mprovements in the Means or Apparatus for Firing Naval Ordnance.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Oct., 1897
K
Complete Specification Left, 19th July, 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 28th Sept., 1888
mprovements in the Means or Apparatus for Firing Naval
Ordnance.
I Philip John RIBTON CRAMPTON of Ballyhook, Grange-Con, County Wicklow,
Ireland, Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows :-
With the existing arrangements naval ordnance is practically useless in a heavy
sea except at very short ranges. Now the object of my invention is to provide means
whereby the guns are fired automatically at the moment the vessel is on an even keel.
It is only necessary that the guns have been given the proper quadrant elevation for
the range.
For the purpose of my invention I employ a plate so supported,-
-as for instance in
the manner of a floating marine compass, that its plane shall constantly be parallel
to the horizon. On this plate are 4 platinum points or electric contacts connected
together in pairs by means of insulated wires. Above the plate hang 4 arms with
platinum points or electric contacts corresponding with those on the plate. The arms
are mounted on pivots and are connected together in pairs by means of insulated
wires but the connections are the reverse of those of the platinum points on the plate,
that is to say, the points on a pair of connected arms are respectively over
2 unconnected points on the plate so that when the 4 points on the arms touch the
4 points on the plate a complete circuit is formed, while if any of the points do not
touch, the circuit is broken or incomplete. The circuit is in connection with electric
wires for firing the guns. The points on the arms are kept in a plane parallel with
the horizon when the ship is on an even keel by means of stops; it is therefore
evident that the circuit can only be complete when the ship is on an even
keel and that when the circuit is thus complete and the electric connections with the
guns are coupled up the guns will then be fired automatically.
Such are the principle and characteristic feature of my invention. Various
corrections are however necessary. For example if a shot be fired from a broadside

page_text: gun on the starboard side when the ship is rolling, the shot during the starboard roll
will have an angular velocity tending to decrease the range and during the port roll
an angular velocity tending to increase it. This must be allowed for and similarly
for the pitch in the case of a bow or stern gun. The necessary allowance can be
made by moving the stops before described up or down. The pivoted arms and the
stops are arranged the one pair in line with the keel and the other pair at right angles
to it, and the raising and lowering can be conveniently effected by means of a worm
or screw and nuts arranged so that the 2 stops of a pair are adjusted simultaneously.
During the starboard roll the gun should be fired a little before the ship comes level,
the length of time depending on the rate of roll. The necessary extra elevation will
be ascertained by experiment.
Again, if the ship is not trimmed in her normal position another and more permanent
correction will be necessary; this can readily be effected by means of a nut, wedge or
other like device.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.

page_text: Improvements in the Means or Apparatus for Firing Naval
Ordnance.
I, PHILIP JOHN RIBTON CRAMPTON of Ballyhook, 'Grange-Con, County Wicklow,
Ireland, Captain in the Royal Artillery, 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 :—
With the existing arrangements naval ordnance is practically useless in a heavy
sea except at very short ranges. Now the object of my invention is to provide means
whereby the guns are fired automatically at the moment the vessel is on an even keel.
It is only necessary that the guns have been given the proper quadrant elevation for
the range.
Errors in elevation due to personal error on the part of the man firing
whether by electricity or otherwise, when the gun is fired by visual observation are
thus eliminated; and it becomes practicable to lay guns for elevation by quadrant when
the vessel is rolling or pitching or both and also when the target is obscured by smoke
or fog or at night.
The invention essentially consists in the employment of a set of points or electric
contacts so supported that they shall during the pitching and rolling of the vessel be
in a plane parallel to the horizon from just before till just after the vessel is on an
even keel, and of another and corresponding set of points or electric contacts the
plane of which varies in accordance with the pitching and rolling of the vessel tho
contacts of the 2 sets respectively being connected by electrical conductors in such
manner that an electric circuit which in connection with the gun or guns to be fired
is not complete unless all the contacts of the one set are in contact with the
corresponding contacts of the other set.
For the purpose of my invention I employ a frame or plate so supported, as for
instance in the manner of a floating marine compass, that its plane shall constantly
be parallel to the horizon. On this frame are 4 platinum points or electric contacts
connected together in pairs by means of insulated wires. Above the frame hang
4 arms with platinum points or electric contacts corresponding with those on the
frame. The arms are mounted on pivots and 2 of them are connected together by
means of an insulated wire but the connection is the reverse of those of the platinum
points on the frame, that is to say, the points on the pair of connected arms, are
respectively over 2 unconnected points on the frame. The points on the other 2 arms
are connected respectively with the 2 poles of the battery. Thus when the 4 points
on the arms touch the 4 points on the frame a complete circuit is formed, while if
any of the points do not touch, the circuit is broken or incomplete. The circut is in
connection with electric wires for firing the guns. The points on the arms are kept
in a plane parallel with the horizon when the ship is on an even keel by means of
stops; it is therefore evident that the circuit can only be complete when the ship
is on an even keel and that when the circuit is thus complete and the electric
connections with the guns are coupled up the guns will then be fired automatically.

