IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH EXPLOSIVE PROJECTILES AND IN PART APPLICABLE FOR EXTENDING ELECTRICAL COMMUNICATING LINES
Year: 1885

page_text: I, DAVID RUSSELL DAWSON, of 57 Meadowside, Dundee, in the County of Forfar,
North Britain, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH EXPLOSIVE PROJECTILES AND IN PART
APPLICABLE FOR EXTENDING ELECTRICAL COMMUNICATING LINES," to, be as follows,
that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to line-throwing guns of the kind described in the
Specification of Evans and Low's patent N° 3460 of 1881 and of which various
modifications have been devised since the date of that patent, one of such
modifications being described in the Provisional Specification accompanying my
Application for Letters Patent N° 7048 of 1885.
"
My present Invention consists in combining with the line or cord to be used
with the line-throwing gun one or more fine copper' or other wires or wire cords
suitable for conveying electric currents, such wires or wire cords being insulated
from each other when there are more than one. And my Invention consists
further in combining with the tube or canister containing the coiled line or cord
and forming the projectile of the line-throwing gun, a shell which may be formed
as a head to the tube or canister like the hollow head described in my Provisional
Specification N° 7048 of 1885 herein before referred to as for containing an
additional quantity of cord' or twine. The shell thus formed as a head to the
projectile may be loaded with gun cotton or other suitable explosive, the ends of
the electric wires being arranged so as to ignite the charge when a current is
passed through them. This new explosive missile will prove valuable for war
purposes, as it can be thrown into a desired position and be discharged at whatever
may appear to be the best time after having being thrown. The missile can thus
be used for exploding mines and in various other ways.
+
Without the explosive shell the electric line as it may be termed may be thrown
for the purpose of forming a communication with a point which may not be easily
accessible otherwise, and the ends of the line being connected to suitable telephonic
or other instruments messages or signals may be transmitted through it.
TI
100M

page_text: I, DAVID RUSSELL DAWSON, of 57 Meadowside, Dundee, in the County of Forfar,
North Britain, Merchant, 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 that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to line-throwing guns of the kind described in the
Specification of Evans and Low's patent No 3460 of 1881, and of which various
modifications have been devised since the date of that patent, one of such
modifications being described in my Patent Specification No 7048 of 1885.
My present Invention consists in combining with the line or cord to be used
with the line-throwing gun one or more fine copper or other wires or wire cords
suitable for conveying electric currents, such wires or wire cords being insulated
from each other when there are more than one. And my Invention consists,
further, in combining with the tube or canister containing the coiled line or cord
and forming the projectile of the line-throwing gun, a shell which may be formed
as a head to the tube or canister like the hollow head described in my Patent
Specification No 7048 of 1885, hereinbefore referred to, as for containing an
additional quantity of cord or twine. The shell thus formed as a head to the
projectile may be loaded with gun cotton, or other suitable explosive, the ends of
the electric wires being arranged so as to ignite the charge when a current is
passed through them. This new explosive missile will prove valuable for war
purposes, as it can be thrown into a desired position, and be discharged at whatever.
may appear to be the best time, after having been thrown. The missile can thus
be used for exploding mines and in various other ways.
Without the explosive shell the electric line, as it may be termed, may be
thrown for the purpose of forming a communication with a point which may
not be easily accessible otherwise; and the ends of the line being connected to
suitable telephonic or other instruments messages or signals may be transmitted
through it.
.
The gun used in carrying out my Invention may be of any suitable kind such
as, for example the kind delineated and described in the earlier Specifications
herein before referred to.
1
The projectile as made with an explosive shell according to one modification is
shown upon an accompanying sheet of explanatory drawings, figure, 1, being a
side elevation and figure, 2, a longitudinal section.
The projectile, which I term a controlled explosive projectile, consists of a
shell, 3, 4, fixed on the front end of a canister or tube, 5, 'this tube being externally
of a size to fit the bore of the gun employed, whilst the shell, 3, 4, is beyond the
muzzle of the gun when the gun is loaded. A ring, 6, is fixed at the rear end of
the projectile tube, 5, and contracts the opening at that end. A central tube
which is fixed to the breech or inner end of the gun extends through the barrel,

