IMPROVEMENTS IN WAR ROCKET APPARATUS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Hale, of Lower Norwood, in the County
of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WAR
ROCKET APPARATUS."
Sealed the 80th January 1874, and dated the 1st August 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Hale at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st August 1878.
I, WILLIAM HALE, of Lower Norwood, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "Im-
PROVEMENTS IN War Rocker Apparatus,” to be as follows :—
The object of this Invention is to construct war rocket apparatus in
such a manner that several rockets may be fired simultaneously from it
by preference in lines somewhat diverging from one another, so that the
several rockets as they burst may be caused to sweep over an extended
line of infantry or cavalry. For this purpose a number of troughs, such
as are now used for firing rockets, are mounted side by side upon a table
or plate. The central trough may be fixed upon the plate, whilst the

page_text: other troughs are pivotted at their rear end, and at their front end are
supported upon slides in such a manner that they can be moved towards
or away from the central trough to any extent required, or all of the
troughs might in some cases be fixed. Somewhat in rear of the several
troughs is a curved plate. This at its centre carries a small tube to
contain a friction fuse for firing the central rocket, and as this rocket
ignites the fire driven back by the plate in rear extends to the other
rockets, and thus all the rockets are practically ignited at the same
time.
The table or plate upon which the troughs are carried is mounted at 1
the front upon pivots, whilst its rear end can be raised or lowered, and
thus the rockets may be fired at any desired elevation. In some cases I
fix the troughs upon the table or plate in such manner that the central
rockets shall be fired at somewhat greater elevation than the outer
rockets, so that when firing at a column of infantry the rockets may be 1
burst over a larger area.
The pivots of a frame upon which the firing bars or troughs are fixed
may be mounted upon a carriage after the manner of an ordinary gun
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 2
filed by the said William Hale in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 31st January 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HALE, of Lower Norwood, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-seventh
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Hale, Her special license that I, the
said William Hale, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said William Hale, 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

page_text: lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of
Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WAR ROCKET APPARATUS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Hale, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 William Hale, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :—
The object of my improvements is to render rockets more formidable
and effective as engines of war by using them in volleys in place of
firing them singly as heretofore, so that not only will a greater effect be
obtained by the rockets during their flight, but also on the bursting of
the rockets at each volley a great area may be covered by the balls and
fragments of shells, and hostile troops destroyed within a considerable
arc. The rocket shells may be caused to burst simultaneously and at
distances apart from one another, and if desired at somewhat different
ranges. By thus firing rockets in volley's not only will they produce
greater destruction, but also a much greater amount of demoralization
than could be produced by the firing of single rockets.
The apparatus used is simple in construction, easy of transport, and is
applicable for firing several sizes of rockets, such for example as 6-
pounders, 12-pounders, and 24-pounders. Each volley is also fired by
one ordinary friction tube, such as is used for cannons, and ignited in the
same manner by a lanyard. To accomplish this I fasten together on a
frame (mounted on wheels or otherwise) a number of sets of bars, each
set consisting of two bars attached so as to form a V, on which each
rocket slides. The after end of these sets of bars from which the rockets
begin to move are all on the same plane, but the front ends from which
the rockets leave the stand may be at slightly different elevations, so
that the shells may burst at different distances from the firing point,
though nearly at the same time.

page_text: I do not limit myself to any particular elevations, as the bars may be
placed on the same plane from end to end, but I prefer from 1° to 2°
between each of the three sets of bars on either side of the centre bars
as generally more effective in field service.
The central bars also might if desired be set at somewhat less elevation
than the outer ones; nor do I limit myself to the number of bars,
though I prefer seven sets as a convenient number for field service.
The outer sets of bars on either side of the centre one may be mounted
in such manner that they may be inclined outwards from it, if required,
in the form of a fan in order to throw the rockets in different directions,
so that when the rockets burst they may if necessary be at a considerable
distance apart from one another.
Immediately behind the after ends of the rockets, when they are
placed on the stand and ready for firing, is a curved plate, in the middle
of which and opposite the end of one of the rockets, by preference the
centre rocket, is a small cylinder in which a friction tube is placed when
the rockets are about to be fired. The object of this circular plate is to
cause the fire from the centre rocket at the instant of ignition to re-
bound into the bore of the other six rockets, which are thus fired simul-
taneously.
In the Drawing hereunto annexed I have shewn an apparatus for
firing rockets in volleys as above described.
Figure 1 is a side view of the apparatus, and Figure 2 is a plan view
of the several bars and of the table or frame upon which they are
mounted.
a, a, are the bars and 6 the table, which in this case is shewn to be
mounted upon a carriage similar to a gun carriage, so that the apparatus
may be suitable for field service. The central pair of bars is shewn to
be fixed and set at a slightly greater elevation than the other bars. The
pairs of bars on each side of it are mounted upon a pivot at their rear
end so that their foremost ends may be moved outwards from the central
pair, and they can be locked to the table in any desired position by the
lock nuts c. In place of the three outer sets of bars being thus moved
together and always kept at a uniform angle to one another they might
each be moved outwards separately by suitable mechanism, and the
several sets of bars be thus brought more perfectly into a fan-like form.

page_text: The forward end of the table is carried on an axis d, whilst at its rear
end are quadrants e by which it may be locked to the carriage frame, as
shown. The table can thus be fixed at any desired angle to give the
elevation required. ƒ is the curved plate in rear of the sets of bars, and
g the small cylinder to carry a friction tube. When the central rocket
is ignited by the friction tubes its fire rebounds as above stated from the
curved plate and instantaneously fires the other rockets.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I claim,—
1st. The arrangement of bars for firing rockets in volleys, substantially
as herein described.
2nd. The mounting the bars for firing rockets in volleys in such a
manner that they can be spread outwards somewhat in the form of a fan
to allow of the rockets being burst over a large area.
3rd. The mounting the bars for firing rockets in volleys with some of
the bars at greater elevation than others to allow of the rockets being
burst over a large area.
4th. The method of igniting a volley of rockets by means of the back
fire from one of them, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Hale, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
WILLIAM HALE. (L.S.)
WILLIAM HALE. (L.S.)