Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Mar., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 14th Dec., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 5th Feb., 1889
1. CHRISTOPHER LEEFE DRESSER, of Lyneham House, Plympton, in the County
of Devon, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
My invention relates to an improved construction of explosive projectile, and it is
designed to be able to carry a charge of high explosive which may be fired without
risk of explosion before reaching its destination, and at the same time may be aimed
with accuracy and be of a portable character.
My invention consists essentially in the combination with rockets of cartridges of
high explosives such as dynamite, melonite, roburite, gun cotton, &c. These
cartridges may be simply formed in, or attached by any suitable joint to the head
of the rocket, and discharged by impact, or they may be provided with a time fuse, or
both methods may be used. Again, the cartridges may be surrounded with a number
of iron or lead balls, or other missiles, so that when the cartridge is discharged, the
balls will be widely scattered with great initial force. The tubes of my rockets
may be formed with external rifling, and be discharged from rifled guide tubes
ensure accuracy of aim. Or, in place of rifling, I may provide the rockets
with spiral wings, and either the rifling or the wings may be upon the tubes or
upon the sticks.
to
Where the cartridge is a detachable attachment to the head of the rocket, it is
obvious that many conveniences will be secured as regards portability and safety
before use.
It will readily be seen that my projectile possesses many advantages, inasmuch
as there is no recoil of the apparatus, the discharge may be extremely simple, and
a number of projectiles could be carried in a small space or boat.
Dated this 14th day of March 1888
FELL & WILDING,
1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.

page_text: 1, CHRISTOPHER LEEFE DRESSER, late of Lyneham House, Plympton, but now of
The Warren, Starcross, both in the County of Devon, Gentleman, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to an improved construction of explosive projectile or shell,
and it is designed to be able to carry a charge of high explosive which may be
fired without risk of explosion before reaching its destination, and at the same time
may be aimed with accuracy and be of a portable character.
My invention consists essentially in the combination with rockets, of cartridges of high
explosives such as Dynamite, Melanite, Roburite, Bellite, Litho fracteur, gun cotton
or other explosive nitro-compounds &c. These cartridges may be simply formed in or
attached by any suitable joint to the head of the rocket and discharged by impact, or
they may be provided with a time fuse, or both methods may be used. Again, the
cartridges may be surrounded with a number of iron or lead balls or other missiles,
so that when the cartridge is discharged, the balls will be widely scattered with great
initial force. The tubes of my rockets may be formed with external rifling, and be
discharged from rifled guide tubes to ensure accuracy of aim. Or, in place of rifling,
I may provide the rockets with spiral wings, and either the rifling or the wings may
be upon the tubes or upon the sticks.
Where the cartridge is a detachable attachment to the head of the rocket,
it is obvious that many conveniences will be secured as regards portability and f
safety before use.
It will readily be seen that my projectile possesses many advantages, inasmuch as
there is no recoil of the apparatus, the discharge may be extremely simple, and a
number of projectiles could be carried in a small space or boat.
In order that my invention may be the better understood, I now proceed to describe
the same in relation to the drawing herennto annexed, reference being had to the
letters marked thereon.
The drawing represents a sectional elevation of my improved projectile mounted on
a rocket stick.
The construction of my invention is based upon consideration of the known
properties of the high explosives before mentioned, with which it is proposed to charge
the shell portion of the apparatus. These properties, which it is necessary to take
into account in an invention of this description, may be detailed as follows:-
First, the extreme liability of the aforesaid high explosives to explode by sudden or
explosive shocks, it having been proved that the artillerymen run serious risks when
firing dynamite shells from ordinary cannon. I have found however that these
compounds will not explode by the gradual impulse of a rocket discharge, nor by
direct fall through a great height, unless the impact is attended by a detonation.
Second, these high explosives, unlike gunpowder, do not require to be strongly
confined in order to give out their. explosive. force effectively, but they will give out

page_text: their full force when slightly or not at all confined, the force developed being from
five to six times that of gunpowder.
Third, these compounds will explode when brought into direct contact with fire.
Fourth, Dynamite is liable to become solid and non-explosive from cold.
