IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF VESSELS OF WAR, PART OF WHICH IMPROVE- MENTS IS APPLICABLE TO FORTIFICATIONS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Caudwell, of Oatlands House, Shillingford,
in the County of Oxford, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF VESSELS OF WAR, PART OF WHICH IMPROVE-
MENTS IS APPLICABLE TO FORTIFICATIONS."
Sealed the 30th June 1863, and dated the 10th April 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Caudwell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 10th
April 1863.
I, HENRY CAUDWELL, of Oatlands House, Shillingford, in the County of
Oxford, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF VESSELS OF WAR, PART OF WHICH
IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE TO FORTIFICATIONS," to be as follows :—
The chief object of this Invention is so to construct ships of war that they
shall provide ample facilities for working broadside guns, while effectual pro-
tection is afforded to the crew and also to the hull of the ship, access to the
upper deck by boarders being provided against. The hull of war vessels I
propose to construct with a curved projecting lip of wrought iron running
round it just above the water line. This projecting lip will serve, in case of a
collision, as a protection, and it may with advantage be overlaid with an
elastic covering of any suitable material. The deck of the vessel I protect
with a sloping or pitched roof, formed of plates of wrought iron. Along the
sides of the roof, at suitable distances apart, are broad corrugations or rounded

page_text: projecting ribs, which run upwards from the hull. Behind these corrugations
I plant the guns, and I form slots in the plates at this part to form port-holes
Between the corrugated ribs I propose also to construct
The upper
for the guns.
apertures for the purpose of throwing out shells from mortars.
portion or ridge of the roof of the deck I construct of removable iron gratings,
which I cover with sliding shutters. The space thus capable of being
uncovered at pleasure, serves the purpose of ingress and egress, and also for
the taking in of guns, ammunition, and provisions. The corrugated ribs may
terminate in a shot-proof dome or cone, provided with an iron door for ingress
and egress, and from these domes sights may be taken, and the look-out kept
up. I also propose to provide a temporary upper deck to be set above the
inclined roof, and used in fine weather as a promenade or for other purposes,
as considered convenient, and removed when not required. The port-holes
will be of an oblong shape, and covered with a set of detached slides capable
of being drawn up in any number to open the port-holes to suit different
elevations or positions of the gun. A cord running in a groove in the
adjacent roof plate is attached to the slides, and made capable of drawing up
or aside as many as are required to present an opening to the muzzle of the
gun.
The screws and blocks of the gun carriages I make capable of elevating
the
guns to any point in accordance with the formation of the port-holes.
The Invention also applies to the protection of forts or land defences, the
corrugated roofing being in this case applied to the covering of the exposed
faces of the land defences.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry Caudwell in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th October 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
CAUDWELL, of Oatlands House, Shillingford, in the County of Oxford,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Henry Caudwell, Her special license that I, the said Henry Caudwell,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry

page_text: Caudwell, 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 THE
CONSTRUCTION OF VESSELS OF WAR, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS IS APPLICABLE
TO FORTIFICATIONS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry
Caudwell, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 Henry Caudwell, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thercon (that is to say) :-
The chief object of this Invention is so to construct ships of war that they
shall possess ample facilities for the working of broadside guns, while at the
same time effectual protection is afforded to the crew and also to the hull of
the ship, access to the upper deck by boarders being provided against.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1, Sheet I., shews in partial side
elevation a vessel constructed according to my Invention; Fig. 2 is a trans-
verse section of the same taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a
transverse section taken in the line 3, 4. The hull of the vessel, it will be
seen, is constructed with a curved projecting lip of wrought iron a, a, running
round it just above the water line. This projecting lip is formed of slabs of
wrought iron sufficiently strong to resist solid shot, and of such sectional shape
as to deflect them either upwards or downwards according to the level at
which they strike. Below the slabs forming this lip I continue the armour
plating, as shewn at a', a', any desired number of feet below the water line,
tapering off the same until its attribute of armour plating is lost in uniting
with the skin of the vessel, as shown at Figures 2 and 3. The projecting
lip a will serve, in case of a collision, as a protection, and it may with
advantage be partially overlaid, as hereafter described, with an elastic covering
of any suitable material. The deck b, b, of the vessel I protect with a sloping
or pitched roof c, c, formed of plates of wrought iron. Along the sides of the
roof at suitable distances apart, that is, at distances corresponding to the
positions where it is desired to mount broadside guns, I form broad corruga-

