US1238840A - Ship-armor. - Google Patents

Description

J. H. SMITH.

SHIP ARMOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 15. I917.

- WITNESSES:

A TTORNE V Patented fiept. 4, 191?.

'J'OHN H. SMITH, 0]? LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

SHIP-ARMOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Ship-Armor, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in ship armor and more particularly to-protection against torpedoes; and the objects ofmy improvements are, to cause the torpedo to be exploded at a suitable distance before it reaches the ship body at which it was directed, or hold it in the meshes ofthe device so that it can not explode; to provide a protection which will not offer much resistance to the water; to provide a strong protection, beneath the water line; the invention consisting in the construction combination and arrangement of devices hereafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a ship with my device in place projecting sidewise off the material with a cross section as illustrated in Fig. 4c, the pointed edges 5 being the longitudinal edges projecting toward the front and the rear minimizing the resistance of such bars when forced through the Water. Another object of using flat" bars between the catching rails and the ship is to provide spring-like members between the shock-sustaining members and the ship, thereby reducing the shock on the ship, as the lon flat distance bars will naturally ratherbend than cause damage to the sides of the ship. Outside to the vertical rail 4, longitudinal Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed March 15, 1917. Serial No. 154,972.

ofa.

Patented Sept. 4L, 191W.

rails 6 are secured to form with the vertical rails 4 a steel frame or screen leaving openings of about a foot square. These openings are naturally of a; size to allow the head of a torpedo to enter and thereby get caught, which will cause a whirl in thewater plainly to be seen from the ship so that the torpedo may be taken out without danger to the ship at a suitable moment. If not caught thus in the free spaces, the torpedo will strikeon one of the rails 4 or 6, and'thereby explode. An explosion caused in this manner will perhaps crush or bend several of the bars and rails, but could not possibly do much damage to the ship except shaking it by the commotion in the water, as the spring capacity'of the distance bars: reduce the shock to the ship.

The distance bars are secured to the ship projecting o the ship. As connection between the ship andthe distance bars on one end and on the other end of the distance bars connecting with the vertical rails, I prefer to use angle bars .7, being disposed longitudinally to the ship.-

Having this described my invention, I claim 1. A ship armor of the type described comprising interconnected .steel rails forming a frame or screen of substantially square holes, and distance bars securedto the ship sides with one end and with the other end to the frame or screen, forming spring-like members between the frame or screen and the ship.

' 2. A ship armorof the type described comprising a suitable number of steel rails horizontally surrounding the ship, a suitable number of steel rails interconnected with the first named rails crossing the first named rails forming a steel frame or screen, and distance bars connecting the frame or screen with the ship, the whole device being made of material with springing capacity.

3. A ship armor of the type described comprising a suitable number-of distance bars 4. A ship armor of the type described comprising a suitable number of distance bars connected to the sides of the ship projecting ofl" the ship. and a frame or screen of cross 5 wise fiat bars secured to the farther ends of thedistance bars, the bars in this device haying sharp edges projecting towztrd the front and rear of the ship for reducing the Witnesses Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Washington, I). 0.

resistance in the 'fltQl'. all substantially as JOHN H. SMITH.

CHAS. S. MCKELVEY, J. EVERETT BROWN.

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