Improvements in the Construction of Modern War Vessels, partly applicable to other Vessels.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Oct., 1893-Accepted, 16th Dec., 1893
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Construction of Modern War Vessels, partly
applicable to other Vessels.
I JOSEPH ANGUS of Bushey Lodge, 474 Edge Lane, Liverpool in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer 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 :-
This invention relates to improvements in the construction of modern war vessels,
and has for its chief object to provide the same with the power of avoiding such a
disaster as the collision which recently caused the loss of H.M. ship Victoria, which
power may also if necessary be employed to effect a like quick destruction of a
hostile war vessel.
This object I attain by the peculiar construction and arrangement of war vessel
hereinafter described, which imparts extraordinarily quick manoeuvring and turning
power thereto, and enables it to rotate to right or left upon its own centre or to
strike off at a tangent and thus to steer clear of or to ram any ordinary battleship
at will.
My invention further relates to an improved construction of ram for war vessels
whereby the strength of both the ram and the stem of the vessel, and also the
destructive effect of the ram, are greatly increased; and it also relates to an
hydraulically operated telescopic conning tower which can be lowered flush with
the deck or out of sight when going into action or when not required for use.
<
According to my invention propose to construct a war vessel upon an entirely
novel and original principle with what I term a gyrating and deflecting moveable
stern," which contains within itself the propelling engines and carries the propeller
or propellers and is free to be vibrated or swung to right or left independently of
the remainder of the vessel, consequently the screw propellers may be swung round
with the moveable stern, so as to exert their power in a direction tangential to the
vessels course, to any angle upon each side of the keel line up to 90°, and as the
proper relative positions of the propellers and their engines always remain unaltered
whatever the position of the moveable stern, the screws will work equally well
when placed to act at any desired point of the semicircle through which they may
be moved.
The said moveable stern consists of a chamber preferably of cylindrical or turret
shape with open top and closed bottom so mounted within a fixed and immoveable
stern framing constructed on the vessel as to be free to gyrate or swing to right
or left independently of the remainder of the ship. On the exterior of this chamber,
which contains the main propelling engines and carries the propellers, I form an
extension, wing, or fin, projecting as a cantilever therefrom in the line of the
propeller shafts, this constitutes what I term the "deflecting" portion of the
moveable stern and its purpose will hereinafter appear.
I dispense entirely with the ordinary rudder and effect the steering and
manoeuvring of the vessel on an entirely novel principle by gyrating or swinging the
moveable stern from right to left or vice versa in any suitable manner so as to cause
the propellers to exert their power in any desired direction angular to the keel line
of the ship and consequently tangential to the vessels course, the turning and
manoeuvring power of the screws being assisted by the above mentioned "deflecting
portion of the moveable stern, so called because it assists in deflecting the vessel
from its course, acting as a huge rudder.
"
I prefer to employ triple screw propellers arranged and operating as hereinafter
described as giving a better result in turning and manoeuvring the vessel, which by
my invention can be caused to advance in a straight line, to zig zag in its course, to

page_text: rotate on its own centre, or to strike off at a tangent in any desired direction. At
the same time I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do not confine or limit
myself to any particular number or arrangement of propellers.
In the peculiar arrangement of triple screw propellers I prefer to employ, two of
the propellers are of smaller size than the third, and are placed in advance of the
latter, and at such distance upon either side of its shaft that the blades of the said
small propellers overlap the blades of the larger propeller. As all three propellers
revolve in the same direction, the opposed blades of the larger and smaller propellers
will consequently move in opposite directions in passing each other. All three
propellers may make the same number of revolutions per minute, or the larger
propeller may be caused to make more revolutions per minute than the smaller pro-
pellers; in any case, the blades of the larger propeller being longer than those of
the other propellers, their extremities will inmove through the water at greater
velocity. The object of this arrangement is to permit the larger propeller to rotate
in and take advantage of the swirl of the smaller propellers, and thus to increase
the collective propelling power of the three.
I will now proceed to more fully describe my invention and the manner of
performing the same having reference to the accompanying drawings in which
similar letters refer to corresponding parts in all the figures.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a war vessel constructed so as to embody the
principle of my invention.
Fig. 2 shews the same in part sectional side elevation.
