AN IMPROVED MANNER OF PRO- TECTING GUN-BOATS, TORPEDO-BOATS, AND SIMILAR VESSELS FROM EFFECTS OF RIFLE SHOT AND OTHER PROJECTILES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Vincent Fosbery, at present residing at Weston-
super-Mare, in the County of Somerset, Lieutenant-Colonel of Her Majesty's
Bengal Staff Corps, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MANNER OF PRO-
TECTING GUN-BOATS, TORPEDO-BOATS, AND SIMILAR VESSELS FROM
EFFECTS OF RIFLE SHOT AND OTHER PROJECTILES."
THE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Vincent Fosbery at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th November 1877.
GEORGE VINCENT FOSBERY, at present residing at Weston-super-Mare, in the
County of Somerset, Lieutenant-Colonel of Her Majesty's Bengal Staff Corps. "AN
IMPROVED MANNER OF PROTECTING GUN-BOATS, TORPEDO-BOATS, AND SIMILAR
VESSELS FROM THE EFFECTS OF RIFLE SHOT AND OTHER PROJECTILES."
My Invention is designed to prevent the sinking of gun-boats, torpedo-boats, and
similar vessels when struck by the shot or projectiles of rifles, mitrailleuses, and other
arms ordinarily used for attacking or destroying such vessels, or in defending iron-
clad ships against the same.
Torpedo-boats are commonly built of iron or steel of such a thickness that they
can be readily penetrated by ordinary rifle bullets and other projectiles fired from
the ship which is the object of their attack before they are near enough to the said
ship to accomplish their purpose And it is well known that the holes made by
such projectiles through iron or steel plates cannot be effectually closed by plugging
so that a boat could quickly be sunk when once within the range of such arms.
By my Invention I provide a torpedo-boat or similar vessel with means for pre-
venting the entrance of water through these plates when the same are penetrated or
perforated by such shots or projectiles.
The said Invention consists in the employment or application of india-rubber or
other elastic material, or a combination of such material in the form of sheets, belts,
or coats placed upon or around the sides or portions of the sides of the boat or
vessel to be protected. I prefer to use vulcanized or mineralized india-rubber, of a
thickness of about one inch or more, but I may vary this thickness and may use any
material which will serve the purpose of my Invention, as herein explained.
TD11

page_text: The employment of this india-rubber or elastic material for the purpose of my
Invention is based upon the fact that when penetrated or punctured by a rifle bullet
or similar projectile, the hole or orifice formed by such projectile will, after the same
has passed through it, immediately be closed by the clasticity of the surrounding
portions, so that no water can follow the projectile through the said hole or
orifice.
I prefer that the india-rubber or other protective material shall be placed outside
of the iron or steel plates of which the boat is constructed It may be extended all
around the boat and from the deck to the keel, but ordinarily it will be sufficient
to provide a band or belt of the india-rubber or other protective material extending
from the deck or top of the sides some distance below the water line.
The india-rubber or other material may be secured by cementing it upon wood or
other material which may be secured by screws, livets, or otherwise to the sides of
the boat. If desired however the india-rubber or other protective material may be
placed inside the iron or steel plates of which the boat is constructed.
It will be understood that in all cases this protective material must be placed on
the plates in such a manner that water cannot enter or pass between them.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said George Vincent Fosbery in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th
May 1878.
GEORGE VINCENT FOSBERY, at present residing at Weston-super-Mare, in the
County of Somerset, Lieutenant-Colonel of Her Majesty's Bengal Staff Corps. "AN
IMPROVED MANNER OF PROTECTING GUN-BOATS, TORPEDO-BOATS, AND SIMILAR
VESSELS FROM THE EFFECTS OF RIFLE SHOT AND OTHER PROJECTILES."
My Invention is designed to prevent the sinking of gun-boats, torpedo-boats, and
similar vessels when struck by the shot or projectiles of rifles, mitrailleuses, and
other arms ordinarily used for attacking or destroying such vessels, or in the defence
of ironclad and other ships against gun and torpedo-boats.
Torpedo-boats are commonly built of iron, steel, or other metal plates of such a
thickness that they can be readily penetrated by ordinary rifle bullets and other
projectiles fired from an ironclad or other ship which is the object of their attack
before they are near enough to the said ship to accomplish their purpose. And it
is well known that the holes made by such projectiles through the metal plates
cannot be expeditiously and effectually closed by plugging, so that a boat could
quickly be sunk when once seen and within the range of such fire-arms. But by my
Invention I so construct a torpedo-boat or similar vessel as to prevent the entrance
of water through her plates when the same are penetrated or perforated by such
shots or projectiles. And the said Invention may also be applied to wooden
boats.