To render. then the impulsive action of discharge upon my shell as gentle as
possible, I mount the cylindrical shell S upon the head of an ordinary rocket T, but
I close the head of the rocket above the rocket powder charge R with a cylinder of
hard wood A made to fit the case very tightly and forced on the powder either by
screw or hydraulic pressure, which cylinder of hard wood is also held in place by
several screws. Above this wood cylinder I place a thick layer of plaster, of Paris B
made liquid with strong gum water. The plaster sets very hard, and adheres strongly
to both the rocket case and wood cylinder; both the plaster and wood cylinder are
non-conductors of heat and do not expand or contract by the rise in temperaturo
during the flight of the rocket. This arrangement has been found to be sufficient to
prevent the fire of the rocket charge communicating with the charge of the explosive
shell.
The cylindrical case of the shell $ is made of strong sheet metal such as iron, and
fits over the end of the rocket tube and is secured there by a detachable attachment
such as a bayonet joint. The head of this cylindrical shell casing is closed by a
head D formed of hard wood for small sizes of rockets, say not exceeding 24 inch
aperture, but of metal, such as iron, for all rockets above that size. The head is
securely attached to the end of the shell tube by scrows or other convenient manner.
I partly fill the shell with a compressed charge of high explosive such as before
mentioned, and to secure a well-balanced projectile the weight of such shell explosive
charge should be about half that of the rocket powder charge. The explosive charge
may therefore run from half a pound to fifteen pounds to suit usual sizes of
war rockets. I may surround its periphery by bullets or projectiles of iron, lead or
other suitable material. I explode this shell charge by either two sumultaneous or
alternative methods. As a time fuse, through a perforation in the wooden block A
above the rocket charge, I pass a fuse E and dispose of any desired length by twisting
or coiling it and embedding it in the plaster of Paris cap B when the same is poured
above the block in a liquid condition. The end of the fuse E, which is caused to
project from the plaster of Paris cap, is covered by an ordinary blasting cap H
communicating with the shell charge through an aperture in the diaphragm supporting
the charge. This forms a convenient and effective time fuse arrangement, and
produces the explosion of the shell by virtue of the property of the charge as defined
above in paragraph 3.
To cause explosion of the shell charge by direct impact, I provide a perforation
through the head of the shell for a projecting pin I with large mushroom head. This
is provided with a light spiral spring to hold it up from the nipple until it strikes
forcibly against an obstruction. Under the pin I, I provide a nipple L covered with
a detonating cap K, the nipple being conveniently screwed or otherwise fixed into a
metal plate F on the underside of the shell head D, to which it is firmly affixed. Upon
the shell therefore striking an opposing object, the firing pin I will be driven against
the detonating cap so as to explode it, and thus to explode the shell charge C of high
be
explosive. By the arrangement hereinabove described, the shell head D may
readily detached from the rocket tube so that it may be placed in a warming
apparatus heated by steam or hot water should the explosive have become hard and
non-explosive with cold.
By my arrangement also the rocket and shell may be stored separately, and
accidental explosions thus prevented. As the action of nitro-compounds is very sudden
and local, it has been believed that if the explosive were surrounded by bullets they
would be reduced to powder by explosion of the shell. My experiments have shown
that this belief is not founded on fact, as even leaden bullets have been dispersed
with great force when surrounding the explosive in the shell, provided the
explosive is not in too great a quantity. Iron or steel bullets therefor would be
scattered with great initial force and without destruction to their material.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is :-
1st. In a shell war rocket, the combination of a shell, carrying a high explosive,
attached by a suitable detachable joint to the rocket case, the powder charge of
the latter being covered with covers of wood and plaster of Paris to effectually isolate
it from communication with the shell charge, substantially as described.
2nd. In such a shell war rocket, the adaptation of a time fuze between the rocket and
shell charges, any desired length of fuze being coiled in the plaster of l'aris cap of the
rocket when poured in in a liquid condition by admixture with a solution of strong
gum, substantially as described.
3rd. In such a shell war rocket, the construction of. the shell, consisting of a
highly explosive charge within a sheet metal cylindrical shell, closed by a wooden
or metal head, through which is fitted a projecting sliding pin to explode a
detonating cap upon impact, which communicates with the internal explosive charge,
substantially as described.
4th. In such a shell, the combination with the exploding charge, of bullets of iron,
steel or other metal, arranged around the periphery of the said exploding charge, for
deadly dispersion upon explosion of the shell, substantially as described.
Dated this 14th day of December 1888.
FELL & WILDING,
1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.