Abstract:
A projectile designed to penetrate a liquid filled vessel and react with the liquid contained within the vessel. The projectile is formed of a narrow tapered nose portion with a thin liquid soluble casing which contains a reactive material. The nose portion is formed of spent radioactive material and is connected to an axially extending centrally positioned rod having a pressure plate on its distal end. The projectile casing contains potassium or other material which reacts with water or other liquid to create an explosion once the casing has dissolved within the vessel.

Description:
Background of the Invention 
       [0001]    1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to armor piercing projectiles. More particularly, the invention relates to armor piercing projectiles designed for particular volatility when impacting submerged or liquid filled targets. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    U.S. Pat. No. 8,122,833 issued to Nielson et al. discloses a projectile composed of a reactive material, with at least some of the reactive material positioned exteriorly of the missile. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,981,243 issued to Doris et al. discloses a projectile containing an incendiary mix both within and on the nose portion of the projectile. 
         [0006]    The present invention is directed to a projectile designed to penetrate a liquid filled vessel and react with the liquid contained within the vessel. The projectile is formed of a narrow tapered nose portion with a thin liquid soluble casing which contains a reactive material. The nose portion is formed of spent radioactive material and is connected to an axially extending centrally positioned rod having a pressure plate on its distal end. The projectile casing contains potassium or other material which reacts with water or other liquid to create an explosion once the casing has dissolved within the vessel. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    It is a major object of the invention to provide a projectile for firing upon liquid filled vessels. 
         [0008]    It is another object of the invention to provide a projectile having a narrowly tapered piercing tip. 
         [0009]    It is another object of the invention to provide a projectile having a tip formed of spent radioactive material. 
         [0010]    It is another object of the invention to provide a projectile having an outer jacket or casing formed of a water soluble material. 
         [0011]    It is another object of the invention to provide a projectile which contains a water reactive substance. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    Various other objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  shows a plan view of the projectile of the invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a plan view of the armor piercing mechanism of the invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the projectile of the invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a plan view of a storage casing which can be used with either embodiment of the invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a plan view of a third embodiment of the projectile of the invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a plan view of the launcher used with the projectiles of the embodiments of  FIGS. 1 ,  3 , and  5 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0019]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1-6 , the projectile of the invention  100 , with its various applications and embodiments, is illustrated. The projectile  100  has a main body  130  or casing which is generally cylindrical with a hollow interior. A key aspect of the invention is that the projectile is particularly adapted for attacking water or inert liquid filled vessels. Any military or civilian target which is filled with water such as a water tank or water supply for a land or oceangoing vessel can be targeted and compromised by the projectile  100 . To that end, the casing  100  is formed of a material which is water soluble. 
         [0020]    The interior of the casing  130  is filled with potassium or other material which has high volatility in liquid. When the projectile strikes, the casing  130  dissolves dispersing the potassium into the liquid contained in the vessel thereby causing destruction of the vessel. 
         [0021]    The tip or nose  110  of the projectile  100  is solid and tapers to a fine point to allow for penetration into and through the typically thin or lightly armored walls of the target vessel. In a preferred embodiment, the nose  110  is made of spent radioactive material and is of sufficient hardness to penetrate at least light armor or a relatively thin metallic barrier. Alternatively, the nose  110  is made of titanium or other hard metal. An axial connecting rod  120  extends to the rear of the projectile  100  and terminates in a disc shaped pressure plate  150 . The pressure plate  150  is pushed forward by compressed gas or other propellant as described later, which pushes the nose  110  forward. 
         [0022]    In operation, the missile  100  is fired into the vessel, with the tip  110  acting to pierce the containment wall or hull of the vessel. Once inside of the vessel, the water soluble casing  130  quickly dissolves and disperses the potassium or other reactant into the liquid thereby causing an explosive reaction. 
         [0023]    The projectile  100  is designed to be fired from a large caliber compressed air/gas rifle or handgun without any modification being made to the rifle or handgun. To that end, the projectile is relatively small, about ½ to ⅝ inches in diameter (and of commensurate length), and is contained within a compressed gas casing  300 . The concept of the projectile  100  is not limited to handheld launchers, and may be used with a suitable launcher of any size commensurate with the size of the projectile for use against larger targets. Two pairs of fins  140  extend from the back end of the projectile  100  and may be curved or otherwise configured to optimize flight stability. 
