IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR AFFORDING PROTECTION FROM BULLETS AND OTHER MISSILES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Stringfellow, of Chard, in the County of
Somerset, for the Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR AFFORDING
PROTECTION FROM BULLETS AND OTHER MISSILES."
Sealed the 1st January 1870, and dated the 1st July 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Stringfellow at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 1st July 1869.
I, JOHN STRINGFELLOW, of Chard, in the County of Somerset, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED APPA-
RATUS FOR AFFORDING PROTECTION FROM BULLETS AND OTHER MISSILES," to be as.
follows:-
The objects of my Invention are to provide means of protection
from bullets and other missiles, also to give facilities for the party using
the apparatus to keep up a continual fire and to move forward towards
the enemies' front or to retire therefrom without danger.
My Invention consists of a shield or plate a and a hand vehicle 6
with two wheels combined, as represented in the accompanying Drawing:

page_text: The shield is formed with eyes or sockets c at the back to attach it to
the front of the vehicle to facilitate its being supported and carried
on the same and admit of its being set at any angle in order that the
bullets or other missiles shall glance off when they strike; it can be
pierced with apertures d, e, at its upper part for the muzzles of rifles f, S,
to be put through, so that the party using the apparatus can fire upon
the enemy without danger of being hit himself. The vehicle may be
mounted upon two or more wheels, and can be made of sufficient width
to protect two or more men. Ammunition can be carried in the body
of the vehicle as well as breech-loaders or other arms, and in some cases
a small field gun may be carried on the vehicle. The shield can be
adjusted and balanced on the vehicle, so that when struck it may yield
slightly to the percussion and thus reduce the force. Other apertures
may be made in the shield a little below the centre for the muzzles of
rifles to be put through. The rifles are preferably mounted on the body
of the carriage behind the shield.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Stringfellow in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 1st January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
STRINGFELLOW, of Chard, in the County of Somerset, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-third
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Stringfellow, Her special licence
that I, the said John Stringfellow, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Stringfellow, my exc
cutors, 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
"IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR AFFORDING PROTECTION FROM BULLETS AND OTHER
MISSILES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John

page_text: Stringfellow, 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 John Stringfellow, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed (that is to say):-
The objects of my Invention are to provide means of protection from
bullets and other missiles, also to give facilities for the party using the
apparatus to keep up a continual fire and to move forward towards the
enemies' front or to retire therefrom without danger.
My Invention consists of a shield or plate and a hand vehicle
combined. The shield is formed with eyes or sockets adjustable at the
back to attach it to the front of the vehicle to facilitate its being sup-
ported and carried on the same and admit of its being set at any angle
in order that the bullets or other missiles shall glance off when they
strike; it can be pierced with apertures at its upper part for the muzzles
of rifles to be put through, so that the party using the apparatus can fire
upon the enemy without danger of being hit himself. The vehicle may
be mounted upon two or more wheels, and can be made of sufficient
width to protect two or more men. Ammunition can be carried in the
body of the vehicle as well as breech-loaders or other arms, and in some
cases a small field gun may be carried on the vehicle. The shield can
be adjusted and balanced on the vehicle, so that when struck it may
yield slightly to the percussion and thus reduce the force. Other
apertures may be made in the shield a little below the centre for the
muzzles of rifles to be put through, and when larger guns are used I
prefer to mount them on the carriage behind the shield.
The manner in which I propose to carry my Invention into effect is
represented in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Figure 1
is a side elevation of a vehicle mounted upon two wheels a, b, to enable
it to be moved from one place to another; and Figure 2 is a back view
of it and while the shield or plate c is in a slanting position to form a
0