page_text: tions or rounded hollow projecting ribs d, d, which run upwards from the bull
and form internal recesses. These corrugations I pierce, as shown best at
Fig. 1, to form port-holes for the guns, which are planted behind the recesses
ready to be moved forward into the recesses, when sliding metal shutters e, e,
are raised to allow of the muzzles of the guns being projected through the
port-holes. These shutters I make shot-proof, and construct them as shewn
in the detatched views Figures 4 and 5; Fig. 4 representing a portion of a
port-hole, as seen in sectional plan, fitted with the metal shutters c, and
Fig. 5 shewing the same in cross section. The shutters consist simply of
plates of iron or steel let into parallel rebated grooves formed in the edges of
the pierced armour plates, and connected together by latches f on their inner
face. Attached to the uppermost plate is a chain 9, which passes upwards
along the deck roof to a roller within the roof, and is thence brought down to
a capstan on the deck, as shewn at Fig. 2. When, therefore, it is intended to
fire the gun at an elevation, the lower plates of the shutter are detached from
the upper plates, and only the upper plates are elevated; but when the is
gun
required to be depressed, as shewn by dots at Fig. 2, all the plates must be
raised to allow of that depression. In no case, however, need the shutter be
raised higher than is sufficient to permit of the gun being run out. Between
the corrugated ribs I propose also to construct apertures for the purpose of
throwing out shells from mortars, as shewn at Fig. 3. The upper portion or
ridge of the roof of the deck I construct of ridge-shaped plates h, h, which
interlock with each other, and those near the midships I cause to slide in
grooves running longitudinally of the ship, as shewn in the detached sectional
view Fig. 6. These ridge plates h are made to slide in order to open up
access (by the withdrawal of one or more of the plates) to the interior of the
vessel for the purpose of receiving the armament and provisions. Below these
plates I fit removable iron gratings h, h, which, like the plates, may also be
slidden forwards or backwards to complete the uncovering of the space required
for ingress and egress. The chief use of these gratings is to form a guard
against boarders, and yet allow of ventilation when the ship is in action, some
of the ridge plates being for the purpose of ventilation slidden out of position,
and others which are hinged (as shewn at h, Fig. 1) being open for the like
purpose. The corrugated ribs I prefer shall terminate in a shot-proof conc
(as shewn at Fig. 2) provided with an iron door for the ingress and egress of
the crew.
The interruptions which these cones make to the line of roof ridge
afford a space for receiving the ridge plates, and also the gratings when
slidden backwards or forwards as explained; and from these cones sights may
be taken and the look-out kept up. These hollow cones may be fitted as

page_text: shewn in the detached view Fig. 7, and used for ventilating the ship. They
may also be pierced, as there shown, and used as rifle towers.
In order to afford the crew of this class of vessel when not engaged in
actual warfare spaco for exercise and healthful recreation, I propose to provide
a temporary upper deck, which will permit of speedy removal and stowage
below on the approach of danger. This deck, which I set above the inclined
roof, consists of a wooden platform i, i, supported by a light iron frame-
work *, *, set upon and attached to the inclined roof. By removing tho
coupling pieces of the iron framing the whole structure may be readily taken
to pieces and stowed away.
Fig. 8 shews the manner of applying the elastic material as india-rubber
compound to the circumscribing lip of the vessel. The lip is recessed in parts
to receive lengths of this elastic material, which is shewn at k, and when
moulded into its place it is held there by overlapping plates of metal 1, 1,
which are themselves secured to the lip plates by screws or rivets. This
cushion of elastic material is not made continuous, but is protected by being
inserted in recesses, to prevent, in the event of a collision, a long length of it
being stripped off.
To ensure the advantage of a circumscribing lip for protecting the hulls of
vessels of comparatively small tonnage, I propose to make the lip hollow, as
shewn at Fig. 9, Sheet II., and to fill up the space between it and the skin of
the vessel with an elastic or other packing of lighter specific gravity than
iron. This packing I continue down below the water line to form a backing
to the vertical armour plates. This Figure shews a double skin for the hull
of the vessel. Fig. 10 represents the armour plating as backed by vertical
plates set edgewise between the armour plating and the hull at suitable
intervals, and secured in position by bolts.
The Invention also applies to the protection of forts or land defences, the
corrugated roofing being in this case applied to the covering of the exposed
faces of the land defences. This part of my Invention is shewn in the
sectional elevation, Fig. 11, in Sheet II., which Figure represents a land
fortification fitted with a shot-proof roof, somewhat similar to that described
for protecting the decks of ships. The iron plates m, m, forming the inclined
roof are secured to beams n, n, which are braced together to constitute a
strong structure. The curved plates forming the recesses for the guns aro
pierced with three long slots, as shewn in the partial sectional plan, Fig. 12,
to givo the guns the widest possible range. Shutters similar to those above
described will also be applied to cover the openings for the guns.
The

page_text: internal arrangement of the forts may be such as is shewn, or may be carried
out in any other approved manner.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in the
Construction of Vessels of War, Part of which Improvements is applicable to
Fortifications," and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I
claim as the Invention secured to me under the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent,-
First, the mode described of constructing ships of war.
And, secondly, the application of the corrugated armour-plated roof to land
fortifications.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Caudwell, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Eighth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
HY. CAUDWELL. (L.S.)