The said Invention consists in the employment or application in the manner

page_text: herein-after specified of india-rubber or other elastic material, or a combination of
such materials, in the form of sheets, belts, or coats, placed upon or around the
hull portions of the hull of the boat or vessel to be protected. I prefer to use
vulcanized or mineralized india-rubber, but I may use any material which will
serve the purpose of my Invention, as herein explained.
The employment of this india-rubber or elastic material for the purpose of my
Invention is based upon the discovery that when india-rubber or the like is placed
and secured on a metal plate, as herein-after described, and is penetrated or punctured
by a rifle bullet or similar projectile, which also passes through the metal plate, the
hole or orifice formed by such projectile in the india-rubber will, after the projectile
has passed through it and the metal plate, immediately be closed by the elasticity of
the surrounding portions, so that no water can follow the projectile through the said
hole or orifice.
I am aware that it has already been proposed to provide ships' sides with india-
rubber to prevent the entrance of water in case of injury to the plates from shots or
otherwise, but no effectual means have heretofore been devised for properly attaching
this protective covering to the metal plates. If the india-rubber is placed in con-
tact with the steel or iron plates, and secured directly to the same, the result will
be that the india-rubber, if made of such a thickness and weight as can be conve-
niently applied, will follow and retain the form of the perforation or indentation in
the metal plate, instead of returning and closing the aperture in the same, or on
the other hand will be separated from the metal by the force of concussion.
therefore interpose between the metal plates and the india-rubber or other elastic
covering an intermediate substance, which may be cemented or otherwise attached
to the said metal plates, and to which the india-rubber or other covering may be
attached. This intermediate substance must be of such a nature or character that
it may be caused to adhere closely and tightly to all parts of the metal, and also to
the india-rubber or other elastic covering, while the same are unperforated, but
when the said india-rubber or other elastic covering, and the metal plate under the
same are perforated by a rifle bullet or other projectile the portion of the said
intermediate substance adjacent to the hole or perforation must be detached from
the elastic covering and metal plate, and leave the former free to act like a valve,
and close up over the hole or perforation, so that no water will enter the same.
And if properly applied, as herein-after specified, a portion of this intermediate
substance or backing equivalent to the diameter of the said projectile, or slightly in
excess of the same, will by the effect of the shot be so broken up and detached
from the india-rubber or elastic protective as to allow the same to recover its
original position independently of the new shape or position of the injured and
deformed plate.
Should the india-rubber be placed upon the metal plates and be so attached to
the said plates as to adhere and conform to them in or after their deformation, a
hole made in the india-rubber would remain open; on the other hand, should the
india-rubber without any intermediate substance be attached to the metal plate
in such a manner that it will recover its position after perforation water would
penetrate between the metal and the india-rubber, and by the pressure of this water
the india-rubber would be liable to be detached from a large area of the metal
plate, and so become ineffective or even dangerous to the boat. Moreover, if the
india-rubber is fixed directly upon the metal plates, in the case of a shot passing
completely through the boat, that is to say, passing into the boat at one side and
out at the other side, a large portion of the india-rubber adjacent to the hole made
by the shot in leaving the boat will be torn or destroyed, but this will not be the
case in boats constructed according to my Invention.
In practising my said Invention for the protection of torpedo-boats and similar
vessels I construct the same with plates which I term compound plates, composed
of layers of substances of different degrees of strength, frangibility, and clasticity,
and which are formed of steel or iron and india-rubber or other elastic covering,
and an intermediate substance. In these plates the india-rubber or elastic material

page_text: is supported in the most advantageous manner, while boing fired at and freed or
disconnected at the proper moment to bridge over the hole in the metal plate, and
act like a valve to close the same. I may use for this intermediate substance thick
paper, mill-board, wood cut across the grain, or substances or fabrics composed
partly of cork and other like materials, but I have discovered by experiment that
the substance most suitable and effectual for the purpose of my Invention is that
known as kamptulicon, which combines strength with the desired frangibility or
friability.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shown the application of my Invention
in the construction of a torpedo-boat,-
Figure 1 is a mid-ship section of the said boat; Figure 2 is an interior side
elevation of a portion of the same.
Figure 3 is a section of part of my improved compound plate for application to the
upper part of the side of the boat.
Figure 4 shews the said compound as applied to the interior of the lower part of
the bout or vessel.
Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 illustrate modifications in the manner of securing the india-
rubber on the metal plates.
Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the Drawing.
a is the metal plate; b is the kamptulicon secured uniformly upon the surface of
the metal throughout the entire area it is designed to protect by a neutral cement,
or by rivets, as shewn at 61, or by both cement and rivets, or by other suitable
ineans; c is the india-rubber or clastic covering, which is secured upon the kamp-
tulicon by any suitable cement ordinarily used for such purposes.
I prefer to apply the india-rubber to the portion of the boat above the water line,
and for a certain distance below the same on the exterior of the sides, as shewn
at e, Figure 1, while on the lower portions of the boat I may apply the said covering
inside the vessel, as shewn in the same Figure; f. f¹, are cross bars for supporting
the india-rubber inside the vessel. The bars fare secured to and between the ribs
g of the boat, and the diagonal bars f' are secured to the bars f, and rivetted
together at the centre, as shewn at f2, these livets f* extend through the plates
and covering, as shewn in Figure 4. In Figure 5 I have shewn the compound plate
provided with metal plates or discs h to assist in securing the india-rubber.
The thickness of the elastic covering and intermediate substance may be varied
according to the construction of the boat, or the circumstances under which the
same is to be used In ordinary cases I prefer to use sheets of india-rubber of a
thickness of about 1/4 (one quarter) inch, and kamptulicon of a thickness of about
1/8 (one eighth) inch.
In Figures 6 and 7 I shew the compound plate secured to the side of the vessel
by means of strips or plates i of the same material as the hull, and extending along
the side at the proper distance above the water line, and secured by rivets or bolts
and nuts In this case the inner portion of the substances forming the compound
plate is laid horizontally on the side, the outside layer is united by scarfed joints,
and in cases when it consists of pure vulcanized or mineralized india-rubber these
joints are to be made by means of cement and a thin layer of unmineralized india-
rubber laid between the parts.
In Figure 8 I have shewn bolt 6ª with a very large head sunk into the india-
rubber.
In Figure 91 have illustrated a method of attaching the protective covering to a
boat in cases where it is undesirable to remove any of the rivets used originally for
uniting the metal plates of the said boat; h¹ is a metal plate, strip, or washer intro-
duced into the india-rubber sheet in the manufacture of the same; j, j¹, are a bolt and
nut. A tube is inserted into the india-rubber, through which tube a tool is passed
to drill a hole in the metal plate; through this hole the said bolt is passed, its head
resting against the said plate, strip, or washer, and the nut j¹ bearing against the
back of the metal plate, as shewn.
It will be obvious that the aforesaid frangible or friable intermediate substance or

page_text: material might be incorporated with or secured to the india-rubber or other elastic
covering in the manufacture of the same.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and the manner of jperforming
the same, I wish it understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details of
construction herein set forth, and that I do not claim or consider as any part of my
Invention the application or securing of india-rubber or other like material directly
or without an intermediate substance upon the metal plates of a torpedo or other
boat, but I claim,―
First. The application or employment of india-rubber or other suitable elastic
material to or on the side or sides, or other portions of a torpedo-boat or similar
vessel by the aid of an intermediate substance which supports and holds the said
india-rubber or other elastic material in such a mauner that the same will not be
deprived of its natural elasticity, whereby when it and the metal plates on which it
is placed are penetrated, torn, or fractured, the said elastic material will close over
the hole or fracture in the metal plate and prevent the admission of water into the
boat.
Second. A torpedo-boat or similar vessel, with the upper portions of her sides
covered externally by india-rubber, or other suitable elastic material, and the lower
portions thereof covered internally by such elastic material, applied and secured as
above set forth, and as shewn in Figures 1 and 2 of the Drawings, and for the pur-
poses specified.
Third. The securing of the elastic and intermediate substances upon the metal
plates by the employment of the various means illustrated in Figures 3 to 9 of the
Drawings, and as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Vincent Fosbery, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight
Witness,
H. H. LAKE,
8, Southampton Buildings.
GEORGE V. FOSBERY. (L.s.)