Sea-oiling Rocket.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Sept., 1889-Accepted, 26th Oct., 1889
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
Sea-oiling Rocket.
I, ALBERT HENRY WALKER, of 274 Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut, one of
the United States of America, attorney and counselor at law, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to bo
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This rocket consists of a powder chamber at its head, and of a long and slender oil
chamber, extending rearward from that powder chamber, and constituting the rocket
stick, and so constructed and equipped as to carry its oil from a shore or a ship into
the sea, and to discharge that oil upward through the water to the surface of the
waves, and thus to allay the combers which would otherwise form upon their cresis.
Figure 1 of the drawings is an exterior view of this rocket and. Figure 2 is a
central longitudinal section thereof. Figure 3 is a central longitudinal section of a
modified form of the rocket of Figures 1 and 2. Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the
rear end of the rocket of Figures 1 and 2, showing the detailed construction of that
end, and showing also its engagement with a hook attached to a fixed rail on a rocket
stand. Figure 5 is a cross-section on the line a, b, of Figure 2.
The letter A indicates the shell of the oil chamber; and the letter B indicates the
base of the oil chamber of Figure 2, which base is preferably a cylindrical_block_of
hemlock or spruce, or other wood or substance of similar specific gravity. The
letter indicates a valve, preferably made of iron, and occupying a seat on the center
of the inner end of the base block B. The letter D indicates a weight, preferably
made of cast iron, and firmly fixed in the forward end of the shell A, and provided
with a flange extending outward from the forward end of that shell. The letter E
indicates a cast iron plug, which is provided with the integral disk F, and with
the rearward integral ring G, and with the forward axial recess H, for the recep-
tion of the stud I, which projects. rearward from the center of the valve C, and is
integral therewith, and is held in its position in the recess H, by any suitable cement.
occupying the space in that recess around that stud.
The letter Jindicates the rocket head, which contains the powder chamber K, and
which is annular in cross-section, and is nearly filled with rocket powder, and is
supplied with the fuses L.
The modified rocket of Figure 3, differs from that of Figures 1 and 2, in having
the solid cast iron plug M, firmly and permanently fixed in the rearward end of the
shell A, and in having the light, annular and flanged cast iron shell N. firmly and
permanently fixed in the forward end of the shell A, and in. having the stopper O,
closing the axial opening P, in that shell.
The hook Q, is firmly and permanently fixed to the rail R; and that rail is a part
of the rocket stand from which the rocket is fired, and which may be of any suitable
construction.
The oil chamber of the rocket of Figures 1 and 2, is constructed by making the
shell A, of paper, lined with either of the substances or compositions of matter with
which paper receptacles of oil have heretofore been lined; and by firmly and
permanently fixing the weight D, in the forward end of that shell; and by assembling
the valve C, and the plug E, and the base block B, by forcing that plug into the base
block, and putting a small quantity of any suitable cement into its recess -H, and
pressing the stud I, into that recess so as to fix the valve C, in the position shown
in Figure 4 and then by inserting the base block thus furnished, tightly into the
rearward end of the shell A, after filling that shell with oil nearly up to the line to be
occupied by the forward side of the valve C.

page_text: The rocket head J, is constructed of metal or paper, or other suitable substance, and
is nearly filled with rocket powder, and is provided with rocket fuses as indicated in
the drawings. The rocket head is not structurally united to the shell A, but it is
made and kept entirely separate therefrom, and is not assembled therewith until the
time the rocket is to be fired.
The shell A, of the oil chamber of the rocket of Figure 3, is identical with the
shell A, of the oil chamber of Figures 1 and 2; and the oil chamber of the rocket
of Figure 3, is completed by forcing the permanent iron plug M, into the rearward
end thereof, and by firmly fastening the light shell N, into the forward end thereof,
and by filling the chamber thus constructed with oil, and by closing that chamber
with the stopper 0.
The mode of operation of the rocket of Figures 1 and 2 is as follows: The oil
chamber and the powder chamber are assembled by passing the powder chamber over
the rearward end of the oil chamber, and thence upward along that chamber, until the
forward end of the powder chamber is stopped by the flange of the weight. D.
The assembled rocket is then placed upon the rocket stand, and its ring Gin
engagement with the hook Q. The fuses are then lighted, and when the rocket
head shoots forward, it pulls the oil chamber along with it, because the flange of
the weight D extends outward from the shell A, and upon the forward end of
the rocket head J. The hook Q prevents the plug E, from participating in this
forward motion, and pulls that plug out from the base block B, against the slight
resistance of the friction between the outside of the plug, and the inside of the base
block, and of the cement between the inside of the plug and the outside of the stud I.
During the flight of the rocket through the air, the valve C, is caused to retain its
place on its seat on the forward side of the base block B, by the outward suction,
through the opening in the base blocks, which is caused by the rapid passage of the
rocket through the atmosphere. When the rocket powder is burned out, the
resistance of the air to the forward motion of the empty shell J, is greater in propor-
tion to the momentum of that shell, than is the resistance of the air to the forward
motion of the oil chamber; and therefore the oil chamber flies forward out from the
interior of the shell J, and into the sea, as if it had been originally projected. from a
gun. When the oil chamber reaches the water; its momentum carries it, point
downward; somewhat below the surface, although its aggregate specific gravity is
less than that of water. As soon as its downward motion is arrested by the water,
the valve C, falls from its seat, through the oil to the forward end of the oil chamber,
and thus uncovers the forward end of the opening through the base block B. There-
upon the oil rises. through this opening and out of the oil chamber, while
corresponding quantity of water enters the oil chamber to take its place, because its
specific gravity is greater than that of oil. This operation continues until the oil
in the oil chamber is discharged from the upward end thereof, whence it rises to the
surface of the sea, where it spreads as a film upon the waves.
2
The specific gravity of the valve C, must be greater than that of oil, and not great
enough to prematurely dislocate it from its scat, or to neutralize the buoyancy of the
rearward end of the oil chamber which is caused by the small specific gravity of the
base block B, and by the fact that the specific gravity of the shell A. and the oil
therein, is less than that of water.
The specific gravity of the weight D, must be great enough to cause the forward
end of the oil chamber to point downward in the sea, but not great enough to
cause the aggregate specific gravity of the oil chamber to exceed that of sea water.
The mode of operation of the modified rocket of Figure 3, differs somewhat from
that of the rocket of Figures 1 and 2; because the rearward end of the oil chamber
is permanently closed by the cast iron plug M, which serves also as a weight, instead
of being provided with the base block B, the valve C, and the plug E and because
its forward end is permanently provided with the light shell N, and temporarily closed
by the stopper O, instead of being permanently closed by the weight D; and that

