IMPROVE- MENTS IN PROJECTILES, PROJECTILE WEAPONS, AND THEIR APPURTENANCES
Year: 1854

page_text: the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th November 1854.
I, WILLIAM BRIDGES ADAMS, of Adam Street, in the City of Westminster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PROJECTILES, PROJECTILE WEAPONS, AND THEIR APPURTENANCES," to be
as follows:
1. The projectile weapons may be small arms, artillery or ordnance, for land
or sea service, either fixtures or moveable, or borne on carriages, and the mode
of propulsion may-be gunpowder, or gun cotton, or compressed air, or elastic
gases, or steam.
2. The principle of construction for the projectiles is such that they may be
propelled from a smooth-bored barrel as accurately as ordinary projectiles
from a rifled barrel.
3. The general principle is a central core, smaller in diameter than the
barrel from which they are projected, this core having two or more projecting
feathers extending nearly or fully to the diameter of the bore, and these feathers
formed either_of_the_same_metal,-and-being-a-portion-of-the-core,-or-being-
formed-of-separate-metal, and being capable, if required, of elastic compression.
and expansion, so as to fit the bore of the barrel, and retain the core centrally.

page_text: The length of the projectile should be greater than the diameter, and it may
with advantage be four or six diameters in length, or more. This must of
course be regulated by the desired weight, and in order to increase the length
the core may be diminished in diameter..
4. The sectional form of the core and feathers should be such as to present to
the atmosphere, in the line of flight, the smallest area consistent with sufficient
strength in the projectile. The longitudinal form should be as acute a taper
as may be convenient for the better cleavage of the air in front. This taper
should reach the extreme diameter at about two-thirds of the length of the
projectile, and then, being parallel for a short distance, it should gradually
taper off to the hinder end, so as to diminish to the utmost the back resistance
of the atmosphere; but these proportions may vary.
5. The form of the projectile to make way through the air with the least
resistance should resemble that of the fast steam boats, hollow lines being
preferable to rounded ones. A steam boat being intended to carry a burden,
the hollow lines cannot be continued throughout; but the projectiles now
described, being intended to be sometimes solid, the lines may be hollow
throughout in such case, the core being reduced to a small sectional area, as
small as may be compatible with strength.
6. The strongest known sectional form with the minimum of area to give
stiffness for penetrating an object is that of the bayonet, or three-edged small
sword. This, therefore, is the section which I judge preferable for swift
projectiles, and capable of attaining the longest range with the least atmo-
spheric resistance by a given propelling power. To perfect the projectile it
should be highly polished. The bayonet section is formed by three hollow
curved lines, but, if preferred, the section of the projectile may be three
obtuse angles; or, if wanted for great strength, the section may be an equi-
lateral triangle.
7The projectile-thus-formed-will,-by-reason of its feathers, preserve an even
line of flight if the feathers be parallel to the axis; but if they be parallel to
each other, and not parallel to the axis, so as to.form a partial spiral to the
axis, equivalent to about one whole turn in about a length, equal to seventy-
two diameters, the projectile will spin or revolve on its axis by its forward
action on the atmosphere, and obtain the same accuracy of flight as a projectile
made to spin or revolve by a rifled barrel, and thus a smooth, bored barrel will
serve the same purpose as a rifled barrel, with the greater advantage of being
easily cleaned and less exposed to wear.
8. It is evident that such projectiles fitting a barrel easily will have much
less, frictional resistance to the propelling power than the ordinary hollow

