AN IMPROVED TUBE AND CARRIAGE FOR THE LAUNCHING OF FISH TORPEDOES BY MEANS OF GUNPOWDER OR ANY SIMILAR EXPLOSIVE
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Albert Sauvée, of 22 Parliament Street, in the City of
Westminster and County of Middlesex, for. an Invention of "AN IMPROVED
TUBE AND CARRIAGE FOR THE LAUNCHING OF FISH TORPEDOES BY MEANS
OF GUNPOWDER OR ANY SIMILAR EXPLOSIVE " communicated to him from
abroad by Jean Baptiste Gustave Adolphe Canet, of Paris, in the Republic of
France
.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Albert Sauvée at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th November 1883.
ALBERT SAUVÉE, of 22 Parliament Street, in the City of Westminster and
County of Middlesex, "AN IMPROVED TUBE AND CARRIAGE FOR THE LAUNCHING
OF FISH TORPEDOES BY MEANS OF GUNPOWDER OR ANY SIMILAR EXPLOSIVE
communicated to me from abroad by Jean Baptiste Gustave Adolphe Canet, of
Paris, in the Republic of France.
The tube I make use of for launching the Fish torpedo has an improved
arrangement allowing the use of ordinary gunpowder or similar explosive for
discharging the torpedo instead of compressed air or steam.
I also reduce considerably the effort the man has to make whilst firing by using
a spring which is tightened beforehand so that the gunner having laid the tube
has only a slight effort to make in order to pull a trigger for firing, so that better
aim is kept.
-
The special arrangement of the carriage allows greater facility for training the
tube without the aid of racers as it adjusts itself to the slope of the deck.
The breech of the tube is closed by an improved. mechanism which does not
allow the charge to be fired unless the breech is properly closed. This arrangement
prevents any accident which would happen should the breech be simply pushed
home.
The charge of explosive to launch the torpedo is placed in a cup or chamber

page_text: provided in the breech piece and it is ignited by a fuse exploded by the mechanism
hereinafter described.
In the accompanying drawings:-
Fig. 1 (shown partly on sheet 1 and partly on sheet 2) is a longitudinal section
of the breech end of tube and bark part of carriage, and also a side view of fore
part of tube and longitudinal section of front part of carriage.
Fig. 2 is a back elevation of breech end of tube and carriage.
Fig. 3 is a plan of fore part of carriage.
Fig. 4 is a plan of back part of carriage.
Fig. 5 is a side elevation of discharging mechanism.
Fig. 6 sbows another combination of discharging mechanism.
Fig. 7 is a cross section of tube on line X Y.
Fig. 8 is a cross section of tube showing the starting catch H.
Fig. 9 is a section through M N of powder chamber.
The discharging mechanism consists of a system of levers and a spiral spring P
that is tightened by acting on the crank lever o2 by means of a handspike that fits
on one of the extremities. This lever o² is kept cocked by the catch lever Q. A
safety pin q prevents any sudden release of the mechanism. On the same axis on
which is keyed the crank lever o² are fixed two other levers; one is the lever o'
that releases the torpedo inside the tube and the other the lever o that works the
firing mechanism.
The actual working of the whole arrangement for launching the fish torpedo is
as follows: We will suppose that a fish torpedo has just been discharged. The
gunner by means of a hand spike fixed at the end of crank lever o tightens the
spring P which is kept cocked by the catch lever Q; he also puts in the safety
ping; then to open the breech he catches hold of the small hand-lever K and gives
one sixth of a turn to the screw that closes the breech. The threads of this screw
are partly cut away like those in the screw breech of guns and the threads them-
selves are conical; then in pulling the lever K towards him the whole of the breech
swings round the hinge J and the tube is ready to receive a torpedo which is
introduced carefully into the tube whilst the stop bolt I inside the tube is lowered
by means of the hand lever i until the torpedo is well home; when he lets go the
hand-lever i, the spring i is let loose and the bolt I maintains the torpedo inside
the tube.