Fig. 3 shews the same in plan.
Fig. 3 is a detached view of the moveable stern shewing an auxiliary arrange-
ment for gyrating or swinging the same upon its axis.
Fig. 4 shews my invention applied to a modified or improved form of war vessel,
and also shews my hydraulically operated telescopic conning tower and my
compound ram.
Fig. 5 is a plan of Fig. 4.
All the above figures are of a more or less diagrammatic nature, being intended
to illustrate clearly the principle of my invention and its practical application, and
small constructional details which would come within the scope of the ordinary or
common knowledge of those acquainted with the shipbuilding art have been omitted
as unnecessary and confusing.
A is the moveable stern, consisting of the cylindrical turret like chamber a,
which carries the propellers and contains the main propelling engines, and the
extension, wing, or fin, b, projecting in line with the propeller shafts, which
constitutes the deflecting portion of the moveable stern and is built up with
chamber a. c is the fixed and immoveable stern framing or portion of the vessel
in which the moveable stern A is mounted and is free to gyrate or swing. dis
the central pivot upon which the moveable stern A. gyrates or swings; this pivot is
also intended to serve as an hydraulic ram and turns in a footstep bearing e
arranged with cup leathers to act as an hydraulic cylinder to which a pipe f com-
municates hydraulic pressure from the hydraulic accumulator of the ship; the
chamber a and all attached to or carried by it can then be raised by hydraulic
pressure when desired. 99 are conical supporting rollers secured to the underside
of the floor of the turret like chamber a which run on the circular paths h h and
support the entire weight of the moveable stern. These rollers 9 g can be adjusted
if required by raising the stern A by hydraulic pressure as before mentioned.
are triple screw propellers, and kk are the stern tubes for the shafts of the
port and starboard screws ¹¹, which tubes are built up with and form part of
the chamber a. The deflecting portion 6 of the stern A serves also as the stern
tube for the shaft of the central propeller i. The larger propeller i, rotates in and
takes advantage of the swirl of the smaller propellers as hereinbefore
described. I are the propeller guards fixed to the deflecting portion b. m m indicate
the main propelling engines which are contained within the chamber or turret a.
n n' n² indicate the lower second and third decks of the battleship. oo represent

page_text: large glands and stuffing boxes attached to the decks n and n² and surrounding and
embracing closely the chamber a at or near the upper and lower parts thereof.
Between the said stuffing boxes the exterior of the chamber a is open to the water.
The said glands and stuffing boxes, and also the turret a at those parts where the
glands and stuffing boxes come into contact with it, are preferably constructed of
phosphor bronze or other non-corrosive metal and are all turned to a true circle so as to
fit each other. The stuffing boxes are preferably partly lined with lignum vitæ and
are packed with flexible packing. The object of these glands and stuffing boxes o o
is to steady and support the turret like chamber a whilst permitting it to gyrate
or move on its axis, and also to prevent the entry of sea water at the points
where the said chamber a is connected with the fixed and immoveable parts of the
vessel. p is a stuffing box disposed centrally as regards the chamber a and q is
the main steam pipe leading to the engines m m which rotates with chamber a
and is connected through stuffing box p with the main steam pipe q' which
conveys the high pressure steam from the boilers r r. The supply of steam to
the engines m is thus unaffected by the movement of stern A.
The gyration or movement of the stern A upon its axis for the purpose of
turning or manoeuvring the vessel may be effected in any suitable manner; in the
drawings (Figs. 2 and 3) I have illustrated the following arrangement:
ss indicate ordinary powerful hydraulic slewing cylinders, one on the port and
oue on the starboard side of the vessel, which are designed to gyrate or swing
the moveable stern A by means of a strong chain which passes from the ram
of one cylinder to that of the other around the back of the chamber a in which
a suitable notched groove is formed for its reception. In Fig. 3ª I have repre-
sented auxiliary gear for turning or gyrating chamber a should the hydraulic
apparatus get out of order, such auxiliary gear consisting of worms u which
engage with cogs v formed around the periphery of chamber a, and are rotated by
auxiliary steam engines w. is a curved partition or bulkhead which extends
across the vessel from side to side just clear of the chamber a and shuts off the entire
fore part of the vessel below deck n².