page_text: conical balls, that swell out against the barrel by the action of the powder; a
resistance which, combined with the rifle grooves, may often be an impedi-
ment to the-range of the projectile; therefore, with the feathered projectiles
not filling the barrel, some means must be resorted to of filling up the windage.
To produce the best effect in propulsion, the windage should be provided for
independently of the projectile. The barrel must be regarded as an air or gas
pump, or as the cylinder of a steam engine, and the wad to stop the windage
as the piston. The essential of a steam cylinder is that it be a true bore,
highly polished, and with the piston accurately fitting, easily moveable, but
with no steam passage round or through it. The best wad, therefore, will be a
short cylinder of papier maché, easily fitting the barrel, with a conical hole
through it, and a conical stopper, either of metal or papier-maché, fitting the hole,
and driving into it by the explosive action to fill the barrel. Any other material
than papier maché that is eligible may be used. The central portion of the
projectile at the hinder end should be provided either with a centre pin, or a
slight hollow, fitting a corresponding hollow or pin in the papier maché wad.
This will serve to guide, and instead of this central pin or hollow, the hinder
end of the projectile may be formed to a sharp point, and the wad pressed on it
with a corresponding perforation. The explosive action will then force the
wad with a wedging action partly along the projectile, and thus prevent all
windage.
9. And instead of the bayonet' section, the projectile may have four or more
feather's with curved or "angular hollows, or a V section may be used; or the
core may be cylindro-conical, and the feathers may be at right angles to the
axis, and two, three, four, or more in number, and they may bend partly round
the axis of the projectile, to obtain a more perfect elastic action against the
barrel.
110. And instead of the before-described projectiles another kind may be used.
The projectiles may fit the barrel externally, and have a central hollow through
the length, in which may be placed feathers similar to the external ones,
before described: Triangular or square hollow projectiles may be used also."
11. And the projectiles may be formed with grooves on the feathers at the
edges to take slips of wood to form guides in the barrel; or slips of wood
fill up the hollows between the feathers to serve as guides.
may
12. Or the projectiles may be mere cores, with small feathers "fixed in "a"
cylindric wad of cork or papier maché, the projectile tapering from both ends,
and serving as a wedge for the wad.
13 As to the manufacture of "these projectiles, they may be of cast or

page_text: metal may be cast on the metal feathers so perforated as to hold to them; .or
they may be of rolled metal, afterwards fashioned by cutting off and tilting
down; the wrought metal formed to a sharp point will have great power of
penetration. Of course for hollow explosive shot the cores must be of larger
size than if solid
The improvements in artillery are,―
1. Cast-iron guns are of very brittle material; the vents rapidly burr out
in use, and the internal compression of the metal "honey-combs" it by the
explosive action; consequently, whatever be the bulk of material, rapid
internal destruction must ensue, increasing with the rapidity of the discharges.
My improvement consists in forming the interior of the gun of a wrought tube,
hermetically joined at one end, and of as great thickness as can be conveniently
attained, and casting iron, brass, or gun metal, or other metal, round it, forming
as far as possible a union by means of chemical fluxes. This will prevent the
"honey-combing," and the wrought metal will help to stop the pores of the cast
metal. Brass guns are rapidly destroyed by overheating, or by the bores being
spoiled by the wear of the rough shot. The iron tube will materially help to
resist the heat and wear.
2. These tubes may be hooped round with two or more rings of wrought-
iron hoops, shrunk on hot, and interlocking with each other.
3. Breech-loading guns or ordnance. They are to be formed with a
very strong reinforce at the back, and bored quite through. At the breech
a horizontal slot is to be made, intersecting the bore, and slightly exceeding
the diameter, the back of the slot being at a right angle with the bore, and the
front at an angle, more or less obtuse or acute, so that a wedge-form piece.of
wrought or cast metal may fit the slot, projecting beyond the sides of the
breech when driven home. This wedge is to form the breech, and it must be
of sufficient width to sustain the strain of the charge of powder. Two cross
slots are to be formed in this wedge with a key to fit. When the key is down
on one side, it will force the wedge home; down on the opposite side it
will loosen the wedge. In the wedge next the bore is a cavity or chamber
semicircular, and the vent or touch-hole may be bored into it either from
the back, or longitudinally down the wedge. The external part of the vent
may be bored longer to take a percussion cap.
hard steel or platinum, and when the vent is worn a new wedge may be
-applied._
The vent may be lined with

page_text: There is to be a groove in the socket, top and bottom, parallel with the wheels,
and the ball on the gun has a pin, top and bottom, working in these grooves,
to prevent the gun rotating on its longitudinal axis. Thus provided, the
gun may be pointed up or down, or laterally, and it may be used as a field gun
without unlimbering. The elevating screw at the breech must work on a
segment for lateral motion. The same ball and socket with the steady pins
may be applied to a ship's side by the muzzle of the gun, the barrel radiating
up and down, and laterally. Telescope sights passing through the ball and
adjusted with springs may be applied to these guns, and the artillery may be
tinned or zinced to prevent rust.
5. Shields of iron to be affixed to breech-loading guns, with angle fronts to
shelter the gunners.
6. Springs of caoutchouc or steel for field artillery..
7. Wheels with elastic spokes, to prevent concussion and diminish the
draught of field artillery.
8. Practice targets made to run up and down hill behind banks to attain
skill in motion.
0
Making the ramrod of a muskat serve as a baronet