IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECTILES FOR ORDNANCE
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Dyer Bryant, of Saint Minver, near Wade-
bridge, in the County of Cornwall, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN PROJECTILES FOR ORDNANCE,"
Sealed the 21st June 1864, and dated the 24th December 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Dyer Bryant at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 24th
December 1868.
I, JOHN DYER BRYANT, of Saint Minver, near Wadebridge, in the County
of Cornwall, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PROJECTILES FOR ORDNANCE," to be as follows:-
The Invention relates to elongated projectiles used with ordnance. Such
projectiles may be of less diameter than the bore of the gun, or they may
fit it.
In carrying out my improvements when employing projectiles of less diameter
than the bore of the gun, I place a short cylinder between the projectile and
the powder. This cylinder may be made of wood, or of wood with a plate
of metal at the outer end, or with plates at both ends, or may be a hollow
cylinder of metal, strengthened internally by an arrangement of metal of
tubular, cellular, or other construction combining strength and lightness, and
it should be of size adapted to fit nicely to the bore of the gun with which it is

page_text: to be used, and have a conical pin projecting from the centre of the outer end
to fit into a corresponding hole in the centre of the projectile in order to keep
the projectile concentric with the bore of the gun; or this pin may be in the
centre of the projectile to fit into a hole in the centre of the cylinder. This
cylinder will at firing take the full force of the powder and transmit it to the
projectile, which it will carry in a proper direction clear of the sides of the
bore of the gun, and will also serve to hang the cases herein-after mentioned.
The
space between the projectile and the barrel of the gun should be filled
up with two cases, which may be made of wood or of hollow metal, or in any
way combining lightness and strength, and which should embrace the projectile
towards the outer end, and keep it concentric with the bore of the gun. The
cases are cut away and recessed at the inner end to receive and act on flanges
or wings herein-after described, and are furnished with catches to act on
springs attached to such flanges or wings, and keep them in the recesses in
the cases.
The cases are hung by hinges to the cylinder, and are bevilled at
the outer ends from the projectile to the side of the bore. On the charge
leaving the gun the action of the air against the bevilled end opens the cases
from the sides of the projectile, so that they then fall outwards in a horizontal
direction, and in falling the catches are lowered, liberating the flanges or
wings, and pressing out or extending them; or the 'cases may be made to
hold the flanges in their place, and on falling to liberate but not extend them,
which extension may be effected by means of springs.
Projectiles, according to my Invention, may be made of a great variety of
shapes, such as cylindrical or cylindro-conoidal. They are furnished near their
base for about one-third of their length with two wings or flanges standing in
a line with the axis of the projectile, and projecting from the sides of the same,
so as nearly to reach the sides of the bore of the gun. On the outer edge of
each flange or wing is hinged a continuation of the flange or wing, which, for
purposes of stowing and loading, is wrapped round on the outside of the cases,
and fits into their recesses. The sides of the flanges or wings touching the
cases are called their faces, and these faces are turned inwards on their lower
edges from the hinges towards the point or end, so that when extended they
present oblique surfaces to the air. On leaving the gun the cases extend the
flanges or wings as before described, and by the resistance of the air on them the
progress of the cylinder is retarded, the projectile then leaves the cylinder and
proceeds onwards, being kept in a correct course, and caused to rotate on its
axis by the action of the air on the flanges or wings. When the projectile is
fitted to the cylinder and cases the whole will form a cylinder of the same
diameter as the bore of the gun, and a band or hoop of iron may be placed