The charge of gunpowder or any other explosive is then put in the powder
chamber or cup L. This chamber is pierced with holes radiating from its centre so
that the gases rush against the inner surface of the tube thus preventing any
damage to the torpedo. The breech is closed by swinging it round the hinge J²
till it is home then turning with the handle K the screw of the breech by one
sixth, having taken care to release the catch K' in pressing with the thumb on the
spring. To prevent the escape of gases the breech presses a ring of leather or
asbestos let into the internal face of the breech. Then to be able to introduce a
new fuse the hammer m must be pulled out and pushed down the inclined planes
hereinafter described, and the fuse is then put in. The tube so loaded is ready for
a new discharge. If the breech was not well closed the end of the lever O could
not enter into the slot of the hammer and the fuse could not be exploded. This
mechanism is therefore a safety arrangement.
Then, to fire, the gunner pulls out the safety pin q and by exerting a slight
effort towards himself with the handle of the catch lever Q he releases the spiral
spring P. The rotary motion imparted to the axis that carries the three crank
levers before described removes first the stop bolt I inside the tube and immediately
afterwards explodes the fuse. The exploding of the fuse is produced as follows.
On the slide piece m¹ is fixed the hammer m which carries on each side a stud.
The slide piece is pushed upwards by the lever o. This tightens the spring m² and
when the studs are at the summit of the inclined planes the hammer is released
and strikes the fuse which explodes. Inside the tube and fixed at a proper distanco

page_text: is the usual spring catch H which acts on the starting valve of the engines inside
the torpedo itself as it is shot from the tube.
The above arrangement has been described for a percussion fuse. In some cases
I use an electric fuse and it is by the sliding up of the piece m, that I close the
circuit and explode the charge.
The improvements in the construction of the carriage itself are as follows:-
The front part of the carriage consists of a cross-head B bearing the trunnions b,
this cross-head turning round on a pivot resting on a strong bracket C so that it
can be fixed for firing either at the fore or aft part of the ship or broadside.
The hind part or breech end of the carriage consists of a V-shaped frame E, d, d,
which rests on two rollers e which may turn when required in any vertical position.
The front beam E of this frame has a hole in its centre to let the elevating screw G
pass through it.
This screw G is fastened to a lug under the tube and it is worked up and down
by the nut e' that is cast with the hand-wheel g. The nut itself turns in two half
bearings e provided with horizontal trunnions working in the front beam E.
The front and rear part of the carriage are kept together by means of the
connecting rod D. This rod at its front end turns horizontally round the bracket C,
and is attached to it by means of the collar c. At its rear end the rod is attached
to the V-shaped frame by means of the collar d and the extreme end of the
connecting rod turns in a socket provided in the beam E.
This mode of connecting the rod to the rear part of the carriage allows the
V-frame and rollers to follow the slope of the deck without interfering with the
laying of the tube.
Having thus described the nature of the said Invention and the manner in
which the same may be carried into effect, I wish it to be understood that what I
claim is:
1st The mode of discharging the fish torpedo with gunpowder or similar explosive
by means of the mechanism in combination with a percussion or electrical fuse, as
described.
2nd The combination of levers for removing the stop bolt inside the tube and
firing the charge immediately afterwards, as described.
3rd The mode of fastening the breech to prevent the charge being ignited when
the breech is not properly closed, as described.
4th The mode of cocking the hammer only when the trigger or operating lever
has been pulled, as descrit ed.
5th The mode of disposing the powder chamber with radiating holes to prevent
injuring the torpedo, as described.
6th The mode of laying the tube by means of a movable carriage whose components
parts are so connected as to allow of the training of the tube on the deck of ships
without the aid of racers.
7th The mode of connecting the front pivot with the back part of carriage, as
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Albert Sauvée, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this twenty-ninth day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand
ight hundred and eighty-three.
A. SAUVÉE (L.S.)