page_text: and projects a short distance from the muzzle, and when the projectile is in the
barrel passes through the projectile tube, 5, and through the shell, 3, 4. The
annular cylindrical space extending from end to end of the projectile tube, 5,
between it and the central tube of the gun when charged is occupied by the line
or cord, 7, which is coiled or wound in a cop form with a hollow core to pass over
the central tube of the gun. The coil or cop of cord, 7, is inserted in the projectile
tube, 5, from the front end before the shell, 3, 4, is fixed to the tube, 5. For the
purpose of attaching the shell, 3, 4, there is applied to the end of the projectile
tube, 5, a coupling nut, 8, which is screwed upon an externally screwed nozzle, 9,
formed on the rear half, 4, of the shell. The shell is made in two halves, 3, 4,
which are screwed together; and there is screwed into the rear half, 4, a central
tube, 10, which projects through the front half, 3, of the shell when the latter is
screwed up, the joint of the front half shell, 3, round the tube, 10, being made
watertight by a rubber packing ring, 11, with a metal washer and screwed
gland, 12.
The space within the shell, 3, 4, for containing the explosive is in an annular
form extending round the central tube, 10, and the explosive material, 13, which'
may be what is known as gun cotton or cotton powder or any other suitable
explosive is moulded or shaped to suit the space for containing it. At the rear
of the explosive, 13, there is placed a ring or annular disk, 14, of rubber or other
suitable elastic material to act as a cushion to prevent the action of discharging
the projectile from the gun from acting too violently or concussively on the
explosive, 13; and for the same purpose a padding of felt or other suitable soft
material is placed at, 15, between the explosive, 13, and the inside of the shell, 3, 4,
and also at, 16, between the explosive, 13, and the central tube, 10.
For exploding the shell when desired there is inserted in the front of the
explosive a suitable detonator, 17, of a kind ignitable by an electric spark passing
between the ends of two suitably insulated wires, 18, which are connected to the
electric line wires in a cord, 19. This cord, 19, passes at the rear of the shell
through a hole rendered watertight by a rubber ring with a metal washer and
screw gland, 21, into the space at the front end of the projectile tube, 5, where it
is connected to the coiled cord, 7. The coiled cord, 7, is formed with two wires or
fine wire cords which are insulated from each other and which are twisted or
plaited or otherwise combined with flax yarn or other suitable fibrous material
so as to form a flexible cord of the requisite strength. The cord, 7, in addition to
being prepared or treated so as to insulate the wires or wire cords from each other
is also by preference rendered waterproof either by using an insulating substance
or composition such as rubber having also waterproofing properties or by using an
additional waterproofing substance or composition. A single compound cord, 7,
containing one or more electric wires or wire cords may be used alone or it may
be used along with an additional cord of flax or other suitable fibrous material,
the two being twisted or otherwise combined together in such a way that any
strain will act on the additional cord before acting on the electrical cord. The
additional cord should be separately attached to the rear of the shell.
When the gun is loaded with the projectile in it and everything ready for use,
the rear end of the coiled cord, 7, passes from the rear of the projectile tube, 5,
along outside of the central tube of the gun to the front end of the latter tube
thence back through the tube of the gun and out through the breech end of the
gun to the apparatus arranged for transmitting an electric current through the cord.
The central tube of the gun extends through to the outer end of the tube, 10, of
the shell, and is externally somewhat smaller than the inside of that tube, 10, so
that the cord or lite passes easily from the rear end of the projectile tube, 5,
between it and the inside of the tube, 10, so as to enter its front end and proceed
back through it to the breech end of the gun. This central tube of the gun
prevents the flame which issues from the muzzle of the gun on its being discharged
from injuring the core or line, 7. In figure, 2, the projectile is supposed to be on
its flight with the cord, 7, partly run out of its rear end.

page_text: When the projectile is designed for throwing a line (without an explosive) for
forming an electrical communication with a distant point, the head or shell, 3, 4,
may be made much lighter than as shown in the drawings and may be used for
containing a quantity of suitably coiled cord instead of or in addition to the coil
of cord, 7, in the projectile tube, or canister, 5. And whether the head or
shell, 3, 4, be designed to contain an explosive or to contain a quantity of cord
with one or more electrical wires or wire cords, it may be made of any form that
may be considered most suitable.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. The combination of an explosive shell with a line or cord comprising one or
more electrical conducting wires or wire cords, which line or cord remains
connected with the apparatus from which the projectile is thrown and serves for
igniting the explosive after it has been thrown substantially as hereinbefore
described.
2. The combination of an explosive shell with a tube or canister containing
a coiled line or cord made with electrical conducting wires or wire cords sub-
stantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described.
3. The use with a line-throwing gun and its projectile, of a line or cord made
with one or more electrical conducting wires or wire cords for the purpose of
forming an electrical communication with a distant point, substantially as herein-
before described.