page_text: round the cases so as to keep every thing in its place, the band to be removed
on loading the gun.
Projectiles, according to my improvements, to fit the bore of the gun, should
be cylindrical or cylindro-conoidal, and the rear end should be turned down or
cut away for, say, one-third of the length, so as to receive two flanges or
wings, which should be hung opposite each other, or the points and the lower
edges may be turned in, as before described, so as to present oblique surfaces
to the air when extended, and they may be extended when discharged by
means of springs placed in the rear or in recesses in the rear of the projectile,
and in this case in lieu of a cylinder to be placed between the projectile and
the powder a plate of metal may be substituted of sufficient substance and so
as to prevent the discharge of the powder damaging the springs, or the
flanges, or wings. This plate may be fixed to the projectile. The flanges or
wings may be kept wrapped round the projectile by a band to be removed on
loading the gun.
1
Elongated projectiles in passing through the air at high velocities divide the.
air and cause an eddy, wind, or partial vacuum at their sides extending;
laterally from their base about a quarter of the length of the projectile for
projectiles of from 2 to 3 diameters long. The flanges or wings must be,
extended so far beyond this eddy, wind, or partial vacuum as to present sufficient,
exposed surface to guide the projectiles and cause them to rotate on their:
axes.
In lieu of being hung in a line with the axis of the projectile, the flanges or
wings may be placed or hung at an angle with it, and then on being extended
they will present oblique surfaces to the air without being turned in on the :
lower edge of the face, as before described, or the obliquity of surface may be,
attained by placing the flanges or wings at a small angle to the line of axis,
and also turning in the lower edge of the face a little. More than two flanges
or wings may be used, and if so they should be placed so as to balance each,
other in their effect on the projectile..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed:
by the said John Dyer Bryant in the Great Seal. Patent Office on the▸
24th June 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
DYER BRYANT, of Saint Minver, near Wadebridge, in the County of Cornwall,
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three; in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Dyer Bryant, Her special license that I, the said John
Dyer Bryant, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said John Dyer Bryant, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 "IMPROVEMENTS
IN PROJECTILES FOR ORDNANCE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said John Dyer Bryant, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
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 Dyer Bryant, 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 follow-
ing statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
:-
The Invention relates to elongated projectiles used with ordnance, and has
for its object to impart to projectiles discharged from a smooth bore gun rotary
motion on their axes, so as to insure the same accuracy in their flight as when
discharged from rifled guns; such projectiles may be of less diameter than the
bore of the gun, or they may be made to fit it.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shewn various views of two kinds of
projectiles, one of which is of the size to fit the bore of the gun, and the other
is of smaller diameter. Fig. 1 is a side view of a small calibre shot provided
with a sabot hereafter more particularly described, and which sabot when
adapted to the projectile will cause the same to fit the gun until it is discharged
therefrom, when the sabot will fall away and leave the small calibre shot to
continue its flight; Fig. 2 is an end view of the same; the shot or projectile
is provided with wings which extend when the shot leaves the gun. Fig. 3 is
an elevation of the shot, shewing the wings extended, as would be the case
when the projectile is discharged from the gun, the sabot having opened and
fallen away. Fig. 4 is an end view of the projectile with the wings extended;
Fig. 4 is a section of one of the wings shewing its inclined edges; Fig. 5'is

page_text: a detached sectional view of one of the expanding sections of the wooden
sabot; Fig. 6 is a front view of the same; Fig. 7 is an elevation of another
form of projectile, and which is intended to fit the bore of the gun without the
use of a detached sabot. The expanding wings are shewn as extended, and
in this instance the expanding effect is produced by the explosive force of the
powder which acts on the inclined edge of the wings to which the gas obtains
access through holes made in the rear end of the projectile, as shewn in
Figures 7 and 8. Fig. 8 is a horizontal section of the same with the wings
closed, the position of the wings when extended being indicated by the dotted
lines; Fig. 9 is à section of the wing shewing its inclined surfaces.
In carrying out my improvements when employing projectiles of less
diameter than the bore of the gun, as shewn in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, I place
a short cylinder between the projectile and the powder. This cylinder or sabot
may be made of wood or of wood with a plate of metal at the outer end or
with plates at both ends; or it may consist of a hollow cylinder of metal
strengthened internally by an arrangement of metal of tubular, cellular, or
other construction, thus combining strength and lightness. The sabot a, by
preference, should be made of iron and wood, as shewn, and it should be of
such a diameter as will fit nicely to the bore of the gun with which it is to
be used. It is provided with a conical pin 6, projecting from the centre of the
outer end of the sabot, as shewn by dots in Fig. 1. This pin is made to fit
into a corresponding hole in the centre of the rear end of the projectile A in
order to keep the projectile concentric with the bore of the gun; or this pin
may be fixed in the centre of the projectile, and made to fit into a hole in the
centre of the wooden cylinder or sabot. This cylinder or sabot when the gun
is discharged will take the full force arising from the explosion of the powder,
and will transmit it to the projectile, which it will carry in a proper direction
clear of the sides of the bore of the gun.
The space between the projectile and the barrel of the gun should be filled up.
with the wooden sections c, c, c, which are hinged by their lower ends to the
sabot a, as shewn at Fig. 1. These sections c, c, which are shewn detached at
Figs. 5 and 6, may be made either of wood or of hollow metal, or in any
other way in which lightness and strength are combined. These sections c,-
when placed in a vertical position on the sabot, will embrace the projectile A,
as shewn at Figures 1 and 2, and will keep it concentric with the bore of the
gun. These sections c, c, are cut away and recessed at the inner end to
receive and act on the moveable or expanding wings d, d, herein-after.
described, and may be furnished with catches to act on springs attached to
such wings, and keep them in their recesses in the surrounding section pieces,

