately shaped as to width so as to fit snugly side by side. The joints may, if desired, be made on a bevel, as indicated at M in Fig. 4-, though this is not essential. The plates 0 immediately adjacent to the hull of the vessel proper are preferably made of greater thickness than the other plates, though still retaining a thickness preferably not exceeding three inches. The outer plates are secured together at intervals by screws I, passing over two or more of the plates and having their heads upset or driven down into tapering openings 2', as clearly indicated in Fig. 4, the upper screw therein being shown before the riveting action, while the lower screw shows how the end is riveted or upset to enable the next plate E to fit close upon the plate I). The armor so formed may be secured in anysuitable manner to the sides of the vessel by bolts J, passing through a portion of the plates or through all of them and extending on the inside through the ribs of the vessel. Itwill be sufficient to secure one or two of the inner plates to the sides of the vessel by these bolts J and rely upon the screws or rivets or other means of fastening between the outside plates to hold them in position. Any number of layers G D E F may be employed. The thickness of the armor may thus be built up to that required and may be added to from time to time if thought advisable'in view of the increased penetrating power of guns of later construction. The upper edges of the plates may be covered by a cap K to prevent the entrance of water.

In Fig. 2 the armor-plate is shown corresponding to the middle portion of Fig. 3, and this figure has its layers so broken away as to indicate successive layers of a series of plates each. It will -be observed that the length of the plates of each layer are arranged in different directions, so as to cause the grain of fiber of the plates of successive layers to lie at different angles or in ditferent directions to present ditferent directions of greatest tensile strength as a resistance to the penetrating shot as it enters the plate. Aside from the resistance to piercing the plate on account of this increased fibrous condition the greatest resisting power to the shot is presented in ditferent angles as it enters the different layers, thus causing it to expend its power in lateral directions also, and thereby diminish the possible direct penetration.

In supporting the armor upon the side of the battle-ship I prefer to arrange a step G longitudinally thereon at a distance below the water-level and form this step of suflicient width to give a firm support for the wcightof the armor, and thereby remove as far as possible the strain upon the bolts J. This step G maybe attached to the ribs of the vessel in any suitable manner. edge may be beveled, as shown in Fig. 1, and the lower edges of the successive layers of the armor-plates may also be beveled, as at e. In practice I prefer to make the outer plates vertical and cause them to overlap the beveled lower edges of the inner plates, as at e. If desired, the same outer plates may be continued as additional protection under the bottom of the vessel, as at H, toprotect it against torpedoes. It will be understood, however, that these commercial details of construction may be more or less modified withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. While I have described my improvements as-more specially applied to the armor of bat- Its lower general construction and method of manufacture may be employed for protectin'g'batteries of forts or any place or places where great protection is necessary in either naval or military work.

It will be observed that the plates making up the armor may'be of great length, so as to avoid as far as possible any joints in the length, and especially in the caseof the plate 0, which extends parallel to the step G. These plates of the various layers maybe of any thickness desired, and in place of the outer layers being of smaller uniform thickness they may vary in thickness. The construction of the furnace necessary for properly tempering platesof this character would be one ofi great length and during the same operation of tempering one plate a large number of said plates might be simultaneously tempered, and thereby secure great economy so far as fuel consumption is concerned. .The

time necessary for properly tempering plates may be assumedas approximately equal to the square of the thickness, and itis thus evident that by making the plates of smaller thickness the tempering process may be extended entirely through the plate in a very short period of time as compared with the thick armor-plates heretofore made, and, furthermore, the homogeneity both as to composition and tensile strength will be far more reof fifteen to eighteen inches in thickness, as

will be readily understood, and consequently my lmproved armor-plate may be applied and curved to the vessel while making up the complete thickness of the armor, the screws or bolts I employ to unite the parts being put inplaceduring the building up of the armor on the vessel. This armor-plate therefore become a homogeneous part of the sheathing of the vessel and greatly adds to its strength.

F fAnother very-important advantage of. my

' improved armor is that I may'secure greater resisting qualities in the thin plates .than is possible from the thick plates. Consequently I may secure the same resisting power of the armor with a less thickness thereof audof course with a less total weight. This has the advantage of preventing the vessel from be-' ing top-heavy, with the consequent dangers to a seagoing vessel.

It is evident that, if desired, my improved armor will permit of the adjacent layers belng made of different grades of steel to comblue the. advantages of a tough steel with one of greathardness. Thus, for example, one or it in m in at town at nmunu steel may be interposed between layers of plates of more ductile character, such as barveyized plates or highly-annealed steel. This will secure the necessary tensile strength with a very large factor of resistance to penetration. q 1

I do not confine-myself to the minor details of construction of myim proved armor-plate, as these may be varied considerably without departing from ,the spirit of the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Armor for a battle-ship, consisting of a series of superimposed layers each composed of a series of plates arranged substantially in the same plane and parallel to each other and in which the fiber or grain in the plates of each layer is arranged at a different angle than the fiber or grain of the adjacent layer or layers, and further in which the plates of the outer layer extend downward andover the lower edges of the remaining plates and united to the bottom of the vessel so as to form a continuous sheathing over the porof the layers united together by suitable bolts or rivets, means for holdiugthe armor-plate against the sides of the vessel while its main weigh-t is sustained by the sill or step and an outer armor-sheathing comprising upright plates secured to the outer surface of the above-described armor and extending downward over the lower edges of said armorplates.

3. The combination of ahull of a ship hav ing arranged at a'distance below the waterline a longitudinal sill or step'seoured to the frame of the vessel, armor-plate supported by said sill or. step and comprising a series of superimposed layers of highly-tempered steel plates each layer being composed of a series of parallel plates arranged at a difiereut angle than the plates in adjacent layers and all of the layers united together by suitable belts or rivets, means for holding the armor-plate against the sides of the vessel while its main weight is sustained by the sill or step, and an outer armor sheathing comprising upright plates secured to the outer surface of the above-described armor and extending downward over the lower edges of said armor-plates and also inclosing the longitudinal sill or step and united to the bottom of the vessel.

4. Armor-plate for a battle-ship, consisting of a series of superimposed layers each composed of a series of plates arranged in the which the fiber or grain in the plates ofleach layer is arranged at a diflferen't. angle than the fiber or grain of the adjacent layer or layers, and in which the lower edges of at least a portion of the plates are beveled and the several plates of the various layers suitably united together by rivets or bolts.

5. Armor-plate for a battle-ship, consisting of a series of superimposed layers each composed of a series of plates arranged in the same plane and parallel to each other and in which the fiber or grain in the plates 0t each layer is arranged at a diflerent angle than the eemee fiber or grain of the adjacent layer or layers, and in which the lower edges of at least a portion of the plates are beveled and the several plates of the various layers suitably united together by rivets or bolts, and a series of outer upright plates extending downward and over the beveled lower edges of the abovedescribed armor-plate.

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my hand. I

DAVID W. GARRIGUES. Witnesses: v

WM. L. EVANS, J. W. KENWORTHY.

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