page_text: protection to any person who may be under its cover. The shield c is
provided at its back with sockets or loops d, d, for the ends of springs e, e,
to be passed into, so that the shield is held upon the vehicle upon a
yielding body to enable it to form a cushion or elastic medium when it
is struck by a bullet or other missile. The shield when used in the
position shown in the Drawings forms a sufficient protection or covering
for at least two men, who can when opportunities offer themselves push
the vehicle before them and so advance upon the enemy by degrees. I
mount a box for a receptacle of some kind on the axle g, either above
it in a fixed position, as shown, or below it in a slung position to serve as
a cartridge box or ammunition holder, so that the men can furnish
themselves with fresh cartridges as they advance. In some cases I fit
a small wheel h under the fore end of the shield to act as a point of sup-
port to that end, so that when the shield is canted or inclined the fore
end itself is prevented striking the ground or becoming embedded therein
should it be thrown at too great an angle. I provide a suitable handle
or handles, which may be fixed to the body of the vehicle or to the shield
as circumstance may dictate, or, it or they may be hinged or otherwise
jointed. In the Drawings I have shown them as being jointed to the
shield so that they can be turned down and kept at an angle or vertically
by hooked rods or bars i, i, which take hold of the cross or tie bar j, or
the handles may be fixed and project from the end of the shield, as shewn,
in which case they would not only serve as handles but form a frame or
support for an additional plate, which may be temporarily placed upon it,
or which may be hinged to the edge of the shield, and when lying upon
the handles would form an addition to the length of the shield and
might prove of service to the men to protect then from falling shot. lf
the plate be detachable it may likewise serve as the lid of the cartridge
box when the shield is not in actual use as a shield. I provide holes k, ky
in the shield so that the men may place the muzzles of their rifles through
before firing them, and to enable them to take aim I lengthen the
holes so that a line of sight can be obtained. The box or receptacle
upon the vehicle may be formed with a rack or frame for holding the
rifles of the men, so that they need not carry them, as the weight of the
rifles would act as an obstruction to the free action of the body and might
endanger their position from being overloaded or weighted. Figure 3
shows the vehicle and shield in perspective and without the cartridge
box. I attach the bearings 1, 1, of the small wheel to a screwed rod which
works in a fixed socket, so that on turning the rods the bearings are

page_text: caused to slide towards the middle of the shield and draw the small
wheel clear of the ground, in which case the edge of the shield would
rest upon the ground when it is thrown up. In some cases two wheels
under the front may be used, also a cog wheel acted on by a rod and
worm or pinion fixed under the shield to give a backward or forward
motion to the whole machine. I propose to fix eyed plates m, m, to the
end edges of the shield, so that should it be necessary to attach two or
more of them together to form a carriage for other purposes they can
be casily bolted to one another. The eye plates may also be used for
attaching ropes to, so that the vehicle may be drawn by manual or
animal power over rough ground, or when the shield is in a horizontal
position it can be used as a hand barrow for the conveyance of stores or
articles of any kind from place to place, and may when two or more are
connected in any manner serve as a temporary covering for the men in
the field during the night, in fact, by placing a number of them in an
inclined position side by side in a circular direction, and employing a
central pole or staff and hanging a canvas sheet therefrom an almost
bullet proof tent may be constructed for the protection of a moderately
large body of men. The shield may be composed of different pieces of
metal and arranged to slide one over the other so as to reduce the space
required for stowing them. I prefer to make the shield of a greater
width than the length of the axle, so that one can be brought close
alongside the other without leaving a gap or space between them. The
springs not only serve to make the shield of a yielding character to
reduce the recoil and to deaden the effect of shot striking the face of it,
but they also act as a cushion to reduce the jolting when the vehicle is
being moved about, and when the vehicle is employed as an ambulance
vehicle for the removal of the wounded they prevent the shock to the
system which is generally produced by the ordinary ambulance wagons
without springs, and which are drawn by horses at a greater speed and
over rougher ground than it would be necessary for my vehicle to be
drawn or pushed. The shield may be pierced with any number of holes
for the muzzles of rifles and other implements of war to be passed
through, and any or all of them may be provided with sliding plates, so
that the holes can be covered up when required.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and
in what manner the same is performed, I declare that I claim as my
Invention, the manufacture and employment of my improved apparatus

page_text: for affording protection from bullets and other missiles, as herein-before
described and represented in the accompanying Drawings, also the
modifications herein-before referred to, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Stringfellow, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of December One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
JOHN STRINGFELLOW. (L.S.)