Improvements in Armour Plates.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Nov., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 12th Aug., 1895-Accepted, 12th Nov., 1895
Improvements in Armour Plates.
I, ALFRED HENRY SMITH of 101 Leadenhall Street Loudon E.C. Asbestos
Merchant do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
The fibrous silicate of iron known as blue African asbestos, & of which there
are extensive deposits in Cape Colony, being a fine & rot-proof mineral fibre,
very strong & capable of great resistance to penetration & extremely light; I
would utilize these valuable properties in the following way.
I compress this fibre under great pressure into cubes or solids of any desired
form or size, for convenience I will call them bricks. To one side of such brick
I affix a moderately thin plate of the toughest & hardest steel obtainable.
These bricks are intended to afford protection against shot, either for land
fortification or for naval purposes, especially for the latter, to reduce the weight of
solid armour plates which with such a backing might be materially reduced in
thickness or dispensed with altogether.
A fort, turret or ship's side might be constructed with an outer & an inner skin
of steel of normal thickness & the space between them built in with these bricks
each with its steel side facing outwards. If needful one or more hardened steel
plates might be wedged in with the bricks.
The bricks might be waterproofed to prevent absorption of water.
I believe that a section so constructed a few feet thick would offer greater
resistance to shot penetration than would many inches of solid armour plate whilst
the weight would be very much less.
Dated this 12th day of November 1894
карготощению in агшour главе.
I, ALFRED HENRY SMITH of 101 Leadenhall Street, London E.C. Asbestos
Merchant 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 :-
The fibrous silicate of iron known as blue African asbestos, & of which there are
extensive deposits in Cape Colony, being a fire & rot-proof mineral fibre, very
strong & capable of great resistance to penetration & extremely light; I would
utilize these valuable properties in the following way.
I compress this fibre under great pressure into cubes, or solids of any desired
form or size, for convenience I will call them bricks.
To one side of each brick I affix a moderately thin plate of the toughest &
hardest steel obtainable, one or more of such plates may likewise be embedded in
the brick.
These bricks are intended to afford protection against shot either for land
fortification or for naval purposes, especially for the latter, to reduce the weight of
solid armour plates which with such a backing might be materially reduced in
thickness or dispensed with altogether.

page_text: A fort, turret, or ship's hull might be constructed with outer & inner skins of
steel of normal thickness & the spaces between them built in with these bricks each
with its steeled side facing outwards. If needful one or more hardened steel plates
might be wedged in with the bricks.
Or, the bricks with or without steeled faces might be used as a backing to armour
plates instead of wood or other material.
The bricks to be waterproofed to prevent absorption of water.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion & in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
For the application of compressed & waterproofed blocks of asbestos, with or
without plates of armour attached, or embedded, for the purpose of affording
protection against penetration.
Dated this 10th day of Å nơust 1895.
A. H. SMITH.