page_text: difference consists in withdrawing the stopper 0, from the shell N, just before the
rocket is fired, and in retaining the oil in the oil chamber during its flight through the
air, by means of the pressure of the air on the forward end of the column of oil,
which is exerted through the opening in the shell N, and in employing the forward
end of the oil chamber as its upper and open end after the oil chamber has conie
io rest in the sea.
The gravity of the shell N, must not be great enough to neutralize the buoyancy of
the forward end of the oil chamber of the modified rocket of Figure 3, which is caused
by the fact that the shell of the oil chamber, and the oil therein, is of less specific
gravity than water; and the specific gravity of the weight M, must be great enough
to cause the rearward end of that oil chamber to point downward in the sea, and not
great enough to cause the aggregate specific gravity of the oil chamber to exceed
that of sea water.
The oil in the oil chamber may be fish oil, linseed oil, olive oil, crude petroleum, or
lubricating mineral oil, and still other oils will produce beneficial results, though fish
oil is probably best. When the rockets are to be used in cold weather, any thick and
heavy oil therein requires to be mixed with lubricating nineral oil to give it sufficient
fluidity.
Published data relevant to extemporaneous experiments which have been made with
oil upon broken water, indicate a high degree of efficacy in the scientific use of
small quantities thereof; but these rockets may be made of any desired size, with oil
chambers of any desired capacity, and may be used in many situations where a
projectile shot from a gun would not be available, on account of the recoil which is
incident to a gun and is not incident to a rocket, or on account of the greater cost and
weight of a gun, as compared with a rocket stand.
The principle of this rocket consists in a powder chamber; and an oil chamber
carried thereby, and so constructed as to carry its oil into the sea, and not to discharge
any oil during its flight through the air. The foregoing description sets forth the
best mode of applying that principle; but it may also be applied where the annular
powder chamber is structurally or otherwise permanently fixed to the oil chamber, and
also where the powder chamber is cylindrical in cross-section and is permanently or
is separably fixed to one side of the oil chamber, instead of surrounding the same.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. A sea-oiling rocket, consisting of a powder chamber at its head, and of a filled
oil chamber, extending rearward from that powder chamber, and constituting the
rocket stick, and having specific gravity less than that of water, while one of its ends
has specific gravity greater than that of water, and the other end is provided with a
passage for the upward egress of the oil when the oil chamber is immersed in the sea ;
all substantially as described.
2. A sea-oiling rocket, consisting of an annular powder chamber at its head, and
of a filled oil chamber placed axially therein and extending rearward therefrom, and
constituting the rocket stick, and having specific gravity less than that of water,
while one of its ends has specific gravity greater than that of water, and the other end
is provided with a passage for the upward egress of the oil when the oil chamber is
iminersed in the sea all substantially as described.
3. A sea-oiling rocket, consisting of an annular powder chamber at its head, and
of a filled oil chamber separable therefrom; and loosely placed axially therein, and
extending rearward therefrom, and constituting the rocket stick, and having specific
gravity less than that of water, while one of its ends has specific gravity greater
than that of water, and the other end is provided with a passage for the upward
egress of the oil when the oil chamber is immersed in the sea; all substantially as
described.
4. A sea-oiling projectile, consisting of the combination of the shell A; the base

page_text: block B, provided with an opening therethrough; the valve C, closing that opening;
the weight D, adapted to keep that opening upward in the water; and the plug E,
holping the valve C, on its seat in the base block B, and adapted to release that hold
by being pulled out from the base block; all substantially as described.
Dated this Twenty-third day of August 1889.
ALBERT HENRY WALKER.