page_text: Various
Such are the principle and characteristic feature of my invention.
corrections are however necessary. For example if a shot be fired from a broadside
gun on the starboard side when the ship is rolling, the shot during the starboard roll
will have an angular velocity tending to decrease the range and during the port roll
an angular velocity tending to increase it. This must be allowed for and similarly
for the pitch in the case of a bow or stern gun. The necessary allowance can be made
by moving the stops before described up or down. The pivoted arms and the stops
are arranged the one pair in line with the keel and the other pair at right angles to
it, and the raising and lowering can be conveniently effected by means of a worm or
screw and nuts arranged so that the 2 stops of a pair are adjusted simultaneously.
During the starboard roll the gun should be fired a little before the ship comes
level, the length of time depending on the rate of roll. The necessary extra
elevation will be ascertained by experiment.
Again, if the ship is not in her normal trim another and more permanent
correction will be necessary; this can readily be effected by means of a nut, wedge
or other like device.
Figure 1 of the annexed drawing is an elevation partly sectional and Figure 2
a plan of an apparatus constructed according to one modification of my invention.
In these figures, a is a frame in the form of a cross; at or near the ends of the
4 arms of the cross are 4 contact points 2 13 64; these are connected together
in pairs by means of insulated wires, that is to say, and are connected by a
wire and 2 and are connected by a wire d. Above the frame a hang the 4
arms ele²e with platinum points corresponding with 616263. The arms e¹ e e³ et
are mounted on pivots on a central piece and 2 of them viz. e and e² have their
points connected together by means of an insulated wire g the points on these 2
connected arms ele being respectively over 2 unconnected points 16 of the frame.
The points on the other 2 arms e³e are connected respectively with the 2 poles of the
battery by means of the wires hh. It will be seen that when the 4 points on the
arms touch the 4 points on the frame a complete circuit is formed, while if any of
the points do not touch, the circuit is broken or incomplete. The frame a is kept
constantly with its plane parallel to the horizon and this is effected by causing pistons
or projections i, i, thereon to float upon mercury or other liquid in a vessel k in the
form of a tubular cross with vertical tubular extensions to receive the pistons i as shown.
The contact points on the arms el ees et are kept in a plane parallel with the horizon
when the ship on an even keel by means of stops in screw shafts or rods m, m.
The circuit can therefore only be complete when the ship is on an even keel and when
the circuit is thus complete and the electric connections with the guns are coupled up
the guns will be fired automatically. Any necessary corrections for the purposes
herein before explained can be made by means of the screw shafts m, m, which work in
nuts in a frame n and are fitted with pulleys o, 0. Each 2 opposite pulleys are
connected by means of a crossed belt so that the 2 stops of diametrically opposite arms
whether the pair in line with the keel or the pair at right angles to it are adjusted
simultaneously the one up and the other down. The screws m, m, are preferably
micrometer screws and the pulleys o, o, graduated in minutes.
Figure 3 is a vertical section (with portions of the. tubular mercury vessel broken
away for economy of space) representing a modification of my invention in which the
lower set of points or contacts are carried on pistons floating on the surface of the
mercury in the tubular vessel in a similar manner to that already described, but the
pistons are not carried by a connecting frame; and instead of one tubular mercury
vessel in the form of a cross there are 2 separate tubular vessels k, k, crossing each
other at the middle as shewn, the only difference between the two vessels k, k, being
that the vertical portions of the upper one are shorter than those of the lower so that
all the contacts shall be in one horizontal plane. Each of the mercury vessels is fitted
with a tube P in which a piston 7 on the end of a screw shaft can be moved; by
means of these pistons the level of the mercury in the tubular vessels can be altered
as found necessary and by screwing these pistons sufficiently down, the pistons i, i,
that carry the electric contacts are forced against the end of their guides s, s, and the

page_text: whole apparatus put out of gear.
ttare diaphragms of glove leather or other suit-
able material attached to rings in the mercury tubes to prevent the mercury leaking
past the pistons i i. The piston at the left of Figure 3 is shown in its highest
position in which it would be when the ship rolled to the left hand of the instrument
the mercury having forced the piston i up to its stop. The piston at the right of
Figure 3 is shown in its lowest position.
The
Figure 4 is a vertical section of another modification in which the mercury itself
constitutes the lower contact; it is desirable to have petroleum or spirit as seen at w
above the mercury to prevent oxidation. In the instrument represented in this figure
there are only 2 points of contact which are all that are necessary in many cases, but
the instrument should be mounted so that it can be swung round to bring its axis in
line with or parallel to the axis of the gun or guns to be fired. It should so far as is
practicable be placed in the centre of the boat and in the centre of gravity.
vessel shown in this modification is intended to contain only a small quantity
of mercury the remainder of its capacity being completely filled with water. The
bottom ends of the tubes and p dip in cups or recesses y and between these
recesses the bottom of the vessel is raised in the middle at leaving a long
trough or channel at each side as more clearly scen in Figures 5, 6 and 7, which
are respectively a cross section on the line 1-1; a cross section through one of
the tubes and a horizontal section of the vessel k. At each end of the vessel k
is a plate the space between which and the bottom of the vessel is sufficiently
large to contain the whole of the mercury at the bottom of the vessel when tilted.
Contact is formed between the surface of the mercury in the tubes (which are
of glass from the top down to the point the remainder being of steel) and the
The wires and are in circuit with the battery and the guns to be
fired. The bottom of the vessel k is supported by levelling screws (not shewn) which
are insulated.
rods e.
The rods e are insulated, also the connecting wires h and h.
The electrical connection between the lower pair of contacts is formed by the
mercury.
v, u, v, v, are screens to increase the inertia of the water in k.
As my instruments determine the vertical they can be utilized not only for firing
ordnance on board ship but also for taking observations the wires of the instrument
being for this purpose coupled up with wires on a sextant or quadrant.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is
1. As means or apparatus for firing naval ordnance a set of points or electric
contacts which are in a plane parallel to the horizon from just before till just after
the vessel is on an even keel, and another and corresponding set of points or electric
contacts the plane of which varies in accordance with the pitching or rolling, or
pitching and rolling, of the vessel, in combination with electric conductors, in such
manner that an electric circuit which is in connection with the guns to be fired is
not complete unless all the contacts of the one set are in contact with the corre-
sponding contacts of the other set, substantially as set forth.
2. The several arrangements or modifications of instruments for firing naval
ordnance hereinbefore described and represented in the annexed drawings.
101
1000
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, Loudon,
Agent.