         [0024]    An alternative embodiment of the projectile is shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . This embodiment  200  has a main body  180  comprised of two separate tubular enclosures. Enclosure  190  is filled with water and enclosure  195  is filled with an explosive material. The enclosures  190 ,  195  are each preferably of unitary construction with a sealing barrier therebetween so that the main body has a smooth exterior to allow for predictable aerodynamics. Center rod  160  is frangible and has its fracture point positioned about the sealing barrier. The center rod  160  extends into and through both enclosures  190 ,  195 . When the rod  160  is broken, the fractured rod  160  ruptures both enclosures  190 ,  195  with the resulting interaction of the explosive material, which may be potassium, and water creating an explosive force. 
         [0025]    The projectile  100 ,  200  of either embodiment is jacketed in a casing  180  formed of aluminum or other thin metal at least at the base portion, proximate fins  140 . The fins  140  have pointed tips formed at the rearmost portion which are adapted for rupturing casing  180  without affecting the flight of the projectile  100 ,  200 . 
         [0026]    Referring now to  FIG. 5 , a third embodiment of the invention, generally indicated by the numeral  302 , is shown. This embodiment  302  relies on impact triggering to close detonation switches formed by redundant contacts  340 ,  350  positioned in the identical, axially aligned, explosive containers  305  as will be explained in more detail later. The projectile  302  is effective as an armor piercing missile against any armored target, and may be used to penetrate bullet proof glass. The projectile  302  is the same size as the other embodiments, and is contained within also contained within compressed gas casing  300 . 
         [0027]    The projectile tip or nose  310  of the projectile  302  is solid and tapers to a fine point to allow for penetration into and through the typically thin or lightly armored walls of the target vessel. As in the previous embodiments, the nose  310  may be made of spent radioactive material and is of sufficient hardness to penetrate at least light armor or a relatively thin metallic barrier. As previously stated, the projectile  302  has a main body  380  comprised of two separate tubular enclosures  305  contained within casing  300 . The enclosures  305  both contain electrically ignitable explosive materials. The explosive materials may be gunpowder, but preferably a very high yield explosive is used due to the relatively small size of the projectile  302 . Center rod  360 , which extends into and through both enclosures  305 , is frangible and has its fracture point  362  positioned about the meeting point of the enclosures. Button batteries  312  are positioned proximate opposing ends of the projectile  302  for powering electronic ignition of the explosive material. When fractured as upon impact, the projectile detonates by the closure of contacts  340 ,  350  which triggers the detonator  320 . 
         [0028]    Detonators  320  are small but otherwise conventional electrical detonators which are positioned within respective enclosures  305  preferably at about the axial midpoint thereof and abutting center rod  362 . An ignition wire  330  is electrically connected between batteries  312  and detonators  320 . Contacts  340  and  350  form a complete circuit when momentarily pressed together at impact, thereby sending the ignition pulse along wire  330 . 
         [0029]    The tail fins  354  and back plate  356  function as in the previous embodiments. 
         [0030]    In operation, the projectile  302  is fired at an armored target and, upon impact, center rod  260  collapses, causing detonation by closing contacts  340 ,  350 , or by one or both of the metallic tips  335  of the of the fractured center rod closing the respective detonation circuits of the enclosures  305 . 
         [0031]    Referring now to  FIGS. 6 , the projectile launcher  400  is shown. The launcher  400  includes a thumbprint or DNA reader interface which reads the thumbprint or DNA of the user and matches it to a stored image or pattern. If a match occurs the launcher  400  is operational. The projectiles are bar coded, the bar code being read by suitable electronic positioned in the firing chamber. The launcher  400  has previously stored, and constantly updated, via, e.g., WIFI, series of bar codes. If the bar code of the projectile matches the stored bar codes the launcher  400  is operational. 
         [0032]    The launcher  400  is a compressed air gun having a barrel  410 , which is connected to a receiver and bar code reader  420 , the receiver  420  adapted for positioning a projectile  100 ,  200 ,  302 . A receiver to grip interface  430 , serves to connect the receiver to the grip  450  via grip connecting plate  440 . Positioned on the grip is a thumb print exterior contact interface  452 , which allows the user&#39;s thumb print to be read. An internal processor  454 , which includes communication WIFI and a battery, processes the sensed thumbprint image and compares it to stored images, which may be acquired from a server via WIFI. 
         [0033]    A gas cartridge receptacle  460  contains a gas cartridge and is in fluid communication with air hose  470 . The air hose  470  is connected to expansion chamber  480 , which allows air pressure to accumulate sufficiently to fire the projectile  100 ,  200 ,  302 , the compressed air passing through vertical adapter to receiver  420  to fire the projectile in a manner well known in the art. 
         [0034]    From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention and, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions. 
         [0035]    It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims: