ATMOSPHERIC APPARATUS FOR THE SUBMARINE TRANSPORT OF BLOCKS OF STONE, AND FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Davies, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn,
in the County of Middlesex, and No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the City
of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"ATMOSPHERIC APPARATUS FOR THE SUBMARINE TRANSPORT OF BLOCKS OF
STONE, AND FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS."-A communication from abroad
by T. Bandier, of Paris, in the Empire of France.
Sealed the 22nd November 1859, and dated the 24th May 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Davies at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th May 1859.
I, GEORGE DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County
of Middlesex, and No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the City of. Glasgow, Civil
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "ATMOSPHERIC APPARATUS FOR THE SUBMARINE TRANSPORT OF BLOCKS OF
STONE, AND FOR RAISING SUNKEN VESSELS," (a communication from abroad by
T. Bandier, of Paris, in the Empire of France,) to be as follows:-
Firstly, for the transport of blocks of stone under water, the Invention
consists in attaching thereto (by chains, which can be easily detached,) one or

page_text: more vessels in the form of balloons, or other convenient shape; these
vessels are inflated with air by means of pumps, and hold the blocks in
suspension, and thus allow of their easy transport to the foundation of any
work. The vessels may be made of the skins of oxen or horses, prepared
in fat, to give them the required degree of impermeability, or they may be
formed of several thicknesses of woven fabric cemented together with india-
rubber, or other water and air proof substance or cement. The vessels may
be further strengthened by being encased in wire network.
Secondly, the apparatus above described can be advantageously applied to
the raising of sunken vessels, even at a great depth, when it is possible for
divers to descend and attach these vessels (collapsed) at all available points,
which vessels are then to be inflated from above by means of pumps, worked
by steam engines placed in vessels employed for that purpose.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Davies in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
24th November 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
and No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Jer reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said George Davies, Her special licence that I, the said George Davies,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
George Davies, 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 "ATMOSPHERIC APPA-
RATUS FOR THE SUBMARINE TRANSPORT OF BLOCKS OF STONE, AND FOR RAISING SUNKEN
VESSELS," being a communication from abroad by T. Bandier, of Paris, in the
Empire of France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Davies, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe

page_text: 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 George Davies, do hereby declare the
nature of the 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 in writing, and on reference to the accompanying Drawings, that is
to say :-
This Invention is applicable for the submarine transport of blocks of stone
or other heavy bodies, and for the raising of sunken vessels and other bodies
from the bottom of the sea.
Firstly, for the transport of blocks of stone or other heavy bodies under
water, the Invention consists in attaching thereto (by chains, which can be
easily detached,) one or more vessels in the form of balloons, or other con-
venient shape; these vessels are inflated with air by means of pumps, and
hold the blocks or other bodies in suspension, and thus allow of their easy
transport to the required place. The vessels may be made of the skins of
oxen or horses, prepared in fat, to give them the required degree of in-
permeability, or they may be formed of several thicknesses of woven fabric,
cemented together with india-rubber, or other water and air proof substanco
or cement. The vessels may be further strengthened, if required, by being
encased in wire or other network.
Secondly, the apparatus above described can be advantageously applied to
the raising of sunken vessels, even at a great depth, when it is possible for
divers to descend and attach the vessels (in a collapsed state) at all available
points, which vessels are then to be inflated from above by means of pumps,
worked by steam engines placed in vessels employed for that purpose.
When the divers have ascertained the most suitable points, they attach the
collapsed air vessels to the same by the aid of cramps of different forms, fixed
to the hull of the vessel by screws or bolts. The air vessels are then to be
successively inflated by forcing in the air at a pressure corresponding with
that due to the depth at which the vessel is sunk; and when this operation is
completed, the vessel commences an upward movement, until the air vessels
have arrived at the surface of the water.
In using this apparatus for transporting blocks of stone or other bodies at
any required depth in the water, the same air vessels are employed, but
disposed in a horizontal position, so as to attach them to a frame, from which
the blocks of stone or other bodies are suspended. The blocks are connected

page_text: A
to the frames by chains, which can be easily detached by means of clicks.
certain number of these air vessels; each supporting a frame, are connected
together in a line, and the whole can then be very readily towed to the
required position.
The most simple method of constructing the air vessels is to form a kind of
tube without seam, by rolling several turns or layers of linen, canvas, or other
material round a cylinder, and cementing the same together by successive
coatings of dissolved india-rubber, in such a manner that these layers are
united so as to form one single material, covered on the outside and the
The air
interior with india-rubber, so as to be perfectly impermeable.
vessels may also be made, as above mentioned, from the skins of horses,
oxen, or other animals, prepared in fat, in order to give them the required
degree of impermeability. In order to vary the internal pressure of the air in
the apparatus in proportion as the vessel is raised, a regulating cock and
valves are employed, which allow of the escape of the excess of pressure at the
requisite time.
The practical application of the Invention will be better understood on
referring to the accompanying Drawings, which represent the apparatus as
adapted to the raising of sunken vessels.
Figure 1 in the Drawing represents a front elevation of one of the air
vessels, and Figure 2, a side view of the same; Figure 8 is a section of the
regulating cock and valves, and Figure 4 is a plan view of the same; Figures
5, 6, and 7, represent views of the various forms of cramps for attaching the
apparatus to the bull of the vessel; Figure 8 shows the general arrangement
and application of the apparatus for raising a sunken vessel.
In Figures 1 and 2, A represents the body of the air vessel; the two ex-
tremities are closed by wooden clasps B, B', each provided with a notch,
The cock C serves to receive
sufficient for the admission of cocks C and D.
the tube c in connection with the force pump, and the cock D being furnished
with valves regulated to a pressure of about one-third of an atmosphere, is for
the escape of the air. The clasps B and B are connected together by rods or
metallic cords E, E, fastened to the rings e, e, which unite the clasps B and B'.
These clasps are protected by a plate of iron b, for the washers and heads of
the bolts or screws to bear against, so as to prevent them from penetrating the
wood. The plates also prevent the spanner from injuring the wood when
tightening the bolts. The rod or cord F is attached by means of the hook f to
fixed points on the vessel to be raised, and the rod or cord G serves to lower
or raise the air vessel when it is empty. The action of the cock D is as
follows: When the vessel rises, the pressure of the water on the exterior of

page_text: the air vessel being diminished, the excess of air compressed in the same
escapes by the two valves d, d, so as always to equilibrate the pressures during
the ascent.
Figure 5 shows a front and side view of a cramp to be fixed to the hull of
the vessel, by means of strong screws or nails of a suitable size. To each of
these cramps one of the air vessels is to be attached, by means of its hook f.
Figure 6 is a side view of a modification of Figure 5; and Figure 7 is a con-
venient form of cramp for attaching the air vessels to the keel of the vessel
when practicable. It will be observed in this Figure, that the cramp is
forked, in order to embrace the keel, and is held by the set screws m, m.
The air vessels A are attached to the lugs of the cramp by means of the
hooks m, m.
Figure 8 illustrates the method of proceding to raise a sunken vessel. The
working vessels V being anchored in the desired place, the divers descend by
the ladder v to affix the cramps M to all accessible parts of the hull. The air
vessels A in a collapsed state are then lowered, and attached by the hooks f
to the cramps.
Air at a suitable pressure is then to be forced by means of
pumps into each of these air vessels, and the sunken vessel will then com-
mence to rise towards the surface of the water, as shown at the right hand in
Figure 8. It is then necessary to fix some more cramps and air vessels at or
near the keel, in order to raise the vessel to its ordinary line of floatation, so
as to facilitate the pumping out of the water which it contains, or the repairing
of the vessel. (This second operation is only necessary when the points of
attachment cannot originally be taken sufficiently low, as in the case of the
vessel being partially embedded.) For this purpose the platform X is to
be lowered beneath the vessel, in order that the divers may readily affix
the cramps to the keel. As the vessel rises, the air vessels arrive first at
the surface; they are then taken off in proportion as the vessel rises, and
attached to the keel the cramps M (Figure 6), or to other points of
attachment near to the keel. These air vessels are then inflated, and the
vessel will rise to its ordinary line of floatation, and if the divers can stop the
leaks, it only remains to pump out the water, and the vessel can then easily
be towed to a slip or repairing dock.
It will be evident, that with this apparatus a vessel can be readily "hove
down" or "careened" for examination, "fothering," or "calking."
Having now described the nature and object of the said Invention for the
submarine transport of blocks of stone, and for raising sunken vessels,"
together with the manner in which the same is to be performed, I would
remark in conclusion, that I claim as the Invention communicated to ine, the

page_text: method of raising and transporting heavy bodies in the water, as above
described and shown in the Drawings, together with the peculiar construction
of the air vessels employed; and also the use of the regulating cock and valves
for the escape of the excess of pressure, and the cramps for attaching the
apparatus to the hull of the vessel.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Davies, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
GEORGE DAVIES. (L.S.)