IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Nathaniel Basevi, of San Remo, Belgrave Road,
Torquay, in the County of Devon, Esquire, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES." -A communication from abroad by
Charles Edward Basevi, of Jacobabad, East Indies, Captain in the
Royal Artillery.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Nathaniel Basevi at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 14th May 1868.
I, NATHANIEL BASEVI, of San Remo, Belgrave Road, Torquay, in tho
County of Devon, Esquire, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES," to be as follows:-
In constructing elongated or conical projectiles to be thrown from
smooth-bore guns or ordnance I form them with spiral or inclined'
passages through them, by which a portion of the gas generated by the
explosion can pass so as to rotate the shot as it escapes from the piece..
Then in order that this rotation may not be checked as the shot flics.
through the air, as it would be were the air free to enter the passages,,

page_text: a valve or cover is provided to exclude it. I make the body of the
projectile in which the gas passages are formed cylindrical, and the
passages traverse it from end to end. At the fore part of the body
is fixed a stem which carries the conical head of the projectile. There
is thus a space between the body and head, and in this space is a
circular metal disc or ring; the stem passes through it and it is able
to move to and fro on the the stem as far as the width of the
space between the body and head of the projectile will admit. This
disc or ring offers no impediment to the passage of the gases resulting
from the explosion, but as soon as the projectile is free from the gun
the disc or ring recedes along the stem until it rests upon the front.
of the body of the projectile covering the passages in it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Nathaniel Basevi in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th November 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, NATHANIEL
BASEVI, of San Remo, Belgrave Road, Torquay, in the County of Devon,
Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Nathaniel Basevi, Her special licence
that I, the said Nathaniel Basevi, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Nathaniel Basevi, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PROJECTILES," a communication to me from abroad by Charles Edward
Basevi, of Jacobabad, East Indies, Captain in the Royal Artillery,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Nathaniel Basevi,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under

page_text: my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Nathaniel Basevi, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The projectile may be considered to consist of four parts, a pointed
head, a cylindrical body, a cylindrical shaft joining the head and body,
and lastly a ring-shaped valve fixed round the shaft and having a
slight play up and down it. The cylindrical portion of the projectile
has a system of holes or grooves running in a spiral direction through
it near its outer circumference, and the ring above mentioned covers
the front ends of these grooves, the ends at the base are left unprotected.
When a projectile of this description is used, on igniting the charge
within the gun the elastic fluid seeking a passage through the grooves
causes the projectile to rotate about its major axis, the ring is driven
against the head of the shot. The ring being of a slightly less diameter
than the shot, and the shoulder also of the head being bevilled off, the
gas having performed the work required of it is enabled to escape.
leaving the mouth of the "piece" the pressure of air in front of the
projectile forces the ring back over the grooves, thus preventing the
air from acting upon them, which if permitted would quickly stop the
shot's rotation. It will be observed that the properties of this projectile
are obtained by the spiral holes and ring or valve; the external form
has little or nothing to do with it, but for convenience sake the shot.
or shell would generally be made cylindro-conoidal; the plans attached
give this shape to the projectile. There are various ways of making
this projectile; it may indeed be cast entire, but there are objections
to this method. The method I have adopted is shown by the Drawings
hereunto annexed.
On
Figure 1 is a side view of a projectile constructed according to the
Invention. This projectile is composed of three parts, the body, the
ring, and the jacket or outer cylinder. The body consists of the head and
shaft, and inner cylinder; it is cast in one piece either solid or hollow,
according as to whether a shot or shell is required; the grooves, eight in

page_text: number, are carefully turned in a lathe on the circumference of the
cylinder parallel to one another, and of a spiral of one turn in 22:48
inches. The ring is made of two pieces, and is made to fit well but
easily on to the shaft, covering the front ends of the grooves, the pieces
being screwed together. The jacket is heated and shrunk on over the
inner cylinder, protecting the sides of the grooves, the rivets are then put
in, and finally the projectile is turned perfectly smooth. In driving in
the rivets care must be taken that they do not in any way interfere with
the grooves.
Figure 2 represents the body of the projectile shown in Figure 1.
There are eight parallel grooves on the cylindrical part of it 1 inch
in depth and the same in breadth, making one complete turn in four
cylinders.
Figure 3 represents the ring or valve shown in Figure 1; it is made in
two pieces, which are screwed together round the shaft when the shot is
completed. The joinings are shown at a, b, and c, d, the screw rivets at
8, 8, 8, 8. a, b, and c, d, are tangents to the inner circle.
Figure 4 is the jacket; it is simply a hollow cylinder 2.83 inches in
diameter, and 1 inch thick, 5.62 inches long.
A second and a stronger method of making a small size projectile like 2
the above where the ring must necessarily be thin is to cast the body of
the shot in two pieces, the head and shaft being one, and the inner
cylinder the other. The shaft in this case must be made longer so as to
project within the cylinder, as shown in Figure 5. The ring is to be
made entire and put on the shaft, the inner cylinder is to be then 2
shrunk on the shaft and a strong rivet driven through them; or the shaft
may be screwed into the cylinder, strong deep threads being tapped on
the shaft and in the cylinder for this purpose. The jacket is put on as
before. Figure 5 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 6 a transverse
.section through a 2.913 inch projectile constructed in this manner.
3

page_text: This projectile should be made of either cast iron or steel according to
the work required of it. If required for battering iron-clad ships or
defences steel should be used, for common purposes iron would be more
economical. The jacket could be made of malleable iron under all
circumstances.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that what
I claim is, the constructing projectiles with spiral or inclined passages
through them by which a portion of the gases generated by the explosion
can pass so as to rotate the shot, such passages being also furnished
with a valve or cover or equivalent instrument so arranged as to give
free passage to the said gases as they pass from the rear towards the front
of the projectile, but closing to exclude the air and prevent it traversing
the passages in the opposite direction.
I also claim the constructing projectiles substantially as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Nathaniel Basevi, have herc-
unto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.
Signed, scaled, and delivered by
the above-named Nathaniel
Basevi, in the presence of
W. WILLING STABB,
Surgeon,
N. BASEVI. (L.S.)
Torquay.