AN IMPROVEMENT APPLICABLE TO SHELLS AND OTHER HOLLOW PROJECTILES
Year: 1867

page_text: 66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT APPLICABLE TO SHELLS AND OTHER HOLLOW
PROJECTILES." A communication from abroad by William Sully Beebe,
of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, United States of
America.
Sealed the 11th June 1867, and dated the 8th April 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th April 1867.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT APPLICABLE TO SHELLS AND
OTHER HOLLOW PROJECTILES," to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to effect the explosion of spherical and other
shells or explosive projectiles with certainty upon impact with any resisting
object notwithstanding the rotation of the shell in its flight through the air.
It consists in the employment of fuses which are so secured within the shells
as to become detached therefrom and lie loosely in the powder therein upon
receiving the first shock in the gun, and when the shells strike an object the
inertia of the fuses will cause them to strike point foremost and ignite the
powder in the shells. The fuse is made with a rounded head terminating in

page_text: feathers or wings, so that the head which is considerably the heaviest part
shall by its inertia strike upon the wall of the shell in whatever position the
fuse may lie upon the impact of the shell with a resisting object. The rear
feathered portion of this fuse is constructed with three chambers; the inter-
mediate one receives loosely a plunger having two wings, in the edges of which
teeth are made; these toothed wings pass through slots and enter the
chambers in which any suitable fulminate which will ignite by friction is
introduced. A thin plate or bridge is secured firmly. across the rear end of
the fuse so as to cover the chambers, which plate is of such length that both
ends project out beyond the sides of the fuse, and are weakened by notching
them. The fuse thus constructed is secured to the inner end of the plug by
soldering or otherwise attaching the weakened extremities of the plate or bridge
to a narrow flange on the end of the plug; this flange is produced by forming
a recess in the end of the plug, and its object is to allow the fuse to be forcibly
driven backward so as to break off the weakened ends of the plate at the first
shock in the gun, thus detaching the fuse and allowing it to lie loosely in the
shell with the powder.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
8th October 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said William
Edward Newton, Her special licence that I, the said William Edward
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Edward Newton, 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
"AN IMPROVEMENT APPLICABLE TO SHELLS AND OTHER HOLLOW PROJECTILES," being
a communication to me from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others)

page_text: that I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors or administrators,
by an instrument in writing under 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 William Edward Newton, 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, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
:-
The object of this Invention is to effect the explosion of spherical and other
shells or explosive projectiles with certainty upon impact with any resisting
object notwithstanding the rotation of the shell in its flight through the air.
It consists in the employment of fuses which are so secured within the shells
as to become detached therefrom and lie loosely in the powder therein
upon receiving, the first shock in the gun, and when the shells strike an object
the inertia of the fuses will cause them to strike point foremost and ignite the
powder in the shells. The difficulty which is to be overcome in the appli-
cation of percussion or friction fuses to spherical shells is that they rotate or
tumble in their flight through the air, and consequently there can be no cer-
tainty of their striking upon any given point like the elongated projectiles
which are used with rifled guns.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a section through a spherical
shell shewing the fuse attached to it as it would appear before the first shock
of discharge from a gun; Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same parts shewing
the fuse lying loosely in the shell, which is supposed to be in its course through
the air; Fig. 3 is a similar view of the same parts shewing the fuse in the act of
igniting by striking point foremost against the wall of the shell; Fig. 4 is a side
view of the fuse; Fig. 5 is a view of the rear end of the fuse with its bridge
plate detached; Fig. 6 is a side view shewing a different form of fuse; Fig. 7
is an end view of a shell plug with a bridge plate attached; Fig. 8 is a longi-
tudinal section of an elongated shot to which the Invention has been adapted.
To overcome the difficulties above referred to the fuse is made with a
rounded head A terminating in feathers or wings a, a, so that the head which
is considerably the heaviest part shall by its inertia strike upon the wall of the
shell in whatever position the fuse may lie upon the impact of the shell against
a resisting object. The rear feathered portion of this fuse is constructed with
three chambers b, b, and c; the intermediate one receives loosely a plunger

page_text: duced.
having two wings e, e, in the edges of which teeth are made, as shewn in the
Drawings. These toothed wings pass through slots and enter the chambers
b, b, in which any suitable fulminate which will ignite by friction is intro-
A thin steel plate or bridge f is secured firmly across the rear end
of the fuse so as to cover the chambers b, b, and c, which plate is of such
length that both ends project out beyond the sides of the fuse, and are
weakened by notching them, as shewn in Fig. 7. The fuse thus constructed
is secured to the inner end of the plug C by soldering or otherwise attaching
the weakened extremities of the plate or bridge f to a narrow flange on the
end of said plug; this flange is produced by forming a recess 9 in the end of
the plug C, as shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8, and its object is to allow
the fuse to be forcibly driven backward so as to break off the weakened ends
of the plate fat the first shock in the gun, thus detaching the fuse and
allowing it to lie loosely in the shell with the powder, as shewn in Fig. 2.
The fuse is secured to the plug C for safety in handling the shell and also for
preventing the first shock which it receives from producing an explosion in the
gun. The plunger & with its serrated wings should be so applied within the
fuse that it cannot under any circumstances ignite the fulminate by the shock
of the gun or the impact of the rear end of the fuse against the shell or plug;
and while this is the case this igniter should be so constructed that it will act
with certainty when the loaded or heaviest end of the fuse is caused to strike
the interior surface of the shell by the impact of the latter with an object.
In Fig. 6 I bave represented a fuse which differs slightly in form from that
above described, but which operates upon the same principle; this fuse has
the fulminate enclosed within a tube and ignited by means of a serrated wire,
having a weight on one end; when this fuse strikes forcibly upon its point
the weight is moved forward, thus causing friction and consequent ignition of
the fulminate.
This Invention is not confined to the peculiar construction and form of the
fuses herein shewn and described, as other forms that are found to answer the
purpose may be adopted.
After the fuse becomes broken away from the plug C and the shell leaves
the gun this fuse will lie loosely in the charge of powder and tumble with the
shell during its flight through the air. Upon the impact of the shell against
a resisting substance the inertia of the fuse will induce its heaviest end to fly
foremost and strike the shell, thus causing the fulminate to be ignited and to
set fire to the charge of powder.
The Invention is more particularly designed for spherical shells, but it is
also applicable to shells of various forms (such as the elongated shell, Fig. 8),

page_text: which are to be thrown from smooth bore guns, and which tumble in their
course through the air.
It is evident that the fuse may be attached to the front portion of the shell
by means of a plug inserted at that point, and so arranged that the fuse shall
remain safely attached until the shock of the explosion of the gun shall break
it loose from its connection, when it will lie loosely in the powder within the
shell, and be exploded as above described.
Having now described the Invention of "An Improvement applicable to
Shells and other Hollow Projectiles," as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, and having explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent, as
aforesaid,
First, adapting an inertia fuse to the interior of a hollow projectile in such
a manner that while it is secure against any ordinary shock it will be broken
loose by the discharge of the cannon or mortar from which it is fired, when
such fuse is so constructed and arranged that lying loosely in the powder
during the flight of the projectile it will turn its loaded end against the wall
of the cavity in the projectile, and explode when the flight of such projectile is
suddenly arrested or checked, as described.
Second, I also claim a percussion or frictional fuse which is constructed with
a loaded head A terminating in a feathered tail a, and adapted for use in
spherical and other tumbling shells, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Eighth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
W. E. NEWTON.
(L.S.)