The admission of pressure water to the hydraulic slewing cylinders ss or of steam
to the auxiliary engines w for rotating the worms u u could of course be regulated
and controlled from a steering wheel placed in any convenient position.
Referring to Figs. 4 and 5 6 represents what I term a "flexible tail blade," which
is practically a continuation of the deflecting portion of stern A and adds greatly
to the deflecting power thereof. It consists of a thin flexible blade of steel or
other suitable metal firmly secured as by bolts 62 to the frame of the central
propeller i. It will be seen that in this case the stern post of the vessel is omitted
so as to permit of the free passage of the flexible tail blade when the gyrating
stern A is swung on its axis z Figs. 4 and 5 represents inclined smoke stack.
It will be noted that in Figs. 4 and 5 the entire vessel presents much the appear-
ance of a fish which its movements also greatly resemble. It is intended to be
heavily armour plated both above and below the water line.
In these figures I have also shewn my improved construction of ram, which I
term a compound ram, such improved construction consisting in surrounding the
ram with wings or fins y securely built up with and extending back towards the hull
and having sharp edged cutting surfaces y¹ inclining away from the point of the
ram.
This construction and arrangement greatly increases the destructive effect of
the ram and also its power to withstand injury. The need of this was demonstrated
by the failure of H.M.S. Camperdown to properly withstand the shock of her blow
in ramming the Victoria.
B, Figs. 4 and 5 represents my improved hydraulically operated telescopic
conning tower. C is a series of telescopic hydraulic rams and hydraulic cylinders
of ordinary construction for raising and lowering tower B. D indicates a search
light on the top of tower B. The general construction of the conning tower B is
clearly shewn in Fig. 4 consisting merely of several telescopic sections combined in
the ordinary manner and needs no further explanation. When not required for use

page_text: or when going into action the tower B can be lowered out of sight or until flush
with the deck E of the vessel.
It is obvious that my arrangement of gyrating and deflecting moveable stern may
be applied if desired to other vessels than war ships.
In conclusion I would observe that I do not limit or confine myself to the precise
details of construction herein set forth and illustrated in the annexed drawings, as
many of such details, such for example as the shape of the moveable stern, the
manner of mounting the same in the fixed portion of the stern, and the method of
working the moveable stern, might obviously be varied without in any way departing
from the principle and spirit of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. A war or other vessel constructed with a gyrating and deflecting moveable
stern which carries both the propeller or propellers and the main propelling engines
and is free to be moved independently of the remainder of the vessel, substantially
as and for the purpose described.
2. In combination with a war or other vessel, a gyrating and deflecting moveable
stern and triple screw propellers (arranged as described) and their engines carried
thereby, substantially as and for the purpose described.
3. A war or other vessel, constructed with a fixed stern framework in which
is mounted a gyrating and deflecting moveable stern A consisting of a cylindrical
or turret like chamber a provided with a deflecting portion , said chamber
carrying the main engines and propellers and being free to gyrate or swing upon
a vertical axis independently of the remainder of the vessel substantially as
described and illustrated.
4. In a war or other vessel, in combination, a moveable stern A supported in a
fixed stern framework and free to gyrate or swing upon a vertical axis
independently of the remainder of the vessel, a bearing for the said axis arranged
to serve also as an hydraulic power cylinder for lifting the stern A when
required, rollers for supporting weight of said stern, and hydraulic or steam
power apparatus for effecting the desired movement of stern A upon its axis
substantially as described and illustrated.
5. In combination with a war or other vessel, a gyrating and deflecting
moveable stern and a flexible tail blade ¹ secured in the rear of the propellers
carried thereby so as to move with said stern substantially as and for the
purpose described and illustrated.
6. A ram for war vessels provided with fins or wings y which embrace the
stem and extend back toward the hull of the vessel and have cutting surfaces y¹
inclining away from the point of ram substantially as and for the purpose described
and illustrated.
7. In combination with a war vessel a telescopic hydraulically operated conning
tower substantially as described and illustrated.
8. The general construction arrangement and combination of parts constituting
improvements in modern war vessels substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated in the annexed drawings.
Dated this 20th day of October 1895.
E. P. ALEXANDER & SON, Fels. Chartered Inst. Patent Agents,
19, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.C.,
For the Applicant.