page_text: which, it will be seen, are hung by hinges to the cylinder or sabot a. They are,
moreover, bevilled at the outer ends from the projectile A to the side of the
bore of the gun, as shewn at Fig. 5. On the projectile leaving the gun the
action of the air against the bevilled ends of these section pieces opens them from
the sides of the projectile, so that they will then fall outwards in a horizontal
direction, and in falling the catches are lowered and will liberate the expanding
wings d, d, of the projectile, and will press out or extend them, as shown at
Figures 3 and 4. As a modification, the sections c, c, may be made to hold
the expanding wings in their place, and on falling will liberate but not extend
them, which extension may be effected by means of springs.
Projectiles constructed according to my Invention may be made of a great
variety of shapes, such as cylindrical or cylindro-conoidal. It will be seen that
in all instances they are furnished near their base for about one-third of their
parallel length with two or more wings or flanges standing in a line with the
axis of the projectile and projecting from the sides of the same, so as nearly to
reach the sides of the bore of the gun. For purposes of stowing and loading,
the wings d, d, are folded or wrapped round on the outside of the expanding
section pieces c, c, and fit into their recesses. The sides of the wings d, d,
which touch the section pieces c, c, are called their faces, and these faces are
turned inwards on their lower edges from the hinges towards the point or end,
so that when extended they present oblique surfaces to the air, as will be
clearly seen on reference to the Drawing. When the projectile is discharged
from the gun the section pieces c, c, open and expand the wings d, d, as before
described and shewn at Figures 3 and 4, and by the resistance of the air on
the expanded section pieces c, c, the progress of the cylinder or sabot a is
retarded, and the projectile or shot then leaves the cylinder or sabot and
proceeds onwards, and is kept in a correct course by being caused to rotate
on its axis by the action of the air on the expanded wings. When the
projectile A is fitted to the cylinder or sabot a and the expanding section
pieces, all the parts when closed will form a cylinder of the diameter of the
bore of the gun, and a band or hoop of iron may be placed round the projectile
so as to keep everything in its place, this band must however be removed when
loading the gun.
Projectiles made to fit the bore of the gun, as shewn at Figures 7
and 8, should be cylindrical or cylindro-conoidal, and the rear end should
be turned down or cut away for, say, one-third of their parallel length, so
as to receive two or more wings d, d, which should be hung equidistant
from each other. The points and the lower edges of the wings may be turned
in as before described so as to present oblique surfaces to the air when they

page_text: are extended.
One mode of opening or expanding the wings when the
projectile is discharged is by means of springs placed in recesses behind the
wings of the projectile, so that when the projectile leaves the gun the springs
will force open the wings, and the air, by coming in contact with their faces,
will keep them expanded during the flight of the shot. The explosion of the
gas behind the wings will also have a tendency to open them, or a small hole
may be made through the rear end of the shot to admit the gas to the inner
face of the wing so as to force open the same. In this case in lieu of a cylinder
or sabot to be placed between the projectile and the powder, a plate of metal
may be substituted of sufficient substance to prevent the explosion of the
powder from damaging the springs or the wings. This plate may be fixed to
the projectile, and the wings d may be kept folded or wrapped round the
projectile by means of a band, which is to be removed on loading the
Elongated projectiles in passing through the air at bigh velocities divide the
air, and cause an eddy, wind, or partial vacuum at their sides extending laterally
from their base about a quarter of the length of the parallel sides of the
projectile for projectiles of from two to three diameters long. The wings must
therefore be extended so far beyond this eddy, wind, or partial vacuum as to
present sufficient exposed surface to guide the projectiles and cause them to
rotate on their axes.
gun.
•
In lieu of being hung in a line with the axis of the projectile, the
wings d may be placed or hung at an angle with it, and then, on being
opened out or extended, they will present oblique surfaces to the air without
the lower edge of the face being turned inwards, as before described; or
the obliquity of surface may be attained by placing the wings d at a small
angle to the line of axis, and also turning in the lower edge of the face a
little. When more than two wings & are used they should be so placed on
the projectile as to balance each other in their effect on the projectile. If it
be desired to make the projectile of steel, the best mode of adapting my
Invention thereto will be to attach the wings to a ring of cast iron, which
may be adapted to the rear end of the shot, which must be recessed or
properly constructed for the purpose.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Projectiles for
Ordnance," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect,
I claim, as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid,-
Mounting or hanging on hinges on the sides of projectiles wings, which
when expanded or opened will present a sufficient surface to the air to cause
the projectile during its flight to rotate on its axis.
Second, I claim adapting to projectiles of a smaller diameter than the

page_text: bore of the gun a wooden or other compressible sabot or cylinder, either with
or without expanding section pieces, as herein shewn, for the purpose of
receiving the explosive force of the powder, and transmitting it to the
projectile..
In witness whereof, I, the said John Dyer Bryant, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-fourth day of June, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
J. D. BRYANT. (L.S.)